As the sun died the day's death and set to sleep, bleeding orange across the horizon this pool of blood lit the lone assassin sat without coat or mask upon the ledge-marked marshland upon the outskirts of Kirigakue like a forge of the gods. Sat cross-legged Ryota let the wind kiss away the warmth accrued in his flesh and bones, a deep core within his meditative state preserving his final lines of defense against the chill-reaping ribbons wrapping about his skin and threading their way downwind to seek out further prey. It was a matter of perception without sight. Persevering, straining his senses Ryota reached out for a world without sight and to know it just as well as all the gifts eyes could give.

As moments elapsed into minutes, a calm was reached and the feeling of warmth recorded in his mind to add to the symphony of feeling marking the transition to deep-rooted focus, his special method of composure as such. Freezing the compound memory made patchwork yet beautiful within the waters of the mind and the mists of the subconscious reaction held it tight in their nurturing bosom, slowing the decay of time. Heaving a steady, lengthy sigh the studious novice watched along the true outer reaches of the city beyond his jurisdiction and pondered the wealth of knowledge beyond it. As pale fingers rose to finger and itch at an old surgical scar seated in the nook of his elbow absent-mindedly the wanna-be swordsman contemplated the fact he was missing a true blade to fight with. This would have to be his first recourse, as was decided. Training could persist but without the proper tools, battle might never be won. Releasing the silvery tissue from probing, neatly cut nails Ryota rose gently and daintily to his full height with a creak and groan of his ankles through to his shoulders, rolling his neck and arms in wide circles with much popping as stiffness faded.

Breathing deep the calm was preserved amongst these almost-marshlands. The layer of sweat accrued earlier through sturdy physical persistence had blown cold and mostly departed from his skin, a tut resigning to the foul smell provided by the world of fitness and fighting. Couldn't his captors have worked this feature out too? Mused the Yuurei as he tugged at sweat stained patches of his jumpsuit. Yielding a shrug, he turned to face the road home with hands upon hips, a final heave of his chest with a longing for just that bit more from the day. Perhaps a jog? No. As he mulled over the options, Ryota watched over the lands from his ledge, nary a meter above cool water.

[457]

Maigo sighed as he walked across the river bank. The river's flow was soothing and the perfect place for Maigo to clear his mind. He walked towards a bend in the river where the current was fastest, being the epitomy of a controlled chaos. It inspired Maigo, one of the places where the river would flow strongest and yet the river would stay perfectly in control and within the boundaries of the river. Maigo had come to the river to train, he was going to practice his jutsu, meditate a little, and try to come up with some more jutsu if he could. He wished that he had a sword he had several good ideas for training his style and skills but that would have to wait until he could afford his sword. For now, he wanted to work on clearing his mind and working on placing enemies into his genjutsu, allowing him to create the utmost advantage in battle against any enemy of any rank.

Maigo walked a few meters away from the edge of the river, frist he worked on training his physical stats, he started with some basic push ups, sit ups, and then swimming a bit. He unwrapped the bandages on his stomach and hands showing some nasty scars that he had grown up with, he removed his jacket and his pouch but left it at the shore side as he entered the water. The water was cool, almost uncomfortably cool, and as Maigo finished up his little workout he went back to his stuff and began to dry. He re-attached his stuff as he began to meditate a bit, walking up to lean against a tree and stay in the shade from the setting sun. The treeline was a bit away from the river but he could still hear the flow of the water, perfect for calming the nerves and helping relax and clear his mind. He sat down in under the tree with his legs crossed and put his hands together in his lap, he closed his eyes and looked slightly downwards, to an outsider it might seem that he was sleeping and he might even have dosed off for a second, this mind focusing nonsense wasn't really Maigo's style but he needed to do everything to prepare and train himself that he could do, no matter how horrible it seemed to him.

