Licking Wounds

She sneered. Walking out into the forest defeated like this was like licking her wounds. Even though she had remained uninjured throughout the entire thing, and their opponents were the ones who undoubtedly came away in a worse situation, it was a still a defeat. Being defeated so easily, but just mere children, wasn’t a good sign for her. Even if she was just a genin herself, losing against other genin just meant she wasn’t ready to progress to become a Chunin. She needed to become stronger. It needed to happen as quickly as possible too. The longer she stayed here the longer she was vulnerable. There could be another Otsutuki in this village as far as she knew. There could be another one in the exams. She wasn’t safe here.

“Wait here.” She would call out to her partner, glancing over to Andariel, who had been leading the pair through the forests. There was a bit of a tone in her voice, obviously displeased, but it was only her own self-loathing leaking out.

There was something she could try. It had no guarantee of working, but here would be the place to do it if at all. When she had a partner with her to back her up. With that new summon of hers, plus with them all alone out here…

She needed to blow off some steam. This would be the best chance for her to get some revenge, and maybe get an easy out with another relic if she was lucky.

“I’m going to do something stupid. I need to blow off some steam.” She sighed. It was difficult to explain. “Prepare to fight.” Hopefully she would just accept what was being said without much of a fuss over it. She owed Andariel a lot already. Ikomiki couldn’t help but now be a little fond of the girl.

Closing her eyes, Ikomiki’s Rin’negan would flash out behind closed lids. She made the call, reaching out to summon him. If she was lucky, he would consent to it and allow her to pull him all the way to her current location, a few feet in front of her.

[Attempting to Summon Shinsui: -4 Chakra]

And reappeared someone else, laying on his back, nearly completely naked, and paralyzed from the neck down. Although he might willingly trade his headache for the ability to move and have all his mobility back. His head was killing him, but luckily, the radio transmitter he had been given was in his ear and it was a design that allowed one to activate via a simple burst of chakra as well as physically touching the transmitter. That way, if someone was in an emergency situation and didn't have their arms, they could still call for help, and if they were out of chakra, they could still activate it with their hands physically. It was quite a useful little piece of technology.

The moment he arrived where he was, he would look around as best he could, he couldn't move, he couldn't even function properly, but he could turn his head a bit. He saw Ikomiki immediately. "Oh, Ikomiki, was that call yours?" He would ask confused for a moment before coughing a bit. "Be careful." He'd say, meeting her eyes and not looking away for a moment. "I-Think there's Jinchuriki in these exams. My partner overheard the team that did this to me discussing it, then when I caught them between a rock and a hard place one, a dark haired girl in a black and red skirt, went crazy. Her body formed some dark, malevolent chakra cloak with a tail. I couldn't see her underneath it. A massive explosion radiated out from her and tore up a huge chunk of the area. The team was a pink haired girl and the girl I described previously, from Kumo." He would say, warning a fellow Konoha nin, even if they didn't exactly get along.

"I need to call for medical assistance. I can't move in any way except for my head." He would say, already channeling chakra into his ear piece to call for aid. The moment he felt the connection go live he would speak. "This is Shinsui of Konoha, Team I, I require medical assistance. I've been paralyzed from the neck down, and I'm losing consciousness due to what I assume is blood loss..I'm..so very tired." He would say, before nodding off into blissful unawareness.

She stared down at him. This wasn't exactly what she expected. He appeared on the ground, nearly naked. It was a … strange sight, especially with his injuries. She would just stare, eyes wide and peering down into the ground where he laid. It was definitely a surprise. Having expected a standing Shinsui to beat on, this gave her pause. She wouldn’t jump on him just yet. At the very least his state of undress seemed to imply that he didn’t have the relic on him. With his eyes moving around she would freeze, a moment taking here where fear coursed through her veins. He wouldn’t move though. Not a muscle. And then he would begin to speak.

…

She waited until he said the word ‘medical assistance', and then she would flash a variety of hand seals as fast as possible, rushing towards him. Her hair would flash out, moving as fast as it could to scoop around him from beneath, and then wrapping the male’s body in a massive cocoon. From there her hair, originally a soft case of protection, would crush him. Individual stands would flow into his every orifice- Eyes, nose, and mouth. It would all squeeze as tight as it possibly could, aiming to either crush him with its strength or tear him apart, and the spikes attached would do their best to pierce him through. The neck especially would be aimed for, at least to suffocate him if necessary. She would be sure to kill him, doing whatever she thought was necessary until his body stopped moving.

With the hold on him with her hair, Ikomiki rush to him. Placing her hand on him through the cocoon, she would establish a hold on him against his head, her hand sinking through until she could grab a fistful of his hair. Her chakra would flow into his scalp, further restraining him if necessary.

Iko’s Stuff:

Her movements after he said medical assistance would draw a surprised widening of the eyes as his instincts took him and he activated the chakra pulse to turn on the radio. He didn't know how long he'd have until she chose to do something sensible like take the radio away. So the moment the line crackled to life, which occurred as Ikomiki was just finishing her first seal, he'd say a single word. "Help." He would say, knowing he wouldn't have much time to speak. The word was short, and portrayed his predicament well enough. He needed to be picked up, he needed a proctor. It would take the cat girl time to do enough damage to kill him regardless, so now that the call was out, he had a legitimate chance of survival.

'If I do survive this, I'm going to tear her spine out and jump rope with it. With the tail's vertebrae it should be long enough.' He would think as the traitor finished her third seal. The bitch would be moving forward, her hair now moving to scoop him up into a sort of cocoon, the radio would be pulled out and crushed. Which was arguably the first smart thing she'd done since he appeared. The pressure of the technique would be annoying, but nothing he couldn't handle for a while. The attempts to pierce his neck with hair was laughable. The increased durability and strength of her hair wouldn't give it anymore real piercing power than normal, but crushing him would be possible given time to continue the pressure. Like a block of concrete against steady pressure his bones would theoretically crack and shatter. However that wouldn't be possible after just starting. Besides his paralysis and a few minor burns, he was physically fine. His issue was with the fact that he couldn't move. Otherwise he could kill the stupid bitch.

If able, he'd maintain eye contact, with her. Mentally screaming at her in rage, he wanted to kill her, but he couldn't move. At their previous engagement she had talked about respecting strength. But what strength was there in attacking someone who couldn't defend themselves? She talked about hating humans as if they were some kind of inferior species, and if he didn't have hair of all things in his mouth he'd spit in her face at the hypocrisy. She didn't respect 'strength' it was a load of garbage she spat while looking for someone or something she could actually manage on her own. She was pathetic, a coward, and if he could only move, he could crush her without breaking a sweat, just like the first time they'd met. But no, like a coward, she attacked when he was move unable to defend himself. Despite what he'd thought before, if he'd know this sad excuse for a shinobi was on the other end of the summon and wanting to kill him. He'd probably have never accepted the summon.

Stuff and Arguments:

Just posting to say that I believe the argument of the head set being destroyed ceases to exist after he posted confirming it's existence when he stated he would remove it and crush it.

The head set was never mentioned anywhere else in either the fight with the twins and Miyu or the topic he was summoned out of.

This argument is based on being told by Akihiro that if I had contended the paralysis when it occurred, I wouldn't be. But since I did not contend it and effectively confirmed it by acknowledging it in my post, I can do nothing about it. Chigetsu did not contend the usage of the radio in the earlier post here and even confirmed it's existence with the following one.

Therefore, I argue the headset is not only still in existence, but is still in fact fully functional. That's the only clarifying point I wanted to add, my apologies for the inconvenience.

If you notice, I did not mention it in my post or acknowledge it. I did in the original posting, but roughly three or four hours ago I noticed this, realized the blasts that you had been through, and deleted it from my post. This all long before my post was locked in by you posting again.

RULING

With respect to the first question: Is Shinsui able to activate the headset with a simple pulse of chakra?

No. Shinsui's attempt to activate the headset with a pulse of chakra is invalid and therefore void. The headset mentioned in the Chuunin Exams rules does not state that the radio headsets have this ability and we cannot read this ability into what would ordinarily be a regular standard issue radio headset. To do this, would open the possibility for people claiming that the radio headsets also track health, vitals, location, and other things all based on the supposition that "that's what a smart exam coordinator would do". That's not logical and would lead to people inventing all sorts of unique properties to average objects on the grounds that "it wasn't specified".

Additionally, I have confirmed Xur intended it to be a regular standard issue headset. Because he is the proctor of the exams I will weigh his opinion heavily.

While I agree it is an IC mistake for the Exam coordinators to issue radio headsets in an exam where people might become paralyzed or too injured to use it regularly, that's just an IC mistake on their part. If a Kage found out they might chastize Kiri for not organizing the exams properly but that's an IC issue. It is not grounds to make up abilities where there is no indication that those abilities exist.

In any event, it would be destroyed as Ikomiki rightfully argued. He edited his post before you posted to remove his error of acknowledging it as the rules allow him to do.

With respect to the second question: Do 'eyes' in regards to the above post, where Ikomiki is attempting to utilize her hair with two jutsu, powered up by a third, possess constitution as well when it comes to damage?

Yes. Thus Shinsui's post in this regard is valid. I won't spend too much time on this because Ikomiki seems to agree on this question but this is not the first time this situation has come up. In Alkaid v. Satomi, there was a simple scenario where someone's eyes and brain were perforated. Normally its odd for us to imagine sensitive and squishy body parts like eye balls being as dense as the rest of one's physical form...but S-Rank Constitution is the pinnacle of super-human capability on Gladius. So yes one's eyes would be S-Rank Con for the purpose of taking damage just like the rest of their body.


With respect to the third question: Do those hair techniques actually generate sharp edges on site?

Yes. Therefore Ikomiki's use is valid. While I agree with your philosophy that the bare fact that something is canon should not be used to argue for its inclusion to the site...that's only in cases where what is displayed is broken or wouldn't fit on the site's systems. That doesn't appear to be the case here and I see no reason as to why this technique can't produce spikes. The technique is straight from canon and canonical usage can be used to supplement our understanding of how techniques work.

Relevant Parties have 48 hours to post or request an appeal.

Ikomiki would continue to do as she had, using her hair to stab and squeeze this man as much as she could. It would require the continued formation of chakra, and for that it would need her to occasionally reform hand seals in order for her technique to continually be active and at full power. It was almost frustrating how difficult he was to kill, and for that she had a bit of begrudging respect for him, but more strongly she couldn’t help but feel fear. If he was this hard to kill who was it that paralyzed him, and how? It was like trying to squeeze a block of concrete, and even if she couldn’t really feel through her hair, she could still feel the tension indirectly through both her chakra and tightness in each strand. She continued her assault, determined to not relent until he was killed.

Iko’s Stuff:

[48 houring Shinsui for the kill strike]

Her hair would reach him before he could get out much more than another word. Not that she had much reason to worry. As it turned out, radios needed hands to activate and switch on, and couldn’t be simply controlled with fluxuations of chakra, but Ikomiki had no idea that this was the case. Her haste in making sure he couldn’t call for help was misplaced, but ultimately she would get her pay off regardless. The strength of her hair, crushing and turning into spikes that dug into him as it wrapped him in a silken cocoon, was more than enough. Even if he had chosen to speak, the hair would dig into his mouth and throat and nose, preventing any movement of oxygen into the boy’s body.

In a sense, this was a mercy kill. With him being paralyzed out here there was no doubt that it was the end of his career as a shinobi. This was just how the laws of nature operated. The strong ate the weak. It was why he had been able to break her ribs before and mangled her until she fell unconscious, and it was the same reason now why she was able to do this. For just a moment, it was a reversal in strength. Now he was weak and she was strong.

The earpiece would be ripped from his ear as well with her hair, crushed into non-existence. She would reach him shortly afterwards, but the placement of her hand onto his scalp would be completely unnecessary. He was already paralyzed, but at the same time she was just being overly paranoid about this all. It was better to be safe than sorry. He couldn’t struggle though, so it was difficult for her to realize when he was dead, especially with how strong his body was.

Once it seemed safe, she would peel her hair back, and carefully look into his eyes. Her hand would reach down to check for a pulse. Assuming he was dead, Ikomiki would retract her hair. If not, the crushing would continue, especially if he showed any signs of breathing or any sort of resistance.

Even after she had eliminated him, the sense of satisfaction that she had wanted to take from it wouldn’t be present. There were bigger worries. What he said, if true, was impossible to ignore. Slowly she would stand up, pulling away from his body.

“Sorry. This was an old debt I had to repay.” She would sigh. This was inconvenient. Reaching down into her belt pouch, Ikomiki would pull out her wallet. The entire contents of it would be dumped to the ground, ryo bills fluttering out.

“Knowing that there are Jinchuuriki running around though… I can’t. I can’t stay any longer. I’m too weak. I don’t want to die here. I’m sorry, Andariel. If they’re from Kumo too… I assume you must know who they are. I’m sure they’d grant you mercy, but I can’t take that risk.”

The ryo was a peace offering. An apology.

Her eyes would flash again, and this time she would try to summon someone else. Assuming he answered her call, she would have some explaining to do.

“There’s a Jinchuuriki in the exams.” She would say to Akihiro, assuming that he answered her summoning. “From Kumogakure. They did this to him. He was a Konoha shinobi.” She would point down to Shinsui’s corpse, mangled now. “I don’t want them to kill me too. I need a quick escort out of here, please. I’m giving up now before things get out of hand.”

“There’s a lot more I can explain to you later…” She would reach down, taking ahold of Shinsui’s corpse for safekeeping. It would be slung over her shoulder, and she winced as she made those movements. There was still a powerful pain in her core. “I just need to get out of here as soon as possible though. Sorry about this, Andariel. I hope you understand.”

Iko’s Stuff:

Andariel witnessed the butchering of Shinsui with a titled head and a subtle coo. What was Ikomiki's relationship with this man? Why was he naked? There were many questions she had, but remembering the exam rules this was an unbridled killing that was not tolerated. It was an execution, as they called it, but as far as Andariel was concerned nobody knew of his death but the two who stood before him. The cat girl dumped all of her catbux on the floor. Andariel took the hint as some form of compensation for Ikomiki cowering out of the exam leaving Andariel by herself for the survivals. The Oni was fairly confident and was not going to bow as easy. Being hunted her entirely life hardened her nerves and gave her a sense of perpetual doom. She was numb to the threat of death.

Dropping to her knees she shoveled the dirty ryo into her satchel. The money was good for better armor. Regular steel was efficient, but it just didn't cut it. She needed better tools and armor. "Hmm. Well I do hope you return home safely." Andariel said as a form of goodbye before leaving. She was still very confused, but there was little she needed to do at that point. Her chance of survival shrunk drastically but that didn't mean she was going to give up. She had to try.

[Exit]

She watched as Andariel scooped up the ryo she had deposited and left. It was a shame. While their first day together had been unsuccessful it was altogether pleasant. She couldn’t have asked for a better partner for a mission like this. It was unfortunate they didn’t get the chance to secure a success on the first day. If they had, Ikomiki wouldn’t have felt as guilty about leaving her alone, as she would at least have two relics in that case and would have been more likely to be able to escape successfully.

Ikomiki was weak though. In her current state she might have honestly just been a burden to Andariel. That she came into this situation injured didn’t help at all. The chains around her neck just became heavier. She had too much to hide. The addition of Bijuu here just made it worse. Ikomiki didn’t want to die.

If Andariel made it out of this alive Ikomiki would consider checking up on her before the exams concluded in whole. They were from different villages, so this very well could be the last time they ever saw each other. While they had only really known each other for a day, and so Ikomiki couldn’t call her a friend, she was the only person that Ikomiki had met that she hadn’t hated so far throughout these exams, and so that counted for something.

Akihiro had been wandering around the market browsing for Kirigakure no Sato's special wares when he felt a sort of call. He could not exactly tell who was calling him or where it came from, but he felt it. A new sensation which he had never experienced before. At first, this feeling worried the Uchiha. He felt like, should he accept the calling, this could be dangerous since he did not know who or what was calling him. But the feeling grew stronger and stronger by the minute and he ended up reaching a point where he was forced to give it an answer. Either he accepted this request or gave it a hard no, but the choice of stalling it any further was fading away rather quickly. So Akihiro made a single hand-seal and activated his Sharingan as well as the sensory technique. He was going in, but he was going in prepared. With a poof of smoke, he vanished from the market.


And with a puff of smoke he appeared at the Chuunin Exam grounds. What he found was rather surprising. It was the cat girl, Ikomiki. She was the one who called him her through some kind of mysterious jutsu- one which would bump her right up in the top list of interesting people Akihiro had met. Who would have known the girl was hiding this sort of power? He would certainly wish to speak to her about this later. But right now it seemed he did not have much time at all to deal with the situation. His gaze would rest upon Ikomiki's facial expression as she attempted to explain what had happened to the boy who was now a corpse. "Lies." Akihiro's sharingan immediately picked on the micro-expressions Iko made when she spoke about a Bijuu doing this to the lad. But it wasn't a flat out lie...it was a mix. Akihiro could only conclude there was indeed a jinchuuriki somewhere in the exams, and that Shinsui's death wasn't being properly explained by the cat girl.

But the cat girl had for some reason decided to call upon him. He was technically under no obligation to help her- this was an exam after all and people did die here. But the girl's power had him curious and more than that the entire way she spoke and moved and even her tail made her...well, odd. And Akihiro sympathized with odd people. He wanted to know more, so for now he decided to play along with her. Checking his sensory range, Akihiro realized there was no one within it except for Iko and some other human who seemed to be walking away. "Very well, I'll help you. So long as you don't panic. Remember, don't panic."

He would take out one of the medium scrolls he had recently purchased and place it above the corpse on Iko's shoulder. He would then make a set of handseals and the corpse would suddenly be sucked into a Fuuinjutsu he had very quickly drawn on it resorting to chakra ink. Afterwards he would take the scroll and place his hand on Ikomiki's shoulder. Within that instant, the two of them would vanish.


Sharingan active as well as Sensory
Used "It's almost Harvesting Season!"
Used FTG
[Exit]

Don’t panic. That was easy for him to say. She couldn’t help but feel those sort of emotions. Her first fight had gone sour. She learned there was a jinchuuriki in the exams, who was angry and capable of doing this all. There was the fact she just likely got away with murder. She abandoned her partner and left Andariel to fend for herself. It was a powerful series of events. Fear. Exhilaration. Guilt. It was exciting and terrifying, and she was panicking a little bit. She could feel the beat of her heart inside her chest, and almost hear it. There was still  a stiffness in her chest. The sudden breaths she was taking now had agitated her already present wounds again. That he was here now, and seemed willing to help her, was a relief. Her explanation to him as he appeared had been hurried, panicked, and now she could breathe easy again.

She wouldn’t move as he placed the scroll on her shoulder, although the weight being taken off it would immediately make her more comfortable. There was almost the slightest amount of protest in her mind. It was her kill, so she wanted it. Even if she had no use for the body other than… doing that to it, there was some animalistic part of her that wanted to fight over having it stolen from her. She had no reason to do this other than her instincts, and so the idea would be suppressed back quickly into the animal part of her brain.

His hand would replace where the corpse had been, and he was much less heavy than Shinsui was. She had no idea what was going on. Even if she was vaguely aware of this man’s reputation as being ‘strong’, she didn’t know any of the specifics. It would only be an instant after that and she would disappear, teleported along with him.

[Exit -> ???]