Let's See What You're Made Of

Zunair paused where he was perched on the low wall bounding the hospital roof, having been about to leap for a lower level on his way across the village. He was heading towards the training ground to meet with two genin. Since the genin are running around village without a proper jounin guiding them, Zunair was sent to test the strength and analytical abilities of the two, seeing if they were making any progress. One he knew, the other one, not so much.

Anima beckoned, rather than chase after him, and Zunair sighed, slipping down silently and crossing towards his mentor. “Oi, Anima.” He dipped his head.

“Zunair!” Anima slung an arm around his shoulders, squeezing hard enough to make them crumple inwards beneath the force. Zunair bowed with it, familiar with the gesture and not particularly bothered by the pressure. “I . . . am sorry about your students.” she said more quietly. Three of Zunair's students from the academy, who recently graduated had passed away during a mission close to the borders. It was a travesty to the young Hyūga.

The gold-eyed chuunin swallowed, wincing. “It’s. . .” he began, then trailed off, shaking his head.

“Ah, all is not lost, is it?” Anima said cheerfully, and Zunair pulled away and looked up at her, one hand rubbing across the diamond mark of the byakugou seal. 

“Sensei, I left for a mission I didn’t even want to take because of my duty to my students at the academy. I returned to find I now have that three of my students parished. Was I wrong to pass them?” Zunair ran his fingers through his hair and slumped a little lower. He knew he had not been . . . a great teacher, but he had tried, Zunair cared about them.

“I am truly sorry about them, Zunair.” Anima said, in the soft tone Zunair knew most people couldn’t imagine coming from her.

"I know, that's the path they've chosen. They knew the risks; I wish I could've done more to prepare them." Zunair solemnly said as he looked off into the distance.

"We all do. We all wish we could do things differently, but they're set in stone. Maybe what we know now, we can still help the ones that are still breathing around us." Anima said as she placed a motherly hand upon Zunair's shoulder.

"Right. Thank you, Anima," Zunair said as he laid a farewell kiss upon the elderly woman's cheek. While they were of no blood relation, Zunair felt Anima was more his family than anyone else, besides Onabi of course. She was always there for him, especially after his mother died from the virus.

"Speaking of helping though, I have to get going. Got a testing-spar type thing to see how the genin are progressing; hopefully, all good things," Zunair said, cracking a smile upon his lips.

"Hopefully, now get going, love, I'll see you tomorrow," Anima waved him off and Zunair fled from the hospital roof towards the training ground.



A few moments later, Zunair found himself in the middle of the training grounds. A wide space big enough for a decent spar that was about to happen. It was a rather beautiful and cool day for it being the middle of winter. Something that Zunair very much liked. So, for now, he will wait for the two genin to present themselves.

TWC: 566

Kouga got up even earlier that morning than he usually does, mostly because his excitement didn't let him sleep. The day before he had a debriefing, and was told to show up in the morning at a training ground for some sort of test. They were quite sparing with the details, so he didn't know any more than that, but this was more than enough to fire him up. Since graduating he was living in some sort of a limbo, getting a few small solo missions here and there, but mostly just training by himself. He didn't know if it was just lucky timing, or if they took it into consideration, but his injuries from his forest run-in mostly healed, he could even ditch the bandages now.

Since it was way too early, he took his time with his usual morning routines, his little rituals he did every day, almost religiously. He would go over all his equipment, doing all the necessary maintenance. It was almost meditative. He always started with his throwing weapons, went through all of them, then checked his staff for any weaknesses, even though he didn't use it nearly as much as his blade. He would keep his sword for the last, as it was the most important. He would clean the blade meticulously, make sure it's in top shape and would sharpen it to top it off. After the edge came the hilt, carved from Senju Wood. He made the carving depicting a bushy fox tail - a reminder to the foxes that saved his life and enchanted his blade - himself and would always take care to keep it in top shape. Once he was sure his literal weapons are impeccable, came his figurative weapon: his body. He would do breathing exercises, calming his mind completely, which was admittedly hard this morning. Nevertheless he tried. By the time he was done with everything it was time to go. He gathered his belongings and took off to Training Ground 11.

Once he was outside, his hard fought calmness was instantly gone, as his excitement rose again. He could barely contain himself, so he sped up a little. As he was rushing down the streets his dusty red hair danced in the gentle wind. It was a cool morning, but not too cold, although his assessment might have changed as time passed. Finally he arrived, and as it was his habit by now, he jumped over the fence instead of walking to the gates. As he landed, in front of him spread out a wide open space, without much cover. He unintentionally started pondering if this would be to his benefit or disadvantage in a fight. He couldn't hide from attacks with higher range, but without any obstacles it seemed easier to close in on people. So all in all this was a fat he doesn't know. But when he thought about it, he was inexperienced so this was nothing too surprising.

