His heart continued to thump heavily against his chest as the silence lingered between them. He could already feel it. She was disappointed, wasn’t she? Ashamed that such a whiny little brat managed to become a shinobi only to come bother her in her office. This was a mistake. A huge, huge mistake. That thought continued to loop through his mind with each passing second, the anxiety only managing to build every time he thought it couldn’t get any worse. And then, she went for the door.[break][break]
Daichi was ready to hang his head in defeat, to simply leave the office empty handed as she dismissed him without a word. But those fears were alleviated when she started speaking, instead using her assistants as an example. He immediately perked up, eyes wide as he sought to absorb every piece of knowledge and wisdom that she had to share. His head bobbed quickly in understanding, a faint hint of excitement entering into his eyes. She was actually entertaining him and his silly requests! Even if this was all he got, this would surely make this trip worth it.[break][break]
Head bobbed quickly in understanding, allowing a moment of silence to pass after she finished just to make sure she was truly done speaking. Then he would pipe up again, those bubbling emotions starting to reach the surface. Energy, eagerness, excitement. Like a boy meeting his hero in person for the first time and not wanting to let this opportunity go to wast. ”Yeah! Y-yeah, I understand that, ma’am. It’s not about whether you’re from a clan or not, it’s all about the individual. A-and I really do appreciate that, really. And I’ve been working really hard on my specialty too! See I’ve been working on this special dust-”[break][break]
He cut himself off, biting down on his bottom lip as he felt himself starting to trail off into a rant. One that he definitely shouldn’t be boring the Kazekage with. Instead he cleared his throat, hands coming together in front of himself as he started to fidget. ”A-anyway...I’m not here looking for cheats or shortcuts. I mean those would’ve been super great and all but...I know there’s no shortcuts for people like me. Like...us? Can I say us?” Could he really bundle himself up with the Kazekage like that? It felt kinda wrong to do so.[break][break]
”I just...I need a little guidance. Just a little. Like uh..I-I know you can’t just teach me any super secret techniques or anything. But like...You can do so much cool stuff. I don’t know if you could like...Share a little bit of your wisdom? Maybe like...a book or something? P-please?” Were his words even making sense anymore with all the anxious stammering? Were these even complete sentences? It was hard for him to tell at this point.
This definitely wasn’t the first time he’s had to get patched up after a training injury. But it had definitely been a while since he had to endure something this painful. He would really have to be careful going forward to keep something like this from happening again. He was lucky that Aiko had enough faith in his abilities to believe his story. But there was no telling what anyone else would’ve thought about it. He had to try to keep it down to smaller injuries that could be explained away with far less grandiose stories.[break][break]
The cool ointment made his skin tingle, causing him to jump a bit as it was applied to the tender area. But it was short lived, as he would soon feel a refreshing warmth traveling through the injury. A hint of surprise entered into his features as he watched her work in silent awe. The girl really was amazing, wasn’t she? She was capable of so much, and she did it all so effortlessly. She didn’t even rub it in or show off, instead just quietly reaching out to help without a thought. It was crazy to think about. In the moment he found himself so distracted that it took a moment to realize she was talking to him.[break][break]
”Huh? O-oh yeah. I guess we can relax for a bit. I mean, I did earn it after all that.” He rolled his shoulders before leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. ”The walk wasn’t too bad, though. I mean yeah it hurt and all, but I hardly even noticed. I guess I just have super human pain tolerance or something, huh?” His smile only grew more confident as he casually shrugged off this simple fact of his amazingness. Truly there was no end to his natural gifts and talents.[break][break]
His eyes turned to the bag, his smile fading a bit as he removed the box from the bag and opened it up. ”Woah, thanks Aiko! Did you prepare these just for us?” All of his arrogance faded in an instant, replaced by the energy of an eager and excited boy that was just happy to see that somebody had thought of him. Without hesitation he took one of the rice balls out for himself and held the box out to her. ”Thanks! I kinda had a light lunch, so this is perfect.”
