Snippet #2284292

"O-oh, hello Tsuga-san," Aoyama Tomoki greeted, rubbing the back of his neck peevishly. He was the sort who tried to get along with everyone, and usually succeeded. But when two polar opposites such as Akimoto and Miyazaki squared off, it became difficult for people such as him -- like a river with two opposing mouths, water quickly drained. Still, despite his usual friendliness with the armored-nin, Tomoki was a young man after all, and perhaps could be forgiven for ultimately siding with the young and beautiful Miyazaki in such situations.

Sugahara Matsu on the other hand, knew little of the two except for name and some reputation. "Tomo-san," he asked, "is there an established way that we deal with circumstances such as these, when two parties lay claim to leadership of a mission?" For his wide-ranging education, the fat old scholar knew little of the practical matters in these areas, loathe as he was to ever leave on such missions.

"Hai," the briefing office genin agreed, glancing between the two chunin glowering at each other -- the armored-nin as impassible as a mountain, the kunoichi as unforgiving as a thunderstorm. "A duel can be declared. Muketsu, of course." There were various levels of duels with established names and rules in the hidden village, and muketsu, or 'bloodless,' referred to one that was somewhere between practice sparring and deadly intent. For a muketsu duel the opponents were allowed the full range of their weapons and armor, but were sworn to stop short of serious injury. Still, mistakes happened, which was why muketsu duels were allowed only to chunin and jonin, and always required an impartial judge/witness.

"I dislike having to solve problems with violence," Matsu declared, rubbing the pointed beard he kept neatly trimmed on his chin. "But there is some wisdom in this, perhaps. It will be good to know what to expect of one another out on the field. Akimoto Tsugaru," he said formally, turning to the armored-nin, "unless you wish to withdraw your challenge to Mashio Miyazaki, I will be third-party to your duel." He turned to Miya, whose look was inscrutable.