The boy he would call rival (Ogata vs Takashi)

Takashi was satisfied with the effort so far, it was cathartic really, but perhaps the pair of them had gone a little too far this time while Ogata rolled off the side of the summon. Perhaps he had overestimated just how sturdy Ogata could be, there was enough of a gap between his opponent rolling away to when the toad was replaced with some manner of oil. Takashi had just enough time to leap away with only moments to spare, though now stuck in the air. He did his best to locate Ogata, vaguely remembering where he was last while he fell, both hands springing to life to separately form seals in sequence.

---

"Yeah good call" Sayuri had already drawn a number of her marked kunai, lodging one in the handrail beside her, though her eyes widened. "I 'TOLD you this was a bad idea" As always, the young redhead was quick on the draw, launching her kunai directly into the arena before vanishing an a flash of light. Appearing beside the proctor to grab him swiftly by the arm before popping back into the Hokage's box seats. "This idiot was about to die in there" She adds,  letting the completely disoriented proctor stumble to the ground as she made a handsign to the ANBU guard stationed around the arena. Within moments, they activated and fed chakra into the seals Sayuri had placed herself earlier, forming a sturdy, but transparent barrier around the fighting area itself.

"I don't know if I was just seeing things, but it looks like Takashi wasn't going to just avoid this one" She looked even more concerned than mere moments ago.

---

The boy finished the sequence for two of the most devastating jutsu he had in his arsenal, a mixture of fire and wind that should hopefully overpower and perhaps shield him from the incoming fireball, or it could horribly explode and vapourize them both. Regardless, he wasn't going to hold back now, not after all they'd been through. He released the jutsu at once, breathing a powerful stream of volatile chakra toward the building inferno.

What happened next was a blur, the sheer force behind their attacks collided with cataclysmic effect, beginning in a bright spark of flame before roaring into an explosion that send Takashi flying backwards, into whatever snow was left on the ground after colliding with the wall, only for that to melt too. Yato had the smarts to leave when he saw what Takashi was doing, and if he had any chakra left at all it was used to help him claw his way to his feet, burned and bruised, but apparently consious enough to slowly march through the smoke, each labored step seemingly set on taking him onward toward Ogata. He even had the strength to draw his blade, though likely lacked enough to actually swing it.

---

Sayuri sighed at the aftermath, just vanishing wordlessly to appear beside Izumi. "C'mon Slug Girl, you're coming with me" and before the girl could object she had been whisked away to the edge of the arena, on the opposite side of the barrier. "Mm, alrighty.. haven't used this one for a while" she thoughtfully tapped her chin while peering over what would seem to be a bunch of abstract scribbles.

The arena had been saved but Ogata himself was not as fortunate, his eyes stung as the mixture of smoke, sweat, and blood caked within them made it increasingly difficult to see and react to what was going on. The only thing he was sure he saw was Takashi, coming through the smoke with his blade in hand. Ogata lent the snake man a toothy grin, dried and fresh blood intermingling between his teeth and on his tongue in equal measure. As he began to stumble forward. He couldn't lose, he mustn't lose here. He had to win, he had told himself since the academy days that he would be able to do this so why was it so hard? Why was his body not his own? Why couldn't he feel his feet beneath him?

Questions for another day, Ogata had to muster one more shot. Just one more shot.

He stepped forward, forcing the remainder of his chakra into his right fist as he charged forward with reckless abandonment. Whether it was a run, a gimp-gallop or something closer to a wayward stumble was for the fans to decide but Ogata had no doubts that his gate was noticeably disrupted as his body jerked from side to side when he tried to move in a straight line. None of this mattered, he just needed one more shot. As he tightened his fist and went to lob it forward towards his rival, his future adversary Takashi he could see victory within his reach. He couldn't tell if it was his mind painting fevered illusions or if it was by some miracle a potential reality and he didn't care. He just had to take one more shot.

Ogata never noticed Sayuri stepping in to save him he never registered the flames burning out on his fist as his body tumbled forward. He never even registered his body hitting the ground before consciousness left him.

Ogata’s mind had lost the war with his body, and the last of his flames would fade alongside his consciousness.

One more shot. Just one more...

-thread exit-

Takashi's vision blurred more and more with each step, it didn't help that his glasses had long since perished of course, not that it was going to stop him now. Ogata was still heading on, ready to continue, so he wasn't about to stop now. Not until he had been declared the victor. In the final few moments of consiousness though, he saw Ogata stumble and crash, finally unmoving. "One nothing Ogata.. oh well, next time I guess" he chuckled quietly and finally came to a stop only a few strides from his fallen friend, standing perfectly still.

---

"Alright, got it!" She placed a palm on the seal and formed a strange seal with her free hand before turning her open hand. With a shimmer of energy the barrier subsided to allow the pair of kunoichi through. Sayuri opted to once again warp them across the field to the scorched center, right between the two combatants. "You get the frog boy. I think snake lad is.." she promptly tapped Takashi on the forehead, causing him to fall flat on his back into the mud. "Huh.. Well get him stable, I can only take one person at a time" She hefted the charred snake lad up and promptly vanished, leaving Izumi with Ogata for just a moment before popping back into existence.

Izumi had been practically holding herself up by her arms as she leaned over the rail keeping the onlookers and competitors apart. She couldn't stand watching this fight, especially as it took a rather drastic turn. "Stop! You're going to kill each other!" her voice was frantic as she yelled at the top of her lungs with tears forming in her eyes. Why did they have to do this? Sure, they were rivals, but they were taking it too far. Izumi's heart raced and felt as if it may deteriorate at any time. As the fight went on, Izumi would watch as catastrophe stuck and she was grabbed by an unknown lady with striking red hair. "Wait! Who are you?!" Izumi would shout as the woman touched the barrier that had protected the masses from the explosive power the two had brought. Then, again they would appear in the center of the destruction and Izumi's eyes would begin to flood with tears. She would cup her mouth in her hands as she looked between the two. "You two are such idiots! Why did you have to go this far?!" Izumi would scream at the duo knowing they couldn't hear her in the slightest. Sayuri would tell her to take care of Ogata while she took Takashi and she would do just that. Running over to his unconscious and burned body Izumi's eyes would release the overwhelming emotion from them. "Idiot. Idiot. Idiot," he would repeat placing her hands over the most fatal parts of Ogata's wounds in order to keep him from bleeding out. She would try to keep her tears from dripping onto his body, but she couldn't seem to stop from crying. "You're both so dumb. How could you make me watch that? You should have let me do this earlier. You didn't have to do that," Izumi would speak, although she knew nobody would be listening. She would continue to do this until Sayuri would return.

-Done-

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