Day 4
"Fist of the Chipmunk!" Kento shouted, running at Kyo. The rope was released, but Kento evaded and closed in on the vulnerable target.
"Hmm … so next time …" Kyo said before ducking a few quick punches form Kento.
The rope came back, wrapping around Kento's ankles, then slithering up his body.
"Not today!" Kento said, forming hand seals. He burst from the rope, and landed on one knee.
Kento felt the stress on his legs from the quick burst of energy running through. Kyo caught his rope, motioning behind the kneeling genin. Yoshi was walking back with Natsumi, who had a bandage on her right arm, and a disappointed look on her face.
"Natsumi, you fought well, and you trained hard. But remember, training hard doesn't guarantee victory." Yoshi said.
Natsumi had just finished sparing against Usagi Ito. Usagi's erratic nature made it tough to tell how she was going to fight. There was the cowardly Usagi who played defensive until she quit, then there was the focused one who wanted to win.
"I know, I'll work on my recovery and evasion. Her flag is hard to dodge." Natsumi replied.
"So, Natsumi, the competition is looking pretty good?" Kento asked. Natsumi nodded and Kyo wrapped the rope around his waist.
"Well, that should conclude today's training. Remember, three days left." Yoshi put up her fingers. "You are dismissed. Natsumi, can you stay after for a minute?"
"I can't wait to see the genin I'll fight." Kento clinched his fist. "Then I'll get to use my new jutsu!"
"Hmm … me neither. But we have to pass a few tests first." Kyo muttered.
"Those will be easy. The chuunin fights are where its at though. I've heard of Takumi Kurokawa and Asuka Matsuo. Those two are the top in the class, according to the chuunin.
"It's nice to know the bar has been set." Kyo said.
- - -
"Sorry. Tee-hee-hee!" the short, dark-haired chuunin laughed. "I was so busy training that I didn't register my genin for the chuunin exam!"
"Don't worry." Iraku stated, handing her a piece of paper. "You still have today and tomorrow."
"Kay, thanks." She began to write the names down.
"Let's see. There's Shizuka … then Gonnoh … then Hideki."
Shizuka was 13 years old, and very quiet. Yet, she was always smiling. She never really said much besides short sentences. She wore a replica of the chuunin Leaf uniform with bandages on her neck. Her protector was on her neck.
Gonnoh Hagiwara was four years older, and much more playful than the reticent Shizuka. He was usually found fighting with Hideki, despite Hideki's inheritance. He wore a pair of green shorts with bandages wrapped around his calves. He wore a pair of blue shoes and a grey shirt with blue arm sleeves, with his protector around his right calf.
The third genin had a familiar face, or better yet, eyes. Hideki Hyuuga was 13 and came from the oldest clan in Konoha, and like the clan, he was adept in hand-to-hand combat. But, his physical skills, according to the elders of the main house, were still too raw, and he relied too much on power instead of the Hyuuga's patented "Gentle Fist" fighting style. He wore the traditional Hyuuga clothing: A white shirt over a tan jacket and black pants with the familiar blue sandals.
Their chuunin was a tiny young woman, but she proved she could hold her own in battle with her defensive jutsus. Her offense was nice, but she specialized in the Sato style, which was a more passive style which forced the opponent to waste their charka. Kimiko Sato was 20 years old, and a last minute type person. She almost missed her chuunin exam, nearly got killed in the Forest of Death and was close to forfeiting her match in the chuunin finals because of oversleeping.
Her genin sat in the hallway, awaiting their sensei. Shizuka sat with her head down, smiling as usual. Gonnoh was seated nearby, poking at Hideki's face. Hideki activated his Byagukan, and was dodging Gonnoh's advance.
"Gonnoh, grow up." He tilted his head to the right. "You know I can stop the flow of your charka, right?"
"So?" Gonnoh happily kept jabbing at Hideki.
It's like someone has already stop the flow of charka to your brain. He thought, grabbing Gonnoh's wrist and punching his shoulder.
"I thought you could stop the flow of charka? What happened to your Gentle Fist?" Gonnoh mocked. Hideki grumbled, turning away. Even as a Hyuuga, he had trouble controlling this style of fighting. His blood boiled over easier than most Hyuuga, and he bypassed activating the Byugukan sometimes and just fought with his fists instead. The main house allowed him to go because of his surprising physical skills, especially to be able to keep his balance.
