The midday sun hung overhead as Valen moved through the crowded festival streets. Various vendors and games were set up along the sides of the streets and men and women called out to people to come try their food, drink, or game. The swordsman’s black hair was down to his shoulders and his red eyes scanned the crowd idly. He wore the same kind of kimono he had been, black silk with blacksatin lining the hem and sleeves. The material gave those areas a shiny appearance and the same material was embroidered upon the back of the kimono in the symbol for Kirigakure. His weapon, the Hai no Ha, was tucked into a blood red sash he wore and he moved through the crowd enjoying the day as he looked around for something to do. Of course the festival had food, drink, and games aplenty and there were training grounds, hot springs, and other such entertainment or relaxation spots as well. For now though he found himself meandering toward the stalls with games designed with shinobi in mind.
The games ranged in difficulty to one a genin could do, and ones a seasoned jounin mind find enjoyment in. He was looking at one designed for experienced genin, or even low level chuunin. It was a coordination game that involved three balance beams. The beams went across from the front of the small building set up for it to the back and various holes were in the walls the ran alongside the outer two beams. Three thin openings went across the room from the back of the room to the front and from one side to another. One at about knee level, stomach level, and head level. The room itself was a fairly tall one in a one story building. The ceiling being ten meters high to give plenty of clearance space for a jump. The balance beams were three meters apart and the room was thirty meters long. The object of the game was to get from one end of the room, to the back of it, and back to the front without ever touching the ground. The holes in the walls on the side would fire out small foam darts and the thin openings would have horizontal wooden poles coming out that went across the entirety of the opening. That meant each opening went from one end of the room to the other, requiring either a duck or a jump, no matter which beam one was on.
One would obviously be tempted to just stay on the middle beam to allow for the most time between darts to avoid them. However one could stay on a single beam for only up to three seconds and one was not allowed to jump onto the same beam one had just left unless it was the middle one. Requiring one to jump between them. The game was a vicious little thing that required someone to pay attention to their surroundings, avoid anything that came their way, and adapt to situations on the fly. Weapons were allowed to be used to black the darts but breaking the wooden poles was grounds for disqualification. If one was hit cleanly by a pole, a dart, or touched the floor at all, they lost. One could try to game as much as they want and those who succeeded got to pick from a line of prices ranging from jutsu scrolls to large stuffed animals. The jutsu scrolls would be nothing special and the animals were simply cute and large and squishy. Valen simply enjoyed the idea of the challenge of the game.
He stood in the window, contemplating it for a time. Idly wondering if anyone would want to compete for the best time. Getting a time of thirty seconds or less allowed one to pick two prizes. But the real fun in competing was simply the thrill of competition. Which was a feeling the swordsman loved dearly. He looked around, curiously seeing who all might be around him and might want to take a turn. Groups could go into the room and were allowed to try to mess the others up so long as no harmful jutsu were used and nothing was broken. It would be fun to try, that was for sure.
[1]
The games ranged in difficulty to one a genin could do, and ones a seasoned jounin mind find enjoyment in. He was looking at one designed for experienced genin, or even low level chuunin. It was a coordination game that involved three balance beams. The beams went across from the front of the small building set up for it to the back and various holes were in the walls the ran alongside the outer two beams. Three thin openings went across the room from the back of the room to the front and from one side to another. One at about knee level, stomach level, and head level. The room itself was a fairly tall one in a one story building. The ceiling being ten meters high to give plenty of clearance space for a jump. The balance beams were three meters apart and the room was thirty meters long. The object of the game was to get from one end of the room, to the back of it, and back to the front without ever touching the ground. The holes in the walls on the side would fire out small foam darts and the thin openings would have horizontal wooden poles coming out that went across the entirety of the opening. That meant each opening went from one end of the room to the other, requiring either a duck or a jump, no matter which beam one was on.
One would obviously be tempted to just stay on the middle beam to allow for the most time between darts to avoid them. However one could stay on a single beam for only up to three seconds and one was not allowed to jump onto the same beam one had just left unless it was the middle one. Requiring one to jump between them. The game was a vicious little thing that required someone to pay attention to their surroundings, avoid anything that came their way, and adapt to situations on the fly. Weapons were allowed to be used to black the darts but breaking the wooden poles was grounds for disqualification. If one was hit cleanly by a pole, a dart, or touched the floor at all, they lost. One could try to game as much as they want and those who succeeded got to pick from a line of prices ranging from jutsu scrolls to large stuffed animals. The jutsu scrolls would be nothing special and the animals were simply cute and large and squishy. Valen simply enjoyed the idea of the challenge of the game.
He stood in the window, contemplating it for a time. Idly wondering if anyone would want to compete for the best time. Getting a time of thirty seconds or less allowed one to pick two prizes. But the real fun in competing was simply the thrill of competition. Which was a feeling the swordsman loved dearly. He looked around, curiously seeing who all might be around him and might want to take a turn. Groups could go into the room and were allowed to try to mess the others up so long as no harmful jutsu were used and nothing was broken. It would be fun to try, that was for sure.
[1]
