Prelims: Kichōna vs Nodao
Team 2 was one of the first teams to make it to the Forest of Death goal, and they had plenty of time to rest to show for it. Kichōna was pretty lucky; she had just enough time to actually be able to walk again.
After recuperating with her (incredibly worried) father for several days at the center where the preliminaries would be held, the waiting period was over, and it was finally time for the prelims.
As the genin were lined up in the waiting room, and looked at the board where randomly decided pairs would be announced, Kichōna just let it blur past her. She wasn't feeling it, and she wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe her head was still woozy from getting knocked around? Maybe she was airheaded off of some medicine? Or maybe she was just shaken up by what the Raikage said to her?
"...What did Mr Raikage say to me? Uh... something like... try and kill your friends? And... if they don't survive, it was their fault. Alright, guess I'll give it a try next time it comes up. No reason not to trust Mr Raikage."
"...against Kichōna."
Kichōna was snapped back into reality, because her name was called. She looked at her team, and Shimabukuro was shaking his head in disbelief. Osamu said something, but Kichōna wasn't paying attention then, either. She only made out that it wasn't happy or angry. Nodao was barely paying attention. She didn't seem drunk at the moment.
"Ugh, I'm fighting Kichōna? That's great..."
Kichōna just blinked a couple times.
"H-huh? I'm fighting you, Nodao? Aw, that means we won't get to show off in front of everybody..."
"...Yeah, whatever. Good luck, I guess."
"Y-you, too."
Once again, it was all just a blur for Kichōna. Her father said some words of encouragment, and Shimabukuro said some words, too. She didn't remember them, though. Just white noise.
"...Did all my friends make it to the prelims? Wait, did any of them die in the Forest? How many people did die in the Forest? Who would I even ask that to get the answer?"
"None of them died in the Forest. You're fine."
Kichōna turned around, and several masked Anbu were standing in a corner. One of them must've answered her question. A smile crept up on her face.
"Woah, you guys can read minds?! That's cool!"
One of the Anbu looked at her, clearly confused.
"Are you talking to me, kid?"
"Hehe, yeah! You read my mind! You know, just a moment ago?"
"Don't you have something better to be doing? Go watch the matches."
"Ok!"
Kichōna left the brightly lit room the Anbu was in, and then realized that she didn't actually know where she was. She must've wondered off at some point.
Wherever she was, it was dark. Green pillars of stone surrounded her. She didn't really know which way to go.
"Idiot. How stupid do you have to be? Go to the left, your match is literally right about to start."
"Haha, I can be a bit absentminded, can't I? Alright, thanks for your... help?"
Kichōna looked around, but there was no one there. She turned around a lot.
Now she didn't know which way was left.
"Hey, which way was left?"
"UGH, now it's just forward. Don't ask me again."
"Thanks again!"
...Once again, she made the mistake of looking around to thank the helpful voice, misalinging herself.
"...Hey, which way was forward?"
"Fuck you."
"Aw, pretty please?"
"FUCK. YOU."
"But I don't know which way to go..."
Silence. The mildly-helpful voice was now an unhelpful silent voice.
"It's ok, I'll just wander until I find it!"
Normally, people would say that sarcastically. Kichōna meant it reassuringly!
She wandered right, and saw a light!
She exited the darkness... and was in the stands. Hey, she was right next to Osamu!
"...Huh? Kichōna, how did you get up here? You were going down to the arena just a moment ago..."
Kichōna just shrugged.
"S-Sweetie, your match is up next. Do your best! Remember what I told you!"
"...I don't remember anything. Best not to tell papa, I don't want to bother him."
"Yeah, ok!"
Kichōna looked to the arena, and with a Seal of Confrontation, flickered onto one side of it.
Standing some distance across from her, was Nodao. She was clearly drunk.
"Show off."
An Anbu looked at both of them.
"Are both participants ready to begin?"
"Yes!"
"Yesh."
"Start!"
Nodao sloppily rushed towards Kichōna, kanabo in hand, and screamed.
*"Bad idea to let her get dishtansh. Better to jusht rush and pound her."
Kichōna responded by simply pressing her hands on the ground, and several coils emerged from her two arms, only to subsequently plug into the ground.
They vibrated with a low hum, and the ground subsequently burst into fragments of stone and dust.
Although tripped, Nodao ignored the debris and poor visual condtions. She acrobatically repositioned herself with her Drunken Fist style, and she slammed her club into Kichōna's last position, sending up even more dust into the air.
Clearly, Kichōna was no longer there.
"Damn it! Where'd she go!? UGH, I better jusht check EV'RYWHERE!"
Nodao made hand seals; Tiger, Snake, Tiger, Monkey. Lava plumed from under her feet, and scales from her hands. Light shone threw the dusty cloud, and the pool of molten rock covered a generous distance on one side of the battlefield. And yet, Nodao could not find her opponent.
"HUH!? WHERE DA HELL ARE YOU! STOP BEIN' A COWARD!"
"...Alrighty!"
"WHA- DAMMIT!"
Nodao turned to the location of Kichōna's voice... directly above her. There, Kichōna was stuck to the ceiling, one hand firmly lodged into the top of the arena. The other hand was chewing clay with its freaky mouth.
"THAT'SH NOT FAIR!"
"Yes it is! I Body Flickered up here fair and square!"
"GRAAAGH!"
Nodao clumped up scales into her hand, and subsequently spat alcohol from her mouth onto them.
4 small Homonculi Dolls in the shape of clouds emerged from Kichōna's hand, and plummeted towards Nodao.
Finishing clumping the soggy scales, she lobbed the ball into the air, and it erupted into fire, flaming scales blocking the path to Nodao.
The intercepted Dolls turned to electrictity... except one.
The Doll that managed to evade the flaming scale powder aimed not for Nodao, but it instead hovered over the pool of lava, a good distance away from her.
Nodao glared at it, and realized that she was having her attention divided.
She wasn't going to let that happen.
Nodao her club onto the ground, and made hand seals.
Tiger, Dragon, Boar, Dog, Boar.
In each of her hands, a ball of magma formed.
She aimed her left hand at the doll, and the right at Kichōna, forming her body into an L shape in hope to get rid of them both.
Kichōna held steady, with 3 small Homonculi Dolls emerging from her hand-mouth, and rushing again at Nodao, avoiding the still-present flaming scales.
Nodao let the burst of lava loose, and the one aimed at Kichōna engulfed flames and even a Doll, before exploding a shower of sparks and bubbles, failing to hit its mark. The one aimed at the Doll fully engulfed it as well, this time succeeding in its purpose, and resulting in a similar explosion.
Of course, 2 Dolls avoided such a fate.
Nodao was surrounded, with the Dolls hovering at equal distances away from her, and her opponent still hanging from the ceiling.
And Nodao had a plan.
She took a drink from flask.
"If you won't come to me, I'LL come to YOU!"
Nodao made hand seals: Boar, Dragon, Bird.
Lava bubbled at her feet, and both Dolls rushed towards her, aiming for a collision.
Instead, a splash of molten rock intercepted them, and Nodoa burst like a cannonball from a cannon towards the ceiling!
...And Kichōna dropped from the ceiling in turn, a large spike crackling with electricty and protruding from her arm!
The spear met a fist coated in magma, and an explosion of heat engulfed both combatants.
Figures, both glowing bright red, dropped from the clash onto the field.
Kichōna, coated in boiling metal armor on the right side of her entire body, landed on the side of the battlefield with no magma. The spike protruding from her arm was partially melted, and a grin was partially visible on her face.
Nodao landed in the pool of lava she had created, and her arm had a shallow cut running along the side of it... for a short period of time, as it began to stitch itself together. Yet, she could not move it.
"D-Damn it! You... you paralyzshed my arm!?"
"Hehehe... I sure did!"
Kichōna turned towards Nodao, and laughed even harder.
"Hahaha! It actually is pretty fun trying to hurt you!"
"Tch. Freak!"
"Alright, Nodao! I wanna see what you'll do about this!"
Shaking her arm, letting more of the melting spike fall off of it, Kichōna converted her arm into a cannon and began to shoot bullets of chakra at her 'best friend', walking backwards away from her as she did so.
Nodao slouched over, and began running directly at the bullets;
As the first bullet came near her, she swatted it with her kanabo held in her working arm.
For the second, she deftly evaded by stumbling.
For the third, she used her paralyzed arm as a shield, ignoring the damage caused to it and continuing ahead.
Of course, that was only the third out of an entire volley, so she had to think fast.
Spilling her flask onto the floor, she slid into it, and used the velocity and sliding to dodge bullets 4-12, getting closer and closer to Kichōna with each one.
At high speeds, Nodao charged at her opponent with a fist coated in molten rock; Kichōna put up a metal-spiked arm to defend herself.
Nodao was ready. Using her frictionless movement from sliding in the alcohol, Nodao turned without losing speed, and swung her fist directly into the side of Kichōna's head, launching her away. She didn't stop, and continued barreling towards her rolling opponent.
Kichōna, taken off-guard by the attack, quickly stopped herself and made the Seal of Confrontation.
She dashed with a Body Flicker into the air, over her opponent, who would be unable to stop herself. She landed once again on the ceiling, this time with her feet planted against it.
"GRAHHH! SHTOP DOING THAT!"
As Nodao charged past her mark, slamming into a wall, Kichōna made the Seal of Confrontation again and utilized Body Flicker to appear behind her.
Nodao turned to see Kichōna's smiling face, with a molten metal plate falling off of it, exposing it entirely.
Kichōna said nothing, and converted both hands into speakers.
A blast of sound engulfed Nodao, forcing her to crumple as she groaned in pain.
"Watch your head~!"
Nodao turned, and her eyes widened to see a long, metal blade coming out of Kichōna's elbow, and slashing right at her neck!
She fell to the floor completely, watching the blade connect and go into the wall. She used the floor, slick from alcohol, to spin around and sweep Kichōna's legs out from under her.
She rolled over onto Kichōna, and had her pinned.
"Sho WHAT if you can block hitsh with that damn shell! I'LL JUSHT BAKE YOU IN IT! LIKE A LOBSTER!"
"Hehe, that's the spirit!"
"SHADDUP!!"
Although Kichōna formed metal plates around herself, almost entirely encasing her body in armor, Nodao formed lava into her hands. She started covering Kichōna in the lava, and was engulfing her body completely.
"SHTUPID FREAK!!
"...Behind you!"
"I WON'T FALL FOR THAT!!"
Nodao didn't bother looking behind her.
So, when the burst of lightning hit her spine, she was... shocked.
"A-ah... w-when did you...?"
Her electrocuted body still on top of Kichōna's, Kichōna ejected a spike from her chest, directly into Nodao's, making her gasp in pain.
"HAHA, I tried to warn you~! When I was up on the ceiling, I hid a small Doll in that crevice where I was holding myself up! He was waiting for just the right time... I named him 'Crevicey!'"
Nodao didn't say anything. She was stuck, impaled.
But she was trying to break free.
Soon, anytime now, she would shake of the paralysis, and-
"Anyway, I'm gonna shock you as much as I can! It'll be tough, but I know you can survive! I believe in you with all my heart!"
An entire spire of lightning engulfed Nodao, as Kichōna
discharged as much chakra as she could, with true intent to kill.
For 12 seconds, Nodao was flashfried. After those 12 seconds ended, due to the alcohol on her body, she was lit on fire.
A sickeningly sweet smell filled the air.
"MATCH, END!"
An Anbu removed Nodao's flaming body from Kichōna, and flopped her on the ground. She was quickly smothered with a cloth.
He then inspected her.
"Holy shit... she needs a doctor, right fucking now!"
Kichōna laughed.
"Yay! I knew you could do it, Nodao!"
"The hell? Don't cheer about this! You almost killed her!"
"...Uh, that was the idea."
The Anbu just shook his head.
"Shit..."
Osamu quickly appeared onto the field.
"As her sensei, a researcher of her Kekkai Genkai, and a very good doctor, I believe that I can take this from here."
Two puppets, connected by a stretcher, lifted Nodao onto themselves. They walked off the battlefield, being careful to avoid the lava. Osamu stayed behind for just a second.
"Kichōna! You're injured, too! Come with me!"
Kichōna followed along for a couple seconds, but then stopped.
"...Kichōna? What's wrong?"
"Papa, are you proud of me?"
"...Of course, sweetheart. We'll celebrate your victory later."
"Yay!"