The genin continued to wander around without direction, hands resting on his hips as he took a moment too catch his breath. He probably should’ve kept calling for help, but he was a bit more winded than he realized from all that ceiling and wall walking stuff. At this point he was starting to worry that no one would be around to help, that he would be stuck in these tunnels for who knows how long. He swallowed heavily as he stared up at the ceiling, wondering if maybe he could just...use his jutsu to burrow a hole through the ceiling. It’d be find as long as he filled the hole back up, right?[break][break]
”Ok...Here goes…” Daichi placed his hands together, trying to formulate what exactly he’d have to do to accomplish this. But before he could start molding his chakra, he’d hear stumbling footsteps echo from not far off. He quickly looked forward, spotting...a woman! Yes! A mature, adult woman who would definitely be able to help him out here. He let out a breath of relief, arms falling to his sides as he moved to approach her.[break][break]
A hand rose in greeting as she introduced herself, lips pulling back into a confident smile as he immediately sought to hide his own fears and anxieties. It wasn’t like he could just admit that he went and got lost, right? Nah, he had to play it cool. Especially in front of a fellow shinobi! ”Hey! I’m Daichi Konishi, from the Rain.” Yes, super cool and smooth introduction. Nice. And an Inuzuka! Surely their dog’s keen nose would help them find their way out. He turned to give the dog a wave as wel-[break][break]
”WOAH! What the hell!?” He stumbled back a bit the moment his eyes fell onto the kunoichi’s ’dog’. That was definitely no dog. That thing was a huge BEAR of all things! A hand came to rest over his heart as he looked between the two of them, quickly coming to realize that this was just...a weird pet or something. Though that didn’t do much to keep his heart from racing. But that wasn’t even the biggest surprise he’d be facing today.[break][break]
”Wait…YOU’RE lost? That’s…” Quite possibly some of the worst luck ever. A hand moved to run through his mess of dusty hair as a heavy sigh was pushed out from his chest. So now he was stuck in a tunnel with a lost adult and a bear. Yeah. Cool. Ok. He could work with this. ”...A-actually, I was just on my way out myself! Yeah. Yeah let’s just uh…” He stepped closer to Korogaru, shifting to the side a bit to keep her between himself and teh bear. ”...Why don’t you come with me? I’ll get you outta here no problem.”This was such a terrible idea.
Another day of training, exactly what one would expect from a shinobi. While Daichi did most of his training in secret, it was still important to run drills with the team when it was scheduled. Of course he would've preferred if this wasn't the case, it was important for him to not develop a reputation of being lazy. He was supposed to be a respectable prodigy, not a rebel or something. Besides, he kinda liked training with Aiko. She was always so calm, and her talents were always admirable. Not to mention that it was never a big deal when she beat him at anything, since her strengths were completely different from the ones he toted! Who could blame a genin for losing to a chunin hyuga in hand to hand combat? All he had to do was not consider the fact she was only a year older than himself.[break][break]
Today, the duo was working on target practice. While the lavender haired kunoichi worked on her archery, Daichi would focus on improving his aim with the kunai. The only problem was that if he wanted to really work on his weaknesses, he would've had to reveal that he had any to begin with. So instead of trying to consistently hit targets with multiple kunai at once, he instead focused on perfecting what he already had down. The genin could be found practicing his quickdraw on one of the worn out targets in the practice area. His hands moved swiftly to draw and release the weapon in one fluid motion, but his accuracy was still far from perfect. But hey, at least almost all the attempt hit some part of the target.[break][break]
The sudden sound of a familiar voice suddenly caught the boy's ear, his muscles tensing up just as he was releasing a kunai from his fingers. The blade flew way off its mark, instead sticking itself unceremoniously into the ground. Shit. Lips curled into a nervous smile as he quickly spun to greet the Jonin, arms falling to his sides as he bowed his head slightly. "T-thank you, ma'am. We were just uh..." He shot a glance toward Aiko before looking back to their senior. Why did all the super cool strong prodigies in this village have to be so pretty? "O-oh. You want to...join us? Well...Uh..." His attention turned right back to Aiko as he silently deferred to her. Which was perfect, as it would surely buy him enough time to shake off these nerves and get right back to being all cool and stuff.
The genin couldn't think straight, the lone thought of what the hell were you thinking continuously looping in his mind and overruling any attempts at rational consideration. Just the swarm of assistants was enough to intimidate the boy, so how was he supposed to handle being face to face with the Kazekage of all people? He froze up as the red haired aide met his gaze, swallowing heavily as he awaited some form of scolding. Surely the Kage didn't have time to deal with every lowly shinobi that game to her doorstep. So what made him any different?[break][break]
The answer he got initially actually brought Daichi a bit of relief, lips curling into a faint smile as his shoulders relaxed. He was just about to open his mouth to speak, quickly assuring the assistant that it was perfectly fine before they even had a chance to finish speaking. And then, there she was. He felt it in the air before anything else, the look in the other's eyes only confirming the chill that travelled down his spine. And yet he never felt her arrival. Instead it was as if she was always there, and only now had she decided to reveal herself to him.[break][break]
His fingers twitched as he felt the breath of her words, their meaning immediately sending off sirens in his anxious heart. This was a mistake. This was an insult to the Kage. He should've spoken with Anotsu. Had him come and make the request in his stead. But it was too late now. He was here, and if she didn't know his face before she most certainly did now. The words got caught in his throat for a moment before he managed to sputter out a response, his voice cracking a bit as he struggled to vocalize a coherent thought. "I-I don't intend to command anything! I was- I'm not-"[break][break]
By the time he started speaking she was already making her way toward the door, leaving him behind. Just as he started to take a half step back, she would say the very last thing he expected to hear. Come in. If not for his complete and utter fear of disappointing his Kage he would've frozen in place. But instead he quickly bowed his head in thanks to the assistant who was helping him previously before hurriedly making his way to follow after the silver haired shinobi. This was it. He actually had a chance at...something. He had no idea what that something was but...it was there. Distant, but there.[break][break]
The moment he stepped into the room he would stand at attention, posture even stiffer than before as he watched her in silence. He wouldn't dare take a seat or make himself comfortable without permission, no siree. Daichi didn't even have it in him to take a moment to examine the fascinating room he found himself in. Though his eyes did linger on the vast collection of books, his inner nerd almost convincing him to step closer to get a better look at what she had.[break][break]
But no! None of that. She got straight to business, and thus so would he. He took a moment to clear his throat before squaring his shoulders in an attempt to look as professional and respectful as possible. "M-ma'am. I-I know that t-this is...I-I'm just a genin, and I understand that you are very busy. I'll try to be brief, but..." His voice wavered for a moment, an unexpected wave of emotion starting to come over him. He felt something unexpected start to build in his chest as he spoke, pounding on his heart to try and escape through his words. But he couldn't let it show, not now of all times and places.[break][break]
"M-ma'am. I've read all about you, ma'am. What you did for the village when I was just a little boy, and all the things you've done since. You...You became the village's first Kazekage! All on your own! Y-you're the only Kage with no record of having any sort of special bloodline techniques or surgical modification or whatever it is they've done to do the things they can do. You're just...You. A normal person who is...so strong and cool and... A-and that's..." He cut himself off, sucking in a deep breath to keep everything else pushed down where it belonged. "...I want to know how to be like you. I-I don't expect you to teach me or anything, but...I'm just trying to figure out how someone like me can become something special when I'm so...not."
Daichi was really hoping this would be a lot easier. Just knock out the soft looking purple haired person and then take on the real challenge. Piece of cake, right? But it this rabbit was no joke. It felt like a real fire had been lit in their belly, giving them the strength they needed to rival his own determination. It was clear that neither one of them were rocking 24 inch pythons, meaning brute force wasn’t going to do either of them any good. No, this was a battle of wills. And maybe a bit of wit if he played his cards right.[break][break]
”You’re pretty good.” The words were hissed out through clenched teeth, his arm already starting to burn as he pushed against the opposition with all his might. He had to do something quick if he was going to outdo them. The shinobi sucked in a deep breath before pushing forward, twisting his wrist in an attempt to gain leverage. If he could get whatever little edge he could, then he just might have a shot at winning.[break][break]
Arm wrestling was nothing new to him, after all. It was a common way he and the boys he grew up with would prove their manliness, or whatever they were fixated on at that age. And while Daichi was never the strongest, he was almost always the smartest. This alone was the only reason he thought he might stand a chance against the clearly stronger woman he initially challenged. But if he couldn’t even beat this Hikari person, he didn’t have much hope of accomplishing that.
This was such a bad idea. A big, dumb, stupid no good at all idea. He was just a genin! And yet there he was, standing awkwardly outside of the Kage Tower trying to act like he belonged anywhere near the place. He fiddled with the headband that hung loosely around his neck, finger tracing the shape of the engraving on the metal plate. This mark...it meant something, right? It meant that he was worthy of some form of recognition, even if he was still at the bottom of the totem pole. He was at least on the pole. Yeah...What was the worst thing that could happen? She would just tell him to buzz off and his first impression with the most powerful and influential person over his entire life course would think he's a dumbass loser and his reputation might get ruined beyond repair.[break][break]
...Yup. This was DEFINITELY the worst idea he had ever had in his life. And yet something compelled him to push forward, entering into the lobby of the tower despite his best judgement. He couldn't even hear his own footsteps through the thumping of his heart in his ears. He had to do this. He had to do something. Being surrounded by so much talent, so much potential. People with ancient techniques passed down through generations, people born with incredible power flowing through their veins... How was he supposed to compete with that? The only thing he inherited from his family was a tendency toward dishonesty and trust issues. But Master Osore...she was like him. She didn't have any sort of special powers granted to her. She wasn't even groomed to be in a position of power. She used her raw skill and talents to get where she was, and no matter what his father said about her Daichi couldn't help but admire that.[break][break]
That was the image he kept in the front of his mind as he stepped closer to the receptionist. His usual air of arrogance was gone, instead replaced by the face of an anxious boy doing everything in his power not to back down. He had already come this far, and he wasn't about to be a coward. "E-excuse me. Is the Kazekage in? I uh...I don't have an appointment or anything. I just...I wanted to ask her about some things? It's fine if she's busy! I just uh...Y-yeah. Ok."Oh this was already going wonderfully, wasn't it?
Shit. Solar PLEXUS. Yeah that sounded way more right than whatever it was he said. He kept his embarrassment on that little slip up hidden behind his confident smile, simply shrugging it off as if it didn't make a difference either way. Still, he would have to keep that one in mind. Especially when dealing with a Hyuga of all people. His dad always told him those 'cheater eyes' of theirs made it easy for them to figure out how the body works. He never fully understood what exactly all that meant, but he at least knew that Aiko and Hoshiko had a natural gift for this sort of stuff. Which he had to admit, he was just a tiny bit jealous over.[break][break]
He leaned forward to watch as she got to work, a soft hiss escaping him as he finally saw just how bad his ankle was. That was more swollen than he thought it would be... Now he definitely had to make sure no one knew what really happened. Just imagining how what people would say if they found out he got such an injury just from training on his own brought that tightness right back to his chest. He could already hear the laughter and teasing remarks, the disappointed gaze of the people he looked up to... No, they had to think this was a battle scar, something that was proof of his abilities rather than his failures.[break][break]
"Y-yeah. Maybe I was pushing it just a bit... I-I guess they got me better than I thought they did, huh?" A nervous laugh slipped out as he scratched at the back of his head, quietly hoping that this would all just brush over. No need to think too hard about what happened. Though her suggesting that they hold off on training was unacceptable. His eyes suddenly widened at the idea, a hint of panic managing to sneak its way into his features. Fortunately it was quickly put to rest as she provided him with some alternative options for training. Ones that wouldn't involve worsening this little injury of his.[break][break]
His shoulders drooped a bit as she started applying the ointment, his own disappointment in himself slowly starting to grow. He really messed up with this one, didn't he? "Alright. Yeah. We can uh...W-well I was really hoping to get a bit of sparring in. But I guess we can't really do that." He glanced down at his ankle, lips pursing a bit as he tried to stop focusing on the injury and redirect his thoughts to what they still could do. "Uh...Let's do that second one. Dealing with stuff while immobilized. I've always been more of a speed guy, but I still think I've got some stuff that'd be good for dealing with that."
There was a brief moment of shock when Aiko so easily believed in his story. For a split second he almost felt bad for deceiving her. It felt so strange for someone to have so much trust in him, and taking advantage of that just to puff up his own sense of pride felt...wrong? But that feeling was short lived, as he quickly realized that this also meant she had enough faith in him to actually believe he took on bandits all on his own! He must've really been making some serious progress for her to think he was that strong. Sure, he wasn't ACTUALLY to that level yet, but this was definitely a good sign. After all, she was one of the people he worked most closely with. If he could convince her, he could convince anybody![break][break]
Alright, time to double down and see how she likes it. "Difficult? Naaaah. They were a bunch of pushovers, really. Even that one eyed brute with his giant axe was nothin'. I just slipped around behind and pegged him in the back of his knee with a kunai." He shot out his hand as if throwing an invisible weapon, a soft thwip slipping past his lips. "And then there was the little guy who had like...six knives. Held them between his fingers. He was fast, but all it took was a bit of dust to blind him and a single strike to the solar nexus for him to know he was no match for me." ...Did he say that right? Solar nexus? That made sense, right? Yeah. Totally.[break][break]
He was so caught up in his story that he didn't notice her going for her first aid kit, his eyes quickly darting down to his foot. "Oh...W-well...I mean it's fine, really. It's nothing I can't push through, y'know? I'm pretty tough like that." He tapped his foot on the ground to prove his point, only to suddenly suck in a deep breath as the pain immediately intensified. Ok, bad idea. "B-but I guess...Yeah. Alright. I mean, if it'll make YOU feel better, go right ahead. But only cuz you're so cute when you get all worried about me." He flashed her a cocky smirk and topped it off with a wink, which hopefully would distract from the faint pinkness of his ears as he said that. Obviously flirting was an important part of being a smooth cool dude, but man it was difficult. At least he knew Aiko wasn't the type to flirt back. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle that.
While everyone gathered around the edge of the arena, Daichi had already been crouched by the edge for some time. For once he was quiet, looking on in quiet contemplation as he tried to tune in to the various voices chiming in on the situation. But at the end of the day, the only ones that mattered was the voice of his sensei and the rest of the team, right? But even then, he wasn't paying too close attention. His gaze was focused on the hulking creature in the center of the pit. And for a split second, he could swear that thing made eye contact with him.[break][break]
...Nah. No way. Must've been his imagination. He shook his head as he turned toward the rest of the team that had gathered up, dull grey eyes flicking between each one of them. And of course, none of them were having any strong emotional reaction to this whole thing. No fear, no excitement. Just a bunch of shinobi looking at their next target like it was any other day. At least that was the impression he was getting. "Sir? I uh... I've been thinking." Legs extended as he corrected his posture, eyes turning back to their quarry as he continued speaking.[break][break]
"This...thing here. It's probably scared, right? I mean, it's got a whole army of shinobi gathering around where it was trying to sleep. I don't know if we'll get a chance but...I dunno. I think we might be better off trying to talk to it? Maybe soothe it a bit instead of just jumpin' straight to violence." As he spoke, he would tug on the headband bearing the village symbol that was hanging from his neck, still feeling a bit uneasy about the creature despite his suggestion of a peaceful resolution. "N-not like I'm scared to fight it or anything. I'm pretty sure we could take this thing even without all this backup. But still..." Now was probably a bad time to mention he didn't like hurting animals, huh?
( OOC: Might as well sign up for the lottery while I'm at it )
There she was, waiting for him looking all calm cool and collected. He had no idea how she managed to be so damn cool without even seeming like she was trying. Just seeing her react so calmly to seeing him in this state made his chest a bit tight. The truth was humiliating, something that he knew had to keep hidden by any means necessary. Especially from someone he looked up to. Fortunately for him, effortlessly lying was one of the few skills he inherited from his father. And so her calm concern was met with that same uneasy smile and a soft chuckle to mask the anxiety in his heart.[break][break]
”If you think this is bad, you should see the other guys.” He felt himself flustering a bit as she fussed over him, his dull grey eyes looking up as if to peer through his skull to see what she was plucking at. It seemed he was so caught up in cooking up a story that he forgot to clean himself up. Whoops. ”You don’t have to worry about me, Aiko. It barely even stings.” The words were spoken through a faint wince as he followed after her, leaning heavily on his ‘cool stick’ with each step.[break][break]
But no ruse was worth staying on his feet for any longer than he had to. He turned to sit himself down on the log, doing his best to look casual as he reclined a bit in his seat. ”So, funny story. I was out doing stuff in the woods, right? And as I was goin’, bandits appeared. Like...five of em’. Outta nowhere. But uh...Yeah. I managed to fend them off, no problem. Just got my ankle messed up a bit.” As he spoke he dusted himself off, his air of confidence growing as the story went on. Oh yeah, this tale was flawless.[break][break]
”But I’m fine, really! We can go on ahead with our practice and stuff. You know I got a couple tricks I wanna show you. I’ve been working on my doton stuff. I think you’ll be impressed.”
Amegakure was the only village Daichi ever knew. The conveniences of technology, the towering metal buildings that reached for the heavens, the surrounding open plains. It was a place he had come to love, even if he was always curious of how others lived in the various villages. His father told him all sorts of stories about how inferior they were in their infrastructure. That there was no point in being anywhere but the Village of Rain. A strange thing for him to insist so firmly, considering neither of them were even natives. But with his limited knowledge and experience he had no reason not to believe his father.[break][break]
And after spending some time in Otogakure, he was starting to understand what he meant. This place was...interesting. Daichi clutched the strap of his bag tightly as he wandered the tunnels connecting the various hubs of society, looking around in quiet awe at the intricacy of the network. He had to admit, it was really cool at first. Definitely not what he expected. He figured the village of sound would have like...windchimes or speakers all over the place. But maybe the name was more in reference to the way sound echoed in the tunnels?[break][break]
Whatever the case, he had spent enough time wandering around the tunnels. He had gone all around, even got bored for a bit and started walking along the walls and ceilings to squeeze in a little extra training while he was here. Nothing like a long upside down hike to help build stamina, right? Only problem now was that little stunt was exhausting. Not only that, it kinda messed with his orientation a bit. And without being able to see the sky, he had no idea what way these paths lead. Hang on...Was he lost? Like, ACTUALLY lost? In the middle of a village filled with strangers from all over? He quickly looked around, realizing that there was nobody nearby that he could ask for directions. Oh boy. This was not good. [break][break]
Everything was going so well, right up until they weren't. The plan was to meet up with Aiko for a bit of training and whatnot. Made sense, what with her being one of his chunin and everything. There wasn't any shame in getting some pointers from someone higher ranked than him, right? Who knows? Maybe his secret training would impress her and he could even be the one to teach her a thing or two. But before he could do that, he had his own secret pre-practice practice to do. He had to make sure to warm himself up and make sure he was at 100% before doing anything in front of other people.[break][break]
So there he was, practicing in his secret training location outside the village when...Bandits attacked! Yeah, he was out just jumping through the trees totally just for fun, when he just narrowly dodged an arrow from an unseen assailant. And then there were like five of them. Aaaand...He managed to chase them off, but sprained his ankle a bit in the process! Yeah, that was it. He definitely didn't just fall out of a tree and roll his ankle when he tried to catch himself. Yup, that was definitely it. And this big stick he found to help him walk? That's just a cool stick he found and wanted to bring with him.[break][break]
He nodded to himself as he sorted the story out in his head and limped his way over to the designated location. It wasn't too far outside of the village, just a little out of the way spot that regular villagers didn't have much reason to pass through. The perfect spot to meet up with the crew, run some drills, set up some targets or whatever. Daichi had grown familiar with the area over the years, but rarely ever used it outside of times like this. After all, he couldn't have people knowing that he actually put time and effort into developing his skills.[break][break]
As the boy approached it was clear that something was wrong. His limp was obvious, and it seemed like he wouldn't have been able to get around much if not for that stick helping to support his weight. But still, he would do his best to put on a smile and act like nothing was wrong. It was a shame he couldn't hide his unease, the usual confidence of his smile diluted by his anxieties. He knew he couldn't hide this for long, so the best he could do was try to make it into something cool. "Heeeey! Hope I'm not late or anything. I just uh... You're not gonna believe what happened. It was super crazy. Seriously."
The Inuzuka's confirmation that he was on the right track came as a great relief to the genin. There was still a bit of internal debate on whether or not he made the right call, but the fact that he made the right call was a load off his mind. It was a cool point in his favor, which made the odds of things going well for him that much higher. So long as he didn't do anything humiliating then he shouldn't have to worry about it too much. Especially when it seemed that his opposition didn't have much idea what was going on either, which definitely put Daichi at a distinct advantage! Now all he had to do was capitalize on it.[break][break]
Eyes shifted over to the chunin as she explained the rules, nodding quickly as the details were laid out. It seemed pretty straight forward, really. Just typical, no frills arm wrestling. Though he had to wonder what she meant by chakra being allowed. Did she mean like...chakra enhanced strength or something? Oh he really hoped not. No matter how frail his oppositions' arms may have looked, he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. As he turned to examine his opponent in preparation for the match, he finally noticed something unusual about them.[break][break]
Their eyes were dull, hazy with a vacant stare. Were they....blind? A hint of pity panged at his heart, but it only lasted for a brief moment. If they were anyplace else he would've worried about going up against a blind person. But if they were here, they must have AT LEAST been a genin. They must have been truly amazing to be entrusted to such a position with such a disability. He took a deep breath, lips curling back into his confident smirk as the stranger spoke up. "You're pretty confident. I like that. Just don't beat yourself up too much when I take you down. Nothin' wrong with losing to a master."[break][break]
His heart raced as Nikukyuu's voice raised, clearly preparing to initiate the bout. His hand moved to snatch Hikari's, elbow remaining firmly rooted in place as he pressed it down into the crate. The time was coming. His first great duel against a fellow shinobi, with eyes from all the great villages eagerly watching to see what would happen next. He could hear vaguely familiar voices from the village shouting words of encouragement, a sensation that nearly brought a tear to the boy's eye. Even if they had no idea who he was, this was exactly what he had been working so hard for. No, he couldn't let them down.[break][break]
Daichi swallowed back his fear, managing to toss a quick wink to the pink haired genin across from him. "Good luck, Usagi." And with that, the fight was on.[break][break]
The moment the signal was given his grip would constrict around Hikari's hand, posture shifting as he pushed against the other's hand with everything he could right out the gate. He fought to put his shoulder into the motion, aiming to put as much weight as possible against his opposition. While Daichi was in good shape, as one would expect from any shinobi, he wasn't exactly the strongest genin in the land. His skills relied more on wit, speed and precision. But he didn't want to think about how possible it was that he was up against someone who physically outclassed him. Right now he was fueled by a determination to prove himself to everyone in the room, no matter what it took.
This was it. All eye were on him. This was his chance to take a stand and establish himself as a proper badass. Even if he lost to this fanged beast of a woman, surely they would respect his courage. Right? And if he DID manage to win? Oh he'd be the talk of the barracks, that'd be for sure. His confidence and excitement quickly started to build as he calculated the various possibilities that would result from this, realizing that the majority of them were actually quite positive! So long as he didn't do anything stupid or humiliating, surely they wouldn't make fun of him or anything, right?[break][break]
But before the challenge could begin, a new variable was introduced. Daichi jumped a bit as another voice chimed in, eyes widening as he turned to see the source. And what he saw was the last thing he expected. This delicately dressed...rabbit person? With high heels and big puffy cheeks? The genin stared at him in awe, looking the unknown figure over as his mind raced to figure them out. In the heat of the moment he couldn't even tell if he was dealing with a guy or a girl at this point.[break][break]
"W-wait, what? Hang on, that's gotta be against the rules, right? And I was here first so-" Unfortunately his words were in vain, the din of the crowd drowning them out before they could reach the champion's ears. His eyes locked on to the woman as she seemed to have already come to a conclusion on how to handle this. Palms were already starting to sweat as everything he had planned before went flying out the window. Now he wasn't just going up against someone who was clearly stronger than him, he was going up against...Whoever this other person was![break][break]
He couldn't help but wince a bit as she repeated his mispronounced name, a soft his slipping past his clenched teeth as he cursed his own anxieties. Maybe if things went badly he could just pretend going forward that it was just some guy with an eerily similar name? Whatever the case, he had to make the best of his situation for the moment. And so he did what he always did. Puffed his chest out, held his head high and casually shrugged his shoulders. Nothing to be scared of here! Nothing at all."Alright. I guess I could use a bit of a warm up before the main course."[break][break]
Without further hesitation, the 'unbreakable Daishi' quickly examined the situation. A box...with pillows. Nobody in the room seemed like they were injured anything, so it wasn't any sort of duel. Whatever it seemed to be centered around this box with cushions positioned on either side. Judging by the hype of the crowd and the feral looking woman who was champion, he could assume it wasn't a battle of wits. She had a wild look in her eyes...Maybe it was a staring contest? No, a quick glance at her eyes told him they weren't red from dryness, which would have to be the case after multiple matches. Which meant...[break][break]
Yes, this had to be it. By the time he took his position in kneeled down in front of the box, he was confident that he had come to the correct conclusion. He just had to own it. With one last quick glance around the room, the genin slammed his elbow down onto the crate, holding his forearm up and ready to receive his opponent. He clenched his teeth in determination, and definitely not because he just jammed his funnybone in his little opening stunt. "I don't know who you are, Ofurisode, but I'm not about to go down easy. I'm well versed in the secret techniques of arm wrestling." Please please PLEASE tell him that he guessed right on this.
