Link to Mission:

After a lunch out with her parents, Kameko made her way back to her little apartment to prepare for the second half of her day. Laying out on her desk was a single sheet of paper. Picking it up, she reviewed the specifics of the mission that she’d been assigned. She was to meet a fellow Genin, Yamamoto, Venrir, at the Battle Plateau for a friendly spar at two o’clock this afternoon to promote camaraderie and help refine each other’s skills. ‘Another spar? I guess Mr. Akako must have said something good about me.’ Her first mission had been to participate in a practice bout against one of Mr. Akako’s students, and he had seemed pleased with her efforts during it. This would be a whole different game though, as this was another shinobi that she would be facing. ‘As long as he doesn’t use Genjutsu, it’ll be fine,’ her upbringing in the Ryuzoji clan made her a bit prejudiced against the specialty.

Turning to her closet, she changed out of the lovely maroon dress and black heels that she had worn to lunch and into a more practical outfit of movement-friendly clothes: a fitted navy blue jacket, black pants, and the standard shinobi shoes. Looking in the mirror on her vanity, she braided back her chest-length black hair and tied her hitai-ate on as a headband to keep her bangs from getting in her blue eyes. Glancing over at the clock, she realized that it was time to leave. After collecting her ninja tools, which consisted of a pouch with kunai and shuriken in it and her rusty katana, which she strapped onto her back, the young woman made her way to the Battle Plateau.

With the way Kumogakure was spread out amongst the mountain, it took a bit of time to reach the plateau, but based on the fact that she hadn’t heard any clock bells yet, she surmised that she had somewhere around ten or fifteen minutes left before she was supposed to meet this Venrir guy. It looked like she was in luck, and no one else was using the plateau at the moment. Perhaps they were all eating lunch or having a nice little siesta, either way it would be nice to not have to worry about accidentally involving any bystanders, although the plateau was probably big enough to accomodate it. Glancing up at the sky, she noted that it was overcast but with no indication that it would rain anytime soon. Fortunately they were scheduled to spar in the ‘heat of the day’ which kept the plateau cool but not chilly.

Regardless of the temperature, her muscles were not warmed up, so she moved to rectify that before her sparring partner arrived. Moving through an abbreviated version of her warm-up, she swung her arms in first small and then larger circles, warming up the joints. She repeated method this with leg swings. When her extremities felt loose, she casually tilted her head from side to side more gently warming up her neck. Not wanting to start working out and wearing herself out before the spar, she drew her Rusty Katana and just took a few practice swings. The sword was still new to her, and she wanted to remind herself of its weight before having to use it for real. Her last mission had been all well and good in reminding her about the logistics of swordplay, but they had used bokken, wooden swords; this was the first time that she would be using her katana against anything other than a dummy. Hearing bells toll in the distance, she straightened, sheathed her katana, and looked around the plateau for her partner.

His clock went off with a bleeping sound. He reacted to the stimulant and opened his eyes, taking in the morning light. As what he had planned today would only start at noon, he could rest more. However, he wanted to have things done before this friendly battle would happen. It would be helpful if he could manipulate his own mood to at least give a damn about the mission. Up to this point, the emotion had sunk deep in one of the darkest pits. Venrir did hope for something better when the clock would tick noon, then he had to be at the battle plateau to fight this Genin. He knew she was named Kameko Ryuzoji and that the specific clan could see raiton in jutsu. It seemed they sensed it. His storm wouldn't do much help, due to it being a mixture of water and raiton. Maybe he could find a way misleading this girl. Yet, it still wasn't noon, so why should he be planning his strategy already?

The 20 year old yawned as he walked down his hall, still in his sleeping attire, which consisted out of plain black shorts and a white T-shirt. The wooden floor creaked under the pressure of his body. The hand of the Genin reached to his neck and scratched it nonchalantly. He wondered how this kid was going to be. If it was him choosing, his liking would go to a socially awkward person, but somehow he felt that this person wouldn't be so socially awkward. All he wanted avoid was a long talk in between the blows. A chat mid fight, that just got on his nerves, even if he did it sometimes as well.
His coffee machine had set a nice cup of black deliciousness. Venrir went to his little terrace on the third floor in the building. He could see that it might rain that day. Not that it mattered. Maybe it would even give him some advantage with his suiton. He breathed out heavily after he senses the nice coffee bean smell of the little steam that came from the drink. When it was empty he went back inside. Closing the door sized window that connected with the terrace.

