Oita's workship was somewhere between tidy and a tip, as it usually was. Wood shaving covered parts of the floor where he'd hurridly swept them to one side, dust seemed to float among the ceiling timbers and the single light seemed to either be too dark or too bright at the same moment. Along the walls were an array of cases, ranging from large, taking up as much room as a door and only having one draw, to small slim cases with many smaller draws. There were cabinates and hooks, scraps of parchment and slithers of leather. In one corner was a small bed, barely visable beside a massive chest of draws and the wall. That was when Oita had tired himself out, or if the thinning fumes had gotten too much.
"Come in come in"
Oita said, opening the door for Akane and Kami "I've cleaned up as best I could."
Kami stepped inside looking in awe at Oita's workshop. It certainly answered a lot of questions about why they often heard odd noises in the house.
"Bout time."
Akane said, stepping in with her hands on her hips. She walked on her toes and perched herself on a chest. "Alright- so what's the game plan, birdies?"
Very carefully
Oita sat himself down on the bed, rubbing his forehead slowly as he thought "It all depends on what the other team decides to do. We have to read their actions. They have a shadow using summoner, a fire specialist and... sound I believe it was? Shadow and fire will work together, and since he can summon things as well... I suggest attempting to overwhelm the summoner. It will severly hamper their attacks."
"As for El, something to block our ears might be a good idea too. I forget what else that kid does with his guitar..."
Akane explained.
"Master Risu and his ninja can take Hinji's cards if I summon him before he has a chance to attack."
Kami told them "I would like to see him summon with a dozen ninja squirles scurrying all over him."
"I believe Akane would be the wisest one to deal with the fire specialist"
Oita said, nodding towards her "Fire needs air to burn. If you can control the fire you can control him."
"But didn't Ishaki Sensei say that air could also feed fire and make it more powerful?"
Kami asked "Can you suck the air out of an area like that?" She asked Akane.
"Nope."
Akane said in response to Kami. "I can only redirect them. Like blowing out a lit candle." She paused, "Speaking of which- make sure your puppets don't get close to the fire. I can't guarantee that I can save 'em once they are lit."
"So it would be best to keep you away from Kano then."
Kami pondered "What about El, how are you against sound?"
"How is anything against sound?"
Akane lifted a brow. "What am I supposed to keep a sharp breeze around myself so I can't hear him? Yea... not a good thing.
"If you are confident in your abilities I do think your best match would be the fire user... Just because you can not remove the air from a space does not mean you are useless against him. After all, who is best at avoiding his attacks? Who else can cause his own fire to BLOW BACK into his face? Cause enough hesitancy for him to stop using his powers at times and we can take him out... and don't worry about the puppets"
Oita stood up, dashing over to a draw and opening it. Inside were a variety of tins, all shiny and bright as he scanned the lidless tops. After a moment he plucked one out "Those I treat with this, it reduces the damage fire does to the wooden bodies... to a point."
"That's fortunate."
Kami said looking at the treatments for Oita's puppets.
Akane lulled it over for a bit longer, "You know- I'm pretty sure El can make sonic waves with his guitar. And- I'm pretty sure that I can redirect or maybe even counter them."
Nodding slowly
Oita scratched his head "Then perhaps you should concentrate mostly on El..."
"That leaves Kano and Hinji for us."
Kami said "Who would you be most proficient against?" She asked Oita.
"Probably the summoner"
Oita admitted "He would toss the most against me and not bother with you if I attacked him solely... That and I can make it so I can battle his shadows."
"So that leaves me with Kano."
Kami gave a glancing look at Akane since she was the one who kept saying Kami had a crush on Kano. "I don't know how well I'll do against him but I'll do my best."
"Let's just hope this all goes according to plan."
Akane brought up, "They might have a different strategy and ours might be completely backfired. So we should still watch eachother's backs like in training."
"We have to try and adapt when possible"
Oita nodded to Akane and Kami "But if we strike first they won't even have a chance to challenge our plan."
Akane figured her teacher would be back any moment to alert them of the fight. She took this opportunity to stretch a bit on the floor. "I wonder if after this- we can actually do
real missions. Then again...I wonder what will happen to the loser."
"They will probably be put up against another group."
Kami observed "And until they win they won't be allowed on missions."
Oita shook his head "No, this is a display of skill and control. We could lose and still be favoured over the other team. We have to show that we are capable, nothing else."
Akane stretched some more. "Oh well that shouldn't be a problem, right?" she asked, stretching down so that her head was resting on her knee with her leg out straight.
"No weight then."
Kami observed, obviously meaning 'no pressure'.
"On the contrary, we need to show that we are a team."
Oita said, biting at his thumb as he though "We need to show that we can accept when we're being hit too much, we need to adapt."
Bringing her feet in towards her waist,
Akane cracked every knuckle on every toe, loosening them up. "If it gets too much, we could call someone else's name to come and assist."
"What do you mean?"
Kami asked, not understanding what Akane meant.
"I donno... like if you are having problems with your rival, I'm sure one of us can assist. It would leave our own rivals alone but it might be better to be able to show teamwork."
Akane explained.
"I understand."
Kami said "Was not Master Ishiaki supposed to come and collect us for the trial?"
A few hours later,
Ishiaki reappeared with a POOF! He held up his hand and smiled. "I hope you three are ready."
Oita felt like trapping his room, just so Ishiaki wouldn't wind up reappearing every time in a puff of smoke. He hadn't seen the door open...
Akane brought her leg back from behind her head and stood up, brushing herself off. She leaned back and cracked her spine three times. "Let's do it."
Kami resisted the urge to salute Master Ishiaki and gave a nod as to her readiness.
Ishiaki smiled at his squad and lead them to
the INC Battle Arena
Stumble!