When Nori heard Sigmund speak to her, she turned her eyes to him and listened to him closely. It was so like him to want her to give up. Yeah he was right. Maybe she didn't stand a chance against him with her condition and by the way he was speaking to her, he had every intention of giving it all in their battle with no mercy shown to her. Not that she expected it from him. He wanted this more than anything. She knew that. But still... "You know what, Sigmund, maybe you're right. I don't stand a chance against you. Maybe going out there in this condition isn't the wisest choice. But you know what, there are reasons other than pride for why I'm doing this. I have trained and worked hard for this just as much as you have and I may not have a chance in hell of winning, but I follow through in what I start. Inflict as much pain as you want on me. Scold me like a kid when all this is over and tell me you told me so. That I'm an idiot. I don't give a damn. Just don't think you're doing me a favor by sparing me before the match even begins," she replied with a solemn gaze as she looked into her teammates eyes. "You know, I knew there was a possibility we may have had to face each other to get to the end and I honestly didn't know how far I would get, but I'm here and I earned that. We are going to be facing each other. That's a fact. We're not teammates right now. We're rivals. And honestly I don't know if that's ever going to change after all this is over, but I'm hoping that whatever the outcome will be today, that I have just a shred of your respect for putting up a good fight."

In reply to Hikawa Chisame (msg # 20):

"The right wording would be "were doing" the exam. My team had to drop out during the second stage." Izumi answered Chisame's inquiry without dwelling in the reasons too much. It wasn't important. At least she did know her team mates were alive even though it did look pretty bad. The medics couldn't give any guarantees for their recovery and if they could continue in active duty afterwards.

Thus Izumi chose to stay silent as Saori broke in the news to Chisame about her team's demise. To be honest, she couldn't predict how the girl would react. Even in the academy Chisame defied most common logic way too many times so Izumi had ruled her as an oddity among constants. A small voice in the back of her head even wondered if the way Saori had said it would be enough to make Chisame realize they were gone forever. Dead.

Deciding she was giving way too little credit to Chisame Izumi held on to her earlier decision and opted to observe rather than speculate.

Her observation was cut short when one of the genins who had earlier had their eyes on Eikitsu came over to talk. Giving her trademark nod as greeting Izumi recognized Nanami as the leaf kunoichi who had faced Kotatsu in the semi-finals and survived to see another day. Her curiosity getting the better of her she cut her gaze off from the rest of the group and focused on Nanami."Wise words. But speaking of which, aren't you Nara Nanami, the only person Kotatsu has spared? Pardon my curiosity but how did you survive? I only saw the ending so it interest me. Did the proctors step in or was there something else?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:16, Sat 04 Feb 2017.

Nanami looks at Izumi "The battle was going pretty badly for me. The confined area hindered me a bit. Kotatasu is talented and he just had my number. When my arm went numb from one of his attacks, like I said before I value my life. I chose to concede the match then risk dying. There was a slight chance I could have pulled it out under the circumstances, but that would have been awfully risky, and with how he has gone about his other matches. The chance of me losing and then losing my life was high."

She looks at Chisame and then back to Izumi "My teammate had no choice but to nearly kill Chisame, as she chose to press it into the deathmatch. Kotatsu doesn't give the option, he just ends it if able. So if you ever fight him, don't take him lightly. He is a vicious individual."

Eikitsu watched Chisame wolf down the food he'd brought for her while the others discussed the earlier preliminary fights. "Am I correct to assume that my selections for your meal are to your satisfaction, Hikawa-san?" Sure, the answer was obvious, but idle small talk wasn't without its merits at times. After all, he didn't exactly have anything else to do or anywhere better to be at this particular moment in time. Elsewhere, Kensuke seemed deep in thought over just how to attack his defense. It was about this time that Nanami returned to the now larger group of Mist shinobi, plus one Rock shinobi. Typical of Eikitsu, he turned to face Nanami, smiled with closed eyes, and then addressed her. "Welcome back, kunoichi-san." Of course his politeness remained as fake and practiced as always. Such was the case for someone who lacked emotions. On the bright side, at least he valued peaceful interactions with others over violence and bloodshed, even if he could be rather insensitive and direct with responses.

