A Promise Kept: Takumi Vs. Hishime.

[Hishime]

It was early in the morning. Dark clouds kept the sunrays from touching the ground. The soil was cold and wet; one could easily slip if being klutzy. Rocks from all different sizes were spread across the large field. It was one of the better places for a fight; a few places to hide, and far away from any people that could get hurt when involved in a battle.

A young woman sat on one of the larger rocks. She stared down on her opponent, her eyes formed in a glare. She had the disadvantage here. This was his territory; he was far more familiar with this area. Not only that, but it seemed like a good night rest was impossible. Dark lines were slightly visible underneath her eyes. The jacket she was wearing was unzipped, revealing a bandaged stomach and a fishnet tank-top. The cold mist was practically gnawing on her skin; it felt that way, at least. But, although the chances of losing were bigger than those of winning, she would still wipe that damned smirk off of his face. ‘Just be sure not to awaken the spirits.’ The female snickered, lips curled into a little grin. This would be a very interesting spar. Two ninja with both a lot of experience in battle and strategy; this wouldn’t be something you’d want to get involved with.

Hishime studied her opponent; memorizing every little part in detail. A weak point would be revealed once the fight had started. He was taller, and male; which meant he would probably be stronger than her. Yes, maybe when it came to muscle, but when it came to speed and playing dirty, she could beat him. The female pushed herself away from the rock by using her legs. She landed on one knee and one foot, eyes directed on the ground. A kunai was drawn when she stood up, her legs spread for balance and her left hand in a loose fist.

“Let’s just get over with this, old man.” The voice she spoke with didn’t sound like it belonged to her; it was different. It was cold and serious. And although she was tired, she was ready for what was about to come next. The battle that was about to start...

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi stood silently in the cold mist. The sky was darkened by clouds, which only made it even colder, and the ground was wet and slick... The silken robes hanging like shadows from him were as dark and dreary as the sky, making the stones that dotted the field seem like as many tombstones... His opponent sat upon one of them, glaring at him.

"Just be sure not to awaken the spirits..."

Visibility was poor, perhaps even worse than usual... Normally the mist was hard to see through, but it felt light... This time, it felt dark, like a thick shadow... Yuki hopped off of the rock and stood with kunai in hand.

"Let's just get over with this, old man."

"Old man?" Takumi thought. "I'm not even twenty yet."

Takumi raised his arms in front of him with his fingertips together, his sleeves draped like a curtain in front of him - a stance that was, for him, both defensive and the prime position to begin using his jutsu from. He held no weapon. His face showed nothing but tranquil calm, and his voice filled his one simple word the same way.

"... Come..."

[Hishime]

The female smirked. She wasn’t familiar with his stance; and it would be fun to learn something new now and then. But, the calm expression on his face wasn’t unknown to her. She had seen it a few times before. Many wise men wore that kind of look. Yes, wisdom. That’s what it reminded her of. And maybe it was true that he was indeed wiser than she had thought when it came to battle. But her own experience wasn’t something to underestimate either.

‘Come.’ The man’s voice was the same as his look; nothing but calm. Hishime didn’t reply to this. She just stared at him; eyes tired and only half opened. The lack of sleep had taken it’s toll on her body. She felt weaker than usual, not only physical, but also mental. And although her muscles were aching, she wouldn’t give up like the little girl she used to be. She was only fifteen, but she was strong for her age. She had to be; she couldn’t have survived if she was weak.

The kunoichi loosened her grip around the kunai’s handle – relaxing her stance as she thought of ways to defeat her opponent. There seemed no way to do that in one shot; he was too experienced. Just only stunning him would be great; it would give her an opportunity to finish this battle quickly. She had never been the kind of person who liked to fight. Hurting people was something she hated, but with the dangerous life that she lived, there was no other choice.

“Bring it on.” Hishime was never the one to start a battle. Unnecessary fights shouldn’t be fought. However, this seemed like a fight that had no chances of avoiding. And they had gotten this far – to fight each other, there was no way back. Even though this fight was supposed to be to ‘test her ability’, as he stated oh-so wisely, her safety was on the line. It was her own fault, of course, that was true, but she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she lost this time. This battle seemed more important than every other battle she had ever fought.

[Kirihara Takumi]

"Bring it on," 'Yuki' said, not taking any actions, apparently waiting for him to make the first move...

So she wanted him to bring the battle to her, did she...? In that case... Takumi's knees bent, ready to leap in any direction, and he quickly made the hand signs for his most-used original jutsu.

"Let's see how she handles this one..." Takumi thought to himself.

"Sea of Silk jutsu." His voice rang clearly through the mist.

[Hishime]

The muscles in her legs tightened as the man bent thought his knees. It was clear that he was preparing himself to launch at her in order to attack her. She was totally ready for him, for any attack that he had up his sleeve. She would defend herself, and stand her ground until the very end. The man formed hand-seals. So he was starting with a jutsu? Too bad. Hishime had wanted to start with a little hand-to-hand combat first. But, it seemed like he had no interests in that.

