Shin VS. Suzuki
With the five minute break finally over, the announcer signaled that the next round had started and the winners from the first fights were to face each other to determine the best. It started off with the first two winners: Shin and Suzuki. The dark hair woman walked up to the center of the arena, a grin reeking arrogance on her face as she already considered her opponent to be a lost cause. To start off, he was a man and more than likely straight, but he was also young and an easy prey for a viper like her. She'd wink at him once more, hoping to get an amusing reaction out of the teen.
Unlike his previous fights so far, Shin lacked his confident and cheeky grin as he entered the arena. In fact he seemed oddly nervous and worried. Aside from the initial eye contact he made with Suzuki as he entered, he attempted to bring his gaze anywhere else. After a moment he looked over his shoulder at his squad. I don't want to have to kill this woman, he thought, wishing he could say it out loud. Jaakuna probably knew him well enough to already be aware of his inhibition, but Paneru and Fujitora could figure it out quickly enough. Especially once the fight would actually start.
He returned his gaze to Suzuki. She was an attractive woman, which only made it worse. Punching her in the face was out of the question already. How am I supposed to win without hurting her? Shin began thinking, his nervous expression changing to become more serious as he contemplated. She has already seen some of my techniques. She might not fall for my Jade Crystal Prison technique. That is probably the only way I can beat her... Shin closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Only after he opened them did he get in his fighting stance. "Ladies first?" he offered, partially because he never liked attacking first and mainly because he wouldn't want to successfully strike her if he could avoid it.
A buldge of veins formed on Fujitora's forehead as Shin's behavior was beyond lacking and ridiculous for a chuunin. To think he'd have that boy high in his esteem, well at least for this squad, but this was really bad. He didn't say anything, bottling it all up for a nice night of getting wrecked by whatever substance he had in his drawer.
The feeling was somewhat mutual with Suzuki, her arrogant grin fanning into a bored frown. Was he insane or just stupid? His demeanor wasn't the same as with the puppet user from before, making her think this guy was either intimidated or sick. Nonetheless, she wanted another quick fight. She slowly walk up to him, avoiding any brutal movement to get him on high alert. "Now now boy. Just stay put." she lifted both her hands to the level of his cheeks, ready to embrace him in what seemed to be a kiss.
Goddamnit, she's going to do something, Shin tensed up, bringing his fists higher as Suzuki closed in. But still he didn't move to dodge or attack, simply preparing himself. This would be the best time to knock her out... His right fist clenched tighter once Suzuki was just out of his reach. Damnit. I don't want to hit her! He gritted his teeth and jumped away the moment she entered his effective punching range, completely avoiding his opportunity to strike. "Hey, we just met. Aren't you getting a bit pushy for a first date?" Shin joked, though he was still visibly stressed as he brought his fists up. Come to think of it, I have no idea what exactly she can do...
"Teehee, nervous are we? Young men like you are always so interesting..." this time however she launched herself in his direction, pushing the teen closer to the barrier wall if he were to be dodgy once again. Her goal would be to grab one of his wrists with her hand and keep him put this time around. She would of course keep a firm grip, but she'd refer to any means necessary in order to prevent a forced escape, namely binding his arm with a hidden shadow boa.
This woman was adamant about getting close to him. She's probably going to poison me or do some other vixen kind of attack, Shin thought, immediately jumping back when she charged this time. She must've already figured out my weakness! Shin landed close to the edge of the arena. When Suzuki caught up again he jumped backwards, completely oblivious to the forcefield behind and slamming into it. "Oh," he let out aloud, clearly surprised by his mistake.
And because of his negligence the woman had caught up and grabbed him by his wrist. His face already showed his concern. "Something is telling me not to hold your hand," Shin tried to snark, though his expression didn't match his arrogance as he tried to jerk his arm away from her. Shin was clearly bigger and stronger than her, so he didn't figure he would have a problem breaking free from her grip. Though at this point he wasn't thinking at his full capacity for the fight.
She wasn't going to let him break free no matter the reason. A hidden snake coming from her sleeve would tie itself around his forearm and slighter swiftly through the rest of his arm while tightening its grip on him only to bite his shoulder, jabbing its non-poisonous teeth into the muscle and bone. She smirked, he was right where she wanted him. Using her free hand, she'd push Shin against the invisible wall bhind him, keen on having a violent response with the arm she hadn't bound to her ability just yet. She was more than ready to trap him if he were to use any of those fancy crystal moves from before, especially with his apparent weakness to electrical shocks.
Nonetheless, with an absence of harm oriented toward her, she'd attempt to kiss him as he'd remain pinned to the wall she kept him firmly against. Shin flinched in surprise when a snake wrapped up his arm and bit onto his shoulder. Oh fuck. He crystallized his arm and neck following this, only now thinking to defend himself, though it was too late to avoid that particular snake. It was holding onto him already, so his Crystal Armor couldn't cover the spots where it's fangs had punctured his skin, instead working around it. A futile defense, now, but Shin didn't know if another snake would would attack him.
I'm probably poisoned now, Shin began rationalizing. Now I'm going to be fighting on a timer. The venom only entered my right shoulder so my left arm should be... wait... He was surprised when he was shoved against the invisible wall behind him, and even more so when Suzuki closed in. She actually trying to kiss me or is she going to bite me too? Shin's left hand balled into a fist, as if he was going to finally stop her, but his arm didn't move. On the bright side... wait, I can't be thinking like that. I'm gonna fucking die like that! Despite scolding himself internally, Shin still did nothing to stop Suzuki from achieving her kiss.
Suzuki didn't really expect this, she was waiting for him to use a technique so she could block him with her hidden asset, but alas this one was hypnotized by her actions. Kissing the boy on the lips, it didn't take ling for Shin to feel large masses squeeze through his mouth and throat, much too large and thick in layer to be simply bitten off. It felt like a snake, or more than one, was entering his body through his mouth. It was pretty much the case, using her hidden shadew snakes, she'd spawn them from her tongue and mouth and stuff them directly into him. This would not only have rabid reptiles go wild in his boy but also suffocate him with their thick bodies. She'd look directly into his eyes, hoping to see his utter shock and lack of oxygen wither every ounce of energy into nothingness. But most of all, she wanted him to die quickly, or at least have him surrdender before his body wouldn't move any longer.
For the first few seconds, Shin wasn't too adverse to the kiss. Then he felt the snakes entering his throat. Oh hell fucking no! His eyes immediately widened in surprise and panic. This is something out of a horror movie! Hell no! Shin finally brought his left hand up, placing it on Suzuki's shoulder and shoving her away from his face. Though this got Suzuki off him, the snakes coming from her mouth were still going down his. With his right arm he swung out, dragging the woman with it as she had attached herself and putting even more distance between the two.
Can't breathe! He made a coughing sound as his left hand reached up and grabbed the snakes. With a powerful yank downward he was able to forcefully remove them from his throat, tossing them onto the ground. Shin had to cough several times, feeling like he was about to puke. "What the..." He was interrupted by a few more coughs. "Actual fuck are you trying to do!?" Shin yanked his right arm hard now, simply breaking the fangs of the snake latched into his shoulder. Free from it's grip, he jumped away and pried his arm from her grip again. Blood was slightly leaking from the punctures on his skin. "That was so gross! I'm going to have nightmares about this for the rest of my life!"
Shin spit some saliva on the ground and wiped his face with his left arm. I seriously need to fight her now. If I keep being a pansy she's going to kill me. Why is it me that has to fight the hot one? His expression turned serious now as his eyes settled on Suzuki. I don't want to hit her, but I have to stop her somehow. I'll think of something. For now... His hands met together, forming the Ram handseal. The Jade Crystal Prison began to form at her feet. She had seen him use this attack on her comrade before, but it was still his best ninjutsu for containing an opponent.
"Teehee~ Try swallowing." she'd say as she was starting to get trapped. Like her opponent, she appeared a little disconnected and carefree. She recognized this technique, but even if she didn't it didn't matter. Her legs and lower body would instantly morth into a snake's form. This allowed her to swiftly slither away from the prison designed to hold her shape and she would charge right at him. Of course, at this point Shin would likely notice the dozens of puncture wounds done to his esophagus, a normal reaction from snakes being yanked out. It didn't matter all that much either as her enhanced speed and mobility allowed her to end up face to face with her opponent, five large snakes leaking out of her sleeves. He wasn't going to grab her in anyway without them jailing him beyond necessary. She wasn't going to let her prey get away after all.
She'd attempt of course to bite him by the neck as she got close. She didn't mind his armor coming forth as it wasn't required to her teeth bite in his flesh to inflict the marvelous seal she prepared for him.
What is this freaky woman? Shin scowled when she avoided his Jade Crystal Prison by transforming her body into something similar to a snake. My luck. Shin's serious expression returned as he jumped to his side, so he wouldn't be near the invisible wall anymore. He formed handseals as he moved, forming his Jade Crystal Blades on his arms again. Why is it me? Shin was surprised by her sudden speed boost, and she had closed the distance between them rather quickly again. "Sorry, but I don't want seconds," Shin stated, still devoid of his cheeky smirk.
He began swinging his blades, aiming to slice the snakes that were attempting to grab him into pieces. He didn't want to accidentally cut Suzuki herself, so he made his slashes deliberate. But he kept them wide, to ward her away and convince her to not approach further for fear of getting cut. After all this was the technique that sliced through her puppeteer partner, so she had already seen how sharp and strong the blades were. "You should keep your distance. For my own good."
She could only chuckle, even with a couple of her snakes falling as casualties to his slashes. In response to his attempt to ward her off, the snakes simply swped out a blade from each of their mouths and blocked both blades as they slashed down, maintaining pressure so they wouldn't strike again without leaving Shin exposed to being stabbed from different places. But a couple of snakes holding off blades wouldn't be enough to keep Shin off for more than a few seconds, hence the remaining other blitzing through his arms and binding them as the first one did before.
Suzuki approached him, his arms now under her dominant power and the snakes biting into his shoulders once more, ready to bite him. But this was a feint for her neck would suddenly stretch and project her head down to his chest. She'd simply stab her teeth through his clothes and attempt to get a chunk of flesh before she'd apply the secret seal.
"Why can't you listen?" Shin complained as she entangled his arms again. Though the snakes weren't able to bite through the crystal armor on his right arm, they still hade a strong grip and the ones on his left were able to latch on with their fangs. I can't do this, Shin began thinking, locking his eyes with Suzuki's. Should I just surrender? She's going to keep kicking my ass...
His expression turned serious and he gritted his teeth. But I'm not going to be known as a failure, am I? Can I really just give up? That could end up compromising the mission. That shame would hang over me for the rest of my life... Suzuki's neck extended now, moving in to bite him or something. This fight is already embarassing... His scowl vanished now, being replaced by his usual grin finally. "Sorry love. Told you I don't want seconds." Shin angled his arms to point towards her torso.
Both crystal blades disintegrated before being immediately replaced by his Crystal Lance. Both lances rapidly extended outward, to impale her and hopefully prevent her from performing whatever attack she was planning. The sudden resolve to actually fight may have caught her off guard, it was certainly a surprise to Shin too, but he showed no signs of regret or inhibition in his eyes now. He decided he wouldn't surrender. He was going to win.
She wasn't too happy with the outcome of things, Shin was getting his hopes up which was quite a bummer compared to his submissive nature. Nonetheless, she didn't stop her assault, quite the contrary, she had a defender for this kind of situation. She bit into his torso, connecting with his armor. All the while, the spears would extend in an attempt to impale her. At that moment, he could feel a powerful killing intent manifesting itself from something he couldn't see. But he could very well feel it. A large, yellow snake tail would slap the first spear with great might, causing it to crash on the other spear immediately after. Such a large member didn't seem right, if a big creature like that was hiding under her attire, she'd be at least twice her size.
Over her shoulder, the head of a large, white snake with yellow stripes would lay, its eyes piercing Shin's as its killing intent was higher than any human he had encountered. It was her guardian, the most probable reason for her lack of worry when assaulting the boy. Now that she had bit him, she retreated he head to appear somewhat normal once again. "Heh, thanks Cho. Mommy almost had a problem there. Now, try to attack me." she'd order the male, all the while caressing the creature's head. She didn't release the snakes from his arms, she was too cautious for that. But Shin would feel his body almost entirely paralysed as a seal slowly formed all around his body.
His grin vanished and he gritted his teeth in anger. His attack didn't work and she lived while also putting some kind of seal on him. Shin had been in a bind this entire fight, but it somehow seemed he was worse off now than when she tried to kill him from the inside earlier. "Be careful what you wish for," Shin responded. He prepared to break free of her grip, but his body began to weaken. He looked down, noticing the seal she had placed was expanding to cover his body. The black marks had already spread over his torso and were beginning to take his arms.
Some kind of restraining seal, Shin confirmed. He tried to move his arms again, but the paralysis seal combined with the snakes holding him in place only made it appear like he was struggling. If I could make handseals I could use that technique and end the fight now, but my choices are much more limited right now. The Crystal Lances, having narrowly missed their target from the big snake's influence, now disintegrated into a fine dust.
In the air around him, several small shuriken of crystal began to form. It was a weak attempt, and the shuriken were notably smaller and more fragile than the ones he used in the previous fight, but he had to do something to distract her briefly. A dozen or so flew at her simultaneously. Odds are she would have snakes deflect them, but the lapse in her attention was what Shin was hoping for. His Crystal Armor expanded to cover his entire body now, and he rotated his hands to grab onto the snakes that were restraining him. "How do you feel about crystals?" Shin asked, before channeling his chakra into the snakes.
The seal had him weakened, so he had no hope of entirely crystallizing Suzuki in this method, but the area he had gripped on the snakes was solidified with ease. And once they were partially crystallized it was easy to shatter them. Shin broke the snakes at their crystallized location, taking a step back from Suzuki and falling to one knee. This woman likes keeping me still. I can't run with this seal. I need to get rid of it... By now the black marks had covered his entire body.
He gritted his teeth, looking up to Suzuki. "I just had an idea," he told her, slowly forming a grin on his face. "If you don't surrender before I break this seal, you'll die. Feel like surrendering right now? Or nah?" Shin's hands clenched tightly into fists. He began amassing his chakra, trying to focus on the location where the seal was initially placed. He needed it gone, or else he wouldn't be able to form handseals fast enough later. If I can overpower her chakra with mine, I should be good. And I have some strong chakra, if I say so myself. This oughta work. The black marks on his body began reversing, declining back towards his chest as he smirked in Suzuki's direction. "Last call."
With the shurikens coming her way, she seemed pretty calm. Her snake, Cho, had wrapped its tail on one of her Tanto and used to to deflect the slower than average shuriken. It was remarkably accurate, most likely due to the creature's bizarre senses. By the time Shin had done his stuff and blathered on, she had made a single hand seal before a bright light of blue energy sparked at the end of her index and middle finger. The concentration of energy made a high pitched, ear shattering screech.
"This will kill you instantly. Or, it'll damage you enough for me to end this without a problem. You can try to break free, but.." with those words, the snake on her shoulder leapt right at him while he was still bound to the seal. It could sense the heat in his body gathering up as he was mustering physical effort to release chakra. It was something snakes could do naturaly, and Suzuki knew when her prey would try to outsmart her tools. The snake would latch its mouth on Shin's neck, the Crystal armor being too much for its teeth. But the immense force in its jaw (typical of a boa) and the demonstrated strength it had made it easy to strangle Shin while lifting him in the air. He could notice that the snake was long enough to have its body still connected to its master's. ".. You know how this goes, don't you Shinobi?" she could easily deduce he was a practicing shinobi. Only they had this type of behavior. Relatively loyal and lacking in bloodlust. She was going to fry him the moment he'd resist, going for the heart. But she left this lapse of time for him to surrender. She wasn't cruel, after all.
The seemingly defense-oriented boa reached out to attack Shin, lifting him into the air and strangling him slowly from the sheer pressure it was applying on his armored neck. I didn't hate snakes when I woke up this morning. I think I do now. Shin couldn't breathe in this state, but that didn't stop him from continuing his effort. The black marks were almost gone now, but his smirk was nowhere to be seen. He was too busy keeping himself conscious. "What gave it... away?" he snarked with effort.
Time to see if I'm worth my salt. The second he had completely overpowered the seal his hands came together in front of his chest to begin forming handseals. Five seals in rapid succession. Surely by now she would see he was in full control again and would unleash whatever kind of attack she had prepared on her fingertips. His Crystal Armor was still in great condition, and she probably knew that, so whatever it was it had to be strong for her to think it could kill him. Shin would just have to tough it out, or hope he could, as he performed the seals for his most powerful ninjutsu.
Was this guy an idiot or has the lack of oxygen disconnected him from reality? She wasn't sure. Nonetheless, this was getting stupid and she had a scroll to win. She responded to his question with a powerful lightning bolt shaped like a spear right at his chest. Electricity had weakened his armor previously, so this was going to inevitably create some interesting results. Of course, no matter the alternative, she'd maintain the lightning (unless it'd pierce him entirely, making it pointless). The Boa didn't seem to fear for its life if the lightning would travel through his body, but then again it may as well be adapted to it considering her reliancy on binding her opponents.
The bolt slammed into the center of his chest, immediately causing Shin pain as it pressed into him. His Crystal Armor barely held it for a full second before it powered through, letting out a sound of shattering glass as the lightning stabbed through him. It couldn't go completely through him, as his back was also armored. If given a moment longer it would, but it probably didn't matter too much if he was completely impaled or partially.
Shin's face contorted in extreme pain, his arms going down to his sides as he finished the handseals. But his smirk returned. Course she would have lightning. The ground around the arena was already crystallizing, rapidly growing upwards. But I got it off in time. The Crystal Encampment Wall technique, Shin's most powerful ninjutsu in his arsenal. The Crystal Encampment wall was massive, covering almost the entirety of the boxed arena and encompassing Shin, Suzuki, and her boa within. Once it covered Suzuki completely her False Darkness technique was forcibly cut off, leaving Shin with a notable hole in his chest.
But while it seemed for a few seconds that all parties were disabled by this technique, the crystal around Shin retreated enough to free him and the boa's head. His arms moved up, gripping it by it's jaw and snout. Blood was leaking profusely from the hole in his chest, even more so as he exerted strength to remove the powerful snake from his neck. It wasn't even fully removed before Shin took a deep and panicked breath, finally getting some oxygen back in his system
The crystal opened up more space, allowing Shin to fall to his hands and knees. He began coughing, splattering blood in front of him. Those snakes from that kiss fucked me up too, didn't they? Shin just now realized, before starting another coughing fit. His left hand eventually moved to his chest, specifically the hole in it. It wasn't huge, but any hole in the human body that was created artificially was bad. Particularly in the chest. That's bad. He looked up to Suzuki, who was still frozen in the position of firing a lightning bolt at him.
"That hurt. A lot." Shin got back to his feet, before pressing his hand against the crystal in front of him. "I made a little mistake. I meant to give you a little space, so you can say that you surrender. But in my panic I accidentally froze you completely. I don't think I can let you live now." Shin held his right hand back, forming the Crystal Lance again. "I already killed one woman today. This isn't gonna sit well with me, but..." He aimed his Crystal Lance at her chest again. As it expanded forward, the Crystal Encampment Wall declined around it's path. This created a hole, focused just over Suzuki's heart, exposing it to his Crystal Lance as it closed in to deal the finishing blow.
Her teeth were gritting in anger, she couldn't believe that such a technique was around. She was stuck in a rather bothersome position and it didn't help that her opponent was trying to finish her off. He may have had a trick up his sleeve, but she was also one holding trump cards. Her arms acted as though they were boneless, cracking and twisting strangely as they quickly unbound themselves from the tight crystal and retracted to her body. When returned, they simply let her snakes come out of her sleeves, in large masses. They would saturate the tight space she had, filling it in while crushing her, but her soft body ability made it feasable for her. This contorted her body away from the spear and almost flattened her to the edge.
As the spear striked a few, blood would leak, but also multiple snaked would wraped around the spear while others slithered through the hole it opened and attacked Shin directly, attempting to bite and bind him while jumping out of the opening before it closed itself.
This woman. The sheer mass of snakes prevented him from fully thrusting the Crystal Lance into Suzuki and ending the fight. Not only did they effectively block his attack they were coming straight for him. Again. "These snakes are annoying," Shin muttered as he stepped back and retracted his arm from the Crystal Lance. Judging by how she contorted her body it was likely she could fit through the hole to fight again personally, if given enough time.
Shin knew he couldn't let that happen. The space inside the Crystal Encampment Wall that had hollowed out was very small, and her restraining abilities would end him if she could get to him again. I can keep these snakes at bay, but she'll take that time to escape and win. Conventional attacks won't penetrate their mass to reach her. What would Dad do... Shin scowled. He wouldn't have put himself in this stupid situation in the first place.
The teen began forming handseals, pressing his back against the hollowed space to give himself the most distance from the incoming snakes and more time. I need to close this bag of tricks. The moment he finished the brief string of seals, he placed his left hand on the crystal behind him. By now the snakes were practically upon him, prepared to bite him and tangle him again. He only raised his right arm up as a means of defense against them, his Crystal Armor serving as his last line of defense from Suzuki's attack.
But in the small space that Suzuki occupied, the results of his ninjutsu could be seen. From the space created by retracting her body inwards, crystal spikes began to grow. The Growing Crystal Thorns technique began filling the space she left, expanding at a dangerous pace. The first of the snakes had reached Shin by the time the crystal thorns would reach Suzuki. While he was being bound and bitten by the reptiles, Suzuki was being chased by crystals threatening to impale her multiple times over. One of us will survive this...
This wasn't fun, a large amount of spikes were forming around her and she could only do so much by contorting her body to the very limits before being stabbed in various areas. But all she needed was her hands. Rapidly forming five handseals as she reached her limit, her body would be replaced with one of the snakes assaulting shit, effectively pulling off a body replacement out of that hellhole. When out, she'd immediately deliver a strong kick to Shin's abdomen so keep him away from her as she'd get her body straightened out. "Freaking crystals. You're more trouble than you're worth." she'd crack her neck, visibly annoyed that Shin wasn't dead yet and had pulled off such feats. She nearly died, however she survived without any major damage.
She was fast, to be able to pull off a body replacement before the Growing Crystal Thorns could kill her. Shin's Crystal Armor mitigated most the damage from her entry kick, but the gaping wound in his chest rung out in pain from the proximity of the strikes. Blood leaked out at an even greater rate, but it was simply pooling underneath the Crystal Armor. He clearly winced in pain, but when he looked back up to Suzuki he had a grin on his face. "I thought women loved valuable gems and crystals," he snarked. Underneath his smirk he clenched his teeth, all the while lowering his center of gravity. "Guess I was wrong."
He charged forward, wrapping his arms around Suzuki and powering through the obstructing snakes. A full-body tackle was an interesting tactic, as if he wasn't already covered in snakes he surely would be after grabbing onto her directly. His legs pushed off from the crystal behind him, using as much strength as he could muster to force her backwards. In the small hole remaining from where his Crystal Lance was supposed to kill her, the Growing Crystal Thorns were continuing to expand. While Suzuki was strong, Shin was too and he put all his remaining effort into forcing her towards the spikes coming for her back. He wasn't too concerned about hitting himself with the attack, as his spikes likely wouldn't penetrate his armor if they went completely through Suzuki. But she has pulled off several surprises in this fight. And now would not be the time for another.
"Are you stupid or is it bloodloss?" she'd ask as the male attacked her. Because he was attacking her up front, she could at least brace herself for the assault and keep her balance. She kept en eye out for those shurikens he could form or any form of crystal. At the corner of her eye she could see those same repulsive thorns coming her way. He still had chakra after tanking such a hit and using an overwhelming AoE, it stuprised her as to how unbelievable that was. Nonetheless, she still had soft physique as her weapon, almost flattening her back mucles due to her bones becoming as flexible as goo, allowing her to slide off his grip.
Quickly, she grabbed one of his arms and twisted it accordingly so she could be holding him from behind and serve as a shield for his upcoming attack. All the while, one of her snakes from the previous assault would wrap itself around the boy's neck in an attempt to strangle him once more. "Now die quietly."
Shin scowled when she slipped out of his tackle, avoiding his spikes yet again. I need some way to get a tighter grip. She is squeezing past too easily. When his arm was twisted behind him, Shin seemed surprised. She intended to use him as a shield for the Growing Crystal Thorns. "That's-" Shin was about to snark off again when something coiled around his neck, again. Why can't she just let me breath in peace!? His free hand went up to the snake, attempting to at least loosen its grip.
But while his Growing Crystal Thorns approached, seemingly about to impale him, Shin didn't even pay attention to them. Instead he rotated his captured arm's wrist, grabbing onto Suzuki's wrist and squeezing tightly. It would've been strong enough to break a normal person's wrist, but this woman didn't have that problem and likely felt no pain from it. But the strong grip served a purpose. There wasn't enough space to slide the bones in her hands through Shin's clenched fist.
The spikes diverted at sharp right angles just before reaching Shin's body, altering their path around him to continue homing in on their target. Shouldn't have interrupted me, I was about to say that wouldn't work, Shin thought smugly, though his face was starting to turn red from the snake around his neck. The Growing Crystal Thorns would stab it to death momentarily, but not before they would seek Suzuki. Oh shit... I can already feel it. I'm about out.
"Huh? Trying to trap me?" she remarked, noticing the strong grip. She was in a pickle alright, but just a small one. The simple alternative would be to stretch her arm like she'd do with her neck, and considering the small amount of time she had to react, it was her best option. The next problem would be that she'd abandon her prey to be released from her snake's grip. You win some, you lose some, she'd get over it. Using the soft physique power, she'd jump backwards to avoid the assault with her arm stretching like a serpent.
Because she cared about her arm, snakes would come out of her wrist and bind the hand that oppressed her (patriarchy), tightening and crushing it to force a release. She didn't have her hand ruined by a few spikes.
Once Shin's neck was released he gasped in some air. His grin didn't return, necessarily. But he turned his head to face Suzuki, who was still trying to escape from his Growing Crystal Thorns. A grin returned to his face, but not his usual one. The arrogance was there, but so was a new rage. There was anger on his face and a fire in his eyes. "You can keep crushing my hand," he told her, lifting up his snake covered hand. He still hadn't released his grip on Suzuki's arm, despite the devastating wringing he was receiving as punishment.
"But you can't break a Maru." The Growing Crystal Thorns continued past him, first stabbing into her hand and then proceeding to stab into her arm as the space was filled with the sharp and durable crystals. Shin could feel the pressure rising, not only from his hand that was being crushed but his chakra reserves declining. Two battles in a row using chakra freely, and in this one using the Crystal Encampment Wall, was taking its toll. As the spikes began to fill in the space between Shin and Suzuki, slowly cutting off their sight of the other, Shin chuckled to himself. "I don't feel guilty killing you anymore."
"This is stupid." she said, once again very annoyed. Grabbing her tanto with her free hand, she'd sever her trapped armed, cursing under her breath that she was an NPC, huehue. A snake would tighten itself around the stump to stop the bleeding, of course. This was going to be very simple. He was going to die soon from abusing chakra added to the blood loss he had gotten and the internal burns she inflicted. If she had simply went for stalling from the beginning, she wouldn't have to regenerate her arm after this fight. It was the price for trying to work fast. All she had to do now is create new distance between her and Shin's attack and wait for her fatal shot to end this.
Once Suzuki cut off her own arm in an attempt to further her survival, Shin lowered his and held it to his side. He didn't even let go of her severed arm, his grip was so tight on it. The snake that was crushing his hand had since been stabbed by the thorns, freeing his hand from the punishment. It was clearly red and starting to swell, possibly broken bones. "Goodbye." It was finally time to end her. She had nowhere to use Body Replacement, nowhere to run even with her ability to manipulate her body. The Growing Crystal Thorns consumed the remaining space in the pocket of the Crystal Encampment Wall with nothing left to stop them.
"This is reeaaally stupid. I give up." she put her hand up in the air, causing the force field to shatter and the fight to be officially over. She had nothing to lose, her teammates were dead and her sponsor couldn't do anything to her either. She really wanted that scroll though. But it irked her that things went this way. By obligation, Shin would have to stop in the risk of being 'disqualified', a term that could mean more than one thing in this world. She chuckled, not even adding a word to her defeat. She walked away, slowly peeling her flesh and clothes to give birth to her restored body with her arm intact. She waved her sponsor goodbye, an old man who didn't quite understand what was going on and looked more dumbfounded than angry.
The Growing Crystal Thorns had ceased almost instantly when she surrendered. Shin was bewildering, halting his assault in his own confusion. "What?" When the forcefield around the arena shattered it was confirmed. Suzuki actually gave up the fight. "What!?" he repeated, this time with rage. His face contorted in anger, but before he could do more his chakra that was maintaining the Crystal Encampment Wall ceased its flow. The crystal world around them shattered into dust, leaving her free to leave as she pleased.
"You can't do that!" Shin shouted after her, raising a fist toward her. "I was supposed to kill you! You can't just-" Shin made a hacking sound before falling to his knees, keeling over and throwing up blood onto the arena floor. She fucked me up bad. And then she just surrenders? And completely heals herself, like the fight never happened? That's not right. That's not fair. Shin remained on the floor for a moment, clutching his abdoment while he kept his forehead pressed to the ground. He was in extreme pain, but he was also in a rage. His adrenaline and desire to win was taken from him and his body noticed. "Goddamnit!!" Shin slowly lifted his head back up, looking towards his squad.
He already knew they would be mad at him. He made a fool of himself and it nearly cost him his life and the mission. And he knew right now that he wasn't behaving properly. He knew he should've just walked away and took the victory and seeked medical attention. But his anger bound him to the ring, wishing him to finish a fight that would never see its end. I can't win my next fight now... I just became useless to the team... With one final punch to the ground, Shin figured he had vented his anger enough. It took a moment to pick himself up, but he managed his way over to the rest of the team.
Shin couldn't look any of them in the eye, keeping his gaze to the ground. He had severe internal damage, he could feel it. His lungs likely had blood in them now, breathing was difficult. He couldn't feel his right hand, his neck was sore. And his energy was dangerously low, he was almost out of chakra and was certainly out of stamina. I messed up bad. Why am I so stupid sometimes? He didn't even ask Paneru to start healing him. Only after he sat down did he realize his Crystal Armor was still active. Once the transparent armor disintegrated into dust, the blood that had pooled up over the hole in his chest practically splattered onto the ground in front of him, resuming the profuse bleeding. "I..." He couldn't even finish his sentence.