His train of thought came to a screeching halt when he realized he wasn't alone. There was a boy on the training ground, seemingly only a few years older than him. Maybe he was here for the trial as well? Anyway it would be rude to not greet him, since he got here later, so he walked up to him.

"Hey, the name's Kouga, did you come for the test as well?" - he asked extending his right hand for a shake.

WC: 575

Izuna rose bright and early as usual, but today he felt so much more motivated. He had been informed that he was expected to be present at training ground 11 that morning. The cause of this was unknown to him but he had a hunch he was finally going to meet his jonin instructor. Izuna made his own breakfast like he usually did, protein heavy. Three eggs and a meat product of some sort, two sausages today, He downed it with a cup of tea made from Yamanaka herbs that were meant to boost energy for the day, a much more reliable morning drink than coffee. Then went out into his backyard to run through some morning exercises. Mostly chakra control exercises designed to "loosen up" his network and make it easier to control them for the day.

His chakra seemed to match his mood today, it was easy to control and far less wild then it typically was, he supposed that meant there would be no storms today. The thought didn't dampen his mood as it usually did, he had figured out his yearning for storms was a reaction to his abnormal chakra nature. He idly wondered if it would be harder for him to learn other elements, he had never considered the possibility since he didn't really feel the need to ever since he began being able to control his lightning nature. He supposed it made little difference anyway, he wasn't about to try anytime soon.

Once he had only 5 minutes to arrive on time he departed his residence for training ground 11, he had never had a habit of being on time and he wasn't about to start today. They might think he was compensating for something if he suddenly showed up on time. He still made haste through the village, keeping to the rooftops to practice travelling fast via chakra enhanced jumping. He arrived at the training ground about 20 seconds later than he was meant to and he saw two people occupying it. This wasn't good, meant he wasn't going to actually get a sensei today... Unless the third person was even later than he was, which he found unlikely.

He entered through the gate like you do and approached the two figures, wanting to know why he had been instructed to be here. As he approached he realized he knew both the figures. Kouga was obvious enough, his hair was hard to miss so he recognized him easily. The second figure was also very familiar to him, not only had he been proctor for his genin exam, he was also the Hyuga clan heir and a important medical nin wasn't he? Either way the man was no Genin and was most likely here to test them, so he decided to consider the man his superior until informed otherwise.

"Good Morning Lord Hyuga" He curtsied slightly then turned to the orange haired boy. "Long time no see Kouga, what's all this about now?"
WC 499

Stat's:

Zunair stared off in the sunlight, he hasn't been here in so long. What is it now? Two years? The time seemed to pass by so effortlessly since his last fight with the Uchiha member, Ichika. Now here he was, once again, about to test another Uchiha member and someone from a commoner clan. Zunair put a great deal of respect on individuals who strive to be shinobi, especially those who come from civilian households. Those individuals strive and work harder than any shinobi clans. Someone like Kouga, doesn't have the nepotism, the same advantages as someone like Zunair.

Those thoughts came to an abrupt end when the person that was on his mind, Kouga, come forward and greeted him. "Yes, Kouga, now genin, weapon master soon." Zunair gave a warm smile as head tilt to the side. Of course, Zunair did his homework on this individual. He was in the academy around the same time as Xena and Izuna, however, he wasn't in Zunair's class when he was teaching wondering if he was in Izuna's room. Anyway, his report said he passed with alright grades but his superiority with weapons was above average. Intriguing.

"Well, yes, I am here for the test. But I guess you can say I am the proctor," Zunair said as he shifted his weight to the left leg.

"How are we doing today?" The golden-eyed Hyūga asked, starting up small talk with the redhead.

It wasn't long before Izuna finally arrived. "Good morning, Izuna," Zunair gave him the same treatment as Kouga. The duo stood about 3 meters from where Zunair was positioned "Now, this 'test', I say loosely. Is to see where your strength and tactical abilities lie. Since you're aware that both of you haven't been placed on genin teams yet, there is no jounin that is heading your progress. This test is to see where you stand and give insight to find what you need to train on. So, don't hold back." Zunair's smile quickly faded into an emotionless expression as his chakra network started to become enhanced, increasing his speed and chakra by 50 and his byakugan immediately activated. "Let's begin".

With that being said, Zunair immediately went into offensive mode, striking the ground with his cherry blossom impact at a power/speed of 90, a crater and shockwave force pushes outward from the epicenter till it reaches maximum range of 20 meters. Dust and a debris will flood the area, but Zunair will still keep his eyes on the duo. 

TWC: 986

Stats:
Vigor: 100
Chakra: 175
Speed: 95
Strength: 5
Current AP: 2,000

Byakugan: -5 AP
Chakra Enhanced Strength: -30 AP (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)
Cherry Blossom Impact: -30 AP (25% Reduction via Chakra Control) 

New AP: 1,935

stats:

The sudden compliment caught him off guard. And did he know about him? Although deducing these information didn’t seem hard, given the vast sword on his back and his presence here. Now that he was close he took notice of the boy’s eyes. They were golden yellow, something Kouga never seen before. Just who was he? He didn’t have to wait long for an answer, as his fellow ninja introduced himself as the proctor. But he looked so young. Was he making fun of him? But the boy looked serious and nonchalant about the fact. Kouga felt bad for being so casual with him, and decided to apologize:

“I’m sorry for being so informal earlier, if I offended you I apologize Mr..?” – he asked while bowing, but the answer came from a more familiar voice from behind him. Lord Hyuga? Could this be Zunair the heir? He never liked people who were stuck up because they were from some clan. Rank he respected, heritage not so much. But this boy seemed to be humble and down to earth for now and Kouga liked that. He then turned to greet the newcomer.

“Izuna! It’s good to see you again. I see you’re a genin now. Way to go!”

As Zunair started to talk, he became more and more excited. By the time he got to the part about seeing where they stand, Kouga started weaving signs. Tiger, Horse, Hare, Ox, Dog, then he touched the handle of his sword. He wasn’t going to attack, but it seemed like a good idea to be ready, and time would only confirm him. As he processed Zunair’s sudden "Let's begin.", he drew his sword, now glowing orange.

Then instantly Zunair went on the offensive. As the boy’s hand started it’s journey to the ground, Kouga instinctively stepped in front of Izuna, ready for anything. Quickly a shockwave and a barrage of debris reached them, but Kouga managed to Parry it leaving a 45 degree safe zone behind him, although his blade was now back to it’s original grey colour. He felt the handle of Senju Wood radiate some of the absorbed chakra back into him. As they found themselves in a crater still 3 meters from Zunair, he decided to take the initiative and ran up to him to take a swing at him at a power of 48.

WC: 395
TWC: 970

Stats:
Vigor: 50
Chakra: 25
Speed: 30
Strength: 96
Current AP: 530

Heated Blade: -40 AP
Parry: -45 AP

Senju Wood trait: -50 AP to Zunair and +50 AP to Kouga

New AP: 495

Cooldowns:
Heated Blade: 3 posts
Parry: 2 posts

Stats:

He was greeted by the two other boys and Izuna made to stand next to Kouga, it turned out that was a good decision in the not to distant future. For now he listened to Zunair's explanation on why they were here, he noted the Hyuga was standing a strange distance away from them. When the Hyuga cut to teh cahse and announced that they were doing a combat exercise Izuna's blood ran hot. His exictment was obvious, but when Zunair immediatly went to attack so was his surprise.

The Hyuga's byakugan was the only warning Izuna got that the attack was coming he made to form the RAM seal for a body flicker before noticing Kouga had moved in front of him. Trusting his peer to counter Zunair's attack Izuna activated his Sharingan and began forming hand signs. TIGER RAM DOG TIGER, once he had completed the signs two copies of himself appeared 1 meter behind him one on his left and one on his right.

They both immediately spring into action, the one on the left makes a RAM sign and body flickers to the edge at of the river at speed 171. He is now 25 meters from where Zunair is standing, the clone at the river seemingly does nothing, Sharingan spinning.

The second Clone on the right similarly uses body flicker to travel at 171 speed to a point 5 meters behind Zunair. Assuming he is not intercepted he will begin weaving hand signs for Chidori.

