Beauty (open/nk)

As the battle got underway Tatsuo noticed Monarch grab something small from his pouch, a smoke bomb eh? Not a bad strategy to start with. The boy threw the small round tool and as it connected with the ground, the two were suddenly engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke. "Stealth can be a very valuable ally to a shinobi. However, in this moment, I think I'll use your own plan against you." he thought to himself drumming up multiple strategies in his crafty mind. As he awaited the next move, he made very careful to use his sense of hearing rather than his now drastically reduced sense of sight. Considering the fact it had been raining, the soft ground should make quite a bit of noise should someone attempt to run of move quickly on it. At the same time though, the rain itself is light enough not too be too awfully loud and distracting on its own. 

Moments later an explosion near the center of the smoke, a paper bomb placed upon the large tree that was at the center. As the tree toppled over Tatsuo easily dodged it while the smoke was still blown away by the blast. Also while the smoke was blown away creating short term visibility, he took careful nowt of Monarchs position as well. Once the smoke enveloped them once more Tatsuo immediately and quickly performed a hand sign to create two clones of himself, one on each side of him. Even though these clones were not solid and could easily be saw as fakes, within the thick smoke they should be able to fool his opponent easily. Dashing off in Monarchs direction he prepared to intercept the lad. As he drew close to the boy and he finally could make him out, he dashed all around, followed by his clones in an attempt to confuse the lad and when he felt he had done so, should this action go uninterrupted, he would attack from behind with a swift side kick aimed for the ribs of the boy. The kick would have good power and good speed, but if it hit Tatsuo made sure to not aim somewhere in his body where he could potentially hit a vital organ and damage it. If the kick missed Tatsuo would immediately triple backflip, along with his clones, to get some distance and if it did connect, he would immediately and quickly follow up with a combo of quick punches aimed for the lads mid-section.

AP: 114 - 5 (clone technique) = 109

WC: 420

Monarch smiled as his opponent showed up in the smoke, Monarch noted that there were 3 of him noting the fat that cloning jutsus were made to pass a simple genin exam Monarch knew all too well about them, however no matter what his knowledge of the technique he still had a disadvantage due to the fact that the man was definitely stronger and faster than him, Monarch was surrounded by the three of the man, not having time to think.Monarch took a breath pulling out a kunai, not knowing which three men was the real one he didn't wish to impale his new friend he simply waited for a opening provided by the man.

Eventually Monarch got it as the man or one of his clones kicked him from behind with great speed and strength causing him to fall, however before he fell he would attempt a mid air turn throwing the kunai at the left clone of the man, unknowing if it would hit Monarch would pull out another kunai throwing it at the mans feet in a attempt to get up "Nothing makes a guy move faster than a kunai to the toe" Monarch would think with a chuckle.at the point if the man would move Monarch would pull out another kunai as he attempted to get up in case the man would take advantage of his weakened position and his weakened exterior.Upon getting up Monarch would realize the pain in his ribs, no doubt they were bruised from that kick however monarch would still manage to stand acting like it did't hurt but in all reality it was pretty painful.If the man didn't do anything Monarch would throw a kunai directly at him and quickly pull out another one post haste to avoid a brutal fight Monarch still smiled although unknowing as to where the man is or was due to the smoke his kunai would go into the direction the man would have jumped back, Monarch noticed the black smoke seemed a little faded, but Monarch had no clue how he'd fight this man i the light.

As the kick connected, he knew he had caused some damage but the boy wasn't ready to,give up yet and then again, he hoped it wouldn't be that easy. As the boy fell to the ground he turned mid-air, launching a kunai at the clone on the left. As it went through the clones chest the clone dissipated. Just a moment later the lad launched another kunai but this one was aimed at the real Father's foot. He was able to just barely move his foot a few inches to the left to where the kunai would miss. After it missed and he saw Monarch about to get up, drawing yet another knife, Tatsuo would quickly slip back into the smoke which was now beginning to fade slightly. He kept low to the ground as he snuck around to avoid anymore oncoming kunai just to be safe. He knew the boy had drawn another one just before he stepped from visible range but as he was unsure if it had been thrown he needed to remain as low and in cover as possible.

The smoke eventually began to fade and Tatsuo figured that soon full visibility would be restored. Getting back closer to where the boy had last been seen he wondered if the boy would still be in the same position, none the less he was prepared to go on the offensive again. Tatsuo figured after his last little move that the boy would be expecting an attack from behind now so it would be wiser to come at him from one his blind spots. Attacking from the right side Tatso attempted to swing a simple punch to the lads jaw. It had enough force to cause some bruising and slight dizziness but at the very worst. After the punch Tatsuo would remain close to his opponent as the smoke by this time was clearly faded much more than when the battle began. If his attack went uninterrupted he would allow his opponents to regain their composure and face him all the while keeping his guard up of course. If the attack was blocked or dodged in some way, Tatsuo would follow up with an attempt to knock the wind out of him by attempting to smack him hard in the stomach with the butt of his katana, quick draw style.

WC: 393

Monarchs attacks seemed useless due to the guys speed, he wasn't the much faster than Monarch, he felt slightly scared by the mans quick movements kunai in Hand monarch knew the smoke wouldn't allow him to see the enemy, so Monarch closes his eyes and closing of one of his senses focusing on the sounds, it was quiet however the rain made the ground muddy most definitely didn't help he heard movement of water all around him, however he couldn't find the source.

Monarch heard a rush as he thought the man would come, instead of striking he simply put his hands behind him, Monarch dropped the kunai between his legs, Monarch quickly unbuttoned his weapon pouch as the hit connected, he'd go with the punch moving his head and dropping onto his back like a dead possum he grinned, secretly pulling out three shurikens into his hands and on his other hand he had another smoke bomb, Monarch took in a deep breath.Monarch quickly would throw a shuriken to the left where he expected the man to be due to the fact his left side of his face had just be smashed by the man's fist, that's when Monarch realized he had never asked the man his name "This guy is a great training partner" Monarch thought to himself crushing another smoke bomb to double up the smoke making it even worst to see anything.After the bomb would go off Monarch would roll to the right to the tree that had fallen attempting to hide in a strategy to figure out in what position he is in fighting this man "God damn it all, this blows i can barely keep up yo him" Monarch thinks to himself pulling out a explosive tag and he would throw it to the left, trying to blend in looking to the left hoping the tag would show him where his enemy would be.

Tatsuo's punch appeared to hit its mark, however just as it did something didn't feel right. From what he could gather at this point, this person wasn't really trying to avoid Tatsuo's attacks or even lessen the damage by simply blocking them. For some odd reason he was just taking the punishment, perhaps looking for a moment of weakness to be exploited with a counter attack. At this point Tatsuo couldn't be certain but one thing was clear mad that was that he definitely needed to be on his toes and not give his opponent too many openings to use against him. As the boy fell to the ground he quickly launched shuriken at Tatsuo. At the range they were Tatsuo could not completely avoid them and even though he was able to keep from avoiding major damage, he had been nicked on his right arm a piece of his clothing ripped and a small cut drawing a small amount of blood formed as well. The pain was only slight, a stinging sensation like a bad paper cut but nowhere near enough to warrant a surrender from Tatsuo. As the boy crushed the second smoke bomb enveloping them in another cloud of now much thicker smoke Tatsuo got himself some distance so he was no longer so close to Monarch. 

"Clever, he's using the smoke very well and even though I've scored a few blows, due to reduced visibility and poor aim of my strikes I've yet to land any critical hits." he thought to himself just moments before the explosive tag went off blowing away some of the smoke yet again. He kept his guard up, waiting patiently for his opponent to show himself even in the slightest as the downed tree became visible. He wondered if Monarch could be behind it as he didn't see the boy anywhere else. Forming a succession of hand signs he prepared to launch the Phoenix fire jutsu however, when he tried to do so the jutsu failed. "Damn it, looks like I'll need to infuse more chakra next time." He thought to himself just as it failed. This new jutsu was one he had been working on as of late however it didn't appear to yet be applicable in combat. Bracing himself mad preparing for his next move he, if uninterrupted at this point would slink back into the thick smoke cloud once again hiding himself.

WC: 404

Monarch grinned looking threw his ninja bag he had barely anything left, the smoke bomb had obviously stopped him in his tracks, Monarch would jump up and quickly right west as fast as he could, revisiting him memory he knew the man was super quick to the point where no matter what monarch would do the man would be of equal speed to himself, instead of quitting Monarch instead counted the items he used in his head 'i used four kunais, two explosive tags, and two smoke bombs as well as well, and a shuriken" Monarch thought quietly and without warning stopped running turning away from the exit, slowly backing up drawing two more shurikens from his weapon pouch as he soon made it out of the smoke.

"He dude, I am outside the smoke now" Monarch said with a taunting voice, "And don't even think I have forgotten about the other two clone you made.[color]" Monarch reminded him knowing that if he was to win he need to remember every aspect of the battle clearly" Monarch added holding his Shurikens at the ready think about how he'd get threw this awful mess.
[/color]

A few quiet moments passed as Tatsuo lay still, low to the ground still undercover of the smoke. He thought long and hard about multiple strategies he could implement to his advantage when a voice rang out. It was Monarch, apparently taunting Tatsuo from outside the smoke. He was coaxing him into leaving the smoke as well, and even though it was no doubt some sort of ruse Tatsuo played along. He began slowly and cautiously heading out of the smoke. Just before leaving the smoke, he pulled two kunai from his pouch and attached an explosive tag to one of them. As he exited the smoke he spotted his opponent. "What are you up to." He said just loud enough for the boy to hear his words.  This battle was turning out to be fun and exciting to Tatsuo, he was quite enjoying himself.