Maigo's head shot up, he had enough of this relaxing/meditating crap and wanted to go continue to train his body. He began to stand up from his tree and noticed someone else on the ledge near the river, he was a bit a ways down and maybe wouldn't notice Maigo since he was off in what would be the corner of his vision. He looked like he had been working hard, sweat patched his clothing and his hands on his hips, the road out near him, Maigo debated approaching him. Maybe he was a strong ninja who could help him train, Maigo was brand new and needed all the help he can get, but to just approach someone he didn't know? What if he was an enemy ninja who would try to kill him on sight? So many scenarios ran through Maigo's head that it seemed like he was beginning to spin. In the meantime he walked aimlessly up the ledge and down the road towards this guy, by the time he snapped out of his mental panic he was nearly upon the stranger. He was approaching from behind his left shoulder now, taking a weird angle since he wasn't paying attention he now headed straight towards him. Anxiety taking over, he wanted to say something before he realized he was walking behind him, if he didn't it might look like he was sneaking up on him and that could lead to him fighting a battle he might not be ready for. With a few more steps he cleared his throat and spoke, It's a beautiful scene isn't it? Maigo instantly hated what he said immediately after it left his lips. He continued and tried to rebound his somewhat awkward introduction, So, I'm Maigo, what brings you out here so late? Maybe if he was lucky he could get a little more training in before night fell upon them and maybe this stranger could help him out with that. Maybe a test of their physical skills, a simple sparring match, or maybe (in the worst case scenario) he tries to kill Maigo on the spot. Oh well, the risk had been taken, now it would be time to see what this stranger would do.

[787 words]

The dull sounds of footsteps to his rear caught Ryota's attention, piercing the breeze. Lacking any distinct sound when he himself tread the world and it's many paths so as such all seemed comparitively magnified when it came to aural reception. As the sound drew him to turn about as the words left the stranger's mouth with a look of mild confusion crowned with furrowed brow upon his face, hands held vigil on his hips with no sign of offensive stance. In truth, the thought of striking an approached had barely occured to him, within reason any Genin should be safe this close to the city given how bustling it had been lately. The words commenting on the scenery brought a sense of warmth and pride to his heart. Still being relatively new to the city and it's sights Ryota had been given little time for the scenes to grow stale against his eyes and mind, ever enjoying the subtle variations in colours as they flowed across a muted stone and water landscape. Looking out across the lands a smile burgeoned from his once trouble expression as it softened, looking back to this dark haired man and offering him a smile in agreement.

"It most certainly is!" Came quite an upbeat if not somewhat meek post-training answer. Inclining his head respectfully at the introduction the assassin wasted no small measure of time in answering. "Ryota. It's a pleasure to meet you, Maigo." A very formal, dignified response in his mind considering the meeting was quite casual and besides that - this gentlemen seemed to be about his own age and thus as he would expect his own level of skill. Attending to his question the Yuurei offered, "I was training mind and body, heart and soul as such." With a gesture to the river the pale boy continued, "This is one of my favoured spots to try and work out the kinks in my movements both physical and mental. Luck given it seems the sunlight is running away quite quickly though." Was he rambling? The smile grew a touch awkward at the thought for a second before banishing it. What would it matter? A perso nwas entitled to their thoughts out in the world, a pleasant thing the ex-experiment still had the final steps of adjusting to yet to be rooted firmly under his belt. Observing the gentleman's appearence it became apparent that not only was he too training but he was also armed. An internal frown arose, exterior remaining unmoving.

Reflecting upon his earlier sentiment, Ryota supposed more care should have been taken. A bustling city was more of an excuse for a criminal element to slip in unwarrented as opposed to assume a flasified sense of security. With a brief mark in his mind to be more cautious, a brief look of concern returned to a smile as a possibility awoke when logic of this boy being of a mutual age bracket returned to the forefront of Ryota's thoughts. "Speaking of training, would you care to join me in a brief spat of some? I've been looking for a partner or two since it seems endeavouring alone will only get me so far." Offering a nervous chuckle the teen wiped wind-cooled sweat from his brow, graced from the gift of training offering. Shrugging, he finalised, "Besides, we never know who we could be sorted into a team with. It could be advantageous for us to co-operate." The smile had dwindled a little as the blue-eye punctuated the sentenced with a sigh, hands back at his hips as a response was eagerly awaited despite a smattering of thoughts niggling the notion of pushing himself a little harder than usual and the ache surely earned for the coming day.

[1098]

The man agreed wholeheartedly, he went on to give his name, Ryota, a name Maigo had heard before but would wait to unveil. He went in to describe his training at the river, it sounded very familiar to Maigo's but Ryota had such a finesse in describing it, Maigo was just there trying to do something to focus his skills, but Ryota knew exactly what to focus on, it was a nice trait to have someone so knowledgeable and Maigo would keep that in mind. It wouldn't be much longer before Ryota would ask Maigo to help continue his training, it had been a while since Maigo trained with a real partner, he wondered what kind of training he had in mind, maybe testing their skills against each other in a challenge of some sort, or maybe a full on spar where Maigo could really find out what skill this ninja had. He liked that idea, he already had Ryota in mind to become a part of his squad, and now that he mentioned it as well then he would for sure want to find out more about him.

Maigo's honey colored eyes began to look him over as his blue eyes did the same, Well, if by spat, you mean a spar of some sorts then I am for sure about it, I should have enough stamina left to go until the sun sets, if you think you do too? He let the passive aggressive insult slide out, he was testing his ego, see how he would respond and use it to begin to gauge the guy's psyche. Being able to connect with someone is a very important part of a functioning team, he would await his response and pull out a kunai, spinning it on the index finger of his right hand with no intention of stopping, he enjoyed it, an object meant to kill, spinning out of control, with nothing but his finger holding it steady. It was the same type of controlled chaos of a roaring river that he so enjoyed. He would await his initial response to his offer of sparring and stop spinning as soon as Ryota finished, trying to time the two and intimidate him in some regard, who knew if it would, he seemed like he had a great mental fortitude, his positivity leaked out from him and his stance, giving away no signs of fatigue or failure, he knew how to keep it together at the very least.

Preparing for their bout he would jump down from the ledge to the river, calling out to him as he did so, I think it would be better if we did this by the river itself, what do you think? If you're okay with it I guess we'll go ahead and begin. Maigo would toss his jacket to the side, placing some chakra in it for a possible substitution and then grabbing his three shuriken and throwing them at Ryota one after the other. Warming up their battle and testing to see Ryota's skill, hopefully he had some good tricks up his sleeves and could provide Maigo with a little bit of an interesting challenge.

[539 words, 1326 words total]

Ryota chuckled mirthily at the endearing challenge from this new compatriot. It felt something like old times with a few of the older siblings amongst the testing grounds, a warm and familial feeling. Offering a scant nod as he was prone to do the smile persisted. "I just hope I don't tire you out too quickly." Came the counter proposal as the dark haired teen plcuked his own kunai from it's hiding place amongst his belt being minus his inherited garb on this occassion. Accepting the offer of a change to a more ideal location for flashy escapades the ninja simply jumped down after the other, making a mental note of all his goodies at hand. Bounding a step back his smooth landing upon riverbank into a stance with kunai forward, blade up with tip towards the foe and other hand ready to grapple or otherwise intercept settled again somewhat bent knees, bracing against impact in theory.

"Well I'm waiting, Maigo. We're burning the sun down pretty fast after all!" Came his goaded to this opponent with the smile distorting into a smirk. The banterous remark put him in a positive mood and if not anything else sharpening sweat-dulled focus to the task at hand. As the wheels and cogs envisioned within drew open the heavy gates of his mind, the sounds of birdsong and rushing water bubbling up from within adorning the scent of flowers and the feel of warm summer sun against his pale skin, his heart and mind turned stalwart. The whetstone lifted from his mind, leaving a shimmering preparedness.As the final strips of erroneous thought fell they rang against the darkness, perhaps it would be apt to go so far as to incorporate a pleasant taste? Perhaps not.

As the three stars were launched drawing cartwheels in the air the first rode the coat-tails of his focus shifting, poor deflection in form of an errant wave towards himself sending the thing to clatter sharply from his shoulder with unwincing composure. Resilient expression portrayed nothing of the pain's heated mark on senses, instead only offering a visage of confidence as the next was batted down in an angular slice, a neat weave of footwork to the left as arm retracted ensuring the next would fail to meet it's mark. Drawing a deep breath he fell back into his stance. Assuming this one was using a starter's kit, that would be the last of ranged tricks. As such, Ryota awaited the next preview of his arsenal with bated breath.

[1529]

"Well I'm waiting, Maigo. We're burning the sun down pretty fast after all!" goaded Ryota at his distance, he seemed to understand the point of the banter, Maigo grinned from the corner of his mouth before launching his shuriken. He noted to himself, buy more than three shuriken, as he awaited their arrival, he tossed his shuriken already and the first seemed to find his mark, to no affect as he all but ignored it and blocked the other two quite expertly. It seemed it would take some serious physical attacks to beat his opponent and as he returned to his stance Maigo drew a brilliant idea, a chance to test out a new jutsu. Maigo theorized that since he returned to his stance instead of countering with his own move that he was going to play this spar conservatively, and avoid making unnecessary moves and let Maigo attack his way into a mistake. It's a smart tactic and Maigo respected that, but it would be futile, he should have used the pause to build his own counter attack and put Maigo on the defensive, now he would be in for a world of trouble.