"It seems I might get some good shower and then head to the plateau. After that walk it should be noon, or close to it." His voice still sleepy, maybe a shower would do him good and wake him up a little. Too bad the caffeine would only work after an hour or so. With another yawn he went in the shower, letting the slightly colder water run over his face. Just another 20 minutes and he was out again. All fresh and awake. His hair was wet and had a slightly mint smell to it. He wore his usual clothes. His beige pants with at his heels a little blue part. His also beige shirt was unbuttoned just as the camouflage jacket above it. His good and strong shoes could take a hit of mud and water, so that was a choice easy made.

Venrir walked out of the apartment door, closing it behind him and safely putting his keys in a tiny pocket inside his backpack. He didn't want to break in his won house just because he lost his keys. The sky had been getting darker and darker every time his eyes peered up. He wondered if his partner would already be at the top. His small journey to the Battle Plateau had begun and not long after he was at the top. From afar he could see a figure standing there. It seemed this figure was warming up. Would this one be his sparring partner? Venrir didn't want to waste time. With a slightly quicker pace he closed the space between the two. "Are you Ryuzoji Kameko?" His tone and voice was not so emotional. In fact, it was just a basic tone. His voice didn't seem friendly or offensive, just bored.

WC: 676/1000

When she looked around the plateau she soon caught sight of a red-head approaching her with a purposeful stride. “I am, and I’m guessing that you must be Yamamoto, Venrir,” she offered a friendly smile to his indifferent expression. Her blue eyes flicked over his form, sizing the young man up. They were actually fairly well matched; he was just a little bit taller. She was surprised to see that he was so old, around her age, but the observation did not accompany any sort of judgment or ill-will, she was actually pleased to have been paired with a peer. With so many recent graduates who were barely in their teens, it was easy to feel like she was ages behind the other shinobi. ‘But he doesn’t seemed thrilled to be here,’ she noted from his bored tone and look.

Continuing, she offered, “You’re welcome to take some time and warm up, if you’d like it. I got here a bit early, so I’m already warm, but I don’t mind waiting. We’ll start whenever you’re ready.” Kameko stepped back and gave a little ‘the floor is yours’ gesture to Venrir. She wouldn’t mind getting a better chance to size him up, anyways; the loose clothing made it difficult to appraise Venrir’s build, so she couldn’t judge by his tone whether he specialized in any physical techniques, like Taijutsu or Kenjutsu. 'I don't see a sword though, so probably not Kenjutsu.' Born and raised in Kumogakure, she was familiar with all of the clans that hailed from the village; she knew that the Yamamoto clan specialized in the Storm Release, so it was a safe assumption to say that he used Raiton and Suiton… Just like her, actually. ‘That might be interesting.’

This girl was a tiny bit shorter than him and a katana in her hands revealed that she probably wielded the specialization called Kenjutsu. His taijutsu would not be of many use without armor or quick movements and he hadn't been training his speed nor strength. Venrir didn't train a lot. Sometimes, it was just a big drag making him want to curl up in a ball in front of a warm fire. He pulled his shoulders back and forth, something was jammed. 'Probably some forced muscle. It won't be a disadvantage. Just warm up a little and everything will be fine.' While he held his right shoulder moving it a bit, he looked up. The clouds were getting even more dark. Then he moved his head down to the person in front of him. Finally he decided to confirm that he was Venrir with just a plain 'I am' and a nod.

When Kameko offered him room to warm up, he just swung his arms and legs a few times. Loosing the jolts and warming up muscles. He wondered how long this person had been warming up. Probably longer than him. Venrir wasn't guy type to warm up. In his eyes, it seemed a bit strange already tiring himself before it even started. It wasn't his decision though. He just wanted to get this thing over with. It wasn't of any importance to win or lose. It was the mission that counted, for he wanted to become a Chunnin as fast as possible. Children half his age were Genin. That irritated him most. He wasn't a child like they are or obnoxious for that matter. "I'm done with warming up. Let me just put my bag somewhere so it won't get crushed." He casually walked over to a pair of rocks placing his backpack safe behind them. "Whenever you are ready." His head turned to the right while his eyes had an uninterested look in them. The pair of blues followed the direction of his head as looked sideways. Now he didn't walk up as close as before, after placing his bag away.

WC: 676 + 364 = 1040
Mission Requirement: 1000/1000
Remaining: 40

Kameko had been hoping that Venrir would start the spar, so that she had a reason to retaliate. As much as she wanted the accolades of being a great shinobi, she had conveniently ‘forgotten’ that a shinobi’s life was one of violence. That violence didn’t just mean thwacking someone with a wooden bokken to refine one’s technique with some physical reinforcement; it meant going for blood… Nothing serious of course, this was supposed to be a friendly spar, but she still had to approach this guy with intent to cause harm, which was a little difficult considering he hadn't done anything but go through the motions of showing up and warming up, and apparently only that because she had suggested it. She didn't have any particular ill-will towards him, besides annoyance; it was hard to even get into friendly competition when your opponent acted like he was above it all.

That bored expression on his face irritated her. Having begun her Genin training behind most of the other shinobi, she still took it very seriously and was eager for every mission and training; she wanted to prove herself and do her very best. She had assumed that everyone felt the same way. Why choose such a hard life where you will be required to risk life and limb if you don’t care? Why not do any one of the many other jobs that were needed in the village? This moment obviously wasn’t the time to discuss this young man’s life choices, but his lack of interest did influence her next actions.

Kameko noticed that he intentionally didn’t come as close as he was before. Although she had some ranged jutsu, she had a feeling that Venrir would try to avoid direct confrontation. Judging from his lack of warm-up, he probably didn’t use Taijutsu and stuck to the less physical ninja arts. ‘Or maybe he’s just lazy,’ she considered, unable to tell if his attitude was just personality or indicative of his personal habits. Either way, she couldn’t use her Katana from this distance, and she felt that Venrir might lead her on a merry chase around the plateau if she let him maintain it; she didn’t have the chakra or the quantity to just throw jutsus at him.

“Let’s go,” she declared in a clear tone, feeling the need to ‘officially’ begin the spar. Reaching into her weapons’ pouch, she pulled out her three shuriken and quickly threw them, spinning, towards Venrir. If he didn’t move or block them, they would lodge in his left shoulder, his stomach, and his right hip. Her intention wasn’t really to cause harm with the projectiles, but to keep him busy so that she could close the distance between them. After loosing them, she ran towards him, drawing her Rusty Katana as she moved. Depending on his previous actions, she would strike at him, aiming to cut into his right shoulder.

Chakra: 150/150:

As the words echoed through the man's mind, he took another stance. His upper body bend forward and his head kept facing his enemy. His righter hand took a kunai from his hip pocket. His eyes widened and he took a good and deep breath through his nose. He placed his feet in a strong position as he watched the projectiles go his way. His mind raced through his jutsu book and a grin came to his expression. With quick hands he formed handseals making the Hidden Mist Jutsu appear.

His blue eyes focused on where the girl was heading, it was straight to his position and at the speed she was running at he could hear her feet above the slight wind. To get out of the projectiles way he moved a good two meters to the left and then he launched the kunai at her upper leg as the mist was not at its thickest, so eh could still see a slight figure in the jutsu. After just a second his vision was as dull as hers. He could see only his hand in front of his face.

To get out of any quick and unexpected attack, Venrir moved back until he was three meters out of his own jutsu. 'Go search for my presence, girl. Just be sure not to use any lightning techniques, Venrir. Her clan has the speciality to sense it.'He reminded himself of all the traits of the Ryuzoji clan he could think of. Their reaction was better than a normal. Better than him, he did not know for he hadn't seen her react to anything visible yet.

WC: 1317
1000/1000 Mission
Remaining: 317

As Kameko neared the young man, he grinned, quickly formed hand seals and released a jutsu. The Hidden Mist Jutsu did not originate in Kumogakure, but in Kirigakure, and Kameko did not even have the name to call the the thick fog that began billowing out. Uncertain of the extent of the jutsu, ‘was it just mist or something more sinister?’ , she hesitated for just a breath. That moment of hesitation was enough to let Venrir escape out of the range of her katana. However, before the mist fully formed, her passive Current Perception allowed her to still see the silhouette of his body clearly, and she was able to see the throwing movement and guess that there was a projectile coming her way.

While he escaped out of her passive range, she jumped to the side, but unfortunately, she had moved close enough to the young man that there wasn’t enough distance, and therefore enough time, for her to avoid the kunai completely. Instead of embedding itself near the top of her right quadriceps, the sharp weapon merely cut through the outside edge of her right pant leg, leaving a scratch on the side of her leg before disappearing into the now completely obscuring mist. Sheathing her katana, the young woman changed strategy. Clearly Venrir wasn’t going to stand still and fight her if he can help it, as she’d guessed. So, although it wasn’t her preference, she’d need to switch to using her Ninjutsu, and that was always easier to do with both hands free.

He was out of her passive range of Current Perception, and he would probably do his best to remain so. Activating her Combat Range of the Current Perception, she was able to increase her three hundred and sixty degree view of all Raiton chakra, including the electrical currents running through the living creatures around her. Easily tuning out the static of the small bugs and such, she was able to sense Venrir right at the edge of her range. Her movements had carried her slightly off-center from where he had cast the jutsu, and he was just at that ten meter mark in front of her. Having never experienced this jutsu before and knowing nothing about her opponent, she was uncertain whether or not he was able to see her within the cloud, but she hazarded a guess that he could not, since he hadn’t launched any other attacks yet. However, she could see him, and she quietly moved about a meter towards him, the sound of her footsteps muffled by the mist, getting him more solidly within her field of ‘vision’ while staying as close to the center as she could, trying to keep her own form hidden in her opponent’s jutsu.

Utilizing a jutsu that she had been practicing a few days before, she held both hands up in the shape of guns and quickly fired off a barrage of Shock Bullets. There were fifteen in total; ten of these bullets were aimed at Venrir’s torso, two she sent to his left (one about half a meter, the other a meter past him), two to the right in the same distance increments, and one about a meter of his head. It might be wasteful to purposefully miss with a third of her bullets, but Venrir had proven that he’d rather run than block, and she was determined to do her best to hit him with atleast a few of them. Feeling more or less safe in the mist, figuring that if she can barely see her hands held up in front of her to shoot the Shock Bullets that he probably can’t see her, she watched the rapid path of her Raiton chakra, waiting to see if they made contact.

‘Of course, if he can see you and uses anything but a Raiton jutsu, you’re a sitting duck.’ She bit her lip, questioning her decision. ‘But then, he’s probably waiting out there with some nasty little jutsu prepped for when you come running out of the mist.’ Basically, she was in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ type situation here. She just didn’t have enough information about her opponent and his abilities.

Chakra: 130/150 (-10 for Bullets, -10 for activating Combat Range):

Venrir his eyes went from left to right, letting his eyes gaze over the mist. When the bullets shot through the thick mist he ran a bit back, casting hand seals again. His newest jutsu, Water Senbon. He had learned this especially for an encounter with someone who could sense his raiton. Venrir created 20 senbon, dispatching the 10 bullets with 10 of his own. The rest were shot with pairs of two in the directions where the bullets came from. He guessed that she couldn't see them since it was only suiton. However, Venrir knew this girl could see raiton everywhere like little veins. The male shinobi had done his homework after all. Besides, he wanted to be ready for any attack even on a normal day. That is why he knew lots of the different clans in Kumogakure. Especially the ones that could easily counterattack his storm element.

The remaining 10 senbon, paired in two's, were shot in the mist with a pause. One pair more left from where the bullets came from. Another pair more right. He still had 6 senbon left. Two of them were thrown exactly where the previous jutsu came off from. Then another two senbon were shot above of the earlier attack. The last two he held in his hands, but not long after the were aimed at the same place as the other, only from above. Indeed, Venrir jumped up in the air throwing the last pair from in the sky. But when he put pressure onto his legs, Venrir felt a stinging pain. Apparently, he had missed a few. How many, he wasn't sure of. All he knew was that he was shot and wounded. He was suddenly and overly aware of the shock in his legs.
As his feet met the ground again, he fell to his knee. The shock had made his righter leg quite weak and unstable. The slight burn was painful. As he counter his wounds, he found out that he was hit three times. One above his knee, one under it and one on his left leg at thigh height. Even if it stung, he took stance to move at any possible attack. This would make things more of a struggle than it first was. "You've got good aim." Yet, the pain made the man remember that this fight was real. Not just a training. But, his muse hadn't risen to try more. It was too much of a drag for him. After all, it was just a mission.

Even with the wound, he went and held his hands in front of him, legs with to have more balance and feet edged to the outer sides. The ill wound had given him a hard time standing straight. After all, the shinobi didn't want to put too much weight on it. It did hit him right under his knee.

'She probably saw me throwing something, but maybe she didn't have enough time to see me jump up. Or she might still be busy wit the senbon.' He was left out of information and hated it. It was like blindly walking around in a bear's cave.

Venrir wanted to see what happened and dispatched the Hidden Mist Jutsu. The thick mist slowly went into the ground, fading away. Venrir watched over the platform to see what would appear. Yet, his mind was not set on the battle, on the coming rain or on his enemy. It was set on how lucky this girl was. Having such determination. His eyes were gazing lazily at the open field. There was nothing he was focused on. Only his own mind.

Remaining WC: 872

Water Senbon [105/150:

‘Seriously?’ she thought with annoyance as she saw the Raiton in the first couple of shock bullets dissipate before connecting with Venrir. She had been sure that, using the cover of the mist, he wouldn’t be able to see them until it was too late to dodge or counter. Apparently not. Kameko hadn’t been able to see what had connected with her bullets to block them, but it didn’t really matter. The idea of using the mist to launch attacks from was useless if he had enough time to avoid them, so as soon as he blocked the first of her shock bullets, she began running to her right to exit the mist, not waiting around to see if the others would make contact or not.

Unbeknownst to the young woman, as she had begun running and was not actively keeping her eye on him, Venrir had paused after blocking her attack before launching his counterattack. This pause had allowed her to travel far enough before the fast moving water senbon reached her location that only one of the pair of senbon thrown in that direction made contact. Not seeing the projectile, which dissipated upon impact, Kameko felt an odd wet sensation before experiencing a sharp pain as the needle punctured her left triceps.  She kept moving until she reached the edge of the mist, only to see the mist begin to dissipate. Glancing down at her arm, she couldn’t see any indication of the wound, as the senbon was thin enough to pierce without cutting the sleeve of her jacket, but she could certainly feel it as the initial pain changed to a more of a dull ache. It had begun to bleed but only a tiny amount, and with the dark blue of her jacket, neither she nor Venrir would be able to see that unless she removed the jacket.

Turning back, she located Venrir, standing in a wide stance. The red-head was about eleven meters from her, just outside of her range, but it didn’t much matter. She could see him with her own eyes and it would be simple to close the distance, which was really what she needed to do. This ranged style was not proving to be very productive at her current skill level. Purposefully not showing that it was mildly painful for move her left arm about, she raised her hands to about chest height, palms facing upwards as she called out, “Is this just target practice, or are we going to spar?” The words were spoken as a challenge, trying to goad Venrir into engaging her at close range instead of just exchanging projectiles.

There was a learning curve going on in this spar. For one, she had learned that she was simply too slow. Her reaction time didn’t do her any good if she didn’t have the speed to get out of the way of his attacks. She also should have known better when she was in the mist. Of course, he could tell basically where the attacks were coming from; her first action after firing the shock bullets should have been to move to another location rather than waiting around and watching them like the amateur that she was. The mist though… she could see ways that, with her Kekkei Genkai, she could utilize it. It would just take a bit more getting used to the pros and cons of relying fully on her Current Perception.

Chakra: 125/150 (-5 for maintaining Combat Range):

Venrir watched as the mist was faded. His stance wasn't strong, his shoulders weren't wide and his body was not muscular at all. However, his taijutsu was something he liked to use. But now was an exception. It was probably useless with that numb feeling in his leg. "Perks of raiton, I guess..."

"You want so spar? You mean use that sword of yours to keep me at distance? Well, maybe, if it gets us closer to the end of this mission." His last sentence was less loud and a bit to himself. However, he figured she must have heard it. "Those bullets of yours. They do sting a little. Too bad. The fight is basically over. I don't like putting myself in exhaustion for a mission." Venrir cracked his neck to the sides, making slight noises and a grunt when he was done. He shook his arm a little to let the muscles warm up. "If I'm honest, I've already done more than I wanted in the first place. You might bring out a different part in me." It was the first time today that he laughed. Not in an insulting way. In a way that amused him. This day amused him. This fight, it was the best thing tag happened so far. Even if he got hurt.
He aimed his blue eyes up at the sky again. "Today isn't a bad day after all." Then he looked back at his opponent, "What am I doing? Blabbering in a fight like this? I would have been dead if you were a real enemy. Let's get this over with." Venrir went to stand in a pose with his hands in front of his. His bad leg behind him and his left leg in front. His torso slight turning away from the kunoichi in front of him. "You wanted to spar. Come on then."

Remaining WC: 1208

As Venrir replied to her challenge, she cautiously approached, closing the distance between them to a couple meters. At that distance, she could see the singe marks where some of her bullets had made contact with his legs. Kameko couldn’t help but be surprised when Venrir suddenly laughed. It was so incongruous with his previous apathy. Caught off guard, she relaxed slightly, her expression reflexively mirroring his with an amused little smile at his sudden candidness, her cheeks dimpling. A moment later, he brought his attention back to the reason that they had met here this afternoon, and despite her need to focus on the spar, which was about to resume, she couldn’t help but wonder at his sudden optimism; the boy seemed like he must be a bit masochistic to be laughing when she finally got an attack on him.

He wasn’t seriously injured; the bullets were relatively weak charges of ration, more useful due to their numbers than to their individual firepower, yet he expressed that he was about ready to call off the spar, which she’d be fine with. Her left arm was aching from whatever had pierced her skin moments earlier, and she didn’t want this to drag on anymore. Kameko recalled that the mandate of this particular mission was to promote camaraderie. The young woman decided to take a kind of laissez-faire attitude to the spar; it had seemed to reach its own conclusion, and she wasn't going to prolong it. She had successfully completed the mission; they'd both been 'blooded', and she'd met another Genin from Kumogakure.

You know what? Let's just call it a day. I got you with those Shock Bullets, and you got me with whatever you shot into the mist." No longer pretending to be unhurt, she allowed herself to reflexively rub her left arm with a rueful expression. "I'm gonna head back and report in the 'Mission Complete!', but one of these days you'll have to show me how to make that mist. I've got a couple ideas for it." The last was said a bit conspiratorially. It would be a good challenge to see if she could take the jutsu he had used on her and find a way to turn it into an advantage for herself. "I'll see you around, Venrir. Thanks for the spar!" she smiled and, with a little wave, turned to find her way off the plateau. If nothing else, this had been a good and less-painful-than-expected introduction to what shinobi life was about.

When no offensive movements were further made, Venrir blinked a few times in a confusing matter. With a little shaking from his head the boy let loose of the stance and took a few steps in this kunoichi's direction. First he let out a relieved sigh having his head hang a bit. However, it was all in a positive way, kind of relieving actually.
"I've got to say. You're no helpless kitten." Strangely, his mood was better than before they started. Even if Venrir was not good at all, he appreciated practicing with someone else. He might even do this again. "You can keep the bigger reward. I don't need it. You did put more effort into this spar than me anyway." Teaching this girl the mist technique? That was surprising. "If you want to learn it. You better remind me." He said as they parted ways. Thank you as well.

[EXIT THREAD]

Remaining WC: 1371
Stat training:
END E - 2 > E - 3: 225/225
PER E - 2 > D - 3: 225/225
STR: E – 2 > E – 3: 225/225
STR: E - 3 > D - 0: 300/300
SPD E – 2 > E – 3: 225/225

WC Remaining: 171