It appeared that Nanami remained repulsed by Eikitsu, as she largely ignored Eikitsu's presence and focused her attention on Chisame, Izumi, and Saori. Mercifully, he didn't have any feelings to be hurt and just listened to their discussion to which Chisame provided a soundtrack to in the form of her ravenous devouring of the bento box. Truly, Eikitsu didn't understand the others' fixation with remaining alive, and it was this lack of understanding that motivated him to speak. "Killing and death are the ways of the shinobi. Dying during the Chuunin Exam only establishes that one was unfit to become a shinobi." It was a harsh position but not necessarily an incorrect one depending on one's values. After sharing his first bit, Eikitsu focused on Nanami specifically then continued. "Why do you place value in the lives of shinobi, Nara-san?" Eikitsu had overheard Izumi identify Nanami and now saw fit to use her name even though he'd known it all along. "As a shinobi, you should understand that we exist to serve our villages and kage. There isn't any value in the life of a shinobi. Like any weapon or tool, we are expendable by our very nature. Why do you not accept this, Nara-san?"

Nanami face-palms and sighs. She looks and listens to Eikitsu. She wasn't sure who taught him such an out of place way of thinking. Nanami thinks on things for a moment "Well I will start on your basis that we are expendable.. On that point, you are extremely off base. First we are far from expendable. If genin were just tossed around like cannon fodder eventually there would not be any left alive, and eventually the upper level ninja would either retire or die. So then you have nobody to replenish those ranks, and eventually you will be in a very tight spot."

Nanami continues on "Now on your point about us being tools. Yes we are tools, used to not only support our villages income, but also its prestige. But dying on a mission is not an acceptable thing. If I know that by dying I will prevent the loss of many lives or protect those I hold precious, then its acceptable. But to pursue an impossible mission just because you think its what you have to do is also a violation of rules put in placed to protect us."

Nanami walks up to the boy "Understand I have been trained in both the Hidden Sand, and the Hidden Leaf. I have been taught to survive, that is why we train and do missions. Our aim is to live long and defend our village, it is not to sacrifice yourself for a mission."

The girls stares into Eikitsu's eyes "The training in the sand was as brutal as it comes, I came close on several occassions, but my trainer and family always made sure I lived on." She smiles "And that is why we are in teams at first, we need to learn the value of each-other. Even someone as cold as you will come to understand the value of your teammates, otherwise you wouldn't bother healing them, even if that way of healing is a bit repulsive. But it seems efficient."

Nanami pats the boy on his shoulder "We are far more alike then you know. We both play the support role, but can more then likely take to the offensive easily as well. Hopefully at some point we get to work a mission together. While I don't agree with your ideals, I do understand them, and I think in tandem we could make a devastating duo.. So I will look forward to that day."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:26, Sat 04 Feb 2017.

   Sigmund remained quiet as she explained herself as to why she needed to face him. It came down to her wanting his respect. He just shook his head, smirking at her as he got up from his chair and began walking out the door to her room. He paused for a moment, not turning around. "Being foolish and reckless is the one way to not get my respect. Don't say I didn't warn you. I will not be going easy on you," he paused for a moment.

   "Your parents might not want to watch you. Might want to let them know to look away," he uttered to her and walked out of the room finally. He ignored everyone else on the way to the stadium. As he walked out of the infirmary, he ripped off the bandage that kept his stitched wound compacted. The bandage floated to the ground as Sigmund was seen heading towards the stadium to prepare for his next match.

From the stadium:
Sima made his way to the center of the stadium, staring at the Kages one by one from down below. "Will the two contestants make their way to the stadium. The last semi-final match is about to begin," he announced, with a microphone in hand. His message could be heard from the infirmary as well.

Nori let her eyes watch Sigmund as he walked across the room and towards the door. She listened to him quietly and clenched the sheets in her hands. "As if you ever had intended to go easy on me to begin with. If you didn't put your best into this fight, I'd be disappointed in you," she said before she heard the announcement for her and Sigmund to make their way to the stadium. She watched him walk away before she sighed and turned herself on the bed. So this was it. She looked down at the cast they had put on her leg. It was apparent that she was going to have to keep off this leg as much as possible. She knew what Sigmund was capable of doing and he was pretty confident he would win this fight. Maybe he will, but she was going to surprise him with what she could do. She stood up from the bed, keeping her weight on the crutch that was lent to her for her fractured leg. "Looks like this is it." Nori made her way over towards Nanami and stopped beside her before she placed her hand on her shoulder. "Make sure you watch me, Nami. Let's hope I can do you proud," she said with a small smile before she made her way out of the room.

<<Semi Final Match: Akitoki vs Yamada>>

[Private to Akitoki Sigmund; Nara Nanami: OOC: Just wanted to make a quick note upon reading a past post about Nori's leg. From the end of her last match, she had been given a fractured leg, not a broken one. Her odds are still decreased in terms of taijutsu either way, though, obviously. Lol.]

Upon hearing the announcement "If you will excuse me. My teammates fight is next, and I need to cheer them on." She bows, and then smiles at Nori "I will be there front row, cheering you on." She pats Nori on the shoulder "See you out there!" She looks at Sigmund and nods "This is a fight she needs to do. I don't expect it to be pretty.. Do your best you two!" Nanami exits as her two teammates are lead to the arena..


    <<--- Exit to the Stadium --->>

Chisame stopped eating.  "Shinji's dead?  And..."  She visibly drew a mental blank.  "...that other girl?"  Chisame frowned and resumed eating angrily.

"What 'm I gonna do wivvout Shinji?" she grumbled through mouthfuls of food.  "He was, like, smart and stuff."  Chisame was visibly unhappy at the news of her comrades' deaths.  Well, one of them, at least.  Shinji had been with her on the squad since the beginning, but the other girl, whose name she hadn't even bothered to remember yet, had only just joined them for the exams.

"Now I'm gonna need ta find a new Shinji."  She bit down on the now-empty bento box, scowling.  She chewed a couple of times before seeming to realise it wasn't food and spitting it out.  "Bleh.  Why do they put food in inedible containers anyway?  It's a waste."  She paused for a moment, thinking.  "If Shinji's dead, does that mean I can eat him?  He kept running away when I tried to eat him before."  Chisame absentmindedly picked up the blood-soaked pillow and started chewing on it, her sharp teeth quickly shredding the end unfortunate enough to have taken the brunt of her attention.

Saori hadn't had an opportunity to see how Chisame reacted to death in their Academy days.  It was certainly interesting.  But she got the sense there was grief there.  Instead, the girl chose to respond to the statement about food.  "Actually, there were edible leaves where I grew up that were thick enough to serve as plates or bowls if you shaped them right.  But that isn't the case in most places," Saori offered.

As to the statement about Shinji always running away before, the girl offered a slight smile.  "If he evaded you in life, I believe that grants him victory and you should honor that appropriately, Hikawa-san."

The girl turned to see the contestants leave for the next match.  This would be another vicious match, to be certain, though the one girl had a messed up leg.  That was going to be a pretty big disadvantage, to be sure.  "Looks like the next match is starting," she commented.

If she had survived long enough to actually give up Nanami had to be considerably skillful. Kotatsu hardly gave that chance to others. Izumi listened carefully Nanami's small confrontation with Eikitsu and while there was so many things she liked to disagree with her fellow mist-nin she understood where his words came from. Death was essential part of their life as shinobi. Hadn't she said about the same thing at the stadium when they last had this conversation. Minus the blind devotion to cause and village of course but that was just Eikitsu being himself.

Izumi watched the leaf-trio to leave and shook her head."Maybe we really are the villains of this story given how idealistic the rest of the genin are?" She spoke out to no one in particular but it was clearly aimed at the group of misties gathered. Turning to face them she moved her eyes slowly from Eikitsu to Saori and finally to Chisame.