He felt pity for the ninja who didn't have any idea to what was coming, or maybe he would through some trick or Kekkei Genkei, but either way it would let Maigo test out his abilities without extending too much of his own stamina that had been so dwindled from earlier, he looked up at Ryota, he was in range and directly in his sight, Maigo would began to weave signs after he slipped his kunai back into his pouch moving slowly at first so that Ryota could follow him and then weaving as quickly as his arms would allow him to.  

Maigo would call out to him while he wove the signs, Good Ryota, I like the way you do things, with confidence and no fear of being injured, but now the real fight will begin. As quickly as he could weave the signs he displayed (Rat-> Snake-> Bird-> Monkey) and watched as Ryota would almost all but inevitably end up being stuck into a genjutsu created by Maigo. He chose the river bank as their fighting area because it was open, he could keep tabs on Ryota's movements and there was nowhere for him to directly hide from his jutsu's affects. Ryota would have to do something clever to avoid the genjutsu or use a jutsu of his own to counter it entirely.

Should Ryota fall under the genjutsu Maigo's presence would be taken over by a clone and Maigo's real body would fall invisible to Ryota as he went to hide back up above the river bank and watch how Ryota would handle his clone. Maigo would disquise his evacuation from the immediate battlefield by having the clone charge towards Ryota and re-draw the kunai, aiming for a flurry of basic kicks and stabs with the Kunai to put him on the defensive and keep him going. It would be the perfect test, and the clone would keep him going and burning his stamina and possibly get him to burn chakra as well, and Maigo would get to sit, rest, and observe the guy he was already becoming very fond of.

It was up to Ryota now, to both impress him and show him what he could do on his own.

[578 words, 1904 words total]

135/150 Chakra:

Unwavering, unbent and unbroken Ryota would certainly not soon find any hesitation or hinderance in something so simple as a minor wound. An urge amongst the burning itch came to roll his shoulder as if some dormant and undoubtedly stupid segment of his brain decided it would alleviate the pain. As this pang of nonsense and irony elicited a small smile from an otherwise stoney expression the ninja's attention found itself soon drawn to signs being marched out by diligently practised hands, albeit a touch rough hewn. Raising a cursory eyebrow it wasn't hard to deduce at this point some form of jutsu was to be headed his way. Blood from a stone. A stone that yields blood is indeed proven to be flesh and thusly is no stone at all, he must be as stone. Taking it upon himself to mimic this opponent so freely pursuing another movement the kunai was removed from the equation of hands, claped firmly in his teeth.

Unbeknownst to the fool both as a wreath of wind tried so desperately to call out to the part of the universe observing itself how cruelly trapped he was. Driving his hands together in a soundless collision to form the seal of the ox, this boy had his own trick up an illusory sleeve. Grinning into the wind tearing away from him face, the elation of the conflict esclating baring his teeth down into the rusted wrought iron. With the taste of metal at his tongue the Yuurei persevered in the face of his foe as an intense focus rose to strain his mental abilities into the jutsu. Eyes tracking what he perceived to be his opponent running full pelt and swinging if not flailing wildly at his person in general a sensation passed within. Burning chakra was unlike anything else. The closest our pale boy ever came to it in any degree of accuracy was in describing a lukewarm candle suddenly burning down a house in an explosive bout of flame. The only difference being the size of the town consumed in the light as one by one the citizens of body, mind and soul rebuild and let the warmth of their existence rekindle the streets.

If still looking on Maigo would see the ground itself at Ryota's feet flex upwards, gorge and bubble with such peculiar orbs of liquid like some nightkin's silver blood rising up to coagulate into a murky, molten ball like some organ convulsing into life, only to froth swiftly away into a mirror-sheen pane of glass with this grotesque writhing mass within, ornate and oval yet borderless. Concealing his face no less than a brick wall, it would then show a poultry reflection of the onlooker before a light becried by some to be divine or holy would detonate from the depths of the 'mass' within and sear vision painlessly away. Well, if Ryota was lucky it would at least obscure it.

