Fated Encounter

Part 1: By Chance of Fate

"It seems we were lucky, after all."

Shinrō Kamotai, the Monk Nin of the Hidden Leaf, inspected the small scroll laid down before him, bearing the insignia of earth. Not too far away from him, the limp body of a ninja laid still, crumpled to the ground, free of injuries. Yet in the midst of his forehead, a single word was etched in night-black ink.

気絶
UNCONSCIOUS

Producing a single paper seal from within his attire, the young genin carefully affixed it onto the bulky object, watching as it dissolved into a puff of moke, neatly contained within the summoning seal. Taking a moment to stare upon the small tag, he tucked the paper away beneath his belt. With that scroll acquired, their team was all but set to win. He turned to his team. "Shall we head to the finish line now, or continue to hide in this murky forest? What do you think, Jin?"

Several meters away, the Branch Heir of the Hyuga Clan was perched atop two figures - other ninja, they too unconscious. Yet unlike their fellow - their bodies had been pummeled to a pulp. They were completely unconscious. Jin held his chin for a moment, pensive. Since they had embarked on their journey within this cursed grove, he had taken up the serious attitude he always kept within their missions. "There will be teams waiting to ambush us there, without a doubt. And that's why we should go."
"You want to hunt them down?"
"No. Any team who's already gone there either has their scrolls and is there to crush other newcomers...but they won't want to risk fighting against a team that might pose a threat, and the threat of the Hyuga Clan's bloodline abilities should keep them away...or they're too weak to have acquired theirs the normal way. Neither will be a threat. We'll be relatively safe there."

"Hmph, I've been telling you idiots we should have gone directly there since the start!"

The third voice had at last spoken out - standing in a nearby rock, desperately slapping away the flies and insects that buzzed around the forest. Yuma Kouda, the False Heiress of the Uchiha Power, was almost certainly not having a good time. "I've been stuck in this filthy forest for far too long! You should be thankful i am so merciful i did not leave you two to die and simply finished the exam by myself." By now, the two genin, having spent months in coexistence with through their training with their leader and teacher Ezaki Tuto, had learned how to deal with her delusional ranting. Jin ignored her chatter, while Shinrō sneakily drew an ink bug and told it to jump on the back of her neck, sending the Kunocihi into a screaming fit as she jumped from the rock in an attempt to swat it, and the Hyuga heir could not help but chuckle. For a moment, the oppressive tension of the forest of death had dissipated, and it seemed as though this would be just another one of their missions after all...

Their scroll acquired at last, the team was at last ready to leave - though not before the monk entrusted one of his flying ink beasts to take the unconscious team to the safety of the starting line, much to the mocking of Yuma over his 'pacifism'. Soon enough, they were crossing the forest, jumping from branch to branch of the colossal trees that constituted that deadly jungle. After over an hour of travel, they had stopped, hanging over a particularly large bough to regain their breath. Jin Hyuga, for no particular reason, felt within him an eerie call, pulling at his paranoia. He did not know what...but deep within him, his very body told him that something was wrong. Driven by suspicion alone, the veins within his face bulged as he activated his Byakugan...

"MOVE."

Immediately, the entire branch was engulfed in blinding light.

In a single moment, the thick wooden limb was torn to shreds as bright beams of chakra light cut through the air. Yet the fifth team - avoiding a grizzly fate by an act of luck, was nowhere to be found! In the far off floor of the forest, Jin and Shinrō had landed with grace - and Yuma as well, held by the latter under his arm. Immediately dropping her on the ground, he entered a fighting pose, metal spheres swirling around him like an Aegis. Jin , his vision magnified by the Hyūga's white eyes. Like a trap, ready to be strung, his body was magnified with Chakra, waiting at the slightest provocation to launch into a deadly attack.

"..By the edge of the lake, in the rotten tree. They are climbing it.
"Understood."

The young monk extended a single hand, and suddenly, void-black Ink began to flow forth, coalescing at the shape of a sphere. Beneath his breath, he whispered, almost inaudibly.

"Jisumi...Sakechiru Gōu"

He pushed his palm, and the sphere flew forth! Immediately curving upwards, it cut through the air with abandon - and then exploded into a shower of shards! Like a true fragmentation bomb, it showered the entire area with thin needles, and the Hyuga's relay had proved true! The rotted wood was unable to take the hit, and the ambusher group was sent falling forth into the lake as the once mighty tree collapsed to the ground!

"You cannot hide from a Hyūga. Reveal yourselves now, or I shall crush you myself."

Their ambush foiled, the team emerged from the lake, unscathed, if a little wet. Yet as their figures took form, the surprise was greater still, for standing amidst the center of the trio was one person that Jin could never mistake! Though he had previously spotted them, he could truly tell!

"I should have known it was you...you damn witch..!"

It was the one woman he hated the most - the Cursed Nin of the Hidden Springs, Ichika Chinoike!

"Damnit...of all people to run into this forest, it had to be you?! We could have passed by harmlessly if you hadn't used your cheat eyes.

Fate's cruel jest had brought together two rival teams, bound by animosity and fueled by the hate of their two members. They had never meant to be there, thrown off-course after almost being ambushed by another team. Had it not been for that little feeling on the back of Jin's neck, they might have passed through with the three none the wiser...but destiny, it seemed, had other plans . With their cover surely blown, the Third Team had no choice but to seize the moment and attack while they still had the chance! Yet they were but a singular moment too late, and the deadly light had missed by a hair's breadth. And as the two teams now faced each other in a stare-off, the ever quiet the ever-quiet Masukuda Rarime had but a single thought.

...I won't miss next time.

Part 2: Two by Two (And One Extra)

The air was thick and the tension was strong. Little had to be said as the two teams waited at the slightest sign that would initiate this skirmish. In the unforgiving world of Shinobi, where death lurked at every corner, rivalries festered like an incurable disease - dragging their fellows into conflicts that they had not desired but could not deny. Jin's deep hatred of Jujutsu had settled the score before it had begun - the only option was to fight, and by winning, survive!

"Hmph! I've got no intention of wasting my time or my abilities with this trash. You two can deal with them more than easily.

...Thought not all amongst them had received the message. If nothing but zealously protective in her use of her stolen blood, Yuma Kouda had judged even a fight of such a caliber to be below her expectations. Promptly turning around, the sauntered off into the forest, intent on waiting out such a dangerous clash. It was an unexpected turn of events, even by her squadmates, who had seen again and again this tiresome behaviour in the missions they had completed. Yet it was little in comparison to the confusion that their foes currently faced - was this act a mere ruse, or an simple act of idiocy?...even within the sharpened mind of a young ninja, such a question could not help but barge it's way into one's mind. And in the split-second of inattention that followed, Jin Hyuga made his move!

He vanished from sight, appearing right nex to the distracted Ichika with dizzying speed! Swiftly launching an attack, he struck the Yuga Nin across her face, sending her skidding through the ground! Immediately, her team responded to the act, scattering in different directions as they escaped the reach of the formidable fistfighter! Without hesitation, Jin sprung towards Ichika yet again, intent on striking her for a second time - but this time, she was prepared, and as he moved for another attack, she swung forth a blade of crimson blood, keeping the Hyuga at a distance as she brandished her summoned blade. This surprise, however brief, bought her precious time, and Jin soon glimpsed in the corner of his Byakugan eyes a grizzly sight - for lunging towards him was a monstruous spider the size of a dog! It was the work of the third and final member of Team 3, Kita!

The venomous spider charged towards it's wide open target - but just as it prepared to sink its poisonous fangs, it was suddenly knocked towards the ground! Fresh yet still from the brush of the Ninja Monk, it was a painted warrior, a living painting of black and white! With a single swing of its quarterstaff it crushed the summoned spider beneath its weight, before sending it flying outwards with another powerful blow! Shinro Kamotai, holding his brush aloft as a veritable squadron of painted warriors came to life! His face was stamped with a grin...

"What a beautiful canvas...ripe for the painting!"

The living drawings, armed with all manners of weapons, began to charge across the battlefield towards the summoner ninja, Kita! Leaping backwards, he began to retreat deeper into the forest, avoiding the reach of the created warriors - yet curiously enough, he did not summon more of his spiders. Suddenly, a brilliant light flashed once more and two of the warriors vanished from existence as a beam of light cleaved through them cleanly, splattering ink across the forest floor! Masukuda had made her move...but she remained unseen! She had become invisible to the normal eye, just as the team previously had moments ago. She prepared to launch another Radiant Arrow, her hands moving to make the sign of the Snake, until suddenly, she heard a sudden whizzing sound, and felt a tug on her head. Turning, her surprise shook her to the core, for a kunai had been embedded within the tree besides her, pinning a strand of the bandage that covered her head! She did not need to look to know who was responsible for such an act...it was the work of the Hyuga! But why had he missed?

Her question was soon answered, as appearing in the blink of an eye, sustained mid-jump, was Shinro Kamotai! Before she could react, he threw his hands in a sign, and Masukuda found herself blast away by an powerful blast of air, hurtling her in full force towards the ground. Instinctively twisting her body to avoid hitting her head, she falls upon her arm, almost fracturing it to pieces as she crashes the ground with thunderous force! Ignoring the pain, she throws herself back on her feet, maintaining her invisibility during the ordeal as she retreats yet again, retreating further above the canopy of the trees.

I don't want to leave Ichika-san alone...but that Hyuga boy is too bothersome. I'll have to move away from his range and hit them with more of my Radiant Arrows.

Yet the young monk would not allow her to escape so easily! Rapidly rushing through the great trees of the forest of death, blinking from branch to branch at whirlwind pace, followed by his escort of orange spheres! Masukuda picked up her pace, pushing her body to its limit as she scrambled to reach a safe range away from the prying eyes of the Byakugan. Though the speed of his flickering was far greater than hers, she had already left the range in which Jin could aid in detecting her, and thus she was able to sneak away, preparing to fire off another attack when she had the chance - and Shinro had no intention of allowing that to happen.

The spheres around him, that for most of the fight had been all but motioless, began to move away from him! Speeding through the forest, they spread, flying like cannonballs at different trees! Masukuda, unknowable of their effects but on edge of what they could do, jumped at the last second as a sphere turned to collide with the tree she had been hiding on - a lucky move. And like the rising of an orchestra, the forest soon began to shake with an crescendo of explosions as the spheres instaneously erupted into grand balls of fire upon contact with the trees!

"If i cannot find you...i'll simply have to flush you out!"

Shinro continued to hurl his balls at tree after tree, flickering back and forth incessantly as he mainted his relentless barrage. These seemingly innocuous spheres, imbued before the start of the exam with the power of the 'Explosion' Bind, had been transformed into dangerous grenades, poised to detonate upon the slightest contact! Confident in the capacity of his plan, he continued to dart between trees, intent on changing position so frequently that Masukuda could not target him with one of her deadly beams before he moved again! It was a rational plan, a conventional plan.

However, his opponent... was anything but!

Without warning, Shinrō was struck by a sudden, blinding pain in his back, accompanied by a flash beside his eyes. It was a beam of light, piercing through his right shoulder from back to front! He had been tricked! Though his movements had indeed been too fast for Masukuda to predict, they was not too fast to wait out! And so she waited - perched upon a tree, gambling that he would move into her line of fire before obliterating the tree itself. And the gamble had paid off! She had hit him precisely! It was now he who was falling to the ground! Quickly, Shinrō called upon the natural energies inside him, slowing his fall with a gust of wind.

Thinking quickly, he considered his situation. Though faster, he was vulnerable to this invisibility, and they had been split from Jin and his fight with the Curse Girl. If he was to win, he would have to find a way to locate his hiding foe - yet he did not know any Sensory Jutsu, a weakness that had now come to assail him. He looked around, blinking around the ground as he narrowly dodged even more beams of light.

He had an idea.

Rarime watched as the quickly moving monk stopped his escape...before bringing forth a cloud for dust from the ground! It was a basic Earth Jutsu, yet quite capable, useful indeed when dealing with a hidden ninja. Yet despite standing beneath the expanding cloud of dust, the Masukuda Clan Assassin did not move, unfazed by this sudden improvisation. ...Bad Luck. When light bends around my body...there's nothing that can mark me. Not even dust. She scaled the grand tree that she had used, breathing heavily. Though she had gotten a hit, she was spending far more chakra than she had desired to use after firing so many radiant arrows. Her thoughts turned to finishing him personally as she began to form the signs of her Heaven Splitting Sword. Taking care to not let her body leave any 'marks' that might tell her location, she began to move towards the back her now still target. I know you didn't want me to kill, Ichika-san...but I've got no way of incapacitating a guy like this. He'll just heal himself. Masukuda moved in for a move, her blade finally forming upon her hands, aimed towards his neck for a single, decisive blow.

And then he turned.

Taken by great surprise, Masukuda was able to do little as the monk sidestepped her blade of light, and gathering within his hand a bizarre energy, let loose a palm strike upon her stomach. Immediately feeling a sharp surge of pain, she was sent sliding back, as if launched by an inhuman force! Her mind, trained operate even under duress, immediately raced through the possibilites - had she made a mistake? Did this monk secretly know Taijutsu? And most of all - how had he predicted her so deftly? Indeed, Kamotai had little knowledge of Taijutsu - he had merely infused his hand with concentrated Magnetic Force, a rough and haphazard attempt at the Elemental Fist, saved only by it's infusion with Divine Energy. Masu, however, did not know hat. And so, knowing not how he had seen past her cloak and wishing to save her quickly extinguishing reserves of chakra she dropped her Light's Anathema technique.

"Finally finished hiding around...? This was taking far too long."

Masukuda did not answer.

She had wasted far too much time fighting this single opponent, and Ichika would probably not last much long alone against that white-eyed monster Jin. Her foe was wounded, and she knew him to not be a close range fighter. She had avoided going close by, having heard what manner of frightful effects his techniques could achieve, but she had no choice. She drew her Tanto sword, and advanced! Her first strike was a miss, the orange monk lifting his hand into the sign of the Tiger mere moments before the blade hit him, disappearing in a puff of wind as he flickered away - only to find himself on the path of a flying kunai - the first attack had been a mere faint! His hand still making the sign of the tiger, he flickered again, dodging the projectile that was headed for his neck in an even closer call - yet in the rush, he was only able to flicker a small distance - and Masukuda was upon his side, as she had planned from the start - a deception layered in three!

Caught by surprise, Shinrō was unable to flicker away again, just barely raising his forearm as to block a swing going for his head! The short blade cut through flesh like paper, embedding itself within his left radius, inflicting a deep and painful wound. Flickering away again, he just barely escaped Masukuda's grasp, his bleeding arm limp at his side. He had escaped death, but he now sported two wounds - and unlike his shoulder, cauterized by the burning light, his living ichor now flowed from his arm into the ground. Though he had done well, the assassin's superiority in close-ranged combat had proved true. Wordlessly, Masukuda dashed towards him yet again, ready for a final and decisive blow, knowing he would not be able to form the sign of the tiger quick enough. Her hand flashed out in a thrust, and for a moment, she believed she had won.She felt her Tanto stop - had she not put forth enough strength? She looked at her work...

And found the blade to be suspended mid-air, inches away from Shinrō's neck!

By the narrowest of margins, he had saved himself, using his remaining hand to stop the knife before it hit him with a magnetic field! It was the power of his Magnet Release! Unfamiliar with his origins and seldomly meeting him due to the enmity between the two, Masukuda had not known of his bloodline's kekkei release, thinking the flying spheres he had wielded to be a technique created through his divine arts! When he had seen her pull a metallic sword with the intention to fight him, Shinrō wagered that she was ignorant of this power, and saved it's use - a wager that had saved him! Dulling his pain and muscles with healing Shinjutsu, he threw his hands together in a quick succession of seals, forming a grand and final jutsu!

Jiton: Jiryū no Jutsu!"

Masakuda, quickly letting go of her blade, tried to jump back in an attempt to escape the oncoming technique, but it was too late - and in front of her eyes, a grand draconic head of grey energy took form, and enveloped her whole! The world was taken by a sudden force as an explosion of translucent color rang out in the forest, side by side with an ear-shattering bass sound, the unnatural form of an magnetic explosion taken form! This force, so often thought to be harmless to the body, was released in an concentrated form, shaking bone and muscle as their body's very workings were disrupted by the electrostatic burst.

When the turmoil had at last ended, the two teenagers were left standing silently in the settling dust, as if frozen in place. And then, Masukuda heaved, blood and vomit pouring from her mouth as her very body seemed to shut down, collapsing into the ground. Shinrō fell to his knees, panting heavily from the exhaustion and the pain. It was only by the virtue of his bloodline's mastery over the magnetic that he had been able to escape the thunderous power of the point-blank technique - though at a considerable cost to his energy. Through the blessing of a family gone and the distance caused by a friend's rivalry, he had been the victor - though by a hair's breadth.

It was over.

He fell to the ground, sitting as he drew a binding character with the symbol of 'Heal', the divine energy sealing his wounded arm together as he watched the lying Masukuda who, although no longer hurling blood, was still unable to move from her internal wounds. Yet despite that, there was one thing she needed to know, and so, through sheer effort, she forced herself to speak.

"H-how....how did you s..see me?

The young monk, turning to her, began to scratch his chin, seemingly pensive in thought. "I probably shouldn't say, should I...? From what i've learned, Ninja Secrets are quite valuable...

"Pfft. I suppose you deserve it for not being knocked out. To answer your question...I didn't. That 'dust' you moved through was filled with metallic particles of mine. When you moved through, I could feel their pull."

"..."

"But enough about that. I believe Jin will be finished with your little friend by know...I should go before his anger tempts him to a grave sin."

And so, finished with his healing, Shinrō grabbed the incapacitated girl, hauling her off on his shoulder as he flickered away from their battlefield, back to the lakeside where their fight had first started. There were no sounds of battle, no lights shimmering across the field, a clear sign a winner had been found. Yet when the Monk arrived, the sight that awaited baffled him to his core - for both Jin and Ichika were sprawled on the ground, away from each other.

Part 3: A Win, A Loss and a Tie

It was a most bizarre scenario, indeed - Ichika, laid upon a tree, clearly unconscious. Jin, on the ground not much far, his upper body covered by a crimson red energy. The boy himself is still conscious, groaning lightly under what must be certain pain. Immediately upon this sight, Kamotai drops his prisoner, and approaches his teammate - he can tell very well what is the source of his suffering...Jujutsu! Cursed Energy! Reaching him, he immediately drops downs and extends his hand over him, divine energy flowing within his body as he begins to unwind the curse put upon him.

"What the hell happened, Jin?"
"T-that witch...she had a trap...set on her own body."

It was a last resort plan...after Shinro and Masukuda were divided, jumping off to their own duel, and Kita disappeared into the forest chased by living paintings, the ensuing fight had been extremely unbalanced. Ichika, knowing this, had sought to protect herself with an armor of crimson blood, filled with spikes that would skewer any who attempted to touch it. Yet even this powerful protective layer was able to do little to stop the determined Hyuga, who soon broke through it with the sheer strength of his Taijutsu. As every blow landed by the Gentle Fist deactivated another Tenketsu, her suit of red plate soon fell to uselessness. By all logic, the fight had already been decided - a Medical Nin, facing a prodigious fighter, was never meant to be a fair match.

Yet the wielders of curses, above all people, are the ones most willing to lose in order to achieve something greater...and Ichika is no different.

And as Jin prepared to deal his last blow on the already battered Ichika, sealing the last and final pressure spot before she was left completely out of action, the trap was sprung. His fist had been headed for her solar plexus, where the last Tenketsu stood. Yet as his fist collided, and Ichika was sent flying, a great force overtook his body! It was a release seal trap - prepared with Kita before the fight, in the case that the Hyuga Boy had sought to use the forest as an path to act out his grand hatred for her. It had to be left until the last minute, reduced to a size so small even the Byakugan would not be able to distinguish it's cursed energies from those of Ichika's body. In the end, it had worked, and Jin had been left all but paralyzed, just as she was! Through guile, she turned her defeat into a miraculous tie!

Yet a team battle was dictated by it's sum result - and Shinrō Kamotai was a monk, one amongst the few who could purify the cursed energy even more easily than she had dealt it. The young monk continued to hold his hand over Jin, summoning one of his ink warriors to keep a watch on his back as he did. It seemed as though that hard-fought confrontation had been over. Yet one more element remained.

"Don't move if you want your friend to live."

Sitting upon the back of a giant apparition, was the last member of their team of foes, the unaccounted Kita, who had been last seen disappearing into the forest! And the reason why stood not much farhter...for held between the pincery fangs of the giant spider upon which he sat, was Yuma Kouda! Wrapped in a layer of beastly silk, her life was left to the balance...a mere order from the rider would allow the monstruous arachnid to crush her in twain. Even now, her struggle against the cocoon which held her hostage, blocking the usage of her deadly Mangekyo Sharingan could be seen. His so-called 'retreat' had been a mere feign, allowing him to leave the field of battle and hunt down the prideful Yuma, defeating her before she could call upon her frightful eye. What had seemed to be a victory for the Fifth Team of Konoha had turned into a hostage situation.

"I'll make it simple. You'll hand over my team, and any scrolls you have - and if you do, i'll release her. Don't, and i'll have my summon eat her whole." His tone was cold - it was clearly not a bluff.

"...And how will i know you will not do it anyways, when we do what you ask? replied the monk.

"You won't. But if you refuse, she dies anyway. You have no other choice."

"Well, that's not fair at all, iiis it, Kita-san?"

Suddenly, Shinrō's form blinked, and before Kita could react, he was leaning over the body of Ichika, hand extended to her head. Though his spider would have certainly been able to crush its hostage, the order was too late. He held his hand, knowing he could not waste his hostage with his team disabled. His ideal hostage situation had been turned into a stand-off.

"Ichika-chan may be unconscious...but her body is still strong with traces of Jujutsu... that energy cannot be washed away so easily. What do you think would happen if i were to expunge it forcibly with my Divine Chakra?" The young monk continued sardonically. "Your trade's too unfair...so this'll make it a bit most just. You'll release Yuma-chan, and I'll let your team go...I won't even ask for your scroll. We'll go our own ways...very fair, isn't it?"

The tables had been turned - and now both sides held a hostage of their own - and when death of a team member would mean instant disqualification from the exam, it was not something either side could allow. Whatever emotional bonds they had forged only further solidified the only possible response. Kita had no choice.

"It's a trade."

And so, a stalemate was declared - using one of his remaining spider summons to tie his team to a binding rope, he released Yuma - and the switch was made. Still staring off into each other, the last two standing genin pulled their team backs, retreating into the temporary safety of the forest, to heal and rest. And so it was that the frightful battle between Team Ezaki and Team Kamiko of Konoha ended with neither victory nor defeat, but a bitter draw. It was the second day of the second exam, and their trial by fire had only begun...