"It's not like she doesn't value life but victory is just higher in her priorities. Quite common among those who grew up in Kirigakure." A soft voice spoke out from Kai's left side. A girl clad in long black coat was leaning on the railing and watching the match with somber look. The headband on her forehead identified her as Mist ninja.

Izumi wasn't sure how she should feel at the moment as she watched yet again one of her fellow genin from Kirigakure getting seriously hurt and possibly killed. How many of them had already perished in the span of these exams?

Part of her felt numb since none of those who died had been very close to her and everyone knew the risks while signing up to the chuunin exams but also a wave of sadness washed over her every time she saw another familiar name in the growing list of casualties. She might have been on that list if their team had not dropped out when both her other teammates had suffered serious injuries of their own. On her own Izumi was not much of a fighter since she specialised more on support and their leader had made the right decision in withdrawing while they were still alive. In that sense she respected their leader's bravery more than anything since in old times death would have been only option.

Just like it seemed to be for that girl in the ring. Izumi flinched lightly as Chisame was again and again slashed and pierced by her opponents disturbing techniques."Give up already, you fool..." She muttered as her grip around the railing tightened.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:38, Thu 26 Jan 2017.

Kotenzu walked up to observe the battle. However, once it was clear that it wasn't going to end pretty he turned his back on it. There was no point in watching a fight that had a clear outcome.

He walked over to his student Kuzuki Kai and place a hand on his shoulder. Hopefully, a comforting gesture. "To keep moving forward when pushed back, to get up when you are slammed to the ground, and to fight with everything you have. This is what makes a true warrior. A man be the best ninja in the world but, without the will to fight he is nothing. Don't let your loss bring you down, let it ignite the fire within and use that fire to hone your edge." He spoke to his student, before moving on to a short story.

"I'm proud of you and the team. Win or lose you came. These exams are rough, some of the hardest trails that a shinobi does before moving on. It is better to try and fail then never try at all." He paused for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I took this exam once. When I was much, much older than you. I had no belief in my own ability to compete, that I didn't even try. When I did it was clear that I could have won years ago. I'm proud of you for trying and failing. The best way to hone your craft is practice. There isn't much that compares to this and certainly nothing I would be allowed to give to could come close to matching the intensity of this training. That being said, if you want to practice hard, harder then ever before, as your teacher I can't deny you that.

Nori knew that as she was laying in the hospital bed that her battle was a close one. Honestly, she didn't know if whether or not she was going to lose. She put her blood and sweat into that battle and the result was her fractured leg and her battered body. She felt herself barely able to move. 'Those chains were a killer. I'm probably going to have bruises all over,' she thought silently to herself as she slowly lifted up one of her arms and saw the purple bruises on her skin. A sigh escaped her lips and she looked down to her leg that was bandaged. 'How the hell am I going to fight the next battle with this?' She felt herself wanting to cry. There was no way that she could fight with this. Her attacks were Taijutsu based. She needed her feet, she needed her body, to be in good condition. What was she going to do? Nori closed her eyes and pushed a hand through her hair, feeling a tear run down one side of her face. Somehow she was hoping that the doctor would give her clearance so that she could fight. She really needed to do this. She couldn't let her teammates, or her land, down. She would never be able to forgive herself if she did. She had to give this her all. Even if she had a fractured leg.

Nanami watched with an intense expression. As the fight between Sigmund and Chisame continued, it became harder and harder to watch "I just don't get the point.. Sure its better pay, and there is some prestige. But to stake your life on it.." She flinches as Sigmund blocks and strikes the girl again, a solemn look comes over Nanami. Her hair slowly starts changing from its deep red, to a midnight black in color "Tch... I'll go visit Nori, I can't watch anymore of this.." Nanami doesn't notice her new hair color.

The girl makes a handseal, and vanishes..

A few moments later she appears at the treatment area, finds where Nori is resting. When she does, she knocks and announces herself. She walks in with a smile "How are you holding up Nori-chan?"

In reply to Makinoe Izumi (msg # 3):

Kai looked over to the young girl who walked next to him on his left. It was another water genin. It wasn't to no surprise that she would respond that way, of course defending not only her land but her teammate down there. Kai gripped the railing too, watching the match be fold.

"Be as it may, no life is worth losing over a promotion like this. Not at our age. We have a lot to learn and death may be one of them, yes, but at this age and rank, we still have a lot to learn to just foolishly throw away our life," he muttered, adding onto the scene that was be folding. He knew the match was close to an end. there was no way that girl could last much longer.

That's when he was spooked by his own sensei, who had chimed in and joined him on the stands. His sensei knew him better than anyone, with his feeling of disappointment, grief, and complete idiotic way of thinking he could get through the exams.

He listened to his sensei thoroughly. he wasn't at all surprised his sensei passed the trials the first time he went in. yeah, he may have been a bit scared and skipped them for awhile, but he went in and conquered them like nothing. But it was also something his sensei regretted too. that's how his sensei was pointing out:
It was better to have tried and failed than to regret it later and not try at all.

But did Kai even try? Kai compared himself to the girl down below who was giving it her all, whereas Kai gave up knowing it was one-sided for him. "I want to train as hard as I ever could. I want to train like you did. You passed these exams the first time you went through, even though you waited as long as you did. The next time I get into these exams, I want to pass them. I want to make it further than I did today. I feel like I didn't give it my best," he replied, looking back at the battle. "I want to have that kind of motivation that would put my life on the line like a true shinobi should do. I know you're proud of me sensei and would much rather have me alive, then dead, but I want to be like that girl. Driven by passion, motivation to win, and to make not only myself proud, but my family, squad, and my land. I want to know what it takes to be a Shinobi from the Land of Wind," he proudly stated, looking back at his sensei. "No more fooling around," he stated.

Sakuya was silently watching the finals together with other genins that have not made it through the match. Though watching was merely what it looked like as the young girl was lost in her thoughts. In a span of the day, her other teammates have lost their lives due to their match against their opponents. Her parents kept her from seeing them, actually barring her entry to the medical section of the arena for the first time in her life.

Her gaze absentmindedly lowered to her lap and then her arms that were put into casts since the her match earlier that day. They promised to get through the exams together, and if not this exam, at least the next one. All of a sudden she was left by herself. Sakuya could only feel distraught at the moment, not knowing what she can do.

In reply to Nara Nanami (msg # 6):

Upon hearing a familiar voice come from outside the door, Nori lightly sniffled. "C-come in," she said and quickly dried her eyes with her bruised arm before she moved it away from her arms and saw Nanami standing there with a smile. Only...something about her was different. Her eyes went up and saw a head full of black hair instead of red. "Oh, um, Nanami. I'm okay. Just a fractured bone in my leg and a little bruised but should be good to good for the next battle." She slowly sat up in the bed, wincing slightly as she draped an arm across her stomach. "But...what happened to your hair? It's different. How did you get it to change like that?" she asked.

Nanami blinks, and pulls her ponytail into view. She blinks again "I didn't know it changed, maybe it changed because of my anger towards death matches being allowed. I didn't care for how Sigmund's match became a death-match, the girl he is fighting is losing pretty badly.. I mean there is always the next chunin exams, or requesting to take the ANBU test and gain rank that way. I mean look at Naruto, he was technically a genin until the great war ended. Where he became a Jonin."

Her eyes look down at Nori's leg "Your leg looks broken Nori, you are primarily a taijutsu user." She sighs "Your still going to fight aren't you? If I could fight for you I would, and I wouldn't hold back. But I know you want to fight." Nanami looks back at Nori "I don't want you to die.. You are my best friend!" The look on her face was intense.

Nori listened to what Nanami was saying about her hair changing because death matches were being allowed. She couldn't believe that Sigmund's fight was coming to that. She knew that he wanted to become a Chunin more than anything else, but would he really allow himself to resort to killing another person because of it? Then again, she knew that he would do whatever it took to achieve what he wanted to do. Maybe he would... "We...all knew the risks coming into these exams, right? I mean, I'm not saying that these death matches are right. I don't want anyone to die, either, but people are willing to do anything to make their dreams a reality. Even if they don't get to see them come true. At least they would die knowing that they gave it their all," she said as she lightly clasped her hands into her lap.

