Erika Umino, soon-to-graduate ninja in training.

"Found you!" Erika shouts triumphantly, as she strikes downward with the kunai in her fist, driving it down into her instructor's shoulder.

Of course, as always, Ishita, her instructor, has reacted with a replacement technique, and her kunai is now lodged into a block of wood.

"Nice job." Ishita calls, standing perfectly balanced on a thin branch of a nearby tree, way up above Erika. "But not fast enough. If you are this slow in the Trials, you may find yourself without a head. And even I can't heal a missing head, baka."

"I am not an idiot!" Erika screams with rage, as she launches three shuriken directly towarsd where Ishita is standing... was standing a moment ago. Instead, Ishita is now sweeping Erika's legs out from under her, and Erika has to use a ninjitsu technique of her own to not end up flat on her back.

"Sky Drill!" She announces as her body begins to spin rapidly, creating a vortex of cutting wind beneath her feet. She hopes to catch Ishita's leg underneath her...

But as always, Ishita is too quick, and moves her entire body out of range by the time that the whirlwind is fully manifested. Instead of drilling her opponent, Erika simply drills herself down into the soft soil beneath her, as she comes to a stop, the only thing she has achieved is to embed her body in the ground, up to her armpits.

Ishita shakes her head in disappointment. "Baka. You can't use a finisher technique like that unless your opponent is immobilized, or at least caught flatfooted."

"If I didn't do it, you'd have got me on my back!" Erika protests.

"If you were on your back, you could potentially have recovered. But look at you now. Completely at your foe's mercy. A woman would slice your throat, and a man... Well a man would probably find other uses for your throat."

"Eurgh! Disgusting!" Erika spits back, disgusted. "I'd never let that happen!"

"Oh? So you're not completely stuck and helpless in the ground, then, baka?" Ishita teases.

"Of course not. I can use the technique again to get back out." Erika replies instantly.

"Then why haven't you?"

"I... Err... I'm worried that my clothing got ripped down there. I want to do it in privacy." Erika lies. The real reason is that she used up a lot of her ki to perform that technique, and needs to recover for at least a minute before she can do it again.

"So, you're too proud to ask for me help? Fine, baka. You can stay like that for as long as it takes you to recover your ki." Ishita says, making it clear that she completely sees through her pupil's lies.

A flicker of doubt and concern then appears on Ishita's face.

"Wait, I've just remembered where we are. You aren't... There aren't... There's nothing happening to you right now, right?" She asks Erika with some seriousness to her tone.

"Huh? What? No? What do you mean?" Erika asks, confused.

"It's nothing. I just had to check. There are some creatures that live underground around these parts, after all. But if nothing's happening, then you're fine. I can leave you here to reflect on your own excessive ego. See you back at the village. Don't take too long, or you'll miss supper."

And with that, Ishita leaps up into the trees, and a moment later, Erika is alone.

Once Ishita is out of sight, Erika just cheks to see whether she can pull herself up using her raw strength, but finds that it's totally fruitless. She'll have to wait for her ki to return.

"AAARGH! That fucking woman! I can't believe she beat me again!" Erika pounds the dirt with her fists. "I'll never get her to stop calling me baka at this rate... And if I can't beat her even once... What chance do I have of succeeding at the Trials?!"

Erika's rage continues to simmer as she impatiently waits for a minute or so to pass.