Virtual Insanity

As she stood with her hands crossed behind her back peering at the members of the Arena she felt a pull at the back of her neck and was hurled back out of the simulation as the goggles were unceremoniously headbutted off her face. ”Emergency!! This letter just arrived! Pakkuun sees it says important!” as her eyes focus on the sudden brightness of the overhead lights, the thud of the letter hits her chest and she instinctively grabs it and opens it with a soft sigh.

After quickly scanning the letter her Eyebrows furrow in what can only be described as genuine confusion. There was a misconception that this was an arrangement to get her there immediately, when in reality there were some hoops to jump through before she showed up anywhere. Seeing as how a letter in return would be a waste of time, she would rise from her seat and stride over to Arantima’s still form. With a few Keystrokes, she had released him from the simulation and hit him in the forehead with the letter.

”Unfortunately your demonstration is going to have to be put on hold yet again. I have a very important Scouting mission for you. There is a Niave Kage” The word said with an emphasis that bordered on sarcasm. ”that has led themselves to believe, I will come at the drop of a hat. It’s new, uncharted territory in terms of we have never heard of them. So you need to go and meet with one of their own.” As she finished her sentence she would look up at the ceiling as if trying to recall something of importance.

”You know Tima, if it were me, I would remember just how much we LOVE Village politics in Yugure.” turning away from him and returning back to her own seat, without turning back to him she would speak again. ”It’s almost like they forgot they live in a world where those that can’t defend themselves get eaten by those that can.” and while she laid back in her seat she would glance over at him and raise an eyebrow ”What are you waiting for, this is what you’ve been wanting. Have fun”

She slides the Headset back on and re-integrates with the simulation effectively un”pausing” the Arena she had built as the Admin. The Rest of the participants would only notice a slight bit of “Lag” where the world stuttered for a half second, thus leaving them as they were with no interruption.

WC 451

Approved

Completely ignoring any conversation regarding Saya...

Kinko was not entirely familiar with this process and it almost threw him off. Without making a fuss, racket, or protest, Kinko would swiftly join the squadron. Similar to a way where if we were going cliff diving, he would have never looked at how deep or how far, just simply ran from the edge and jumped over.

Emerging from water is what it felt like when he entered into this new world, almost an entire new sensation covering his body. The wonder of what was happening sent him into a state of awe, confusion, and intrigue. Kinko had to taken a moment to appreciate and realize the reality...or realities around him. He could not help himself but to be held captive of this unique technology. His mind began to race to places other than this fight, the benefits that this could produce. Frustrated with himself and more so, the others for not preparing the group for such an experience.

A strange combination of heightened senses in both realities almost confused the young vampire as he finally began to focus on his teammates... and enemy. Kinko took a moment to understand the scenery around him, it looked beautiful. Kinko took a moment to look over at his comrades because he had realized something. The scenery, the people...looked like...home.

Kinko found himself around the three, standing close by. Kinko finally looked over at the group as Kana was able to bring his attention back to their reality. Kinko nodded in an agreement, while eyeing Mizu. Kinko knew he was going to be at full performance if he was going to be competitive. The worst part was Kinko knew he was going to struggle and he would never want to seen to be struggling in front of these people. Kinko clearly had an issue with appearing vulnerable, we'll see how bad it gets.

Kinko at the ready, awaiting for guidance and a strategy from Tima. Clearly, he would be the secret to winning this as he knew Mizu the best.

[344/771]

The game was on! As the simulation began running, the area around them shifted into an ancient forest. Old, but hauntingly beautiful in its decay. It had seemingly been the site of a temple or place of worship, judging by the style of the crumbled archway. It was the only human construction still visible in this ocean of trees. The scent of leaves in his nose, the warmth of the afternoon sun on his skin.... The level of detail in the simulation was amazing. Any of his fellow members would obviously be impressed, but as a genjutsu user Yazui understood the amount of skill, chakra control and attention for detail it took to pull something like this off as a jutsu.

A quick scan of his surroundings revealed Mizuki having spawned at a 20 meters distance from the rest of the group. This made sense seeing as it was the group versus her, although whether it was an advantage or disadvantage for her, Yazui didn't know. What little he had observed from her abilities wasn't enough to deduce what her fighting style was. He knew she had a Byakugan, which was traditionally used to supplement taijutsu. He had also seen her perform some high level sealing techniques. So in this short moment before the fight, the best thing to do would let Arantima form a strategy. He was familiar with how all of them fought.

It seemed like Kana Mi had the same idea, earning an approving nod from Yazui. Then, something strange happened. There seemed to be a slight lag in the simulation, something that could easily be dismissed as a technical error if not for Arantima's next words.

"Well shit...", Yazui thought sardonically as he nodded in respons to Arantima's parting words. While he never had any illusion of being able to win this, having Arantima guide them along would have been a welcome advantage. Now it was just the three of them against overwhelming odds.

"Give everything, don't use the seal unless you have to, expect clones. Got it...", Yazui surmised. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

With Arantima gone, Yazui would look over to Mizuki, making sure she wasn't making the first move. He would slightly alter his stature to include Mizuki in his peripheral vision. Enough to notice any sudden movements. Then, he would look from Kana Mi to Kinko, both two meters from him. "Full disclosure. I don't know much of your abilities. I am a genjutsu specialist who also uses bukijutsu. I am most comfortable at mid-range. When I'm fighting by myself, I usually employ genjutsu as a distraction while using projectiles and the like to go in for the kill. I can also summon a giant crab for defensive purposes, as well as some area-of-effect ninjutsu." He would speak in a hushed tone. Mizuki, for her part, knew little about their fighting styles (unless Arantima had clued her in), and Yazui was going to use any advantage he could get.

"If either of you has acces to some more firepower, I'll be taking on a support role and occupy her with illusions. If you don't, I'd suggest staying on the defensive and wearing her out." He would look at Kana Mi for support; she seemed reasonable-minded and he knew Kinko could be stubborn when it came to Yazui's plans. "Oh and Kana Mi. Kinko already knows this, but if I ever use a jutsu that creates a mirror, don't look into it."

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560/1232

The world stuttered. Too fast and too foreign of a concept for her to realize and pick up on as she had not really interacted much with technology during her years of wandering. She had seen it being put to use in larger and more populated villages, and they were intriguing to play with. However, it didn’t do much for someone like her, that seemed to flicker in and out of places. Either way, she blinked and her surroundings simply “unclicked” then “clicked” back together.

”That was weird,” she said to herself, though if the others wanted to comment on it they could.

Indeed. That had been odd. Moreso when Arantima phased into sight, only to tell the trio (excluding her, of course) that he would not be joining in the training. After that quick little announcement (and dare she call it - a pep talk?), Arantima's little digital copy popped out of existence. That was unfortunate, as Saya had been curious to see everyone’s fighting style.

She shifted and stepped back, listening in closely to Yazui’s given information. His fighting method was unique as he utilized illusions to make sure his weapons hit true. He would certainly be an asset in keeping Mizuki occupied while the other two exercised their jutsu to take her out. Despite not being an active participant in the event, Saya wondered how she would even contribute to the fight.

Most of her techniques were medical-based, and hardly any of her other jutsu had any power behind them. She hummed in thought, scenario after scenario of the upcoming battle began to take shape in her mind.

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WORD COUNT: 271
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 1,158 + 271 = 1,429