‘Sea of Silk Jutsu.’ His voice rang thought the air like that of a god. The young girl raised an eyebrow, making it look like she thought he was crazy for starting of with a jutsu right away. And it indeed wasn’t what she had expected, but it did have it’s point. It was his way of an attempt to end the fight quickly, she guessed. And she had to admit, a powerful jutsu was a great was to weaken an opponent as much as possible. She had to be careful, that was for sure. She had no idea of what the jutsu might involve, but she would find out soon enough.

“I see.” The female grinned, eyes amused, but still dead serious. “So, you want to play a little game?”

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi could feel his robes grow heavy as the jutsu took effect. It was his single most versatile jutsu, and was a very good way to both arm and protect himself. Altering his stance with his left hand dividing his face and his right in a fist held at arm's length, he rushed forward to engage his opponent in close combat, keeping his body close to the ground. Making a mental note of the size and position of each rock, he closed in on his opponent and swung his fist at her, his sleeve sweeping along behind it with all the weight and strength of steel. Although the attack itself was powerful enough, it was the sleeve that was the real danger - and its length along with the element of surprise usually made his first strike with it a devastating blow against anyone who would block or dodge his fist but ignore the sleeve. Hopefully it would do the same here.

[Hishime]

The shinobi narrowed her eyes. Nothing seemed to happen. The jutsu didn’t seem to have any effect on the area, nor on her. That could only mean one thing; it had to do with Takumi himself. Yet, nothing seemed suspicious. His stance, his look, his expression – there wasn’t even a small hint of what it could be. Then, as expected, he closed the gap between them with a fast rush. Hishime kept her eyes on him at all time. It would be a very foolish action to let her guard down by looking away from him. But still, the kunoichi didn’t move out of the way. Although she could easily dodge his attack by jumping backwards, that wasn’t what she was planning. She wanted to know what strength he had in those muscles of his.

Her opponent threw a punch at her. He had made a mistake. Now he was within her reach, she had the advantage. The woman caught his hand in mid air, blocking the punch. She had been careful, she hadn’t stopped him by simply grabbing his fist by the front – that would lead to serious damage to her hand and fingers, but by grabbing the sides of his hand. She dug her nails into his skin, keeping his arm in place.

The girl pushed his arm away from her; releasing him immediately as he flew past her. Something strange happened. Suddenly, an incredible pain was felt in her underarm. She gasped, quickly pulling her arm back, holding it close to her body. For a second, her guard was almost broken. She didn’t know what had happened – there seemed to be no way he could have hit her when he practically just flew past her. The only thing that had hit her arm was his sleeve. And silk wasn’t supposed to cause injuries. Wait. That was it. The jutsu had effect on the silk...

Hishime returned to her fighting stance; the fabric of her jacket ripped at her underarm. Pain wasn’t something that was easy to ignore, but if she didn’t, she had basically already lost this battle.

[Kirihara Takumi]

Takumi's right hand stung from the nails that had buried themselves in his flesh, but he was used to ignoring far worse pain than that. He smiled as he continued past his opponent - his sleeve had landed a clean blow on her arm. Placing his hands on the ground to the side, he followed through with a powerful sweep kick from behind, turning his momentum around in a wide arc. Momentum, that was the key to his technique. Momentum was everything, and he had it.

[Hishime]

Hishime glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see a fast kick coming her way. She knew she wouldn’t be able to dodge that, not very easily at least. She only had a split second to think. His foot came closer and closer, and his robe would make the impact even worse. A straight blow on her back wouldn’t do her any good. She would be able feel it for a good two weeks, at the very least. Also, it could be fatal, but that was only a slight chance. In other words – it wasn’t a very pleasant thing.

The girl managed to turn around only half way. She held her already injured arm in front of her in order to protect the rest of her body. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion. It felt like it took a whole minute before his foot finally made contact with her arm. The blow was hard, and painful. But, she didn’t scream. She kept her mouth shut tightly, biting down on her bottom-lip. She had blocked the kick, but in exchange, her arm was even more wounded than before.

The female saw her chance that very moment. She took hold on his ankle, and jammed the kunai into his skin. It was only a small part that wasn’t covered by the robe, and she took her advantage of that. Releasing him, she jumped backwards; flipping in mid-air and landing on safer distance. She kept her injured arm close to the pouch on her hip, ready to draw another weapon if needed. Her right hand was now in a fist, held a few inches from her chest.

[Kirihara Takumi]

A sharp pain shot up Takumi's leg, and he quickly reacted by tumbling away, pulling out the kunai as he went and launching it at his opponent. He'd been careless, and now there was a chance his movement would be impaired. Drawing four heavy kunai from his robes, each tied to a corner of a very large silk sheet, he planted one firmly into the ground, rolling sideways so the distance from his opponent would remain the same and his injury wouldn't come into play, until he reached the next corner and planted its kunai into the ground, finally throwing the remaining kunai over his opponent's head and once again employing his jutsu, this time on the sheet.

"Sea of Silk justu!"

Unless she escaped somehow, his opponent would soon be trapped under what was essentially a large sheet of solid steel.

[Hishime]

Hishime smirked. If no weak point is revealed, why not create it yourself? His left leg was now his weak point, and it came just in time. Running around would be a lot harder for him, and it amused her. While they were both wounded, that battle was starting to become way more interesting. The ninja dodged the flying kunai easily – just simply tilting her head was enough. She kept her eyes on him at all time; watching him as he pushed the kunai into the dirt, and then roll sideward, inserting another kunai. A large sheet was becoming visible, but the mists still made it hard to see everything clearly.

The kunoichi took off, running towards the opposite side of her opponent. The sheet was already right above her, and it was faster than her. The girl brought her hands together, forming five hand-seals. Ram, boar, ox, dog, serpent. She disappeared in a cloud of smoke, replaced by a log that was only a few inches shorter than herself. Both kunai hit the ground, burying their blade in the mud, and closing the gap between the sheet and the soil. The log was underneath it, making it look like he had indeed captured her – while, in fact, she was now right behind him. A kunai was drawn in her left hand, other hand in a tight fist. She threw a powerful punch. A shockwave went through her body as her knuckles made contact with his skull.

“You’re it!” As fast as the shinobi had come into vision, she disappeared again – leaving her opponent behind without giving away any clues of her new location.

[Kirihara Takumi]

"How sad..." Takumi thought to himself. He'd set things up quite well, really, for his master stroke... but he really didn't want to use it. Then again, it would be a shame to waste the opportunity... Decisions, decisions...

"Best to keep my options open," he decided.

Takumi tumbled onto the large, spread-out sheet as though it were a mat, taking blood from his injury and slamming it onto the sheet.

"You can't hide from something that can smell you and that you can't see or hear... Summoning Jutsu: Phantom Wolf!"

"Yeah... like I even have a jutsu like that..."

Takumi took out a long silk scarf and readied himself for what was to come - he was not about to allow her another surprise attack this time. If he was lucky, he might even be able to hold her in place... if he could keep her still for just a few seconds, the battle was as good as over.

[Hishime]

Hishime reappeared behind one of the larger rocks in the battlefield. She held her injured arm pressed against her chest. Blood trailed down, and dripped from her elbow. She tried to suppress her heavy breathing; that could give away her location easily, and that wouldn’t be a good thing. Now, she was finally out of his reach, and safer by that. It give her time to prepare for his next attacks. And although there was only a short time limit, it arrived at the perfect moment.

‘You can’t hide from something that can smell you and that you can’t see or hear.’ Takumi’s voice rang through the mists. That wasn’t true, she could indeed hide from something like that – she had done it before. It wasn’t easy, that much was true, but it was possible. Just what was he planning?

‘Summoning Jutsu: Phantom Wolf!’ A summoning jutsu? So that was it. Now she had to be careful. She didn’t really have, what you call, great experience with summoning techniques. But, everything was going as planned. He was doing exactly what she wanted him to do. He was slowly running out of chakra by using all those jutsu’s, and she still hadn’t used any of her own chakra. Perfect.

[Kirihara Takumi]

"No reaction... that doesn't tell me anything," Takumi thought. "Still... I'm guessing she's biding her time while I squander my chakra... Not as much as she might think, though. Now let's see..."

Drawing out all of his kunai and shuriken, he tied each to the end of a thread, holding the other ends in a cluster in his left hand, and starting to fling them all in every direction. If any were deflected, he'd hear it. If any threads were pulled or cut, he'd feel it. One way or another, he intended to find her.

[Hishime]

Hishime kept her mouth shut, hearing a few barely audible clings of metal. It had to be kunai or shuriken, maybe even both, but it was dangerous and sharp. She was running out of time now, and it wouldn’t take him long to find her if she stayed in place. If that would happen, and he would surely take his chance to attack, she would’ve already lost the battle. And that was something that wasn’t on her list. She had a name to defend, an important name, a name that no other than herself should know.

Then it hit her. Water. The mists were filled with water. A smirk crossed her face. Her clothing was wet, which meant that his’ would be too. The shinobi clapped her hands together, biting her bottom-lip in an attempt to ignore the almost unbearable pain in her left arm. Closing her eyes slightly, she focused her chakra. Then, suddenly, a sharp pain was felt in her right leg. She gasped, eyes wide, but no sound came out of her mouth. Her hand shot at the source of pain, only to feel the sharp blade of the kunai that had buried itself into her skin.

She was in trouble now. This kunai didn’t belong to her, so it had to be Takumi’s. And if this blade had been a clear hit, that meant that he knew her location. She had to get out of there, and as fast as possible. The ninja inhaled deeply, pressing her jaws together before pulling the knife out of her shivering body. Her breathing was heavily, and now audible. Her hands were shaking slightly, trying to suppress the bleeding of her new injury by adding small amounts of pressure on the wound.

In the distance, a bright flash was visible in the sky, soon followed by a loud crack. Her lips curled into a little grin. Although she was interrupted in the middle of her technique, the most important part had still succeeded.