The lack of reaction would have made anybody else uneasy but to Izumi it made perfect sense. Of course she believed this was Chisame's way of handling the loss of team mates but still no clear sadness was there. Izumi had heard their team out of all Mist genin had had the most changes so it was also understandable they were not as close as other teams.

Stepping closer to the girl now munching on an unfortunate pillow Izumi leaned down to be at eye level with Chisame and spoke out."Hikawa-san, would you like to join us spectating the match? You seem fine enough and the medics are going to scold us soon for that poor pillow. Wouldn't want to be here then, right? We can even get you a comfy wheelchair if you don't feel like walking yet. Plus they sell snacks there." The last part was added with tiny smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:38, Mon 06 Feb 2017.

In reply to Tsukino Yuuka (msg # 14):

Kurochi sighed, he knew where Yuuka was coming from. Killing other genin was horrible. especially this year where they had a ton of deaths. However it wasn't all that different if it were two villages fighting. "Listen Yuuka, they are having battles to the deaths, even though I am not for it, the instructors are making sure that a person wants the battle to the death before it ends that way. So then some of them who died knew that they might." Taking a deep breathe, remembering when they announced that Senju died, he continued speaking,"It is part of our lives as shinobi to kill, even if its another genin from another village."

Trying to change the subject of things, he gave off a flashy smile and asked,"How soon do you think you can get out of the Infirmary?Hopefully sensei will teach us some new things this year." said Kurochi, leaning over on his crutches, he wondered what was going through Yuuka's mind, knowing that everyone on there team had lost the fights in the Chunin. Kurochi was detereined to rank up to Chunin next time, wanting Kai and Yuuka right by his side, knowing that this year he messed up in the second round of the trials in the cold tunnels.

Yuuka knew Kurochi was right, even if she didn't like it.  She had decided to become a ninja, and that meant that she might have to kill at some point.  Still... she'd rather have to kill someone in defence of her village, rather than some genin who was just trying to pass the exams.

“I’m not sure,” Yuuka replied to Kurochi's question.  “They said they’re going to need to operate again to fix my shoulders properly."  She looked around at the busy infirmary.  For now the medical staff just seemed to be focused on getting everyone stabilised.  She moved her arms a little, but stopped when it started to hurt.  "I can't really move much at the moment, so I don't think I'm going to be going anywhere soon."  She had a bit more movement in her legs, but with the injury to her stomach, it probably wasn't a good idea to go wandering around.  Especially since she was liable to worsen her shoulders trying to catch herself if she collapsed.

"I'm going to need to train harder this year," she said, as if talking to herself.  "I want to get stronger, like you and Kai."  She blushed, embarrassed by her declaration.

Eikitsu listened to Nanami's rebuttal steadily. Her demeaning gesture of patting on the head as one would do a young child, was lost on him. Thus, it didn't affect any change in his stance or demeanor. Unfortunately, the next match between Nori and Sigmund was called in the time it took him to dissect her arguments and formulate effective counters. Following the announcement, Nanami excused herself quickly then bolted out of the infirmary to watch the match and support her teammates. As a result, they would have to continue their debate at a later time. It was about this time that Izumi remarked about the Leaf-nin's idealism and proposed the idea of watching the next match with Chisame. Eikitsu's practiced smile vanished, replaced by his usual impassive expression, then he spoke. "It is the victors who write the history books and thus decide the heroes and villains, Makinoe-san. As long as we remain strong and never falter, we will not ever be the villains."

Looked from Izumi to Saori then finally to Chisame before turning to face the exit. He then took a couple of steps toward it, stopped then continued. "It is only logical that we observe as many of these preliminary fights as we can, Makinoe-san. These foreign shinobi will be our opponents one day. Hikawa-san's critical condition was the only reason I forewent observing the previous fight." Eikitsu paused while he took a couple of more steps toward the exit. "Also, Hikawa-san should be more than capable of walking without assistance. I trust I will see you all at the arena." With his piece spoken, Eikitsu continued on his way out of the infirmary and toward the arena. His pace was such that the other Mist-nin could catch up to him easily if they so desired. It was not his intent to abandon them, but he'd already neglected his duty enough by aiding Chisame and playing with Kensuke and Nanami.

---

>>> to "Chapter 2.8: Post-Chunin - Stadium"?

Sakuya soon stirred from her slumber, finding herself lying on a bed. A quick look to her surroundings made her realize that she was now in the Infirmary. Trying to recall how she ended up in the infirmary made her realize that she was last crying in her sensei's arms, bringing about a a light blush on her cheeks as she tried to cover most of her face under the blanket. The young girl thought herself thankful that no one was in the room with her at the moment, otherwise the thought of finding herself a place to hide would have become a priority.

Waiting herself to calm down, Sakuya finally sat up from bed. She figured that another match was going on outside, considering the commotion that could be heard from here. For now she made mental note on what she needed to do in order improve - and be of help for whoever her next team mates would be.

Chisame yawned.  She was quite tired from her fight earlier, although the philosophy discussions probable weren’t helping.  She perked up when Izumi mentioned snacks, though.  “Okay.”

Pulling back the bloodied sheets, Chisame stared at the hospital gown she was wearing as if wondering where it came from for a moment before dismissing it as unimportant.  Working her way over to the edge of the bed, she swung her bandaged legs round and stood up.  ”Ow.”  Her legs seemed okay, but her stomach was still twinging.  She held up her left arm and moved it around.  It was a bit sore, but otherwise seemed okay.  The nurses would probably get mad if she took the sling off though.  ”Ready to go!” she announced, wavering only a little on her feet.  Her typical enthusiasm was dimmed only slightly by tiredness, but Chisame’s ability to assess her own limits was questionable at the best of times.

"Idealistic doesn't mean heroics.  Plenty of ideals are corrupted in stories, or don't turn out to work the way they're expected to work," Saori responded to Izumi with a casual shrug.  "But yes, we should go see the next match."

The girl walked a little slower than normal.  She wasn't going to directly offer aid unless Chisame obviously needed it.  There was a certain pride that all of them had, she knew.  Walking under your own power after a brutal fight was one of those points of pride, she had noticed, that most ninja had.  However, being present in case Chisame actually needed her assistance made sense to her.

to Chapter 2.8: Post-Chunin - Stadium --->
This message was last edited by the player at 11:39, Tue 07 Feb 2017.

Izumi shrugged at the response she had gotten from her fellow mist nin. She had intended it as a half joke and only half had been serious."At least we're honest about what we do..." She finally muttered and turned to head towards the exit leading back to the stadium."It sounds like they have already started. We'd better hurry."

Like Saori, Izumi refrained from directly supporting Chisame if the girl didn't need it. She stopped to wait the other at the doorway before exiting the infirmary. The battle between the two leaf nin would probably be interesting to watch if based on the banter between them here in the infirmary.

to Chapter 2.8: Post-Chunin - Stadium --->

Chisame walked with a slight spring in her step despite the pain to begin with, visibly wilting as her initial burst of energy died out.  Even her tiredness wasn't enough to keep her quiet though.  "Where are we going?  Who's fighting?  Do we get to fight too?  Which way is it?  Who are you anyway?  Why do hospitals always smell funny?  Why don't they smell like blood?  That would be a lot nicer.  Is it because they're afraid the ninjas will try to kill each other?  I'm hungry."  Chisame stumbled out the door after her fellow Mist genin, still wearing her hospital gown, her voice slowly fading from the hearing of those who remained.



To Chapter 2.8: Post-Chunin - Stadium.

Instead of choosing to accept or attack Eikitsu's argument, Kensuke chose a hidden third option: not to engage at all.  The fact that the blond-haired boy had reacted as if making a small comment was somehow "damaging words" was all the evidence that the Tsuchigakure shinobi to the fact that Eikitsu knew who the girl was.  Why he wanted to deny that knowledge in public was something that he neither knew, wanted to know, nor even cared about.  So, he simply let the argument stand in the air.  After all, it seemed like the Kiri-nin wanted some sort of argument.  Why was Kensuke under any obligation to comply?  So, when Eikitsu turned away to deal with Chisame's request for food, the emerald-eyed boy let him do as he would without complaint.

