In reply to Kotatsu (msg # 19):

Izumi chose to remain silent while Kotatsu gloated even though she felt disgusted by him. It was obvious he was goading her into giving a reason for another fight but she wouldn't give him the pleasure, not now. Better to have him underestimate her than getting caught in petty argument which could turn out lethal very quickly. Individuals like him didn't last very long in the end. Either they met a force stronger than them or got overconfident and somebody a lot weaker did them in.

After Kotatsu had vanished Izumi let the contempt show in her face and she nodded at Saori's comment."Truly. Individuals like him make me wonder why everybody always blames us from Mist being ruthless."

It's true the village held their traditions of favoring raw power over other things but a lot had changed in the time of peace. The fifth Mizukage had done wonders for their academy system as well political relation with other countries but Mist ninjas were still regarded as ruffians by some older folks.

Turning to look at the scene down at the arena Izumi sighed with half amused smile. That Chisame girl did very little to change the way people thought.

Cunom sat there taking it all in and noting the strategies and tactics of varying fighters and the styles of other villages. Some had skills and abilities that rivaled even that of fables. He was decent in his own right but after witnessing the events of the matches, Cunom knew he had just a few skilled he still had to hone.

 He felt sorry for the Kunoichi clinging to life in the battle below. His thoughts were interrupted by Kotatsu. He got up and moved closer to the rail. "I'd say fortune favors the bold, but that guy is just asking for it. I guess every village has one." He said to the group of ninja standing next to him."The worst of it is when people like that are put in charge then that could bring a whole village down. I suspect that is what might have happened in the Mist. If the rumor are to be believed" He bowed slightly to Izumi in a manner that suggested that he meant no offense." Sorry if my comment seems overly familiar, but where my manners. I'm Mihuzani Cunom from the village hidden in the clouds. A pleasure to meet you all." He then turned his yellow eyes to the others in the group.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:24, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

The girl's words did little to ease Yuuka's concerns.  If anything, her comment about a lot of shinobi dying had the opposite effect.  I hope Kurochi's okay...  Being stuck in bed gave her little to do but read or worry and she was too worried to read.

She felt a chill when she heard the cheering from the arena and the other girl commented that the fight was over.  Does that mean someone just died?  Are they cheering someone's death?  I wonder who it was?

Fortunately some of her concerns were soon removed with the arrival of her team-mate.  She sighed in relief when she saw Kurochi was still alive, although he did appear to be injured.

"Hi Kurochi."  Yuuka smiled at her team-mate.  "I'm okay."  She blushed.  "Wh... what happened to your legs?"

"He'll earn whatever he deserves eventually, if he keeps on like that," Saori said to Izumi.  She also glanced in the direction of where the other girl had just finished her fight.  Or rather, had her fight called.  That wasn't going to sit well with more than just Kotatsu.  "Some of us embody that more than others," she added.  She suspected the other woman would be alright, eventually.  The medical ninja were talented at what they did.

The girl then turned to face Cunom. "Forgiven.  I am Saito Saori from the village Hidden in the Mist."  At least that's where she was these days.  The surname wasn't one that somebody would likely recognize though.  "It is a pleasure to meet you.  I do not believe that I observed you down there today either.  You observing the matches as well today?" she asked.

Eikitsu had arrived together with Izumi. Like Izumi, he was easily identified as a shinobi of Mist by the forehead protector he wore on his forehead. There was a slight departure from the norm in his attire this day however, for an object best described as a large barrel wrapped in white linen cloth was secured to his back firmly by two brown leather shoulder straps. It was noticeably similar to how novice puppeteers were known to transport their puppets, but the object didn't seem the correct shape for a puppet because it wasn't humanoid. So, perhaps it wasn't a puppet? Where Izumi had taken to socializing with the other shinobi gathered during the final preliminary fight of the Chuunin Exam, Eikitsu focused intensely on Chisame and Sigmund's bloody, one-sided battle. From beginning to end, he remained eerily quiet and still in his private little corner overlooking the battlefield and absorbed every detail of Chisame and Sigmund that he could. When the battle concluded with Sigmund's victory, he continued monitoring the battlefield until the medical shinobi took Chisame away for treatment. With no more data to be gathered, he searched for Izumi in the crowd.

"Mizukage-sama will not be pleased," Eikitsu thought privately as he located Izumi in the crowd mostly composed of genin who'd already failed the Chuunin Exam then pushed off from his corner with both hands. He danced around the crowds of shinobi for Izumi rather effortlessly, even with the large barrel on his back, and found himself standing at her left side in short order, mere moments after Kotatsu had vanished in a cloud of baleful black smoke. "Please forgive my interruption, Makinoe-san." Eikitsu looked from Izumi to Saori then added, "Saito-san." After addressing Saori, his attention returned to Izumi. "I will return shortly." His words were spoken softly and supported by a calm and polite demeanor at all times. This was always the case with him in Izumi's experience though. It was if someone had ripped out his heart and left behind a walking mass of intellect. Consequently, his politeness was far from sincere. In truth, he didn't really understand why one's tone or choice of words could be so disarming for others, he only knew that they could. With this realization came focused study on politeness, which he saw as a means to avoid unnecessary conflict. Unnecessary conflict was wasteful in his view.

Although Eikitsu's words were vague about the reason for his departure, as well as his destination, neither was terribly difficult to figure out. After all, a Mist shinobi had just sustained critical injuries. That did beg the question of exactly what he could do to help however. Since, he didn't have any training as a medical shinobi as far as Izumi knew. If Izumi intended to inquire further, she had her opportunity as Eikitsu stood by for her to acknowledge receipt of his message.

In reply to Yamada Nori (msg # 27):

Sigmund had been brought into the infirmary by himself, checking himself in to get healed properly. His body was exhausted. He did know though that his next opponent was Nori herself. His rival. his long time friend, well...use to be anyways.

   Upon getting into his room, he walked passed Nori's room, stepping back and poked his head in. He heard the last of the conversation between her and Nanami. He heard about the part of Sigmund wanting to kill Nori for the title.

   All he could do was merely smirk at the idea. Death matches were not his thing. Not in the slightest. Killing Nori wouldn't really prove anything but that he was a blood-driven killer of a genin. He didn't want to be known as that.

   He walked into the room, knocking on the door to make his presence known. His face was emotionless as he walked in. He looked quiet exhausted and of course a bit beat up. His neck had already been bandaged up and taken care of.

   "I'm insulted that both of you would believe I would kill either of you for these exams," he interrupted as he sat down in one of the chairs, sighing of relief to be off his feet for awhile. He was certain they heard about his recent win, but wasn't sure if they knew it was a death match and that he won because the proctor interrupted, not because he killed the girl.

   "Nanami, I want to apologize. I had promised you to drop out if my life was in danger. I broke that promise today and that I apologize for. For the record, I didn't kill her. I didn't kill Chisame. I had no intention to kill her from the beginning," he explained to them both. He was known for his determination and ruthlessness when he did, however for his teammates to believe that he would take an innocent life for his dreams, was a bit too much.

Nanami nods to Sigmund and listens "With how things have gone, and I am the only one to escpae kotatsu alive. I didn't really believe you would kill either of us. I just despise the amount of life lost in these exams. I will be rooting for you both. You are both my friends, even though we do have some massive differences in view points. But when we aren't put on the spot like this, we actual act pretty normal. We all have our ideals, and our ambitions, and I know a time will come when really hard decisions will have to be made. Hopefully we will still be a team, and be able to make them."

Hearing the announcement "Your match will be soon.." She pulls Sigmund aside for a moment [Private to Akitoki Sigmund: "I am rooting for her, but part of me wants you to win, because if she faces Kotatsu, in her condition, he would probably kill Nori. I also ask if you face Kotatsu, kill him if able. But don't die, because then I will make it my mission to kill him." Her eyes were as serious as they could be.]

Nanami takes an arrow from her quiver, snaps it in half "I want both pieces back after your match, I will be watching and rooting you two on. Either way I will be proud of both of your efforts.."She hands a piece of the arrow to each of them.

Shun turned at bit to see the guy introducing himself, realizing this was someone she would have to befriend since they were in the same village, probably as new to everything as herself. "Ishikawa Shun. I don't believe we have officially met... Or at least spoke often to each other."

Her situation was known to most of the village though most seemed to be baffled by her choice and how firm she stuck with it. Most kids seemed to be somewhat afraid, as her more aggressive traits of stubbornness and her sometimes difficult behavior known throughout.

Sigmund, when pulled to the side, just remained quiet. As he did, he noticed another individual in the room from afar with jet black hair and sported the Land of Earth headband. He paid attention to Nanami before he and Nori were handed half of the arrow as Nori was handed the other.

"You'll get it back, I promise," he told her before locking eyes with the fellow in the back. He wondered how long that boy had been standing there. With his exhaustion, he really didn't pay too much attention when he entered the room, but he did however feel the presence of another being within the room, silently waiting.

From the looks of it, he didn't look beaten up. It was an indication that this genin either never fought to begin with, gave up the match, or was eliminated early on in the exams. However he looked pained. He must've lost someone in the matches. It was sad really. Teammates were dying left and right, the biggest death rate in the chunin exams in history. It was dreadful. He was just relieved his team was alive still.

Sigmund paid no attention to him at this point. He seemed to be of an odd character, however all the genin from other villages seemed weird to him.

He sighed, remaining quiet.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:50, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

All players who are posting that they are in the infirmary, please post in the other thread.

The rest of you are posting as if you were watching the matches.

The other kunoichi had almost read her mind and Izumi nodded briefly to Saito before turning to Cunom. Although she always had healthy distrust towards people from different villages Izumi saw no harm in simple socialising with other genin who had gathered here to watch the match. She offered him a polite smile."No offence taken. The bloody past our village has is something we live with and can learn from. And since introducing seems to be what we are doing, I'm Makinoe Izumi from the Village of Hidden Mist. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Suddenly Izumi heard Eikitsu's voice from her left making her wonder when he had appeared there. They had arrived together but the enigmatic boy had went his own way almost instantly after more people had started to pour in. Sometimes she wondered how he did that whole presence concealing thing. It was almost like his body let out less signs of life than normal.

"Eikitsu." Izumi acknowledged Eikitsu's presence with a single word, neither rude nor extremely friendly either. The relationship between them could be described as very professional since the academy. Izumi couldn't describe it but something in Eikitsu's demeanour made her uneasy, like he was interacting with others just for the sake of it without any real feeling behind.

As he spoke of his intention of leaving, Izumi gestured him to wait for a moment. She almost could guess where he was going to go and she too had intended to visit the infirmary soon after. Might as well go together.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:32, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

"Eikitsu-san," Saori responded politely.  She gave the boy an easy nod.  She was pretty sure where he was planning on going.  "If you are going to the infirmary, I will join you shortly, but do not wait for me," the girl commented.  This was a rare chance to get to know some people from outside their village, and she didn't want to completely pass it up.  She wanted to check on the injured member from their village, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before Chisame would actually be up to things like talking.

Or if the medical ninjas would even let them in and see her right now.  She had taken a right beating in that last fight.

She turned back to Cunom.  "I did not see you fight either.  I hope you have not encountered any kickback from some of the others as well," she said to the boy from the land of Lightning.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

Eikitsu had what he needed from Izumi and now prepared to depart the stadium. He hadn't granted Izumi the ability to alter his plans. So, why did she believe she could? Rather than leave abruptly, he remembered his studies in politeness and took a slightly different approach to the situation. "Forgive me, Makinoe-san, but this matter can not wait." Eikitsu relied on his hollow politeness to hopefully remain on favorable terms with Izumi despite denying her request. It would not serve Mist nor the Mizukage for Mist-nin to argue or fight among themselves in the presence of rival shinobi, so he sought to avoid that situation. "You are welcome to join me once your business here has concluded however." Eikitsu turned his attention to Saori and locked her eyes with her briefly, but no other words escaped his lips. Instead, he simply flickered away.