- - -
Taiki gave chase to his genin, almost in a rage. He dove for Shun, who jumped allowing his chuunin to pass under him.
"nice move." Taiki mumbled.
Takumi tensed his legs, expecting his sensei to come for him next.
"Convocation!" Taiki disappeared amidst the birds. Takumi jumped anyway, and Michiya kneeled on a branch , watching and waiting for her chuunin to come for her. In this test, if the genin were caught, they would go without food until the exam started.
Shun formed a hand seal, then spun, creating a whirlwind, forcing Taiki away. The chuunin sat silently, watching as his clone raced back and forth, between Takumi and Shun. He watched a worried Michiya looking at the clone intently, then closed in on her.
"Sorry, looks like no food for – " Taiki nearly grabbed Michiya's shoulder, but felt a hard knee to his left side. Shun then quickly clasped his hands together, slamming them into Taiki's back. He landed beside Michiya, who looked relieved. They both watched as Taiki fell – then in a poof, turned into a log. Takumi leapt to their branch as well, then pointed in different directions.
"Shun, over there. Michiya, look over there. Make sure he doesn't sneak up on us." He commanded. In an instant the three genin faced in different directions. They waited for a sign of Taiki, steadily maintaining their breathing.
"Good work." Taiki said. The three genin turned to see him standing above them. "Especially you Shun. Takumi, good work on the leadership. Michiya, nice set up."
Taiki appeared on the ground, motioning for his genin to follow him. There were three days for him to prepare his genin for the chuunin exam. He saw progress, and was proud to see Takumi had begun to take it seriously.
- - -
Takeh began to lay a few kunai on the ground, carrying a plate of ramen on his head. Asuka tied her shoes, studying the lay of the weapons on the ground. Saraidenn stood beside Kaito, who watched back and forth between his genin.
Takeh stood behind the kunai and stars he lay, about fifty feet away from Asuka.
With a grunt, Asuka ran, dodging one weapon, then the next, then the next. Sarai looked at Takeh who stood still, who was turned toward Asuka, but his eyes studied his right. As Asuka got within ten feet, Takeh formed a hand seal, and a huge log came in on Asuka. She leapt over the log, then reached for the plate. Takeh stood still, and watched as Asuka miss the plate, and it fell to the ground.
"That was your lunch Asuka. Nice start, but work on your finish." Kaito said. Sarai then walked to where her fellow female genin started, and readied herself. Takeh had another plate of ramen on his head, and stood the same distance away. Sarai started, nearly falling down, but managed to keep her footing. She decided to run straight, ducking and jumping and rolling forward the whole time. Takeh looked straight ahead, closing his eyes. He brought up his hands to form a seal, and Sarai forze, expecting something to happen. Takeh put his hands down, and Sarai moved again – only she couldn't move. Takeh tilted his head slightly to the side, the plate on his head doing the same. It fell to the ground, and Sarai felt her heart sink.
"Sarai, why did you stop?" Kaito asked. She turned frowning.
"I thought he – "
"No." Kaito interrupted. "Don't focus so much on your opponent that they make you act out of character. You should've kept moving forward."
"Easy to say now…" she mumbled.
- - -
Miharu Nakamara sat on a tree trunk with her genin facing her. Her test today was a simple one.
"I want you to break this tree trunk." She said. Kazuki smiled, flexing his muscles.
"But, while one genin will try to break it, the other two will protect it."
this should be easy… Kazuki smiled. Ayumi gulped, thinking about standing between Kazuki and the tree trunk. Yama stretched her muscles, thinking of the medical jutus's she'd been studying.
"The exercise ends when the trunk is broken or one of you is knocked out. I will switch out the roles when needed." Miharu said. Ayumi perked up. Maybe she could be the first aggressor. Kazuki raised his hand. "When the trunk is broken, the two defenders will be without food until the chuunin exam.
"May I be first?" Kazuki asked. Miharu nodded.
The tree trunk was six feet tall and about twenty feet around the base. This was no wispy plant. Kazuki stretched a bit before looking at Miharu who, gave him the go.
"Don't worry. This'll be over quickly." He knelt on one knee, putting three fingers on the ground. Instantly, he charged the trunk, full expecting to bulldoze anyone in his way. Ayumi jumped out of the way, but Yama stood her ground, closing her eyes, feeling the ground beneath her.
The collision rocked the area, and after the dust settled, Yama stumbled, holding her right arm. Kazuki shook himself, surprised she managed to hold him off.
Transfering the chakra to her legs and feet to plant herself. Very nice tactic. Miharu though..
"No worries. I'll just take it now. There's no way you can do it twice." He said. Yama felt soreness in her right arm, but stood her ground again. Kazuki charged again, but this time, Yama sidestepped him, sweeping him off his feet, sending him rolling into the trunk. He ended up upside down, creating a small crack in the massive trunk. He rolled over, then rotated his arms around, shaking the cobwebs in his head. Yama wasted no time, running behind Kazuki. He turned to strike her, but she slid between his legs, tapping the back of his calf. He moved, but felt pain where she touched him.
"I temporarily closed the veins in that area." She said. "If you move, it will swell and get worse."
Kazuki froze, feeling the blood building up behind his knee. He inched forward, feeling swelling instantly. Yama picked herself up, then called out to Ayumi.
"Ayumi! Come on!" she shouted. "Quit being scared!"
Ayumi trembled, walking from behind the tree trunk. She looked to see Kazuki standing there with swelling in his leg, and a dirtied up Yama in a defensive stance.
"This isn't one on one you know." She said.
Ayumi gulped, still feeling weak from fear. She walked beside Yama, shaking a little. Kazuki fell to the ground, grimacing and rubbing his calf as the blood's flow returned. He stood to his feet, kicking his legs a little.
"Nice work Yama." He said. "but I'm telling you now, there's only so much you can do before I overpower you."
Yama growled, looking Kazuki straight in the eyes. Ayumi involuntarily let out a gasp.
"Ayumi." Yama said, still looking at Kazuki. "Use your sound attacks. If we work together, we can stop him. Get over your fear, because it'll be much worse when a real enemy approaches us."
A real enemy… Ayumi thought. She nervously formed hand seals, and Kazuki made no mystery as to who he was gunning for.
"Ayuuuumiiii…" he mocked her. "Ayyyyuuuummmiiii."
"Ayumi, just get ready." Yama said. Kazuki formed a hand seal, getting in his same stance.
"I'll tell you how good the food is after I break the trunk." He said, then vanished.
"His speed?" Miharu said. She remembered him always talking about the mystery and speed of the wind, and how no one knew where it came from, and how he wanted to be like that.
"Ayumi, your right!" Yama shouted. Kazuki charged, and Ayumi did her best to hold her ground. She then felt the sheer force behind Kazuki's speed. She whimpered a little under her breath before throwing her shoulder forward. The sound barrier she created only slowed Kazuki down a bit, and he easily pushed her out of the way. Yama gulped, running at the chunky genin. She slid at his legs again, and Kazuki laughed.
"Not this time." He leapt above her, setting his sights on the tree trunk. He wound his fist up, building speed all the while.
A real enemy would've killed me… Ayumi thought, picking herself up. She gathered up her strength, and formed hand seals while speeding to the trunk, behind Kazuki. With a final heave, she whirled around, then pushed her hands out, creating a supersonic wind.
"Rapid Cyclone!" she shouted.
Kazuki threw his fist, tapping the trunk, but being thrown out of the way. Ayumi fell, exhausted from her attack. Yama leapt to her feet, running to the protect the trunk, but heard a cracking noise.
"Huh?" she said, backing away. "Did he do it?"
The trunk cracked, then fell over, its roots sticking out of the ground. Miharu stared in astonishment. Yama fell to her knees. If the trunk fell over like that, then what was the verdict. Kazuki stood, and turned to see the trunk completely out of its spot.
"I did that?" he said involuntarily. Miharu inspected the trunk, then shook her head.
"You would've split it had you made full contact." She said. "Ayumi did this."
"What?" Kazuki shouted. "There's no way…"
"She was scared," Yama said. "But I told her things wouldn't be so easy with real enemies attacking us."
Kazuki looked in disbelief at Ayumi, who was face down. He scared her, mocked her, even threw her out of the way. Then she completely unearthed the trunk in a last ditch effort, knowing it would be her last attempt?
"Wow, Ayumi." Yama said, walking over to the tiny genin. "You acted in spite of your fear."
"Yes she did." Miharu said.
"Kazuki, get Ayumi. After she recovers, we'll go eat." She said, concluding their fourth day of training.