Chance Encounter (P, NK)

Another day, another dollar. More like another day, another sweaty body. Sora finished training, just like every other day. He just wished something interesting could happen.
...

Eh, that only worked in books.

WC: 34

TWC: 34

Kumogakure was gray, the sky was gray, the buildings were gray, and the people were gray. Even the walls of Iesada's inn were gray, he had entered a disconcerting world devoid of color. After receiving his visitor permit the Yukigakure native finally found his way to temporary lodgings. The innkeeper had been a bit cool towards him, a foreigner, but the bed she provided was warm so he didn't complain. In the end, a place to stay was all that really mattered, the streets did not look all that inviting.

In the early morning, the wind must have shifted as the smell of death invaded his room through the less-than-airtight window. The stench was awful; it wasn't just death it was after death, rot. Obviously, he could not return to sleep, so he did the only thing he could, leave, at least for the time being.

Outside the morning air was a bit better, but not much. People milled about with their heads down going about their business, nonetheless. Iesada cut into the constant stream of people before being whisked away in the tide of humanity. His goal? The training grounds of Kumogakure.

He had been given strict instructions when getting his permit. The instructions were to not practice jutsu or chakra based techniques outside of the training grounds. Of course, the officials he had talked to claimed it was for the safety of the village. However, Iesada suspected it had something to do with keeping an eye on foreigners.

Arriving at the barren training ground he saw what amounted to a battlefield. All around shinobi sparred and all around grunts of pain could be heard. If it wasn't so brutal the man would have been impressed. As it was, though, he could only stand and watch. Once again he stood out like a sore thumb, it was only a matter of time before his gaping at the militaristic display was questioned. At least, this time he had a reason to be here and a permit in his pocket; he'd be fine, right?

Sora had finished his daily katas and daily meditation. It was still as boring as ever even though other Shinobi were sparring fiercely around him and at neighboring training grounds. The boy took note of almost everyone that was there to satisfy his boredom. There was a gruff looking man, and then there were little children, and in between were teenagers and pre-teens like him. It was funny how there were adult Genin, and then there were child Genin; age hadn't mattered in this world that they lived in, it was nothing more than an afterthought as he saw another person arrive.

He breathed in more of the oxygen filling his lungs as he jumped up. Here was a good chance to get to meet some more people; he was the only one who wasn't sparring so far. Sora strolled over towards the man and reached his hand out as a greeting.

"Hello, my name is Sora Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you," Sora would say waiting for the man to shake his hand. Assuming that he would shake his hand, Sora would continue to speak.

"Eh, are you new around here? I haven't seen you anywhere before, and usually, there is a particular group of people that come to train in the morning." Sora would finish speaking and wait for the man's response.

WC: 232

TWC: 266

"The pleasure is mine I assure you," Iesada responded, shaking the boy's hand—it reminded him of his days as a merchant. "You may call me Iesada, Iesada Saito."

The boy, Sora, was a bit shorter than Iesada, so he did have to look down ever so slightly. The trick here, mind you, is to actually look down as opposed to simply shifting one's eyes. During his time as diplomat, he had learned that looks do, no matter what people may say, make all the difference and no one wanted to be looked down upon like a swine who wasn't even worthy of attention. All that said, the boy seemed nice enough, which was a nice change of pace for the older man.

"I suppose I am new around these parts," He began as if recounting a story by a campfire. "I've only just arrived here in Kumogakure yesterday and I figured it would not do me any good to slack on my exercise. Why do you ask? Do I look that out of place?"

Now, see, the key word here was exercise. He did not say training or sparring, he hadn't done any such things in his life. Born and raised a merchant Iesada had only just taken his first steps into the world of the shinobi. And, as embarrassing as it might seem, he was probably less adept in combat that the boy in front of him. Such was the nature of the hidden villages, children were made to warriors. Truthfully, he found it a bit disconcerting, but he also knew if he ever wished to avenge his family and village the shinobi arts were the single path forward.

Iesada Saito seemed to be a kind person. Sora was pretty tall for his age, standing at 5'8, but that didn't mean others weren't taller. He looked up, not directly up since that'd be awkward, but up until their gazes met. 

"Oh, so you are new to town," Sora would continue after he spoke. Just yesterday, it seemed as if his gut feeling was right. Responding to his question Sora blushed in embarrassment, "No, you don't look that out of place, I just haven't seen you anywhere throughout Kumo."

As soon as Iesada had said that he was slacking on exercise Sora's eyes twinkled with an idea, "Hey, how about a friendly spar? I just finished my daily exercising and meditating so it'd be nice to do something else. I've been bored all day!"

WC: 143

TWC: 409

"Ah," Iesada unconsciously scratched the back of his neck as he often when feeling uncomfortable. "I had worried I stuck out a bit more than I should, thank you."

Of course, it was not standing out that made the man uncomfortable. After all, being different than those around you was nothing to be ashamed of, everyone felt different or singled out at one point or another. It was naturally. However, what was not natural, for Iesada anyway, was sparring. In fact, the whole idea felt more than a bit uncomfortable. Sure, it was a spar, but he didn't want to hurt anyone. Correction, he didn't want to hurt anyone who didn't have it coming, he had standards. Doesn't everyone?

"If you insist," He hesitated for a moment and took a breath. "Shall we?"