Frowning, it seemed most odd to the boy able to see through his own genjutsu that the man running towards him had missed barely a step. Was he truly so high above his own power level?! Not having anticipated this the Suzuki child swiftly parted his hands from the apparently ineffectual jutsu to catch the rough hewn shape falling from his mouth no shapen unto a scowl more than a face of enjoyment. Leaping back from the shotgun burst of kicks sweat soon formed on his brow, jutsu weaving was tiring work. Still yet to give up the fight any time soon a swift jab of his kunai made for the assailant's cheek was made only to be sent backpedalling further by a retaliatory sweep of foe's own implement. He had missed, surely by such reaction? And so the imaginary scuffle persisted, doing his damned hardest to avoid blow from blow making pokes here and there.

And yet, it began to occur to this boy that something was astray. Exactly what, he had no idea as of yet however.

[2206]

95/110 Chakra:

Maigo watched their scuffle persist, his real awareness perched upon a cliff as he imagined a clone of himself advancing towards and swinging at Ryota. He watched as Ryota weaved handsigns and focused in on where his clone would be, Good, now I can see what sorts of jutsu he is able to wield Maigo thought to himself as he began to watch intently. A moment would pass, and then a look of shock would emerge on his opponents face, but to Maigo's true awareness nothing had happened. He wondered if his jutsu had a fault, had it failed? Was it a delayed reaction and maybe he was using his own reaction as a ruse to get Maigo off his guard? It was peculiar indeed, as he watched him panic against an imaginary flurry of attacks. What Maigo could only imagine as kicks here and there followed by stabs and punches to fill the gaps, he had to at least have landed one blow on Maigo by now and notice something peculiar happening. Maigo careful to make sure that his clone never landed a full blow on Ryota, otherwise he might discover one of the genjutsu's inherent flaws, hoping maybe he could push Ryota a bit further and exhausting more of his stamina and chakra. And even more to be drawn away since his clone still had much life in it, it almost felt unfair to keep him going like that, soon he would intervene and put an end to it so that Ryota didn't end up nearly killing himself trying to beat that which doesn't truly exist.

Maigo stood at the cliff, letting the tussle continue on, if Ryota had any more moves he would hopefully use them and see the real power of his jutsu and techniques. Maigo would stretch on the cliffs, letting the rubbery feel of his muscles pull and stretch against one another, yawning while he did it. Suddenly stopping to remember that Ryota could still hear him if he was too loud, he shook himself off as if he were soaked in water and prepared his kunai in his left hand this time. He was going to wait for an opening to bring their match to the end, but he wanted to let Ryota exhaust himself a little bit more so that he could easily out take him in the end. As he stood waiting and watching the imaginary battle, Maigo would wait for the first pause he would see and approach Ryota from behind, hopefully taking him by surprise and would attempt to use both stealth and his in-awareness to take Ryota hostage for a brief moment.

Should he manage to take him under he would pose a question to him, Well, have you had enough? Or would you like to see more of what I can do? being aware that if he snuck up on Ryota properly, it would be like a phantom grabbing him in the night, he would need a tight grip and strong voice so that Ryota would not break it so easily, and depending on the answer to his question he would make a decision about what to do from there. He saw Ryota's remarkable physical abilities and his own mental strength to wipe away a blow from a shuriken as it were nothing. He was stronger than he looked, but he wondered what he would do if he heard Maigo approaching him, and if Maigo should catch him he wondered what he would do when grabbed by an unknown source while Maigo's clone continued the onslaught, and then, should Maigo make it far enough along, what would Ryota answer to his question. Their fight was due for a change in pace at some point anyways, now it would be up to Maigo to wait for an opening in their fight, or wait for his clone to push Ryota close enough to Maigo that he could strike quickly.

[667 words, 2572 words total]

135/150 chakra:

