The dust weaving genin gripped the horse with his thighs the moment he landed, his hands quickly coming together to form a handseal. As he did, the kunai used to attack the previous rider would burst into a cloud of dust. It then formed a stream, travelling rapidly back toward him and reforming as a kunai in his hand. There was no telling how long this mission would be going, and it was important to conserve as much chakra as he could. And he never knew when he was going to need more dust. Eyes widened a bit as the Inuzuka jumped over to join him, lips turning into a smile once he registered who had latched on. It was important to hide the anxiety that was building in his chest if he wanted her to continue putting her trust in him.[break][break]
Daichi gripped the reigns tightly as they went forward, doing his best to maintain control of the stallion while still paying close attention to the orders being barked by the two canine-esque women. It seemed they would be abandoning the horses, which was a shame. He really didn't want to see these poor creatures get hurt, but it seemed that he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. And so he would reposition himself on the back of the horse before jumping off of the saddle and allowing it to storm off into the fray.
Alright, it seemed like the dust cloud bought them a few moments at the very least. During this time, Daichi would quickly form a handseal before blowing a cloud of dust into his hand, forming a single above average sized kunai made of compact dust particles. It seemed their enemy didn't have any ways to deal with things obscuring their vision. And since their job was to get from point A to B as quickly as possible, it only made sense to quickly distract their enemies instead of getting bogged down trying to finish them off. With his weapon clutched in hand, the genin watched as the mounted combatants emerged from the smoke ready for battle.[break][break]
Daichi caught the glint of an arrowhead aimed straight for his chest, his heart skipping a beat as he prepared himself for evasive maneuvers. But it seemed one of his superior officers had something else in mind for the boy. A soft gasp escaped his lungs as he was jerked out of the way by the sudden movement. Before he even had a chance to thank the rider for their efforts, he found himself lift up into the air as she leapt up and-"Wait what!?"[break][break]
A moment later he would be sailing toward his attacker, jaw clenched as a faint hint of fear entered into his eyes. He really wished he had been warned of this possibility ahead of time. Fortunately for him, thinking fast was one of the rain shinobi's strong suits. His posture shifted in the air throwing the solid dust kunai into the target's neck before he himself would impact with their side in an attempt to dismount them from their steed and take their place upon it. It was a ballsy maneuver, but it would definitely look pretty cool if they managed to pull this little combo off.
Rhinoceros Contract [Rookie]} Daichi has signed a contract with the rhinos. Performing the summoning technique, they can now summon [1/2/3/4/5] different members of the rhinos contract.
↳ Kodokuna Hori Kodo is among the youngest members of the Idaina go Tsunoyama, and she absolutely hates it. The young warrior is constantly seeking to prove herself in battle, and will never hesitate to throw herself into a conflict without a single question asked. All she needs to know is who she's supposed to be skewering with that pointy horn of hers. Personally, she believes that entrusting herself to a human was a poor decision on her patriarch's part. But she has had to take enough lumps from those above her in this quest for glory that she knows not to go against what she's told. And so she reluctantly offers her services to Daichi, even if she's fairly sure HE'S the one who should be listening to HER.[break][break]
The young rhino's connection with the earth is natural, much like most of her kind. Though she chooses not to use it beyond enhancing her own physical abilities. She much prefers getting in the thick of it, skewering and stomping her opposition with her own brute force. As such, she has learned to use doton to enhancer her mobility. Along with being able to walk along any vertical or horizontal surface, she is able to burrow underground with ease. While submerged, she is able to move with as much speed and power as she would above ground, and is even able to dip under or pop out mid stride. While underground, she is able to use her horn to sense the movements of those above, allowing her to track targets down even when she can't see them. While only standing at about three and a half feet tall, her broad form is capable of easily transporting a human adult. Though any additional burden would significantly slow her down and make combat more difficult. Though she wouldn't admit that any time soon.
Simple?Rice!? From the way she was talking it sounded like her favorite food was just plain white rice with nothing else in it. A strange thing, considering how flavorful her rice balls were. Though for all he knew about cooking they were an extremely simple dish that fit her description perfectly. At the same time, he could see that there wasn’t that excitement that usually came from enjoying your favorite food. It was at that point that Daichi realized the truth. And as sad as the reality was, it also made him a bit excited at the future to come.[break][break]
”Ok, that’s not a real answer. But that’s ok, cuz I think I’ve got it all figured out.” His smile grew a bit as he leaned forward, the sparkle in his eye betraying the excitement he felt for the culinary adventures to come. ”You haven’t found your favorite food yet, have you Aiko? You’ve never eaten anything that made your heart just sing. But don’t you worry, cuz we’re gonna find the answer together.” It was an oddly exciting concept for him. It was like a journey of self discovery, the hunt for that perfect combination of flavors that would speak directly to her unique palette.[break][break]
He glanced off in thought, the idea of training now a distant memory as his mind went to work assembling a list of restaurants and flavorful dishes for her to try. Variety would be key in honing in on that perfect meal, that one thing that combined all her favorite tastes into a single creation. ”I think I have an idea. We’ll just need to keep a journal of the foods we try. I’ll come up with a scoring system to rank each flavor profile that will account for flavor, texture, aroma and overall experience. If we can track your feelings toward the various dishes, then we should be able to eventually pinpoint your perfect meal.” The more he spoke the more energetic he seemed to become, this combination of food and statistics coming together to make for an absolutely fascinating project!
The chunin's words made Daichi's heart skip a beat, his smile growing both excited and sheepish as she spoke so highly of his abilities. Shake the heavens? Him? He couldn't help but laugh a bit in response to that, nodding along with her assessment of their combined might. "Heavens and Earth. Aint nothing that'd be able to stop us." He did his best to sound cool and collected as he spoke, only letting a bit of the bubbling giddy energy slip into his words. As she moves to stand he does the same, his uninjured hand moving to grip the other in an effort to help ease the lingering pain. She really did a number on him, but at least he could see he wasn't the only one left with such a souvenir.[break][break]
What remained of his facade was shattered by what she would say before departing, his eyes going wide as his left hand suddenly clenched his right a bit too tight. "Wait what?" He barely managed to croak the words out as she left, his soft voice getting drowned out by the din of the room. Did she just call him...handsome? No one had ever said that before. Why were his cheeks getting so warm all of the sudden? The young genin sucked in a deep breath as he watched the older woman walk off to threaten some of the spectators into payed what was owed. Did she actually find him attractive? That was...An interesting thing to consider. He found himself stuck in place staring at her as she mingled with the crowd. The boy was lost in thought until one of the other competitors came up from behind and clapped him on the shoulder.[break][break]
"She got ya real good, huh kid? But hey, you still won me some cash on this one. My buddy over there bet you would be cryin' by the time she was done with ya!" The loud voice and unexpected contact yanked Daichi away from his thoughts, eyes going wide in shock as he turned toward the grizzlier shinobi. A quick glance and the man's bandaged hand told him that he had faced a similar fate, and was all too aware of the pain he was enduring. "C'mon kid. We got someone over here who can patch ya up." The injured young genin nodded quickly, offering the man a thankful yet uneasy smile. "O-oh! Yeah. Thanks. Man, I got some stories for you guys." And with that, Daichi was back on his game. His smile regained it's confidence, a snarky chuckle effortlessly slipping past his lips and he moved to follow after his fellow loser. And for this one glorious night, Daichi Konishi got to be one of the cool kids.
And just like that, it was over. The final assault proved that no one here, even with their combined efforts, would be capable of taking this beast down. Daichi stood in silence, his eyes hardening as the rhino pushed all of its attackers away and bellowed out once more. His mind was already racing, trying to find something that might be able to stop this thing or convince it to cease this rampage. But before a plan could come together, the creature started to speak once more. The words would pull the genin from his thoughts, a look of confusion overtaking his features as he tried to process the sudden change in tone. HE wanted to talk now?[break][break]
He stood silently, surveying the battlefield and the carnage that filled it. The smeared remains of another ninja, his own allies who had drawn their own blood to seal this contract, the man from Iwa who fell at the end and of course the familiar chunin who was injured in the same blast. All of this was just...a test? For a moment, Daichi felt his blood boil, eyes narrowing in to a glare as he stared the creature down. Even as it beckoned him forward, he would push out a sigh of frustration as he shook his head. Before responding, he would step over toward Aiko. She was clearly hurt, and had used more chakra than anyone else on the team. A hand came to rest on her shoulder, eyes remaining firm as he gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry about me. I'm just gonna go talk to this thing." His attention then turned to the rest of the platoon, giving them a weak smile. "I think we did pretty good, all things considered. We'll have to celebrate when we get back home."[break][break]
As much as he wanted to stick with his team, he knew better than to keep this hulking monster waiting for long. And so he would step away from his fellow shinobi, approaching the Ryoushu-Yama. The genin did his best to lock on to the other's eyes, but in the end their presence was too intimidating to do so. So instead he simply clenched his bloodied fist as he stood before them, eyes instead turning to the offered scroll. "...You didn't have to do all this. You didn't have to go killing people to get our attention." He took the scroll, sucking in a deep breath to steel himself for what was happening. "...I'll bring your kids to war. But I'm not gonna be allowing them any of these pointless rampages. We fight to protect. Not for the fun of it."[break][break]
There was so much more that Daichi wanted to say, but in the end this WAS a creature that he just saw could kill him very easily. And so, if the Ryoshu didn't protest to him doing so after these words, the genin would follow through with the contract. It was signed with his already bloodied left palm, as if the kunai driven through it earlier was in preparation for this moment. Maybe this was meant to be? Maybe he could help guide these rhinos down a less destructive path? Whatever the case, he would clench the scroll as tightly as anxiety gripped his own heart as he bowed respectfully toward the patriarch. "Goodbye, Ryoshu-Yama-Sama."
It seemed like they had a rather easy job, simply serving as messengers between the various deployed shinobi. One of the most important jobs on the battlefield, of that he was sure. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated with his position. The Kazekage was watching this mission closely, and after their conversation he was more desperate than ever to prove himself. How was he supposed to do that when he main job was just to help deliver reports back and forth? Still, he couldn’t let that bog him down. The pain of failure was greater than the joy of greatness, and so he would do his best to make sure he did his very best in his assignment.[break][break]
At least he got to work with animals, which was nice. There wasn’t any time to stop and pet or interact with them, but still. That and the familiar face of his platoon mate definitely helped to cut the edge of being placed under a rather intense Mist jonin.Things seemed to be going smoothly until they caught the attention of a small unit of horsemen. The genin clenched his teeth, turning toward the eldest Inuzuka for direction on how to handle the situation. And, unsurprisingly, she chose to carve through without hesitation. It probably wasn’t his first choice, but there wasn’t much to do but follow her orders.[break][break]
When the more familiar Inuzuka came up beside himself and Ryuu and leaned closer he climbed on without hesitation. It was a bit awkward for him, riding on the back of a woman like this. He would’ve much rather had the fluffy dog, but this wasn’t a time for wishful thinking. All he could do was be thankful he wasn’t about to be left in the dust. A hand then reached into his tool bag, pulling out a few smoke bombs. With a swing of his arm they were tossed out in front of the charging pack, creating a barrier between themselves and the horsemen. Their path was clear, they were tearing through in a straight line. All he could do was hope that this obstruction would keep them from managing to land a shot with those nasty looking javelins of theirs.
