Unexpected Encounter

[Sabaku]

Keeping with the way he had been countering, Koji remained still as he watched the boy's movements. He much preferred to fight by countering than to charge in himself, provided the situation wasn't one that required the latter.

Even so, his opponent was almost too easy to read. Showing his attack so far before he was ready to execute it? Was he really that incompetent, or was he planning something...?

But he kept coming, and just as he was about to hit, Koji braced himself - but the attack didn't come. Startled, he turned as quickly as he could, but couldn't fully dodge the unexpected blow. The Inuzuka's foot connected with his side, and Koji pushed himself backward with the impact, wincing slightly.

"It has nothing to do with my clan," he returned, his anger at underestimating the boy evident in his tone. "My strength is my own."

Now, he felt like getting a little more serious. His stance changed slightly, and he grabbed a handful of kunai, throwing them in a wide arc in front of him and immediately following the attack by darting forward behind them. Just before they would've hit, he crouched slightly, then in a quick, graceful movement sprung upward, sending another rain of the weapons toward the boy from above.

Landing behind him, he turned around, ready to follow the barrage with taijutsu.

He didn't plan on being hit again.

[Toboe]

Shirio had little time to react to the barrage of kunai that was heading towards him. He jumped over to the side and hopped back several times as the kunai hit the ground one by one. Even though his evasion was good enough to avoid the brunt of the attack, he had still been hit, forcing him to loudly yelp in pain.

"I see that you're finally taking me seriously.... Hyuuga..." Shirio stated through gritted teeth as he turned to face the other boy. He grunted and winced in pain as he touched the kunai that had hit. "Your strength is your own, huh? Odd to hear that coming from a Hyuuga." With a firm jerk, Shirio pulled the kunai from his right forearm and threw it towards his opponent's feet, sticking it into the ground with a dull thump. The sudden offensive by the other genin caught him off guard. Up until that point the Hyuuga had been mostly defensive.

Without waiting any longer Shirio dashed towards the Hyuuga, ignoring his injured arm and going in full tilt. He knew from watching other Hyuuga fight that his opponent would have some pretty decent taijutsu skills; but the Inuzuka himself wasn't too shabby in that department either. Even though he had to use his weak arm, he slashed his claws towards the Hyuuga, using his right arm to block any potential counter attacks.

[Sabaku]

For someone so angered by what Koji had said about the Inuzuka, the genin was still surprisingly quick to throw out the same toward the Hyuuga. It seemed he was intent on making him as angry as he was himself, though the reasons it worked were far different than the boy would've expected.

Seeing him as no more than the clan that he had never truly been a part of wasn't something he was going to overlook.

When his opponent attacked, Koji turned to the side, waiting just long enough to do so to get him as close as possible and earning shallow cuts on his arm for the delay. Not giving him a chance to prepare, he struck almost instantly at several points on the defending arm, intending more to weaken than to break through the defense. Without warning, he then dropped, swinging one leg up in an arcing kick aimed for the boy's legs.

He thought he knew the Hyuuga so well, but Koji had no intention of showing him just what his bloodline was capable of. He would win without Byakugan or Hakke Rokujuuyonshou.

The Inuzuka should've been grateful. At least he would walk away with his chakra flow intact.

[Toboe]

Before Shirio could stop the Hyuuga, he soon found himself hitting the ground back first with a thud. His arm felt like it was on fire, the pain pulsing all the way up to his shoulder with each heart beat. Had he lost? No, it didn't seem that way, not yet. He didn't jump up back onto his feet as quickly has he would normally, his leg obviously injured from the attack.

"You kick pretty hard for a girlie-boy." He pulled out one of his last remaining kunai and held it out with his blood-soaked arm, pointing the tip of the blade in Hyuuga's direction.

"I am not done yet..."

He rushed towards the other genin, not able to move as fast as he did before. Waiting until the last possible second, he created a bunshin and quickly zig-zagged, trying his best to confuse the Hyuuga before actually attacking, attempting to stab him in both sides of the chest, though only one would actually cause damage.

[Hiko]

Ayana watched the boys with growing disinterest. Though most would end a sparring match at first blood, she'd learned over the months that Koji-kun was not in the same category as “most people.” She rubbed at her neck, wondering when either genin would call the game over. Boys, she thought to herself with a frown, couldn't they ever be civil?

Feeling some small renewal of her abilities from the field-lounging, she decided to attempt to bring chakra to the soles of her feet. The girl fell back against the lush grass, nearly groaning at the sudden comfort gracing across her aching soles. Though chakra could do nothing to aid her shredded, torn shoes, her feet were slowly healing. This small act would surely finish depleting Ayana of her chakra reserve – but the girl didn't care. Allowing herself a wide yawn, she settled her arms behind her head as a way to prop herself up enough to continue watching the sparring boys.

They certainly were getting agitated, though, weren't they?

((I really do love how oblivious she is. <3))

[Sabaku]

He still wouldn't give up? Stubbornness could be an asset, but when it went this far, it was nothing but annoying. Koji watched the boy, mounting irritation plain on his face - he grew more reckless the longer their fight went on, and the less caution he used, the easier he was to counter.

This was becoming boring. If he couldn't provide any more of a challenge than this, their fight offered less in the way of training than if Koji had continued alone.

As his opponent neared, he moved to block, but the sudden bunshin caught him by surprise. It had been too fast; unsure of which was the real one, he was forced to take a gamble on which to counter. He turned, swinging a hand around for the Inuzuka's side, but his attack met only air as, simultaneously, he felt the bite of a kunai in his back. Cursing at the unexpected pain, he twisted, this time attempting to connect the attack that had failed on the bunshin with the boy's real body.

His weapon had hit, but had left himself too close. Koji wasn't going to lose to one wound.

[Toboe]

Shirio let the handle of the kunai slip from his hand as he stumbled back, gritting his teeth in pain as he held onto his side. He didn't count on Koji taking the blade to the back instead of the side; and the kid sure could hit hard in retaliation. With his arm and leg already injured, the hard blow to the side was about as much as Shirio could take in a fight like this.

"You...." He uttered as he shook his head side to side, wiping away sweat with his jacket sleeve. "... you... won this time. I give..."

Surrender, it was extremely hard for Shirio to swallow his pride and admit defeat, but the Hyuuga bested almost everything he had thrown at him. Without Shiromaru there was no way possible that he could continue without causing himself anymore pointless injury. It was time to throw in the towel. Letting out a long exasperated sigh, Shirio walked towards the Hyuuga and held out his left hand, since his right arm was immobilized, offering a hand shake.

"My name is Inuzuka Shirio. Lets spar again, under better terms. You're pretty tough, so it'd be fun, right?"

Shirio didn't get over his dislike of the Hyuuga boy just like that. He just thought that since the other genin could fight so well, that it'd be worth a try to con him into being a future sparring partner.

[Sabaku]

Koji regarded the boy coldly, making no move to take his hand. "Hyuuga Koji," he said after a few moments. "Maybe."

Despite what he said, he didn't have any intention of fighting the boy again. If he was going to make things so simple, it would be a waste of time. He turned away, ignoring the attempt at a handshake altogether, then began to walk across the grass, making his way to a tree at the edge of the clearing, then quickly walking up it and taking a seat on a low branch. He didn't want to return to the village yet, but the cut in his back was too deep and too fresh to continue training for the moment. If he'd used Byakugan, he wouldn't have had so much as a scratch, but...he looked down at Shirio, clearly still irritated. He wasn't worth it.

His eyes turned from the Inuzuka boy to Ayana, and from there, his thoughts wandered. Even if their team was short a member, wasn't there something they could be doing? Though they had just returned, Koji was restless. If the rumors he'd heard around the Hyuuga complex had been true, there was too much going on for anyone to sit around, didn't the Hokage realize that?

Apparently not.

He had half a mind to go do something himself, but with the state things were in, he doubted he'd get out the door before someone showed up to stop him.

[Toboe]

Shirio was taken aback by Koji's total lack of respect; at least he had gotten his name. He stood there and momentarily watched the other genin walk away before turning back towards the village. "What an ass..." The Inuzuka muttered to himself as he walked towards his backpack, picking it up and slinging it over his shoulders onto his back.

Deciding that he had enough excitement for the day, Shirio headed back towards home. His arm and leg needed some looking at before he met with his new team in a few days. "That's right!" He exclaimed in excitement. "I still have that to look forward to! Today may have been a waste but at least I got in some practice on my own." Humming happily to himself, the young genin went home, looking forward to the days to come.

(Yay short crappy post to get Shirio home =P)

[Hiko]

Ayana gaped as she watched her teammate stroll up the tree. Hadn't she spent all day working toward that very goal? And hadn't he just exhausted himself through a fight? It wasn't fair! As the other boy left in a huff, Ayana paced toward the tree in gentle steps. She looked up to the branch where her teammate sat. Wide-eyed and full of awe, she stuttered.
“K-Koji-kun?” Ayana began hesitantly, “You, ah... You climbed the tree.”

Argh! Why was it so hard to ask for help?
No, she knew why. Asking for help would likely mean she looked weak in her teammate's eyes. But if she didn't ask for aid, she'd be stuck doing the same slow-paced routine with Akemi-neechan for months. The sparring between the Inuzuka boy and Koji had proved that the Hyuuga had earned his abilities without family ties – something she'd yet to achieve. He was her better in everything, it seemed, including clan matters.
“Uhm. I'm not very good at climbing, and you're...” The next words that left her mouth came in an embarrassed rush.
“Please help me! I can't do it on my own, and you're so much better than me!”

[Sabaku]

Koji shifted his position on his branch seat, clearly irritated. It seemed he wouldn't get to return to his training, after all. What did that leave? A day of useless sitting around in the small room he called his home, while everyone of a higher station worked to prepare for war? Were genin really considered so useless?

But comparatively they were, and it took only a thought of his teammates - current and former - to see it. Little more could be said for the Inuzuka boy he had fought. Genin were handed throwaway missions for a reason; finding someone's lost cat was hardly qualification for aiding in a war, and realizing that whatever skill he possessed, he lacked true experience, only served to anger him further.

Ayana's voice from below surprised him. She rarely spoke to him, let alone went out of her way to do so; what did she want? He glanced down as she answered the unspoken question, met it with a sigh. She couldn't even climb a tree? He shouldn't have expected that much of her, but her words only further confirmed his opinion.

The boy jumped down, landing easily a couple of feet away from her, and glanced back. "I'm going home. Figure it out for yourself."

Until she learned to do things on her own, she wouldn't get any stronger, and he wasn't in a mood to deal with her.