As this scuffle continued, Ryota paced through the appropriate steps in his mind. In the event of being confronted by a jutsu of unknown power and strength, in particular one that renders the enemy intangible it should be know that retreat is no longer an option. One should assume that the opponent is significantly more powerful than yourself and as such must be dealt with as such. However, this first must be verified. Utilising his training from other skills Ryota made to strfe about the foe in a swift sidestep, an echo of swordsmanship bringin him to the right of the foe. Using his off-hand, the shinobi sharpened his mind to a point, searching for any sign of weakness in the illusion before chancing his hand with the seal of confrontation, briefly jolting his already stunted chakra flow enough to dissipate an illusion at his level. Face forming into a scowl as the assault continued leading him to duck down in a move almost as graceful as a boxer's weave, the annoyance burned red-hot in his guts, placing his other hand as a brace behind the kunai and driving it forward for his foe's throat, driving hard with his legs from this crouched position to launch swiftly despite the groan of muscles. Kiai roaring, face distorted into a vision of fury the final steps flared in his mind like stone tablets showing light of god in their concrete certainty of method. In the even of confronting a stronger opponent possessing a clear advantage over himself the correct course of action is self-sacrifice in exchange for a killing blow. Not even the academy could shake such suicidal tactics from his mind, after all the amateur heroism of martyrdom was befitting the puppets of a shadow organisation among shadows. Not a hint of doubt or hesitation rang through this self-sharpening weapon as this moment of clarity shook his world.

Naturally, the momentum simply tossed him through the illusion, sending him tumbling over and through it careening into the dirt. Clasping a handful of dirt as he fell, Ryota yanked himself to a crouch. Breath heavy the kunai was held up, attempting to intercept any direct assault to his heart or knock with angle and placement. As his chest heaved the nailing pain of a stitch in his side bit hard into his lungs. Apparently the benefits of fatigue through sickness had finally caught up. Eyes darting this way and that it was readily apparent that Maigo was above his level in technique at least. Delightful. Despite his heaving jaw, a smile more of a toothy, sweat laden grin had formed. If not for his breathlessness, Ryota would have commended this approach. Facing the back of where the illusion had been prior to his attack. Knuckles white and dirt smothered against the blades of green an effort was made to conceal the extent of his exhaustion, forcing his jaw closed with a bark of willpower, nostrils flaring with the effort of breath.

[2711]

75/110 Chakra:

Maigo watched impatiently, having played out the perfect scenario to take the advantage and win the day all he could think about was when to make his move, he stood at the edge of the battle and waited, he wondered if Ryota had figured it out by now. He began to inch in slowly, watching as Ryota seemed to be trying to gather his thoughts and calm his mind, Maigo could only imagine the frustration of something like this that could build during such a simple spar, it was becoming more and more unfair that he push him so far over nearly nothing. But still, he waited for his moment, he needed to find a chance to subdue his opponent, without taking too much risk himself, with a frustrated opponent it is necessary to not risk instigating anything too serious. He watched, when he found his answer through Ryota's movements, he seemed to be using kai to dissipate the illusion, this was his chance, if he broke it then there would be no better time.

As he began to charge toward Ryota he wondered if he broke it, it seemed in slow motion now with the crunch of pebbles beneath his footsteps and the kunai reflecting the glare of the remaining sun. One foot after the other as he closed the distance, looking to see if he had succeeded in breaking it or if he would fall short, maybe he wasn't proficient in the use of Kai and he would stay under the illusion, at the very least he had to know it was an illusion now. Closing the gap, he had been able to catch his breathe while he was waiting, and was now  moving with haste towards Ryota who was crouched there, with the look that only frustration could create on a soul, he wondered why he would be though, it seemed that he fought well and was able to at least see that he was trapped in a genjutsu, that alone took some degree of skill and showed that he may have potential at the very least, even more than Maigo who probably would have fought with the clone throughout the entire night.

As he closed the gap and his kunai was drawn he waited to see what Ryota would do, his goal was now to put an end to their spar, be that by releasing the genjutsu and letting him catch his breathe, or having to subdue him in a more physical means if necessary, he certainly would enjoy continuing the fight, but he may have pushed Ryota a bit too far for him to want to continue their spar. He slowed his approach as he got near, ready to use his own Kai to release the jutsu and with his kunai drawn in case he wanted to keep fighting, the clone would dissipate in a moment anyways, but he wanted to see what Ryota would do with his final action. Only this time, Maigo was near the danger zone and it's very possible that he could get caught in the crossfire. Only a few feet away from Ryota now he slowed to a near stop and waited to see what he would do next, weaving the signs for Kai he got ready to release the illusion and break Ryota from the physical manifestation of frustration he was facing, unless he broke the illusion and the soon he'd be staring at Maigo who would only be a few feet away and in an readied stance and awaiting nearly anything to happen.

