[SoS] Hands-On Evaluation

[Kao]

Tsuken silenty sipped an enormous glass of orange juice, his dark eyes trained to the crinkled paper in his hands. The letter had come exactly a week ago, and he had read it at least a dozen times every day since he received it. The higher ups of the village clearly wanted him to get back into the swing of performing missions and serving the village, but he had to go through evaluations and screenings first.

’Fantastic, he thought as he stared at the thin, slanting words the paper. All he knew was that he had an evaluation that day, and he would be required to spar some unknown opponent and he was to prepare accordingly. The chuunin drained the glass with a deep gulp and left it on the counter atop a dirty plate and headed out of the door, grabbing his travelling cloak on the way out.

The village was bustling as always, its citizens buzzing about to complete various errands and chores. The Henrin meandered through the crowd, avoiding areas that would have familiar faces that would hold him up in conversation. Eventually the crowd thinned considerably near the edges of the village and disappeared almost completely as he approached the walls of Sunagakure’s valley.

The designated meeting area was large and open, and the man wasn’t sure what to expect when he got there. As he approached, Tsuken removed his hood and looked around to take in his surroundings. As his eyes wandered, he started to stretch his muscles so that his body would be loosened up for the upcoming spar.

[Kabu]

Nozomi meanwhile had just finished with another of her frequent checkups, and while she had just the slightest of fevers, the doctors had told her that she should be fine. Feeling happy that she would be okay to take on the events for the day, she was practically skipping as she left the hospital, thinking back on the note that she had received exactly one week ago today. According to what the note had said, there would be an evaluation by means of a spar, though of course it hadn't gone so far as to tell her of her opponent. Naturally she was a little worried, but on the bright side she would have some chance to show off what she could possibly do.

Today was the day of that evaluation, and she was just as nervous as ever, though at the same time in a way she was very much excited as she hadn't gotten too many chances to show off her limited combat skills. For a moment she considered heading home and changing into her mission suit but the checkup had taken a bit longer than usual today and she didn't want to end up running late so she chose to just go as she was.

And so with that she headed towards her destination, taking the scenic route atop some roofs for the dual purpose of both avoiding those that she may know, and also to enjoy the sight of the hustle and bustle of the villagers going about their day as she passed on through.

Soon enough she arrived at her destination, a wide open area somewhere within the valleys. It was definitely a decent enough place for a spar due to how spacious it was, and she had no complaints about the actual scenery either. It seemed that there was another person there, a young man. Could he be her opponent? It was possible but there was bound to be an overseer for something like this so for now she walked up close and settled with a simple wave, rather than actually saying anything, for the time being at least.

[FluffyGinja]

A broad smile would spread across the Bannin's facial features as he would begin to step down towards the two people that had gathered here, just as had been told to him. Approaching from the ceiling, he would simply walk down from the walls at the mouth of the cave entrance, but while he was walking, he would examine the two shinobi that had gathered for him.

One of these shinobi was a female, roughly in her late-teens. She seemed a little sickely, almost as if she had recently gotten over a small cold or a fever. There were hardly any distinguishing features about her, aside from her figure that Sueatsu would take a small note of, along with her, which was something of an oddity in someone so young.

The other was someone he would recognize their lineage of immediately. Henrin. Just about the same age as the female next to him, yet seemingly more gaunt than the female he stood next to. This Henrin was far more recognizable than most though, a jagged, viscous scar that lie across his neck. There was a tragedy there that Sueatsu would inquire about at some time but for now, he would not need to ask.

Releasing his hold on the ceiling with his chakra-coated feet, Sueatsu would land at the mouth of the cavernous training area and smile. "Henrin-San, Oda-san. It is a pleasure to meet you both." Sueatsu spoke with a cheery, kind voice as he bowed to them both respectfully. "I'm to be your overseer for this evaluation. I would like you both to please follow me. I encourage you to ask any inquiries and questions that you may have. Ah, my apologies! You may call me Sueatsu. Shirahama, Sueatsu." He stated as he would gesture for them to step into the yawning mouth of the cavern. Sueatsu's tone of voice was far different from something that most shinobi would have. He seemed to be far more formal, respectful and generally nice.

Simply walking inside himself, he would smile at the expanse. Dug out by proficient users of various elements, these caverns had hints of natural and man-made structures and smoothness to them. Rays of light lit up the cavern, showing off its expansive brilliance to anyone who would enter. Each ray seemed to bounce off of a smooth surface and spread dancing lights across the entirety of the cavern. There had been a small, clear area in the middle, specifically constructed for training usage and it was quite the large area, covering most of the floor of this cavern. He would slowly begin to approach the middle of the grounds, figuring the two of them would be in tow and he would allow them their questions as he walked at a pace that seemed to be in no hurry.

[Kao]

When the girl approached and waved, Tsuken simply nodded and immediately turned away. If she didn't want to say anything, neither would he. Conversation wasn't something he was interested in, especially in a moment in which he would soon be expected to fight. He gave her a once over, blinking slowly to fully take in her appearance. She was rather unassuming, tiny even, and she appeared to be about the same age as he was. The girl was unusually pale, and he briefly wondered if she ever ventured outside to get some sun. Despite being very short and very pale, she was kinda cute, and his gaze dipped briefly toward her chest.

Very nice. He wouldn't mind fighting her, if that were the case. The girl was unassuming enough, and he hoped that she was his opponent, especially since he didn't feel like exerting himself much that day. No, a near-death experience wasn't on his agenda for the day.

Suddenly, something - no, someone - dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of them. The Henrin tensed and he took a half step back and uncrossed his arms, alert and ready. However, as soon as the man started to talk, Tsuken's jaw fell open in shock and he took a moment to reign in his expression.

This is not what he was expecting. He expected someone a rank or two higher than him at the most, some unknown shinobi who would introduce himself and the name would leave Tsuken's memory almost immediately. He in no way expected such a famous person to meet him for this evaluation. He admired the man, which was truly saying something since Tsuken didn't openly admit to admiring many people. He was in complete awe as the man cheerfully greeted them. After a moment of slack-jawed shock, he remembered himself and lowered into a respectful bow. "Shirahama-sama. I'm honored," was all he could manage to say after the bannin's kind introduction before the man ushered the younger ninja into the cavern.

Now he truly, truly hoped the girl would be his opponent. As they walked, the only question he could think of was What are you doing here and what am I getting myself into, but he couldn't think of a respectful way to ask. He couldn't think of a respectful way to walk, let alone address Sueatsu. Instead he walked behind the man, his mind moving miles a minute in anticipation.

[Kabu]

Nozomi had to admit that she found it sprta nice that the boy didn't seem to be much for conversation, as she wasn't much of a conversationalist herself and at a time like this she really wasn't all too sure what there possibly was to say, other than possibly introducing herself, but for the time being that could wait. Instead, she took the time to look him over, noting that he seemed to be around her age, though he was much taller than her despite being very thin. What really stood out about him though was the vicious scar that lay across his neck. She did wonder what the story there was but she had to assume it was something pretty bad.

She didn't miss the way that his gaze seemed to linger on her chest but she chose not to comment on it, instead giving him a sly grin. It wasn't as if she would have had the opportunity to speak up, as a man soon dropped from the ceiling of the cave, a man that she didn't take long to recognize as one of the village Bannin, though his name escaped her at the time. All the same, she was beyond excited to have the chance to actually meet a Bannin face to face.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you Shirahama-Sama." she responded to the Bannin's introduction with a bow, shortly after, following behind the Bannin as the pair of them followed him into the cavern. "I do have one question. Forgive me if this is out of place, but.. what is the actual purpose of this evaluation? It's not very often that we just get assigned to be evaluated out of the blue like this." she spoke, truly curious, though the question was mostly asked to ease her nerves. She knew that she wasn't exactly strong, plus there was the fact that she had outright missed her own chuunin exam, so this could have any number of purposes and while she was able to remain mostly calm, the fact of the matter was that she was very nervous of the possibilities.

[FluffyGinja]

"That is a fine question to ask. The reason that our Lord Kazekage has instructed me to evaluate you two is for something important. I will not divulge what that is, seeing as I do not want for you two to worry for yourselves. That being said, this evaluation is to test your combat efficiency. I realize that you two are of different ranks, of different strengths and of different mindsets. We all are, that is what makes us individuals. However, I want you to both take this seriously as well as leisurely. You are not to strike to kill but you are to make sure you can defend yourself. If at all gets to the point where I see that one of you is going to far, I will intervene. This is not to reprimand you, mind you. This is to ensure the safety of you both and to make sure that you both will be capable of fending off a threat. Oh, and you do not have to bow to me. I appreciate you respect, but I've done no such thing to earn it yet." He stated with a broad smile on his face as he bowed to them both in kind, his humble nature highly apparent as he was not one for being treated as highly as his position allowed.

Sueatsu had walked them both to the center of the cave structure. He would gesture for them both to stand roughly twenty meters apart, gesturing to the spot that they should both stand at. "I will once more remind you. Treat this seriously. I do want to see both of you at your best. You both have potential, as I've been told and I seek to see just where that potential lies, as does the Lord Kazekage." He stated as he took a step back from the line between them and looked at them both. He would not speak... He would simply wait. He waited to see if they had anything to say, and he would grant them the chance.

If and only after they would choose to speak up, would he raise an arm up and smile to them both. With a sharp drop of his hand, the air just below it pushing down onto the dirt underneath it and scattering it a small bit, he would signal the start of their engagement.

[Kao]

Tsuken remained quiet as the bannin answered the girl's question. It was clear to him now that he would be fighting the girl. His thoughts lingered on hs statement that they were at two different ranks. The girl could either be stronger or weaker than him, but he did not intend on giving her enough time to find out. He would fight as though she were equal to him, even stronger. Tsuken would not hold back.

He blanched at Sueatsu's gesture and had to stop himself from returning it with an even deeper bow. Soon after, Sueatsu was directing them where to stand in the combat area. He was much father away from her than he would like to be, being a close-quarters fighter, but he was sure he could close the distance between them. He had nothing to say to neither Seuatsu or the girl, but dropped his left hand to his leg pouch and snapped it open.

When Sueatsu's hand dropped, Tsuken quickly gripped a kunai, drew his hand across his chest, and released it, aiming for the girl's chest. As soon as he released the kunai he would dash forward and grab another from his leg pouch and run towards her with what he would consider roughly half his top speed.

[Kabu]

Nozomi had to resist letting out a groan as Sueatsu explained the situation, even confirming that the pair of them were different ranks, something that she had suspected given the similarities between their ages, but in some ways had desperately hoped wasn't the case. As she was still a Genin herself, that meant that her opponent was at least Chuunin, and as a result likely very strong, or at least stronger than herself. Oh well, for a number of reasons she hadn't trained quite as much as she probably should have, and this was a good opportunity to find out just how much work she really needed, and even in which areas she needed the most work in.

Unfortunately, or perhaps it was slightly fortunate, there wasn't much time to think as, just as soon as Sueatsu's hand dropped, the girl beginning to channel chakra, jumping to the side as the kunai flew towards her, taking note of its trajectory and speed, and frowning at a sudden realization. However, the frown soon turned upwards into a small smile. He was definitely faster and stronger than her, but fortunately she had range on her side, finishing her channeling and waiting until he was within ten meters before unleashing a conical blast of chakra, hoping to at least provide a distraction, if not get in a hit.

JutsuShow

Ninjutsu • Energy Blast
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
After channeling the user gathers chakra into their palm, firing a blast of chakra that takes the form of a cone ten meters in length with a five meter diameter that travels at a speed of 5 and strikes with a strength of 5.

[Kao]

As the jutsu moved towards him, Tsuken immediately skidded to a stop. Thinking quickly, he considered dodging the attack, but when he noticed its speed he thew his kunai down, point down, and raised his arms d in a x-shaped cross in front of him and braced himself. It didn't hit wth as much force as he expected, and as the blast subsided he decided to kick it up a notch. Though he had no idea where the technique fell on the scale of the girl's jutsu strength, he assumed for the time being that it was about average or below for her.

With that in mind, the hot-headed chuunin pushed forward, now moving at very nearly his top speed to close the gap between them. Once he was within 3 meters of the girl he leaped forward to close the remaining distance between them and extended his fist, aiming to throw a powerful blow to her stomach.

JutsuShow

~Ryuusei Ken – Skipping Star
D-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
From their stance, the clan member will lunge forward their opponent in a leaping stride. As the make this leaping stride, they will attempt to lunge into them, fist-first, in an attempt to smash into them with all their might while closing the gap between them quickly.[/color]