After a few moments if the boy did not make a move Tatsuo would make his. He would throw the untagged kunai at the boy first as a distraction followed by the one with the tag included. After the explosive tag went off he would use the explosion as a distraction to close in on his opponent. If uninterrupted at this point, Tatsuo would leap into action attempting a quick jab to the boys gut followed by a few jabs to the ribs he had bruised earlier on in the fray. If any of the attacks Tatsuo launched were blocked or dodged he would quickly prepare for any incoming counters the boy may throw. The boy was quite accustomed to using weaponry thus far so Tatsuo was ready to dodge any projectiles should the lad respond as such. For a few moments he thought to himself that this kind of real battle training was so much better than solo training and once the match was over he may keep this person around as his partner for quite some time afterwards if the boy would agree any way.

WC: 335

Monarch smiled as the man came out holding two kunais, Monarch knew it would be in his best interest to side step the weapons then use his own shurikens to hurt them enemy, Monarch knew he didn't really have a killer's training ad his arsenal was completely diminished after the four shurikens where thrown "Shit this blows i'm gonna get my ass kicks...Unless Monarch said with a grin dropping two shurikens to the ground "Okay, hand to hand rule number one, never let the enemy hit vitals, this will lead to possible internal bleeding" Monarch thought to himself knowing the mans movement by now, he wasn't too much faster than Monarch so Monarch could track where he was or would be getting hit from.

Monarch took a breath before the man made his first move, throwing two knifes "Deception..." Monarch remembered as he side stepped the kunais a little too late as the first kunai gashed him tearing up his shirt, the second kunai seemed a little bit off, as it pasted Monarch due to the dodge Monarch had done via side stepping he noticed that the kunai had a tag.Monarch instantly knew what he needed to do in that moment before anything happened Monarch would jump back as the man was coming at instead of being distracted by the explosion Monarch used it to his advantage throwing his two shuriken at the man seemingly hidden by the light of the explosion aside from Monarchs arm movement, he knew that if this didn't work he'd ever last in physical hand to hand combat with them man, never the less he had hoped the Shurikens would hit his leg and arm however it was just a hope.

The first kunai scraped Monarch, nothing major but it did cut him rip his shirt. The second, the one with a hidden tag, seemed to have been spotted as the man leaped back. Under cover of the explosion, the boy launched two more shuriken at Tatsuo. "Smart, using my own tactic against me. Your not half bad are you." Tatsuo thought to himself as he was able to just nearly avoid direct hits from the projectiles. Though he had avoided direct hits, the shuriken had still cut him up more, placing one more cut on his arm and another on one of his legs. The cuts, like the las one however, were superficial and cause no major damage. They did stop Tatsuo with continuing on with his assault however and that would give Monarch a chance to catch his breath if needed. "Okay let's try this again and see how it works now." He thought to himself as he began to close the distance between them once again. 

As he was closing the distance he pulled his katana from its place, although leaving the sheath on so he could use it as a blunt weapon rather than a blade. He didn't want to kill or hurt his opponent as this was simply a sparing match. The sheath would hurt to be hit by at full force but posed no major threat to someone unless they were hit in someplace such as the spine or neck. He swung for the midsection of the boy, however prepared to strike low if he ducked and high if he jumped. Whichever way the boy would dodge Tatsuo was hoping to be ready for it and continue his attacks. The attacks if landed would carry enough force to cause significant pain and bruising but no real lasting damage. After the sword attacks whether they landed or not Tatsuo would replace his katana back on his belt. After doing so, and if left uninterrupted at this point, he would follow up with a taijutsu combo of quick jabs and a single powerful kick aimed for the head of the lad.

WC: 360

Monarch proud his kunais had hit even though it was way off target knew he'd have a fun time with this next quick movement, the man stopped for a second probably out of a pain with the shurikens cutting him open and all Monarch was unsure just what he was gonna do, so he simply thought of a quick solution to his problem, Monarch didn't have time to move as the man pulled out his sword with his sheath still attached "Damn this is gonna hurt" Monarch said as he formulated a strategy at just the right moment as the man was two meters away, Monarch had studied his movements and the hits he had received from the man, assuming the man expect Monarchs normal dodge tactic Monarch decided something new and bold had to be done.

Monarch stood still until the man was two meters Monarch prepared to block, instead of hitting Monarch's midsection he had hit Monarchs right arm in a block, and Monarch would smile bringing up his leg and full force kicking the grown ninjas chest attempting to wind him, if the move went threw Monarch would sweep the mans leg side stepping beside him and jumping back as he was in mid fall, remembering his tactic with throwing Monarch would also ready himself for anything being thrown readying to dodge to the left but leaning to the right to try and fool his enemy into wasting their tools on him.