Child of the Moon

Headhunter

Aiyanna watched her friend closely, as Aki continued to pretend she was fine. She'd noticed that her friend seemed a little... jumpy... after returning from her bathroom break followed by Kurai-sensei.

Although, he seemed completely fine, and didn't seem like he's caught her doing something weird.

Or something.

"That leaves just Aiyanna and Tenten."

Aiyanna blinked to her sensei, who was looking over at the other girl in question.

"That's right, everyone else has fought," she realised.

Her eyes flickered to the other girl. She tried to gauge the kunoichi's fighting style and preference.

"Lee was a taijutsu specialist - his attacks were best for close-range combat," she contemplated. "Neji seems to be more close to midrange combat - although, his fight with Hinata was all extreme close range... I guess I'm using Nanami as a base for that assumption. But a team that's all close-range fighters? That's extremely unbalanced."

"You're stressing yourself out," Tsukiko leaned down to whisper to her. "Relax, you're going to do just fine."

"Yeah... yeah, you're right," she breathed. "If she's more comfortable with mid to long-range attacks, then I just need to get in close. If she's a close-range fighter, then I just need to be faster..."

"Deep breaths," Tsukiko whispered.

"Win this one for Nanami," Aki grinned.

"The last match will be starting soon," the proctor announced. "Could Tenten and Aiyanna Nakamura make their way down to the arena?"

Aiyanna made her way down and smiled brightly to Tenten, who grinned back. There was a competitive edge to her gaze, but Aiyanna sensed no malice from her.

"Fair warning, I don't plan to let you win this one," Tenten said.

"Fair warning, I don't plan to let you let me," Aiyanna winked back. "Trust me, I can take your worst, but I want your best."

"Don't cry when you lose."

"I never lose," Aiyanna chuckled.

"First time for everything," Tenten's grin was becoming forced.

"I must be getting in under her skin," Aiyanna realised. "Good, I can use this. But only once I get a handle on her abilities."

Tenten suddenly leapt back, putting distance between them, as soon as the battle commenced.

"Her distance is pretty amazing," Aiyanna noted, shifting slightly into a defensive posture. "Not too close, not too far. So mid to close range?"

"I take it this will be your first time losing then?" she quipped, hoping to get Tenten to do something rash, or at least expose her prefered fighting style.

"Tch," instead of responding, Tenten leapt up, swinging her hand out.

Shuriken left her arm, and Aiyanna smirked.

Moving her arm sharply before her, the shuriken stopped short of her, as if stuck in jello, before clattering to the ground uselessly.

"So you like to keep your distance, huh?" Aiyanna grinned, moving into a stance that would allow her better speed and power. "Too bad, I like being upfront and personal."

Tenten glowered, then ran towards her left - odd choice, but Aiyanna assumed Tenten assumed that it was her weaker side, since she had used her right hand to cast her Jutsu. From there, she leapt up and spiralled with a scroll.

"No time to watch," Aiyanna moved her feet along the ground as she spread her stance. "Need to prepare, this one looks big - more weapons I'm sure."

Pressing her palms to the ground, she pushed chakra through her body - all the points that touched the ground.

"Earth Manipulation Technique: Greater Barrier!"

Stone shifted like water until it created a sturdy barrier around her. Closing her eyes, she listened as various bladed weapons clattered against the stone, soon, heavier objects striking it.

"This isn't going to hold up long enough to exhaust whatever supply of weapons she has," Aiyanna took a deep breath. "I need to move then."

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu," she murmured, sliding below the ground.

Using the earth forces, she moved around until she found the spot where Tenten landed, then reached up and dragged her into the earth. She popped out, where she saw only Tenten's head above the ground.

"Phew," she grinned. "How was that?"

Tenten struggled, but ultimately, couldn't escape.

"Ugh!"

"You know," Aiyanna picked up one of the katanas that had been thrown at her. "There's a reason this is called "headhunter" and..."

She knelt with the blade aimed at Tenten's throat, her face blank.

"I found me a head."

"I concede," Tenten grumbled.

"Thank you!" Aiyanna smiled, moving the weapon away.

"The winner is Aiyanna Nakamura," the proctor announced.

"Hell yeah!" Aki yelled from the sidelines.