Lessons From Other Peers [Open]

A memory of Kita's flashes through Muratwo's mind - "Clanned shinobi laughed at his feeble attempts at ninjutsu, berating him for not being able to master even the simplest of jutsu." A twinge of sympathy passes through her. This helps contextualize his seeming quiet irritation at his loss.

Obviously, she still isn't going to go easy on him.

With the pair returned to their neutral positions, Muratwo studies her opponent. With two weapons in hand, it will be difficult for him to loose Ninjutsu without giving one of them up - so he must be truly confident in his weapon abilities. The ferocity of the technique that killed Yumeko is foremost in her mind. She will need to be careful and she will need to be slippery. Her natural inclination would be to take the offensive and pressure him, as she had before, but she has already promised that she will allow herself to be put on the back foot this time.

She keeps Fish Eagle in one hand, freeing up the second, and she gives her opponent a nod. If he begins to move forward, her hand will flash through five hand seals - dog, bird, hare, monkey, horse - and she vanishes into thin air with her Hiding With Camouflage technique. She will then stay put, for the moment, watching for his reaction (pause, adjust course, keep charging?) before deciding on her next actions.

---

210
TWC: 210

Murata 348/348 (has been resting for most of the thread)
Muratwo 198/348 (-30 Hiding with Camouflage, Ninshu)

With the nod of his opponents head, Kitwo began its forward rush. Muratwo quickly began weaving her hand signs, and before Kitwo could go farther than a mere few meters, her jutsu was completed. Before Kitwo's very eyes Muratwo began to vanish from his view, and by the time he had traveled five meters she was gone. Kitwo slowed into a halt and stood in place at the five meter mark, 10 meters from the center of the ring, and 25 meters from Muratwo, even if he wasn't aware of her location at the time. "What the hell?"

Kitwo couldn't tell where the other clone was. Was it even around? It didn't dispel, did it? Kitwo scowled in place, and took a breath, formulating a plan. The first thing it did was turn to the real Murata. "You didn't dispel it, did you?" Step one, completed. Next, with the clone out of sight, Kitwo cleared his mind and began to channel its chakra to sense the location of the hidden clone (Chakra Sensory). Obviously Muratwo is well out of range, being 25 meters away, so the clone detects nothing at the moment. However, it would keep up the technique until a point where it could see Muratwo or it became disadvantageous to keep it activated. With that it mind it begins to rush forward in a defensive formation once again, racing towards the original position of Muratwo at its maximum speed (120 Speed).

Word Count - 243

Total Word Count - 8529

Jutsu Used:

It is very possible that he will still be able to detect her if he gets too close, so she should not be too bold - maintaining a distance of about fifteen meters should be safe. Once he begins to visibly slow his approach, Muratwo acts, still maintaining her invisibility. She brings her fuma shuriken from her hip with her free hand, still as invisible as she is, silently unfolding it as she circles behind him - maintaining a distance of fifteen meters all the while. Muratwo takes the time he spends slowing and looking confused to put herself into position fifteen meters directly behind him, holding back the urge to snicker in amusement as he asks her original if she is cheating. The original Murata simply gives him an innocent shrug in response.

Once Kitwo moves to dash forward once more towards Muratwo's original starting position, Muratwo uses Chakra Infusion to flow her chakra through the fuma shuriken, and then looses it towards Kitwo's back. As soon as it leaves her fingertips the camouflage effect will leave it, and there will be the oh so quiet whistling of air as it soars towards her opponent. The hope is that the sound of Kitwo's own footsteps as he rushes forward will be enough to cover it, but she cannot count on that. As soon as she throws the shuriken, Muratwo begins dashing to the right, aiming to travel a distance of about twenty meters with the situation as is - she monitors Kitwo's reaction to her attack to see if another path will end up being more fortuitous.