As he turned his gaze to the rest of the room, he took in some of the discussion that was going on around him.  Though, a great deal of it just seemed to be sophistry.  In the face of Sigmund's logic, the girl he was talking to was not backing down from her death wish.  There was a reason Kensuke had written her off.  People were dead and she seemed oh-so-willing to join them.  He had done his piece, his Good Samaritan deed for the day, in trying to stop her.  Let her end up on top of the growing pile of bodies.  Maybe if she was really lucky she would only end up crippled.  Whatever happened, it had nothing more to do with him.

When the next match was announced, the Tsuchigakure shinobi simply watched many of the Genin file out the door to go and watch.  Not him.  He had his fill of watching blood and dying people for quite a while.  After all, he was the only one left alive from his team.  And without a scratch on him.  The irony of the whole situation caused the right corner of his mouth to quirk upward into a half-sardonic smile.  Of course, the person in the team that was the thinker was the only one to be left unscathed.

Glancing over his shoulder at one of the beds behind him, he remembered that one of the instructors had brought in a girl who had been asleep at the time.  Or possibly unconscious.  Though, he could hear her now stirring behind him from where he was leaning against a metal bar from another bed.

"If you need anything let me know," he called out in a calm tone toward Sakuya's bed.  "I'm not going to watch the rest of the matches, so I'm probably one of the only able-bodied people still here."

"Wa!?" Sakuya let out a startled tone, realizing that there was someone there. Had he noticed what she was doing moments ago? Sakuya tried to peek behind her and over the bed with little luck before giving a quick reply, "O-okay, thank you!"

Aside from the noise coming from the outside, the infirmary has gone quiet save for occasional sounds of medical equipment and supplies being carried around.

"Are you also helping out at the infirmary?" Sakuya decided to ask after a short moment of silence, sitting on her bed and having a better look around her.

Was he helping out in the infirmary?  The question puzzled the Tsuchigakure shinobi until he realized that he was not wearing the forehead protector that was worn traditionally by those of the shinobi world anywhere on his person.  While others took pride in wearing the symbol of their village, the item never sat well with Kensuke.  After all, he was not even entirely sure of his decision to be a shinobi in the first place.  So, the item simply felt foreign to him to wear on his person, which was why he usually just carried it with him in the ninja pouch that was centered at the base of his back.

"No, I am not," he replied, standing up from where he was leaning and turning to face Sakuya's direction.  "I'm here largely to visit--" he cut off what he was saying as he glanced over his shoulder at where his teammate's corpse was before finishing tactfully with "--a teammate."  There was no reason to share with someone he did not even know that he was there to visit a dead body.  To bare his soul for no apparent reason.

Turning back to face Sakuya's bed, Kensuke approached with a soft, measured stride.  "Why do you ask?  Are you hurt?  I may be able to aid you if you need it since most of the medical staff here seem to be busy helping other people."  While helping shinobi of other villages in their recovery would probably be inadvisable during the Chuunin Exams, he was no longer a participant.  And since there had been so much death already, Kensuke saw no reason to withhold aid from someone who seemed like they may need it.

Yuuka and Kurochi's conversation was suddenly interrupted by a change to the noise coming from the stadium.  The sounds of people cheering had suddenly been replaced by screams, with one voice booming over the top.  Yuuka turned pale.  "What.."

Kurochi was already moving, telling her to wait here, while he found out what was going on.  Her nerves back, Yuuka waited alone for some word as to what was happening.  If only I wasn't stuck in this hospital bed!  "I hope everyone's okay..."

"Ah, I see..." Sakuya replied as she looked to the young boy that eventually came into view, "I'm not able to use my arms much for the day, so it is a little difficult to do things..."

They were probably about the same age, but she did not see any signs of a headband anywhere. Was he intentionally keeping it somewhere else? Sakuya was about to ask when screams were echoing outside. It did not sound like the usual sounds people make when enjoying a match - these were panicked cries out of fear of something.

Despite her arms stuck in casts, Sakuya managed to get up from bed and hurry outside. She motioned for the young boy to follow.