[599 words, 3171 words total]

135/150 chakra:

Fact fully replaced fiction. Ryota felt the rush of excitement meander and bend through his soul, weaving thoroughly through his heart and mind. Pulse racing in his ears as his heart pounded out a tempo it occurred to this wannabe assassin that this man was worth more than just a touch of attention. This was a real challenge! There was a veritable geyser of heated blood coursing through his body with this exhausted smile rending itself into a sneer of joy. With the taste of a challenge on his tongue the sparks of joy flew in his heart. An old feeling stirred, a pang of pain pranced through his mind for an instant, calming his spirit soewhat and easing this exhilaration. A level mind must be kept, even through the means of emotionally manipulating himself.

One way or another the ninja came to realise that the last moment the real Maigo was in his vision had been some time ago. In fact, when had the jutsu even triggered? Certainly it had been made apparent that the hand seals were the igniting moment but perhaps it was a delayed jutsu? Assuming he was more powerful in this exchange it was logical to assume this was possible. Regardless, it was time to work on that which he was trained, opting to accept the assumption that the signs were the trigger.

Illusion adjusting to measure back towards him, Ryota's eyes furiously probed this way and that. As blade of glass, a break in the dust on the breeze, a telltale creak or crunch. There must be some sign, somewhere. As the cramped ache of the stitch gnawing at his side proclaimed it's announcement, doing it's best to hold out before fading willpower pushed hard against growing fatigue. Once this was over he'd be sure to stretch out this accursed set of muscles, what a chore this body of his was becoming. As his breath returned a wave of heat washed across his skin as dehydration sank in. It was all up to his willpower now. With a grunt through gritted teeth he forced himself to full height once again, blades of grass falling through the interlaced fingers of a renewed seal of conflict. Apparently it had been a bad idea to take on an opponent to spar after training all day long but this was what it boiled down to. It was his last ditch effort and like it or not, he was a one trick pony for now when it came to genjutsu but he still had a sharp mind. Attempting jutsu one more time, Ryota felt the strain drop onto his body like a weight. His reserves of chakra had fallen faster than anticipated through this fight, leaving him breathing heavy again with a feeling like his mind was being put through a sinkhole in the exaggerated effects of his fatigue. Steeling himself against this, weary hand drew kunai, levelling it and readying for whatever came next, keeping it close to himself in anticipation of a grapple as four clones appeared about him as if he were the centre dot of a five marking on a dice, a fifth appearing in front of him to obscure him from the foe. The rear two placed their arms out like L blocks, level with their chests without touching one another. If Maigo wanted him, Ryota would be damned if he didn't at least get an extra second of warning. Gods be damned, even if it was only a fraction of a second. The central clone in front of him took a step forward, the front two clones mirroring the rear to form a not-so-physical barrier about him. Chuckling to himself, Ryota realised just how irregular this was. Still, it couldn't hurt to try. Counting on Maigo to be obscured by the frontal clones he lowered himself into a crouch in accountancy of his opponent throwing his kunai. For all Ryota knew after all, he was a skilled taijutsu user and could afford to do so.

[3371]

70/110 Chakra:

As Maigo approached Ryota, fully intent on taking the full advantage of their spar and finishing it, he knew his clone genjutsu would soon fade, and that was only if Ryota would not use to Kai to eliminate it quicker and bring the fight back onto equal terms. Ryota looked as if he was going through every scenario and pondering through the situation as he threw forth another jutsu and prepared his kunai. It looks as if he would continue this fight through any cost and Maigo's own ego wasn't about to concede either, so the course of the spar would be further decided by their will to continue onwards. The clones formed around him, creating a decent barrier that would give him the ability to focus his attention and limit Maigo's approach towards him. As he approached his slide his approach to a stop, he knew the fake clone would keep him busy for a little while longer by restarting another relentless barrage of attacks to keep him on the edge. The clones would block his paths and leave Ryota to focus on a much narrower field to get an extra second or so of warning. It was fairly clever and now it would be up to Maigo to find a way around this new obstacle, he wondered what types of clones the were, looking like full manifestations of him facing in the four corners of his himself with another in the center. As long as Ryota hadn't moved he guessed that he was the one in the center, meaning the one he should target as he would formulate a strategy to work around them.

Holding the kunai in his hand and feeling it's weight, he heavily pondered tossing the kunai and taking out a few clones in case they were shadow clones and could outnumber him easily. In the case that they were basic academy clones he would do nothing but learn of their type but end up losing the only weapon currently in his possession. As he stood there, he weighed his options, he decided he wouldn't lose his only weapon, that it was too great a risk considering it was nearly all he had left next to average or even sub-par taijutsu skills. As he watched his foe and his clones he knew his best option would be to test the measure of his clones before continuing on. Hopefully his illusion would distract his approach but once the clone goes he knew that Ryota would be on to him and that's where he would have to be smart.

He noticed the center clone prepare the signs for Kai meaning he was most likely be ready to break through the jutsu and find Maigo, he also wouldn't cast another jutsu until after, accounting that he might break the second jutsu along with it. Preparing himself he headed to the rear of the center clone and sent a kick towards the clone in the back right, focusing intently on the others to see which one of them would change their position to account for the copy, unless it was the real Ryota and then he would follow through the kick by jumping back a few feet and seperating himself again. Prepared for Ryota to break the genjutsu and find Maigo he knew that he would need to quickly prepare to face his enemy if his target turned out to be a clone. Now the mental anguish of their battle would continue, only this time, Maigo would get to join in on the frustration of continuing a battle with no energy and little stamina to continue onwards. Two options for him to victory, he would either have to finish quickly in a quick burst of attacks to overcome his enemy, that or he would be stuck in for a long haul and trying to force Ryota to tire himself beyond the point of carrying on. But for now, he would focus in and attack the first of the five Ryota's he would have to test out.

[687 words, 3858 words total]

135/150 chakra:

Tension wracked Ryota's body as his breath returned, exhausted bringing choking tension to his chest as it's heaving grew leaden, the breeze no longer reaching registering senses through the sheer haze of body heat rising from dehydrated body like some slick layer of oil over his senses, dulled and failing. What could he do? This was final proof his exertion today had been far too much on his aching body. After a sluggish mind yielded a scant few seconds worth of thought over the nearly minute that came to pass, Maigo's blow passed through the clone effortlessly, the image scattering like shadow met with light. Searching through the scraps of his mind for a solution, a rush of possibilities met with the resistance of weariness. As a cough forced it's way up through his mouth as if a radio spitting out a ball of static Ryota raised both of his hands, coming to stand at his full height as the clones faded to little more than imaginary dust on a soft wind. "Easy, Maigo." Came a croaking voice through haggared breath, the breathing coming only as his words did like some strange one way chatter radio from bygone war. "After all, this has been fun but my body is at it's limit."

A look of surprise fell over his face when he finally considered the time. It had been his turn to cook today and his mother was not a woman with whom to trifle with. Despite his exhaustion a sheer grip of panic seized him about the torso with burning fingers of familial fear, bursting into a sprint towards the town with the remainder of his energy, yelling out in that hoarse call, "I forgot about chores!" An odd departure, Ryota could only pray to be home in time to avoid a degree of wrath and that his invisible compatriot wouldn't discredit such an exit. He'd make it up to him some time.

Training:

Maigo kicked through one clone, his body aching with every motion, landing to the ground after kicking through the first clone. He turned his attention to the center Ryota who had raised his arms to defend himself, but as he closed in the clones around him dissipated into nothing, he slide to a stop before going after Ryota, making sure there were no tricks up his sleeve. He stood behind him ready to go and waiting for something to happen, Easy Maigo. After all, this has been fun but my body is at it's limit. the croaked voice put forth, he sounded beyond the point of exhaustion and as if he were about to collapse as well. As he said the words Maigo held up the rat symbol and released his illusion, he was smiling as he bent over and put his hands on his knees and looked up towards Ryota his fainted breathe let out what words he could before he himself was also passed out there, I enjoyed it too, much more fun and tougher than my normal training. I hope we can keep this up more often, if you're okay with that, I could use more allies around the village. after his words Ryota's face turned to a look of surprise as he began to succumb to panic.

It was rather late for the pair, the sun nearly set on them, "I forgot about chores!" he yelled as he ran off, Maigo chuckled as he gathered himself back up to his feet, he waved Ryota off from their training grounds. I'll talk that as a yes to seeing you around more often. he thought to himself as he gathered his composure and began to head home. He laughed at the idea of a ninja running home to do chores, but then again Maigo wasn't so different, still staying with his parents and doing their bidding lest their wrath be kindled upon him. As he began to waddle home, fatigue christened him and soreness would overcome him, slowly but surely, it was his first spar or fight as a genin in Kiri and he knew he had made a long time friend as he headed home to get dinner and turn in for the night.

[382 words, 4240 words total]

[Exit Thread]

Training: