HSV - Jonin Exams Test#3

The time had finally arrived and it was the beginning of the 3rd test of the Chūnin/Jōnin Exams. So far, all the participants had managed to survive both the 1st and 2nd tests of the exams and it was not easy in the slightest. The 1st test had tested a shinobi's strength and that test alone could make or break a person depending on how well the person got through the test. Most examinees had passed through with flying colors and others had suffered post-testing stress after it was over.

The 2nd test however was a bit more difficult for many shinobi to come to terms with. It was the test of character, which displayed how a shinobi should act accordingly when it comes down to making decisions in almost impossible situations. The task for that particular was to scare away the chūnin examinees during the test. Now this tested the hearts of many shinobi because they had possibly knew some of the test takers. Some were close friends, young lovers, family, you name it. Despite that, many shinobi had followed their hearts and pulled through the test as well.

Now it was the last and final part of the exam and it was one the hardest parts of the test that truly tested a shinobi's will power. It was simply one-on-one battles where shinobi fought each other, but it was more to it than just showing off your strongest skills and abilities. This last test was made to see if you could truly take down your opponent without having mixed feelings of the person that you were fighting. In the center of the arena, many of the aspiring Jōnin had knew one another and it had to be nerve-wrecking to have to fight your allies in order to reach that goal of being promoted.

As the crowd in the packed-arena cheered loudly for the event, a certain brunette had looked towards the audience and sought out people that he would looking for. After a few more moments, he smiled and gave a thumbs-up at the group of the people that was there supporting him. Sitting in the center was his parents, Sakui and Ugoki Hotokegi. Sakui had waved back at her handsome son and she pulled out a white hankerchief to dab the corner of her eyes. The high-spirited redhead was so proud to have such a wondeful and life-driven shinobi as her child.

Ugoki had nodded in approval from seeing his son down there and it had brought back some wonderful memories from when he had took the exams in his youth. He never dreamed that his son would come so far in such a short amount of time. Benkei was truly someone that was gonna surpass him in every aspect of the word. Sitting next to them was the artist/tattoo artist that he knew when he was 13, Tasshi Irezumi. The artist had knew that Benkei was an incredible shinobi with a high IQ and he knew that he will do his best infront of the entire village.

Sitting next to him was his kind-hearted ad beloved girlfriend, Kokoro Siagyo. She had participated in the chūnin portion of the exam that ended a couple of hours ago. All the chūnin participants that had competed were more than welcome to stay and watch the Jōnin one-on-one battles. Kokoro had gave Benkei a sweet smile and formed a heart-shaped symbol with her hands, wishing him good luck. The lovely kunoichi had met Benkei through Tasshi one afternoon and she considered him to be really nice. Kokoro will be cheering him and her other friends as well as enjoying the event.

The brunette had lifted his head up and gazed at the sky above him. 'Well, this is it. I never thought I would ever make to this point in my life. So much has happened during the trying times of the exams and I pulled through every last one of them. I couldn't have done it by myself, though and I thank all the people that been there for me and supported me until now. My parents...my friends...my teammates...and...' Benkei glanced over at a girl with dark brown hair and silver eyes and he saw that she was talking with Ayumi Kobiru. He smiled warmly at her and his thoughts had shifted slightly from seeing her. 'Tamiko...I really wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you. Your radiance and strength give me the strength to keep pursuing my dreams to become a better shinobi. Thank you, baby...'

“Now that everyone's here, let's start the first match!” The proctor announced and the arena went crazy wild with excitement and cheered as loudly as they could. “Benkei Hotokegi of Team 5 VS Airisu Murasaki of the merged Team 6 and 8!”

At the sound of their names, the eyes of both competitors had instantly locked on and they looked at one another with apprehension. Benkei studied the brunette to try and picture where he had seen her before while Airisu had did the same. “Everyone except for the first two competitors, please go to the upper level of the waiting hall to view the fighting from there.”

The teammates of both Benkei and Airisu had said their words of encouragement, good lucks, tactic ideas, and anything you can possibly think before they had to leave. As the remaining examinees had started to leave towards the exit, both brunettes' expressions were almost unreadable, but a second later, their lips had curved upward as they smirked deviously at each other. They were ready and itching to get their battle started.

“My baby is all grown up. Oh sweetheart, look at our son...” In the audience, Sakui was still tearing up from seeing her baby fight for the first time. The redhead had never seen her son in action and Sakui was so happy that she gonna be able to see it and that she just a very proud mother.

“I know. I couldn't be happier than I am right now.” To say that Ugoki was happy would be a slight understatement, because he was beyond elated about this event. Unlike his lovely wife, he kept his excitement to a minimum and focused on watching the match instead.

“Tasshi-kun, do you think Beni-chan can win this fight?” Unfortunately for Benkei, Kokoro had adopted the nickname that Tasshi had called the brunette with. Benkei didn't mind Kokoro or his sensei, Fei Zhang calling him that, but he got angry everytime Tasshi would address him by that. It just sounded weird when a guy called him by such a nickname.

The artist had pulled out his sketchpad and sat it on his lap with a pencil ready in his hand. “Oh, I'm sure that he'll do just fine, beautiful. Beni-chan won't lose and I'm gonna capture the best scene out of the entire fight, sketch it out, and give it to him.” Tasshi was excited that he was able to take the day and watch the exams with his sweet girlfriend.

“Oh, Tasshi-kun, you are so sweet to do that for him. He'd really love to see that...” The water-ninjutsu kunoichi had rested her head on Tasshi's shoulders and waited for the match to start.

Benkei and Airisu had looked at one another once and both brunettes smiled at one another.

“Airisu-san, let's have a good fight and give it our best shot.” Benkei stated and held out his fist and showed it to her.

Airisu nodded in agreement. “I agree, Benkei-san. Let's kick butt and make our village proud...” the bo staff user raised her closed fist and gently bumped it against his as a show of the two of them fighting to the best of their abilities and being able to bring out the best of each other in this fight.

The light blue eyes of Hikaru Kobiru had widen slightly from what Benkei had done and he immediately had knew that gesture all too well. He remembered when Benkei did the same thing for him when they had fought each other during the Chūnin exams last year. “Benkei-san is truly a man of good sportsmanship...” The brunette had said and he looked over at Fei who had simply nodded and smiled at him.

“All right! Let the first round of the Heart Shrine Village's Jōnin Exams commence!!!”

As the crowd cheered and roared with excitement, all of the examinees were watching them. The medic nin was more concerned about what was going to happen in the match. For one, Tamiko had did a pair mission with Airisu Murasaki a couple of months back. The two had gotten along fairly well and she considered her a friend. But now she was facing the love of her life on the battlefield. This could go either way for both of them. “Akiko, I'ma little worried. Even with the new ninjutsu and skills that he learned, will he be all right?”

“You worry way too much, Tamiko. He's gotten out of worse scraps than this in his life. If he can survive being on various assassin training missions and escaping from that mission from long ago, then he should be able to survive this. Benkei will be just fine...” Akiko assured herself.

The genjutsu kunoichi was hesitant to admit it, but she was a little worried about him. Akiko knew how he was in battle and his greatest strength lied within his taijutsu and intelligence. The real question was could he able to fight Airisu Murasaki? This was someone he had never met before let alone had engaged in combat with. Even through he was walking in blindly with facing his opponent, would he be able to come out as the victor?

Satu Byakko had crossed his arms and speculated the best method for this fight. 'All right, bro. You don't know much about Airisu or her strength and abilities, but please try to avoid making mistakes. If you don't, the battle will be over before you even start it. I just hope you're not crazy enough to fight with a head on frontal attack...'

Kuroku had carefully watch Airisu as she steady herself on the ground, preparing herself for the first attack for her match. This was a bit difficult for him because he knew Benkei was one of his colleagues from the Assassination squad, but he was Airisu's teammate and he knew her longer so it was only natural for him to cheer for her. He shouldn't worry about her, but he couldn't really help it. 'Airisu, you have speed and agility, but Benkei's physical strength is not to be taken lightly. Do not and I mean do not by any circumstances get struck by him...'

The tension was high and both competitors was really feeling the intensity that was sway around the battlefield. A drop of perspiration had cascaded down Benkei's face and dropped onto the dried soil. Airisu had took a small step forward and she slid her bo staff further ahead between her fingers.

Benkei started things off by doing a back flip in midair with his arms crossed above his head. Hidden between his fingertips were multiple kunai and shuriken and they gleamed from the light of the sun above them in the sky. With a precise aim, Benkei had threw the assorted weapons at Airisu to see how well she would fare against them. As they came closer to her, Airisu deflected the weapons away from her with her staff and stopped the last one that almost grazed her forehead.

Tossing the last weapon away, Airisu couldn't help but smirked at him as she watched Benkei charged ahead full force, not knowing the impeding danger. Satu had palmed his face and dropped his head, shaking it in dissatisfaction. Clearly, Benkei had just proven to him that he wasn't as sharp as he hoped he would be. Tamiko gasped, fearing that her beloved had just made a mistake on his first move while Akiko stood up and yelled, “Benkei, don't just charge in there like that, you idiot!”

Benkei charged ahead with a right punch, but Airisu easily used her staff to steer his attempt in another direction. This knocked the brunette off balance and taking this chance, Airisu attacked him multiple times with the blunt side of her staff. With each strike, Benkei was able to dodge each attack by a hair. As he regained his composure, Benkei backed away and planned to attack Airisu again.

“Look out!” The redhead shinobi known as Aiko Byakko, the Resident Trap had shouted from the upper level. He was concerned that his new friend...was about to get clobbered.

The brunette had heard Aiko's voice, but taken that second to take heed to his warning had gave Airisu the chance to close the distance between then. She was now face to face with Benkei and this notion threw Benkei off guard for a moment. The bo staff user smirked at him and stated, “I got you, Benkei-san...”

Airisu then used chakra and produced a pressure attack between the two of them and the attack had knocked the wind out of Benkei. With that distracting him, Airisu took a firm grip of her staff and she proceeded with driving the weapon into the brunette's right shoulder. Benkei had remembered too vividly about the move that Airisu was about to use and his eyes had widen in fear for what was about to happen to him...

*~0~*

A few days ago, Benkei had remembered asking the weapon master, Gosai Byakko to help him prepare for his fight with Airisu by simulated a similar fight. The redhead swordsman was not one to turn down a request for someone who had wanted a training lesson from him and he had agreed to do it.

Unfortunately for Benkei, he had no idea what he had gotten himself into.

During the simulated battle, Gosai had literally pushed Benkei to the limit by attacking him mercilessly with a steel bo that he had used for the battle. The swordsman was a very serious individual and it showed even more during a fight. The majority of the time, the brunette had spent most of his strength dodging his attacks.

It was only for moment, but Benkei felt like he was going to collapse from exhaustion and the redhead swordsman had sensed that immediately. Using that to his advantage, Gosai had zoomed passed him and he was now behind him. “Pay attention, Hotokegi...or this will happen to you!”

The swordsman proceeded to go after Benkei's shoulder behind his back...'

*~0~*

"Whoa...and I thought my speed was something unparalleled..." Raiden, the Blue Bolt was a bit surprised by how fast Airisu's attack was, but he was amazed that Benkei was quick enough to be able out maneuver her assault. Buddy, if you don't do something quickly, you'll end up losing...!'

'Oh, no...!!!' Benkei had felt the shallow side of Airisu's staff connected with his upper part of his shoulder and she started to press down on it. Being quick, Benkei had pushed himself away and he executed a back flip in order to get away from her.

The bo staff user's eyes had narrowed slightly from her attack and was miffed by the outcome from it. 'Shoot, I had missed him...' Airisu had prepared herself for next move and she eyed Benkei, who was grasping his right shoulder from her attack.

'God, that was way too close! If she had added more pressure into that attack, she would of messed my arm up! Airisu-san can disable any part of my the body with blunt force from her bo staff. I'll have to find another way around her and counterattack without being attack...' Benkei slowly stood up and he faced Airisu once again.

“Wow. He barely managed to dodged that one.” Aki had analyzed while watching the first bout of their match. That was an interesting start to say the least. “A little more to the left and Airisu would have dislocated his shoulder, rendering his right arm disabled and useless for the remaining of the fight.”

“God damn it, bro! Get with the program and fight for real!” Dou yelled out, clearly feeling agitated by how Benkei was fighting. The one thing that Dou couldn't stand was when a skilled shinobi danced around the battlefield. It irked him heavily whenever that happened and this time was no exception, especially since he knew that Benkei can fight better than what he was doing right now.

Aiko had winced and he covered his ears from Dou's excessive yelling. 'Why did I stand next to him...? I forgot how loud and explosive he is...'

“I wonder...” Fei had speculated the battle and Dou had made a valid point. Something just seemed a little off with brunette. “Tamiko, is something wrong with him today?”

“Eh? I don't think so...not that I know of...” The medic nin wondered that as well, but he seemed so driven and ready for this fight and yet...this was happening. Did something occurred before his match or was it something else? ''I hope not...'

“That move...it looked like it really hurt.” Ayumi Kobiru have had her mouth covered up until this point. She had been nervous and anxious to say anything while the battle was taking place. “What is her bo staff made out of?”

“It's made out of raffan wood.” Haru Kai had answered Ayumi's question and it had gotten all of the attention of the examinees. They were all interested in learning more the information that flower boy had bestowed them with. “Most bo staffs are made from a variety of things such as wax wood, red oak, white oak, graphite, teak wood, and the list goes on and on. A bo staff can also be made from foam rubber or even a harder substance. Luckily for him, he got hit with that instead of a metal bo staff...”

With that explanation, the aspiring examinees now had no idea how this battle was gonna turn out. One thing was certain, though and that was it could make or break them. The possibilities were now endless and anything could possibly happen between them.

Benkei knew had strength and power, but all the strength in the world couldn't help him if he couldn't read her attacks. Airisu was gifted with speed and agility, but she lacked the attack power when it came down to physical blows. This fight was not gonna be easy for either of them and they knew that. In order to do that, they were gonna have to...

Go. All. Out.

Their main ♥target♥ was getting stronger and bringing out the maximum power of their abilities. Now that they knew what they had to do, they were going to do just that.

No more holding back.

No more second thoughts.

And no more of going back on their words.

As soon as their hearts were set, both Benkei and Airisu had ascended towards one another simultaneously with their respective weapons secured in their hands: a bo staff and a pair of kunai. The two of them gained speed and when they were close enough, their weapons clashed harshly with a loud clang.

The teammates of both Benkei Hotokegi and Airisu Murasaki was amazed by how much power that they had showed during that first clash and many more had followed. Speed and strength was greatly tested that day and the fight was one that everyone would remembered...