Finals! Rini Nakamura vs. Kitsuki Kurahasa

The Final Exam tournament took place in a large arena, one-hundred and fifty meters long and seventy-five meters in width taking the shape of a giant oval. The bleachers were saturated with spectators, from regular civilians to a lot of VIP spectators consisting of land owners, officials from the Land of Water/Lightning/Fire, and exceptionally wealthy individuals. They were all invested in seeing the best of the best perform from each nation.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to The Arena! Today we have a special match between two combatants! On the south end of the arena we have Rini Nakamura. Charismatic and charming, but a true natural born, undisputed genius!" An uproar of applause would quake from the audience before the announcer began to speak, the audience uproar dying down. "And on the north end of the arena we have Kitsuki Kurahasa! Noble and a taste for high-class, she is as sharp as she is deadly!"

And it was in this moment both combatants would be allowed to begin as the gates to their end of the arena would be lowered.

Kitsuki took a few deep breaths while waiting in the tunnel. She had made it to the final round of the Chuunin Exams. Normally, she wouldn't really have much to prove from this point on but she knew that as a student of the WASP, she couldn't afford to think small. She had to win this thing. It was expected of her. Kitsuki considered her opponent and what she knew about Rini. The girl was not able bodied which meant that would need to rely on her brain as opposed to anything else. The girl mentioned she was good with puppetry and engineering but based on how she was cleaning her flute, Kit surmised that she must also be good at Genjutsu as well. Being an expert in the instrument, she knew that some shinobi used it to put others in an illusion and given that it'd be silly of Rini to play for fun while in the survival rounds she assumed it was part of the girl's arsenal. Kit vowed to keep this in mind as she walked out of the tunnel. She had all of her previously purchased shinobi effects on her person except for her cane which she kept in the aether of time via the Angelic Return technique. She would be able to recall it to her at anytime but for now she wanted her hands free.

Kitsuki walked out into the arena and decided she had something to say to Rini. She sent Zizz over to communicate a quick messge.

ⵢoⵓ'ⵔⴻ ⵜⵀⴻ ⵙⵎⴰⵔⵜⴻⵙⵜ ⴽⵓⵏoⵉⵛⵀⵉ ⵉ'ⵠⴻ ⴻⵠⴻⵔ ⵎⴻⵜ ⵙo ⵉ'ⵎ ⵏoⵜ ⴳoⵉⵏⴳ ⵜo ⵡⴰⵙⵜⴻ ⴰⵏⵢⵜⵉⵎⴻ ⵡⵉⵜⵀ pⵍⴻⴰⵙⴰⵏⵜⵔⵉⴻⵙ. ⵉⵜ'ⴷ oⵏⵍⵢ ⴳⵉⵠⴻ ⵢoⵓ ⴰⵏ opⴻⵏⵉⵏⴳ....ⴱⵓⵜ ⵉ ⵡⵉⵍⵍ ⵙⴰⵢ ⵜⵀⵉⵙ....ⵉⴼ ⵢoⵓ ⵓⵙⴻ ⵜⵀⴰⵜ ⴼⵍⵓⵜⴻ ⴰⴳⴰⵉⵏⵙⵜ ⵎⴻ ⵉ'ⵎ ⴳoⵉⵏⴳ ⵜo ⴱⵔⴻⴰⴽ ⵉⵜ. ⵎⵓⵙⵉⵛ ⵉⵙ ⴼoⵔ ⴰⵔⵜ ⵏoⵜ ⵡⴰⵔ.

Translation: You're the smartest kunoichi i've ever met so i'm not going to waste anytime with pleasantries. It'd only give you an opening....but i will say this....if you use that flute against me i'm going to break it. music is for art not war.

With that Kit settled into a combat stance and waited for the match to begin.

Rini was pushed onto the field, using her puppet strings to maneuver the combat puppet she had had with her during the survival portion of the exams. The thing moved rather smoothly, walking like a normal person, despite looking like an animated statue. pushing her chair from behind.

Rini's eyes peered around the arena, taking in the size and distance of the arena. A quick calculation let her know where her ranges would fall for most of her jutsu. Some covered the entire thing, some didn't, but she could easily get herself positioned so that she wouldn't need to move that much, ideally. Zizz flew over while the puppet was pushing her, and delivered a message, or rather a threat.

"ⵉⴼ ⵢoⵓ ⴱⵔⴻⴰⴽ ⵉⵜ, ⵉ'ⵍⵍ ⴱⵔⴻⴰⴽ ⵢoⵓ. " Rini's response was instant, directed to Kitsuki, rather than to Zizz, although she would have to be the go between. A threat to her property wasn't taken lightly. The girl was wheelchair bound as always, so she didn't really have much in the way of an offensive arsenal. Her puppet was all she had for the most part, while genjutsu was supplementary for the most part. Threatening to break her flute was uncalled for. It was a tool, much the same as Kit's cane was. Not that it mattered, Rini had genjutsu that didn't require the flute. She just enjoyed playing it and saw the benefit to being able to chain genjutsu with it as well.

For her part, Rini offered Kitsuki an out. "You don't have as much to prove as I do. I'm a girl in a wheelchair. Everyone expects you to beat me. There's no harm in bowing out and letting me continue. It wouldn't hurt your reputation. You're strong, I can tell. You have all the advantages, you have Zizz. I don't. I've got my mind, and I've got my designs. But losing to me in a fight wouldn't be good for your career."

The puppet moved from behind Rini's wheelchair, keeping himself between the girls so that Kitsuki couldn't just attack Rini. There was no mistake. A single shot to the girl in the wheelchair, and she'd be out of the fight. Rather than take her into the middle, which would have been 75 meters deep with a little over 35 meters on either side of her, she instead only went in 45 meters deep, keeping herself 30 meters from the middle. That let her keep her puppet in range for quite a while.

Her ranged were figured out pretty well. 60 meters from her she could move the puppet, meaning she could get it out to 105 meters deep, and it had a decent range on some of its weaponry, giving her an effectively 135 meters range. She could potentially push Kitsuki more or less back to her entrance

Rini was prepared for a fight though, unsure that she'd be able to successfully talk Kitsuki down from the fight, and watched her opponent warily. She let herself tap into her chakra storage, and pulled deep from her wells. If she didn't need to fight now, then she could just let it go back to normal, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Her hands rested on her lap, occasionally her fingers twitching so that she could pilot the puppet, but she more or less left them there. Rini's flute actually was in between her legs, within easy grabbing range, but also out of sight. "It's fine, we can fight normally though. There's not much I can do if I don't have my puppet. He's the biggest threat I have. If you take it out, then I more or less have to quit, I can't fight you myself."

Of course, taking down the puppet was a different story. The thing was quite equipped for combat. Although, this was a good test for Rini. This was her first combat with her newest design, which meant this was a play test of its strengths and weaknesses. She'd be able to get some field knowledge regardless of the outcome.

If Kitsuki refused to bow out, Rini would understand, and her heart would start to race as she was ready as for the fight as she could be. The puppet moved forward from Rini's location, to start itself out at the 70 meter mark. It made no aggressive movements, and stood at attention as it arrived. "Ready when you are." The puppet would shift into a defensive stance all its own, mimicking Kitsuki's stance in a mocking fashion.

Rini had been letting her chakra leak out around the area, although unless Kitsuki was a sensor, she'd be unable to see it. As the puppet had wheeled her, it had leaked out at a speed of B, infecting their surroundings and filling the air for 100 meters. Rini actually focused it in front of her, 95 meters towards Kitsuki's side, with 5 meters actually being affected behind her so that she could hide herself in case of certain scenarios.

For now, everything would appear the same while the technique set in. She was comfortably sure that she could keep Kit from realizing it was a genjutsu unless the girl was a sensor of some sort, and that would come into play at some point.

-
-1 Puppet String Tech
-5 Activated Untapped Reserves UA
-5 False Surrounding Technique

Stamina: 99/110

UA: Untapped Reserves: Rini has a hidden reserve of chakra within her that she doesn't honestly utilize. Most people passively use their chakra to enhance their physical skills like speed, strength, or durability, allowing them to do things that are considered super human at a base level, but Rini doesn't. Instead, she keeps that chakra stored away, to be used for other things that suit her a little bit more. When she needs to, she can access it and boost her stamina by 1 tier. Freebie UA

Jutsu used:

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Items:

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Puppet used:

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Stats:

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Puppet's Stats:

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Rini was wheeled out to the arena via her puppet. It appeared her disability was not an act or a ruse. Kit had briefly considered that possibility after she had left the second portion, but as time went on she decided that it didn't quite "fit". Now that Rini was showing up to the battle in her wheelchair, Kit's hunch was proven correct. Immobility was her curse to bear and yet she bore it without complaint or fear. This girl was deadset on being a kunoichi regardless of her handicap. The determination and willpower that she showed by virtue of competing made Kit respect her even more. When Zizz returned with Rini's defiant message, Kit could only nod in understanding. They'd have to agree to disagree on that point and she wouldn't fault Rini for defending her arsenal. That being said, Kitsuki had her own code to uphold and she would not break it just because the girl had a hard time getting around. That flute had a purpose and Kitsuki would not permit it to be abused.

Kitsuki listened to Rini's plea. The crowd was so loud, it was hard to hear the details but she got the general gist of it. As she had in the jungle, she made a solid case for Kit bowing out here and now. It was fairly logical and hard to dispute. If Kitsuki forfeited now on the grounds that it wasn't a fair fight or out of protest against being matched against such a weak opponent, her prestige, that of her family, and her school's would be left intact. Yet if she lost, she'd be the laughing stock of Kirigakure and the world. The genin who lost to a girl in a wheelchair. It'd be hard to come back from that kind of defeat.

Unless...

Kitsuki considered a logical axiom of her own.

I'm one of the strongest genin here.....I don't think I am...I know I am! If she can beat me then she can get all the way to the final round...and if she can do that then there is no shame or dishonor in losing to her. I respect her but I do not fear her. Nice try Rini Nakamura but you won't be able to talk your way out of this one.

Rather than verbally reject her contention, Kitsuki let her body language do the talking. The fighting stance she had taken and the sharp determination in her eyes would tell Rini precisely what Kitsuki thought of her rubbish offer.

The puppet moved out from behind her and took a position between the two competitors. All Kitsuki had to do was destroy that thing and send it straight to the scrap heap. She'd rather destroy the puppet and force Rini to quit as opposed to hurting a disabled girl.

Rini had indicated that she was ready and the moment she did, Kitsuki would make a handseal. Shadow Clone Jutsu! Two duplicates of herself would spawn. One to her left and the other to her right. The clones wouldn't waste a second before dashing towards Rini. One heading for the right flank and the other the left. It appeared as though she had only brought one puppet to play with. Using clones would give Kitsuki the ability to test out the puppet's capabilities without risking her own well being. They were sent out as feelers as she didn't expect them to have much success. Kitsuki could learn a lot from their failure though.

Each clone wielded a kunai in their right and left hand. They kept their center of gravity low and they continued running, marching into the Genjutsu affected area and heading straight for the girl in the wheelchair. Once they'd crossed over beyond the halfway point and were within reasonable throwing distance, they'd each fling a kunai at Rini. They aimed for the girl's legs. Presumably, she didn't have much feeling in that area so if they did hit home there was little risk of severe damage. A successful strike might even convince her that Kitsuki was serious and that if she didn't give up she could be badly hurt. Regardless of whether the kunai were successful, the clones would continue to run towards her and check her in close quarters once they got there. Each clone would hold a kunai to her throat. It was an unlikely outcome but a fair start to the match.


Kitsuki's Stamina: 36.66
Clone's Stamina: Same

Techniques Used:

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Kitsuki's Stats:

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Clones: Same

Rini positioned herself 10 meters further forward than she was going to when placing herself originally, given that Kitsuki gave no indication of moving herself forward, and she needed to keep the girl in her range. She was determined to get Kitsuki stuck in her genjutsu range, while still having a little bit of overage on herself for this to work the way she needed it to. The adjustments on her ranges were calculated, and it meant her puppet could affect almost the entire field at one point or another by itself if Rini never moved from her spot, but she knew she would end up moving at some point. Her strategy was unlikely to succeed otherwise.

Given that, she activated her false surroundings technique 10 meters farther than it was originally going to be placed. However, the time it took to set in was a bit later than Rini would have liked on that one. She was 55 meters in at that point, and 95 meters of its range was in front of her, with 5 behind her still as a buffer zone, but the entirety of Kitsuki's side of the field would be in its full effective zone.

Kitsuki didn't take up her offer, as evidenced by her creation of the clones. Rini hadn't quite been expecting her to accept it, but she still felt a little disappointed. Thus ended her continuance of non violence so far.

One of the better things about being a puppeteer was the knowledge that the puppet strings could operate mechanisms and potentially move extremely heavy objects. For her purposes, the wheelchair would suffice on that. With her level of coordination, Rini was more than capable of actually wielding more than one puppet, and while the wheelchair wasn't exactly a puppet, she could at the very least move it a bit. It wasn't the most stable, but a small twist of both ends of her wheelchair would get her legs out of the line of fire well enough.

Smart enough to plan out vectors, it didn't matter that the speed of the throws were quite impressive, betraying the pure strength that Kitsuki had as well, since all Rini had to react to was the point of the attack and where it would land. That was child's play to someone like her, and she wasn't outclassed by Kitsuki's reaction timing. If anything, they were fairly even, which was slightly problematic at the moment. Kitsuki should have aimed for Rini's center of mass though. She'd have had to work harder to dodge then.

She didn't really move, more or less spinning slightly in place, otherwise fine with where she was. Rini shot an annoyed look as the kunai slid past her legs, ticked that Kitsuki had decided to attack her outright. Taking a hit wasn't really something she could do at the moment, and hadn't had the money to build a mobile defense platform for her to operate out of yet. Otherwise it'd be different.

It was time for the big moves. Rini used her well practiced Nimble Fingers technique, a vital technique for any puppet user, allowing her to speed up her own reactions, as well as the puppet's. The puppet aimed one hand with the water slicer and launched a thin spray of pressurized water slicing through the air at gut level to try and bisect the clone on that side, while aiming the flamethrower at the other, and unleashing a torrent of fire at the second. Both the flamethrower and the pressurized water had the same range of 30 effective meters, giving Kitsuki an idea on its ranged capabilities. Still, the girl was definitely a close quarters fighter, and the puppet was a weapons platform that could keep people at a mid range.


The head of the puppet remained facing towards Kitsuki but did not react just yet. Whether it hit or not was a different story. In the end, it didn't particularly matter to Rini, as her plans were still going to go into effect soon enough.

Rini kept a wary eye on the clones, assuming she didn't pop them with her initial attack. "Don't worry about me. Deal with the puppet." she grumbled, mostly to herself.

