Welcome to Gaia! ::

Judge: "Begin when ready."

Dio Ichijin was a relatively new addition to the Gaioh scene. Having been home schooled into genin-hood, he didn't know much about those that went through the Academy. However, he was told that a genin from the Academy wished to challenge the Hanekage, and he was to be the proxy.

He thought upon this strange turn of fate as he entered the arena. When he got to the center he looked around a bit, scanning the barren features of the floor and walls. He took a deep breath and began to stretch. Small crackling sounds were heard around him as he went through the motions, as if there was burning wood nearby, but there was none.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/azureink/DioIchijin.jpg

Dio bowed at his opponent, showing the proper respects of combat taught to him by the Ichijin.

"My name is Dio Ichijin. I am honored to be the Hanekage's proxy."

He then took up a basic kick-boxing position. His legs looked like they could change position at a moment's notice. His hands were up in front of him, one closer to his side then the other.

Dio took a moment to study his opponent as he danced around. Odd that this Shin should take lightly the situation. However it would give Dio some information about his unknown opponent.

After a few minutes of circling, he decided enough time had passed. His legs tensed and he pushed off the ground, launching himself into the air. Extending his right leg, he launched a hard kick down towards the shoulder of his opponent.

As Shin's legs lashed out in a cartwheel spin, Dio moved into the attack. His own leg connected with Shin's. The muscles in both legs tensed due to the impact. But the force of the blow was reduced due to Dio's proximity to Shin's body, so that he blocked only the thigh, keeping the powerful leg from causing harm.

The jolt of a sudden stop forced both combatants to re-steady themselves. Dio dropped towards the ground and kicked off with his other leg and his arms, doing a sideways flip to move away. He stood back up into his previous pose.

Dio brought up his arms and ran at Shin for the head-to-head battle. As he neared, he shifted his legs and slid across the ground, causing a tiny dust cloud to form behind him. Dio's intent was on striking Shin's foot with a baseball-style slide.

As Shin jumped, Dio threw sand towards his face. This momentary distraction gave Dio enough time to change direction with his other hand and leg. Shin landed within an inch of Dio's outstretched leg. With his current momentum, Dio rolled several feet away before stopping.

He stood up and brought his hands together. Hitsuji, Mi, Tora... His hands made the simple signals to indicate the illusionary clone technique. In a puff of smoke, three Dios stood where there was once one. They then took up the fighting stance again.

Unfortunately nothing was casting a shadow due to the heavy cloud cover above the arena. The weather person was wrong again, fair weather was not to be seen. Dio hoped it wouldn't rain.

Each Dio took out his own kunai from a sheath attached to the left arm. With a shift of their legs, they were off. As they ran towards Shin, they shifted positions with each other, trying to throw Shin off even more as to which one to target.

The clones poofed away as they hit the mud clones. The force of the poof dispersed the wet dirt. However the real Dio was revealed as he slashed through the left most earthen copy. Dio launched at Shin with his kunai out, the tip pointing at Shin's side.