When Nanami mentioned her leg, it only caused her to clasp her hands tighter together. She knew the other was just concerned because she cared about her. Somehow it...it felt nice to know that someone was willing to fight for her in order for her to stay alive. "Thank you for being willing to fight for me, Nanami," she said as she reached out a hand and gently took hold of the other girl's in return. "And thank you for caring so much about my well being. You are an amazing friend and I appreciate your concern. I really do, but...but I have to give this my best shot. I mean, I can't just walk away if I know I am still capable of fighting. These exams are too important to me and if I don't give it every bit of my strength and energy then I won't be able to leave with my head held up high. Even if my leg is broken, I still have my fists and my one good leg left to fight with. I'll just be slowed down is all." She grinned, trying to make light of her words but didn't know if it was working or not. "And I...I am hoping that you will be in my corner, Nanami. I need you to be. I need your support. Can...can you do that for me? Please?" she asked softly.

Nanami smiles a bit and grips Nori's hand tightly "Of course I will be, but promise me you won't risk your life for this." She shivers a little and then takes a deep breath "Since I didn't use much chakra in my matches. I can at the very least replenish your chakra a bit. Interesting thing about my bow. Its a great conductor for chakra. I can use the same technique that I use to create my healing arrows, and just channel it through the bow into you. Its the least I can do. It will take care of all the bruising and inflamation, but won't do anything for the break in the bone.."

She rests her bow across Nori abs "May the goddess of the divine provide healing and providence to you." Nanami's hands and bow start to glow white. Nori would feel a lot of the pain start to fade as well as some of the bruising and swelling. Then she would feel her chakra levels improve. This takes ten or so minutes. Nanami stops, she is sweating quite a bit "I am at my limit for now. This is the best I can do. I will get better at this." Her breathing was rapid, but slowly returning to normal.

In reply to Yamada Nori (msg # 11):

The curtain had been drawn around the other hospital bed in the room since before Nori had been wheeled in by the hospital staff.  Silent on the other side of the curtain, Kensuke stood with his elbows resting on the bed, curled over the body of a young girl, his eyes closed to hold back the tears and stifled sobs.  Hikari was gone.

Sometimes the dark-haired boy thought his Kekkei Genkai was a blessing, but in this circumstance it was most definitely a curse.  Other people were blessed that they could not see the exact moment that a person died.  In Kensuke's case, he could hear her heartbeat begin to slow in that freezing cave at the same time as her speech started to slur and slow down.  It was only a short while later that she began to fall from lack of coordination.  Their team had dropped out in order to prevent her from dying from hypothermia, but he could already sense her heartbeat slowing to dangerous levels.  After the medical team had come to the hospital room, he watched them do everything they could before calling her time of death and placing a white cloth over her face.  And now, Kensuke's sight showed him the blood in her vessels in stasis and clotting--a sure sign that her body was no longer functional.

The true sign of death was not the death rattle expiration or even the moment at which the heart stopped beating.  It was the moment that the blood stood still and began to harden.  And he could see it all.

The last vivid memory of Hikari flashed through his mind from before the exam.

---

Hikari had always been a cheerful girl, if a little clumsy and naive.  Still, she had the dream of being in the ANBU for the Kage of their village.  When Kensuke had asked her why one day while they were training together, she simply grinned at him and asked, "Well, don't you think they just look really cool?  And they protect the Tsuchikage!"

"Well, why don't you shoot for being the Tsuchikage then?" he replied with a confused quirked eyebrow.

"Let's be honest, I'm not the smartest cookie in the bakery," he said, her grin widening.  "That's why you make all our team plans.  Hey, why don't you be the Tsuchikage then, Kensuke-kun?  That way I'll be able to protect you!"  She thrust her index finger into the air at the idea and lowered it to point it at him.  "Think you can handle it?" she asked with a wink.