-
-1 Puppet Strings
-2 Nimble Fingers
-6 False Surroundings Activation (Turn 1/2 since I had to move its activation up a bit)
Stamina: 96/110

New Jutsu Used (look above for upkept ones):

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Items and Puppet are the same

Stats:

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Puppet's Stats:

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Kitsuki's eyes narrowed as Rini wheeled her chair further and further out. The WASP graduate hadn't budged from her starting position and yet the disabled girl was the one to move closer. She had to have known that getting closer to Kitsuki would be dangerous and yet she did so anyways. Kit knew that Rini was far too smart to leave such things to chance. She had a strategy in mind and it required her being a certain distance from her opponent. Unfortunately, Kit wasn't as well attuned to angles and distances as her enemy. The precise measurements of their distance was lost on her as well as its applicability with respect to specific Genjutsu such as False Surroundings. She noted the strategic choice and kept her focus on the clones.

The kunai missed as she expected. Kit only smirked in response to Rini's disapproving glare. There was no way that she was going to go easy on the girl just because she was handicapped. To do so would be to disrespect and underestimate her opponent. The puppet sprang into defensive action and fired a stream of fire and pressurized water. By this time the clones were only 30 meters away putting them within veritable striking distance of the young girl. Both clones acrobatically somersaulted over the respective attacks, avoiding them entirely. As they did so, they threw the remaining kunai that each held. However, this time they enfused a bit of Wind chakra into the projectiles. Utilizing the Verdant Mountain Gale technique, they guided the projectiles straight to Rini's stomach. It was in the dead-center of her mass making it far harder to dodge. Of course, even if she did dodge, the clones would skillfully manipulate the kunai so that it bobbed, weaved, and would eventually strike their target. Kitsuki was confident that even though Rini was weak, she would not die from such an attack. The nurses and doctors on standby would be able to save her before she went into critical condition. But just to be on the safe side, Kitsuki's clones would use the technique to puncture rather than skewer Rini's body. If the attack struck and it appeared as though she could not handle it, the wound would be superficial rather than lethal. The moment the clones landed back on their feet they flickered through seals of their own and continued their journey towards Rini. What they had planned next would hopefully bring this match to a definitive conclusion.


Kitsuki's Stamina: 36.66
Clone's Stamina: 33.66

Techniques Used:

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Kitsuki's Stats:

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Clones: Same

Kitsuki showed off her well talented physical capabilities, deftly avoiding Rini's counter attacks from the puppet. However, they had taken their eyes off of Rini by pulling off that little maneuver, and during that time, she'd formed the dog and tiger seals, rather sure that they would target her once again. She only needed to buy herself a little bit of time. By the time that the clones had completed the flip and launched their Kunai, there would be 10 additional Rini's spread out in the range of her technique. They all scattered, wheeling in different directions, attempting to confuse the clones' senses for a moment, enough that she could cut off sight completely.

Likely unhit by the kunai, even with the Verdant Mountain Gale technique being able to guide the kunai, Rini counted on the momentary time she'd bought herself with the distraction. And her genjutsu would have been fully cooked at that point. From the perspective of everyone in the area of her genjutsu, the False Surroundings Technique would summon up a massive maze in the arena.

With the view of the clones and Rini cut off from Kitsuki or her clones, they'd be unable to direct the kunai with the Verdant Mountain Gale effectively, which would save her from further chasing. The maze would close over, the entire thing appearing to be happening at B++ speeds, and it would encompass 100 meters upwards. If Kitsuki didn't have a way to illuminate the darkness, she'd believe herself to be in total darkness, although any source of light manifested from her would illuminate the illusion in a realistic way. Rini was sure to make it as real as she could so as to eliminate her knowing it was a genjutsu. That had its benefits, but it had its drawbacks as well.

The benefits were obvious, but the drawbacks less so. In order to remain realistic, she had to obey the universal laws in her weaving of the illusion. Namely, light and sound had to act naturally in the realm of the maze. Rini was sure that Kitsuki might try to brute force her way through the walls, but they'd have appeared pretty thick, so she probably wouldn't.

And from there, it was all a matter of patience. Kitsuki would spend some time in the illusion trying to figure out the maze, which wouldn't help her that much, even if she could see. Rini had determined that the walls occasionally shifting would make a lot of sense, since it would change the paths even if Kitsuki was able to keep a mental map in her head. And now:

Rini would carefully navigate herself and her puppet away from Kitsuki's clones, but towards the actual Kitsuki. She still wasn't sure that she could take on Kitsuki, but the environment would give her the advantage. And with her clones separated from her, she'd be disadvantaged. 1 on 1 scenario was much more important on this, and she could send in the puppet to take on Kitsuki in the corridors of the maze.

Rini maneuvered the puppet through the maze, ignoring walls for it, and it appeared to phase through them. Since Kitsuki would be surrounded by darkness, or if not, seeing just walls of a maze, while Rini could easily see through her own illusion, Rini used that to her advantage. The puppet posted up and opened its mouth, launching 10 senbon at Kitsuki's head, neck, and torso from behind a wall. The distance was about 5 meters, but if Kitsuki couldn't see through the wall, it wouldn't matter. They would move at their top speeds, and aim to get some damage out.

Rini herself was still about 45 meters away from Kitsuki at that point, working on moving herself closer, but she was hugging the wall of the arena more than anything else, and had taken some time to distance herself from the clones, letting her position herself away from any fast retaliations, or aoe's if they tried to bust down the 'walls' of her illusion. To her credit, the walls would appear to be pretty weak and easy enough to bust through, although sight still wouldn't be necessarily a given, and the matter of the maze and shifting walls was still an issue. Suffice it to say, finding Rini in the maze would be a fruitless endeavor.

-

-1 Puppet String
-3 Haze Clones
Nimble Fingers: 2/5
-3 False Surrounding's Upkeep

89/110

New Jutsu:

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Everything else is the same

Gotcha!

It was child's play for the clones to avoid the counter-attack and with their skillful manipulation of the kunai, victory was all but assured. Unfortunately, it was never that easy. Rini countered with a sea of Haze clones which in of themselves wouldn't be problematic if not for what followed afterwards. Kit's clones adjusted the kunai maneuvering them in mid air to skewer the slow moving Rini clones. They weren't sure which was which, but if they could run through each one they were sure to find her eventually. But before the clones could execute their plan, Rini summoned a massive wall from underground. The illusory structures shrouded their target and made it impossible to aim correctly. The clones backed up as the walls reached high into the heavens, it obscured and dimmed their vision until they were surrounded in complete and utter darkness.

The real Kitsuki soon joined them as the large maze walls erupted from the ground near her. In moments, she was blanketed in total darkness. The girl was a bit startled and confused. Rini had never shown a proficiency with Earth Release before, but at the same time this couldn't be Genjutsu. She hadn't played her flute nor had she really immobilized or harmed Kit.

What is this?!

The tables had radically turned. Kit and her clones could not see, but from what she had gathered, Rini had summoned some sort of maze. She could hear the slow hydraulics of the labyrinth as it shifted around her. She took a few steps forward, then a few more.

Zizz..
ⵉ'ⵎ ⵀⴻⵔⴻ ⴽⵉⵜⵙⵓⴽⵉ...

She wasn't afraid, she just needed some reassurance. Her body instinctually reacted to the unfamiliar surroundings naturally steeling itself for any attacks on her person. Years of grueling training at the WASP had turned her into an astute warrior. Rather than letting intimidation and weakness consume her, she was filled with determination. Kitsuki took a few tentative steps forward when she heard a sudden whizz coming in from behind her. She was still taking in her new surroundings when she felt a few sharp punctures into her neck, back, and torso. "Gah!" she let out an involuntarily gasp as the puppet's projectiles struck home. The needles stung. But ultimately, they didn't harm or hurt her in any significant fashion. Kitsuki had been training long and hard for the Chuunin Exams. She had memorized her older sister's routine and had followed it to a T. She was petite and small, nowhere near as muscular as Katsumi but that was a blessing in disguise. Many underestimated just how tough she was.  Her body was a paragon of physical defense and if Rini wanted to damage her, she'd need to rock with something a bit more impressive.

The needles fell to the ground. They didn't even have sufficient force to stick into her skin. Kitsuki realized that by speaking aloud, she had alerted Rini to her position. Although something told her that the genius would not have executed such a maneuver if she didn't already have a means of tracking her opponent. It was only logical that Rini was a sensor or had some other means of tracking that she had not shared with the Alliance in the second portion of the exams. Smart move.... Kit noted the direction that the senbon had come from and formed a few handseals in preparation for what came next.

"You're going to need a lot more firepower than that to take me down!"

There was no use pretending that she was hurt. Rini would see through that. Instead, Kit resolved to utilize some unorthodox tricks of her own to put the match back in her favor. Perhaps if Rini was flustered at how ineffective her attack had been then maybe she'd lose confidence in herself and make a mistake. For her part, Kit remained alert and wary of her surroundings despite the darkness. The clones remained active, stumbling around while they maintained their manipulation of the kunai they had thrown. The weapons were guided upwards and then held at the maximum range allowed by the jutsu. She'd need them for her inevitable counter-attack.

Used:
Kitsuki's Stamina: 31.66
Clone's Stamina: 32.66

Techniques Used:

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Kitsuki's Stats:

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Clones: Same

The trap had been sprung. Rini's genjutsu took hold, and Kitsuki had no answer to it. The probe of the puppet had been bait, seeing if Kitsuki was even capable of reacting to it, and initial suggestions led her to the answer that she was not. That meant that Kitsuki was no sensor, which removed the capability for her to figure out the genjutsu through that means. While she was able to weave a very vivid and convincing genjutsu, any sensor could tell what it was easily, and that was just a hard counter to those tactics for her. It was just bad luck that Kitsuki had been matched up against Rini so early.

With no indication of sight being available to the Kiri-nin, Rini moved herself forward, closing the distance between herself and the real Kitsuki. The clones could still be a problem, but they were currently suffering from the same issue as the real Kitsuki: Lack of sight and information on Rini's whereabouts. This made things very easy for Rini. Of course, nothing was assured. There was the very real possibility that something could go wrong, and Rini wasn't about to let her guard down.

Given that the illusion had no hold on Rini herself, she was able to see that the clones had their kunais floating up in the air. Perhaps ready to try and give a response for if Rini revealed herself. The safe bet would appear to be to take out the clones first, but that would also give away her location, and Kitsuki could send out more clones at that point. Rini immediately knew better than that. But taking on Kitsuki would give her opponent an indication of her location, and thus a target.

The puppet was equipped to take out Kitsuki if she could land an attack, but given that the needles didn't have the stopping power to do so, and that its other gear was roughly equal power, she couldn't quite give a sucker punch to knock out the genin like she'd need to. Of course, she could use the flamethrower and enhance its strength, but that's a light source that would give away the puppet's location, so she needed to guarantee that Kitsuki couldn't dodge the attack and counter on her own.

All of this amounted to a basic truth: Kitsuki was a skilled opponent to be sure. Just the type of kunoichi that Rini had entered the exams to face off against in the first place. A top class athlete versus a girl who used a wheelchair to move around in. Some would call it a mismatch, but the two of them knew better. Rini could tell that Kitsuki held her in a high regard, having proven she's capable of being here. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Rini. Rini had to win this fight, to prove it to herself. She'd already begun formulating plans for what she could improve in the future.

Rini grabbed her flute and moved herself forward, closer to Kitsuki, knowing the sounds of the maze were too loud for her own wheelchair's treads to be followed. The shifting of the walls in the distance, combined with the echoing in the corridors were a perfect mask for herself, although she needn't worry about that considering most people hadn't had a fine sensed attunement with their other senses to function completely in the dark. Losing senses was debilitating to all but the highest of caliber of shinobi, or sensory types, and even then, it was still difficult if that wasn't trained to the utmost degree.

She crossed her threshold. 30 meters was where she needed to be, and she let herself wheel forward a little longer, while she put the instrument to her lips. A note rang out clearly, infused with her chakra. The Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains would activate, and Rini would continue playing the music. With the speed of her jutsu, it would be unlikely that Kitsuki would be able to get herself out of the range, as hearing the note was the trigger. Both Rini and Kitsuki would be unable to move during the duration of the jutsu, but due to the nature of her genjutsu, the sound would be rebounding throughout the maze as well for the clones, who would still have to figure out how to navigate through it in the dark, as well as pinpoint where it would come from. To put it lightly: Kitsuki was in a bad situation.

Of course, Rini was fine manipulating her puppet, using the movements of her fingers on the flute to continue to manipulate the strings connected to the thing, channeling her chakra through the strings and letting the puppet do the rest. The chain in its arm would lash out and wrap the immobile Kitsuki, and Rini would have the puppet move forward with and pick her up. With her wrapped, it would pick her up in a bear grasp, holding its flamethrower hand to her chin, and the other hand firmly on the chain. If she was caught, it was a clear indication for her to give up. Immobilized, and very little chance to free herself without taking damage, this would be the indication of a lost fight.

Of course, if Kitsuki somehow managed to stay out of Rini's 30 meter range, Rini would wait until she got Kitsuki into her range to activate the technique in the first place, keeping her plan more or less secret. It wouldn't do to start playing until that moment. If she was immobilized by the jutsu, Rini would drop the False Surroudings Technique when the puppet got her captured and secured, letting the clones see the situation, the puppet shifting closer to Rini, ending at 10 meters away, but they wouldn't be able to get her before the puppet attacked, should they try and move. The catch 22. They could attack Rini, but the real Kitsuki would be injured in the process before they could get Rini herself.

All Kitsuki would need to do would be to call the match, and even if she wasn't able to speak, the clones could do it for her, or the proctor could call the match for them. Assuming everything went according to plan, Rini had won. Prolonged exposure to the Demonic Flute would cancel the clones out anyhow with the psychological damage inflicted on Kitsuki, who, judging by her inability to see through Rini's illusion, wasn't mentally durable enough to take the damage, regardless of how strong or durable she was physically.

Kitsuki had admonished Rini's use of the flute as a weapon, but to Rini, it was more than just a tool of art. It was a survival aspect for her. Something she relied on to keep herself sane and relaxed, but also safe and secure. It was more than just a weapon to her. Her music, her creations, her mind. They were the essence of life and existence for her. They were proof that she was a kunoichi to be admired. A kunoichi to be praised. A kunoichi to be feared. Weak physically though she was, she was a danger to even the best trained out there.

-

-10 Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains
-3 False Surroundings Upkeep
Nimble fingers: 3/5
-1 Puppet Strings

Stamina: 75/110

New Jutsu:

Spoiler:

Everything else is the same

Kitsuki couldn't hear as Rini approached her in the darkness, but she did expect another attack soon. The second she finished making the handseals, she charged forward. The girl moved in the opposite direction of the puppet, thereby putting more distance between her and Rini. She ran at her top speed, disregarding the maze and intending to smash through it via Arhat Fist. Given Kitsuki's speed in relation to that of her still distant opponent, she would escape the range of the Phantom Flute Chains technique. Holding the technique she had prepared, Kitsuki threw her shoulder forwards. The maze walls appeared to be thick but given her superhuman strength she was confident that she could crash through it with minimal injury to herself. Here we go! Kit lurched forward and...passed through the wall? Kit ended up on the other side of the holographic structure and then went through another. She had expected to knock them down sending debris everywhere, but it quickly became clear that the walls were just an illusion.

That means!

Everything clicked into place. The maze was just a distraction. A method to keep Kitsuki unsure of where her opponent was while she moved in for the kill with her puppet or flute. Kitsuki immediately activated the Fifth Harmonic. Its execution occurring well before Rini could get in range. If Rini truly did not have Earth Release and was instead relying on Genjutsu (which was precisely what Kitsuki expected in the first place) then it was only logical that she'd want to seal the deal with a long range sound-based illusion. Kitsuki knew very little about the finer details of Genjutsu but she was a master musician which meant she understood its theoretical application better than most. She swirled wind release chakra all along her body creating a protective current that would filter and distort any music played by Rini. She kept running as she did this, re-doing the handsigns for the jutsu that she had prepared earlier.

Kit didn't really have a method to release the maze at the present moment. She knew she was in a Genjutsu but she did not know how to end it without hurting herself, which would only make dealing with the puppet more difficult. For now she'd keep running until she came up with a plan. Rini had her on the defensive but not for long. Eventually, the girl would need to give chase or make an offensive maneuver and once she did, Kit would be ready to counter-attack. All she needed was for Rini to reveal her location.

"Over hereeeeeeeeeeee!" she shouted to her clones. There was strength in numbers and Kitsuki guessed that if this was Rini's illusion then she'd have no trouble seeing through it.

Given their identical personality, the clones had tried the same idea. They had attempted to use Shoulder Charge to crash through the walls of the maze in a straight line. They quickly discovered the reality of the maze and immediately recalled their kunai to them via Verdant Gale. Blinded but undeterred by the holographic mazes, the clones moved forward. Each permitted their kunai to hover above their heads while they held the other kunai was held in their right hand. Their left hands would make a set of handsigns. Once the handsigns were completed, their eyes shone with a golden light. In that instant, their perception of time would be shifted. They'd see things before they came into view, they'd feel the ground before their foot hit it, hear movements before they occurred. The time manipulation was subtle and arguably indistinguishable from ordinary reality. But it was there and it did have an impact. The clones would better be able to track and analyze their surroundings as they moved through the darkness. What was once a fatal handicap was now a moderate hindrance. They knew the walls could not stop them and they could begin to gleam details regarding direction. That when combined with Kitsuki's scream allowed them to cover her from behind as they ran in her general direction. They activated the Fifth Harmonic as they ran knowing like Kit did that if this was an illusion then Rini's proficiency with the flute was likely to follow such a major diversion.


Used:
Kitsuki's Stamina: 27.66
Clone's Stamina: 22.66

Techniques Used:

Spoiler:

Kitsuki's Stats:

Spoiler:

Clones:

Spoiler:

Kitsuki wasn't about to wait around, and tunneled her way through the illusion, causing Rini to frown. It had messed up her plans somewhat, but she didn't particularly mind. It gave her a key piece of information, one that she hadn't known before, which was why she hadn't just done a different plan from the start: Kitsuki didn't know how to Kai out of the genjutsu. Even further, she activated some technique, a fuuton technique to filter sound away from her likely. The way Kitsuki's hair moved was not how it should if there wasn't wind forming a continuous barrier to block out sound. Why the girl had prepared a jutsu like that, she didn't know. Genjutsu was far from popular, not many people had the talent for it, and few people learned it past the basic academy level, but Rini would chalk it up to coincidence. She doubted Kitsuki had actually come across anyone who used sound genjutsu, but maybe she had a teacher who knew the applications of it.

The flute was far from Rini's only weapon though, and far from her best genjutsu. Kitsuki had realized the maze was an illusion, but hadn't broken out of it, which meant that she couldn't. Of course, damaging herself would snap her out of the illusion, but she wasn't willing to do so. Or maybe she couldn't cause herself that much damage? Rini's needles had bounced off of her, so she had a tough hide at the very least. Damaging herself sufficiently may be difficult.

Rini knew what to do to win now. Kitsuki had unwittingly revealed it. Tucking her flute into her hoodie pocket, she had the puppet run over to herself and pick her up, placing her on its back. She needed the mobility to avoid Kitsuki while maintaining the maze. Leaving her wheelchair abandoned where she had been, the puppet began its movement with Rini riding piggy back style. Now it was simply a game of cat and mouse.

Rini formed another hand seal, this one being the Tiger hand seal. Restricting the range of the jutsu to only fit inside the arena, so as not to put anyone else to sleep, Rini activated the Temple of Nirvana genjutsu, and feathers began to fall. Then she opened the top of the maze, so that light would begin to shine inside of it. A single glimpse of a feather would begin to put Kitsuki and her clones to sleep, the AOE genjutsu affecting the entire arena. There was no escape from it here. Knowing it was around wouldn't help. In order to know Rini was using another genjutsu, she'd have been caught in it already.

From there, it would be simple keep away. The roof was left off, a continuous down pour of feathers cascading. Rini would maintain the jutsu, keeping it up. She doubted that Kitsuki would be able to figure out she shouldn't look at the feathers, at least not before she'd already looked at them. It was natural to look up towards a shift in light, one of the reasons she'd activated the Temple of Nirvana before removing the roof of her illusion. Besides that, Kitsuki was obviously not a genjutsu practitioner. Her knowledge of genjutsu was limited, very limited. Figuring out Rini's genjutsu usage wasn't easy. And her perception likely wasn't high enough to match Rini's intelligence either. By the time she figured out the genjutsu, she'd be done in.

A glimpse would do her opponent in. And if Kitsuki somehow had avoided seeing the feathers, then lack of sight was still prevalent. Even more so, nullifying any sight she had to absolute zero as well. The thing was, fighting back without sight was too difficult for most people to do. Even jounin calibur people would struggle to do so. Kitsuki was no Jounin. She was no sensor. Her perceptive abilities weren't anything extraordinary, baseline. She didn't have the capabilities she needed to win this fight. Rini would be able to catch her out with the puppet fairly easily. Especially maintaining Temple of Nirvana. Once she caught Kitsuki, it was just a time game.

But for now, she just decided to hang back. Let the Temple of Nirvana do its trick. Hopefully win this in the next few seconds, and finally move on. Kitsuki was a tough challenge physically, but Rini was phenomenal in her own rights. Strategy could win even a hopeless fight. The puppet maintained a decent distance from the clones and Kitsuki. They weren't following paths, certainly, having realized the walls were illusions, but that didn't mean they could locate Rini. If their eyes were closed, they couldn't see her, and with wind up over their ears, hearing her wasn't likely to be super easy either, especially among the cranking and shifting of the maze walls. If their eyes weren't closed, they'd fall asleep from the genjutsu soon, and that was all the same to Rini. In short: The match was more or less over. Rini would be able to keep away from the clones fairly easily, keeping a good 20 meters distance bare minimum, although making sure that she was still keeping track of the original Kitsuki. That one was the key to it all. She just needed to know if Kitsuki had fallen for it.

-
+10 Not having used Flute Jutsu last round
-15 Temple of Nirvana
-3 False Surroundings upkeep
-1 Puppet Strings upkeep
Nimble Fingers 4/5

New Jutsu:

Spoiler:

Everything else is the same

OOC: Given Nyg's declaration of intent to Store his characters, following recent events, claiming victory.

Rini's plan had gone off without a hitch. Kitsuki hadn't stood a chance of finding Rini in the maze, nor escaping her genjutsu. She must have tired herself out with the use of her shadow clones, because she fell asleep earlier than Rini would have expected, but she wasn't faking. Her jutsu had cancelled, the clones poofed, and the kunai fell from the skies. Rini lowered the False Surroundings, cancelling out most of her jutsu, (minus the puppet strings tech) and the puppet moved closer to Kitsuki, picking up a kunai as it passed one of the discarded weapons.

Rini's puppet put the kunai to Kitsuki's throat, and Rini looked to the proctor. "Game, set, match." With the loss confirmed, and nothing Kitsuki could do, there was no other option. The proctor, who wasn't Akihiro like it was supposed to be, nodded. He waited a couple of seconds to make sure that this wasn't a ploy by Kitsuki, but it would be clear that the match was over.

"Kitsuki Kurahasa is unable to continue the match. Rini Nakamura is the winner." The crowd went wild. The girl in the wheelchair hadn't been projected to win. It was an upset to say the least.

Rini had already been directing herself back to her wheelchair, and the puppet placed her gently into it, before rolling her out of the arena. She hadn't revealed all of her tricks just yet, and was thrilled she still had some under wraps.

-
Exit thread

OOC: Don't mind me just tying up loose ends.

Kitsuki knew her opponent was somewhere within the maze but she had no clue as to where. The girl and her clones searched high and low for her opponent becoming increasingly panicked that not only could Rini not be seen, but there were no attacks against them either. The fact that Rini had laid off with her puppet was concerning. Kitsuki stumbled around in the darkness of the ever changing maze, racking her brain for ideas on how to escape the situation. She could injure herself but she'd need to muster up enough force that it could cripple her for the rest of this round and the next. Kitsuki figured that she didn't really have much to worry about as there was no imminent danger from the low level puppet or wheelchair bound girl, that was until she saw the feathers. The way they danced slowly across her village made her suspect it was an illusion but by the time she fully comprehended the strangeness of her presence she was already falling unconscious.

No...No...Not now... she muttered as she swayed back and forth I can't lose now...Mom, Dad, Kat, Master Sukimori, Emiki-chan...they are all counting on me to do them proud. I c-can-

Unable to string together another thought, Kitsuki lost consciousness. She fell down into a deep slumber. The match was indeed a major upset. Few had been expecting an able bodied girl to lose to a kunoichi in a wheelchair, but nevertheless, the Kumo-Nin had proven that wits alone could carry the day if one planned carefully enough. Kitsuki's run in the Chuunin Exams ended there. It was a stinging defeat but when she arose, she'd ultimately be thankful for the experience. It taught her that the most unlikely of opponents can pack the greatest of wallops.