Thwarted by the substitution and beehive combination, the chuunin's pursuers were left clueless as to which direction he escaped. Of far greater concern was the rampant buzzing and stinging all around them, forcing the Makotos to pull back and find a different route around. Which in turn meant there was little in his way when Asura decided to assist his junior kinsmen, the two reuniting within the shallows.
However, neither ninja would be so lucky when it came to leaving that pond.
Asura paid the price for such a bold rescue when a set of claws came raking toward his back in the next instant, followed by a pair of kicks slamming at his legs to slow any hope of retreat. Quick and unpredictable, the assailing figure then bounded around both ninja in a wild rhythm, harrying them with a maddening flurry of swipes and kicks.
All it had to do was hold them at bay.
Because the two Makotos that the genin had distracted moments prior had since caught up to the commotion, charging in with a combined shout. "TSUUGA!" A familiar vision of twin cyclones barreled down on the Hyuugas, intending to pincer them between the vicious spirals and the Makoto blocking their path.
[attr="class","bolo-body] While thankful to Asura that he didn't have to go an impromptu dive, Tsukiya couldn't help but feel like life would have been easier if that wasn't the case. Maybe his luck was just running out? So much for a chill training day. [break][break] He saw the chūnin staggering behind him while his initial attacker attempted to strike at the older Hyūga. However, Tsukiya didn't really have any time to pay that much attention to the older shinobi's situation. He had to contend with two persistent beast clones spiraling towards their direction. [break][break] He supposed running could only do so much at this point. His chakra reserves weren't all too exhausted, only the constant strain of his own dojutsu drained it over time. He was bruised and scratched all over, his jacket in tatters. Regardless of how he looked, he felt like his limbs were still ready to respond like the weapons they were trained to be. [break][break] Gritting his teeth, he did what any cornered animal would do. He would fight viciously. [break][break] He pushed more than half of his chakra into the tenketsu points in his hands. To his Byakugan, his hands glowed brightly. He turned so that both Makoto clones were on either side and planted his feet as hard as he could on the ground. With a cry of effort, Tsukiya met both attacks with the open palms the jūken was famously known for. [break][break] Chakra ground on chakra. He felt his arms going numb as they vibrated synchronously with the clones' attacks.
The Hyuuga had reached the precipice of their ability to stave off their Jounin's attacks. Still they persisted, the trenches of "war" greeting them as Makoto once more took to assaulting them with impossible odds stacked in her favor. Beneath the sweat and bruised form, however, it was only the prologue to the tale of their fighting spirit. He could feel her ivory daggers at his back, concussive force and sharp slashes coalescing with forceful kicks knocking upon his doorstep. Desperation had invited itself into his every waking notion. The Hyuuga could only respond to the call in kind. One might have given in to the flurry of attacks if they didn't possess a Doujutsu superior to that of the norm. His blind spot would have granted his Jounin complete and utter dominion over proposed tactics, but it was her wild and feral ministration that offered him the briefest insight. His muscles burning, eyebrows furrowed, Asura was only a hair betwixt successful execution and failure.
Shunshin.
Less than half an inch separated them as Asura vanished, propelling himself forward and joining Tsukiya. Immediately, he recognized the stance of his kin. They were no longer capable of running. Their Jounin was an insurmountable mountain, gnashing tooth and claw combining to create the deadliest of opponents. His only option clear, Asura fell into sync with his fellow Hyuuga and planted his feet within the waters below. Nimble digits were instantly turned into lethal weapons as chakra lined them, the Byakugan roaring to life and taking measure of Makoto and her companions. The roar that escaped Asura's lungs signified the might of his attempt. A complete transition from evasive maneuvers into offensive countermeasures, the Hyuuga pair became a perfect sphere of synchronized strikes of the Jyuken nature.
Chakra dispersed, every limb and effort the extent to which they were determined to survive. Asura struck out against fang and claw with no less than one hundred and ten percent of what was left of him. Burning muscle prevailed, his Byakugan allowing him to move in unison with Tsukiya. Where the Genin had struck, Asura would follow to keep their defense consistent. Explosions of force rang out and into the atmosphere, his battle cry reaching its climax as Asura defied the fate of failure.
Whether or not it was enough was not the question - Makoto was far too powerful for them. But this was more than that. It was a testament to the Hyuuga Clan's abilities, an effort that would rise above contestation and show their Jounin that they were capable.
To the end, Asura would go. Hopefully, Tsukiya would follow unflinchingly.
Intercepted by the combined defensive barrage of the Hyuuga kin, both Makotos were overwhelmed and forced aside by the calculated reprisal. Given how fast they'd been hurtling ahead before that instant, the snarling figures were tossed either way and sent flying into the water with giant splashes. The clash of fang against fist was not without casualty however, as even in such a short confrontation the clones were able to deliver scratches aplenty.
"Very good!" a growling voice commended from behind. No sooner than when those words of praise were spoken did a paper bomb attached to a kunai come sailing out of the air. It struck close - but not close enough to inflict any harm. Instead the explosion hit the shallows with an echoing boom, causing water to spring upward and spray over both Hyuuga.
The Makoto responsible for the huge splash was already sprinting over in that same moment, making a beeline for Tsukiya. Of the two, he was more likely to be disoriented, and the savage figure bearing down on him meant to take full advantage of any hesitation. Claws thrust out of the drizzle to hook onto his shirt, hair, arm - whatever was available - violently yanking him into a spinning motion. "HRRRAHHH!" When the Inuzuka let go at the final part of her twist, she sent the boy flying straight at his kinsmen, using him as both shield and weapon at once.
[attr="class","bolo-body] Tsukiya could feel a numbing sensation from deep within his biceps. He knew nothing was broken, the young Hyūga's eyes would have told him so immediately. That, however, didn't stop the pangs of pain coming from his palms and wrists. [break][break] There was a tugging sensation on the back of his jacket. He immediately recognized the the visage of Makoto. While he was less disoriented than what the jounin would think—the Byakugan was good at seeing through such menial distractions—he wasn't exactly at his most capable at the moment. He tried to pry the Inazuka away from him to no avail. His limbs wouldn't move the way he needed them to at the moment. [break][break] So it was then, after a few spins, that the Hyūga boy found himself mid-air, flying towards his clansmen like nothing more than a rag doll.
The entirety of their efforts had been futile. As the explosion rocked the immediate vicinity about them, eyes narrowed as the Hyuuga lofted both arms in a desperate attempt to circumvent greater harm. He could feel the sting of water and small debris, the shroud of Makoto's ministrations obscuring the Chuunin's ability to think. There was only instinct, the will to survive, the bestial nature of a young man who fought between the acceptance of comradery and selfish desire. To that end, the coin stood upon its edge.
Asura would succumb to both. Moments in history had been defined by the impossible, the unseen. As Tsukiya flew toward his position, Asura could do naught but roar out in defiance as he was struck by the ferocity of his Hyuuga kin's travel. Backward he was sent, sandals leaving the water and parallel to earth as he flew. The sensation of pain was far greater than he had anticipated, the wind nearly knocked from his lungs as time slowed to a crawl. He clutched onto Tsukiya, the Genin's back pressed hard to his chest as Asura slammed into the waters meters behind them and skid along the pond's length.
Soaked, the Hyuuga lay upon his back and maintained his grip upon Tsukiya's being. There was no chakra left with which to defend. There was no out positioning their Jounin. In those fleeting moments of hopelessness, Asura had found his only method of escape with no less than necessity the mother of his unthinkable invention.
Grit teeth shown visibly as Tsukiya found a kunai at his throat. Its edge bore down upon his epidermis with a threatening pressure, Asura's Byakugan persisting just barely in the wake of Makoto's attack. He clutched onto Tsukiya's form, legs tangled so as to deprive the Genin of an escape route.
There it was. The precipice of humanity, the teeter-totter between survival and sacrifice. Labored breathing was forced out and into the air as the pair lay in the water, Asura's eyes narrowed and frantically searching for Makoto's approach.
In this life, shinobi would be tried and tested. If nothing else, Asura was a survivor.
Makoto felt a twitch of unease when neither Hyuuga rose to their feet. More so when the older of the pair began using Tsukiya like a meat shield. Whatever their intention was behind such a weird tactic, it hardly slowed down the pace of the pursuit happening all around them.
Soon enough a pair of bulky mutts joined the engagement to prove that fact, dashing into action with rumbling howls. In a single dramatic leap they launched themselves directly above the Hyuuga, putting their full weight into a combined body slam that would see the genin taking the brunt of impact.
FWOOSH! Another wave of water erupted into the air.
Which was quickly followed by two more Makotos joining the chaos, the rabid figures landing in similar fashion to their predecessors, only now with pummeling strikes. Intending to bury the Hyuuga in an onslaught before they could flee, the slashing of claws was replaced by much firmer bites that would serve to restrict their limbs. Vicious growling mixed with the constant splatter of water as the struggle went on, adding to the hectic nature of the brawl as the ninken wrestled for supremacy.
[attr="class","bolo-body] An image of a chibi, glasses-wearing, version of Tsukiya popped in his head as he struggled to comprehend his situation. The figure bowed politely as it stood inside a classroom not unlike the ones in shinobi academies. There was a television beside the chibi that sat atop a metallic cart. It showed the scene that the young Hyūga currently found himself in. A wide angled shot that seemed to take account of all of the teen Hyūga's surroundings in the visceral detail that only dōjutsu could provide. [break][break] Behind the diminutive Hyūga, there were 3 things written on the chalkboard. The caricature pointed to each point using a wooden stick. One: he we was being held at knife-point by his distant cousin. Two: was the number of beast-clone pairs that were about to jump him and his clansmen-turned-captor. Three: Tsukiya was almost out of chakra. [break][break] The young Hyūga's Byakugan suddenly deactivated, the veins on the side of his eyes fading as it did. He blinked rapidly as his vision slowly returned to the usual 120° field of vision humans had. It was as if time slowed down as he focused in on his attackers coming in to pummel him to the ground. The chibi Tsukiya in his brain nodded, as if confirming the real Tsukiya's assessment of the situation. An assessment that could be summarized so elegantly using one word. [break][break] "Fuck." [break][break]
The Hyuuga beat back the beast within as Makoto continued her assault, careless in the matter of the kunai that had been wedged between her continued attacks and Tsukiya's very life. Asura grit his teeth as the very last resort had failed, withdrawing his kunai in favor of kinetic energy. As the Inuzuka's attacks continued to pile on, the Chuunin rolled over until Tsukiya's form was hidden beneath the protective barrier of his form. Bite and tug as they please, the Hyuuga would not yield his kin to danger. He remained there with grit teeth, each attack relinquishing responsibility to Tsukiya.
He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness...
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" Makoto shouted sternly, clapping her hands in a decisive manner to signal the completion of the exercise. Although she liked to push her students, she could tell when they had reached their limits too. "That'll do!" The Jounin's feral appearance slowly faded and gave way to a scowl as she commanded the ninken to disperse.
One by one the dogs climbed off the pile, ceasing their constant growls and chomps to return to their master's side. At the bottom were the battered Hyuuga, both clearly taxed from the vicious onslaught. Luckily for them, scratches and bruises would heal in due time, since her dogs refrained from delivering any serious damage.
"On yer feet, shinobi!" Makoto ordered with a stomp.
She knew full well how much chakra they expended in such a short span of time, the intensity of the situation giving them few other options. So in a gesture of understanding, the Inuzuka reached into her pocket and tossed a food pill at either of them. At least that way they wouldn't be totally sapped of energy anymore, though they would still have those stinging pains to contend with.
Waiting a moment for the Hyuuga to recover, the Jounin inevitably let out a growl. "If this'd been a real battle, ya'd both be dead."
[attr="class","bolo-body] The Hyūga boy groaned pathetically on the ground. The entire concept concept of movement seemed painful to him. Not his worst beating, but definitely up there in the top ten. Nothing was broken, as far as Tsukiya could tell. [break][break] He watched the food pill sail through the air. His back on the ground, he reached out to catch the capsule. A small yelp of effort escaped from Tsukiya as his arm extended forward to seize the pill. His gaze was totally unfocused, very uncharacteristic of any Hyūga. He stared at the sky, and contemplated how the training session turned out. He could hear Makoto chastising him in the background. She hinted their deaths, but that really didn't even matter to Tsukiya. He grinned darkly at his own thoughts. In a battlefield, there was very little a genin could do to survive a jounin's assault. He trained with the jounin captain of his squad, he knew the fundamental difference in the power gap between most genin and most jounin. [break][break] Chucking the pill in his mouth, Tsukiya could feel a bit of energy return to him. It didn't make much of a difference. Only enough to help him stand without assistance. [break][break] "Shinobi die all the time, Inuzuka-taichou." he answered as he slowly got to his feet, "Death is one of the costs all shinobi readily accept to complete their mission." [break][break] Tsukiya was still panting heavily. He paused at almost each word he delivered. [break][break] One of his hands reached behind him to grab something from his ninja pouch. In his hand was the very scroll he was meant to keep away from the dogs. Unfurled, but it definitely had some wear and tear. The fact that it was wet from both dog slobber and pond water did not help its condition. [break][break] His pained expression broke into a look of triumph as he held the scroll up for the Inuzuka to see.
Defeat had been inevitable. Such understanding drew Asura to sit up, foliage and water rendering him a drenched Chuunin. As he brushed stray leaves and twig from his form, the pain that had been dampened by his adrenaline was now coming full force. The Hyuuga grit his teeth as he lifted a hand, catching the food pill and immediately popping it betwixt his lips. There was no frustration, no anger, no animosity as he stood. There was only the knowledge that he had given everything he had. Regardless of whether or not Tsukiya appreciated him using his own form as a defense, Asura mimicked his action and retrieved his scroll for Makoto to view.
"Death awaits us all," Asura began. His countenance tipped north, he took a deep breath. "It's the life we chose when we put the headband on." There was an absolute understanding in his voice. For all of the pain that he had endured, there was no visible sign of compromise aside from the obvious scratches, bruises, cuts they'd received from their Jounin and her kin. Yet again, Tsukiya had vanished from Asura's attention. He merely stood statuesque, soaked and poised to receive the reprimand and instruction that their Superior was undoubtedly going to give them.
Makoto darted up to the Hyuuga pair and gave them simultaneous thumps on the head, clearly dissatisfied with their answers. Maybe that sort of somber outlook passed for being admirable in a Hyuuga household, but not around these training grounds. Makoto was prepared to drill her lessons into the pair again and again if need be.
"My shinobi don't die!" she asserted, hands resting defiantly upon her hips. It seemed the Jounin wouldn't accept the scrolls back either, merely glaring at the tarnished objects with contempt. As far as she saw it, the exercise might've stopped but she wasn't finished. Pointing a clawed finger at both Hyuuga, her lecture persisted with a deep growl. "I don't train cowards that're gunna lie down and accept defeat just 'cus the odds are against 'em!"
All that gloomy talk of ninja being fated to die was excuses. Bad, pathetic excuses. Death was nothing to concern onself with during a battle unless it was all about raining death down on the enemy.
"Yer gunna be outmatched and outnumbered all the time in a real mission. So what then, huh? Plan on lettin' yerself get killed 'cus that's yer duty?" Makoto posed her biting question with another menacing snarl. She had known ninja throughout her career who fought for anything from ideals to glory, but few of them survived to see those dreams honored. "I don't need dead ninja! I need ninja that're gunna fight like hell an' get the job done!"
[attr="class","bolo-body] "Ow..." mumbled the Hyūga, his free hand rubbing his head. [break][break] He listened to the jounin commander's speech with an exasperated expression. What a completely unrealistic approach to the shinobi lifestyle. Tsukiya wasn't about to throw away his life on a suicide mission, that was just stupid—not to mention utterly insane. He had more brains than that. Regardless, such an optimistic approach, he felt, would lead to his actual death. [break][break] This kind of approach was no motivation to the young Hyūga. He was aware of his shortcomings, for being keenly aware of one's limits was key to one's survival. Did she think of him a coward after all that? How quaint, when her first command, after all, was to run. [break][break] "Taichou," he said with a sigh, "if I ever find myself in a situation like that, the first option will always be to run. Or hide? Call for backup even, anything to avoid an actual conflict where my side didn't have the numbers advantage. Playing the hero gets yourself killed, but if I'm forced to fight, like we did earlier, then I would obviously fight with the intention of living." [break][break] Tsukiya shrugged, feeling the fatigue from the battle slowly draining away. [break][break] "But to chastise a ninja for successfully completing a mission, despite what they had to give up for it..." [break][break] Tsukiya shook his head. [break][break] "Now that's just tasteless."
Asura bit his tongue in response to Makoto's words. There was little in the way of ministration that they possessed to have overcome the onslaught. Even at the desperate attempt on the Hyuuga's part to use Tsukiya as a hostage tactic, she had persisted in her efforts. "Apparently, you'd be willing to sacrifice the life of your Genin to complete the objective," he bit out in frustration. A hand rubbed his head in response to her reprimand, wincing as he stretched slightly. His loyalty was unmatched, unquestioned. Why, then, did it feel as though his actions hadn't been enough to convey just how far he'd have been willing to go?
Of course, it was the beast within that had pushed him off of the precipice of preservation to begin with. A soft sigh was all that was revelation to his ministrations. Asura shook his head as he stood upright, allowing his arms to remain at his sides. Full agreement with Tsukiya was accentuated with a soft nod. "We never gave up the scrolls. To our dying breath, right?" the Hyuuga questioned. They'd been through much and more on this training exercises. Certain that he was bleeding in places and bruised - broken - in others, Asura fell silent in the wake of what he knew was coming next: either another painful hit, or a voice louder than thunder.