Kensuke had simply snorted and thrown his hands up in exasperation in response.

---

While he had most definitely been the brains of their team, Hikari, like the Light she was named for, was certainly the heart.  She kept them motivated and moving forward, pushing the emerald-eyed boy to find new solutions to problems when he got stuck with ones that wouldn't work.  Or even throwing herself headlong into a problem to help the team push their way to a solution.  She was always the first one to laugh and the first one to cry.

And now that heart was dead.

He had already cried.  Beaten the bed with his fists.  Screamed at her about the fact that she was supposed to be the ANBU to his Tsuchikage.  He knew logically that it wouldn't bring her back, but it was an emotional response not a rational one.  The process had long since been finished before Nori was admitted to the room, but he could not bring himself to leave Hikari's side even though she was no longer in that body.

It was the sound of a female voice talking about going back out into the Exam with a broken leg that roused him from his stupor.  With his Shingan activated, he could sense the heartbeats in the room earlier, but he had ignored them in his concentration to find one shred of life from Hikari.  Letting the Doujutsu go, his pupils began the process of constricting back to normal from their dilated sate, the crimson of his eyes subsiding to their usual emerald green once more.  Leaning up from the bed to stand, he slid open the curtain to reveal both himself and the bed with Hikari's body behind him.

"It is easy to risk your life when you don't know the reality of the alternative," he interjected into the two girls' conversation, his voice choked with grief slicing into their words like a hot knife through butter.  "Many of us came to the Chuunin Exams in peak condition and still died.  Yet, you think you can keep going in the condition you are in?  This isn't a sparring match.  Don't expect the opponent to give you time to recover.  They will target that leg until it is a bloody mess and then tear out what is left of you."

"Don't underestimate the exam," he said, gripping the curtain tightly in his hand, trying to support himself emotionally.  Looking over his shoulder pointedly at Hikari's dead body behind him, he continued in a soft voice.  "Don't...end up like us."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:57, Thu 26 Jan 2017.

Like some of the other genin, Yuuka was still confined to a hospital bed.  The damage to her shoulders would require extensive work to repair, so she certainly wasn't going to be fighting again any time soon.  Or even moving her own wheelchair, if they let her have one.  She had asked about her team-mates as soon as she had regained consciousness and had been relieved to hear that they were both okay.  Now though...  She fidgeted nervously in her hospital bed.  She'd been worrying about Kurochi since she had heard that he was going to be fighting again today, but overhearing that the genin were fighting in death matches...

"Ex-excuse me..."  She trailed off nervously.  "Did... did you say death match?"  She didn't want to intrude, but this girl seemed to know something about what was going on in the exams.

Nanami frowned as he heard the cheering and such, a sad look comes over her "Looks like Sigmund won.."

The girl walks over to Yuuka "It will only happen if both contestants agree to it. It happens when one of the entrants is beaten to a point where they at a disadvantage against their opponent. If they choose to continue it becomes to the death at that point. So many talented Shinobi died this year."

Nanami walks back to Nori "You know that means you will be fighting Sigmund, and then you still have Kotatsu to go through, and he is on a different level. I could feel the killing intent the moment I walked into the arena for my match with him. That boy won't hesitate to kill. I kind of wish I had a chance to fight him in a match again though. I don't know why, I feel like I could have bounced back in that match."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:01, Thu 26 Jan 2017.

Giving an approving nod towards the interference by the proctor Izumi let out breath she had been unconsciously holding for few seconds now. Looks like her fellow Mist genin got to live and see another day despite how hell bent she had been on going down with a fight. The said girl was beaten up and bleeding more than Izumi thought was physically possible and still had that blood lust in her eyes. Just how much stamina she had and when would it run out?

Izumi pushed herself away from the railing and made a face as more medical ninjas rushed towards the aftermath of the mach.

To be honest Izumi was shaken how brutal the final matches had been. There casualty rate had sky rocketed and none of the matches had ended without at least one contestant getting injured seriously. She clicked her tongue and dug her hands deep inside her pockets, wondering how bad it would get during the upper-tier matches. Would it be like revisiting the old era of Bloody Mist academy exams where only the most powerful emerged victorious and weak left dead. At least that Kotatsu guy gave her creeps even though she had only caught glimpse of him few times.

Kotatsu had watched the entire match be fold. He was into these kinds of matches. It proved who was the strongest and who didn't deserve to be alive and become a Shinobi. When the proctor interrupted the fight, Kotatsu practically pouted in the stands. "Absurd! They agreed to the death match! Let them finish it!" he shouted from the stands, gripping the railing and gritted his teeth.

He was merely disappointed that the match had been cut short. He wanted to see a blood bath. His matches have been nothing but death matches. They happen so quickly, the proctor couldn't stop him.

The only opponent that was left alive was Nanami, who gave the match up willingly.when he saw the next match ups, he was pleased.

Two teammates would be pinned against each other and the winner of that match got to face him in a death match. He couldn't wait.

He then noticed a girl who pushed herself away from the railing. he smirked. "I didn't see you down there. Took weak to fight?" he asked Izumi. He had only seen her from the first exam in the very beginning, presumed to have been dropped since then, but he wasn't sure. He didn't pay attention much to anybody here except for the matches.

Speak of the devil. Izumi felt cold shiver run along her spine when she heard Kotatsu talking to her and saw his smirk. Even though every cell in her body screamed her to back away slowly she met his gaze calmly."Possibly, but what is that to you?" She forced the words out of her mouth as she went against the instinct to take a step back.

She had watched matches since there was nothing better to do with her team out of commission. Out of all them Kotatsu's matches had disturbed Izumi the most. He had made quick work of every single opponent and what worse, seemed to be enjoying every second of it. Everybody knew of this surprise dark horse from the Land of Snow by now and rumors were flying everywhere. Still it was completely different being face to face with him only few feet between them.

The way he had let his true feelings show when he had shouted his disagreement with the proctor stepping in completed Izumi's opinion of him as dangerous individual.

He smirked again at the young girl before him. she did look awfully weak. He definitely could be feel that she was scared and shaken up with just his presence alone. In a battle, he knew she couldn't hang and defend herself. "It is every right of my business when I become the new champion. Then I can full fill my dreams," he told her, and gave a small laugh.

"Now out of my way. I have a death match to prepare for. Try not to miss it, doll," he laughed as he walked passed her and then vanished, leaving behind a dark, pitch black cloud. It was the type of puff cloud that all ninja usually left behind, however his was different. It had a type of evil and hate in it, with its thickness lingering longer than usual and than it finally disappeared.

Saori turned from where she'd been watching the battles, having heard a bit of that conversation.  She hadn't pushed away when the medical ninja rushed in.  Maybe it was the trainwreck effect, where one was compelled to see what happened.  It was a lesson, perhaps, that Saori could use one day herself.

"Lovely specimen, that one," the girl commented to Izumi with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.  It was one thing to be confident about your abilities.  It was an entirely different thing to be flaunt one's ego that much.  She hadn't fought herself, for reasons of her own.

Kurochi walked out of the infirmary in crutches, with bandages wrapped around his legs, even though the healers healed him up, his legs were still a bit messed up from his last match. He was hoping that his teammates made it out alright, he didn't hear much about how there matches went, but all the same he hoped that they were in better shape than he was. However one thing suprised him was that Senju, the guy he faced had died, he was sure that his opponent would have made it farther.

Sighing Kurochi thought of the worst, moving along a bit faster, now hoping to find Kai and Yukka. He hoped that they didn't die before he could make it up to them, after what had happened during the first half of the Chunin exams.

Upon making it the others, Kurochi smiled as he saw their sensei and Kai. Moving over to them, Kurochi sighed in relief, and started chuckling at how dumb he reacted. He should have known they would have made it out alright. "Kai, glad you are alright, how did your matches go?" he said, curious about who Kai vsed in the exams. "Also where is Yukka?" Kurochi asked, wondering where there other teammate was, now that he noticed that she wasn't with them, slightly worried.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:12, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

In reply to Kazoro Kurochi (msg # 21):

Kai had watched their sensei walk away, after muttering something to him before Kazoro walked up to him, in crutches none the less. Kai felt bad for him though. He was hurt more than him and Yuuka, however last he heard Yuuka had been in the infirmary after her match though. He had paid a small visit to her before coming to watch the remaining matches.

"hey, glad you're holding up. My last match I gave it up. It was one-sided, kinda like the one down there. I had no chance. But shortly after, my opponent faced a taijutsu girl, who nearly won, but he passed because of chakra exhaustion. his body couldn't handle the strain he put on his body," he began to explain until he noticed Kazoro's dimener changed when asking about Yuuka.

"Yukka's fine actually. she took a good beating though. she's recovering in the infirmary. I'm surprised you didn't know or didn't see her when leaving the infirmary yourself. you should go see as soon as possible. She's probably worried about you. Excuse me though, I have something to do," he informed him before patting his teammate's shoulder, for good luck, a job well done, and thankful he was still alive.

Kai eventually disappeared after that, seeking out his sensei once more. He desperately needed to speak with him.

 Shun seemed to appear out of nowhere, softly shuffling in as that odd one vanished in a puff of smoke. She had not been in the Chunin Exams thinking she wanted more time to learn, and hone her skills before wanting to test them. Observing the crowd, she walked up near the edge, seeing the end of the previous battle. The tall girl face looked more blank, though her eyes seemed to be red and puffy from crying.  She didn't know her team much but it was still a big loss to know she didn't have the option to get to know them now.

Though she did chuckle at Saito's quip, it was low and somewhat breathy.

Kurochi watched as Kai walked off, it seemed as though his teammate had a lot of things on his mind. Although he was suprised that Kai had patted him on the shoulder, usually it seemed as though Kai and him didn't get along. 'Maybe things aren't so bad' he thought as he turned around and headed to the infrimary planning on visiting Yukka.

Once he arrived at the infirmary again, he slowly moved passed the medical ninja, although it was hard to move since the crutches limited his movement. He hated the jutsu that imobilized him and injurded his legs, although it is not as bad as having a broken leg, Senju still messed them up.

 Noticing Yuuka, Kurochi smiled and walked up to his teammate, glad that she too was alright. "Hey Yukka, how are you feeling?" he asked, wondering what she had to go through to get that badly injured.

In reply to Nara Nanami (msg # 12):

Nori grew silent at hearing Nanami tell her not to risk her life for all of this. She did want to give this her best shot. She would be willing to give her life, but she didn't know what her chances would be in this next fight she would have to go through. If it all came down to a life or death match, would she really be willing to die? She was scared, but there were other things she was even more scared of. She wouldn't be able to walk out of this arena admitting defeat, but...but if it came to that then she would want to know that she gave her opponent everything she got and not just because of her injuries. "I don't know what is going to happen to me out there, but whatever does, I don't want to leave here knowing that I didn't give it everything I got. If I did, I think that's even more of a disgrace. I want to do you proud, Nanami. Sigmund, too. Even if I lose, I want to be seen as a person that didn't give up. Not even to her last breath," she said with a subtle yet solemn look on her face. She knew that just by what Nanami said that the girl didn't win her matches, but was still willing to help her with her injuries. "Thank you, Nanami. Just knowing that I will feel better because of you only reassures me that you are going to be apart of me. If I win, we'll win it together, okay?"

Nori watched as she rested her brow against her abs and said a chant before her hands and bow start to glow. She could slowly feel a warmth take over her. The parts of her body that were aching and throbbing in pain were no longer hurting her. She felt...renewed. Replenished. Like she was getting a clean slate. After minutes passed, the glowing started to fade. She smiled a little and brought up a hand to gently place on top of her friend's head. "This is more than enough. Thank you. I feel much much better. I appreciate it," she said. It was after saying those words that she saw the curtain of the bed from beside her slowly open up and reveal another genin with jet black hair on the other side. She listened carefully to his words, remaining silent all the while before her eyes turned to the body behind him. A girl. Lifeless. Cold. That must have been his friend. He sounded so hurt and in pain. Nori felt a sadness wash over her. "I...I'm sorry about your friend. I really am. I meant, no disrespect to her or to you. I know these exams are not to be taken lightly. I know what I am risking and I...I'm hoping that going into this next fight that I can give it all I have until the end even if I do lose. Having a broken arm or a broken leg is nothing if I can't do myself, my team, or my village proud." She bowed her head slightly and looked down to the ground. "I know pride is a sorry excuse for wanting to continue on in these exams. It's selfish, too, but I have a lot to prove. Not just to my teammates or my village. But myself. If I lose, I'll still be a winner. I know that I'll have given it everything I got and feel accomplished of everything I achieved in these exams. If I'm not meant to be a Chunin right away, then that's just the way it is. Maybe I'm not ready, but there's no way of knowing that unless I try. I have to. I owe it to myself to find out."

Upon hearing the cheering and Sima announcing the winner, Nori slowly turned her head and looked over in the direction of the distant noise. "Looks like you're right, Nami," she said before she looked back in the direction of her friend. "And Sigmund's certainly not going to take it easy on me, either. He wants this more than anything is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. He's gotten this far and he's not going to let anything stop him, including me. I will have to give it my best shot," she said with a small smile. "Kotatsu must be pretty tough if you lost to him, but I know if you would have gotten that second time at him, I know you would have kicked his ass. If I even get that far, I will fight for you, too. I promise you that."

Nanami nodded to her words "I hope you will forgive me for saying this.. If Sigmund killed you, I would.. No, I never could forgive him. If Kotatsu did, I would kill him." She huffs a bit.

The girl sits down next to Nori "Much like my mother will never be disappointed in me for not becoming a Chunin the first time. We only get one life, maybe two if you learn a forbidden jutsu." She laughs lightly.. "My mother, and father who are both prominent ninja in their villages. They always tell me to come home safe. Albeit training, or these exams. Do your parents want this so badly they would want you to possibly die?"

Nanami swivels and rests her head next to Nori's "Sorry I am just a bit emotional.. Anger, proud, more anger, and the worst feeling of all, fear of loss.. I don't know why, lately my outlook on things has changed a bit."

Nori knew that Nanami was concerned about her and it was nice to know that people other than her parents actually cared about her well being. She wanted to do whatever she could to reassure her friend about what would happen after this next battle with Sigmund, but even she didn't know what was going to happen. She knew he wasn't going to be easy on her. Even with this broken leg. "I hate to say this, but even if you didn't forgive him, I honestly don't think he would care all that much. Don't get me wrong, Sigmund is...well, he's a good person deep down. I've always known that since we were kids. He protected me and was my friend through a lot, but..." she began to say before she looked down to her lap and clasped her hands in front of her stomach. "...but that was a long time ago. He's different and we've grown apart. It happens when you grow up, right? I guess I just need to stop living in the past and start focusing more on the present. He's not my friend anymore and I'll just have to find a way to accept that."

Nori turned her head and looked over at Nanami as she laid her head beside her's, prompting her to lightly pat Nanami's head in a caring and affectionate way. "My parents support me no matter what. They always have. My mom always tells me it's okay to fail sometimes and make mistakes. Everybody does. I guess I just...have been afraid of failing and letting people down. There is more to me than this, Nanami. I was careless in getting my leg broken like this, but I swear to you, I am stronger than this. I just haven't had the chance to show it yet, but I will. As much as I care about becoming a Chunin and moving on to the next stage, it's just a title. I think it's kinda dumb to be labeled solely based on what your abilities are. People care more about the qualities that make up and represent a person. At least that's what I think. I don't care if anyone remembers what jutsu's I know or what moves I do. That's not what's really important. I just want people to remember me, that's all. Just Nori." She smiled softly. "I bet that sounds kinda cheesy, huh?" she said with a light laugh.