Finals! Kye Takamura vs. Yoshitsune Sojobo

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 an aspiring martial artist utilizing a deadly combination of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu! Let's hear it for Kye Takamura!" 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 another bright-eyed combatant with a need for speed! Yoshitsune Sojobo, everybody!"

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.

Yoshitsune, the speedster of the hour, would enter into the arena. She couldn’t help but smile at her introduction. It seemed that they knew. A need for speed was the perfect way to describe her. She was determined to be the fastest there was. There was a good deal she learned as well from her fight with Tsuki. A functional draw, she was determined to use the lessons she gained there for a full victory now.

For the exams she was dressed perhaps somewhat inappropriately. She would arrive wearing a two-piece swimsuit. It was a deep, royal blue, outlined with white around the edges of the top and the waistband of the bottom. A light, beige overshirt would be worn over the top to keep a bit of her modesty, but from the bottom down she was nothing but legs until her wooden geta. To complete the outfit a baldric would be slung over her shoulder, hanging from her torso with her katana attached at her hip. Her waist would similarly have an attached belt to it that held a stuffed hip pouch. Without this gear it might have been easy to mistake her for just a confused vacationer, but the equipment she wore at the very least gave her profession away. Her hair was a long black, tied back into a loop that ended with a single stream being concentrated down to the left behind her. When tied up like this her hair still reached to her waist, and so it would be easy to imagine that in her natural state it could reach to perhaps to her ankles or mid-calves.

“Kye Takamura?” She rolled the name off her tongue, saying it with a bit of a grin. A Nin-Taijutsu specialist apparently. “This will be fun. I can already feel it..”

The plan organized by the teams allowed them to proceed into the Final Round without as much as a lick of combat. Diplomacy was perhaps one of the deadlier tools in a ninja's arsenal. From here on it'll just be combat. Finally. It seemed most of the exams were actual tests rather than a display of one's skill. He wasn't battle hungry, but he expected to fight at some point and the suspension was making him slowly become impatient. But now he was here. He wore his basic outfit, opting to wear what he always did throughout the exam trials. Kye himself was dressed in a pair of black dress shoes, pants, and blazer. A white collared shirt was worn in addition to a black tie being the completion of his outfit. Around his waist he wore a belt which carried only a single sheathed katana. Kye's navy blue hair swept over his right hair concealing the black eye patch he wore underneath.

The gates lowered as he left his underwork and into the arena. His opponent was a scantly clad woman, for whatever reason. It was springtime in the Land of Water, but not nearly as hot as she was making it out to be. But it had been made abundantly clear that ninja were just eccentric people in general. They had to be extra to stand out. Approaching the center he'd remain ten meters from his opponent waiting for the match to begin.

She looked her opponent up and down as he exited through the gates. A taller male with a sheathed katana at his side. That they both had swords and came from the same village was an interesting turn of fate. Other than that there was little of note regarding the boy. His eyepatch and blue hair were interesting, but he lacked the same visual flair that Yoshitsune did, and many other shinobi were known for. Although, the general outfit and eyepatch he had on did give him a bit of that handsome military man look. She could see it, and was beginning to appreciate it.

She would approach him as they were both let out, and both would stop at a comfortable distance away from each other. Ten meters apart, with the center between the two. From there they would both stop. It wasn’t hesitation, at least not on her part, but curiosity.

“Nice eyepatch.” It came out in a bit of a teasing voice, and she couldn’t help but smile. Fight banter was an important part of this, after all. Especially with their audience. Yoshitsune intended to give them what they wanted while also having a bit of fun herself in the process. “You’re pretty handsome in that military getup, I have to admit. It suits you well. How about after I beat you, I’ll take you out on a date? We could get dinner, and I know a nice spot on one of the local beaches where we could be alone.” It was an incredibly forward proposition, and she couldn’t help but grin while saying it.

Kye was a bit surprised that his opponent took note of his eye patch after their very brief encounter. He didn't really make efforts to conceal it aside from a bit of hair sweeping over his eye. But that wasn't enough for her perceptive eye. He remained unmoved by her remark. Her snide tone combined with her provocative appearance gave Kye a pretty solid judgement of his opponent. Her pre-fight proposal was a bit humorous, Kye keeping a straight face before letting out a short-lived, forced chuckle. "Sure, why not? That is, only if you win. If I win, well, you're going to have to find out. It shouldn't take long." Kye had no intentions on drawing his blade. He mainly carried it for personal insurance in case he would himself against a heavy weapon user. NinTai was his weapon of choice, but he didn't trust his own ability yet to fully rely on it.

With the sound of a bang the match would start between the two. Kye lowered himself and pushed off his feet pursuing Yoshi to get within close range. His incredible speed easily outmatched the girl's current pace and was nearly impossible to keep track of from the spectators. Within an instant he was before his opponent, guard raised with his left arm cocked back. Sending a single straight punch forward his arm turned with the fluid motion of his strike. He aimed at the girl's torso just below her sternum. His speed amplified his attack as he attempted to drive his knuckles into her supple mid-abdomen. The impact would drive Yoshi back a couple meters at least and have the potential to wind her. He expected some retaliation the moment he moved. It was the easiest thing to predict. All ninja who have made it thus far were very experienced.

The Stuff:

UA:

The chuckle he let out was forced. In general it came with stiff body language. He was being polite. She could appreciate it, but at the same time the reaction was clearly not what she was looking for. Unfortunate. That was part of playing the game though, sometimes you won and sometimes you lost. At the same time though it seemed that perhaps she would be able to squeeze something out of him yet.

“Oh?” She let out, drawing the vowel out in response to his reaction to her flirting. “I’ll make sure to hold you to your word, Mister Takamura~”

A bang rang out into the arena. What they were both waiting for. The match began.

She was immediately assaulted by his speed. Just as he lowered himself, pushing off the ground, she would be forming a single hand seal in her left hand. One was all she needed, but before she could jump forward she would be greeted with him turning into a blur. He was fast. As fast as she was, if not faster. Unlike her, he needed no hand seals to reach this sort of speed.

Immediately she changed course. Rather than rushing forward she would rush backwards. Her eyes weren’t well trained enough for her to be comfortable engaging with him in hand to hand combat, especially with his supposed expertise in Nin-Tai. With her experience in the exams she wasn’t comfortable using her sword either, seeing what happened the last time she tried.

In the process of her backwards retreat she would slip a hand to her belt pouch, and three shuriken would be retrieved and quickly thrown towards the approaching assault. They were just a quick attempt at giving her some space now. Her normal strategy had been shaken away from her after seeing that he could match her speed. It was like being defeated in itself, the fact that she wasn’t faster than he was, and already her confidence was shook.

Yoshi’s Stuff:

The first punch attempt would be a fail as Yoshi started to retreat, the amount of space she gained in a heartbeat affirming to Kye his attack would've missed so he conserved energy by not throwing his punch instead. The girl caught him off guard seeming more powerful than he initially assessed. The reached into her hip pouch to retrieve some tools. Something to make him slow down so she could get more space. Likely to utilize some Ninjutsu or other land range options. Kye had the basics when it came to long range so he preferred to stick to what he was good at. But the shuriken would inevitably slow him down. Kye stepped to the side gaining just enough distance from the shuriken to remain unharmed. This resulted in Yoshi gaining a three meter lead before Kye continued towards her. If it's the speed game you want... He thought to himself formulating a quick remedy.

He didn't want to bust out his special weapon, but Yoshi was truly a fast girl. And if he wanted to beat her and win the bet he couldn't experiment. His hands weaved together four hand signs when a gust of wind quaked the area around him. It didn't have any real effect aside from coating his arms with Wind release. This was the activation required for his NinTai style. His hands would raise up again forming the Ram seal, and with that he was granted a necessary speed boost to close the gap between him and Yoshi. Being within ass-licking distance of Yoshi he'd extend both arms outward as a build-up of compressed air would expel from his fists at high speeds (A++) following his punch. They'd combine into a single attack followed by his fists. Yoshi would first deal with getting punch twice in the abdomen before the Wind release followed through, propelling her backwards.

The Stuff:

Her initial retreat was granted with success. She had maintained some space, and the shuriken were enough to further that gap. Yet, for someone who primarily fought as a speedy close ranger swordsman this sort of distance was counterproductive. She had a few ways to attack at long range, but realistically she would never be able to defeat such a quick and powerful enemy like that. It was the fact that he had been able to so casually match her top speed that intimidated her and forced her back like this. An unprofessional response, and the moment of hesitation and faltering only dragged her spirits down further once she realized her mistake.

His hands would weave together, a blur to her, and she would be forced to make a choice.

Rather than draw her sword, Yoshi’s arm would shoot out. A blaring stream of wind would expel out then, starting at her fingertips and extending out to a meter in length. It was an impressively long blade of wind, and from its mere creation a small flurry of wind would explode out from its creation. Enough to create a noticeable visual flair in Yoshi’s appearance, with her hair being pushed around wildly behind her. She would adopt, preparing to fence with it, a blade that was far more reliable than the sword she had attached to her waist. One that couldn’t be knocked out of her grip.

She rushed forward, preparing for an assault. With a quick step she would hopefully be able to leverage the long and pointy end of her blade to give her some distance and an advantage in reach against the male. Rather than any dangerous slashing attacks she regulated herself to quick jabbings, only intended to poke and prod rather than run anyone through.

At least, that was her intent. Kye, in his rush forward, was now even faster than he had been before. She had readied her sword at her side, ready to poke forward, but the new increase in speed had made her respond slower than she needed to.

Two fists would fly into her abdomen, and the wind would be knocked out of her immediately. Muscles would clench immediately and painfully, and Yoshitsune would be thrown backwards by the released air pressure from his attack. It propelled her backwards a meter and a half, to where the girl would fall backwards on her ass. She had nearly caught herself, but not enough to remain on her feet.

Pushed down to her sitting position, Yoshi take a quick gasp for air. Her blade, still maintained, would be pressed out in front of her like a porcupine quill for protection as she climbed again to her knees, and then to her feet again. The place of impact would surely end up having a bruise, but this would be ignored for now.

“You’re fast.” It was all she could get out, staring across the short distance to her opponent.

Yoshi's Stuff:

Kye would almost hesitate for a moment when Yoshi started to form hand signs as a counter to his pursue. It was as he expected. She wanted to capitalize off the time gained by putting shuriken down his path. What would come next worried him the most. He would expect Ninjutsu, though other supplementary technique were an option. He wasn't familiar with the girl's elements, so he braced for anything. Instead of redirecting his approach he decided to commit to his actions. He was at least confident he was incredibly fast. In either case he would strike her before she could execute her attack, or they would trade blows. Kye wasn't built to tank Ninjutsu like that and prepared for the worst, but if he could lay a solid attack on the girl he could potentially end the match there.

Approaching just a few meters from his target he noticed her appearance shift to a blur suggesting some type of environmental change. Kye would feel the effects shortly after as upon entering Yoshi's personal space he would feel several stings across his body. The side of his right calf, the side of his left hip, three on his torso, one on his left upper arm, and one across his cheek on the right side of his face. The attacks were random, but consistent in depth and plentiful. These cuts were merely a byproduct of the actual technique itself displaying the incredible cutting potential Yoshi's technique had.

The cuts were somewhat shallow just making their way into the skin and causing blood to draw, but not powerful enough to lacerate any major muscle groups. The multiple cuts were still a deterrent causing enough pain to force the man to wince and become hesitant in his actions. But with enough willpower he forced through. Both of his attacks landed as planned blowing the back. Kye remained still after delivering his attack, recovering from his own pain instead of a followup, which was the natural order of things. Each cut stung as they pulsated with each heartbeat. His eyes focused on Yoshi's hand. There he saw the phantom blade which was the cause of the area of effect, the small gusts of wind radiating from its presence. This was a serious problem.

Kye's mind went numb trying to think of a solution. Getting close was a great problem with the wind blade being a constant threat. He carried his sword to deal with other swordsmen, but a Wind blade was unblockable. He would be walking into a slaughter. She's too fast for mid-range attacks, and getting too close will put myself at high risk. I need a setup. Not to mention the blade's area of effect would force him to take damage regardless if he tried close range. He needed to stall her with Ninjutsu. Yoshi struggled to get back on both feet, though this was a side effect of the attack itself and not his opponent being low energy. She stated her compliment about his speed and stood at guard with a mere three meters between them. Kye never really saw himself as a speedster. He understood it was essential for his fighting style but he never really strove to be the fastest. It came naturally to him, in part due to his Wind nature.

"Speed isn't everything." He said in return. They were both fast. Very fast. But how far did that get either of them? Kye was cut up and Yoshi pounded like a mochi. One was naturally gifted with speed and the other worked for it. And in the end that only led to clumsy exchanges and a small arsenal when meeting someone evenly matched. The pain in his cuts mellowed out as the throbbing ceased for now. Hands raising together he weaved five hand signs before jumping back ten meters and extending his hands forward. Air compressed between his hands and burst into a massive gust roughly ten meters in diameter. The air was denser having semi-solid properties to it. The wind attack was targeted directly at Yoshi. The fantasy was to have the gust impact her directly and carry her to the edge of the arena where she would forcefully impact the concrete walls for additional damage. But Kye knew better than to assume things always went according to plan.

The Stuff:

Standing again, the situation had turned slightly in her favor once more, or at least towards a more equitable positioning. With her right arm maintaining the Blade of Wind out in front of her, arm stretched forward, she would have him forced at a distance. The cuts that had appeared over his body were a fortunate side effect of the blade’s creation. Her left hand would be free to make hand seals, and thankfully she was skilled enough to create them only using one hand. It was a good set up, together with her speed boosting Swift Release. The only problem was that it would quickly exhaust her, especially if she continued using these sort of high intensity ninjutsu techniques. It didn’t seem like she would have a choice in the matter though.