---

>>> to "Chapter 2.8: Infirmary"

Kaji looked around for his team. He holds several files in his hand "It will be a pain to find them in this ruckus of a crowd." He listened to kotatsu "I'll keep an eye on that one, but I don't need to worry about him going anywhere, seeing as an arrogant boy like that wouldn't miss his shot at the finals for anything." He looks around for any of the earth ninja. He runs into a few and hands them each a folder "I need you to find these four Genin and have them meet me at that gate." He looks to the entrance behind him.

Kaji hops back to his sitting spot above the same gate that he was having the Genin Summoned to "Teammates fighting one another, this should be fun to watch. Barring any outside interference." Which is what he was keeping an eye out for.

A warm smile washed over his face as he realized the pair of Mist ninjas, Saori & Izumi, were not only sensible but willing to chit chat with other shinobi outside their village. "I wasn't able to compete this time around, but like everyone else, I'm here to scope out the competition. I'm sure we will all pick up some new tactics." The cloud shinobi looked back and forth from one to the next as he spoke. "Let's not forget the most important reason we are all here,  the fostering of relation with other villages. To that end,  I invite you all to the Scroll & Tea Emporium, my families shop, here in cloud village after the matches are done." Cunom reached into his pack and pulled out a few colorful flyers with the symbol of a blue oar with a crescent moon behind it and handed them over.

"Think of it as a place you can enjoy some tea in comfy chairs, read up on what's going on,  and relax. But don't relax too much the place will be crawling with shinobi from every nation as well." He gave a little chortle at his simple joke. Cunom didn't want to come off as some salesman so he thought it best if he explained the cause a little better."Not to worry everything is discounted for shinobi since it was probably a long expensive trip getting here. So my families shop won't be making a fortune off anyone. He informed the group sincerely

Shun looked to the others in the group, somewhat grinning smugly. "How come this is supposed to strengthen ties if all we do is fight and kill each other?" This was clearly a rhetorical question, more of an accusation if anything. Glancing at the people getting ready to fight below, she continued. "Why do we try to name it something else? It's just measuring to see is a village is falling behind, or another is improving too fast. To check the balances I thought?"

Then looking at Saori and Izumi, "I mean you guys are good, but isn't this somewhat contradictory?"

Izumi just shrugged as Eikitsu vanished, most likely heading to the infirmary to see Chisame. It's not like she was his keeper although she slightly wondered what he was up to.

Returning her attention to the Kumo-nins Izumi accepted the leaflet offered to her by the one who had introduced himself as Cunom. She turned the  leaflet around in her hands few times before pocketing it."Thank you for the kind offer, we're sure to keep it in mind." She gave him nod but the smile on her face became strained at Shun's words.

"That's one way to look at it since it is inevitable some intelligence gathering is going to take a place when all the Villages get together but I like to disagree. Chuunin exams are perfect example how all countries still have same standards for their forces which prevents some countries getting more powerful than the others. As you said, checking the balance also helps to maintain it." Izumi spoke softly but with serious expression."While I agree death match are wasteful everybody knew the risks when they signed the Chuunin exam participation."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Sun 29 Jan 2017.

Shun seemed to think about these words, and after a bit nodded. "Yeah strengthening of the ties of the villages themselves seem more appropriate wording for these..gatherings. Because I'd rather want more productive teamwork or alliances if they expect-" She motioned to the rest of the genin, "us to actually form any bonds. Even now. We are watching people fight and only thinking about how we can beat them in a later date if need be."

He listened to his fellow kumogakure shinobi and Izumi exchange before considering their words. He gestured a hand over to Ishikawa Shun as if to introduce her to the other nonCloud ninjas. "Shun, there is a measure of accountability to it all no matter how forlorn it may be. This is the politics of the shinobi world, such as it is." He glanced down at the next combatants as though deep in thought about more than just the happening of the day." It will always be this way or at least till our feudal Lords decree otherwise. I trust you will be at my shop later as well Shun, I know how much you like our baked sweets." The yellow eyed shinobi said with a hint of humor in his tone.

Shun seemed to be a little put off by what Cunom said, a somewhat annoyed expression on her face. "I'll respect politics when they make sense and are practical. But I'd say most of the time politics are just ways of complicating and adding accessaries and art to something to disguise truth. Plus this is a debate, not vomiting the words adults use so we don't question anything farther. What do you honestly think of it?"

Then at the mention of sweets Shun tried to huff in some manner so her childish reaction wouldn't be seen. "You know I only go in for the mochi... and my mom is banning me from eating it. She's convinced I eat too much of it and that I should eat better so I don't lose any muscle mass.."

His eyes glittered as he tried to hide his smile about her love of sweets from her. " We do have pork buns too, so you won't lose muscle mass. I"ll even throw in a complmenty Mochi. Plus you'll miss out on any intelligence gathering or useful intel.

Saori accepted one of the flyers as well.  "Thank you," the girl said to Cunom.  She then fell quiet while the debate about the exams and politics started up.

"Well, I'm originally from an otherwise uninhabited island, so I'll admit politics isn't something I was exactly born into.  But I agree that while death matches are mostly a waste of potential, we do sign up knowing about them.  I suppose that's part of the training though, being willing to literally put your life on the line," the girl said.

She glanced over at Shun.  "Politics is a lot of things, from what I've seen.  A way to complicate things, sure, but a way to get two sides to agree on something too.  I'd much rather know people I'm working with than get tossed in with no familiarity, so I'm all for the getting to know each other and seeing what the other villages currently have to offer.  Though I expect that not everything is on display here.  Plenty of techniques are never showcased here, and those not shown tend to be the most powerful.  The exams do show us, however, that everyone has a certain minimum level of competency that is being passed through the ranks.  There is value in making sure everyone is maintaining certain standards."

The reactions of the crowd towards the decision to end the match by decision brought Sakuya out from her private thoughts. The genin looked up to see how things went by, absently grateful that her sensei interrupted the match before anyone got killed any further. Looking around, she noticed new faces amidst old ones. Where they replacements to those who were lost?

Taking a deep breath, Sakuya figured she find something else to do aside from pondering on the loss of her friends for the moment. The arena's atmosphere did not exactly help in sorting out her feelings, and she needed to get in touch with Fujii-sensei to see what she can do with the current situation.

Standing up was a little difficult to do with both arms still in casts - Sakuya had to use her legs and abdominal strength to stand up instead of using her hands to pull herself up. If it were not for her training, walking without the use of her arms would have been a difficult task.

"Excuse me..." Sakuya excused herself as she started to make her way down the stairs. Some of the genins were along the stairway down, some vaguely familiar, others new.

Shun smirked. "What intel am I going to get there? Gossip?"A glint appearing in her eye, along with little chuckles. With Saito's input she nodded. It's seemed like she was content with Saito's answer, not trying to probe any farther. "Though I do want to ask: Do you guys think you would ever want to fight a deathmatch here? Do you think you could?"

"Politics are a necessary evil." The mist kunoichi commented offhandedly. The discussion bounced between topics like politics and baked sweets, a perfectly normal small talk until Shun said something which made Izumi once again turn serious.

She raised her eyebrows at Shun. Despite her cheerful demeanor this girl really saw the exams in negative light, didn't she. Deciding to humor her the mist kunoichi shrugged before answering."It's not my favourite way of doing things but if they refused to give up, it wouldn't be unthinkable. You wanted honesty so let me put it this way: the techniques every genin learns during training, they're not exactly for resolving conflicts peacefully. They're for neutralizing your opponent. Killing them. Sometimes we have to." She said in a matter of fact tone.

Letting her words hang in the air Izumi pocketed her hands and after a while gave a small smile."But I don't think that is very likely to happen, right? Death match is only the last resort if neither side is ready to give up." There was some finality in her words as she didn't really enjoy these heavy topics unless she was perfectly comfortable with the people she was with.

A somewhat meek voice took Izumi's attention and she noticed they were blocking over half of the stairway. She stepped to side with apologetic look meant for Sakuya."Sorry, didn't mean to stop you."