[A/N: Shoutout to the two people who consumed the whole story in one night. It feels like I had a one night stand who railed me in the best way and then dipped before I woke up. I salute you!]
Nishira walked beside Jori, moving with artificial ease to not betray her jittery nerves, stepping in time with him. The proctor spewed the same rules, boredom colouring them, but Nishira didn't listen. Something rumbled deep in her belly and it hungered for her opponent, or more prominently for his blood for the slight he spewed. The morsel of violence she had fed it earlier was not enough, whatever waking spirit that lingered there wanted more. Nishira blinked, mentally pushing it down with both hands, stuffing it back into its gilded cage. Kakashi's advice before they left the village echoed around her skull. He'd tasked her sternly to keep this specific jutsu close to the chest unless absolutely necessary, and she agreed it was for the best. The justsu was simply too dangerous to unleash it here, Nishira knew she lacked the needed control over its sheer destruction and couldn't predict the outcome besides a plethora of bloodshed. As she opened her eyes, she'd foolishly missed the signal to start and Jori's stone gauntlet connected mercilessly with the side of her face. The blow sent her flying, pain immediately spreading across her face. Despite the set back, Nishira put her hands together mid air to make the rooster sign and disappeared before Jori's following lethal kick could make contact.
Jori whipped his head around wildly, trying to see where she'd pop up. His ears heard her sword unsheathing from its home on her hip but it filtered through the wavelengths, obscuring the source. He stood at the ready, fists clenched, unable to pinpoint its origin. Nishira tasted the littlest bit of fear that flickered in his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, focused on predicting her next attack, and it pleased her. Hibi had been right, he was unnerved, ready to unravel at the mildest of prodding. Nishira waited only a breath before reappearing behind him, flicking her sword through the band of his shinobi headband and connecting her boot to his back, kicking him forward before disappearing again into the air. He landed on all fours and his headband clattering to the ground away. Nishira reappeared a distance away, keeping her distance in case he held an unknown trick. Jori was clearly a hot head, that was obvious to her. He would present a threat only if he could maintain his composure. She watched as his face focused, his eyes drilling into her with seething hatred. The uneasiness roiled in her, not knowing if her opponent was that easily jostled or not.
To her chagrin, Nishira watched him punch into the unforgiving ground with a mighty force. A mirroring fist made of rock came up from the ground and nearly clipped under her chin, forcing Nishira back. Another stone fist rose and another and another, so she hopped back and again before flipping out of reach of the stone fists. She landed uneasily facing Jori, getting ready to launch another attack. Before she press both hands together to create the required signs, the ground beneath her left foot caved and her whole body fell into the stone as it hugged her unrelenting on all sides, binding her into the ground. Jori stood, swaying cockily from foot to foot and dusted off his pants. He let out a deep rumbling chuckle from his smug face as she struggled against the unforgiving stone.
"Konoha shinobi are sure easy to trick. Too bad. I thought you'd give me a real fight."
Flames that stoked in her belly flickered threateningly to burst as it painfully pressed outwards, rising to his taunts, rising brighter at the bitter idea of defeat. Instead, Nishira aimed that roiling rage and chakra into her blade still gripped in her restrained hand, driving it into the stone until enough room was cared for her to disappear into the darkness. Jori scanned the floor in all directions before weaving signs that wrapped his body in a protective layer of stone armour. He held his hands up in a fighting stance waiting. An overwhelming burst of wind beneath him lifted his heavy form high into the air, flailing, only to see Nishira coming from above whirling with an opposing wind, her blade whistling with chakra, a shine blinded him as it reflected the sunlight. Jori closed his eyes helplessly, arms crossed before him to defend his face and only felt the kiss of the wind blow past him, his lift disappear and replaced with the empty weightlessness as he fell, anchored by the stone armour.
As he impacted into the ground, Jori lay there momentarily dazed, and the stone armour fell away cut to ribbons in expert smooth lines. He jumped up and glared at her standing form, despite the distance between them, the roiling rage reached her.
"STOP PLAYING WITH ME! Let's fight for real!"
Nishira whirled her sword and expertly sheathed it behind her in a quick motion.
"Alright then, you want to do it for real?"
There was a velvety tinge to her voice that was different, the smile on her face was more suggestive than her previously pensive gaze. Kakashi's visible eye widened at the sound. Jori blinked and she disappeared from view as he opened his eyes again.
"NO!"
She appeared again only for a blink, without a sound and only a smile. her two fingers on her dominant hand pointed to the sky glowed with a bright blue energy, crackling as she soared towards him.
Lightning energy? Jori thought, bewildered.
Dancing Flower Lightning Ribbon!
Hot flicks surrounded him. It sliced over and over, his body being wracked with what felt like dozens of blades licking his body with feather light touches, but at every stroke, another wound opened, and blood poured forth staining his clothes and dripping slowly to the ground. the pain ripped from him in howls.
Kakashi startled, confirming Hibi's suspicion that she had learned this one without help. A warm smile spread on her face as she watched her newest student rise to the challenge. From the crowd, another smile generated as Kabuto witnessed their hard work blooming in the arena. It had been a gamble, he thought wryly, their practice only successful about half the time. But his sensei, who stood by his side, shivered in anticipation. He was pleased and for that Kabuto was also pleased in convincing them to stay.
Nishira landed on her feet and her hand pressed painfully to her forehead, trying to sooth the thudding that threated to overwhelm her mind. Trying to suppress the gurgling bile crawling up her throat that threatened to take over and feed on her opponent. She wobbled at the force of pushing it back down into a rolling boil. She turned to see Jori, mad with rage, blood coating him completely and adding to his deranged expression. He held in his bloody hand an oversized stone axe and swung sideways running at her. Nishira leapt up to avoid the swing, but he anticipated it and brought it around for a downward swing before she could land. Nishira pulled out her ninjato to defend herself. The blade held most of the weight of the attack but snapped under the force, and the axe found a home in her clavicle. She gritted her teeth and as the stone axe was wrenched from its target. She pressed her left hand on the injury, her right hand trembling from the damage.
"I have you now!"
Jori roared as he put what remaining reserves of strength he had left into the swing. Nishira rolled out from in front of him, pushing out her leg and slamming it into the back of his knees. The force should have been enough to make an average man fall, but Jori, still in the midst of his rage and the physique developed from years of training made him only stumble. Nishira leapt and drove her knees into his back and only then did he fall to the ground. As he made contact, Nishira placed her hands on the ground.
Earth Style Crucifix Prison
"Another style? My, Nishira, you've been busy." Hibi muttered to herself. What the sensei didn't know was the feverish prayers that Nishira has whispered that it would work, in fact, this had been the first time it had worked.
From the ground a solid post raised and snaked around Jori's limbs and hoisted him into the air. Held above her, her opponent's arms and legs were stretched wide, and his neck wrapped up threateningly.
"Yield!"
Jori scowled and gritted his teeth. She motioned her hands and the rock tightened around his neck eliciting a groan.
"YIELD!"
"In your dreams!"
The smallest flick of the side of his sneer was the only tip Nishira had to a form rising from the stone behind her, forming from the rock. It was too late, but regardless she turned and rammed her hand, charged with chakra as it shifted through the walls of his chest and clothing. A stone sword pierced right through her belly, the cut seared hot, her nerve endings screaming, but she pushed through. Nishira gritted her teeth, knowing when her body realized the extent of the wound when the adrenaline dried up, the pain would be utterly debilitating. But she wouldn't give the satisfaction of ending it now. Rematerializing her hand inside the chest cavity, she gripped the fragile beating heart in her hand, giving it a threatening squeeze. Her voice lowered to a deadly tone above his ragged cry.
"You move one inch, and I will stop your heart right here and now. Yield!"
Jori weakly wrapped his right hand on her wrist.
"DIE!"
The words screamed in her face sent her self-control spiraling. That power swelled up in her, from her belly, painfully tight across her chest, up her throat constricting like a snake wrapping around its prey, squeezing the life from it. She clenched her jaw closed to keep it contained. But the control made her unaware of the clone behind her approaching their stalemate. His fist, covered in stone, careened towards her face. Nishira, powerless to stop the assault, braced herself for it. She only felt the first bloom of pain at the base of her neck, and then nothing but darkness.
It appeared to not take very long for her to come to. Nishira found herself lying on something lumpy and hard. Her eyes blinked very slowly as even that motion made everything hurt.
"Don't move your neck. Stay very still."
A stern voice shouted the order at her and Nishira obeyed. As her senses awakened while they worked on her neck, she realized she was lying down, lying on top of someone. Her eyes flicked downwards, spotting an outstretched arm, the bracer at the wrist told her it was Jori. Two medics flanked the pair and Nishira held her breath to try and lessen the overwhelming fire consuming every part of her.
"He's dead."
The medic spoke to someone else, presumably the proctor. It was only then that she realized her arm was still in her opponent's chest cavity. The realization sent her mind in a blind panic. She heard the frantic protests of the medic, but couldn't help the need to flee, to separate herself from her opponent. Nishira landed on her butt on the stone, her arm free from the squelching chest cavity of her dead opponent. In her hand lay the evidence of Jori's destroyed heart. Nishira looked up and spotted the bloodthirsty crowd ravenous at the fine meal she had served. Blood was splattered every where, they had seen their first death in the arena. Tsuchikage hopelessly tried to quiet the audience as Nishira shakily got to her feet and began wandering towards the alcove where her team stood. Toma and Sekawa wrapped her in a group hug as they rushed out to meet her a little way from the entrance. Hibi walking more leisurely behind them.
"That was amazing, Nishi! You did it! We did it!"
Their jovial gestures jarred her clavicle, and she cried out, clutching the wound and trembling. The realization that most of what she'd chosen to do had worked only because of dumb luck. It was reckless, but it seemed to have paid off. And she'd kept her promise to Kakashi not to use that jutsu. The crowd quieted as the proctor came forward to deliver the results.
"Hirabu Jori is the winner of this round."
That elicited a deafening chorus of boos. Toma and Sekawa stiffened and looked to the proctor. Nishira mustered up enough energy to fuel her vocal cords, her voice coming out awfully small.
"Please get me a medic."
Toma took off, as Sekawa held her as they made it all the way to where Nishira could rest. Hibi, her face pinched in disappointment, ordered her sit on the ground, offering her some water which she took gladly in her good hand. She chugged the liquid before flopping onto her back, looking up at the sky to see some clouds floating by. A shadow blocked the bright light emanating from the sun, and Nishira blinked, squinting to make out Kakashi standing above her.
"What happened?"
He shrugged, but it didn't feel dismissive.
"You lost consciousness before he died, which means you lost the match. It's a technicality but I wouldn't feel too bad about it. It's very rare that people make it this far on their first time. Despite the loss, you did a great job out there."
She gave him a weak thumbs up before the medic shinobi came and pressed his hands to her collar bone, a green glowing wrapping the medic's hands. Toma and Sekawa babbled somewhere about where they would go to celebrate their easy victories. Nishira grimaced at the idea that what anything any of them had done today was easy. Toma looked over with a sheepish expression.
"Sorry, Nishira."
Nishira waved the apology away.
"Don't be. Celebrate. You guys did amazing. I'll get it next time."
Having been given permission, Toma exploded in excitement, rubbing his hands together vigorously.
"I wonder who we'll have to fight tomorrow. Maybe you'll fight me!"
Sekawa grimaced at the idea, but Toma was undeterred, jostling Nishira as the medics were still trying to work and finish bandaging her. She looked back to Kakashi.
"Don't worry, Nishira, we'll talk tomorrow morning, after you've rested and celebrated with your team."
Nishira nodded dumbly as Hibi scolded them for thinking of partying.
"This is the time to strategize and get the jump on tomorrow." Her voice was iron clad and had them all agreeing to turn in early, but it was evident to all witnessing this exchange that they would defy those orders. Besides, she thought to herself as she let her eyes close, what harm could one drink do?