As much as she wanted to make a snippy comment back to him about what he said Yoshi just had no retort. They had both taken damage, and as she was the slower one here there wasn’t much she could do or say to prove him wrong other than strive to be even faster in the future. Even further making it impossible for her to comment back was his actions. She saw him stream together a hand seal and jump back, shifting gears from his previous mode of attack into something more ranged. Already knowing that his speed was superior meant that she had no reason to charge forward. Even if she was fast she wouldn’t be able to catch him, and definitely not before he finished his technique. She would be forced to respond in the same way.

Just after he first brought his hands together Yoshi would start flashing seals as well with her free hand, although slower than she would normally be capable of if she had been using both. She would weave four signs, taking a deep breath as she did. The chakra would swell up in her gut, and once the seals were completed it would stream out of her mouth, although she would spin up on her heel as she did, exhaling the chakra out in a sharpened expanding sphere of wind blades. Both of their ninjutsu would be released roughly at the same time, although Kye’s a hair ahead of Yoshitsune’s due to the need for her to spin in a circle. The blades she had released though would consist of a great deal more chakra than the stream of air he let loose.

Yoshi’s Stuff:

The technique were both released almost at the same time as they clashed. The Wind technique Yoshi used was far superior in firepower, the blades of wind slicing into the torrent of air Kye sent down her way. He knew he had to retreat or suffer severe injuries from her Wind technique. This pushed back Kye even further. Springing off his feet he'd let the Great Breakthrough do trivial efforts to buffer Yoshi's Vacuum Wave technique. It helped, ever-so-slightly, but he couldn't rely on it to stall the wind blades. With a wave of his arm he'd unleash a powerful gust of wind on his own. The two titans clashed once again, Kye's wind blade only stalling Yoshi's, before it continue through. He got far, but not enough to completely evade the Vacuum Wave. The technique Kye threw at it were unable to stop it completely showing Kye the incredible access to Ninjutsu his opponent had. He'd land at the border of twenty-five meters from Yoshi as his arms instinctively raised up.

A gust of wind followed a grievous injury. A single blade of Wind sliced from his arms, which covered his face, down to his abdomen. He was just a couple centimeters short of safety. The Wind blade easily sliced into his flesh and even nicking his forearm bone just marginally. This cut was like that of a swordsman following through and down his body. His body froze in shock, body trembling as it failed to register the pain suffered. Shallow or not, the technique was powerful. A direct hit would've easily sliced clean through him. Kye remained petrified, arms still guarding his face as he fought to move. He felt his blood run down his arms and body. His bones ached and the wound pulsated with growing pain. His breath shuttered. He could still breathe. That was good.

His guard lowered to have a visual of his opponent again. His indecisiveness was to blame. Not committing to any form of attack allowed his opponent to prepare and counter attack. Fortunately for him his wounds were all shallow. The blood loss would be minor and the wounds would coagulate over time. But he was beyond 'fine' for this battle. He needed a miracle or be whited out. Her technique covers a dome around her... trying to get close now would be suicide... Taking the opportunity to gain some space he skipped back several meters in rapid succession. Forty meters back and he was back in the center. Dropping to one knee he raised both hands together forming the specialize Shadow Clone hand sign. From either side of him were two puffs of smoke, and standing tall were two copies of himself. He needed some help.

The Stuff:

As her spinning came to a stop Yoshi would slowly steady herself, resting back down on her feat. The settling came with a certain pain in her stomach, soreness that shot out across the agitated spin in spurts. She hadn’t noticed it while spinning due to the adrenaline that came with her sudden need to defend herself, but now that her mind settled again and her senses returned to her the twisting of her core only served to inflame the bruised skin around her stomach. It would cause her to cringe, even as she was standing still once more. Even though he had only hit her once, albeit with both fists at the same time, it was an injury that would make agile movements more difficult. Her normal strategy of outspeeding opponents in close combat was even less of an option than normal. She was left with only her long range ninjutsu, which would only serve to further exhaust her.

Steady on her feet again she would be able to assess the situation once more. It seemed that he had been able to avoid her wind attack, although just barely. A bit of it, just one of the blades, had slashed him down as if he had taken a blade from a swordsman stroked down across his body. It was grievous and unfortunate. Now she was more than even when it came to the injuries they’ve traded.

“This is pointless.” She found herself saying it as she reassessed the situation. It was just the same as with Tsuki. Even as he made his shadow clones, Yoshi felt the need to make the offer. “I didn’t come here to kill or cripple another Kumogakure shinobi. Especially not for the entertainment of foreigners. There’s no reason for us to forget who our true allies are during this little game we’re playing.”

“Let’s cut this down before either of us gets even more hurt than we already are. How about a deal? Agree to that little date I suggested earlier, and I’ll call it quits here.”