He gestured weakly over to a particularly clear area near the edge of the training grounds. It seemed the best place. Fewer people was better in a fight, right? Right? Iesada honestly had no clue, but it sounded right. A few strides brought him over to the indicated spot, but still it felt wrong. His whole body felt heavy as if cast in iron.

"Alright," The man glanced over at Sora. "I'm ready when you are."

He brought his hands up in what amounted to an exceedingly poor fighting stance.

Here goes nothing.

Sora smiled as he accepted the sparring invitation. The two got into fighting stances, believe it or not, but this was Sora's first ever battle! It was time to test his skills.

"Three, two, one, go!" Sora exclaimed instantly creating a Ram hand seal and taking off in a Body Flicker. (Speed: 50) It would seem like a blur to the missing-nin as he appeared in front of his face with a Leaf Whirlwind (Strength: 34 | Speed: 35). His foot would be shot off in a direct angle towards his face to where it would smash in the middle of the face, shattering his nose.

Assuming he'd get sent backward, he'd use Leaf Gale (Speed: 30) to finish off the combo slamming the same leg into his gut causing the adult to slam into the ground, bouncing off of it and getting sent backward. Sora would then perform the hand seal Half-Tiger and blast a three-meter dimensional fire cone at him (Power: 10 | Speed: 10)

Sora would hop backward to gain some distance and wait for his opponent's move.

WC: 188

TWC: 597

Total AP: 200

AP Used: 37

AP Left: 163

A countdown?

Odd.

'Shinobi don't play fair', Yui always used to say to him usually before wrestling him into submission; his wife had always been more of a man than him. Funny how that goes. Of course, the moral of the story here was that something as commonplace as a countdown was exploitable. Iesada wouldn't play or fight fair, what was the point in the world he knew? One had to take every advantage as it came, the older man's advantage came in hand seals made during Sora's countdown.

Three-Boar-two-Rat-and-one.

As Sora formed the Ram seal Iesada took two steps back. Of course, the Uzumaki would probably not see this as in the older man's place stood an apparition that appeared solid, the transition was seamless. Furthermore, the angle at which Sora now approached made it even more unlikely that he would notice.

And so if all went according to plan the boy's leg would hit nothing but air perhaps feeling the cool touch of mist. The ghost he hit would split in two creating two more images of Iesada. Naturally, said split would reveal the real Iesada standing a few paces back and between the phantoms.

Perhaps here is where it is important to note that Iesada had not remained idle and had, in fact, started another string of hand seals given his relatively safe position. He had just completed the Dog sign, so Sora could definitely interrupt him, but the two apparitions were closing in with a speed of ten after the man's failed taijutsu assault. To get to the Yukigakure native he'd have to go through them and without knowledge of what jutsu he was facing it'd be a dangerous prospect, foolish even. It was time to see what kind of person Sora was.
---------------
-10 ap for Mist Servant Technique
Total AP Left: 190

Sora had not expected the technique. It had to be a genjutsu, the feeling of mist had come over him when he burst through the clone. Otherwise, he'd think it was just a regular clone. Ignoring the phantom, he'd charge forward for more of the Mist Servants to come at him. He still had to be careful about this, what if it was another trick?

As he continued running, Sora would pull out three kunai and throw them at the clones and what he assumed was the original. With the clones, he'd aim for just the chest, but for the original, he'd aim for a part of the leg that wouldn't be forever damaging. So with that, he'd pull his arm back adding more strength to the throw and chuck it forward adding more speed. (Speed: 80 | Sharpness: 70)

The kunai would spin in a spiral motion as it entered his thigh. If the kunai hit, Sora would then heal him afterward. Assuming it hit him canceling whatever jutsu he was going to use next, Sora would finish the battle by running towards him and using Aerial Strip into his gut sending him tumbling to the grass. (Strength: 30 | Speed: 29)

Sora would prepare another kunai between his fingertips if he were to get up.

Total AP: 178

AP Used: 10

AP Left: 168


WC: 225

TWC: 822

Sora continued his assault and Iesada continued his string of hand seals. The two mist servants were dispersed by the first two kunai and, at first, it seemed as if both would split into two more, but then the third kunai embedded itself in the diplomat's leg. The mist servants disappeared entirely as pain shot through his right leg. The kunai had been buried up to the hilt in his thigh and the wound gushed blood. By some stroke of luck, it missed anything dangerously vital.

By all standards, the fight should have been over. Yes, here was where he should have cried uncle, where he should have recklessly ripped the kunai from his leg and where he should have passed out from the pain. Indeed, it would have been the reasonable thing and Iesada was a reasonable man in an unreasonable situation. However, a reasonable man, when faced with an unreasonable, knows when it is time to be unreasonable. This was just such a time.

No, he could no longer maintain the mist servants, but he pushed through the pain and continued the string of hand seals. Sora was fast, but not fast enough for as he approached, Iesada finished the last seal, Ram. The Uzumaki now had a choice, a choice Iesada would grant him.

"Stop," He huffed out when Sora was a step away. "Stop, you lose."

He winced and fell down to a knee.

"Look up."

If the boy listened then he'd stop, if not he'd continue. Did he heed warnings? Or did he charge ever forward. If he did stop and look he'd see his death hurtling ever closer in the form of a meteor large enough to obliterate the village. The heat would feel real, the noise unbearable and the fear, hopefully, palpable.
---------------
-20 ap for Descending hell technique
170 ap remaining
[Do note that your approach speed would be 10 due to acceleration rules giving more than enough time to complete the hand seals.]