Holy crap. They actually did it. The Rain had taken down two rhinos all on their own, and he could confidently and truthfully say he played a part in both of them! Granted, neither of them seemed to be nearly as strong as the ones the other shinobi were engaged with. But still, this was no small feat. Something that the big boss seemed to agree with according to his bellowing. Though he wasn't quite sure how he felt about hearing them be referred to as his children. After the first one went poof he assumed they were just clones. But it seemed that instead these were his own children that he had summoned, a fact that didn't set too well in his stomach. Daichi never liked hurting animals, even when they struck first. Usually they were just scared or hungry, acting on survival instinct rather than malicious intent. But...these ones were really dangerous. And the leader made it pretty clear that he was hungry for battle, so maybe they were the same?[break][break]
Whatever the case, there was no time for him to get caught up in his thoughts. He instead focused on his sensei's words, quickly turning to survey the battlefield. He and the rest of the group were rather far off from the main melee at this point as they focused on eliminating the weaker rhinos. As he looked around he saw that while most of the shinobi were caught up in the main fight, one was sitting off to the side. His brows furrowed a bit, eyes narrowing into a squint behind his goggles as he tried to make out the details of the figure. Why were they just...sitting there? Were they overseeing the battle? Or perhaps preparing a giant jutsu to seal the beast's fate?[break][break]
Once again, his thoughts were interrupted by what happened next. The genin's eyes went wide with shock as the creature leapt from its shell and unleashed a massive wave of chakra, unleashing a torrent of debris that could prove dangerous to the people surrounding it. His considerable distance from the epicenter of the quake saved him from the brunt of the damage. And so the shinobi planted his feet and grit his teeth, choosing to instead focus on helping to bring the rhino down. A hand reached into his toolbag, which was now unfortunately devoid of any more explosive tags. Probably should've held on to one instead of putting ALL of them on Aiko's arrow. So instead he did the only thing he could. Daichi brought his hands together, wincing at the pain from forcing his injured hand to move and form the hand seals needed one last time. When they were completed, pillar of earth would forcefully push up from underneath the rhino in an attempt to strike it in the belly in hopes of finding a weak point now that it was outside of the shell.
For a moment, Daichi thought he stood a chance. For that brief moment that chunin allowed him, he thought that maybe he was stronger than he realized. That maybe he could actually stand a chance against this feral kunoichi. A hope that was swiftly snatched away and ground into dust as he felt the woman's strength clash against his own, bursting through his own efforts as if they were paper and she was a mighty boulder. His already intense expression of concentration and effort quickly contorted into a wince of pain as he felt the woman's claws dig into the flesh of his hand. They sank in deep, drawing blood to the surface. But he didn't relent. If anything, that moment of panic in his heart provided him with an extra surge of strength in hopes of resisting this overwhelminga force.[break][break]
But in the end, it wasn't enough. Nothing he could do would be able to stop her from slamming his bloodied hand into the wooden crate. In that moment he expected to open his eyes and see that the impact was enough to shatter the box beneath them. A soft hiss slipped past his clenched teeth as she forcefully pushes his hand into the wooden surface, further establishing her dominance and punishing his hubris. Clearly he was no chance for her. Hiss shoulders sank a bit once she let go, his eyes finally opening to see that his hand wasn't nearly as injured as he thought it was. He lifted it up for a closer examination, still wincing a bit at the holes her bestial nails had left behind.[break][break]
He took a quick look around, quietly expecting laughter or jeers as he faced his obvious failure. And while some of the things they said were somewhat embarrassing, it wasn't nearly as demeaning as he anticipated. He could even see a bit of sympathy in the eyes of the former competitors, who were easily spotted by their bandaged right hands. It seemed she had bested her fair share of competent shinobi before his arrival. Failure was expected, yes. But that didn't make it shameful. A notion that was further encouraged by the words of the champion.[break][break]
The genin's eyes widened slightly at her words, lips curling back into a pleased smile as he rose to his feet. "Yeah. I mean...I tried to, at least. Wasn't enough, but..." He shrugged, his smile growing a bit sheepish as his arrogant facade was melted away in the heat of the moment. With everything that was going on, it was difficult not to reply such genuine praise with anything but the same. "You're not too bad yourself! Maybe we'll get to see each other in action in the coming battle, huh?" A grin crept across his face as he reached forward with his uninjured hand to gently jab her arm in a gesture of friendly comradery. This was a hell of a first impression to make with all of these unfamiliar shinobi, but it actually felt really good in an unexpected way.
{Earth Release (Journeyman)}Though hard work and dedication to refining his techniques, Daichi’s unique ‘Dust Style’ has finally started to take on a tangible form. In addition to using standard earth techniques to create simple structures, he has discovered a means to control the individual particles of dust he has created. This technique is extremely specific, centered around using the chakra within the dust itself to form bonds between them. This allows him to control large amounts of dust particles without any more drain on his chakra than standard techniques, as each piece of dust is virtually weightless. Even grains of sand would be too heavy for this to be an effective means of manipulation, making this an extremely specific technique.
By utilizing these principles, he is able to control the flow of the dust he generates. This can take the form of moving and shaping a cloud, or condensing dust into solid stone. This serves as an effective means of disruption as well as attack, as it allows him to launch solid projectiles from his dust clouds to attack from unexpected angles. This chakra infused dust of his is particularly irritating as well, causing those who come into contact with it to suffer from lingering eye irritation and bouts of sneezing. It’s a strange form of Earth Release, but slowly Daichi has started to show that he might be on to something here.
It felt like things were going well. He was totally getting inside this guy's head, and soon enough would be convincing him to head back home of his own free will. Surely for a mission like this that was the best way to approach, right? No, apparently not. As before the target could even respond, Anotsu appeared before the genin's very eyes. His jaw clenched as he sucked in a deep breath, the air hissing between his teeth as he recognized this as a sign of his own failures. Was all of this wrong? Was he supposed to be more aggressive? Did he say something wrong? His thoughts raced as he stared at his teacher, who he could only assume was here to do the job correctly in his stead.[break][break]
So when he spoke again and the young man suddenly poofed into the familiar face of that old man from before, Daichi was shocked and confused. "Wait. Wait you're- But I-" A hand moved to rest on top of his head as he looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what the hell was going on here. Was this...just a test? His worries were all put to ease as the 'target' spoke again, his expression softening into a soft smile as they spoke his praises. "So...I passed?" Attention turned to the jonin as he approached, his smile growing as he happily accepted the dog into his arms. Though this smile of his was different from what had been seen before. His previous air of confidence and swagger had faded, instead replaced by a look of pure innocent joy as he received his praises.[break][break]
"Yes, sensei! Right away!" He turned quickly to face the elder, bending at the waist to offer him a bow. "And thank you too, sir. I'll keep doing my best." He was feeling so warm and fuzzy inside from all of this that he didn't even think to put up any sort of facade, his gratitude and joy far more powerful than his desire to be 'cool' within this moment. Though he couldn't help but notice the look on the man's face, that shift from that pleased smile he wore before. The genin shot a quick glance between the two older shinboi, pondering if he should ask what was the matter. But should he really risk ruining all this good will he built today? Probably not.[break][break]
"...I'll keep my radio handy in case you need to reach me after this, sensei." With one last bow, the genin darted off into the woods, his enthusiasm carrying him like the wind at his back. The makings of a great genin... He had his eyes set a bit higher than that, but it was definitely a good start!
Just when he thought that nobody heard his correction, his opponent would recognize his words. It made his heart skip a beat, the acknowledgement of this shinobi meaning more than she likely realized. But that was all set aside as the Inuzuka settled across from him with those hungry eyes of her. Because in that moment he knew that he didn't stand a chance against her in terms of brute strength. She was a warrior, there was no doubt about that. All he could do now was take a deep breath and get himself ready to put up the best fight he could muster.[break][break]
Begin[break][break]
Daichi immediately put everything he had into his right arm, pushing against her with all his might. At the same time, he did his best to mimic what his previous opponent attempted while at the same time learning from their mistakes. His body anchored itself to the ground, ensuring that he had as firm of a foundation as possible when crashing up against this wall. It was then that her words reached his ear, causing his brow to furrow. He looked over to his opposition, eyes widening slightly. She was just toying with him, wasn't she? Or perhaps she truly wanted to see what sort of tricks he had up his sleeve.[break][break]
The only problem with that is that the genin was out of tricks. The only thing he could think to do would've required both of his hands to form the deals. And so all he could do was close his eyes, clench his teeth and push. Push with everything he had in hopes he could catch her off guard within the five seconds allotted. But at the end of the day, he was just a young genin who had never placed any emphasis on his strength training. If only this had been some sort of ninjutsu challenge. But that didn't mean he was going down without a fight! If he couldn't win, he would hold out against this overwhelming force for as long as possible.[break][break]
Daichi Konishi was not one to go down so easily! A shame he was too busy clenching his jaw and holding his breath or that would've been a pretty cool line to shout right now...
There was a brief moment of awe as he watched the rhino crumple under their assault before immediately vanishing. They did it. They had the help of a jonin, yeah, but still. His plan actually worked! He felt a bit of pride welling up in his chest as he took a moment to survey the scene, his steps subconsciously leading him to the pit where the Hyuga sisters had delivered their killing blows. Once he reached it he would look down at them, the sight quickly pulling himself from his own thoughts. ”That was amazing you two! Great work.”[break][break]
As he spoke he would reach down with his uninjured hand, offering it to the injured Hoshiko to help Aiko in assisting the younger Hyuga up out of the hole. It was about then that he heard Koma call his name, eyes widening slightly as the usually distant genin actually used his first name without being told. Was this…progress? His smile grew for a moment, only to immediately vanish as it seemed he was jumping right back into the action. There wasn’t time to ask questions at this point. And just as they trusted him with his vague direction, he was going to trust them.[break][break]
A hand reached into his bag to pull out some of his explosive tags, his eyes immediately darting toward Aiko. ”Arrow.” He quickly snatched up the arrow the moment it was offered, using his bad hand to hold it steady while the other affixed numerous tags to the lone projectile. The weapon was then handed back to the chunin, giving her ample time to fire the arrow as an opening was made. ”Go for it.”
While the two chunin spoke, Daichi found himself getting lost in thought. He had spent so much time wandering the caverns that he had completely lost track of where he cam from and where he had already been. But surely if he just took a moment to stop, think and examine the situation he would figure out the right way to go, right? There was the classic maze solution of just picking a wall and hugging it all the way to the exit, but that would take too long. There was the option of following the footprints, but with how much they had all wandered around, how could he tell what was new and what was old?[break][break]
He spent a moment in deep consideration, brows pinched together as his fingers meshed together and came to rest on top of his head. There had to be a way to solve this puzzle, right? His thoughts were interrupted as it came time to put his money where his mouth was, as the oldest chunin turned to himf or an answer. ”Huh? Oh. Yeah. Uh…” Daichi took a moment to clear his throat, glancing between the two adults and the bear that he somehow forgot was still there and still super weird. But at least it was kinda cute now that he was growing more confident it wouldn’t be eating them.[break][break]
”Y-yeah! Yeah, don’t worry about it, Doctor Chin.I’ll get us out of here no problem, just like Koro said. See, it’s all about the process of elimination. So… That way!” They were at a four way crossroad, and the three of them had each come form a different direction. And if they were sure there were no exits where they came from, then their best bet was the road not yet travelled! Easy solution. Though he knew that was just the first hurtle. He had no clue how they would solve the next crossroads.[break][break]
But for the moment, he would engage the other two in conversation as he heads down the designated path. ”So, what were you guys doing down here again? Don’t tell me you both just came down here to mindlessly wander unknown tunnels.” He said as if that wasn’t exactly what he was doing down there.