The real Izuna is staying behind Kouga and overserving Zunair's reaction to Kouga's attack and his shadow clones actions.
WC 271
TWC 770

AP: 1045
Sharingan -20
Lightning Clone Technique -30

Divided AP=995/3

Izuna: 332

Left Clone: 332
Body Flicker -10
322 remaining

Right Clone: 331
Body Flicker -10
Chidori -47
284 remaining

As Kouga positioned himself to block the damage from the shockwave, Izuna seemed to make lightning clones of himself that body flickered 5 meters behind Zunair and another one, 25 meters from Zunair's side, beside the river. As kouga and the lightning clone went on the offensive, Zunair formed his own hand seals: Ram > Tiger > Dog > Snake > Bird > Dragon > Ram, only performing the last seal right before the chidori strikes him, vanishing from sight, only to reappear 4 meters behind Izuna. If goes to plan, both the clone's and Kouga's blade would clash together. Continuing on, he performed Bird > Hare > Monkey > Ox > Dragon > Snake, a thick smoke excretes out his pours with the power and speed of 175, it will begin to capture both Izuna, Kouga and the lighting clone in its 35-meter area and if the other clone doesn't move, it will as well.

TWC: 1,142

Stats:
Vigor: 100
Chakra: 175
Speed: 95
Strength: 5
Current AP: 1,935

Byakugan: -5 AP
Chakra Enhanced Strength (1/2): -15  (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)
Vanish: -38 (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)
Chakra Devestation Agent: -75 (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)


New AP: 1,802

Kouga's muscles flexed, and nothing else existed just him and his target. But just when the blade was about to cut into Zunair's flesh he disappeared from sight. The redhead spun around looking for his opponent, only to find him behind Izuna, around 7 meters from himself. A purple smoke erupted from the Hyuga and started spreading towards him fast. This had to be bad. He turned the other way and started rushing at a power and speed of 70. The fumes caught up to him in about 5 meters, but he kept on running until he was out of the area, then he turned around to see what happened inside.

WC: 111
TWC: 1081

Stats:
Vigor: 50
Chakra: 25
Speed: 30
Strength: 96
Current AP: 495

Bull Rush: -40 AP
Chakra Devastation Agent: -175 AP

New AP: 280

Current HP: 200
Passive DR: 96

Chakra Devastation Agent: -175

New HP: 121

Cooldowns:
Heated Blade: 2 posts
Parry: 1 posts
Bull Rush: 3 posts

Izuna watched the situation unfold with sharingan enhanced eyes. His clones realized what was happening before he did, the clone closer to him was dispelled before the chidori could even spark to life, overcome by the powerful mist. The clone by the river had one option. He had to move away from the rapidly expanding jutsu, moving at his full speed of 71, he would be able to cover the 3 meters needed to get out of the mist's range. To do this he ran directly away Zunair and was now standing on the river itself. Once he realized the mist was no longer expanding, the clone would attempt to move to where Kouga was standing at speed 71.

Izuna himself would be left optionless but to retreat out of the mist, despite how close his foe was to him, Izuna would turn and run at speed 71 to where his clone and Kouga were at, making it out of the mists affected area unless interrupted. He would constantly be watching Zunair with his sharingan, trusting his clone to keep an eye out in front of himself.
WC 187
TWC 957

AP: 332
Sharingan -20
Caught in mist -175
Clone Dispelled +284 = 421
Clone:
Sharingan -20
302 remaining.

Cooldowns:
Body Flicker 2 Posts
Lightning Clone 2 Posts
Chidori 3 Posts

HP 200-175 +10PDR = 35 Remaining

Another smile formed as the lightning clone busted from the contact to his deadly poison. Now, Kouga and Izuna began to run to find an exit, but Zunair was hot on their heels, especially Izuna. He was not going to get away from the Hyūga as he began to perform the seals: Snake > Ox > Tiger > Ram > Rat, a dim light mint-green aura formed over the medic's hand as he pushed forward at a speed of 95, closing in on the Uchiha. Using the cover of the fog, they would make it around 25 meters before Zunair would strike at the genin's neck, paralyzing him from the neck down and leaving. (If Izuna is paralyzed, he still left inside the fog, so his AP would drop -175) Whether or not that was accomplished, Zunair would perform another round of seals: Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, with the last one he would expel eight fireballs at the power and speed of 55 with four going towards Kouga and another four heading towards the clone. Once the fireballs caught up to the two individuals, if they were to move in any 90-degree direction, Zunair would alter their course to follow them until max range.

Stats:
Vigor: 100
Chakra: 175
Speed: 95
Strength: 5
Current AP: 1,802

Byakugan: -5 AP
Chakra Enhanced Strength (2/2): -15 (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)
Vanish: Cooldown (1/1)
Chakra Devastation Agent: -38 (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)
Mystical Palm (Offensive): -38 (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)
Pheonix Flower: -23 (25% Reduction via Chakra Control)

New AP: 1,698