---

265
TWC: 475
Fuma Shuriken: 137 Speed, 110 Sharpness, 110 Health, 68m travel distance

Muratwo 173/348 (-15 Hiding with Camouflage upkeep, -10 Chakra Infusion)

Muratwo's hopes were correct. Kitwo couldn't hear the fuma shuriken flying through the air behind himself over the sounds of his footsteps. He continued to race forward, scanning the battlefield for any oncoming threats, yet found none. He gave up once he had traveled about 15 meters forward, 10 meters away from Muratwo's original position. Wherever she was, she wasn't here. He came to a halt, attempting to orient himself, and that's when he heard it. He whipped around to see the massive shuriken approaching him from around 12 meters away (Kitwo has 120 Speed, and the Fuma Shuriken has 137, so for every meter Kitwo moves, the Fuma would move 1.142 rounding up. Kitwo moved 15 meters forward, meaning that the Fuma moved about 17.13 meters, gaining about 2.13 meters on Kitwo. Considering their original distance was 15 meters from one another, and the two began moving at the same time, they would now be approximately 12.87 meters from one another.) It was fast, faster than Kitwo was, but with its forward trajectory, it would be a simple matter to dodge it.

Holding his swords at the ready for any additional attacks that he might not see, Kitwo would dodge the fuma based on where it was aiming on his body. If it was aiming for his chest or higher, he would simply duck under the weapon. If it was aiming for his thighs or lower, he would jump just enough to get over the weapon. If it was aimed at his stomach to waist, Kitwo would also jump over it. Regardless of what action he took to dodge the Fuma, he would slash out with his swords at the area where it had come from in the event that any invisible ninja wire was there. It never hurts to be careful.

If there weren't any more tricks with the shuriken to react to, Kitwo would scan the area where it had come from, looking for any signs at all of its enemy. It was the worst possible scenario, fighting an enemy that couldn't be seen, and didn't leave traces of its existence behind. If it didn't detect anything, Kitwo would lightly stab its normal katana into the tatami mats (unsure what the exact health is, but I imagine it would be low enough to where it could simply hold the blade for a moment or two). It would then reach into its tool pouch, and place a single smoke bomb in its mouth (taking care not to crush or break it) before picking its other katana up once again, standing once more in a defensive position. No sense in fumbling around in the dark for an enemy you can't see.

Word Count - 437 Words

Total Word Count - 8966

Jutsu Used:

Muratwo internally chides herself for being overly cautious as Kitwo jumps over the sailing shuriken. She could have worked with that, were she closer. Similarly to before, she takes advantage of his time sitting and waiting for her to get into an advantageous position, ending up fifteen meters to Kitwo's direct right in the time he spends in his defensive stance before potentially moving once more. Then she decides to creep forward closer and test the range of any potential sensory.

She will move forward until she is seven meters from Kitwo, gripping Fish Eagle in one hand and looping five legacy kunai around the fingers of the opposite. As soon as she either reaches that seven meter mark, detects movement from Kitwo, or has some indication that he has recognized her presence, she will act. Assuming that he will retain his defensive stance  (and ready to adjust the style or direction of her throw if that is not the case), Muratwo will loose three of those five kunai towards him in a loose triangle formation - one aiming for his neck and two soaring gut-level on a trajectory to sail half a meter clear of him in front and behind. Two are kept in hand as she watches closely for his reaction - he will be able to see the kunai as soon as they leave her hands, revealing her position, but she is content to stay this close for the moment and gamble.

---

242
TWC: 717

Legacy Kunai: 137 Speed, 75 Sharpness, 75 Health, 68m travel distance

Muratwo 158/348 (-15 Hiding with Camouflage upkeep)

Kitwo would groan if not for the smoke bomb that it held in its mouth. Fighting blind was frustrating, but being unable to even hear your opponent was even more so. "Maybe we should invest in techniques that let us smell our opponent out? Maybe feeling vibrations in the air? I don't know, whatever the case, this is certainly an irritating position to be in." Kitwo dropped the sensory technique, deciding that it would be pointless to keep it up in these circumstances. "She can clearly attack from a distance without dropping that invisibility of hers. I can't focus on sensing chakra and performing jutsu at the same time, so I would just be depriving myself of my jutsu." So if she wouldn't get close, what other option did Kitwo have?


It was vague how long it took Muratwo to creep forward, but it would be assumed that it was a relatively slow pace considering the word choice and desire to test out Kitwo's sensory range. During this time, Kitwo would take care to slash the tatami mats (assumed to be 30 health) with his katana in a 3 by 3 grid, creating 9 tiny tatami squares underneath where he was standing, each no bigger than his palm (50 sharpness vs 30 health, just enough to cut through the tatami mats. Not enough however to slice through the wood or concrete underneath it).


Muratwo would reach her seven meter mark when Kitwo finished, nodding at his work. He made a cursory glance around the platform to find any more signs of Muratwo. She launched her kunai, and Kitwo saw the glint of the weapons in the reflection of his swords. A bit off guard, they travelled four meters before Kitwo would be able to notice them and act. At that three meter mark, Kitwo would begin to move out of the way of the oncoming kunai, while chaneling chakra to the bottom of his feet to pick up and hold two of the mini tatami mats that he created (Tree Climbing/Surface Walking Technique). In the time it took them to travel that three meters, Kitwo would be able to travel 2 meters and 62 centimers (rounding down, 137 speed vs 120 speed). No need to go that far however. Muratwo had been approaching from Kitwo's right, and threw her kunai in a triangle formation, placing one at head height, and two at gut height to his front and back. "She wants to box me in!" To duck would limit his movements too much. To jump would practically spell defeat, and so would staying in place. Kitwo moved forward by a meter and a half. Enough to dodge out of the way of the kunai's original distance of half a meter in front of himself. As he moved forward, he would twist his body to the side and bring his blades in a sideways slash to his right side, pivoting as he did so at the end of his slash he himself would be facing the right. From his swords, a wave of chakra emerged from the tip, starting as a small two inch slash into a larger wave, 3 inches in width and 5 meters in length, aimed at the area where the kunai originated from (Rupture).

Word Count - 548

Total Word Count - 9514

Jutsu Used:

Muratwo's kunai travel four meters before Kitwo reacts at all. As always, his speed startles her, and Muratwo puts those kunai away for now. As before, her greatest asset will be controlling space and forcing him to make bad decisions. She has little time or inclination to wonder why he had pulled that little trick with the tatami - if it becomes something to worry about, she will handle it then.

When Kitwo begins to pivot, Muratwo moves directly towards him, gripping the base of her polearm to fully maximize its range as she begins to move. From a direct line from her position to his, she is about 7.16 meters from him. The wide swing of his swords take in the ballpark of two meters of movement at his full speed. By the time Kitwo finishes his slash, Murata has been able to move 1.66 meters, placing her at five and a half meters from him.

In a technique quite similar to the one she had previously demonstrated, Kitwo's slash produces a wave of blue force that barrels towards her. Murata decides to test her armor's mettle against it - a blade-generated wave of energy is more worrisome than an elemental attack, but the blue tinge gives her some trust that she will be able to handle it. With her moving at 100 Speed and Rupture moving at 75, they will clash once Muratwo has moved about 3.1 more meters, placing her at 2.4 meters. All the while, she has her weapon extended before her for some premium stabbing, extending 2 meters in front of her - she has made sure to place it just low enough to duck under the incoming Rupture, so as to not betray her presence or the shape of the weapon early.

Kitwo will, of course, detect her presence once she passes the five meter mark. Muratwo will not be exactly aware of when he has sensed her, but she will be keeping a close eye on him to watch for any further movement or tells of his reaction. Muratwo will be able to crash brazenly through his attack, as she had with his Water techniques, aiming to slash open the left side of his stomach with her spearpoint, axe head facing right and aimed towards the center of his abdomen.

---

384
TWC: 1101
Muratwo 143/348 (-15 Hiding with Camouflage upkeep)

Kitwo's eyes track the Rupture wave that emerged from his blade. Despite finally having been able to launch an attack, he didn't feel much hope that it would do much. "Compared to Muratwo's speed, this'll never reach her in time. Damn it, I just wasted my chakra carelessly!" Yet before he could curse his luck, he felt the ping of Muratwo's chakra. For a moment Kitwo believed that she had launched a jutsu of some kind, possibly her own wave of force from earlier. However, he quickly shot that notion down when he realized that there wasn't a sound. It HAD to be Muratwo.

Springing into motion, Kitwo took a step back and released the chakra on one of the tatami mat squares, kicking it into the air towards Muratwo's midsection as he backpedaled to keep distance when she reached 3 meters (100 Speed for both running and tatami mat). He wouldn't slow to let her get closer, nor would he slow down to force her out of his sensory range. The idea was that by throwing the tatami square into the air, it could hopefully clash against Muratwo's weapon, giving Kitwo an idea of where it was. If it was sliced in two, Kitwo could identify that Muratwo had slashed at him, and it was currently safe to counter attack while her weapon was off to the side. If it was pierced through the center, it would be safe to assume that she had stabbed at it, and she was ready to do the same to Kitwo. If it simply collided off of something without any damage, then it likely didn't hit the weapon. This was of course, all contingent on Kitwo actually hitting the weapon, and would be useless if he didn't strike it.

Kitwo shifted the smoke bomb in his mouth closer to the front, digging his canines into it. It wasn't time to break it yet, but it would be soon. To Muratwo, it likely looked as though Kitwo had a lump forming in his mouth. He just hoped that her jutsu wore off soon.

Word Count: 349 Words

Total Word Count: 9863 Words

Jutsu Used:

Muratwo's stated intent is to get close and get to stabbing, and she does not err in her path. When she reaches three meters, her spearpoint has reached under one, and she has her eyes on the prize. She tilts to the side to allow the tatami mat to sail past her as she advances - and it is then that she loses control of her camouflage technique, Muratwo melting back into existence, treating Kitwo to the sight of her advancing forward with her spearpoint glinting menacingly just under a meter from him. As her technique fades, Muratwo watches him nervously play with whatever he had put in his mouth earlier. The shape isn't right for a senbon - some kind of bomb? Pepper, smoke?

One of her hands on her poleaxe flashes through the Seal of Confrontation before returning to its place on her weapon, Muratwo's precise sensory awareness expanding across a radius of fifty meters (Mind's Eye of the Kagura). Limiting his own senses to try and attack hers would be a foolish last-ditch play, but she is content to let him try. She still advances, assuming he hasn't tried any new tricks in the interim, ready to flash her weapon forward at any opportunity to turn him into Kitwo kebab.

"Do you think we are about ready to wrap this up?" Muratwo asks, dark amusement in her voice, light of the arena glinting ominously against her faceplate. "...before we get in trouble for property damage?"

---

246
TWC: 1347

Muratwo 98/348 (-45 Mind's Eye of the Kagura)

Kitwo's Rupture crashed against Muratwo's invisible form, confirming that there was indeed a body there. That much was obvious. It was the tatami mat missing that was a bit concerning. It didn't hit her weapon, it didn't even hit her, which made Kitwo doubt that his perception was correct. Those doubts faded away with Muratwo's invisibility. Reassured in his perceptive abilities, he kept his eye on Muratwo's weapon, which was dangerously close to his body. Too close for comfort.

They both continue backwards for a short distance of time, maybe 5 more meters, neither of the two ninja trying any new tricks. Muratwo speaks in a sinister tone, and Kitwo could practically see the malice behind her mask. She asks if Kitwo was ready to end this, and he nods. Through garbled speech from a smoke bomb in the mouth, Kitwo replies "Let's do it. Hopefully they won't bill me for this."

Kitwo changes course, rushing towards Muratwo's weapon as opposed to away from it. Kitwo knew how sharp it was, and he knew that he lacked the strength to break through it or knock it away. However, he was banking on the weapon being unable to break through his weapon, at least not if he played his cards right. Kitwo raises his standard katana up behind his head and angles it slightly upwards towards Muratwo, and holds his chakra bonding katana near vertically pointing upwards, forming an almost 80 degree angle with the two weapons. He channels his chakra into the standard katana just before changing course and running forward at top speed (120). If Muratwo's movements do not change significantly, he would twist his body to the left side and flip the direction the katana is facing, angling it down towards the Fish Eagle, almost as if he was trying to stab through the blade (Chakra Infusion). The idea was that he would slip the katana between the Fish Eagle's 3 merged tomoe design, pass through the weapon harmlessly and into the floor below, halting Muratwo's movement. The fighting stage itself was composed of wood beneath the tatami mats, and Kitwo would need a lot more power in his weapon than it would normally possess to break through it. Pulling such a maneuver off would be difficult. Of course, Muratwo was an intelligent fighter, so such a trick wouldn't hold her or her weapon for long even if it did work, but Kitwo simply needed to buy time. Kitwo kept close watch of Muratwo's movements as he came closer, waiting to see her response before enacting his plan.

Word Count - 430 Words

Total Word Count - 10293

Jutsu Used: