The serenity of festivities was something that Xiao wished he could experience every day, he simply adored them, the ins and outs of the events, the preparations of those who scurried to make a profit, the food vendors who shoved skewer and bowl in front of every passer by and of course the faces of the tourists who would gaze upon the grand event upcoming. This was the most important moment in any genins life, it was the determination of whether you were a true warrior like a ninja should be or nothing but a drop out.

Xiao's circumstances were...unique to say the least, but hiding it from the majority of his friends was a decision he had opted for to ensure that none would worry about him nor would feel any sympathy if they chose to fight. He had decided on his own terms that he would certainly attend the chuunin exams but when it came to winning? He had no intention of doing so. Instead he was here as a tourist and a cheerleader to ensure that his friends were supported emotionally before and through their fights, to show solidarity with his nation and friends from other lands and more over to scope out who could very well be his future enemies targets or allies if history was any indicator in the constants of shinobi life. War, assassination and ancient alien beasts. Such was life.


The little shinobi had taken his fill of festivities today and returning to the allotted 'hang out' place of many of the shinobi who were biting their nails in anticipation for their match pairing Xiao was simply taking it easy. In his head he had already made peace with losing, so he had no need to worry about it. He showed this by his constant chatting with other shinobi from other lands, catching up with old friends and even at one point trying to lure a cat he assumed was some form of demon with a makeshift yarnball made from organic webbing. He was enjoying himself but most of all he was hoping to entertain others.

As Xiao walked to the main area he proceeded to eye around, he could see those he certainly could utilize for a grand moral booster for the onlookers as he proceeded to make his way into the empty sand filled area he carried with him a small wooden crate that he placed at the center of the area and stood upon it causing some of the genin to gaze upon him "Ladies and gentleman for your entertainment pleasure I'm so glad to say Kirigakure no Sato has organised a private match, just for your viewing!" Xiao stated lying through his teeth and yet keeping a straight, charming and cheerful disposition through it all "That's right for one night only we have Bonesaw Uchiha and his amazing shinobi army and !..." he then mimed putting his finger to his ear as if a news reporter "Oh? Oh I'm terribly sorry, no he has pulled out. Well regardless we have perfectly fit candidates here!"

Xiao proceeded to launch webbing into the air as streamers into the sky as he laughed spinning on his heel as his arm shot out pointing to Yoshito, the ice user of Kirigakure who had seemed to be Xiao's greatest friend in the land of mist "On his way to the ring, we have none other than the man who is cooler than being cool, the ice cold, Yoshito!" Xiao stated sending a web forward towards Yoshito so that the crowd who began to awkwardly clap would know just who to egg on.

Xiao's eyes darted around the arena as the crowd was centered on Yoshito, trying to find another, someone he recognized, anybody, then his eyes found him. The lightning fast lizard hunter that had aided him once before in a grand team up "And his opponent, Faster than lightning and as quick witted as an unfaithful man with a wife for a lawyer, Yo-Jo the Leaf's one man army!"

Xiao smiled doing the same as he had done to Yoshito but he wanted more, one more, yes, a two on two match. It'd take the edge off everyone involved as they could carry their weight evenly and not waste too much chakra, a way for all four of them to better meet but also to entertain the onlookers without revealing too many of the shinobi's own abilities. His eyes darted around until he saw his something of an step-older brother. Smiling to himself he knew it was a bad idea, he knew he was going to be punished by Kaito for it but regardless he had to. It was his duty as the younger brother to tease his elder. "Annnd from the land of creepy crawlies, never ask this man for a piece of gum! The one...The only, my older brother...Kaito!" Xiao stated as he once more drew the attention of the crowd who began to clap along with the names presented some mocking but some genuinely getting involved much to Xiao's delight who then proceeded to lower his head still pretending to hold a microphone of sorts


"Annnnd you know my name, Kyutai the Spider-Nin, I can shoot a web any size and I catch those nukenin just like flies! But enough puff, let's put on a damn good show for you ladies and gentlemen!" Xiao stated with a laugh, he could see the people already forgetting about their matches and concerns, perhaps even in his own friends, that was all he wanted to keep spirits high and bring good fortune as a spider should do. Xiao would await as his friends would venture forth and with open arms flung wide he would smile to them all through his blue mask "Fancy meeting you handsome strangers here, don't tell me you guys are going for chuunin too?" he said in an obviously joking manner hoping to disperse any animosity that may be held for him as he clasped his hands together and spoke softly to them "Look, I know I'm putting you on the spot but everyone here is more stressed than...well me in any situation...Let's give them a 2 on 2 match, it'll be great training for us and might help some of these greener guys out, what do you say?" Xiao looked with pleading eyes with a smile hoping his friends would agree to his strange request.

Spoiler:

Today had been harder than Kaito could have imagined. His grandmother had always spoke about how she would one day sit in the stands and cheer for him at the Chunin Exams. Of course, she'd always spoke of them happening in Kirigakure no Sato, though Kaito was certain she would have traveled to the Land of Sunflowers itself if she had to in order to watch her grandson compete. That's the type of woman she was, and Kaito's own mother would have been right next to her, cheering just as loud. Today was difficult without them, Kaito had had a fe difficult days since his mother died, but being here in Konoha for the first time, his first time out of Mizu no Kuni even, it was the knowing that not only was he alone out here, but he had no family waiting for him to return either. His loyalty to his comrades and the Hidden Mist village were all that drove him forward now, all that he had to hold close and anchor him to the world. In the bleakest of moments when depression set in, if Kaito was honest, being so far from home with not family to call him back made him feel like a missing-nin, and the thought turned his stomach sour.

He'd been sitting there most of the day, watching various shinobi from all over the world competing against each other in exhibition matches for the entertainment before the main event. Kaito was using the time to try and scope out his possible opponents, learn anything he might use to his advantage, but so far no one that was competing in the exams had entered such a match, and thus nothing of real value had been learned. He was stuck in his thoughts about family, the history he had uncovered at his grandmother's lake house, and trying to deal with the emotions he felt about how his mother had betrayed him since he was a small child. He didn't know wether or not to be glad she was dead, no he took that back, he wasn't glad, despite everything his mother had always loved him and wanted the best for him. She'd done what she'd done for the sake of protecting Kaito from a legacy that could threaten to end him before he'd had the chance to so much as become a man. Only now it was too late, even if his mother had planned on telling him the truth at some point, she was dead now and so to was her own mother. The only two people that could have told Kaito anything about what he was were both dead and gone, and he was left to try and piece the truth back together from between all the lies.

Kaito's mood wasn't helping him focus on the matches in front of him, two then three rounds went by without him so much as moving or noticing. He had already begun to develop the abilities he'd read about in the book detailing his clan's history. How would he explain them if he used them in the Chunin Exams? So far, he'd hidden his recently discovered talents from his peers, even going so far as to avoid using them on missions and sparring sessions. How would his friends react when they discovered he was a monster, that the Osoroshi were a clan of monsters with a legacy of grotesque violence? He'd try and avoid using the abilities for as long a possible, but when in combat he felt like he couldn't help it. His blood would go warm, eventually becoming hot to the point that it hurt. In the book he'd read, it said that once awakened, the Osoroshi's blood would go rotten, turning into Kusatta Chi that demanded to be used to fight and kill. This wasn't that bad though, since normally by the time Kaito spilt blood in combat, and thus triggering his newly awakened Kekkei Genkai, he had already managed to take down his target. The real problem was that he was no longer crying tears, at least not normal ones. Every time he cried, it was a dark almost black shade of blood that seeped from his eyes. He could also smell people now, not like before, the smelled good, metalic and getting too close would make his mouth water.

The silver haired Kiri-nin was pulled from his thoughts when Xiao, a genin he'd met on Spider Island called him out as his older brother. At first Kaito had been a little thrown off by the young spider-nin's need to denote them as family, but given his suspicions of Spider Island and Kaito's own lack of family ties, he kinda liked the idea of having a little brother. Kaito stood and quickly made his way over to his brother. "You sticking me with the Konoha-nin because you want a rematch Otouto? Or were you looking to handicap me?" Kaito whispered in Xiao's ear, he didn't want to offend the Konoha genin, but he couldn't help but feel a ting of guilt, fighting against his fellow Kiri shinobi while working with a foreigner. It felt wrong, but Kaito wouldn't pass up the opportunity to gain a rematch with Yoshito, nor could he deny the same to Xiao. To top it off, if Kaito played his cards right, he might learn a thing or two about this so called Yoshihiro and his style.

"I'm down if you guys are, looks like I'm working with the leaf shinobi though, so I hope you've been training Xiao because I'm not gonna show as much restraint as last time. As for you Yoshito, I'm sure we've both trained quite a bit since the last time we sparred, let's hope things go differently this time." Kaito spoke a cheeky grin. He still felt his earlier depression hanging over him, but it wasn't as bad now that he was with friends. Hopefully, an exhibition match of their own would help offset the edge for all of them. Who knew, if they did well, perhaps Kaito and Yoshihiro could go one on one after the match.

Yoshito was already near the area, the ground suddenly got sandy as he kept stepping further and further from the main streets. He couldn’t think of a real reason why this would happen, was he moving toward a beach of some sort? This close to the main streets though? Sadly, that was most likely not the case. Yoshi liked this Leaf Village, the sun being out glaring down on the village itself was a warm, comforting change to that of the Mist Village who almost prided itself on the almost constant rain blanketing the village. A smile wrapped around his cheeks as he walked and most of these people looked at the boy like he was just a weirdo obviously not in his element. Usually Yoshi wouldn’t take these looks of stupidity so lightly but he was in a foreign country and couldn’t really react like he usually would. It truly wasn’t a big deal though, he was in too good of a mood feeling the warm wind on his skin he continued walking. Somewhere along the line Yoshito had lost his shirt somewhere as if he wanted to get the most amount of sun his body could handle. The boy wore black shorts along with some ninja sandals. Not only that, his newly acquired kusarigama was strapped on his back, the weapon’s straps wrapped around his shoulders into his torso holding two holsters on the back for both handles of the small scythes.

He heard it before he saw it. The groups of people that were once spread out walking alone suddenly were clumped up in an almost tight circle. Yoshi looked back to see separate groups of people then looked forward to see a much more condensed group of people. What’s going on? Yoshito decided to move forward into the outskirts of the group and the voice became more clear now. It was obviously Xiao pulling the crowds together as he did when the two were on trash duty. The smile grew larger as Yoshi let out an almost inaudible laugh at the thought of Xiao here grabbing all these people from whatever it was they were doing to this exhibition match. He heard Xiao mention a name called Bonesaw Uchiha, this was obviously a fake name and Yoshi decided to move into the crowd to see what exactly his spider ninja friend was doing. He had to push his body through the condensed crowd and barely made it through but finally with a big push the boy broke through among the crowd. The force of the push made his body fall forward into a stumbling fall but he used that momentum to create a rolling flip just as Xiao had done when they fought in the library. He did this so he wouldn’t be so embarrassed in front of all these people and it worked. Suddenly he heard his name mentioned by Xiao with a rather dope introduction.

Upon erecting himself in a cool way, if I do say so myself, Yoshi simply reacted to his name being called by throwing up his arms while forming two peace signs with his fingers on both of his hands. The portion of the crowd that was the most interested started cheering for him and then for each contestant that was named. Yoshi’s cheeks felt a bit hot as they shone with a bright red being called in front of the crowd. He made his way to Xiao as he called forth another member of this exhibition match that sprung out of seemingly nowhere. Someone he hadn’t recognized. “Who’s that?” Yoshito said but wouldn’t be noticeable by anyone saldy due to the crowd’s roaring. Apparently he was with the Leaf, he had home court advantage. Yoshito’s feet sunk into the sand as Yo-Jo walked forward hopefully not ignoring the call to arms. It was then that the spider nin called forth Kaito, another friend of Yoshi and Xiao’s from the Mist. Was he planning a three on one kind of situation? Anyways Kaito walked forward and he remembered that he stole his first kiss. Oh well, bygones are bygones. In fact, he hadn’t thought of it much since they stopped the Raiju demon back in the Mist Village. The boy offered an over enthusiastic wave to Kaito as he walked up. Yoshi didn’t know how to react with all these people watching. Xiao had certainly got them riled up and ready for a match, better than boringly walking around an unknown land trying to think of something to do that’s for sure.

“Hey Kaito!” Yoshito hollered hopefully overtop the sound of the crowd. “What’s up I didn’t even know you were here!” Continuing with his almost yelling like way of speaking. Then Xiao offered his name into the match, apparently being a two versus two but he hollered out a different name than Yoshito knew. “Who’s Kyu-” Yoshito was cut off by Xiao’s stating it was nice to see the three of them and asking if they were going for the rank promotion as well. Yoshi nodded with that damn grin he can’t escape from. After Xiao asked if the four of them wanted to do a two on two match confirming Yoshito’s thoughts on the matter. “Hell yea, let’s do it I’m always down to have some fun with my buds.” Yoshi stated with a big thumbs up and a big smile. He waited for the four to take their spots in the sandy arena before moving himself, awaiting instruction from his spider friend before moving.

He was gonna pick up this really big rock and throw it and then pick it  up and throw it again! Yoshihiro was psyching himself up as he did this training regiment up and down along the streets of Konohagakure. It was no secret that his speed and reaction were some of his biggest strengths going into this tournament, but unless he could progress beyond that to get physically stronger he knew he was going to hit a brick wall sooner rather than later. To that end, he had begun to exercise himself to his fullest extent, eagerly getting up at daybreak to pursue numerous training exercises. If we was going to do well, he'd have to be in top physical shape! He had been throwing this rock in front of him for the past hour or so, lobbing it as far as he could with both arms only to hustle over to where it landed to pick it up and do so again. It was slow-going, but he had made it from his small apartment all the way to the event grounds where the sparring arena was located. A few people gave him odd looks, not expecting to see this puberty-stricken teen picking up this small boulder and throwing it into a crowd expecting people to get out of his way. Yoshihiro was straddling the fine line between devotion and delinquency.

With a huff, the boy reached the outskirts of the sparring arena that had been set up by the village. He stopped his cyclical training, sitting down on his boulder to wipe the sweat off of his brow. He looked up to one of the many vendors who had set up shop along the huge and sprawling festival grounds. Kami have mercy on him he was starving! Yoshi stood up and walked over to the stall, looking to the short elderly woman who ran it and was busy making dumplings. "I'll have... uhhhh... 30 gyoza pork dumplings please" the teen asked, "-as well as a pitcher of water" he added, putting down a heap of ryo on the table. He had been precariously saving his funds, not having that much of an income due to being a lowly Genin orphan, yet he had been scraping by. If he was going to do well, he had to eat like a champ! A few minutes later, the boy had a heaping platter of Gyoza put in front of him along with a large serving of water. Grabbing both, Yoshi tilted his head back and let a couple dumplings slide into his mouth for him to chew on whilst walking around.

The teen wandered over to wherehe had come to know the sparring ring to be. It always seemed like there was somebody trading fists these days in there. Now that the matchups were due to be released though, Yoshi had become increasingly wary about going to hard into a fight. He didn't want to hurt himself and prematurely disqualify himself from the tournament due to a poor physical state! So, at first, he only slid more dumplings into his mouth like the average konohan spectator who wasn't drunk, moving towards the front of the crowd to catch a glimpse of the others. When he wormed his way to the front, he was admittedly surprised at what he saw: Xiao, the spider-nin, standing on a box in the center of the dirt arena. Of all the people to be standing on a box in the middle of a dirt arena that Yoshi wasn't expecting to see, Xiao might've been fairly high on the top of that list. The two had gotten along rather well and even worked to watch each other's backs during their time fighting the fabled 'Komodo' who had been terrorizing the borders between Kirigakure and Konohagakure, yet Yoshi hadn't heard from in quite a while it felt like.

Wait... He was calling out people's names, was he organizing a match? Yoshi gulped down another heap of dumplings as he quickly realized that the spider-nin was looking for familiar faces to drag to the center of the arena and fight for the spectators to see. Oh lord, he was going to get called out he could already tell. Yoshi attempted to slowly shuffle backwards and blend in with the crowd, but it was too late, as Xiao called his name just as the boy attempted to do so. Gah, Yoshi hated having to fight on a full stomach, it gave him nausea and gas, never a good combination as a wind specialist. Still, he had been called forth by a friend! He couldn't turn down such a request, not now that he was here on the verge of fighting in the exams! Yoshi put on his serious face, furrowing his brow to look more tought as he put his platter of dumplings down on the edge of the arena. Alrighty, if it was a fight they wanted, then he would sure as fudge give them all one that they wouldn't forget!


Yoshihiro stepped out onto the sparring ring, eyeing the strangers who wore Kirigakure headbands. Yoshito and Kaito, eh? They looked spooky, in fact, for whatever reason, all the Kiri-nin seemed rather spooky to him. "I wanted to wait for the matches to get released, but if you all wanna tussle then alright! If you're friend's of Xiaos then that's enough trust I need" he affirmed, looking between the two and slooooooowly shuffling to stand next to Kaito, his self-appointed team partner. Yoshi placed a hand on the stranger's shoulder, "Friends..." he simply said, eyes locked straight ahead despite the abrupt invasion of privacy. "Since there are two Yoshi's, you can call me YoJo for clarity!" he decreed, having taken a liking to the shorthand that Xiao had given him. Yoshi was a pretty popular prefix for most names if felt like, so hopefully this would make it easier for him to tell who was who! Hand still on Kaito's shoulder, the teen kept his eye on the duo. So... how were they gonna start this thing?

1044/1044/4163 TWC

The four had approached the spider with their own flair and flavor as they each did hold their own unique air about them, something that Xiao truly did love about each of them. Kaito with his brutal power, Yojo and his friendly ways, Yoshito and his strange manners, all were equally astounding in the eyes of the silkweaver who proceeded to listen to each deciding instead of answering each directly he would inplace collectively respond "Excellent Excellent, Don't worry Kaito I actually have been wanting to see how you tag team, Yojo and I will team up against you both. You guys match atleast with the whole snow-wraith designs you both have y'know? Besides what's a more winning combination than ice and bubblegum? Nothing I say." Xiao stated as he proceeded to tap his chin with his index finger in thought for a moment considering the skills of each of his friends. Each was definitely a skilled ninjutsu user and though he would have offered to make it a purely physical match he had an idea.

"I say this match we go all out, hide stuff if you're saving it for the exam of course but if you've got something that looks good? Use it. Let's put on something wild not just the same old kunai throwing." he remarked as he began to slowly walk towards the other side of the arena before stopping as he left the three "Oh right, Yojo, this is Kaito my ma's favorite son and Yoshito the Iceman, they're good guys don't worry, I trust them with my life and as for you two? I trust Yojo here just as much. Let's do this"

Xiao then proceeded to walk and begin to stretch in his typical way "Okay guys, remember, don't mess up the face, none of us have romantic partners yet and I'm betting we don't wanna lose a chance at that y'know" he stated bluntly to lighten the spirits as he proceeded to generate web about his hands to create makeshift boxing gloves to ensure that he wouldn't harm his friends from the impact of his taijutsu punches.

Kaito watched the rest of the group gather, he hadn't known that Yoshito and Xiao were friends, but that was good to know for the future so they could all work together. Always the cautious sort, Kaito was leery of working alongside a Konoha-nin, and given Xiao's tendency to be over-accepting and even slightly ignorant when it came to the dangers of the world, Kaito wasn't all that willing to just blindly accept his little brother's friendship with this YoJo guy. On second thought, if he was on the same side as the Konoha-nin, it might make it easier to keep him from doing any proper damage to either of the two Kiri-nin. Kaito was slightly relieved when Xiao decided to make the last minute change and have himself and YoJo team up against Kaito and Yoshito, as Kaito knew Yoshito could defend himself, as could Kaito, but that did leave the Osoroshi slightly disappointed, as he had been looking forward to getting a rematch in against the Ice Release user.

In the end, the team ups didn't matter to Kaito, if his little brother wanted to go two versus two with Kaito, the older genin couldn't say no. If this YoJo was trustworthy, perhaps Kaito would earn himself a new friend out of it. Afterall, Sachihiro was from Konoha and he was pretty cool. The only thing that bothered Kaito was the fact that YoJo had placed his hand on the Kiri genin's shoulder, but that had more to do with Kaito's personal space issues than anything else. "A friend of Xiao's is a friend of mine." Kaito spoke with a smile, only half telling the truth. Kaito would give YoJo the benefit of the doubt, but it simply wasn't in his nature to trust shinobi from outside the Hidden Mist. That didn't give Kaito the right to be rude though.

"I've learned a few things since the last time we fought Xiao, but if you want us to go all out I don't mind." Kaito said with a smirk. Yoshito hadn't seen Kaito use these abilities yet either, and Kaito had no idea how the Konoha-nin would react. He felt the lull in his blood, the way it stilled and his body felt heavy, it was almost like the blood inside him somehow knew Kaito was about to use it. The Kusatta Chi, or the Rotten Blood, was the kekkei genkai of the Osoroshi Clan, and even though Kaito didn't quite understand it, he had already begun to teach himself new abilities. Without his mother or grandmother to guide him, it wasn't likely Kaito would come to learn the full nature of the Rotten Blood for years to come, but that wouldn't stop him in the here and now.

As the four genin made their way to one of the arenas prepared for exhibition matches, eventually finding themselves on opposite sides, Kaito took a breath. He wasn't worried about Yoshito hurting their fellow Kiri-nin, so Kaito wanted to take the Konoha shinobi out of the fight first. Knowing nothing about the shinobi, Kaito decided not to waste any time. Kaito turned to his comrade for the match before speaking. "Yoshito, I'll take them head on, try to hang back and wear them down with range attacks." Pressing them in both close quarters as well as at range would make for a decent offense, and Kaito wasn't all that worried because he knew a couple defensive jutsu. If anything, what he was about to do might just scare both Xiao and YoJo, possibly even Yoshito to be honest, but at least it would work, or so Kaito hoped.

The first thing anyone would notice, is the blood pooling at the base of Kaito's eyes, forming crimson tears as Kaito looked onward, his eyes having turned completely black. As the Kiri-genin gasped at the pain of the blood in his hands pushing it's way out of his fingertips, forming cruel looking black talons. Even as his skin grew more and more rose tinted, Kaito only smirked while his skin developed a thick sheen of blood before it hardened forming a protective second skin. With crimson skin, black eyes, talons, and weeping blood, Kaito looked more demon than human. With the Kusatta Chi running through his blood, Kaito wasn't certain but he might actually be part demon afterall. "Ice and Blood, how fun!" Kaito offered with a devilish smirk, sending chakra to his feet for good measure, didn't need to lose his footing and making a fool of himself.

Jutsu Used - 215/250:

Yoshito Yuki | Joker of the Mist

---

Yoshito’s eyes scanned Yoshihiro as he escaped the clutches of the crowd just as Yoshito had done just sooner than he. However, YoJo did it with much more grace than the young Yuki boy did. Yoshito fell and did a tumble flip in his embarrassment hoping to still keep an air of confidence after the fall he took. He came and gathered with Xiao, Kaito and Yoshito and slid his position next to Kaito. What’s he think he’s doing? It was a quick thought that shot through his brain before he spoke. “YoJo it is then my man.” Yoshito said with happiness in his voice, he didn’t want to seem so serious around others. He was worried for his upcoming chunin exam matches but to show fear is like showing weakness and the young boy was a master at keeping his emotions in check even in the most critical situations. Something he had picked up on while his family was traveling, or better said, on the run from Takigakure. Yoshito wanted to introduce himself formally to YoJo, meeting Sachihiro within the confines of Kirigakure was a pleasure and he was hoping the same from this man but alas, he couldn’t get an introduction before Xiao began to introduce everyone for YoJo.

“Yup, I’m the Iceman!” Yoshito said pointing his thumb at his chest with a big smile. Yoshito said in between Xiao’s speaking so he wouldn’t interrupt the young spider ninja. It was a beautiful thing seeing two villages come together and have a friendly spar within these trying times. A chunin exam going on and here four people are doing a classic two versus two match to warm up.

Yoshito turned his back on the group following Kaito to their starting points. The two Misty genin stood opposite of Xiao and YoJo just about thirty meters from each other. As they walked before they got here, however, Yoshito couldn’t help but to think on what Kaito had said, that he learned more since their last match. It was an interesting thing to say at the very least. Normally genin could learn as they progress through the days but he said it with such a grimacing tone it was as if he was hiding something he was almost afraid of. Yoshito pondered at the thought of such a thing, Kaito played a little dirty in their first match but nothing he could think of that Kaito would be legitimately afraid of showing outward to his friends. Yoshi looked onward to Kaito as he told the young Yuki clan member to hang back and attack them at a distance. “Why would I do that? I’m not a ranged guy you know that Kaito.” Yoshito said, his own voice was confusing in nature almost as if Kaito wanted to prove something to everyone there. Prove something to Yoshito and Xiao, at the very least, possibly even himself that he could handle himself on his own. It seemed as if Kaito had the same helplessness complex that Yoshito had before these exams. It was a weird thing to see Kaito like this.

As he spoke to Kaito the older genin’s eyes would emit red teardrops. It was very strange, this kind of power was completely unknown to Yoshito but it could have been a side effect to that Sero man he had met with Koryu. That man spoke of corruption should he choose to take his hand and accept his power, is this what he meant? The blood didn’t seemed to have a sort of damaging effect on Kaito so Yoshito could only assume it was something that was an innate thing that just happened when using the thing he was talking about earlier. He watched as Kaito’s fingers rubbed his bloodied eyes and admired as the blood formed into talons creating a slightly longer range on his basic strikes and most likely damaging more than a simple basic attack. It was a strange looking ability that’s for sure. Not only did the talons form from Kaito’s blood but his skin was becoming visibly redder. It was something truly unbelievable yet it was happening right in front of the boy’s eyes. Yoshito sighed as he looked upon the man who stole his first kiss with a depressed look, he hoped that his friend wouldn’t become this blood-thrilled type of person as he pursued the road to Shinobi. Yoshito simply bended his knees ready for his opponents to possibly rush forward with whatever they would do to retaliate. As he bent his knees the young boy grabbed his kusarigama from his back holding each scythe in each hand.

“Well, let’s do it then.”

⎾ Word Count: [800 | 1,755 | 6,123 TWC] ⏌

The words that were exchanged amongst the four were short and straightforwards for the most part. YoJo was somewhat wary about being teamed with his friend, especially with how the spider-nin seemed more inclined to agility and indirect fighting. It didn't help that the Genin knew virtually nothing about his two opponents. He may very well face them in the exams, and the thought of giving away too many of his jutsu right off the bat had him wary. It certainly was the downside of being too visible in these exhibition fights before the main event of the tournament started. Still, YoJo had agreed to team up with the spider once again, and now that he had stepped onto the dirt of the arena there was no going back. Whilst the small talk ensued, the Genin would casually tug at his shawl, seemingly adjusting the large and flowing piece of cloth that was draped over his shoulder down to his opposing him. Secretly though, he imbued it with a trace of his own chakra, prepping the fabric to act as a substitution in case the unfamiliar shinobi got the better of him with one of their jutsu. The loose nature of the shawl would allow it to fall off with the first sudden movement he made, giving him and out ideally.

The Genin nodded at the words of trust that Kaito and Yoshito offered him. It was a start, even if it was rather clear that they were not so quick to give their minds over to YoJo due to the virtue of his village. This did not offend, for the Genin had expected as much just as he now silently judged the motives of the Kiri-nin. Xiao had proven himself to be a stalwart ally in spite of their differing alleigances, YoJo couldn't say the same for his friends from first glances. With a nickname set for clarity's sake, the three could start to properly plan their methods of attack. The display that the two opposing ninja put on was quite impressive, as well as jarring for YoJo and unfamiliar onlookers to see. A ninja that used blood? Such a thing might've been expected of the Hokage, but the way in which Kaito appeared completely foreign indicated a more devious nature to his jutsu. Although wide eyed in initial surprise and a smidge of fear, YoJo quickly recovered. He didn't know what Kaito had, nor what this ability of his could do, but he certainly planned to react accordingly.

"Hey, so, you got a plan this time around?" Yoshi asked, calling over to Xiao as he watched Yoshito match the ready stance that Kaito had adopted. Blood and Ice, huh? The former was a pretty clear indicator of Kaito, whilst the other, Ice, clued YoJo in to the fact that the other Kiri-nin was of the legendary Yuki clan, the only ones who could use such ice jutsu. That was... certainly the potent combo. What did he and Xiao have? Wind and Spiders? It wasn't exactly the most intimidating thing in the world, especially with the rather benign natures that the two had in common. "I'm all ears here" YoJo added, eyeing the two carefully as his hand slowly drifted down along his side to grab at a kunai at his hip. It was a strange role reversal. YoJo had always felt comfortable being more of the tactical sort, yet when faced against shinobi whom he knew virtually nothing about, he was at the beck and call of his more knowledgable partner. He watched the two Kiri-nin, a classic mexican standoff ensuing as one of them waited to make the first move.

624/1668/6747 TWC

Total WC: 1668

• Training C-rank Speed to C1, 1000/1000
  

255/260:

Xiao was pleased to say the least, this was precisely all he wanted in the world, this was his only desire and end result whenever he considered the larger scheme of things. A group of youths from varying background and even villages uniting under the banner of entertainment and friendship. He couldn't quite articulate the feeling only being twelve and all but whenever he saw it, the international bonds that connected each heart it made Xiao feel as though there was hope for the world yet. He may have hated the shinobi system and in secret perhaps have wished a different life for himself but if it brought the chance to unite others Xiao had to admit that perhaps there was some good in it. Still holding his prior taijutsu crane stance he looked to his elder brother who seemed like his usual genius self formulating new strategy and techniques which always impressed Xiao and in a way he did he envy that he held such ability. He wondered why in this friendly friendly with a river so full of songs why didn't every heart feel as thankful as they should, though that was Xiao's optimism seeping through admittedly. Kaito commented that he had grown, something that caused the little spider's heart to soar with excitement "That's amazing! Ahh, You're running too Jounin faster than me!" Xiao stated with a false sounding hint of envy in his voice when in reality it was more glee that his elder brother of sorts was meeting the prospects that Haka must have seen in his actions. The two teams standing at roughly 30m between one another meant that there was a large gap to be filled when attacks would begin. It would mean there was range, of course, to spout off the basic jutsu that always followed most combat situation such as the forming of replacements, clones and what not but enough to react.

Xiao's head cocked to the side as his arms dropped to the side of his body as Kaito and Joker seemed to perfectly align. A little too perfectly. Had they been practicing? It was hard to tell but certainly enough syncronicity that Xiao made a mental note of the melding of the two. If Xiao's ultimate goal, whether it surpassed his body or not, was to ensure the unity of all villages then these two could certainly prove useful if they worked together and the same would go for Yoshiro. Yoshihiro's own style was unique, as was his personality, being clanless but he still held a sense of pride and power even those of the hyuga couldn't rival. In time, Yoshihiro could certainly be a prime chess piece for Konoha and if Xiao's growing web was to ensure the securing of 'bonds' to form these webs he would be a strong ally to have in the future. Yoshiro's words soon awoke him from his hazy focus "Huh? Oh right." Xiao stated letting his clownish facade fade for a moment as his mind remained in other places and thus unlike the prankster of the webs that usually would spout a quip the distracted Xiao who watched over his brothers forming their own strategies and readying their jutsu emotionlessly answered akin to Haka or Verdandi's own way of speaking "Yoshito is an Ice Release User. Kaito's new red form looks dangerous but as he's a genius with countless jutsu it's hard to know what to respect. Regardless, they both use the Suiton element and Raiton would be of the greatest advantage. Focus on playing smart. Stay out of range. Anecdotally, They have a habit of using everything they have at once. Exploit that. Let them tire themselves out. Let me draw fire, you cook up something that can attack from a range. " Xiao continued emotionless simply looking forward before shaking his head realising what he had done "So uh, we kick them in the gnads." he added trying his best to fall back into his traditional clownish self as he began to stretch out his eyes sliding over to Yoshihiro who joined the eternal staring match causing the little spider to know it was time what he did best: Jump in without thought and get his head kicked in by his friends

Xiao shrugged his shoulders before placing them behind his head in a lax position, as he did so molding chakra in his mouth "So, who wants to break the ice, I mean Yoshito's the prime candidate to suit the phrase" he jested secretly swirling his tongue to generate an array of webs that spewed forth towards his two opponents. They were outside of range, by 5m to be exact, but they didn't know the exact range of the technique and though a C-rank and possibly a bad starting concept Xiao would use the opportunity to quickly weave two additional 'game' starters taking a page from Haka's lessons and opting to focus on outmanuevering the opponent and all at once uttering contradicting the prospect of 'tiring out his opponents' by spamming jutsu himself. Haka had taught him a simple jutsu, the ability to utilize techniques with no handseals for but a moment and Xiao would opt to utilise this first sending the web outward towards the two then at once creating six clones. The additional clone may have cost him further chakra but was for his attempt at an additional move as the smoke of the clones would obscure his own transformation through the henge jutsu into that of a relatively bright false oodama rasengan. How did Xiao manage to henge himself into an Oodama Rasengan? Well Xiao had a little trouble understanding the concept of being able to shift into singular small items himself but the prospect of being a simple glowing night made some sense to him atleast especially with his small frame. The five clones began to pose in a dramatic sentai like fashion as the sixth clone holding Xiao stood behind the group with the "Xiaosengan" in his hand, the clones then began to rush forward in a V formation with the sixth member directly in the center "RASENGAN!" yelled Xiao from his glowing ball form as the clones began to follow the webbing into an attack rushing towards Yoshito with the squad of clones.


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Ex3 - 25 - 225/250 (Two lots of Bunshin + Handseal Mastery rules)
Cx1 - 15 - 215/250

Spoiler:

Name: Hand Seal Mastery
Canon/Custom: Custom
Rank: E
Type: Supplementary
Element: -
Range: Self
Specialty: Any
Duration: 1 posts
Cooldown: 2 posts
Description:
Mastery of chakra molding is not an easy feat, but there are some who succeed nonetheless. The Hand Seal Master may eschew the need for hand seals stated in a jutsu of their choice and still execute the technique as normal. Though such a feat grants a certain benefit on a tactical level, it also comes with enhanced concentration and the need for chakra expenditure. For a single post, the shinobi may cast jutsu without the need for hand seals.

Starting the 2nd jutsu, an additional 5 chakra must be paid per jutsu

Spoiler:

Kaito's mind was elsewhere as he let the burning sensation in his veins sing to him as his blood began to heat up. His skin began to feel wrong somehow, almost like when a foreign object touched skin and your body immediately knew it was something else. It wasn't anger or rage that fueled him, nor that of hunger, but instead it was a fierce determination that drove the demonic blood within the Osoroshi, he needed to fight and his blood demanded he do so. Kaito's sight had dimmed somewhat, but he was still clearly able to see Xiao forming clones and rushing forward as some sort of web like attack flew towards him and Yoshito. Jumping instinctively to avoid the attack, Kaito began to rush forward towards the first of the clones. It was impossible to tell which one was Xiao, at least in Kaito's current state, but that wouldn't stop him from clawing his way through the non-existent bodies until he broke past Xiao to the Konoha-nin behind him.

There was only one issue with that plan, after jumping to dodge the webbing Xiao had thrown at him, Kaito fell to the ground in pain after a few more steps. Landing on his hands and knees, Kaito began coughing hard. As the sound of the coughing shifted, became wetter, Kaito's eyes began to flow with crimson tears all over again as his throat tore itself apart and the ground began to be splattered with blood. A few moments later, Kaito fell back on his hunches, no longer coughing up blood but a red mist that stung his eyes and made his skin itch. His mind raced with possibilities, had he over done it with his new found abilities? Was he dying? But no, once he realized his blood was turning into a crimson mist, he remembered reading about this ability in the book he found at his grandmother's house.

Anyone caught in the mist would suffer from skin irritated skin, burning eyes, and a serious cough, anyone that was, other than Kaito, who as an Osoroshi had an innate immunity to most basic poisons. While the crimson mist wouldn't stop anyone from seeing him, Kaito knew that the mist would follow him, clinging to him and only moving up to five meters from his body. The real effect of the mist though, was that after a few moments it rendered anyone not immune to its effects blind temporarily, leaving them wide open to attack. Perhaps the demonic nature of his blood was trying to help him win this fight. The thought partially scared Kaito, as it meant he didn't yet have full control of his abilities.

Picking himself up and relaunching himself towards Xiao, aiming run through his clones in the hopes of infecting the real Xiao with blindness before bypassing the spider-nin entirely to face YoJo in close quarters combat. Kaito had no doubt Yoshito could handle Xiao in a one on one, and if not, Kaito would just have to deal with the Konoha-nin quickly to aid his own teammate. On the other hand, something inside Kaito caused him to grin as his claws slashed through the chest of one clone, causing them to dissipate, the thought that peeked his curiosity the most, was fighting both Xiao and YoJo at the same time. How many could he take down in one spar session he thought to himself? Kaito honestly didn't know, but the idea of the challenge was enough to excite the darker parts of his being.

Jutsu Used - 175/250: