Naruto Fantasy (AU) : The Rise of the New Generation

Lesli · Jul 12, 2018

[fieldbox="Operation Winter Hunters - Kumitama Team, #5900b3"] Strife and Phoenix| Akinian Empire, Tomi District of Shimoda

The Hunt is on. Operation Winter Hunters is in full swing, and the Ghost ANBU are deployed. Moving to Shimoda, the capital of the Framí province, they are informed that they will gain some support of the Grey Guard.

[ Classified information. ]

[spoili]
[ Operative's objective ]
Hunt and take down all Zealots cells and allies.
Privileges and rights of citizens and non-citizens can be overridden during Operation Winter Hunters.

[ Secondary objective ]
None so far.

[ Mission launched by ]
Lord Commander.

[ Boundaries ]
Not allowing external forces, other than assigned ones, to learn about the nature of Operation Winter Hunters. Compromising can lead to punishment.

[ Members on Team Strife ]

Leader, 'Strife' :
[spoili]
[ Real Name]
Yumi Hasewaga
[ Age ]
22 years old.
[ Expertise ]
Assassination and Infiltration.
[ Record Status ]
Served in Konohagakure Team 2 of Kanajiro Hanamoto. During this early period of Strife's carreer, she showed remarkable skill on working alone. Cold and calculated, she was recruited into the ANBU after the collapse of Team Kanajiro. In the ANBU she continued to work more on her own but eventually got assigned as supporting member for Team 4 of Kensuke Nimatsu. After the latter's promotion and assignment of becoming Team 7's leader, Strife continued to work for one mission with Team 4 as the leading figure. Publicly, this mission ended in the death of the team but all members were recruited into the Ghost ANBU.

[/spoili]

Member 'Phoenix' :
[spoili]
[ Real Name]
Tsubasa Kokoro
[ Age ]
21 years old.
[ Expertise ]
Direct combat and sensory.
[ Record Status ]
Served in Team 4 her entire time in the regular shinobi corps. Was known for her different way of combat as well the use of a form of senjutsu. Her introduction into the Ghost ANBU was rather smooth and some rumours among the Ghost ANBU is that she is one of the favourites of the Empress herself.

[/spoili]

Member 'Marker' :
[spoili]
[ Real Name]
Akitoshi Nara
[ Age ]
43
[ Expertise ]
Infiltration and counter-intelligence.
[ Record Status ]
The start of Akitoshi Nara's career began in Team 15 of Hitaka Nara. Akitoshi soon, however, managed to progress to the ANBU ranks and worked for years in the ANBU corps. His particular skill and experience were the reasons he became handpicked to become a Ghost ANBU. One of his 'feats' during his work is having worked on spying on the previous Feudal lord of the Fang Country.

[/spoili]

Member 'Rookie' :
[spoili]
[ Real Name]
Ryohei Akiraka
[ Age ]
19 years old.
[ Expertise ]
Assassination and medical ninjutsu.
[ Record Status ]
Ryohei's record isn't entirely clean. Apparently, when becoming a chuunin he made a grave mistake that led to the death of his team. While this would lead to a certain punishment, he became recruited into the Ghost ANBU for his particular abilities.

[/spoili]

Within mere seconds the tranquility of the small area was disturbed. Shadows came to live as they moved to intercept and attack their targets. The first was Strife, that weaved various handsigns. Placing both hands, after the successive handstreak, on the ground chakra would be poured into the ground.
At the same time, two shadows moved out of their positions. Phoenix would rush from around the corner, a fan in each hand. The tall young woman ran towards her nearest target and then the pace of the Ghost ANBU operative changed. In a fluid motion, the operative would lash out with a fan as she seemed to move into a deadly dance that revealed that the fans had a lethal edge. Another guard would be impaled from behind as Rookie had rushed silently out of his cover, driving a short sword into the back of his victim's neck.

The scuffle between the few guards and Alder didn't interest Yumi. Alder and his men could be smitten down by the gods for all Yumi cared. The real targets were the three hooded men that Alder had the meeting with. Stone cobbles were driven aside by sheer force of what could be described as spears of crystal springing forth from the ground. Impaling one of the hooded men, the two others were quick to react. Narrowing her eyes, Yumi would keep a close eye on the two moving targets.
Letting a few more crystal spears burst out of the ground, one of the hooded men was close of being impaled in the back. The razorsharp point of the crystal spear rushed forward, likely penetrating the man in the middle of his spine. But suddenly the crystal spear stopped growing, before it had penetrated its victim.

"That has to be the 'dead' one." Yumi thought to herself, though not being fazed by the odd scenario. "Marker, capture the other one. I will deal with the special case."
Not waiting for confirmation, Yumi would move out of her cover. Seeing how dark tendrils shot out of the shadows to immobilise and capture one of the hooded men, Yumi ignored them all. The last remaining hooded man turned around and started to make a run for it. Giving chase, Yumi flexed the fingers of her right hand.

Her target was fast. Moving through the largely deserted streets with ease and with a quick pace, Yumi had to give it her all to not fall behind the man. She wasn't entirely sure where her target was heading to. But it would be foolish to keep running after him. Because he could be leading her to a trap of his own design.
"First time I fight against a leech. Let us see what he will do against this," Yumi thought to herself. She weaved various handsignals as she kept running. Focusing on the technique, Yumi would start to crystalize the air in front of her. With a fast jump, the black boots of the ANBU operative landed on solid crystal.
Sliding over the street as she kept briefly crystallizing the ground, which would corrode within a mere second - just enough for Yumi to slide over it as she kept constantly crystallizing the ground in front of her - the young woman noticed that she was closing the distance.

The hooded enemy took a sharp right corner, into an alley that would wind up in a dead end. Following her target, Yumi would stop her crystallization skating. Appearing around three seconds later in the alley.
Staring at the hooded enemy, she considered to seal the way behind her with an earth wall. But for her plan to work, she wanted to conserve her chakra.
The hooded man turned towards Yumi as he spread his arms slowly. Revealing that he had no weapons in hand. As response, Yumi simply gestured that he should lay down. A command that was not heeded. A moment of silence passed between the two.

Both combatants moved towards each other. Unsheathing her tanto, Yumi would dodge the first punch that her enemy throw at her. Lowering herself, she aimed to use her own momentum as that of her foe's to impale him on her blade. The steel tip pierced without any effort through the layer of cloth but then hit something that was as hard as rock. The heavy vibration went down Yumi's right arm as she quickly pivoted to move out of range of another attack.
Counter-attacking, the young woman felt something. Despite being faster in reacting and thus staying out of harm's way, there was something off. It wasn't that her attacks weren't doing any damage. She had been prepared for that.
Leaning to the right, Yumi evaded a punch. In retaliation the young woman would kick her foe against his stomach. Using the force to manoeuvre herself backwards with a fast backflip.
Landing on her feet, Yumi adopted another fighting stance as he foe came at her again. Evading the next series of attacks and launching her own counter-attacks, Yumi realised what it was. Her stamina was rapidly corroding. Her eyes widened as she was just in time to avoid being grappled by her foe.

After the quick dodge, she lashed out with her weapon. The sharp steel edge sliced over the stretched out left arm of her enemy, doing nothing more shredding the piece of cloth. The mere sight of her weapon as attacks doing nothing made the hair on Yumi's neck rise. She had seen people die in horrifying manners. Men that screamed their lungs out as their life ebbed away, women crying as they realised that they were about to leave this world but the mere sight of somebody that wouldn't receive any grim wounds despite her best efforts was making her feel anxious.
Avoiding another grapple, Yumi quickly moved away from her target. Breathing heavily, she kept her focus on her enemy. Without any sign of fatigue, the hooded enemy ran at her again. Waiting for him to close the distance, Yumi's eyes narrowed. Then she came into action as she dropped her tanto.
Lowering herself, she avoided the grapple of her enemy. Placing her hands at the ground, Yumi flinched. A large amount of chakra would start to mould and the air around them would crystalize. Feeling the ice cold touch of her enemy on her, Yumi gasped but wouldn't stop her process. Within mere seconds, both Yumi and her opponent were trapped within a prison of solid crystal.

Appearing around the corner, she let out a sigh.
"Guess plan B wasn't required." She mumbled to herself. Walking towards the crystal prison that her crystal clone had made, entrapping the special enemy with her, Yumi frowned. As she had expected. One could try to leech chakra but fluid chakra such as wind, fire and water were much faster and easier to leech than solid chakra. Such as crystal.
Starting with the next phase of her plan, Yumi would pull out a tag and place it on the crystal.
"Strife. One is taken captive. Others are eliminated. The Grey Guard has arrived." Phoenix's voice cracked over the earphone communicator. "How is your status?"
"Stable." Yumi just said as she formed a seal. Blue lines crept over the crystal prison for a brief moment before vanishing into the crystal matter.

The capture of two Zealots and that 'thing' went better than expected. The Grey Guard did demand the corpses of Alder and his men and one of the zealots while they would remain content that the 'ANBU' would take their leave with their captives and another zealot. The transport of the Zealot wasn't that troublesome. A brutal and perhaps barbaric process would take part. Dismembering the legs of the man, his wounds would be quickly treated. Nobody on the team complained or frowned upon the drastic measure to prevent the Zealot's chance from running. Where he was going, he wouldn't need his legs to be useful. After the radical treatment, the Zealot would be further cuffed and gagged, to then be placed within a crate.
The special case, the damned leech, was another story. Yumi's crystal prison was slightly reduced in size to fit it in a solid cage. One with the same formula that a chakra binder had. A measure that usually was reserved for dangerous captives that had to be transported over long distances. A message was then send forward to Konohagakure, in secret code, that simply stated: Two birds caught.

As the message was send, the team made sure that they were ready to head out. Before they were going, Yumi decided to contact the Grey Guard to inform them that they could use some extra hands. Just to make sure that their 'package' would reach Konohagakure. Gaining the cooperation of the Grey Guard, however, brought up a new order. The team was ordered to head back to Konohagakure, to deliver their captives. Except for Strife. She was expected to travel to Magnhild. Alone.

"I wonder why she has to go," Rookie stated as he leaned against the wooden wall. He watched as Yumi readied herself in the room that they had rented, organising her pouches. "Isn't her Majesty at Magnhild?"

"Yes," was the short answer of Marker. The Nara seemed unaffected by the sudden change of plans. Sharpening a knife, the older man threw a glance at Rookie. "Best is to not question orders."

"Oh, I am not questioning it. I am just curious why she has to go to Magnhild." Rookie replied as he flashed an apologising smile towards Marker. "I thought that we were going to end this mission together."

"Having grown fond of me, Rookie?" Yumi asked, continuing to organise and ready her pouches. She cast a sideways glance at the young man. "Don't worry. Marker and Phoenix will make sure you get to Konohagakure."
"Damn right. I have been babysitting your grass ass for so long, I might be get the nick 'nanny'," Phoenix stated as she snickered after her own comment. "Though, I imagine that she has a reason to just summon you." A subtle emphasis was placed on 'she', which caused Rookie to frown.

"Again with the joke of the Empress? Fucking please, just knock it off." Rookie grumbled. "It wasn't funny before and won't be funny now. I imagine that it is just a simple mission that requires Strife." The young man glared as Phoenix lightly shrugged. She was about to reply but Marker spoke up.
"Rookie. We need to check on our guests again." The Nara rose up as he turned towards the door. Rookie seemed to want to say something. But a frown of the older man was enough to quell any discussion. As the two left, it remained silent between Phoenix and Yumi.

"I will make sure that the package reaches Konohagakure. I imagine that thing won't have a fun time in the Vault. Nor that zealot." Phoenix stated, her tone slightly different than before. "Could you do something for me if you are heading to Magnhild?"
Noticing the shift in Phoenix's tone, Yumi halted her activity. Turning half around, she shot a look at Phoenix. Slowly nodding, Yumi waited for what Phoenix's request would be.

"I know protocols forbid us from getting much personal items. But I have heard tales that there are some master smiths in the city of Magnhild. I might not wield the hammer anymore but if you mind, could you perhaps just get me a hammer? A simple one. A souvenir. I will pay you back later."

Yumi stared at the other for a moment in utter silence. She was aware of the rules of their occupation. Personal possessions that couldn't be used to progress an operation were considered a hindrance. And while this was also in place for the Zero Teams as regular ANBU, there was a stricter control of this rule placed upon the Ghost ANBU.
"I will find you one." Yumi said, a soft smile growing on her lips. "I am certain that I can smuggle it for you into the Vault."

Phoenix flashed a smile in return as she bowed her head towards Yumi. "Thanks. Well, safe travels, Strife."
"Same to you, Nanny."
"And just before she goes, she shows her humour. Just typical for you."

The travel towards Magnhild wasn't a difficult one. Ignoring the cold, snow and being alone, it could have been much worse. Reaching the city from the west, Yumi had little trouble off entering the city. With the papers and code answers, she could pass the guard without much trouble. Certainly not after the papers had been checked, the hidden seal of a document being scanned by a sensory technique.

Riding into the city, Yumi threw a curious glance around her. She wasn't much for doing the typical tourist things but the various landmarks that had crossed her visions did pique her interest. Making her way to the fortifications of the citadel of the city, Yumi wondered briefly on what her new assignment would be.
[/fieldbox]

Nim · Jul 14, 2018

[fieldbox="Operation Dreadful Kiss, #FFF370"]

Ino Namikaze | Akinian Empire, Frami Province, Fura

Summary

Not long after the end of the Clan Meeting, a new operation had begun. Sworn Sword Ino Namikaze makes her way towards her first destination, without any support from official sources.

[spoili]
Despite knowing she had travelled past outside the Hon lands for over a day now, it certainly felt as though she was still in the same lands. The winter in Fura was very much cold, and yet it seemed many of the people within the city were used to such weather. It made sense that it would be cold like this, as she did travel further north, and yet it appeared as though the locals had handled things in Fura in a similar manner to what she had seen in the Hon lands.

But she did not have the luxury of taking time to get a better grasp of how it all felt. Travelling to the Frami province had been done with ease, as it was still within the Akinian Empire, but to get to where she needed to get, she would need to try and find a way past the border security of the Rice country.

Ino spent some time moving between a couple of different bars, gathering information, and also looking up at people looking to hire. Even though there weren't many people who were willing to do so, some farm owners from the Rice Country had tried to use the treaty that existed between the Rice and Akino to find new workers from Akino. Most people in Frami had not needed such work, so it wasn't a very common sight to see, but attempts were still made.

Approaching the recruiter for such a farm, one that was not far from the border of the Rice and Frami province, Ino couldn't help but think the man looked a bit too fancy to be looking for people to work at a farm. Then again, maybe he thought that would be exactly what will bring people in "Hello sir. I'm looking for work and saw you are offering employment at a nearby farm?" She asked politely.

The man, looking at Ino, nodded excitedly "Yes! Yes! A nearby farm indeed! And might I say, you certainly look like someone who had done some manual labor before. Any experience in farming?" He asked, clearly willing to accept her regardless of the answer. When the answer came in a shake of her head, the man offered her a smile "No worries! It is easy to learn! All I will need is to know you have your legal Akinian identification documents. I will need to present them when we cross the border, and also that you will have them on you at all times. Any farm that hire from an outside country gets inspected every now and then, after all." He quickly stated.

Nodding to show she understood what he meant, Ino took out a few documents and showed it to him. He would quickly nod and hand them back to her, being unaware those were the documentations of a recently deceased woman. Ino bribed an official in the local area to ensure the documentation of her passing would not be processed just yet, thus giving her an identity to use for any sort of purpose, for at least a couple of days. It was always useful to have a real identity as a cover, especially if said identity had no living, or local connections.

"Very well, all seems to be in order. Tomorrow I will be heading out to the farm with an open carriage. It may get a bit crowded, since there are 7 other people you will need to share the space with, but you will need to get used to it. There are no living quarters on the farm, and you won't be allowed to sleep in the country for more than a night without having the appropriate permits, so unless you find yourself a place to stay for a night every other day, or get the permits, you will be brought back to Akino through the carriage every day and night." He explained, letting the smile and nice demeanor drop. His expression was serious now, and clearly stated 'If you misbehave, you will be in bigger trouble than what you can imagine'.

After giving a moment further to let the information sink in, he gave Ino another look "Be at the eastern gate of Fura tomorrow at 5 am exactly. Any later and you won't have a job.. We have an hour travel to the border, and then another to the farm. Work day lasts from 7 in the morning till 7 in the evening. Transport back to Fura departs at 7:30, and you may have a couple of 20 minute breaks throughout the day. When we arrive at the farm, tell them Son brought you. Any questions?"

"No questions sir. Everything is understood sir." Ino responded like an obedient puppy. Son briefly nodded before motioning for her to leave, which she did.

Arriving before time for the carriage, Ino indeed find herself in an open carriage with 7 other people. It was crowded and uncomfortable, especially since the carriage itself felt like it might break apart at any given moment. But she didn't complain, and neither did any of the other people. Son rode on the front bench, giving them all a glance every now and then.

Upon arriving at the border, Son stopped the carriage. He got off the front bench and started speaking to the border security of the Rice country, clearly on knowing terms with the people who worked there, and yet it didn't sound like it was on friendly terms. Without warning, a whistle was heard "Everyone, off the carriage! These men need to inspect your documents before we enter!" Son called out to them all. It took a couple of moments before everyone was finally off, standing in a line next to the side of the carriage.

The security of the Rice country passed on each one's document and asked questions, with Ino being the fifth in line. As the man looked at her documents, he gave her a proper look, and also asked a couple of brief questions before moving on. When they finished passing over everyone, Son instructed them all to get back on the carriage. Before they even started climbing back on, however, one of the Rice soldiers called out to them "Miss Dei, Mister Gale and Mister Celes, the three of you are requested to stay for further questioning. The rest of you are free to go." The soldier said.

Ino, who was "Miss Dei", wondered if her cover was already blown. Son got on the front bench and called out to them "If you lot follow the path and turn left at the first crossroads, that's the path to the farm! Remember that!" He shouted to them before heading out, still wanting to get there with what workers he could on time. The three of them merely looked on before Ino turned her attention to the men who appeared to examine all three.

"Now, The three of you were detained due to possible mismatch in some details. Mister Gale, you stated you were from Hofsvagr. Unfortunately, the way it is written in your documentations is off. You will need to wait with us until we can know for sure if it a mere error or not." The soldier said, and motioned to another soldier to take Gale away.

"Miss Dei," The soldier called out to Ino "You stated you only arrived at Fura not long ago. There is no indication of you ever moving outside of Takimara in your documents. Mind explaining?" He asked her, clearly wanting to detain her for any possible reason.

Looking at the ground, Ino teared up a bit "It doesn't say I moved out of Takimara because my last home was there. For the past three years I've been homeless, moving between places and looking for any jobs I can find." She answered, her expression showing she was feeling very uncomfortable speaking of this.

The soldier didn't appear to be moved in any manner, and instead looked at another soldier briefly. Turning to look back at Ino, he held his hand "I'll ask that you wait here for a bit longer." He said, and took out a small book. Ino immediately knew what the book was, and hoped her current brown hair and deceased status in the bingo book would be enough.

As the soldier turned the pages, he suddenly stopped at one. He glanced up at Ino, who just kept on having wet eyes from what she 'exposed' before, and then back at the book. After another moment, he closed the book "Well, it appears everything is in order for you. I apologize for holding you back, but we just cannot be too safe. I will inform you that staying for more than a night in our country without a permit can lead to your arrest, so make sure you get one should you decide you wish to stay." He told her before handing her a small paper of entry approval, stamped with the date and name of the soldier signing it. The paper also held the name of her cover identity.

After giving the soldier a bow, Ino finally passed the border into the Rice country. Now, she could finally make her way to her first destination, along with ensuring 'Miss Dei' will be put to rest in a proper manner.
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Gerontis · Jul 17, 2018

[fieldbox=Sword-brothers, #9a32cd]
In Magnhild, Field of Valdar.
A collab between Oblivion and Gerontis.

Summary:
Early in the morning, Koike has been 'recruited' by Aiko to give a training to the members of team 8. One by one. Starting with Kazumo Sarutobi, the two young men make full use of the training as Koike teaches Kazumo some sword techniques as the basic of chakra flow..

[spoili]
The soft crisping sound of snow crushing under his boots as he would head to the pen where they would meet, Koike carried the two heavy practice blades. Placing them near the entrance of the fenced pen, he would wait for Kazumo to arrive. He doubted that the Sarutobi didn't know or heard of the Field of Valdar. There was some consideration of how and where he would begin with Kazumo's lesson in swordsmanship. The basics would likely not be too hard, considering that Kazumo already had some experience with bladed weapons. Not to forget, he should have enough strength to deal with the heavy practice weapon, considering his first weapon of choice.

Two hours he had scheduled with Koike in what he was informed would be, Koike teaching him how to better wield bladed weapons. Something that would be a focus point since he had required his first sword from Kiyomi. He still didn't feel he deserved something of that quality yet tell her no would only make her angry sadly. It was one of her good points as well as at times a bad one. He heard of the location before yet he asked some people if he was heading in the right direction. Sure enough with some helpful people pointing the way, he would arrive at the location. Spotting Koike he would smile and wave at the man as he approached. "Kind of ironic in a way. I took you hunting and you are helping me learn how to use swords." Kazumo said giving his friend a smile.

Spotting Kazumo, Koike would wait for the other to approach. A chuckle escaped Koike as he nodded. "Aye, indeed. I guess they want you to be taught by a proper swordfighter. I don't think anybody wants you to just swing a sword and break your own wrist. Talking of swords, here," Throwing one of the practice blades up to Kazumo, Koike would nod to the heavy practice weapon. "Tad heavy. There is some lead inside the wood. To make it much heavier than a steel sword. If you can get used to that pretty lady, you can wield most swords without breaking into sweat." Opening the gate to the fenced tile, Koike gestured for Kazumo to follow him inside.

"The first thing we are going to work on is grip. I will teach you basic grips. First, the hammer. Like as if you hold a hammer or axe. Nothing fancy or complicated." Raising his own weapon up, so that Kazumo could see the firm grip, Koike would lower his hand and nod. "Try to give it a few and controlled swings."

Catching the sword with a grunt escaping him, as he tried not to drop it he would chuckle. "Me break my wrist? Here I thought this would be as easy as the draw weight on a bow was." he would joke as neither were easy to get perfectly familiar with. He would move the practice blade around noticing the weight difference. Carrying it was one thing, swinging it around would be different than his bow's draw weight. This he had to move around while with his bow it was more so a force exerting back against him. Nodding at what he said about getting use to that weight and wielding most swords would be much easier.

Following him into the fenced tile, he would be given pointers first on his grip. The first being the hammer, as Koike would then demonstrate. Copying him, he would keep the hold but the hard part would be the controlled swings. Gripping tightly he gave a swing but it was slow as he used his strength to not just send it flailing around, same would be said for the other swings that followed. Slow and easily avoidable. "Much different than shooting an arrow thats for sure."

The joke was met with a smirk from Koike. He would take a step back to give Kazumo a bit more space. "It certainly is. But it isn't as worse as I have seen with others at their first attempt." Koike replied on his turn. He would gesture Kazumo to stop as he would lift the hand in which he held the heavy practice weapon. "The hammer grip is excellent for swings. It takes some practice and getting used to the weight in order to make a proper swing. It is much like how you would swing with a longer kunai but a bit more controlled. After all," Koike would hold the weapon in a horizontal fashion. Instead of holding the weapon at the handle, he allowed it to balance on his hand.
"As you see, the balance is at the guard. A sword is a top-light weapon. Which basically means that most of the weight is down. Allowing a person to swiftly move the blade around. More control than like say, an axe or mace." Gripping the blade once by the handle, Koike would still hold the hammer grip.

"Now, you can easily apply this grip. It is certainly handy for direct or what we can classify as hard on parries. Hard on contact when the enemy lashes out and you use your blade to block the attack's path. However, with trusting? It is a bit, awkward." Performing a thrust slowly with the hammer grip, Koike would hold his arm outstretched. Using his free hand, he pointed at his wrist.
"Thrusting with the hammer grip feels weird. It is because a lot of pressure is on the wrist. With the weight folding the hand down even more, I think you can imagine what happens if I would try to trust this into some hard steel surface. And breaking your own wrist with a thrust isn't a feasible battle tactic."

He wanted to ask who would be swinging around a kunai big enough that it needs to be controlled more. Yet he figured it was more so an exaggeration at least he hoped. As he balanced it he explained that majority of the weight was at the guard as swords were top light, which made total sense as a top heavy sword might be harder to control. So more blunt and hack kind of weapons were top heavy then? While slashing ones were top light to better enable the user to slice through what they wanted? He would mentally jot that down as he gave an understanding nod to show he could continue explaining.

The hammer grip was not ideal for thrusting as it put a lot of pressure on the wrist, so coming into contact with anything solid might end up damaging it or breaking the wrist altogether. Nodding along as he would balance the practice sword he rubbed his chin a bit. "So for more blunt truama or hacking weapons, they might be top heavy for more force right? While weapons like swords which you'd want for slashing and thrusting aree top light so you can still have that weight but not have it harder to control, thus allowing you to slice more quickly right?"

"Yes and no." Was the cryptic answer of Koike. "Yes, top heavy weapons apply more force. This is because of how the weight is distributed. An axe or mace can deliver a heavier punch cause the majority of the weight is located at the top. The top is what you strike the enemy with. With a sword, this isn't the case. It is light and you can perform easier moves and be agile with it. Now, the tricky part is," Koike would change his grip. Grabbing and holding the practice sword by the blade, the handle and hilt were now at the top. "This is called halfswording. An armoured foe will be hard to cut down with a sword. So why try to tire yourself out and hope for some miracle, such as metal fatigue suddenly kicking in the opponent's armour? If you grasp the blade of your sword, you transform your weapon into a makeshift mace. And believe me, a hard knock from a guard can hurt. You can wear a helmet and padding underneath it but a hard blow from somebody that halfswords can cause dizziness or worse. So yes and no."

Yes and no? Well now that was a confusing answer yet as he would then hold the practice sword by the blade, he would tell him then what halfswording was. So turning your sword into a top heavy bludgeon weapon basically against more armoured foes. He couldn't help but smirk. "Wouldn't that technically switch it to a top heavy weapon then? Same could be said about a mace and switching that around. Although at that point you are hitting them with a really solid stick. Yet noted. Armoured foe, flip my sword around and bludgeon. I assume you only do that if you really want them dead, or have some armoured gloves so you don't slice your hand open."

"It would. But you can't do it with an axe or mace. The problem is that if you do it with an axe or mace, you can try to deliver a strike. But it will be like you hit with a small stick. The damage you inflict with halfswording or what some people call murderstroke, is not efficient with an axe or mace. That and it is not even necessary." Koike replied. The comment on slicing your hand open, Koike shook his head lightly.

"It sure seems so. To grab a sharp blade and try to swing it around as a mere mace. But unlike katanas and other Taika weapons, some designs of Chonobi swords aren't super sharp. It is because of a few things. Such as that sharp swords are more brittle. Easier to chip and thus becoming quicker to be damaged in combat. Meaning you can't parry that much or use hard deflects. That and it is not going to be that when somebody grips the blade tightly that you can just pull the weapon out of it. If somebody has a firm grip on your blade, you can try to pull but even with naked skin, it won't just slice through." He wouldn't mind showing it with a real blade but didn't deem it necessary for at the moment. "But we are derailing a bit. Let us turn to basic swings. Grab the handle with both hands. Then practice a easy swing from the left or right."

So it would be like he said, smacking them with a stick if you flipped a mace or axe around. Not ideal in combat to the death probably. Yet murderstroke was another term for halfswording? Why did he have the feeling the Agnarr called it that? "Well it would be an awkward grip anyway if you grabbed a mace by the spiked ball." Kazumo said as he had a feeling this could be a topic that could be discussed for quite the long time.

Yet even with a firm grip he felt that also depended on other factors, they were grown adults where they had the strength to boot. Pulling it from their grip would be harder than say someone with less muscle structure. He couldn't imagine a young teen keeping a tight grip on a blade if a huge brute came along. Yet as Koike said they were derailing, which they were as he had plenty of questions that were more so for information than actual use. Basic swings were next, grabbing the handle with both hands as instructed it was a bit easier to move it. Yet an easy swing to the left or right? That was it? Shrugging he would grip the handle and give a few swings to the left.

Letting Kazumo practice some swings, before he decided to gesture Kazumo to stop. "Now we can move on to countering. What I want you to do is to slowly perform a swing from the left or right. I will then demonstrate on how you can deflect and almost instantly counter attack back." Without any protective gear such as helmets, Koike hoped that Kazumo wouldn't be too eager with his swings. It would be embarrassing to explain to anybody later why one or both of them got hurt during a training.

Halting his swings when Koike made a gesture he would inform him that they would move onto deflecting and counter attacking. Being told to do a slow swing from the left or right, he would understand why slowly as they didn't want to be harmed for training. So gripping the handle he would move the sword in a slow motion towards the right.

Taking a step backwards as leaning a bit away, Koike explained what he was doing as he did so. To make it all the more clear for Kazumo. "First step is to move out of harm's way. This will make your opponent's blade to pointing almost straight towards you in some cases." Using his own blade, Koike placed it on top of Kazumo's. "The second step is to place and pressure your opponent's weapon. This disables them from just directing and attacking you again with their blade. As well as manipulating the opponent's blade."

Proceeding to orientate the tip of his sword, Koike simply moved with his hands. Stepping forwards, his blade was still locked with Kazumo's but the tip moved towards Kazumo's chest. "As you notice, I can quickly and easily move the tip of the sword that is now aimed at you. I can go for a quick stab to the chest, throat or face. All the while, applying pressure to your blade and thus preventing you from easily attacking me." Pulling his practice weapon away, Koike would nod to Kazumo. "Now you may try. Once you're ready, I will come in from the right. Repeat the steps in a slow pace."

Step out of harm's way was the first step, he would look at Koike as he explained each step as he did them. The next to place and pressure the opponent's weapon, it hinders them from directing and attacking again. Nodding along he would nod again as he did indeed notice that he could go for a quick stab but he was sure professionals in this kind of situation knew how to turn that around. As Koike pulled away and told him he could try and said he would come in from the right when he was ready. Taking a couple moments to remember each step in his head he would give a nod.
"I'm ready but I also have a question. When you said you could have done a quick stab, what if you found yourself in that situation. How do you counter it?" Kazumo asked as that seemed like it would be rather quick if there was no way to retaliate against it.

"I will teach you that afterwards." Koike replied. "There are ripostes for most moves. For now, focus on getting this technique down. Then we will move on how to counter such moves like this one. Which is called the Zornhou."
Readying his practice blade, Koike would nod to Kazumo that he would now take a swing. Doing it rather slow, Koike would make a swing to Kazumo's right.

So a way did exist, well it made sense that a way to counter such existed. Remaining at the ready, when Koike's slow swing came in from the right he would take a step backwards. First step of getting out of harm's way was done. Moving his practice sword and placing it on top of Koike's he would take a step forward moving his practice sword forward. Second step place and pressure he believe he did it right. He had to find it respectful that those who did learn the way of the sword to masterful level, remembered these steps on the fly and switched plans according to how their enemy went about it. Only then it was much faster and it wasn't ever for training.

While he performed the slow swing, Koike's attention was more focused on how Kazumo moved himself as guiding his blade. Though there would be no opponent that fought so slow and with holding so much back, Koike wouldn't put Kazumo to the test just yet. Once Kazumo had completed the manoeuvre, Koike would lower his practice blade as he spoke up. "Good. We will practice all these moves soon again. The true swordfighters don't think when they perform these moves. They train this relentless, day in and out." Remembering that Kazumo was more than likely used to, seeing he was more than a novice with the bow. A weapon that demanded dedication as well.

"Now, I am going to teach you how to counter a counter." He would produce a shadow clone. Letting the clone take a standard stance, both Koike and his clone would lock blades.
"A particular popular method that both novices as veterans use is to try to create an opening. After the blades are locked, they raised their weapon up." As Koike explained this, his clone would start to guide his own practice weapon up and forcing Koike's blade up as it would slide against the guard.

"As you notice, I can't just pull my blade back. It is too long for that and it will open me for a quick attack." Koike explained as he would nod to his shadow clone. "But in doing so, the opponent also opens a lot of their body for an attack. I can't perhaps use my sword but," Taking a step forwards, Koike would slowly place a foot against his shadow clone's lower stomach area. "It says nowhere that I can't use a kick to force my opponent back." Pushing his shadow clone backwards, Koike would quickly let his blade lower down, just patting the head of his clone with the blunt practice weapon.

"When an opponent is stumbling backwards, they can't hold their weapon stable enough to block your next attack. As you saw, my sword was already in a good position to deliver a pat. In a real battle, I would have likely been able to end a foe with one good attack. Most people don't tend to get up when a sword tries to slice their skull in half." Gesturing to the shadow clone, Koike nodded. "Give it a try. Though, don't try to destroy my shadow clone. We will need him still."

Pulling back once Koike started speaking, it felt a bit astonishing that swordfighters did this on instinct alone. The amount of time you would have to do this in practice to just do it without thinking would be such a long process. He understood why some military families trained their children from a young age at this stuff. If they knew all these steps without thinking about it, the kind of future they could have would be quite the sight to see. He felt like his archery paled in comparison to sword fighting. He after all couldn't really do these things with his weapon. Countering an arrow with an arrow was something that was almost impossible to truly do.

As he stated they would move on to countering, he would create a clone where they both took a stance. A move to create an opening as the opposer couldn't pull back as that left an opening, as Koike would then bring his foot up and push the clone back Kazumo kind of chuckled at the simple counter. He also wanted to ask if there was a counter to this counter but if Koike had to run through every counter for a counter, then this would be a several day session. Nodding at Koike's words this counter seemed easy enough to do, but that was practice for you. He had time to actually do the move instead of performing it outright quickly.

After being told to give it a try but to not destroy the clone, Kazumo would nod and would lock blades with Koike's clone. While he knew it wasn't a serious fight, something about seeing Koike, even if it was a clone, on the opposing side of a weapon brought about some nerves. As the clone would start raising it's weapon causing his to go up, he would bring his foot up to the groin and push the clone back with it. Bringing the sword down gently as he tapped it's head softly. Pulling the sword away to show that the step was completed.

Nodding to confirm that he approved of Kazumo's performing the particular move. Gesturing for Kazumo to take a step back, Koike would face his shadow clone. "This is another quick counter. It is a particular move that allowed me to end many of my foes when I had been a genin." Koike explained.

Koike would make the first move, making a swing from the right. His shadow clone would take a step back and countered the move with placing his sword on top of Koike's. "This is actually going to be both a counter and a counter-riposte." Koike explained. His shadow clone would be able to guide the point of his blade towards Koike with simply moving his sword by slightly twisting the angle. "As you notice, the point is now aimed at me. Meaning that I don't react fast enough. I get impaled. But there is a way to prevent this."

Leaning his head away, Koike kept explaining. "First it is important to move your head out of the attack's possible angle. Nothing is more annoying than to be stabbed in the face. And believe me, I know all about facial injuries," the young man half-joked. He took a step to the right. "Follow it up with a step to the side." Twisting his own grip, Koike managed to easily as smoothly guide his shadow clone's blade away. The manoeuvre was quick and seemed rather easy. Yet, without further explanation, the tip of Koike's blade was now aimed at his shadow clone's throat. Taking a step back, Koike would nod towards Kazumo. "Try it. After this, I will teach you another thing that will prove quite useful. Both for swordplay as for other matters."

Moving back as instructed he would be shown the next counter/counter riposte. Yet this sounded like a counter that if you didn't counter back would spell the end of your life if Koike killed people as a genin with it. He watched the swing from Koike as the clone would step back and place his sword on top of Koike's. The clone's would then be slightly angled so the tip was at Koike now. Which explained why it was a quick counter as you had to react quickly or die. Nodding along so far he would watch the next step of moving your head away and stepping to the side. He had to watch carefully at the next movements as Koike's blade was now at the clone's throat. Yeah this move seemed like one would need to react quickly to counter this counter or else they are dead alright.

It would be his turn though as Koike stepped away, with Koike saying that after this he would teach something useful for swordplay and other means. That in itself made him wonder what that could mean. With the clone ready Kazumo would take a swing from the right as the clone did exactly what it did with Koike, moving back and placing his blade on his. It would then angle causing Kazumo to move his head and take a step to the right. Moving the blade away, it wasn't as fast as Koike's which meant they probably could have avoided it if they wanted to, but his blade would be at the throat of the clone before being pulled away. "Guess I gotta work on speed as well."

"Mhm. But it is your first time. You are picking things up at a good pace. I bet that within a few months of dedication you will notice that you're much faster and it goes much smoother. It is just practicing, which is quite dull and tiring. But worth it." Gesturing to the various scars on his face, a smirk crossed Koike's features. "You might be able to stay more handsome than I am if you keep it up with training. Anyhow," he would dismiss his shadow clone for now.

"The next part is chakra flow. I am going to teach you the basics. The advanced steps are something that Aiko can easily teach you. If not, being able to make sure you keep improving the basics." Koike explained. He slightly raised his practice weapon. Within a second, chakra started to become visible. Surrounding the blunt blade with a light blue hue. "I assume you are familiar with this sight? Though I keep it a bit on the low. It is the concept that is important, not me showing it off."

Kazumo would chuckle at the joke of Koike's, it was preferred to not be struck in the face with a sharp object but it was the risk. "Hmm I don't know, might make me more tougher ya know? Could also be intimidating cause it means you lived while being hit in the face, can the opponent say the same? Besides aren't you a walking lady magnet?" Kazumo asked with a smirk, as he would watch the next part. Koike would raise his sword and shortly after a light blue hue would cover it, nodding to his question Kazumo would look at it as he did know about it, just never really had the need for it before. "It can extend the reach a bit right? I know certain techniques can do that, think a wind release technique does something similar to this."

"You think? Heh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. Some people tend to think you are bad at fighting cause of the scars. Many heroes aren't depicted with a face full of scars." The comment that he was a walking lady magnet caused Koike to briefly laugh, before he managed to snort it back. "Okay smartass. Let us continue."

Hearing his second reply, Koike nodded. He gestured to the light blue that surrounded the dull edge of the practice sword. "That is one thing you can do. You can also swing crescents of chakra at opponents. Or give different properties to the chakra. Using a chakra nature or a particular technique. Such as genjutsu." Koike further explained. "I need you to focus. Try to just mould chakra into your hands. Do it at a calm pace and keep focusing on it. Don't yet try to force it to imbue your practice weapon. We will come to that."

Giving an amused smirk at his comment he just nodded as he explained what else you could do with. All of it sounded like something it could do but what caught his attention was making the property of the chakra crescents genjutsu. You could swing genjutsus at people? That would certainly eliminate any counter attacks that was for sure. He would have to ask about that later on, he couldn't pass that up. Yet for now he had to go with what was being taught to him. This wouldn't be that hard though, Aiko already gave him a lesson on this in a way so moulding the chakra in his hands was something he could do without going crazy. Moulding the chakra he would have to pay attention to the next step, after all he wouldn't be sealing the practice sword now.

"Once you are moulding the chakra, try to slowly work it out. Sliver by sliver. But by doing so, try to keep it attached your hands. Much like the wall climbing technique," Koike said, hoping the hint would make it easier. "Once you feel confident, try to slowly cloak a part of your practice blade with the said chakra."

Try to work it over yet in a way keep it attached to his hands like the wall climbing technique. That was actually a really good hint, as one had to apply their chakra to whatever they wanted to climb so applying it to objects made sense. Only you tried to cover what you were attached too. Nodding he would mould a bit longer before the hilt of the practice weapon would start to glow a blue hue slowly from the bottom to the top of the guard where it would stop. "Well it won't be no crescent being thrown around but I get the gist of it. Training makes perfect after all."

Softly whistling, Koike nodded in an approving manner. Letting the blue hue around his own practice weapon vanish, he rested the blunt blade against his shoulder. "I would suggest to keep try to practice it every morning or evening. Much like with the sword techniques I have taught you, it will feel quite natural and become more smoother when you get more experienced with it." Pausing, Koike decided to bring up a question. "Any questions before I will have you practice the forms for a hour?"

That's how he figured it would go, cant master everything first try. Work would be required in most cases just to get the full result and then more training to pick up your pace. Which was how he liked it honestly. Training by himself once he knew the steps just felt easier, less distractions meant he could improve faster. When asked if he had any questions he nodded but laughed. "I do but kind of requires me to be more efficient at coating the weapon with chakra. Which is how do you change it's nature type? Is it like applying the nature type like applying yin and yang for genjutsu?"

The question didn't take much thinking from Koike to answer it. "You change it the same way you mould it. I would recommend to not focus too much on it. I am not entirely sure on how to apply earth element and how to use it. Wind is my affinity, so I could have helped you with that. But you can apply yin and yang, like genjutsu, to your chakra coating. I will see if I can leave you a technique behind before I will have to return to the east."

So his guess was correct, or at least he was somewhat right. Sadly Koike couldn't show him any nature applying as he didn't have earth element. Which was fine, he was more interested in the genjutsu coating although he should really seek out someone who could help teach him more earth elemental techniques. Yet his eyes light up at the possibility of a technique being left to him before he went east. If it was an ordinary onee then he could have easily left it with him, but the way he phrased it made it seem as if he needed to make sure with someone if it was okay.
"Well that was my main question really. Unless you want to give me a hint to what this technique is. If not I can go ahead and start practicing those forms."

"It is nothing big or secretive." Koike explained with a light shrug. He considered for a moment to show it to Kazumo. "It is a genjutsu technique that requires contact. Once contact is made the victim will start to lose sight, becoming temporarily blind when they get close to the caster. Or when they try to use to disrupt their own chakra system. In a prolonged fight that will be quite frustrating to deal with. But that will require you to get a firmer grip on chakra flow's basics." He further added. Deciding to add a question in return. "Want to see how it is like?"

A genjutsu that causes temporary blindness if they got near him or tried to disrupt their chakra system? He could see how that would be frustrating mostly if you were oriented in close quarters combat. He could already imagine ways of utilizing it in combat. Then the question he never thought he would hear came from Koike. He snorted a bit before shrugging. "Sure. I've been put through worse then blindness. I think you know that better than I though."

Letting the blunt blade lower, Koike would channel chakra through the practice weapon. The blue hue quickly shifted to black. "The color is due to the mixture of yin being much more potent. It serves quite well in dark scenarios when you want to deliver a surprise attack. Unlike many other chakra flow techniques, you won't be cut when just being touched by the chakra coat. It is simple the blade that does the actual harm. The coat will just initiate the genjutsu." Koike fully explained as he would slowly reach with the blade to tap Kazumo's shoulder. "It isn't hard to break. Either pain will disrupt the technique or having somebody not being influenced by a genjutsu, pour some chakra into your system and disrupt the technique."

Kazumo watched Koike as the blue hue of his practice blade turned black to showcase it was genjutsu. It was kind of ironic that the chakra took on the colors associated with it, but nothing was flawless in this world not even their techniques. It also made sense that this chakra flow wouldn't damage him as it was for genjutsus. As he reached out and tapped his shoulder with the blade, his vision turned pitch black as he looked around or well thought he did? He took a step back and sure enough he could feel himself move, just not see the world around him. "Very interesting. I like it… well I wouldn't want it used on me for actual combat purposes but overall it's handy. Really hinders those skilled in close combat." Kazumo said as he looked at nothing, or where he thought Koike was. "So can you break it then? I'd prefer the chakra disruption, yet I have been slapped before so I'm okay with that too…. even though you are probably stronger than she is."

Watching how Kazumo seemed to indeed turn blind, Koike remained silent. It wasn't a fun experience to suddenly lose a sense that you relied upon almost every moment of the day. Hearing that Kazumo found it very interesting briefly whipped a faint smile on Koike's lips. "You can try to disrupt your chakra. But you need to have some space between me and you first. Else it will just not work. Then there is pain. That helps too to disrupt the genjutsu. Last but not least is that an ally pours a bit of chakra into you and disrupt your chakra system." He paused for a moment. "It is certainly good at those who are quite relient on close ranged. But it also helps to create an opening for an escape. Here," raising his free left hand, Koike would snap his fingers. Dispelling the genjutsu. "I figure that you would like that over a slap. Though, who is she?"

He could try something about those words mixed with a genjutsu wasn't appealing to hear. He was certainly one of Aiko's students alright nodding in agreement though that it would benefit an escape as well, he would hear Koike's fingers snap and with such his vision. Blinking a few times at the sudden surge of light, he turned his head too look at Koike as he felt kind of dumb. "I forgot for a moment that the one casting it can release it as well..." Kazumo said feeling rather dumb about one of the basics of a genjutsu.
As Koike asked who is she, Kazumo rested the practice sword on his shoulder. "She said her name was Meilin Cho Nayami. This actually happened yesterday, it was well.. horrible at first. Found out I'm shit at talking to women. Then we tried talking again yet for some reason….. we just kept lying to each other. Like blatant obvious lies, but we kept saying them." Kazumo said with a snicker as he pointed at the left side of his face.
"I thought to listen to what everyone kept telling me about enjoying myself and grabbed her sash, you know the Hon tradition. So. She smacked me."

Listening to Kazumo's reply, Koike slightly frowned. Remaining silent, he would then burst out in laughter when Kazumo ended his story regarding why he got smacked in the face. Despite Koike knew it wasn't the nicest thing to do, he couldn't stop laughing. It took the Hon several moments before he cooled down. "Well, you tried. I guess that is already admirable. Certainly when it is about Meilin Cho. You know what is really funny? I teach her swordsmanship as well." Managing to wipe the smirk of his face, Koike couldn't but to snicker. "Still, that you got smacked is amazing. I knew she had some fire but to publicly smack a relative of her Majesty? Heh. But so, you find her interesting?"

When Koike burst out laughing he would smile at his friend as he made a bow. "Thank you, that was a one time performance you have been a wonderful crowd." Kazumo said playing it off before his smile went very serious for a moment with what Koike said. "Huh… No wonder she had a good slap to her." Kazumo snickered as he knew she was something but didn't see this coming.
"You know she is the first woman I have ever really made my own free choice to speak too, and I have never been so confused. So she smacks me right? Yet she was still willing to dance, just not by a Hon tradition. So amidst all the lies we told each other, being smacked across the face, and in the end still dancing with her. I'd say yes, she is an interesting woman."

"I try to teach how to deal damage well." Koike joked back. Upon hearing the answer upon his question, Koike briefly rubbed his neck. "Well, sometimes I don't follow women either. So that makes two of us. But if she was willing to dance and keep talking then that is a good sign." Briefly Koike considered if he should give some advice or even see if he could talk to Meilin. Figure out if she found Kazumo also interesting. "Lucky you though. Meilin is far from being an ugly duck. Might be tad fiesty. And driven for a particular goal. But not bad."

"Well shit hope you teach me that lesson too then." Kazumo would joke back as he chuckled at him thinking it was a good sign if she kept talking. "I suppose it would be. Maybe next time there will be less lies, yet somehow I feel that game won't ever end." Kazumo mentioned before his face flushed when he pointed out the obvious.
"Now I know you are saying that to mess with me. Ain't wrong though, maybe on her being a tad feisty. If you felt the power behind that slap you wouldn't say a tad." Kazumo would laugh a bit, still amused that she did that at an event with nobles and leaders just swarming the place.

"Perhaps in the future, perhaps," Koike replied, trying to hold back his chuckle. The further response of Kazumo almost caused him to laugh again. "I would never say something to just mess with you. She is a nice young lady. Is quite competent with both sword and other styles of fighting. If anything, I got nothing bad to tell you about her. In fact, I know where she is staying in the city. Do you want the address of the inn?" He asked, not hiding the smirk to see if Kazumo would say yes.

Nothing bad at all to say huh? Well this only further confused him about women but it was what it was. Yet when he said he knew where she was staying and asked if he wanted the address he raised an eyebrow. "Well as tempting as that sounds, cause we all know women dig the crazy guys. I'll have to pass on that offer." Kazumo said with a smile as he shook his head. "What about you then hotshot? What did you do last night at the feast?"

"Nothing wrong with trying but your decision." The question that Kazumo returned caused Koike to ponder for a second. "Nothing that crazy. I spoke with some people. Various thegns and hersirs. I also met up with that team member of yours. Satia? The one you called pretty." He paused for a moment. "Though we had a friendly talk. Then I parted and nothing really else than staying for some songs and drinks at the end."

Frowning at the comment of him calling Satia pretty, he would end up chuckling. "Thats gonna bite me for a while I can tell. Yet you only talked to her huh? I call bull on that." Kazumo said with a smirk before shrugging. "Yet I won't make you tell me. Besides I got plenty of time to hear you tell me some interesting stories. For now we should return to training."

"Mhm. I will help you to get a grip on the techniques this coming hour. I will hope you continue the training on your own then. Next time, I will perhaps help you to learn some more moves." Koike replied as he would nod towards Kazumo to ready himself as they would pick up for the remaining time that they had together today.
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

timv999 · Jul 17, 2018

[fieldbox=Sword Training, red]

In Magnhild, Field of Valdar.

A collab between Gerontis and Tim.

Summary:

Neji meets up with Koike at the Field of Valdar, at noon till early afternoon. Receiving some training in how to wield a certain sword, Koike helps Neji to understand some aspects of swordplay as well how to perform some moves as counters.

[spoili]

The training with Kazumo done and Koike had a hour of a break. Not that he really needed it. But it was nice to prepare for the next round of training. This time with Neji Uchiha. The boy was familiar to Koike. Remembering the Guardian entrance test, the boy hadn't performed bad but not to the standards that Koike laid to the Guardians. However, it turned out that the Uchiha had been promoted to the rank of Chuunin. Something that wasn't that surprising. Neji had some skill and with some experience, Koike was sure that he would fit in the military.

The tile, the wooden fenced pen, had been cleared out. While he had used a training dummy for Kazumo, training the Sarutobi in the art of using the sword, Koike had a different topic he would train with the Uchiha. The field of Valdar wasn't a hard spot to find and Koike hoped despite the Taika origin of Neji that he would find his way to the area. If anything, the tile amidst other training fields and tiles was near what one could call the entrance.

Neji made his way from where he and his team were staying at in the town and made his way to where he would be receiving his training that afternoon. His instructor was Koike Hon, Neji hadn't had much interaction with him besides when Neji had tried to join the guardians. In the end he was not accepted into them. Neji was upset about that, but since then he has done much better with his squad and even became a chuunin. Neji walked in to where he was supposed to meet Koike at. He saw the man and Neji made his way over to him. " Good afternoon Koike."

"Afternoon Neji." Koike replied as he nodded towards Neji. Taking a second, Koike spoke up again. "Congratulations on achieving the rank of a chuunin. But let us get started." Gesturing to the opening of the tile, thus subtly directing Neji to enter, Koike would enter once the Uchiha had entered. "I was requested to help you to become better with a particular weapon." Picking up a heavy wooden blade, Koike would flip it and hold the hilt of the blunt practice weapon towards Neji. It couldn't be longer than the average forearm of an adult man but it was quite heavy. Due to the lead that was inside the wooden weapon, serving as purpose to make the practitioner have an easier time wielding an actual combat version.

"This kind of sword is called a gladius. It is basically means blade in Yakimara. It is more or less of Tokugawa design," Koike explained as he held the other practice weapon up. "It has a sharp point. Except these practice weapons, for obvious reasons. Making it easy to stab another person. But it is quite efficient in slashing and cutting too." The Hon continued in a most casual pace. Pausing for a second, he would rest the heavy blade against his right shoulder. "How much experience do you have with wielding something longer than a kunai?"

Neji nodded his head back towards Koike as he congratulated him on becoming a chuunin. "Thank you." Neji would walk into the the opening of the tile and walk towards the back. He would turn around as look at Koike as he grabbed a large wooden blade. Neji would take the blade from Koike's hand and he would immediately feel the weight. It was much heavier and larger than the kunai's he was used to wielding. Neji would listen to Koike explain what the weapon was and some things about the weapon itself. " I have used a sword a few times with my father, but I do not have a lot of experience wielding something like this."

"Probably then a more Taika design," Koike mumbled but he would speak up a bit louder, becoming clearly audible for Neji. "It is rather simple in basics. You usually use this kind of weapon in conjunction with a shield. Hiding the weapon behind the shield," Koike would show the particular stance. "The blade moves forward when an opening is spotted. Because how it is usually used, the enemy won't have much time to react or know where the angle of the attack is going. But it can also be used without a shield."

Spinning the weapon with little effort for a round, Koike would grasp the handle firmly and hold it. He would use his free hand to point at what he was talking about.

"The design is neither truly Taika or Chonobi. See the shape? We call this a leafblade design. Cause it has a slender shape in the middle. Allowing it to cut quite well while also allowing the user to thrust quite good. Try to give it a few thrusts, like this."

Holding the blade low, just above the height of his hips, Koike would thrust the weapon forward. The heavy weight would slow the attack down and there was little to nothing flashy about it.

Neji would listen intently as Koike spoke about the weapon and its design. He would show him how it should be held and that it is usually accompanied by a shield, though sometimes it can be used without a shield. During that time Neji would slowly and casually move the gladius around to try and get a feel for the handle and a feel for the weight. It was heavier than what he was used too, but it wasn't so heavy that he wouldn't be able to use it.

Koike thrusted the weapon a few times and then told Neji to give it a try. Neji got into a proper stance before he started to thrust the gladius like he was shown. After after a few thrust Neji would look back at Koike. "How was that?"

"I have seen worse," Koike lightly jested. He would hold the weapon up and point at how he held the weapon. "You might notice that the grip on this weapon is quite different than lets say, a tanto or katana. You are forced to use what we call a hammer grip. Which makes the use of the blade quite different. When you thrust, you will notice that you can't thrust straight forward cause if you do," Koike would hold show to visualise his words, "That it feels quite awkward. It is because the pressure is down on your wrist when you try to thrust forward like when you would do with a slim blade. Such as a tanto. Instead, try to get used to the simply stab that seems to be as an uppercut. Effectively, you could also stab as if you want to deliver a hook movement, you know as when you punch."

Being quite aware that this was mandatory before they would even move on to the more interesting techniques, Koike remembered how dreadfully boring he had found the basics.

Neji would lightly chuckle as Koike made his playful joke. He would then go on to explain why one would have to thrust with an uppercut motion as compared to a straight on motion with this particular weapon. Quite frankly Neji found this to be quite dry at the moment. It all seemed very simple and boring. Neji being the good student he was though made sure he paid attention and soaked up all the information like a sponge. Neji would grip the weapon in the hammer fist style and start to thrust it upward as Koike had shown him. Neji had now gotten use to the weight and was able swing it more easily. After a few more thrust Neji would turn to Koike. " So why this weapon? Is this the common weapon used in the brigade?"

"Cause it is effective. Hard to defend in a pitched battle. Easy to produce in mass and easy to learn. You can cut, slice and pierce without usually endangering your allies when you start swinging around. Unless those allies are sitting on top of your lip. Something that can't be said for the katana. Which requires more space to swing around with." Koike answered. "As for the brigade? I assume you mean the 11th? Not sure. I serve with the 13th. It can vary a lot among units within the military but the gladii is quite common." Koike wasn't entirely content with how the swings went. But he wouldn't be too much of a perfectionist today.

Holding his practice weapon up, Koike pointed at one of the edge. The one that was aligned with his knuckles. "This counts for every sword. Katana, longsword, gladii, two-handed swords and whatever you can come up with. Some call it short or long edge but we will keep it to false and true. Now, you see that my knuckles align with this edge. The one that is not facing towards me? That is the 'true edge'." Now Koike pointed to the edge that was facing him. "And as you might have guessed, the edge that faces towards me is the false edge. Why is this important? Cause it allows me to explain things better. If I tell you to strike and when miss try to swing again, aiming to hit the opponent with the false edge, you know what to do. Now, we will move on to the blocking. Quite easy. When somebody swings at you, you don't try to just move the weapon in the path of the attack. That is called a hard block. Only favourable when you have no choice. Unless you love to feel heavy vibrations going through your arm and tiring you out. Against some weapons, it is quite dangerous. Think of a twohanded weapon which has more mass behind an attack. That is why we will practice, a soft block."

Conjuring a shadow clone, both he and his clone would take a combat stance. The shadow clone would aim to deliver a normal strike from the top. Koike would raise his blade for what seemed to be an average block. The moment that the practice blades seemed to connect, Koike stepped to the side as he used his own weapon to try to guide the weapon of his shadow clone away, from him.

"Doesn't seem that hard. But what I did was to guide the attack away. This usually leaves an opening that you can benefit from. Certainly with a weapon like the gladii which doesn't take too much space. So you basically manage to protect yourself and create an opening. Though those who are more than just middling swordfighter can realise what is happening and attempt to step away from your following up attack."

Gesturing to the shadow clone, Koike nodded. "Give it a few tries."

Neji would stand there and listen to Koike explain the different between the true side and the false side. Neji would look down at his own gladius and while Koike was explaining what the sides were, Neji would look down at his own knuckles to see that they aligned up with the one side. He figured out that, that side was the true edge and the other side was the false edge. Neji happy with figuring that out looked back on Koike as he would create a shadow clone.

Koike would explain what a hard and soft block was and then demonstrate with his clone how to do a soft block which was the more favored upon block of choice. " Okay ill give it a few tries." Neji would walk over to Koike's clone and get into a fighting stance. The clone would send a strike downwards at Neji, Neji would put up his gladius to block the attack which he did, but it turned out to be hard block and not a soft block. It was not a very heavy or hard attack so the vibrations he got on his arm wasn't too bad, but they were just enough for Neji to feel them and know that he had made a mistake.

Neji looked to the clone. " Okay I messed up that time, lets try again." The clone would swing from the side, Neji stepped off to the side a little bit and used his gladius to drive away the clone's gladius, thus making a big enough opening for Neji to counterattack. Neji would swing his gladius at the clone and stop just short of hitting the clone and dispersing it.

The fact that the first try didn't work out was no surprise. It took time and effort to make it work. After a few tries, Neji managed to get it off. It was in Koike's opinion not a perfect execution. For a start? Koike would consider it well enough. "Try to practice this. You won't be able to get anybody off with just hour of practice and training you get from me. Most people also don't move a swing that slow or with little force behind it." He assumed that Neji was aware of this but a warning within a training was never something wrong to do.

"A thing you might be familiar with is that you have no real guard." Gesturing to where a guard of a sword would usually be, Koike continued. "This means that if you lock blades for a moment and the opponent tries to slide down, you are in risk of losing a finger or two. "

Gesturing to his shadow clone, Koike and his clone would assume a standard stance. The clone would do a standard swing from the right and Koike blocked. The blades seem locked but slowly the shadow clone's blade start to slide downwards.

"Now I can do several things. I can step back or try to move to the side. Hoping that the other will try to throw in some weight to set them off-balance. Most trained opponents will, however, not just rely on brute strength. Certainly not swordfighters. Tend to be of the more agile fighters." Koike explained.

Slightly raising his blade, giving the idea that he was going to try to slide upwards in attempt to stab his clone's hand, Koike would suddenly lower his blade at a fast pace. Performing a pivot, Koike would be able to create an opening. His clone had stumbled a bit forwards. "As you notice, the sudden change result into an opening. Even the master fighters rely on reflexes and instincts. Thinking during fighting? Hard to do." Koike explained as he would lower his practice blade. A more grim expression had briefly taken hold off Koike's features before he gestured to Neji to give it a try. "Give it a try."

It wasn't perfect but it was start, and considering Neji had never used this weapon before. He thought that he was doing decently well. He would absolutely have to practice more with this weapon on his own time, but for now it was a start.

Koike would point down to where the guard of a sword would be, Neji would look down at his own weapon. That was one of the first things Neji noticed about the weapon, there was no guard on it at all, making it very easy for someone to lose a finger during combat.

Neji would watch Koike and his clone duel again and Koike would show him how to counter some of that problem. "Okay I'll give it a shot."

Neji would step up to the clone and get into a stance, the two would then lock blades and stand there for a moment before the clone's blade started to move downwards on Neji's blade towards his fingers. Neji would shift to the side, it wasn't as smooth as he wanted it to be, but he was able to get the clone to stumble a little bit and create an opening for Neji to strike. " I'm sure a very experienced swordsman wouldn't easily fall for something like that, what if trying to step back or to the side does not work?"

"If you are facing an experienced swordsman, I hope you can make use of your sharingan. If that won't aid you enough then I hope you got a shield." Was Koike's first reply. Pausing for a moment, he would continue his answer. "In case your opponent doesn't fall for it and tries to follow up with an attack, you simply try to parry it. Move your weapon then once more into the line of the attack and attempt the same again.Then again, no need to yet worry about fighting a very experienced swordsman. That is something you can worry about once you mastered the basics." Waiting, he would see if Neji had any other questions before they would continue to the last point of this part of training.

Neji listened to Koike's answer which he felt was right on. Neji would be able to use his sharingan to predict the attacks of his enemy, it would then be up to Neji to make sure he was fast enough to block or dodge them. Neji shook his head to let Koike know he understood.

"Good. Then now we will just have to keep practicing till you got them somewhat memorized. You will need to keep practicing to the point that the moves become more of reflexes than planned actions." Koike instructed as he would pick up the training further with Neji.

[/spoili]

[/fieldbox]

Oblivion666 · Jul 18, 2018

[fieldbox="Void part 2, #9a32cd, solid"]

A collab done by Lesli and Oblivion
Summary: After having trained with Koike, it was now time to train with Aiko. Where she would continue his training on teaching him how to enter the Void.

[spoili]

The next training was scheduled with a hour interval. Allowing Aiko take a small break. There wasn't much material that she needed to set ready for what she would train with Kazumo. If anything, she just needed to be certain that nobody would bother them. For she wagered that this would require all of Kazumo's concentration. With the windows and curtain shut, there was barely any light going into the room. There was a can with water and three mugs. Filling one of the mugs with water, Aiko took a small sip as she considered once more how they would approach this training.

Waiting for his scheduled time for training with Aiko was oddly making him rather impatient. Something not much like him as he was trained and taught to be patient, maybe he had grown to enjoy these trainings to much. They usually messed with him quite often or frightened him ever so, yet he always enjoyed them and looked forward to the next one even knowing that possible mind torture awaited him. So when it was nearing his turn he took off in a hurry to where he was told to meet his sensei at.

Coming to a halt at the door he would knock before opening it to gaze inside and see that atmosphere to be rather dim. Hardly any light was coming in and the most was coming in through the open door. Entering the room and closing the door behind him, he would carefully walk further into the room. He was indeed terrified now. "Hello sensei. How are you today?"

"Hey Kazumo," Aiko replied back. She flashed a smile after her greeting. "I am doing fine. Just busy to make sure that you guys are somewhat better trained after today." Waiting for the door to be closed, she would drop her arms that she held crossed out front of her chest. "Today's training is going to be somewhat exhausting. But let us start with warming up."

Producing a small scroll from a pouch, she would throw it up towards Kazumo. The content was empty. Picking out a pencil and a small ink vial, Aiko would take some steps towards the Sarutobi. Offering him the two objects. "Try to seal a kunai for me."

Exhausting huh? In this room? He briefly wondered what kind of training would be held in a room that was dimly lit like this one. No sooner did he wonder that it would be answered when she tossed a small scroll at him. Opening it to see it blank, he would look at his senses confused at the empty scroll until he saw what she was handing him. She wanted him to create the seal from memory. That would explain why she wanted him to remember it now.

Laying the scroll down and taking the pencil and ink from her, he would sit down and would squint at the paper. He saw the challenge in not messing the seal up. Taking extra time to go slowly and remember the seal off the top of his head. It would take several minutes as he checked rather closely in the dark if it was correct. From what he saw it looked right. Placing a lunar on the seal he would apply some chakra and in a poof the kunai vanished. Smiling a bit he would look at his senses as if to ask what the next step was.

She approved that he took the time. Watching how Kazumo performed the rather easy step, she nodded. "Good. So that is done. Time for the more complicated matter." Aiko explained. She pointed to the kunai he had sealed. "Now, we are going to try to make it vanish it into the Void. The procedure is almost the same. The only major differences are the way you mould chakra. You see, you need to see it as the following."

Kneeling down, she would reverse the scrolls so she could use the blank page. Drawing two circles that overlapped a bit, she would mark one circle with a '1'. And the other with a '2'. "When you seal or unseal something, you could say that they go here," Aiko pointed to the places where the circles overlapped. "But now we want to go from circle '1' to circle '2'. I could just show you the handsigns but there is more to it." Aiko explained. She paused for a moment to let the information sink in.

"Essentially the technique isn't more than forming a bridge. You move through the line over this overlapping area, through the barriers to create a bridge. A rift to the Void." The jounin would stop to see if he understood what they would attempt today.

The complicated matter almost made him chuckle, it made him wonder how much of a step up this was going to be. When she said they were going to send the kunai to the Void, it would be a huge step up. She would make two circles which overlapped one another. The objective was that the kunai was in the overlapping part while they wanted to get from the first circle to the second. He scratched his head a bit as he tried to process it in his head. "So how does one go about creating the bridge? Moving through the line sounds tricky enough but making a bridge?"

"By using the Rift technique. You must first understand how the bridge is formed. Without that knowledge, you can try to use the handsignals but you won't be able to perform the technique. Call it a, fail safe. One that many Hidden techniques have as well." Aiko replied, at first. She would point to the overlapping point between the circles.

"We already know how to cross over and cause something to be in the space between. Now, what we need to do is to summon the kunai back. When you try to seal it back, use these handsignals." Writing down the required streak of handsignals, she nodded to Kazumo. "It will feel odd and you need to focus on that feeling. It is as if something is pushing you back. Most people instantly push back, as if they don't want to be pushed over. The trick is, however, to not be pushed over or push back. Try to direct the subtle force into your hands and into the kunai."

So the hidden techniques had a fail safe just in case huh? So were the Yamanaka techniques like that as well? Yet she wanted him to summon it back then when he went to seal it use the hang signs she wrote down. She warned him that it will feel odd and to focus on it. It would be like he was pushing him over but to not push back or be pushed over. Try to direct it to his hands and then the kunai.

Taking a deep breath he would nod and re summon the kunai. Looking at the paper he would weave the hand signs and sure enough the odd feeling arose. It did try to topple him over and he tried to keep upright as he focused on the feeling and directing it to his hands. He felt like he was holding his breath as he focused on not shoving back against the feeling but not falling to it as well. All while directing it to his hands slowly, he felt it go down his arms and to the palms of his hand and then to the kunai. Yet nothing…. he felt the feeling vanish as he looked at the kunai then to Aiko. " what did I do wrong? Did i push back too much?"

Letting Kazumo attempt to perform the instruction, Aiko would keep close watch. But at the same time taking a step back, allowing Kazumo to fully focus on the task at hand. "Seeing you didn't get ripture in half, I say that you didn't do it entirely wrong," the woman half joked with a wink that followed. She gestured to the kunai. "Seeing the kunai is here, you haven't yet been able to fully direct the technique into the kunai. The only result that can occur is that the kunai vanishes. Then you have accomplished this step. Keep trying to lock on to the feeling, trying to direct it down your arms and to your hands. It is tricky but once you get it down, it will become easier. Much like how I made you practice the sealing and summoning of a kunai."

Ripped in half? That was a possible chance of messing it up?! He felt like she was joking yet at the same time could believe it if she wasn't as well. That's just who Aiko was, a joking tone could easily be a real outcome disguised to make someone panic or believe what she says. Yet she gave the possible reason as to why it was still here as if he didn't fail it would have vanished. Nodding he would attempt again, weaving the hand signs and again concentrating on the feeling. It was a bit easier now that he knew what the feeling was like. Moving that feeling down his arms and to his hands, hee would keep it there as he focused on it before moving it to the kunai again. Then with a quick second the kunai would vanish from his hands. It took a second for it to process as he grinned at Aiko. "So is it in the Void? Or is there another step after that? Did I just place it somewhere as a like guiding light?"

Watching Kazumo make another attempt, Aiko would stay silent. As the brief green chakra would envelop the kunai, it would vanish. A process that just occured in a second, altogether. "If you didn't mess it up, it is in the Void, mhm." She replied. Pulling out another kunai, she would hold the weapon towards Kazumo. "Now? It is just practice, all over again."

If he did it correctly? Where else could he have sent it if he wasn't sealing it? That thought pondered on his head as he took the held out kunai as it was now time to practice what he did. Get more comfortable with it, so he could use it better with more ease. As he would start the same way as last time, it still felt incredibly hard to maneuver that feeling down his arms and to his hands without being pushed over. Yet he would guide it slowly and the kunai within a few moments got enveloped and vanished.

Smiling he would look at Aiko as he pulled out another kunai. "Still a bit difficult to do. Well a bit is exaggerated, this is difficult in trying not to get shoved back alone. Is this what happens every time?" Kazumo asked before repeating himself and while a little faster this time around, still took him a few moments before the kunai vanished.

"Yes. There is only one way to make it easier. But that is not yet an option. You first need to get better at this. Once you get the feeling down, then we can make the next step." Aiko explained. She was sure that he had questions and the desire to learn as know more. There was the desire of her to just make him move and understand the next step. The tedious practice and repeating of the matter wasn't something she enjoyed either but it was necessary.

It wasn't yet an option? The way she said that didnt state he wouldn't be taught this, yet for now it was getting better at the first step. Although he wondered if he would be out of kunai in a moment at this rate. Nodding though he would put his bag to the side peeking in to see how much he had left. Taking a kunai out he would repeat the process, sending kunai after kunai into what he could only assume was the void. At one point he had to move onto shuriken with a slight chuckle as he felt like he was sweating from simply resisting this unknown force. A brief question however popped into his head as the shuriken would vanish. "Does the amount of chakra get bigger if the object you are sending in gets bigger? Say a sword?"

"Mhm. It does. A person is quite hefty when you are trying to warp them to the Void. Once you are getting more control over it, it becomes a bit less taxing. But it is still exhausting to teleport a person or similar sized objects into the Void. Teleporting yourself into the Void, is actually a process that is a bit less taxing on your chakra, though." Aiko decided to not explain that. The sheer amount of knowledge that went into the finer mechanics of the technique would be taking quite some time to explain. In fact, they weren't yet that important. The only reason she knew about them was because the person who had taught her was way stricter and harsher than she was. "Keep sending kunai to the Void. I want you to keep the practice up until you don't find it any trouble to find the feeling to lock on to. I imagine it just takes some more successful tries at this pace."

So more chakra the bigger the object was, which meant a shit ton of chakra for transporting people into the void. No wonder that clone couldn't leave with him, when you sue up your chakra to such an extent you can't just wait a few minutes and be recharged, especially not there. Nodding though at her telling him to keep going as she wanted him to be capable of locking onto the feeling he kept sensing. At this point he placed his bag of tools next to him as he would start the process again, moving it slowly down his arms and to his hand the kunai would be swallowed by the green chakra. Doing this again and again until he stopped for a bit and laughed. "No more kunai. So shuriken then. Quick question. Does anyone ever just come across a giant pile of weapons?"

Kazumo would then resume the process but this time with the shuriken. He did notice some improvement with the intervals between each vanish getting a bit faster.

"Possibly." She hadn't taken that in to thought. Mostly because she didn't care much for it. She reckoned that it would be quite a sight to suddenly come across a hoard of weapons or objects that were send into the Void. For all she knew, the objects she had been tasked to send to the Void could still be there. Noticing that the pace was getting faster, Aiko would let Kazumo continue on for a bit. Until some time passed and she was getting worried over his chakra reserve.

"Okay, easy now. I think you're ready for the next part." She explained as she would crouch and then sit down next to Kazumo. "It is a bit painful but it will be a boon, promised."

After his sixth shuriken vanished he was about to reach for the next one when she would cut him off as she said thinks he is ready for the next part. Panting slightly he would smile which turned into a skeptical look when she said it was a bit painful. Well Koike already made him go blind with one genjutsu, pain seemed like a common trend in an Aiko training session. "Well you put me through worse so bring it on I suppose."

"Heh, I did? Name one as example." Aiko asked in return. She actually reminded herself that Kazumo had been her student for what? A few months? It felt like much longer. Mentally sighing, the woman leaned back and placed her hands behind her. "Know what? Name two examples." The woman said, a playful tone present in her voice.

Name an example? Oh that was easy he already had the example on his head so as he was about to say it, she placed her hands behind her back and wanted two examples. Still easy.

"For example one, we have the baby murder incident. May not have hurt me physically but I felt it alright. Example two we have that one battle you created where I wasn't in the world, then suddenly as they were sieging the wall. I was suddenly very real. Both interesting genjutsus though."

"Incident? That was training," Aiko 'corrected' him with a faint smile. The second example she nodded slowly. "I should perhaps have asked for five examples." Snickering softly, she would allow a pause to follow before she spoke up again. "So far, though. You aren't doing so bad. When I have to compare you to other students. Some not even reaching the status of chuunin. Or being granted a honour by an empress."

"A training which both helped while also terrifying me. Its a good thing though." Kazumo said with a smile before she started to talk of some accomplishments which caused him to pout a bit. "You know how I feel about that promotion. Although it does have its pro with being from her majesty." Kazumo said as he smiled briefly before looking at Aiko. "This is gonna hurt more than a bit isn't it?"

"I know. And you're being petty about it." Aiko said, her tone being calm. "And no. It will just hurt a bit. If you want to know, I am going to give you something small." Raising her left hand, she would pull her sleeve back to reveal a small half-moon like tattoo. "It is the seal that serves as helper to reach to the Void much easier and faster. See it as if you wrote down the address of the Void and by using the technique, the seal will help to make it easier to reach to and from the Void."

"I know, but it's who I am. I don't feel like I deserve it, yet others think I do." he said before nodding that it would indeed only hurt a bit, yet that's what unnerved him. So when she said it would be the seal he raised an eyebrow and looked at it. "That doesnt look like it would hurt, yet that little thing helps do all that? So its like a helping hand then, makes it easier in the long run to not use as much chakra? Is that where it will be located?" Kazumo asked already pulling back his own left sleeve.

She decided to not engage into that discussion. They had different views and the chance was small she could truly convince him that he had earned it. Besides, it wasn't anything too bad so she decided to not worry too much over it. The comment that the seal could be like a helping hand caused Aiko to chuckle. "Yes, that is a way to look at it. And it is usually located at the left wrist. No real reason for it, though. More like just tradition among the Cho Guard." As he pulled his own sleeve back, Aiko became a bit more serious. "If I am going to entrust this seal to you, you must promise me that you will not share this technique or its secrets with anybody else. If you do, I will be forced to send the Cho Guard after you and those who have learned from it."

A tradition among the Cho Guard huh, well that explains a lot. He hasn't heard of this probably because of how secret it was. Secret enough that she stated if he did share this technique or the secrets then she would have to send the Cho Guard after him. Something about void walkers appearing out of nowhere didn't make him feel very comfortable. Yet he gave a serious nod. "Of course, you have my word that this stays with me and me alone." He replied which he meant as he really didn't tell people anything about himself to begin with. What he does tell he learned from books over the years.

Usually Aiko wouldn't have been content with somebody stating that she had their word. It wasn't only naive but also dangerous with their occupation. But she deemed that Kazumo was more than trustworthy. Their past experiences had given little reason for her to still doubt his word. "Okay. Give me your left hand." The woman would wait till he stretched his hand towards her. Gently grabbing his arm by the wrist with right hand, she would slowly inhale and exhale. Focusing, she would mould chakra in her left hand. The half-moon seal started to light up, in the same fashion that something glow when it was send towards the Void. Placing her left hand on his wrist, Kazumo would experience a soft but still present sting that would travel up his left arm. Slowly removing her hand, the same sign that adorned Aiko's left wrist was now on Kazumo's left.

When asked for his left hand he would extend said hand out which she took gently with her right hand. He saw the seal on her wrist light up, which gained his attention as she placed her hand on his wrist where a constant sting would come from his wrist. Not horrible by any right, yet it made him want to smack it for some reason. When she removed her hand, the sign that was on her left wrist was now on his. He would look at it for a bit before he looked at Aiko, "So is it like an automatic kind of thing? Like when dealing with the void does it just work by itself or do I have to activate it somehow?"

"Mhm. You learned a part from me on how to contact the Void. Now when you use the technique, the seal will react to it and so to say, help you with it. It is in a way a seal that doesn't consume more chakra but just helps to guide and help to stabilise when you try to Void walk." Pausing for a moment, she nodded. "Which means it is time for the hard part. Trying to summon yourself to the Void. I will follow right after you."

So it really was like a helping hand, helping lead the way so he doesn't stray off the path. With that known she said what would be the hard part. Trying to summon himself into the Void. He looked a bit confused for a moment. He knew how to send items there, so he had a feeling it had to do with the feeling but how did he apply it on himself. "I go off that feeling right? The same one that I used to send the kunai and shuriken, but how do I apply it to myself? Do I try to mould the chakra not in my hands but in my entire body?"

Slowly, Aiko nodded. "Yes. You apply it to yourself by stretching it. It is," Aiko frowned as she looked away for a moment. Trying to find the right way to explain the process. "Like you grab a blanket and wrap it around you. You try to mould the chakra through your entire body. The sensation that you noticed before will be more present. But the same as with the kunai, try to focus and not push yourself. If you don't hit the feeling, don't worry. Then nothing happens. If you do manage, then you will move yourself into the Void."

Well that sounded incredibly difficult well more difficult that he imagined. Now he knew why she had him keep summoning or well sending those tools to the Void. Get the feeling of it and the way to do it, cause if he remembered she made a joke about being split apart if he failed. That caused him to shudder before closings eyes and focusing he would do the hand seals with that feeling rising once again, this time though instead of moving it to his hands he tried making it grow. It felt like it was taking forever but he could feel it growing, it felt like a snail's pace and yet he also felt like he was exerting himself. Wondering if his face was red cause it sure felt that way, he wasn't sure on how long it took but once it fully moulded through his entire body the last thing he saw wasn't his sensei but green chakra.

It went by quickly as the next thing he knew he was certainly in a much darker room where he looked around. Moving towards the window a bit wobbly from using a good chunk of his chakra today, he would open it and sure enough that was not how he remembered the outside. A brief fear went through him on if that thing was still around in this Void.

"There you go."

Aiko's voice resonated from behind Kazumo. Her hands were placed on her hips as a proud smile crossed her lips. "You could now claim yourself to be a Void Walker. I would suggest to bring a sacrifice to Bergjlot next time though. This is, after all, her domain. No need to get on her bad side with just trespassing." The woman said. Eyeing Kazumo, she would nod. Offering her right hand towards him, she spoke again. "Come. I will get you back. You made a huge jump today. Over time, you'll get used to the feeling and the jump."

Looking back towards his sense he would smile at her words, which faded upon the sacrifice comment as this was Bergjlot's domain. "Wouldn't that thus mean I trespassed several times with your clone back in Amegakure? Guess I'm going to need a big sacrifice." Kazumo said rubbing the back of his head as he extended his left hand and took her right. "You mean you dont trust me to jump two people on my first try?" He smiled as his tone betrayed his question, knowing full well that would end up horribly if he did.

"I already made a sacrifice before." Was Aiko's first answer. Taking Kazumo's hand, she flashed a smile. "I already thought ahead to make sure that you wouldn't get into any kind of problem." A wink followed as she started to mould chakra to ready the jump back. The second question was answered with an amused tone present in Aiko's voice. "And then pass out when we are back? I thought that you would want to have some strength to head back to the Lorehouse." That said, they would both be enveloped by green chakra. The jump back was smooth and Aiko released his hand. "You did good though. Went better than when I tried to move myself into the Void."

That made sense, she was always prepared from what he knew, although he wanted to ask if any such occurrence of Bergjlot's wrath for trespassing has ever befallen any Void Walkers. At the same time though he felt like he knew that answer as well. At the mention of Lore house his eyes would shine again as a grin grew on his face, he could go back to the Lore house? That thought never occurred to him, which now made the rest of his day a very exciting one even if all he would be doing was studying and practicing later what he learned.

As they returned what she said next came as a surprise to him, it went better for him than her? "Really? Why is that, I'm no prodigy when it comes to learning things."

"Cause I was way more stubborn." Aiko answered, the amusement returning to her tone. "But that is it for today. Don't be up all night at the Lore house. I might rally you guys later on for something." The woman 'instructed' as she placed her hands on her hips.

He snorted a bit at her saying she was way more stubborn, he couldn't imagine her being a stubborn woman at all. Yet such things were always a surprise after all. Being told not to stay up all night at the Lorehouse did remind him of something he wanted to ask though. "That reminds me since I'm unsure of what the schedule will be looking like. I spoke to Lord Hon last night, to where he invited me to participate in an archery event. Do you think I would have time to partake in it?"

The question did catch Aiko off-guard. She considered the circumstances and wondered what she should do. Seeing how Kazumo could perhaps gain some valuable experience as perhaps even some small fame, she saw little harm in it. "Very well. I reckon that I can else arrange some extra time. I will speak with Lord Hon on when this event takes place but we will else see if we can create some time for it."

Upon hearing her answer he smiled happily, he knew that things aren't guaranteed but the thought she would try to see if he could was just as good as a yes.

"Thank you sensei. It's okay if I can't though, but I appreciate you finding out if I can. Guess I should get out of your hair though, was it Neji that was next?" Kazumo asked wondering who was coming in after him.

Flashing a smile, Aiko nodded once when Kazumo voiced his gratitude. When he asked if Neji was next, Aiko had to think for a second. "Yes, I believe so. But you're free for the rest of the day. So chop chop. Recover from today's training and I will see you soon." The woman replied, giving a nod to the direction that he could take his leave and entertain himself for the rest of the day.

Kazumo nodded as he started walking to thee door. "Will do sensei. Thank you again for today and good luck with the others." Kazumo said with a small chuckle before opening the door and closing it behind him.[/spoili][/fieldbox]

Oetje · Jul 19, 2018

[Fieldbox=Declaring War! - Part 2, lightgreen]
Amegakure, the capital of the Rain Province of the Empire of Akino.
Team Etsu.

A collab between Nim, Celestial, Alice, Zane and Oetje.

Summary:
Etsu rallies her team. They aren't entirely sure what the purpose of the rallying is. But then Etsu reveals her ambitious goal that will get some heat on them. From this collab on, Team Etsu declares full-on war on the Insurgents of Soru and their Zealot allies. On the corruption in the Police corps within Amegakure. And against the Fang operatives that sneak into the country, alongside the stream of refugees from the west!

[spoili]
Following Etsu, Rini didn't think of much. She kept her focus on Etsu and what this mission could entitle. There were moments that she briefly thought that this could have been a wrong decision. That this could mean her end. Trying to remember all that she had experienced and trained for, Rini would continue to walk behind Etsu. As the woman lead them and then started her briefing, Rini felt how her face became pale. A cold shiver ran down her spine.
They were going into the Police corps headquarters to get a hold on the commander? That could be considered more than just trespassing the law. That was wrong on so many levels. For a moment, Rini wondered if their team leader was immensely brave or insane.
"I assume getting in won't be a problem. How about us all getting out?" She decided to ask Etsu.

As she followed behind Etsu, it still weighed on her mind just how secretive she was. Which wasn't a bad thing but to bring them along, especially new genin on what could possibly end their careers just as quick as any death. Hopefully it was low risk, she couldn't help but want to leave just like kuni did. If this backfired and her brother found out, who knows what would happen to them. She shot looks to the new genin and just silently prayed nothing would go wrong. As they arrived at the police barracks her heart would sink even further as Etsu explained what they would be doing. This was one hundred percent crazy, taking the police commander hostage?! She further cemented that they only had one shot at this, then she basically asked if they had any excuses on why they couldn't do this. Rini asked if they had any way of getting out, but Kitana decided to ask a different question. "We have two genin on this team and one of them is fresh out of the academy. Don't you think that such a high risk task should be done with more experienced people?"

As Megumi followed the other's she tucked the mask away out of sight for the moment. If she had to wait to wear it she would. He eye's looked at the building and when Etsy explained they would be taking the police commander she bit her lip. So this is what she meant earlier. Looking over at Kitana she shrugged. "Why underestimate us? Sure we are Genin but as my higher up shouldn't you want me to learn and get experience? I am happy you are concerned with our level of experience but if we just sit back we won't ever get better. Plus if things get chaotic I can do some quick healing. I am a mednin ya know." Megumi grinned and held her arms behind her back. Sure she was nervous but if she let it be known then it would only hinder the other's concern. If this went well then she would truly be getting needed experience. Even if it was a bit on the illegal side. Morally she kept telling herself this was for the greater good. It had to be.

"The way out might be a tad tricky. But if we manage to get in and close to our target, it won't be that nasty. Just a matter of speed.." Etsu answered back to Rini's question.
Turning her attention Kitana, waiting for a second as Megumi decided to answer.
"Optimistic attitude, huh?" Etsu remarked, not hiding her amusement regarding Megumi's answer. Gesturing to Rini, Etsu decided to just answer back to Kitana.
"Rini here is likely on chuunin level. Trained by ANBU and the Third Amekage. Not to mention performed rather well during the Ironblood tournament. That makes me not concern her. Certainly not the fight she put up before."
Then the jounin threw a glance at Megumi.
"To be fair, there is a difference in getting experience and being put to risk. Getting experience is done step by step. Certainly with the likes of genin who have no idea of how to react to certain situations. Regardless of your ability, I hope you won't try to strive to do anything rash. Cause I don't have any problem with leaving one of you behind," Etsu further said as she shot also a look at Rini and Kitana. Letting that warning sink in, she would nod once more. She decided to not question the new genin's ability further. Wouldn't help anybody anyways.

"Now, just stick with me and good grief, don't act like you all got some sticks up your bums." Etsu instructed them.
Taking the lead, the jounin would walk calmly towards the complex that was the headquarters of the police corps within the city. There were guards on the patrol but none of them seemed concerned with the appearance of the shinobi team. Etsu, however, was aware that they had sensors. Checking in on if they weren't using any concealment techniques or anything that could raise some concern.

Entering the building, Etsu would speak with an officer. The conversation was short and soon the jounin was walking down a hallway. Various members of the police corps walked past but didn't seem to concern themselves with the likes of Etsu's team. Most seemed to be ready to move out. The team would hear something about civilians getting unruly in a nearby district.
"Hm, good." Etsu thought to herself.
Soon enough they would stand before a door that seemed locked. Pulling something out of a pouch, Etsu gestured to her team to stand on watch.
"If somebody comes, whistle softly. Don't act weird by coughing out your lungs. This shouldn't take me too long." The jounin ordered as she would start to pick the lock of the door that barred their way.

Rini remained silent. She hadn't felt that confident at the start of this all. But now she was certain that this could be the end of the line for her. Following Etsu, Rini had the idea that each guard and member of the police corps was on to them. That they were just waiting for them to make one wrong move and then to just pile up on them. As Etsu did all the talking, Rini wouldn't just idly watch and do nothing. She tried to map out how they had entered the building. What places she wanted to avoid if it came down to a running. For a moment, Rini shot a glance at Kitana. She wanted to ask the chuunin something but decided against it.
They came to a point where Etsu ordered them to stand on watch as the jounin would pick the door's lock. Standing with her back to Etsu, Rini stayed sharp. She didn't see anybody that approached their spot or would see what they were doing. For all it seems, nobody seemed to suspect anything bad from them. Perhaps this mission would go well?

The words of the new genin didn't make her more relieved, if anything it worried her more how she wasn't being cautious about this. "I don't think you understand the situation. Experience is one thing. A dangerous task right out of the gate is another." Kitana replied yet Etsu seemed dead set on doing this and it only unnerved her more. They get caught and they without a doubt set in motion for more people to hate them more than they did. She could only pray that things went without issue, otherwise they risked being labeled as Missing Nin and that would be the best case scenario if they weren't caught.
As they walked in the station full of guards that at any fuck up would descend upon them in greater numbers than they could handle. She felt the scar on her face throbbing for some reason, her eyes perking up as she heard the guards talking about civilians getting unruly. That would be where her brother would be trying to mend the situation. They arrived at a door where Etsu told them to keep watch and whistle softly if anyone was coming. After she said that she went ahead and started lockpicking the door which only solidified that they were indeed doing this.

Megumi shook her head. "I won't be rash, my life has been taught patience and thinking." As the woman spoke about easily leaving anyone behind she took it as note to not get too attached. Even if she wanted to be friends with her team she never understood the thought of not caring. And she most definitely couldn't respect someone whom would easily let their team be left behind. Maybe it was the thought of her parents doing what they could for others even at the cost of their own life. Would she leave them? Probably not. It just wasn't right. For now she remained silent as they headed into the building. As they passed others she would smile and follow Etsu. Upon getting to the door she looked around making sure no one was approaching them. Fidgeting with her fingers she stood silent, ready to continue this mission.

Nothing happened so far. Until Etsu made a soft whistling sound. Rising up and straighten her back, the woman threw a look over her shoulder at her team.
"Okay, now let us go. This is still the easy part." Etsu explained as she gestured for the girls to move into the hallway, passed the door that had barred their entrance.
Closing the door slowly behind them, Etsu would take the lead. In a confident stride, she would lead the team further. There were some police officers and guards around but none seemed to worry much about their presence. One or two would throw a glance at them but focused back on their task.
Venturing further into the department, Etsu was wondering if the girls weren't acting too nervous. There had just to be one officer that considered them to be odd and halt them to ruin their plan. But as they kept progressing, they weren't stopped by anybody.

Reaching a hallway, Etsu spotted two guards up ahead. Considering something, Etsu turned half around to her students.
"Rini, you're going to be on watch with your sensory. Kitana, you will lure the guards away. Stating that there is some unrest outside and they need as many as possible out on the street. Megumi, I want you to go around the corner. Place this below a table. Away from the direction of where we are right now." Producing a small ball with a small fuse. Holding it subtly towards Megumi, Etsu continued.
"Light the fuse. It will produce a horrible stink and gather attention. Once you light the fuse, you got about fifteen seconds to get away. Well, chop chop girls."

[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Jessie Targaryen · Jul 20, 2018

[fieldbox="A Murder?, skyblue, dashed, 10, Tahoma"]

Ryu Uchiha | Team 19 Genin | Amegakure

Ryu sat on the couch in the front room of Eiji's home, having a bit of time to rest before she was supposed to be meeting Doctor Tsubaki for their scheduled lessons for the day. She was still thinking over the question she wanted to ask Eiji, unsure of how exactly she was supposed to bring up the topic. Was it better to try to lead into it, or just kind of walk up and say 'Hey! I wanna know if you'll adopt me!'. Though she certainly doubted it to be the second of those two options. A long sigh left her lips as she stood up and stretched slightly, deciding it might be better to head out early and avoid thinking about how to ask Eiji for a little bit. As such she gathered up her bag with the little notebook and all and slung it over her shoulder before heading outside. She stopped briefly at the tree in front of Eiji's house, where a large black paw hung down overhead and lightly swung towards Ryu as if trying to reach her. "I'm just going for the lesson from Doctor Tsubaki, Naomi. It'll be a couple hours then I am home, and I promise I'll come to sit with you. Behave while I'm gone, yeah?" She spoke to the large shadow in the tree before reaching up to pet the fur on the paw lightly. Then she turned to head out through the city on her way to the hospital.

Overall it was a pretty cold day, which made Ryu more than thankful for the heavy coat she was currently wearing. The clouds overhead made the entire world seem a bit gloomy even as it lightly rained on them, so about normal for the city. At this point in her life, Ryu was more shocked on days where there was actual sunlight than when it rained around here. Giving it a small shrug she continued to walk through the streets, trying to mostly keep to herself as she passed by the usual traffic going about the city. People going to work, coming home, shopping, or whatever else they were out and about for during the day. However, the air seemed much tenser today than she was used to. Even seeming a bit tenser than it had in recent history since the riots and such, which was saying something given that the air typically felt like it was about to explode with something. Of course, the Uchiha had a pretty solid idea why everybody seemed so tense. Afterall, tensions with the shinobi corps had been on a rapid rise recently and she certainly didn't help any matters with hurting that poor boy. Her head hung slightly and her cheeks flustered a little in embarrassment at the thought, and frustration with herself for being dumb enough to hurt another. Wasn't the whole point to her wanting to be a kunoichi to try to prevent others from being hurt like she had? Great job at that Ryu.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a gathering of officers around a certain alleyway, and a pretty decent amount of passerby stopping to look on. Then walking away whispering to themselves at a slightly hurried pace, as if something had gotten to them. Curiosity took over the girl as she slowly moved towards the officers, curious at what they were all gathered around for. Standing on her toes, Ryu was thankfully able to quite easily see over the shoulders of the screen. A benefit of being unusually tall, she supposed. However, a gasp of shock left her lips as her eye went wide at the sight before her. A woman, dressed as if she had been out celebrating the night before was suspended by wires slightly in the alley. Ryu spotted multiple wounds that seemed to be stab wounds, and if she had to take a guess from the gruesome looks, it was done by a kunai. She recoiled from the scene before her, feeling the sudden urge to vomit despite having seen death before. It still never made it easy when looking at such horrific scenes, or when you were fairly certain the victim was innocent.

Now she understood the whispers around, and why the air seemed to hang so heavy on this day. Just barely after recoiling from the event she had caused, there was now a gruesome murder. The Uchiha sincerely hoped it to just that isolated event, as she doubted that the city would take many more of such events very well without exploding once more. Worse, she wondered how long it would be before the commoners turned to blame the murders on the Shinobi. With tensions at an all-time high, and very likely the need to blame somebody for what happened... she worried that the Shinobi might end up taking the blame. Ryu quickly made her way through the streets towards the hospital, sickened by the poor woman and her plight. What the hell was happening to her home?[/fieldbox]

Oblivion666 · Jul 20, 2018

[fieldbox="Pity No More, Teal, solid"]

Mitsunari Riojin - Jounin Commander/Jounin of Team 19 - Alleyway of Amegakure

The chattering of the people grew louder by the passing minute with police keeping them away from what they so desperately wanted to see. At the scene stood an investigator and Mitsunari who looked at the scene, a young woman brutally murdered in what looked to be a wire prison with the murder weapon being a kunai. Mitsunari rubbed his forehead as he gazed towards the exit of the alleyway towards what would only be more calls for shinobi to be exiled or rounded up and killed. What made matters worse was this happened not too long after his speech, either a shinobi wanting to stir up more trouble or just a sociopath that would soon no longer be part of the shinobi corps, possibly even someone pretending to be a shinobi yet the odds of that were low, their tools weren't given out as toys. Police would make sure to take notes of the scene before getting the deceased woman out of the wire and gathering the evidence they had. Wire and a kunai.

The investigator would take out a cigarette and hold one out for Mitsunari. "You look like you need the stress relief." the man in possibly his late thirties said as Mitsunari took it with the man lighting both. Exhaling the investigator shook his head at the scene. "Only so well we can hide this from the public you know, chances are some people stumbled upon this and already spread it around....." The man said as he looked at Mitsunari.
"I know you don't need me telling you who did this, it's why you were called here after all. You have the records on all the Shinobi, which means wee need your help figuring this out. I have to say though." The investigator said taking a puff from his cigarette as he exhaled. "I feel that if you play your cards right, that the people will come out of this happy and less enraged. Obviously they are upset at that girl... Ryu Uchiha?" The man to which Mitsunari nodded.
"Well you handled that better than the ones before you have. For starters you tried, but now this happened. Gotta ask you have any idea who it could be?"

Mitsunari taking another puff would exhale the smoke as he dropped the cigarette and snuffed it out. Walking towards the deceased woman he would kneel and look at her. Deceased for a bit, not too long for any rigor mortis to take effect. He wondered briefly if this woman had any enemies but even then, this was too much of a coincidence. The stab wounds might make one think it was a grudge kill, but the amount of stabs, the set up. No this was just a murder, no reason behind it at all. Rubbing his forehead again as he stood up, [color=teal"Well it's poor work that's for sure. They made no attempt to hide any evidence as they shown by leaving this tools here. I have a couple ideas of who, but I don't want to make assumptions. I'd have to go through the records narrow it down to who uses these tools normally, then narrow those down to who has shown violent behavior before. Thankfully I don't have many of those reports."[/color]

Nodding the investigator would drop his cigarette and snuff it out too. "That's certainly a good step, yet how will you determine who did it when you have candidates? Sadly many don't tell the truth when asked."
"I assume I will have access to the interrogation rooms, correct?" Mitsunari asked to which the man nodded.
[color=teal"Then I have some trusted operatives that can deduce the truths from the lies. At that point it's just a matter of time before I find out who it is."[/color] Mitsunari said as the police had finished gathering the evidence and covered the deceased body so no one could see her.
"Well then Lord Riojin, you know how to contact me. Do try to keep calm throughout this situation. Let me know when you wish to begin the questioning." The investigator said to which Mitsunari would shake the man's hand before leaving the crime scene.
-------
Back at the office Mitsunari with some help went through file after file, groaning he looked at the files they had gone through put in one pile of not suspected. A pile of possibilities, then the still filled shelves of possibilities. A collective sigh escaped all of them in the room as more were placed in the not suspected pile. "Sir this is going to take hours, I hope you realize this right. Then another few hours to simply find the good from the bad among those that do use wire and kunai." the older woman said to which Mitsunari set the one report down and took a sip from his coffee and he chuckled.
"Hey now you three are being payed extra to help me with this. I don't see any reason to complain, mostly when I have to do the actual hard part when it's done. Yet if extra pay isn't enough, then how about I treat you three to dinner after this? That sound good Kai?"

The older woman looked like she was weighing her options when she shrugged and smiled. "Looks like it will have too it seems." Kai would say while her two younger colleagues would cheer a bit. The youngest one being a man would end up speaking next, looking a tad sad about what was on his mind.
"Sir..... do you think we will ever truly be liked again? We seem to be shunned no matter what we do. Mistakes by one get thrown upon all of us, while the deeds of one is never spread among everyone. It makes me think that if a situation like the Shoji situation were to happen again... Would that spell the end for us shinobi?" he asked which brought the mood of the room down a bit.
"Igor...." Kai would mumbled before Mitsunari would clear his throat.
"A saying that I was told when I was a genin is that 'people fear what they cannot understand.' It's why we are taught not to do these techniques where civilians freely roam about. While we cannot help having these abilities, people have the right to fear the unknown. It's how the world operates sadly. We destroy what we don't understand, it's how war is born. When two ideologies clash. Neither one can understand the other so they hate each other. Will we ever be liked I cannot say. I can say that if we try our hardest and make sure to protect the people, that maybe just maybe. They will understand one day that we are just like them. We have those that are bad for the sake of being bad, and those that mean good." Mitsunari stated as he resumed reading a file.

The other three smiled briefly before going through the files as well, most being put in the not suspected pile. Yet meanwhile Mitsunari would frown as he put it off from his mind, yet as he took two files and read them carefully. His frown would only grow as he placed them in the suspected pile. "Prove me wrong.....[/fieldbox]

Nim · Jul 21, 2018

[fieldbox="What to do?, #1589FF"]
Yoshikuni Sadako | Amegakure Team 22 Chuunin | Akinian Empire | Amegakure

Summary:
Kuni, having chosen not to join the rest of her team, spends some time on her own, thinking to herself and witnessing the different things that take place in Ame.

It hadn't taken her long to walk back to Eiji's home after she had made her choice. Unlocking the door, it was evident that no one else was around, making Kuni briefly wonder if Eiji had taken Sachi to one of the nearby parks to have some fun. Having more time to spend with his daughter was certainly a benefit in Kuni's opinion, although it was one that came at a very costly price. One she still had slight trouble wrapping her head around.

Looking at the still dark, empty house, Kuni decided she had little desire to stay indoors. With her thoughts still running between several options, it felt kinda hard for her to properly decide. And staying in the house, while it was empty from other souls, certainly didn't feel right for her. But before she would step outside again, she looked down at her attire. The shinobi attire was certainly something that would catch attention, and Kuni knew it would be for the best if she didn't catch much attention. To still follow what Kiyomi had instructed her to do.

Going upstairs and quickly changing to her daily attire, and throwing a hoodie on top of it all. It didn't look like much, but that was the point. Something simple that wouldn't grab attention. And if she really felt like it, she could throw on the hood itself on her head, but for the time being it didn't feel needed. After deciding that was enough, Kuni would quickly leave the house, before anyone else would return.

As she kept on wondering to herself, Kuni started to wander in the city streets. The thought of looking for Eiji and joining him and Sachi for a bit of time to enjoy seemed like the most enjoyable option of them all. She knew Eiji would be surprised but delighted to have her join, and that Sachi would likely throw mud or something at her, and that alone was enough to bring a smile to her face. But then again, maybe they should have just some proper father and daughter time. Being there with them meant there was a chance something off could happen, or simply that crocked stares would be sent towards her. And that wasn't something she wanted Sachi to see at such a young age.

Suddenly, something grabbed her attention. A couple of men, who were heading with a hastened fashion towards the main plaza. While she did want to continue and think further on her, her curiousity caught the better of her and Kuni quickly, and quietly, followed the two.

While the two men went and joined a crowd that had formed in the main plaza, Kuni went and stopped in an alley right before the main plaza. The current Jounin Commander was speaking, and the topic was non other than the Shinobi Corps. Luckily for her, the man spoke loudly enough to be able to hear past the crowd when they weren't throwing questions and statements at him.

Listening to what went on, Kuni couldn't help but wander what could be the reason for all of this. She knew there had been some tension in the village for some time, according to what Eiji had told her after coming back to the village. She then remembered Etsu mentioning a Chuunin harming a kid. Perhaps that was the cause of this? She wondered on possible reasons for another moment before listening to the Jounin Commander and the crowd once more.

The talking of the Jounin Commander kept going for a while longer, making it clear every policy regarding the shinobi will become much stricter. And the crowd was still not satisfied. He told them he took away the weapons from those who were dangerous. And the crowd was not satisfied. He told them that not even the guard was perfect, and that nobody will be getting special treatment any longer. And the crowd finally started to calm down a bit.

After the Jounin Commander gave his final words, Kuni spotted from the alley that people were beginning to walk away. Figuring this should also be her cue to depart, she decided to pull her hood onto her head. It didn't conceal her face at all, but it should at least give her a bit of cover to pass through the departing crowd without drawing attention. As she walked out of the alley and into the departing crowd, it became apparent to her that people were still whispering among themselves about wanting to see action being taken by the Jounin Commander. His words were the right words, but some people still had doubts about if he would actually take action.

People would slowly spread out, walking each to their own directions, and Kuni ended up on her own once more. Wandering the streets, thinking about her different options once more. She had tried approaching Son-Goku while she was still in the Palace, after he had spoken to Kiyomi in that other language. But she wouldn't get any response. Had she really goofed up that much by making that promise? Did she really not know what was the right way to approach the giant being that resided inside of her? It felt frustrating, and to a rather large degree to her. But it also made her more determined than before to try again.

Taking another turn in the streets as she kept walking around, she would spot the back of someone she knew. Ryu stood on her toes, looking at something that was behind what looked like officers and such, before the girl rushed away from there, appearing somewhat sick. Making no attempts to try and talk to her friend, Kuni kept looking towards the alley with the officers. Other civilians that passed by also seemed to have a similar expression to the one Ryu held, and some tried to get a better look. It was evident the police had made their best effort to keep people away, which made Kuni ever more curious.

And yet, Kuni decided to walk away from there without seeing what it was all about.

Two thoughts passed through her head as she made the choice to not try and see further that had occurred. The first was Kiyomi's instructions. Trying to pry into police business certainly seemed like an unwelcomed way of catching attention to herself. and she wasn't supposed to attract any unneeded attention. The second was of Etsu and the team. She had no idea what Etsu had planned, but if she were suddenly dragged into an investigation, then they could potentially learn of the fact the team was up to something, even if she had no idea what it was. So overall, the less contact she had with the police, the better.

As she passed by some stores, which indicated she was close to the Teahouse, Kuni's thoughts moved to the place. What was once her mom's Silk shop, turned into a library Teahouse, through hard work of her, Sho, and then active for a bit before getting shut down through what was obviously corruption. But she couldn't prove it, and after also spending some time in the Palace and not doing any missions, she was quite lacking in funds to even think of opening the place up again. And even if she were to open up the place again, who said the same people from before wouldn't just do something to have it shut down once more? Until she could come with a proper plan for the place, it was probably better she just made sure it was clean and nothing further.

Coming to a stop, Kuni realized she had arrived at the entrance to the graveyard. Looking inside, she briefly wondered if she should go to her mom's grave. Perhaps being there would help her find what she should pursue. Noticing people who had stood by a different grave, not too far from where her mother's grave was, she decided that perhaps today was not the best day for it. There was no reason for her to start talking to a grave while others were paying respects.

Turning, Kuni started walking away from the graveyard. If the city surrounding her had been so busy with different occurrences, then perhaps going back home would be the best option. Maybe she could prepare some dinner as a surprise for everyone, for when they returned. That seemed like a pleasant thought. And quickly enough, the girl would begin wandering on what she should prepare for dinner.
[/fieldbox]

Oetje · Jul 25, 2018

[Fieldbox=Team 4 - Field of Valdar!, burlywood]
In Magnhild,
Field of Valdar
A collab between the members of Team 4:
Meilin Cho : Oetje
Madoc Yamanaka : Oblivion
Aoi Miyazato : FrostedCamel
Dea Cho : Somebody Actually
Dagrún Hon : Aliceee

Summary:
The team meets together at the Field of Valdar. There they introduce themselves once again to each other. Doing a simple practice, the team is then split into two as a brief taijutsu spar follows. One that showcases some changes of dynamic present in the team.

[spoili]
The field of Valdar. It wasn't that hard to find. Traveling earlier to the place, Meilin had made certain that everybody of Team 4 would get the message on how late. It had costed some of her own personal money but she considered it better than to hang around and wait an entire day for her team to drip in, one by one. So she considered it worth to spend around five silver shields to make sure that everybody knew how late they were expected.
By going earlier, Meilin was able to arrange a tile for her team. It existed as many others tiles out of a small round ring that was surrounded by a stubborn wooden fence. The cold made the ground hard and sturdy. Which was good for training movement. Placing various boards with bullseyes against the entrance into the tile, Meilin did take in the surrounding.

Various groups of warriors clad in training equipment were going on about. Sparring or training together. Not very surprising. The tradition and usage of the Field of Valdar was quite old. Probably as old as Magnhild, she reckoned. For Valdar was one of the gods that was associated with battle and martial prowess. If she had to believe it, this place was used for gathering warbands in the early days of the city and jarldom. Warbands raised out of levies and warriors to engage with an invading rival force or set out on an expedition of their own. Later as the military of the Hons started to become more professional, so too would happen to the usage of the Field of Valdar. There was a small temple dedicated to the god. Nearby there were facilities such as smiths, tanners and other craftsmen that could make good use of the warriors training and their needs.
Garbed in her newer uniform, Meilin felt a certain kind of pride. It was different from the previous set, that indicated her being a novice within the Cho Guard. The current set was something she had to get used to. But it yet felt already comfortable. Protective.
Leaning against the fence, Meilin crossed her arms out front of her chest. Her hood was pulled up to offer a bit of protection against the cold. Luckily, it wasn't snowing. Despite the gloomy dark grey overcast of clouds.

He had forgotten completely that they were meeting up tomorrow to see the new team in a more proper introduction, at a training field no less. He was notified of what time they were meeting at and how exactly to get there yet that didn't stop the pounding in his head. Cursing under his breath on why they never cut him off as he got up and proceeded to get changed for the cold weather outside. He silently hoped they would simply meet up there then move to a warmer location as he was content not having to stay outside in the cold all day long.

Trudging through the snow as he tried to drown out all the noises of the people on the streets. He hated that all sounds were oddly amplified for him, like having them scream in his ear despite being far away. This cold weather was helping somewhat but not enough. Arriving at the location he would wave at Meilin as he would rub his temple. "Morning Meilin…." Madoc mumbled as he would now await the others

Aoi had taken her time getting ready to meet the team at the training field, the"Field of Valdar" as it was called. If she remembered correctly it was named after a Chonobi God, but which one she couldn't quite recall. Slowly, whether it was in dread of having to interact with the two Chonobi additions to the team or from the small headache she had from the festivities the night before she prepared herself for the cold outside. Slipping a scarf around her neck and a heavier jacket she'd make her way out of the inn and follow the directions to the field that Meilin had left them, wondering all the while why Meilin hadn't just woken Madoc and her up instead of leaving without them for the fields.

She'd give a small wave and notice the slightly off look of Madoc as he stood in the cold, the memories of his rather unstoppable drinking the night before placed a smile on her face as she realized he must have been hungover, "Morning you two. Nice day isn't it?" she asked a little sarcastically as the cold bit at her face.

Heading to the place, Dagrún was more than awake. Garbed in a set of clothes that she was more comfortable with, the mood of the young woman was considerable better than last night. Arriving at the Field of Valdar, she had little trouble to navigate to find the place where she would meet up with the others. The biting cold made her wish that they would already just skip over the talks and pick up a training weapon.
"Morning," she said as she approached Meilin, Aoi and Madoc. A small smile found its way on Dagrúns lips as she nodded to Meilin. "Thanks for the note. I only realised this morning that we hadn't really spoken about a time. So," she threw a look at Madoc and Aoi.

"What were your names again?"

Dea didn't understand how the streets were still so full in this unfortunate weather. All the people casually milling around must've been accustomed to the low temperatures, or prepared for them in ways that she wasn't. Even in the two-layered outfit she'd assembled for herself this morning, the cold still managed to seep through. To counteract Magnhild's unforgiving climate, her pace never dropped below a jog as she made her way to the meeting place.

Upon arriving she was right impressed, by both the makeup of the place itself and those dedicated practicing and congregating there. Her eyes especially lingered on the temple. This place was definitely worthy of the deity it was named after. When Dea first caught sight of her team she eased her way over to them, but when she noticed that she was the last to arrive she upped her speed to a sprint. "Good morning team!"she greeted them, probably a bit too loudly for this time of day.

The first to arrive was Madoc, Meilin flashed a friendly smile as the other approached. She noticed that he wasn't quite fit or awake. Reckoning that could be the cause of yesterday, she hoped that the cold and imminent training would resolve that 'issue'.
Before Meilin could weigh in if she should talk with a louder voice, to just torment Madoc, Aoi joined them. The sarcasm about the weather wasn't lost on Meilin. Snickering, she pushed her back from the fence, her arms hanging at her side.
"Morning you two. It is a bit cold but with some training, we will get it warm enough!"

The third to arrive was Dagrún. The blue marks on the other's eyes were intimidating. With more light to observe, Meilin wasn't entirely sure if she felt intimidated or curious about the meaning regarding the facial markings. The style of Dagrún was quite different, quite far from being subtle about her possible origin. For a second, Meilin found herself growing slightly envious because of it. It was bold but also admirable, in her opinion. Listening to Dagrún, Meilin snickered at first. Until she asked Aoi and Madoc who they were.
"No problem," Meilin was quick to interact. "I figured that it would be a good idea to have a time set so that we wouldn't all be waiting for one or more people. Good morning by the way!"

Spotting Dea, Meilin would make use of the chance of the latter's appearance to steer the topic away from what she would fear that could happen.
"Morning, Dea," Meilin began as she nodded in an approving manner to the genin, "Good that you made it in time." Nevermore had that sentence been so genuine, Meilin thought to herself.
Clapping her hands, to gather the attention, Meilin would gesture to the round and rather small like arena close to them.
"Before we get started, I thought it would be a nice idea to try to introduce ourselves. I arranged these papers."

Producing some small paper pieces out of a pocket, she would hold them up so that each of them would wind up with holding one.
"Okay, so, Dea. Are you familiar with chakra paper?" Meilin asked as she would gesture to the other members to show how to use the paper.
"What I want is that we each use the chakra paper and tell a bit about ourselves. Can somebody of you start?" Meilin shot a look at Aoi, Madoc and Dagrún.

With the arrival of the older Chonobi Aoi was actually a bit surprised by the girls attitude. She appeared far nicer, a bit more approachable now than she had the night before, at least until she made it clear she obviously didn't care about Madoc or her. She had to fight to not roll her eyes and could feel the want to reply with something nasty growing, she clenched her gloved hand into a fist and offered a smile, "Miyazato Aoi." was all she said before turning her attention to the second Chonobi as she arrived at a sprint. The girl seemed at least eager and a little bit more inclusive than her older counterpart, which set Aoi slightly at ease but she still didn't trust either of them, unable to fight off the idea that she'd need to do as much if not more than she had done for Meilin to get any sense of respect from them.

She listened as Meilin seemed to have a plan in mind and produced small pieces of paper from her pocket. Instantly reminded of the Shinobi Academy Aoi knew where this small exercise was headed and debated if she should tell Meilin that the papers wouldn't work for her as she reached out and took one. She held it between her gloved fingers and stared at it for a moment before focusing a small amount of chakra into it. When the paper didn't so much as move she'd crumple it in her hand drop it to the snow, "I'm Aoi. My release is Magnet, it doesn't show up on paper." was all she'd say, still reluctant to divulge anything to someone who hadn't even had the common decency to remember Madoc and hers name.

Turning half around, Dagrún shot a look towards the last person of the team to join. The young Dea. Dagrún hadn't yet been able to form any kind of opinion but she held some sympathy towards the younger one. Meilin quickly followed, explaining what they would do first. Taking a chakra paper, Dagrún waited for moment. The first that went was Aoi Miyazato. When Dagrún heard she had magnet release, the blonde woman briefly frowned.

Slowly raising the paper between her right index and middle finger, Dagrún spoke up. "Short and sweet, huh?" She said, an amused look shot at Aoi. Turning her attention towards Dea, Dagrún would insert some chakra into the paper. It wrinkled despite the fingers of Dagrún not moving.
"My name is Dagrún Hon of the Tryvvge lineage. I assume that you two have never heard of it," Giving a sideways glance towards Aoi and Madoc for a second, Dagrún turned her attention towards Dea. "Close ranged combat, that is my forté. If you ever want how to sneak around without being noticed by the most vigilant of prey, I can help with that. Tracking and killing is what I can do."
Lightning started to form and crack around Dagrun's fingers, slowly burning up the paper. The small ashes would fall towards the ground.
"Of course," Closing her right hand, she would hold it up and point casually with her thumb towards Aoi. "I wager it is less flashy than being a magnet. Got to attract something, right?"

Slowly but surely the other females would arrive only reminding him further that he was outnumbered in the female to male ratio. He could practically sense Aoi feeling more uneasy with how she was responding, something he could tell would only make his headache worse. When the blonde asked who they were again he shrugged. Last he remembered he never stated his name. In fact he was pretty sure Meilin did that for them. Besides introductions were today anyway, which as Dea arrived Meilin would hand them the chakra paper and ask them to tell a bit about themselves.

Aoi would go first really quickly simply telling her name and her release since the paper didn't show it. Dagrun then went a bit tauntingly towards Aoi and a bit to him but he didn't care about any lineage. His paper would split in half as he applied the chakra to it. "Madoc Yamanaka, spooky mind controlling shit. I also sneak as that's my specialty, nothing else of interest." Madoc said more so to not overload his headache.

The first that went was Aoi. Meilin was waiting for a second, wondering if Aoi was going to tell more. When it was clear that she wasn't going to, Meilin was slightly confused on why the other wasn't talking more. Was Aoi nervous? Not eager? Though confused, Meilin didn't seek much behind it. Dagrún was the second one and Meilin paid close attention, to the blonde Hon. She wondered for a moment if it was true what she had heard about the descendants of Tryvvge. The question was on the tip of Meilin's tongue but she kept it to herself.
Then Madoc followed, but he forgot to explain what chakra nature he had. Letting him finish, Meilin would flash a warm smile towards Dea.

"He also has wind release, as you noticed his paper split in half. I am Meilin Cho, from the lineage of Nayami. Raised in Keishi and joined the Cho Guard as well the Imperial military." She further explained. Debating something, Meilin decided to push herself. Pouring some chakra into the paper, she continued speaking. "My chakra affinity is towards fire," Though as she spoke, Meilin would just crumple the small piece of paper. A tiny piece of something purple falling to the ground. "I am also trying to take some steps towards becoming better at medical ninjutsu. My fighting style is more or less focused on mid to close quarters. I use bladed weapons, such as swords and knives." Pausing for a moment, Meilin would consider something.
"I am known as Stormraven by the Blackroots and have participated in the battle of Homdar. Other than that, I don't like neither spicy or bitter drinks or food. My current ambition is to become worthy of leading this team." The last was somewhat of a quickly fabricated lie but she doubted that Madoc would be able to pull that from her. "Okay, now with that done. Let us move to the next."

Gesturing to the nearby fenced off pen, Meilin would be the first to enter. There were a few planks with bullseyes painted on them. Placing them against the fence, Meilin would unsheath one of her knives.
"Let us start with some throwing practice to get a bit warm. The first throw is just a normal throw. The second has to be done with the other hand. And the third one has to be done in a different manner. Allow me to demonstrate."
Turning towards the targets, Meilin slowly inhaled. Throwing the knife with her right hand, the weapon would hit the bullseye. Turning to the second target, she would pull a knife with her left hand. Performing the throw, it would hit the target but slightly off the bullseye.
"And yeah, I am better with my right hand. Heh," Meilin felt a bit embarrassed but she would continue on. Picking a knife with her right hand, she would narrow her eyes. A bit of chakra would be poured into the weapon. Throwing the weapon horizontal upwards, Meilin would quickly lean forward. Placing her gloved hands against the cold snow covered ground, the Cho would use her momentum to bring her feet up. The moment that her feet slightly started to arch her body towards the ground, the squad leader would push her body and deliver a hard kick against the knife. As the boots of Meilin landed once more on the ground, the soft thud of the knife hitting the target resonated. It was close to the bullseye, being a better attempt than her throw with the left hand.

"Oef, okay." Straightening her back, Meilin would roll her shoulders as she gestured to the targets. "Who is next?" She asked, while collecting her knives and walking away from the targets.

Aoi paid attention to Dagrún as she spoke, even if there was a part of her that told her to ignore the girls words as she had ignored theirs the night before she wasn't quite able to bring herself to do so. When she came at Aoi with a snide comment about her magnet release Aoi was both furious and confused, on one hand she really wasn't sure what the Chonobi in front of her was getting at and on the other it was clearly an attack on something she had no control over having in the first place, "I don't know what you mean." she managed back in a relatively calm tone and was happy when Meilin took over the conversation.

She only half listened to the Cho as she spoke, her mind running through any number of reasons the new Chonobi would have to dislike her and settling on the only and most obvious reason, that the very same fear she had expressed to Madoc the night prior was true. The girl simply hated her because she wasn't Chonobi, because she was Taika. She stifled a laugh as she came to the realization that this blonde was a real Chonobi, truly from Chonobi lands and of the same mindset, Meilin was not. She'd been foolish to take Meilin as an example of a Chonobi and their perception of others, they truly were as distrusting and disapproving as she had ever been led to believe and Dagrún proved it. She brought herself back from her thoughts in time to see Meilin dropping her paper into the snow, a small hint of some purplish color falling with it but she was unsure of exactly why, she put it away and decided to approach Meilin later if the girl didn't run off with her new friends.

Aoi would step forward after Meilin and pull a kunai from her pouch and throw it at one of the targets with her right hand. It made a satisfying thunk as it embedded itself into the bullseye almost on top of where Meilin's first knife had landed. Pulling another kunai from her pouch she'd switch hands and throw the knife, a small sigh escaping her lips as the kunai embedded itself just outside of the center ring of the bullseye but unlike Meilin she didn't come up with any reasons and instead just reached for her pouch once more. Pulling four kunai from the pouch she would simply drop them at chest height as they flew out from her and embedded themselves around one another in the very center of the final target. Her throws complete the four kunai from the final throw would free themselves and quickly find their way back to her pouch as she held it open for them while she walked forward and pulled her first two knives from the targets, "I'd say that counts as different." she stated as she'd rejoin the team away from the targets.

A soft smile was the only response Dagrún gave in return to Aoi's statement that she didn't know. Listening to what Meilin said, Dagrún made some mental notes but didn't ask or say anything. Waiting, she watched how Meilin performed at the knife throwing. The blonde Hon seemed to approve and even snicker as Meilin made a rather acrobatic finish to the small practice. Then Aoi stepped forward. Watching the blue haired chuunin at work, Dagrún's eyes briefly narrowed. The first two throws hardly interested Dagrún. As she had expected, Aoi would use her magnetism. Truth be told, Dagrún's expectations were surpassed. If anything, she had expected that it would just be some kind of flimsy showcase of a kunai being hovering to a target. What was shown made it clear that the magnetism wasn't something to mock. Yet, as Aoi stated she thought it counted as different, Dagrún would step forwards. Winking towards Aoi.
"I agree. Very different."

Now that it was her turn, Dagrún picked a kunai from her pouch. She would have prefered a knife but had her reasons to use a kunai. The first throw with her right hand made the kunai hit near the bullseye. With what could be described as just a casual attempt, Dagrún's attempt with her left hand didn't gain a much different result.
Picking out two kunai for the third attempt, Dagrún inhaled and exhaled slowly. Focusing on moulding her chakra, small cracks of lightning coursed around the blonde's hands and weapons. As Dagrún threw the weapons, she had aimed them to go upwards. A stream of lightning would become visible as it surrounded the weapons. Slightly lowering her hands, the lightning seemed to also pull the kunai and cause them to impale the practice board. For a few seconds, lightning still remained visible as audible as it flickered around the kunai.
"Heh, saw that pup?" Dagrún turned as she winked towards Dea. "Different releases, same trick, heh?" With that said, Dagrún would rejoin the group again, after she collected her weapons from the boards..

When he had made the comment back in Hanaguro that it was good for a team to disagree, he more so meant about things like decision wise. Dagrun and Aoi simply seemed to be disagreeing based on their culture, which wasn't helping his headache. Yet things would progress as Meilin had introduced herself as she crumbled her paper for some odd reason. That was a choice they could have done? Well he chalked it up to whatever it was that made Meilin simply say what her affinity was. What came next would be knife throwing with Meilin going first, telling them that they would do the throw with both hands and the third one would be more unique?

As Meilin took her turn it was indeed a normal knife throw until the third one where she kicked it and apparently had much better aim than her left arm did. Either she got lucky as hell or she uses her feet for this quite often. Aoi would go next with the same kind of result for the first two while the last one saw her using her magnetism for the last throw. He had figured she would use it, it was still good though. Which prompted Dagrun to go next as her first two throws would end a man as any of the other throws before hers would have, then on the final one showcased her lighting affinity off by throwing her kunai upwards then using lighting to angle them downwards into the practice board. Which was then ended by a jab towards Aoi.

Sighing he'd pull out three kunai, taking one in his right hand he'd look at the board wondering where he should hit as most aimed for the center. Throwing the first one it would impale just above the bullseye, taking the second kunai in his left hand he would throw that one and impale a bit next to his first throw. Debating what he wanted to do for his last throw he could be flashy with his wind release or a bit smart assy. Grabbing the third kunai he'd lay it flat on his hand with the point aimed at the board. Placing his hand at the butt of the kunai he mould his own chakra and then in a burst of wind from him palm, the kunai would propel itself towards and through the board where his other two kunai used to be. In the background you saw his third kunai embedded in the fence post.

The one that followed after her was Aoi. Meilin was expecting that Aoi would use her magnet release. And she was certainly not disappointed. Seeing how effective the particular release was, Meilin gave a subtle thumbs up towards the blue-haired chuunin. Then it was Dagrún that followed. The comments of the blonde Hon caused Meilin to throw a look at Aoi. She wasn't sure if the Hon was provoking something out of Aoi. But Meilin didn't want to jump to conclusions and cause a bigger rift to follow between them all. The way how Dagrún used her lightning caused Meilin to doubt her own third throw. Her acrobatic skills and abilities were a source of pride for her but seeing the way how both Aoi and Dagrún handled the practice, Meilin felt a slight sting of envy. Watching as Madoc took the place of Dagrún, she wondered how his third throw would go. The fact he laid the kunai flat on his hand, Meilin crossed her arms out front of her chest. The moment that Madoc showcased what he could do, Meilin nodded in an approving manner. It was certainly crafty.

"Okay, this is the second thing I wanted to do with you all. I was considering a small spar between two. How about," Meilin glanced at the team. "Madoc and Dagrún. And then Aoi with me. The rules are simple. Hand to hand only." Meilin instructed. "Shall we go first or do you two want to go first?" Meilin shot a look towards Aoi but glanced afterwards to Dagrún and Madoc.

Spar between Dagrún and Madoc.

[spoili]
Dagrún would place her hands at her hips as she watched Madoc's performance. The combination of wind release and the kunai wasn't bad. Making a mental note, Dagrún would pay attention to Meilin as the squad leader spoke up. Throwing a glance at the Yamanaka, Dagrún flashed a friendly smile. "Guess we are going to dance, eh? I suppose we can go first. Though I probably should be a tad gentle. We don't want call in for the physicians just yet, aye?" Dagrún said as she rolled with her shoulders. There was a certain confidence as the young woman would move to the other side of the tile. Turning around, she waited for Madoc to be ready. Her gloved hands still on her hips.

After his turn Meilin would quickly instruct them in what was next, a spar between two pairs. Aoi and Meilin being one and Dagrun and himself the other one. Also wise that Meilin made sure Aoi wouldn't be sparring with Dagrun anytime soon, yet at the same time she paired the close ranged specialist against someone who prefers not even combatting people. He knew Aoi was specialised in close quarters as well but because she couldn't use her magnetism, it was more even between them. Dagrun he felt wouldn't hesitate to try and break him.

As Meilin asked who wanted to go first he was about to say that Aoi and Meilin could when Dagrun said they could go first. She would make a smart comment which caused him to walk away from Aoi, Meilin and Dea and faced Dagrun as he rubbed the back of his head. "Not the kind of dance I'm skilled in but good thing I'm amazing at winging things. Yet gentle, rough. I'm not picky. Ready when you are sunshine." Madoc said as he watched her body language, and everything said that she knew she could possibly kick his ass. So might as well go out his way.

"Sunshine? Oeh," A wide smile appeared on Dagrún's lips. Slowly raising her hands as she took a more boxing stance, the blonde Hon winked at the Yamanaka. "Don't worry. We will start out gentle." The Hon didn't make any initial movement, allowing Madoc to get ready for their imminent spar.

Somehow that smile made him smile as he gave a shrug. "Fine with me. I …. On second thought not gonna say that comment." He said as he studied her stance and knew that trying to trade fists would end up with him getting thrown around. Giving a thumbs up he took off running towards her, raising his own fist and moving one to feign a jab, he would lower closer to the ground when getting closer to her and swing his right leg towards her own legs to try and get her off her feet.

Dagrún watched as Madoc took the initiative and ran towards her. The feign almost worked but the blonde Hon noticed the feint, not falling for it. As Madoc lowered himself, trying to go for a sweep, Dagrún would simply place a foot sturdy on the ground to block the sweep. Looking down at Madoc, the young woman frowned before she would skid a step or two back.

A block which was expected, or well the unfortunate result of what he knew would happen. As she skid back he pushed forward again, this time going for the feinted punch again, only when he moved it forward only to pull it back, he would launch it forward again towards her stomach.

Whistling softly, Dagrún noticed that Madoc didn't give up. That was, at least, a plus in her book. Spotting the feint, the blonde Hon would wait and remain defensive. It was less fun, in her opinion, but she wanted to see what Madoc fighting style was like when it came to hand-to-hand. Seeing where the strike was heading, Dagrún would take the hit. It was far from pleasant as she grunted. Grabbing Madoc's wrist with her left hand with a firm grip, the Hon would attempt to grab Madoc's shoulder with her other hand to keep him near her. The next move would involve her knee towards his stomach.

She had to have seen that one coming, was she acting like Aoi and going easy on him? Yet whhen she grasped his wrist with her left hand and grabbed his shoulder with her right, he tried to pull back too late as her knee connected with his stomach, he felt his insides churn with that one if he hadn't already puked this morning, she would of had a nasty surprise on her. Yet as her knee connected, he moved his right hand to grab under her leg so she couldn't lower it. With his left hand he clutched her shirt and swung his head right towards hers, hoping to stun her and cause her to fall backwards.

Wanting to put her foot down, considering to deliver another blow with her knee, Dagrún noticed that he grabbed her knee. Preventing her from standing sturdy. Expecting that he would try to hook her other leg, Dagrún didn't expect the headbut. The impact caused the young woman to feel a light sensation in her head. Releasing her grip with her right hand, Dagrún would attempt to grab Madoc by his neck. Once certain she had a firm hold, she would return the favour of a headbut.

He felt her grip leave his shoulder, then saw it moving towards his neck. A way to stop him from using his head he assumed. Releasing his grip on her leg, he moved his hand and caught her hand and moved his head forward, colliding skulls again with Dagrun as pain shot through his head. "Glad we skipped gentle.." He said shaking his head as he could still feel his head pounding away.

The pain rushed through Dagrún's head. She didn't entirely register Madoc's words but felt how he released her leg. Which was a bad idea. Without a moment of hesitation, Dagrún would use the released leg to hook it behind one of Madoc's leg and then attempt to work him against the ground. Using her strength, she would try to keep him below her and hopefully forcing him to surrender.

In the brief moment he let her leg go, she would wrap it behind his own leg causing him to be put off balance as he fell backwards on the cold snow ground. Gazing up at her and the position he was now in, she was making sure she kept rooted in it. If this wasn't a friendly spar this would be a different situation. [color=00cdcd]"Usually I'm on top, but this is okay as well. Yet guess I surrender, can't really do anything that isn't dirty fighting."[/color]

Already a fist was raised up as she used her other hand to keep him pinned down with her weight. The comment of Madoc caused Dagrún frowned. Then slowly she would rise up, offering a hand to Madoc. "Usually? So not the first time that you got handled, huh?'' The Hon snorted as she shook her head. She seemed to consider something as she nodded to him, her hands placed on her hips. "You are not bad as I imagined."

Giving a shrug and smirk he would take her hand and pull himself up. "That's one way to phrase it. Much better when I'm not spotted. More effective that way, well that and this is meant to be a friendly spar. Not going to make any friends if we start eye gouging each other." he said rubbing his head, those headbutts so weren't worth causing his headache to get worse. As she made her comment he would chuckle. "Back at you. Maybe we can spar again another day, maybe break a few rules. You know the fun shit." Madoc said as he looked over at Aoi and Meilin whom the latter was walking away rather bitterly.

[/spoili]

Spar between Aoi and Meilin.

[spoili]
Aoi wasn't sure what she was feeling, she couldn't tell if it was disgust or something else at Dagrún for the treatment she was receiving, but she felt debased she was sure of that. She watched as the girl went and found herself biting the inside of her lip as Dagrún seemed to send another jab her way. She'd focus on the copper taste as she bit down sharply to keep herself from talking back and shift her view over to Madoc who she would watch make his throws as if he weren't even there, just staring through him as he went through his task. The crack of the wood from his final kunai's rather explosive impact scared her slightly and she snapped her view back onto the targets to see what he had done, but found herself too late to figure out exactly what Madoc had pulled to cause such damage.

When Meilin stated they'd be doing a small spar she listened intently, the idea of being able to face the Hon where they both apparently specialized was such an overwhelmingly tempting idea she found her hands shaking slightly at the prospect of a match, at the chance to beat the girl if given it. Aoi sighed and exhaled slowly when Meilin placed the Hon and Madoc together and clenched her fists to stop the small shaking that continued even after the idea had been dashed. She turned to Meilin and pointed off to the other side of their training paddock, "Over there good? Far enough away from these two." she said as she cocked her head back toward Madoc and the Hon as they seemed to be getting into place to begin.

Watching where Aoi pointed at, Meilin would answer at first with a nod.
"Seems good enough." The answer was followed with a small smile.
Though curious to see how Dagrún and Madoc would do, Meilin was also eager to get a friendly spar off with Aoi. From what she had seen before, Aoi was no joke when it came down to hand-to-hand combat. If anything, Meilin wagered that Aoi would be able to overpower her. Which mean that trying to stick too long and close to Aoi should be avoided. Then again, Meilin reminded herself that this was just a friendly spar. Driving the thoughts away that she should win, the Cho would roll with her shoulders.
"Okay. Ready?" Forming the Seal of Confrontation, Meilin would focus on her breathing for a moment as she locked her eyes on Aoi.

Aoi shook her hands out as they began to tingle at how tightly she'd balled them and stretched her arms slightly before forming a seal of confrontation to mirror Meilin's, "Ready." she said as she drop the seal and raise her hands up to just above her chest. She would step forward and close the gap between them but wouldn't make any moves to begin an attack. She couldn't form a cohesive idea of what to do with the Chonobi in front of her as she watched the Hon behind Meilin as if she were watching her instead. She wished she could have switched with Madoc, but it was too late now. A flash of annoyance and frustration began to take hold of her and she stepped to Meilin's side and simultaneously sent a jab for the Chonobi's chest.

Dropping the seal, Meilin would also raise both her hands. Taking a more defensive stance, she expected Aoi to follow her initial movement with an attack. When none came, Meilin felt tempted to lash out first. Just before she was going to, Aoi attacked first. Forcing Meilin to pivot in attempt to dodge the attack. As soon as Aoi would pull her arm back, Meilin would attempt to counter with a low kick aimed at Aoi's shin.

Her strike missed as Meilin managed to move and her mind wandered as she couldn't get the words of the Hon out of her head. She felt the kick from Meilin long before she even noticed the Chonobi had even responded to her strike and stepped back a little surprised as her leg pulsed where the kick had connected. Biting her lip again she'd quickly moved back in on Meilin and send a quick jab at the girls arm, following up with a heavier swing with her opposite hand aimed for Meilin's stomach.

Wanting to follow up her kick, Meilin's eyes narrowed when Aoi launched another attack. Though she tried to step back, Meilin felt the punch against her arm. Despite knowing that Aoi wasn't weak, she hadn't expected the sting of pain to be this noticeable. Noticing the heavier swing, Meilin stepped to the side to avoid the swing. Using her left hand, she would attempt to push Aoi backwards - aiming to deliver the push against Aoi's chest.

The satisfaction of her first jab connecting was quickly overshadowed by the disappointment of Meilin managing to dodge her follow up and she wondered if she were perhaps telegraphing herself too much as she didn't feel like her head was really in the spar as much as she would have liked. The push from Meilin came, a little unexpected but nothing she could't react to in time. She let Meilin's hand reach her, raising the hand from the jab up to grasp the Cho's wrist as she pushed her and take the girl with her as they stepped back, hopefully stumbling her if Meilin weren't quite expecting it.

Trying to pull her hand back as she saw that Aoi reached for her wrist, Meilin would be too late. Feeling the pull, the first instinct of Meilin was to pull back. Instead of doing so, Meilin would suddenly lunge herself forwards. Intending to use her weight and Aoi's pull to bring them to the ground, with her on top.

Aoi had a sudden remembrance of the spar she had with Madoc as the Cho forced her weight forward with her. She found herself grinning as they both fell backwards before the impact sent stars through her vision. She gasped as the full weight of Meilin on top of her only doubled the impact but was quickly back to it. She would swing her arms out and around Meilin, hugging her tightly as she would roll to one side to try and place herself above the Cho.

Falling on top of Aoi, Meilin grunted softly. Trying to stabilise as trying to stay on top of Aoi, Meilin felt how Aoi hugged her. Trying to resist the roll at first, Meilin would try to use the momentum to come out on top again. Struggling against Aoi, Meilin wanted to play it dirty but reminded herself that this was a harmless spar. No need for thumbs to pressing eyes back or any sort of that. Failing to get on top, Meilin would cease her struggle.
"Well," she started as she lightly panted, "This didn't go as expected."

As they tumbled Aoi could feel as the Chonobi attempted to keep the roll going but failed as they came to a halt with Aoi now on top of the Cho. Their positions changed she quickly pulled her arms from beneath the Cho and hauled her legs up from below her so she was sitting up on the girls stomach. She registered the comment of Meilin, a brief flash of thinking the girl was giving up finding its way into her mind but it wasn't enough to break her from almost automatic actions. She brought a fist in from the side to strike Meilin's face, following up quickly with one from the otherside before the Cho could hopefully react to the change in circumstances.

Noticing the fist coming at her face, Meilin raised her arms to defend herself. The impact of the punch caused Meilin to frown. Keeping her arms in a defensive fashion, Meilin weighed her options quickly. Starting to attempt to wriggle herself underneath of Aoi, the Cho was looking for an opening between Aoi's attacks.

Aoi's fists connected with the Cho's arms as she raised them up just in time to shield her head from the strikes. She took a deep breath and let out a yell as she'd change her point to strike from the now covered and blinded face of the Chonobi to her exposed chest and sides. The strikes coming at the same time they would have hit the Cho's arms she'd hit at Meilin's exposed ribs beneath her armpits on both sides before lacing her fingers together and coming down hard on the center of the Chonobi's chest.

Hearing the yell, Meilin was about to order Aoi to stand down. But before the words could leave Meilin's lips, she felt a pain radiating from her chest and sides. The sting of pain was enough to drive some water to Meilin's eyes. As a reaction, Meilin would attempt to lash back. Using her right hand to grab and pull Aoi by whatever she could grab. Her other hand forming a fist to punch the blue-haired girl back at her side.

The reaction of the Cho didn't surprise Aoi very much, in fact she barely noticed the desperate struggle of the girl beneath her as she grabbed at her clothes and landed a hit on her side, at this point she was another opponent, and a damn good vent for her anger over the other Chonobi. She winced and faltered a moment with the hit to her side but quickly brought an elbow down on the arm of Meilin that was grasping at her clothes and responded in kind to her hit with another fist aimed at the Chonobi's chin.
Feeling how Aoi brought an elbow down, Meilin tried to keep a tight grip on Aoi's clothing to cause her to hunch forwards. Wanting to try something, Meilin's world trembled for a moment. Blinking rapidly, a sharp pain shot through her head, starting from her chin. It caused her next movement to be a tad slower as she tried to connect a punch to the side of Aoi's head.

Aoi relished in the stunned look on the Cho's face as her punch connected, perhaps too lost in it to react in time to her rather sloppy follow up punch Aoi took the fist in full with a grunt and felt herself leaning off the Chonobi. She shot an arm out to the ground to stop her fall and pushed back up to bring herself back ontop of the Cho taking a handful of snow with her as she did. As she came back up to her earlier position she'd throw the snow at the Chonobi's eyes.

Using the window of a second to recover herself slightly, Meilin would attempt to throw another punch at Aoi. This time faster and aimed to connect as Aoi tried to stabilise herself again top of her. A brief yelp escaped Meilin as the cold snow obstructed her sight and the biting cold was anything but pleasant.

Taking the hit from the Cho Aoi took in a sharp breath and blinked away the pain from the far more potent strike before taking her chance as the Chonobi's sight was blinded by the snow. She brought a fist down to strike the Cho's stomach just beneath the ribs, and would try to follow it up by reaching the other arm forward and grasping at the Chonobi's neck.

Coughing as result from the connected blow, Meilin was getting enough. This was not a friendly spar anymore. Shaking her head for a second, she managed to open and see with her right eye. Noticing the arm that was reaching for her neck, Meilin would let Aoi grab her. Only for her own arms to wrap around Aoi's extended arm and apply pressure to cause pain.
"Stand. Down."
There was the thought to threaten that she would try to break Aoi's arm but she didn't want to. And even if she did, she had trouble enough focusing on breathing to talk extended sentences at the moment.

Aoi's hand slipped over the Chonobi's neck and she began to tighten her grip, but before she could get far she was being told to stand down. For a moment she continued to tighten her grip before releasing entirely. Her arms would come to hang slack at her sides and she'd rise up off of her knees quickly to look down on the beaten Cho. Her frustration was still there, her anger too. And then there was the disgust, at herself, and at the Chonobi she had beaten. She stepped away from Meilin and brought a hand to the side of her mouth, wiping at it and leaving a smear of blood where Meilin's earlier hits had split her lip.

When Aoi didn't release her grip, Meilin felt how it became harder to breath. For a moment, she was convincing herself that Aoi had gone too far. And that the only way to free herself would be to apply even more pressure to a breaking point. But Aoi released her grip and Meilin didn't continue to hold her grip. Coughing softly as she was able to breath again, Meilin would get up. There was some anger in her too. Wanting to sneer and berate Aoi. But Meilin kept it at a glare she shot at Aoi. It took some self-control but Meilin would turn to Aoi. With a blank expression on her face, Meilin would offer a hand towards Aoi.
"Good spar." The two words were said in a softer tone and seemed as if Meilin needed to push them out and not say something else.

She watched as the Cho coughed and rose to her feet, giving Aoi a glare that made it obvious she wasn't happy with her actions. She wanted to speak, to say anything but nothing would come to mind, and then the Cho was holding out her hand for Aoi to take and offering her a compliment. She began to reach forward, her fingers extending before drawing back in as she hesitated but she'd take the Cho's hand and give it a weak shake, "Yeah, right. Good spar." she agreed half-heartedly before pulling her hand from Meilin's. Aoi found herself biting her lip again as waited for a response, letting the copper taste fill her mouth as she did.

"I am going to train Dea now. See if you, Madoc and Dagrún can work on something." There seemed to be something else that Meilin wanted to say. But instead, she kept it at the previous instruction, for now. Her left hand clenched into a fist but the Cho would turn on her heels and walk towards Dea. Trying to let some of the pain and frustration with the previous spar ebb away.

"Sure." Aoi said with a bit of a laugh at the fact she was expected to figure something out with the Hon to do while Meilin ran off to train her new Chonobi. She'd notice her hands were shaking again and quietly shove them into her jackets pockets as she turned around to walk towards Madoc and the Hon.

[/spoili]

[/spoili][/Fieldbox]

Aliceee · Jul 26, 2018

[fieldbox=Raising the Dead, #33cccc]
In Magnhild's Citadel,
The rise of a Ghost.

A collab between Lesli and Alice.

Summary:
Yumi Hasewaga has served for a long time in the shadows. Manipulating and witnessing many events, often aiding various teams and people during her missions. In this collab, she learns of a new goal and purpose that she is requested to fulfil. Pulled out of the shadows, it is now her turn to light the way for others.

[spoili]

It remained silent in the room. Seated in a comfortable seat, Kiyomi was alone with a few Sworn Swords in the spacious room. There were various decorations that had attracted her attention. Some paintings that described some of the city's history and prideful leadership that it had enjoyed, under which it had prospered. Holding a glass with water, Kiyomi waited for the person to appear. Just when Kiyomi took a sip, the door to the room would be opened.

Entering the room, Yumi would close the door behind her. As the young woman turned, she would smoothly turn the motion into a gracious bow towards Kiyomi. Staying lowered, she didn't announce herself. It wasn't needed and she would stay in the low bow until she would notice the sign that she could rise, subtly looking at Kiyomi in her bow state.

"Strife," Kiyomi began as she gestured that Yumi could straighten herself from the bow. It wasn't much to Kiyomi's joy to talk to somebody bowed unless there was a specific reason for it. "I take it that the mission in the Framí province went as planned?" Kiyomi asked, her left eyebrow slightly raised.

Raising and straightening herself from the bow, Yumi placed her hands behind her back. She nodded. "Yes, your Majesty. The mission went as planned. We discovered a Zealot team and managed to tackle it. Capturing one of those odd creatures that seem to be living dead. According to the sensors, at least." Yumi replied. Though she didn't show it, she had been quite interested to learn more of those odd individuals. But she hadn't been able to ask Rookie more about what he had sensed. "The team that I was leading is right now, as we speak, transporting the captured zealot and odd individual towards Konohagakure for questioning and examination."

A pleased scoff resonated from Kiyomi as she nodded. "I knew that this wouldn't be a too troublesome task for you. I take it that," a pause followed as Kiyomi seemed to try to remember something, "Phoenix got hurt?" She further asked, taking another sip of her drink.

"Phoenix and the other operatives on my team worked as true professionals, your Majesty. None of us got hurt. I would like to thank some of our success to the Grey Guard. Without their information and aid, this would have been much more problematic to gain the same results." Yumi replied, as she made a small bow of her head.

"Yeah," Kiyomi softly replied. Even as she was the Empress and quite known with her clan, Kiyomi hadn't much experience working or seeing the Grey Guard to work. However, she knew that fame and reputation wasn't everything. Sometimes the lack of a reputation or fame meant that the group or opponent was only that much more dangerous. "But I didn't request your presence for a debrief of your mission. As you might have noticed yourself, these Zealots are becoming a real pain in my arse. Worse is that they have shown that they are willing to collaborate with various of our neighbours. Once they promised to bring a surviving Suzu clan member to the Wind. Though that plan got thwarted by a specialist team, we have uncovered that they worked with the operatives from the Fang. It will only be a question of time before they will consider to expand their network and allies."

Pausing, Kiyomi gestured Yumi to come forward as she would rise up from her seat. Turning to a nearby table, Kiyomi would place her drink down and lean on the table. A map was laid out of a region with various notes scribbled on it. "I will need you to join an operation. Not as Ghost ANBU but as a member of the Scholae. The goal is known to take down a few high ranked Zealots that are currently being trailed and guided towards this position." Kiyomi gestured to one of the points of interest on the map. "I already have groups of Sworn Swords at the ready to lay down the area. Locking it down from zealot reinforcements. I will later speak with Lord Hon to recruit some of his Grey Guard to further cement the area. While a group of operatives will be sent into the fray to take out the Zealots."

Raising her head, Kiyomi looked at Yumi. "The thing is that one of the objectives is to acquire back the Jinchuriki of the Kyuuubi. He is held hostage and must be taken back before they will do something that can do a lot of damage to the area. And I prefer not to explain why the Zealots got their hands on the jinchuriki, while many believe that said jinchuriki is in the east."

Yumi had reckoned that it wouldn't be the cause, that she was requested for just a debriefing or that Kiyomi favoured her or Phoenix. When gestured to move forward, the young woman complied. Standing at the side of Kiyomi as she began to explain, Yumi took in the map. She wasn't familiar with the region but didn't ask any questions right away. A glance was shot sideways as Kiyomi stated that she required Yumi to be in on the mission. Not as Ghost ANBU but as a scholae? She wasn't entirely sure what the later title or occupation entitled but didn't feel comfortable. When Kiyomi stated that these Zealots had managed to get their hands on the jinchuriki and that he must be taken back, Yumi nodded. She didn't have that much experience with jinchuriki but had her own methods to contain and restrain a person. Though, none of those people had ever been able to tap into the power of a Bijuu.

"And what does this, scholae entitle, your Majesty?" Yumi asked, carefully, as she turned her gaze back at the map. The operation was clear. Nothing that was out of her league, Yumi reckoned. And if it was, she would adapt to the situation as good as she could.

"You're going to exit the Ghost ANBU. It will become known that you served the regular ANBU and that I handpicked you to become a member of the Scholae. Which means that you're one of my handpicked elite. A sort of smaller Sworn Sword company, if that helps to clarify it. But not only there to protect me but serve me in a more versatile fashion." Kiyomi explained as she would pick up her glass and take another sip, emptying the glass. "I reckon it will be somewhat of a shock for some. But it isn't strange for ANBU to fake their own death. Though it has gotten quite out of style in many countries. Not sure why but the existence of the Ghost ANBU will be still protected."

The world seemed to start to lightly shake as if it was trying to give Yumi the idea that she was heavily intoxicated. The idea to be 'alive' for the world was an odd one. Not that she hadn't thought about it. Many of the Ghost ANBU had given up their personal ambitions and desires to serve the Empire better. To give their lives for something bigger and better than their own gains. What sounded noble but was a harsh and unforgiven vocation. An existence that she had endured for almost years by now.
"I..."
She tried to find an argument to go against it. On one hand, she was pleased to take the chance. Not to acquire another position that meant more prestige and chances to better herself. But because it allowed her to come out of the shadows. Despite she found herself comfortable in the shady underworld of the Ghost ANBU and all its secrecies, she wouldn't mind having a life of her own. To create and follow her own ambitions. But on the other hand, it was terrifying. More than any opponent that she had faced in the past. It meant that she would face some judgment from the people that she had left behind. Not that there many that but she was too afraid what a certain Hasewaga would think.

"How is Leo?" She asked, her eyes still focused on the map laid out on the table in front of her, unable to think of anything to ask or say right now.

It remained silent for a moment. Kiyomi's gaze went back to the map as well.

"Leo is fine and well. He has gained an unknown patron that ordered some orders. Earning him enough to begin his own small workshop where he is working out his sculptures. A peaceful living. He seems happy from what I gather." Kiyomi said with a softer tone.
"I believe that he will would like to meet the unknown art collector."

It was painful. Feeling as if somebody pierced her stomach with some hot iron, turning up the heat as it penetrated her skin and flesh, Yumi had great trouble to fight back against the tears. She felt a mixture of emotions as she listened to the answer of Kiyomi. To hear that her younger sibling was doing alright was good. She had used the little what she could use to fund his small establishment. On returning from missions, she often took a detour to spy and see the boy working hard to earn himself a living. To do something else with his gift than to serve in the military. To create and not destroy. Her left hand trembled a bit as she thought that she could return to Leo. Would he be mad? Relieved and happy? Or just not believe it, sending her away, forever?

"After this operation, you may decide for yourself if you want to return to Leo or not." Kiyomi said softly. There was a twinge of doubt and guilt that stung but if there was somebody that she trusted from the ANBU or Ghost ANBU to the bitter end, then it was Yumi. "Or do you really wish to be in the shadows, Strife?"

It remained silent. The choices were weighed in Yumi's mind. To choose between to ascend or remain in the shadows. Closing her eyes and inhaling slowly, she would provide her answer to Kiyomi.
"I will accept this offer, your Majesty. If I can visit Leo after this operation, then that would be all that I dare to request from you."

"Thanks, Yumi." Patting Yumi's shoulder, Kiyomi flashed a warm smile. "I already arranged a room for you to stay. Please make use of it to rest out. You will later be briefed about more details of this operation. As well take this time to request any additional gear you would like. I shall make sure that you will receive what you ask for."

[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Walter Swan · Jul 26, 2018

[fieldbox="Crashed into Hello, SkyBlue"]

Shion Kobayashi & Yukimi Yuki | Genin of Team 17 & Chunin of Team 11 respectively | Republic of the Water Country, Kirigakure

@Jason Targaryen
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Shion ran through the heavy mist shrouding the Kirigakure training field, late for the release of a new book she's been anticipating for weeks. Her team's training was supposed to conclude at noon, about an hour ago, but with their workouts going into several punishment rounds, it took much longer than they expected.

Desperate to get to the bookstore in time, the genin focused chakra into her feet before dashing off in a much faster speed than before. Moving at such a speed in a thick mist wouldn't allow her to fully absorb her surrounding, which meant she was more than likely to crash into something. Luckily she was traveling along a straight road leading to the entrance so there shouldn't be any obstructions in her path. However there was a niggling possibility at the back of her head that she could run into someone along the path.

'Oh, well. With how empty the path is, it's not like there's going to be anyone,' her mind assured her, seconds before she noticed a figure within the mist, "OH, CR-"

Yukimi was not in the best mood overall, the stupid training with her team had gone just about as great as she had expected. Which, suffice to say, meant that she would've much rather spent the day with her betrothed and she hated that man with every fiber of her being. As she was walking away from the training thinking about what had happened. Why did that woman even deign to say she had failed in the training? She was protecting her own life, which was kind of important. As it would be a bit hard to fight if she were dead.

She was so occupied with these thoughts that she never even noticed the figure approaching rapidly through the heavy mist. Not until it was too late and she was knocked firmly off her feet and to the ground. After a moment she pushed herself to her feet, glaring down at the person who had ran into her. "Watch where you're going! You could have hurt me." She replied in a perfectly even tone, yet it was dripping with ice even as the temperature around them plummeted with the Yuki's mood.

"I-I'm so sorry about this!" Shion helped the angry girl up, brushing the dirt off her clothes, "I was in a hurry and I didn't…"

However the genin's excuses trailed off as she noticed her white hair, staring at it in curiosity, "Huh? Isn't that..."

"Oh, sorry for staring!" the genin apologized again in a fluster, "It's just...your hair has the same color as sensei's."

She wanted to immediately lash out again, after refusing the girl's offer to help her to her feet. But then Yukimi was totally taken aback by the girl's staring. She had the guts to do this just after running into her like that? She was about to give a verbal lashing to this… peasant when she girl apologized once more, followed by an explanation. In turned it caused Yukimi to fall completely silent as she watched Shion for a few moments. So this brat was one of Kukiko's? Afterall, there weren't many in this city with a hair color as white as her own. Crossing her arms, Yukimi forced herself to wear a much more polite expression than she had before. She still had a promise to uphold to her aunt, and what good would it be if she went and broke it on one of her aunt's own students.

"Oh, where are my manners. You aren't at fault here. For that, my apologies miss…? Yukimi said, raising an eyebrow as if asking for the other girl's name. Not that she actually cared, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Still, her tone had an almost… regal air to it. As if she were still some superior speaking to a servant. "I take it you are on Kukiko Yuki's team then?" She asked simply, admittedly curious to confirm her suspicions.

"Ah, it's Shion. Shion Kobayashi and yes, I'm a part of her team," the genin replied, confused by the sudden attitude change. She was sure the girl would be even more angry after she stared at her like that. Maybe it had something to do with the mention of Kukiko, "So you know sensei? Judging from your hair, you must be related to her."

She wondered if this brat was stupid, obviously they were related. How many others with her color hair were running around? But her features did not display that, as she simply nodded and gave a friendly smile. "I supposes it does run in the family. To answer your question, yes. I do know your sensei. She happens to be my aunt. I am Yukimi Yuki, by the way. Its very nice to meet somebody who works closely with my aunt." She said with a polite bow of her head, keeping her grace about her with every move. Afterall, image was everything for somebody like herself.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Yukimi-chan," Shion greeted as she bowed back, "And wow, I never knew that sensei has such a beautiful niece like you."[/color]

"Now that I think about it, sensei is also pretty beautiful herself," she added as she stroked her chin. Maybe she didn't notice it before because she has a sickly appearance most of the time. She couldn't mention that part in front of her niece though, "Guess it really did run in the family, eh?"

"Anyway you just finished training too, right?" the genin asked, "So how did it go?"

She really hoped the genin wouldn't be trying to get anything out of that flattery. Everybody wanted something, it was only a matter of time before they came around demanding it. "Curious. Most people don't find my aunt overly attractive because she is sickly. That being said, you are correct. She's a beautiful woman." Yukimi calmly replied. She let out a sigh, knowing that she would need to head back soon or father would likely sent some bodyguard. He couldn't handle not knowing where his daughter was. Making a small gesture for Shion to walk with her, Yukimi once again started heading out from the training fields. She paid no mind to whether or not Shion came with her, it was simply expected. "My, right away with the questions, huh? It went fine. How was yours? I pray Auntie Kiko wasn't too harsh on you lot?"

"Ahahaha...I wish I could say no..." Shion replied nervously as she walked besides Yukimi.

"You see we were going through a workout before our training as a warm-up and sensei announced a special rule that anytime one of us failed, we would have to perform an additional round as a punishment," the genin explained, "We were lucky there were only two of us or else I doubt we would even be able to leave by nightfall."

"And of course, she followed that up with a no-holds-barred spar," she added with a chuckle before imitating Kukiko's mannerism with a tint of exaggeration, "'You will find little respite in a battlefield,' she said."

"My aunt is right. She's been through quite a few missions, you would be wise to take everything she tells you to heart." The girl said calmly as they started to leave the training field. A man stood idle nearby, arms crossed as he seemed to be waiting on somebody. Yukimi let out a long sigh at the sight of the man as he approached them. So father had sent somebody to escort her back. "I'll be fine. Tell father not to worry, besides I wish to spend some time getting to know this young woman from my aunt's team." She said, gesturing towards the man as if shoo'ing him away. She didn't particularly want to spend time with Shion, but she didn't want to be escorted around. The man sighed and tried to protest as Yukimi continued to shoo him before finally giving up. "As you wish, Lady Yuki." He said as he turned and walked away with a clear sign of irritation on his features.

It was easy for Shion to forget how rich the Yuki family is, with how Kukiko seemed to be living frugally, but seeing Yukimi ordering her escort away was enough to remind her that the girl's father is still the Master of Economy for the entire country and not to mention, the amount of businesses he owns. She felt a little nervous, on edge by the realization of the massive financial gap between them.

"You don't have to worry about me, you know?" the genin said as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I'm fine if someone accompanies us."

To be honest, Yukimi hadn't thought about Shion in the slightest while waving away her guard. Yukimi wondered silently how peasants had such self importance that they would deign to think this was about them. No, Yukimi simply hadn't wanted to be escorted around by some guard. She was an adult, and father could patiently wait for her to get back whenever she wanted to. With a shrug and a light giggle she shook her head towards Shion.

"Oh no, Miss Kobayashi, that was simply because I didn't want to be escorted around. I am an adult now, father needs to stop constantly fretting. But ah, I guess I'll always be his little girl to him." She added with a laugh, knowing full well it was more out of concern for protecting his heir than anything else.

"Oh, I see," Shion perked up as she realized that Yukimi didn't dismiss her servant because of her. She wouldn't want to be imposing on the girl after all, "Fathers, am I right?"

"My father is the same too, doting on me like I'm still his little girl," she replied with a chuckle, "He wouldn't even let me join the Academy if not for my mother."

Yukimi simply raised an eyebrow in response. Neither of her parents had wanted her to go to the academy, but somehow she managed to convince them to let at the time. "When I was a little girl my father was very against me becoming a kunoichi. But I was enamored by some of the stories I heard from a certain jounin that I just had to become one. Gods know how I convinced my father, but hey. It worked." Yukimi said softly as they walked. "Would you mind telling me a bit of what it's like to work with my aunt? I've never seen her in work mode."

"Hm, work mode? I wouldn't call it that though," Shion replied, "She's pretty relaxed and caring most of the time. She never forces unreasonable demands on us and she answers all of our questions patiently. In fact, she's even helping me work on a special technique right now!"

"That said, she can be strict when she needs to, like today for example," she continued, "In fact, a while ago, I decided to challenge sensei alone despite her giving me a chance to team up with my friend. Taught me how stupid that decision is by beating me straight to Sanzu River."

"Why did you decide to challenge your sensei? Generally I wouldn't find that to be the smartest decision to begin with. Its good to hear she isn't much different than normal." She said with a slight laugh, a little content with hearing that Kukiko wasn't somebody completely different when on the job. "How do you feel about having her as your teacher?"

"It's great!" Shion replied with a wide smile, "One time, I was stumped on how to practice the Samurai Sabre Technique and despite not being trained in it, sensei actually explains the technique well enough for me to understand. In fact, she's even teaching me the technique. Well….its fundamentals, I mean."

"Anyways in short, I couldn't ask for a better teacher than her," she assured Yukimi, "And I bet Yuyu feels the same."

"I assume Yuyu is your teammate. Be glad you've got a good teacher, it could he much worse." Yukimi said in response, seeing as she was enjoying the opposite of having a good team leader. They walked a bit further in silence, before Yukimi gestured towards a small cafe nearby. "I don't know about you, but I could go for something to drink. Care to join? I'd love to hear more about Kukiko as a teacher so I can tease her later." She added, and then fell silent to hear her reply and in case Shion had any questions in return. Afterall, it was only polite to answer some questions from the other girl.

"Of course, I would love to, Yukimi-chan," Shion replied with a smile, "It's not like I have any-"

The genin paused mid-sentence as she remembered something she forgot, something that she had been anticipating for a long time...something that would be gone if she didn't get there in time...

"Oh, my god!" Shion screamed, wide-eyed, "I can't believe I forgot! At this rate, 'Makeout Hot Springs' is going to be sold out soon!"

When the girl started screaming about makeout something or another, Yukimi visibly recoiled. Did Shion not care for how others perceived her or those around her? Shaking her head Yukimi decided that their interaction was finished there. Stopping where she was, Yukimi looked over at Shion for a moment before speaking up. "This was a pleasure, but I feel I should leave you to it so that isn't sold out. In that case I shall be heading home, it was nice to meet you Shion." Yukimi said with a bow of her head before turning on a heel and walking the other direction, hoping to put distance between herself and the screaming girl.

"Oh, sure!" Shion replied, hurriedly waving her hand at the young mistress, "See you later, Yukimi-chan! I will tell you all about sensei later!"

Seeing that the girl was already leaving, Shion turned on her heels and ran in the other direction towards the bookstore, hoping that at least, at the very least, there would still be one book left on the shelf. But alas she arrived at the bookstore, covered in sweat, only to find that 'Makeout Hotsprings' was already sold out as she dreaded. With the training and future missions, she doubted that she would be able to catch the next time the books are restocked so there went her only chance to get the book.

Well, on the bright side, she made a wonderful friend today...maybe...

[/fieldbox]

Aliceee · Jul 26, 2018

[fieldbox=Not Allowed, #33cccc]
In Magnhild's Citadel, - Capital of the Hon clan, Empire of Akino
Forming the rescue plan.

A relative small collab between Gerontis and Alice.

Summary:
Kiyomi discusses the plans to take out the various high ranked Zealots as rescuing Tatsuya Hon with Zakito Hon. The two go on about the finer details of the mission and who they want to enlist in the operation.

[spoili]

The map was laid out on the table as various notes were made on it, to point out various movement and details that were of interest. Leaning on the table, Kiyomi raised her right hand and started to explain what she had in mind. "The Sworn Swords will cement the area of operations. A large group divided into teams will make sure that no Zealot will easily move into the area without being contested. They will use their sensory members to make sure to screen those who move in and out of the area. Further, they will be operating in conjunction with what you can afford with the Grey Guard to prevent the Zealots from stirring unrest in the said area. This will allow us an one time shot at the target group," Kiyomi right index finger would point at a point of interest.

"From what we have gathered is that there are six high ranked zealots. The known profiles detail that there are three missing-nin. Each of those being A ranked, listed in the bingo books. Why or how they got affiliated with the Zealots isn't known but not the point either. They got one captive, though. Tatsuya Hon." Pausing for a moment, Kiyomi pulled her right hand back and kept her gaze at the point that she had pointed at.
"I want to enlist a gathered group that will serve underneath the leadership of Aiko Cho-Hon. If there is anybody who is more than capable of taking high ranked operatives down, then it is her. She will be further reinforced by Yumi Hasewaga and me, to safeguard that the secret objective of acquiring Tatsuya will happen." Raising her eyes, Kiyomi locked her gaze on Zakito. "What do you think?"

Zakito stared with his right eye at the map. The plan wasn't all that bad. He slowly nodded as his arms were crossed out front of his chest. "I think it is a sound plan. I can easily rally the Grey Guard to offer aid and make sure that nobody else gets to the area without our knowledge. If you want to enlist Aiko in this operation, I do agree." He remembered the operation that required a team to take out Nakashima Senju. She had managed to do what others could have dreamt about, doing that with three genin and what? Three low ranked techniques? Against an S ranked missing-nin that had managed to acquire some lethal abilities. "However," his tone became sterner, "You won't be assigned on this mission."

Kiyomi's lips parted when he began with 'however', already aware of what he would say. A second of silence followed Zakito's last words. "I understand why. But right now, I am the most capable of calming and subduing another jinchuriki. If Tatsuya goes on a rampage or they do the unspeakable, I got the best shot out of everybody to make a chance to create a good end." She began as she tried to maintain control of her frustration. She hadn't wanted to acquire Zakito's help or even use her Sworn Swords. But as she had gone over the plan, she hadn't seen any other choice but to do so. Katashi had also stated that he would be happy to follow the plan but that he would bar her from joining an operation that could put her so much at risk. "I don't believe I have done anything to justify so much defiance for me to join an operation, have I now?"

Zakito moved his gaze to Kiyomi from the map, his right eye locking on to the young Empress. His tone and composure didn't change from the calm and confidence that he radiated. "No, you haven't. But you must remember what you are now. An Empress. You are quite capable and indeed, if the operation details a jinchuriki or a Bijuu even then you're one of the few that we got an an answer. But even with the Zealots in a corner, I don't think it will be this much of an easy mission." He paused as his head slightly titled to the right. "Besides, you are too personal invested into this mission. The boy is a pupil of yours and you want to invest yourself in the mission to be certain that he goes out of this unscathed."

Her eyes narrowed. She wanted to argue back. To verbally fight against his decisions. To throw her title and occupation into the fight, to gain what she wanted. To be certain that she could execute this plan herself. But he was right. Bitter and experiencing it as a loss, Kiyomi lowered her gaze, back at the map. "Very well. But this plan will suffice?"

He took no joy in refraining her from what she wanted to do. It was endearing and just proved once more to him that she was the right pick. He wondered for a moment if Hisoka or Meisa would agree with his decision. Sakamoto would likely be the one of the four that would take her side, likely stating he would watch over her. The sad truth was that none of them could offer that extra assurance right now that allowed him to have Kiyomi go. "The plan is very well thought out. And quite feasible." Zakito started, his tone becoming softer as he let his arms hang at his side.

"I will see if I can provide some assurance by allowing an operative of my own choice to join this operation, in your stead." He continued. "I will make sure you get the details of this operative later. Right now, you are required to be seen and interact with the clan leaders as representatives that haven't yet set their journey back home."

Kiyomi nodded. She knew her duties and had already created two shadow clones to attend to her duties. She wanted to argue one more time, a final attempt to make sure that she could be there to see Tatsuya being brought into safety. Biting on her lower lip, she would nod again. "I understand."

"Good. Don't worry. Tatsuya will be brought home, your Majesty."

[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Oetje · Jul 26, 2018

[fieldbox=A meeting, burlywood]
Empire of Akino,
Magnhild, the capital fortress-city of the Hon clan.

An small collab between Conman and Oetje.

Summary:
Orun Hyuzu meets up with Meilin Cho, desiring to meet and learn more of Team 4 - that exist to support and accompany Team 8 as a support team. Meilin, however, isn't keen to just hand over information and with being quite closed in approach, the meeting isn't long.

[spoili]
Orun sat down in a booth at the small tavern. It was on the southern side of Magnihild, and even though it was the evening, not many patrons had shown up. Those that were there, Orun determined were regulars, or people staying in the few rooms that the tavern had for rent. When the waiter came by, Orun ordered a kettle of tea, and sipped it from a wooden cup as he waited. The person he was here to meet was Meilin Cho, leader of team 4. Later on he was sure he'd meet the full team, however due to some difficulties, Orun was unable to do so all at once, so instead he was just going to meet with Meilin.

Walking down the street, Meilin's brow gained a frown. She had received the message but wasn't sure what to think of it. Knowing that she had her duties, she would rather attend to her own projects. Braving the cold till she was at the entrance of the establishment where she would meet up with Orun. The tavern was small and there weren't many patrons, despite the hour that most would come from work to drink a pint or two. Spotting the man that matched the descriptions, Meilin would push her hood down as she crossed the distance.
"Meilin Cho. I assume that you're Orun Hyuzu?" Meilin asked, deciding to stick to Taika. Which felt a bit weird seeing the place they were in. Meilin would prefer to wait for a reply before taking a seat. To avoid a potentially awkward scenario.

Orun nodded politely, "I am," Then waited for the woman to take a seat. "I apologize for the odd timing, however it came to my attention that you were working with my commanding officer, Aiko Cho, and she asked me to meet with you, and to introduce myself." He said, then motioned to the kettle and a spare cup that he had brought with his own cup. "I ordered some tea, you are welcome to it, if you would like. I don't often drink liquor, and I thought that a hot drink might be welcome, considering the cold of the evening." Orun then drew his pencil and small, leatherbound notebook out, setting it off to the side for the moment.

Taking a seat, Meilin listened to this Orun. Judging from his appearance, he was older than her. Or well, she assumed so. Not that it mattered much to her.
"Cho-Hon," Meilin calmly said, correcting Orun. She doubted that the man knew the importance but Meilin wasn't going to delve further into that.
"I am fine. No need for a drink," she further said. There was the temptation to perhaps order something as Pinedale Ale but right now Meilin wanted to just focus on what Orun wanted to talk or discuss with her.
A frown appeared on her brow as he pulled out a notebook. Was he going to take notes or draw something?

A small smile crossed Orun's lips as he spotted her frown. He gathered from her look that she was wondering exactly the purpose of the notebook was. He tapped the item in question with his index finger. "This is my notebook, after a long time as a shinobi, i've found it easier to organize my thoughts, priorities, and details of certain meetings if I have one of these on hand." Orun sipped his tea, then continued. "So, a formal introduction first, I am Orun Hyuzu, Specialist Jounin, and newly assigned to Team 8 to tutor under Jounin Aiko Cho in preparation for a command of my own."

A notebook to scribble his thoughts? Meilin had some doubts but kept her facial expression blank. Her brown eyes settled on the man as she simply nodded. She didn't mind it if he wanted to write something down. Then he introduced himself again. Causing a second of silence to follow.
"Meilin Cho. The leader of Team 4." Meilin simply said. There was no need to state more. To say that she was part of the Cho Guard or the Guardians, as a protegé member wouldn't have much input. Certainly, she wasn't going to talk about either.
"So, what is that you want to discuss?"

Orun frowned, tapping his notebook absentmindedly. "Well, if I am entirely honest, I was asked to greet you, and that is about it…. I was simply following an order to make myself acquainted with yourself, and well, I was supposed to meet with your team as well, but… well it seems that was unable to be arranged. Now that we've met, well, I'd figured you could talk with me briefly about your team in their place, and then we could call this meeting to a close. It may seem silly that we had this meeting in the first place, but instructions have to be followed...." He sipped his tea again. He was silent, waiting for her to start talking.

She could understand it was an order. But Meilin didn't consider that this was of such importance that the entire team was required to be dragged in. There were other matters than to meet this man that were more pressing, in Meilin's opinion. Certainly, as they had been training today, Meilin wanted them to be fit and ready for tomorrow's plan.
"There isn't much to talk about," Meilin said. She didn't feel to the level of comfort to just talk with a complete stranger about her team. There was a certain desire to defend them, despite she was capable to rationalise that Orun likely meant nothing with his request.
"I got one genin and three other chuunin. Not much else to inform you," the young woman further stated.

"Well then, I will not take up any more of your time then, once again, my apologies for the meeting." Orun decided to break off any pursuit of information. The blank face and short answers of the woman made it clear to him that pursuing information of the sort would be fruitless. She was clearly not interested in speaking about her team. Orun silently questioned why Aiko had him go and speak to this woman in the first place. Sure, he would be able to be recognized by her now, but other then that, what information would be gleaned from such a meeting?

Meilin nodded. She didn't see a need for him to apologise. Briefly, she thought back to Hayate. Granted, she wasn't an expert on Hyuzu and their affairs. But from her perspective as experience, she had expected this Orun to be slightly similar to Hayate.
"Fair enough. I will pass on your name to the team. I reckon that it will be some time before you get to meet them. Seeing the current plans I have for them." Meilin replied on her turn.
Truthfully, she was wondering why he wasn't leading the conversation more. Crossing her arms out front of her chest, the young woman would wait to see what he would say now.

Orun simply shrugged. Now suddenly she seemed to be leaving room open to continue a conversation that she hadn't been willing to before, but now Orun was no longer curious. The moment had passed. He'd do what he did with every shinobi who he was curious about, read their dossier. It was an easier way of gleaning information on them then fighting with them over it. "Very well, I look forward to working with you and your team in the future. I suppose, before you leave, I should ask whether or not there was anything you'd like to ask me?" Orun left the question open to answer. Perhaps there was something she'd wish to know, or gain out of this seemingly fruitless meeting.

"No, not really," Meilin replied on turn. She would unfold her crossed arms and slowly get up. "Good evening," Meilin further said. Without out further due, she would walk away. Not a lot of time had passed, so there was perhaps still some time to salvage.

[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Lesli · Jul 28, 2018

[fieldbox=Growing Stronger, violet]
In Magnhild, the capital of the Hon Clan - Empire of Akino.
A collab between Winter and Lesli.

Summary:
In the morning, Satia meets up with Aiko for a scheduled training. The jounin starts to teach her genin about genjutsu. Even though it is one of Satia's weaker points, she manages to grasp the training. Aiko then continues with teaching the very basics and handing out information about a fighting style that Satia might develop in the near future.

[spoili]
The fact it was the morning after the feast, Aiko hoped that she hadn't set the time too early. Seeing she had left the feast quite early, she had hoped that her students hadn't decided to let their restraints go. But from what Aiko had seen before, she doubted it. Kazumo would likely try to escape as soon as he was able. And Neji? She was certain he didn't engage with many. Satia? Now that was one she couldn't form a solid assumption. The young woman was raised with the higher echelons of society. With the sun slowly rising at the horizon, Aiko had arranged a place at the Field of Valdar. The place was somewhat both of a ceremonial, religious and military facility. All in one. Talking about convenience, Aiko thought to herself.
If the story behind the large field, with its facilities and different areas was correct then it was as old as the almost ancient citadel that crest the large hill in the centre of the city. A place what once was a simple mustering field for levies and warriors, growing to become more elaborated and developed as the Hons of Magnhild started to gain a better taste of warfare.

Standing near a round tile that was enclosed by a simple wooden fence, Aiko hoped that it wouldn't start snowing. The cold breeze that had free play was annoying enough, just not enough to bring Aiko's completely down. A dummy was standing in the centre of the tile as various bullseye boards leaning against the fence.

The younger Cho had indeed stayed for quite some time at the feast, conversing with a few individuals and forming a few foundations for future relationships, one of which has definitely caught her attention. Despite the time she'd spent at the feast she'd had the common sense to drink little, knowing that a hangover would affect her performance which wasn't a detail she was willing to entertain. The Genin had high aspirations and such goals came through discipline and hard work, something she'd said to Aiko herself within previous conversations.

With the cold chill carried on the breeze she wore a dark grey cloak with a shawl around her neck, simple attire, not too baggy that it would hinder her combat style yet not too tight that it would let in the cold bite of the local climate. Today she'd been summoned for her slot to train, certainly welcomed news to the Genin whom thus far had learned quite a bit from her teacher, though she wondered what the Jounin had in store for her today as she approached the field from afar, sighting Aiko before making her way towards her. "Good morning Aiko-Sensei" she said politely.

Satia took her fist and placed it against the palm of her other hand before inclining her head forwards respectfully. Once she'd greeted Aiko she placed her hands readily at her sides as she prepared to hear what her clan leader had in store for her in terms of training. She couldn't deny that she was rather intrigued and interested, so far training sessions with Aiko had always been an interesting learning process with no session ever the same and each carrying its own sense of purpose and hidden lesson to be discovered and learned. She was prepared to begin.

As Satia approached, Aiko would turn to her student. Flashing a smile, the woman would return the respectful gesture. Straightening her back afterwards, she placed her hands on her hips. From a quick glance, it seemed that Satia seemed both fit and ready for today. Did that mean she had left the feast early as well? Deciding to not indulge about it directly, Aiko spoke up.
"Good morning Satia. I am glad you seem awake and ready! For a moment, I was slightly worried I had set the time a bit early. I hope you enjoyed the feast yesterday." Aiko once more flashed a smile as she gestured to the pen next to them.
"But not too much," a wink from Aiko followed, "For today, I want to work on two things with you. I assume correctly that you know how to make the clone technique? You know, the one from the Academy that is intangible but has no shadow, can't produce no sound or movement."

Satia gave somewhat of a sheepish smile when Aiko winked, briefly remembering her engagement with Koike, realizing in that moment that just about anyone could have seen them together. Of course she didn't particularly mind if anyone saw them, Koike was a respectable man and she wasn't an adolescent child. Nevertheless when confronted with someone you hold a lot of respect for, she couldn't help but avert her gaze for a moment as she let out a small cough into her hand.

She listened as Aiko went on to explain about the clone technique, giving a small singular nod as she smiled. "I remember it well, although I must admit I haven't found many uses for it myself in the field" she replied honestly.

Normally, Aiko wouldn't care too much for what students of her did in their free time. But the signs she picked up alerted her. While it remained invisible from her features and composure, Aiko's curiosity was piqued. She hadn't seen Satia like this before, so she wondered what could have caused her to react like that. Even as she wanted to question it, they didn't have all day. Two hours were all that they had for today before she would have just a break of an hour before the next training.
"I can't blame you. The technique can be useful but a perceptive foe will see through it before you can actually do something. Certainly doesn't help that when you conjure the illusion that it just pops next to you. Making it much less ideal for use in mid-combat." She gestured to the training dummy in the centre of the pen.

"How about we test something? Try to throw a shuriken or whatever you like at the dummy." Aiko instructed, taking a step away so that Satia could enter the pen and try out the instruction.

She nodded when Aiko explained the exact reasons why she never used the clone technique in the field. She imagined there were perhaps rare and specific situations where it could come in handy, but she couldn't help but think that any number of her other skills, abilities and attributes would serve her better than simply conjuring a clone of herself directly next to her. When Aiko asked her to attack the clone, her eyes moved from the Jounin towards the dummy, sighting the various painted red targets. Her arm lifted with staggering speed and a single flash would catch the knifes metal surface as it reflected sunlight before striking the clone. When it came to projectiles Satia was fast and incredibly accurate, not to mention that the knife itself once thrown was difficult to track due to the speed it was thrown, reinforced naturally by her element in order for it to split the air and gain additional momentum, penetration and impact. With her heightened perception she couldn't help but notice the clone had subtle differences from the normal, albeit she couldn't discern exactly what the differences meant.

Watching how the weapon fazed through the training dummy, Aiko waited a second. "I used to hate the idea of a confrontation. To the point, I did everything to avoid one. People think that it is great to meet a foe in battle. But when you are lacking sorely in offensive or pure defensive methods or skills, you won't survive long in a prolonged fight." She started with. Gesturing to the unmoving training dummy, Aiko continued with her explanation.

"For that purpose, I decided it would be more fruitful to design an illusion that could create an opening to distract a foe. Not my proudest work but it is quite handy. You see, genjutsu is basically nothing more than any other technique. A mix of Ying and Yang chakra mixed together. There are a lot of different theories but we won't break our head over those." Raising her right hand, she would snap with her fingers. Dismissing the training dummy that just seemed to become slowly transparent till it was gone. Nothing that betrayed its prior existence.

"Your profile stated you're bad at genjutsu. However, this is just a very easy genjutsu trick that allows you to create a genjutsu clone. Close to what they taught you at the Academy. But with more, substance. Allowing it to sound, move and look like what you can produce from your mind. The chakra cost is quite small and not a lot are aware of this technique." The jounin decided to wait to allow the information to sink in and see if Satia had any questions or objections to learning the particular technique.

Seeing the knife glide right through the dummy she quickly made a flexing movement with her finger before drawing her hand upwards, the thin wire pulling taught before the knife zipped back to her hand effortlessly. The wired spool in her hidden gauntlet automatically recoiled the wire and a moment later the knife seemingly disappeared to join the other nine of them. "I see" Satia replied at first as she let the information sink in, her brows knitting together as she considered the practical uses of such a technique. It was true that she had little to no experience with Genjutsu, but she was certainly willing to learn. Additionally, there was something else she could imagine it'd be useful for, which prompted her to ask a simple question. "Can such a clone be made to move or perform actions? or is it simply just static?" she asked curiously.

Seeing how Satia was visibly pondering, Aiko waited a moment longer. Then the genin asked a question and Aiko nodded. "You can. It takes some practice but with some experience," weaving a few handsignals, the jounin conjured an image of Satia where the dummy stood. The genjutsu clone seemed almost to mirror Satia, a smile spread over her lips. The genjutsu clone would raise her right hand and wave at the real deal.
"I can even make her sound like you. The problem is," Aiko paused as the clone lowered her hand. Her lips parted as the joyful expression on the clone's face became more evident.

"You might notice it isn't entirely right. Some tonation and words can be off. After all," the clone spoke in a voice that closely mimicked Satia's own. Pointing at herself first before back at Satia, "I am not you. You and those who are very close to you will notice something is off. The way how I phrase and try to sound like you. Information only you know. And well, I am intangible." The clone further said, placing her hands at her back.

The cogs in Satia's mind continued to turn as she envisioned further how she could benefit from such a technique, already imagining a variety of covert situations where she could put the technique to use. When Aiko summoned forth a clone of herself her eyebrows raised, firstly feeling a little uncomfortable before it soon became replaced by intrigue and awe. "Incredible!" she said with a smile, taking in the almost perfect clone as she paid attention to all the little details. It was a very strange sensation to not only see yourself in such a manner, but also to hear yourself without speaking, even if it was slightly off with some of the tone in her clones words. "It's very impressive Aiko-Sensei, if not quite bizarre" she said with a soft chuckle.

The enthusiasm of Satia made it clear that she was interested in the technique. Letting the spitting image of Satia remaining around for a second longer, Aiko would dismiss it. "Heh, yeah." For a moment, Aiko felt a twinge of pride surfacing. "I am glad you like it. It isn't entirely foolproof, though. You can with some coordination make it appear over some distance. Behind an opponent or some cover to try to confuse them. But somebody with sensory can sense through. But those with the likes of the Sharingan and Byakugan won't be able to see through the genjutsu clones. You just need to play it well enough to fool a foe."

Pausing for a moment, Aiko would enter the tile. Closing the entrance behind her, she would raise both her hands so that Satia would see the gloved encased hands. "Let us start with the basics." Bringing her hands together she would start with forming the Dog handsign. "It has only three hand signs. Dog, Ram and then Rat." Performing the following two hand signs, a perfect image of Aiko would appear next to the jounin. "It is a bit tricky. But try to mould and shape your chakra. As if you are trying to use the Academy clone tecnique but adding more chakra into it."

The Genin would nod, making a mental note about the Sharingan and Byakugan which she would be sure to note in her book after the training. She thought back to when Koike had mentioned fighting a Hyuuga in his Chuunin trials and wondered to herself if he'd thought to consider this technique in order to get an advantage on the situation. She observed carefully as Aiko stepped onto the tile and produced a clone of herself, Satia's eyes observing the clone carefully for any signs of imperfection. It was truly a remarkable technique and one she was most interested in adopting into her skill set. She gave a single nod before inhaling a composing breath, bringing her hands together in order to mirror the handsigns. Furrowing her brow she would attempt to follow the instructions, a clone popping up beside her although slightly distorted where she couldn't quite grasp the technique immediately.

The Genin continued at it for a few minutes, slowly but surely piecing together the clone till it was just about mirroring herself. It'd taken her some time and she was nowhere near as fast as Aiko had been in her conjuration of the clone, though perhaps that could be expected when learning something new, especially in something like Genjutsu with no prior experience in it. Producing it felt a little like the wind dome technique, in that the dome itself had a weak structural integrity at first till she was able to practice and build upon the skill, enabling her to produce it faster with more strength. Likewise, she was able to replicate the clone, though just like before with the dome technique, it took some time and effort for the Genin to produce it.

When Satia would give it a try, Aiko took a small step back. A subtle gesture that the genin could try the technique out herself. The first attempt didn't go smoothly but Aiko wasn't really worried. So far, she was happy enough that Satia was interested and willing to try the technique out by herself. When Satia finally managed to produce the clone that resembled her quite well, Aiko nodded.
"Now, it is just a bit of focus. Try to make it move and speak. It will definitely feel odd. But you need to see it as a puppet you control. With your mind." The jounin instructed as she would continue to watch Satia delve further into the basics of the technique. For now, she was grasping the technique at a decent pace. The technique wasn't that difficult and could serve as a stepping stone for Satia to learn how to use and counter genjutsu much better, than what she could do before today.

Satia maintained the clone, concentrating on what Aiko was telling her to do, giving a single nod. This all felt quite strange and unlike anything she'd felt before, "Alright" both her and the clone spoke which made both her and the clone blink and look rather confused before both of them chuckled a little, continuing to mirror even as Satia spoke again, "This is very strange". Deciding to pause and not continue to be her own distraction she decided to cease talking as she would instead concentrate on movement, raising both arms of the clone one at a time before testing out other movements such as the direction the clone would look in and then down to more subtle movements like the movement of her eyes. It did indeed feel much like a puppet, but that only made the experience that much more alien. It'd definitely take some getting used to.

A soft chuckle escaped Aiko as both Satia and her clone spoke up. When the genin stated it was very strange, Aiko just absent-mindedly nodded in agreement. It certainly was quite odd at first. In her perspective, it was rather endearing. Seeing how Satia seemed almost cautious, trying one movement at a time with the genjutsu clone. There were some more steps to it but not one to rush her students, Aiko would wait. Seeing how Satia was making more and more steps, Aiko decided to make a suggestion.
"You can also try to alter the appearance and voice of the genjutsu clone. Try to remember somebody else than us. Just the first that crosses your mind. If you feel to kick it up a notch."

Satia had been combining movements to make the clone appear more natural as she listened to Aiko's suggestion, her mind briefly thinking about someone else before suddenly her clone would faze into the appearance of Koike dressed in the same attire he'd worn at the feast. It startled the Genin and she froze for a moment before quickly deciding to push on with it, lest her teacher become suspicious about the reasons why this might have been the first thought in her mind. Her heart was beating fairly fast against her chest as she tried not to cringe and collapse under what she felt would be a the suspecting eye of her clan leader, but still she was determined to hold composure as she concentrated and made her clone speak, "Testing speech now". It sounded like Koike, but as Aiko mentioned it was just slightly off.

Staring at the genjutsu clone, Aiko's expression was blank. Despite her face not showing her emotions or thoughts, she didn't see it as a simple accident. She had expected somebody as a relative or anybody that was close to the young woman. But Koike? The visual was quite fitting. It was what he had looked like at the feast. Not saying a word, Aiko would just let Satia continue. Questioning why Koike or placing stress on the young woman wasn't going to be beneficial. Instead, Aiko would speak up with the same friendly tone as before.
"Very good. Almost got me convinced. Nice surprise even." A soft smile dawned on Aiko's lips as she stared at the clone. "Go on, you are doing quite well Satia."

Hearing and seeing that Aiko didn't react to the Koike clone reassured Satia and allowed her to calmly continue, doing as she did before with the mirrored clone of herself, though doing more advanced movements as she combined them all together to simulate Koike moving realistically. She decided to push herself a little further as she had the clone reach to his side and withdraw a sword and take up a combative stance. She'd focused on making sure the movements where clean and precise, fluid and not too awkward. It was certainly difficult and challenging but she felt she was making a good go of it.

There was something to it. Watching how Koike was here. But knowing it was just a genjutsu clone. For a moment, Aiko had some regret that she had made the suggestion to Satia. Actually wanting to subtly coerce the girl to dispel the genjutsu clone. To just move on. But this wasn't about her but about Satia learning the basics of the genjutsu clone technique. And it was better to let Satia practice now. So if she would make a mistake that she could rely on some help. The question still remained on why Koike was being used as image. Becoming slightly wary, Aiko would hold the question off for now.

Letting the genin continue as she expanded and tried to make more elaborated movements with the genjutsu clone, Aiko decided to speak up after some time. "Okay. Seems you have grasped the basics well enough. What do you think of the technique? Do you find it difficult? Or something you will want to use extensively in the future?"

When she'd heard Aiko speak up she took it as a prompt to dismiss the clone, dropping her hands as the image of Koike faded into nothingness. "It was difficult to conjure correctly but once it was there I found it increasingly easier to maneuver" she replied honestly before thinking about how she could use it in the field. "I think it has a lot of potential and as you mentioned it works against the Sharingan and Byakugan, which means if I'm confronted with an Uchiha or a Hyuuga I have something that might give me an advantage in the fight" she said with a smile.

Nodding, Aiko would not hide that she was content with how quick the progress regarding the technique had been. "Very good. In time, once you get more familiar with the technique then you will be able to conjure the genjutsu clone even from a distance. It is quite a scare for an opponent to suddenly hear and see you behind them. Wasting an attack on the genjutsu clone instead of the real you." Aiko said. She decided to not elaborate that seeing it was an image she conjured that it didn't work like usual genjutsu. Where the victim could dispel it with bringing some pain to themselves or disrupting their own chakra for a moment.

"The next what I want to work on is a bit trickier. And going to be a lengthier process." Raising her right index finger, Aiko waited for a moment. Slowly but surely a blue hue of chakra started to become visible, enveloping the finger of Aiko. "Chakra flow. You know to shape chakra with handsigns. I now want to see if we can take it a step further. Starting with, how familiar are you with the term of chakra flow?"

The Genin inclined her head forwards in understanding, "I'll be sure to put some time aside to practice it" she replied before listening as Aiko went on to ask about Chakra flow, something Satia had read about in books and had even applied herself in previous situations. In fact, it was during the mission against the Seiji that she'd used it to quicken her pace to her target, removing one of the artists so that she could take their spot. In response, the younger Cho smiled before giving a confident nod, "Quite familiar" with a quick movement of her hand one of her knives appeared coated in a thin blue aura concentrated mostly around the tip of the blade.

Glad that she confirmed that she would practice with it, Aiko decided to fully focus on the following that they would work on. Spotting that Satia was able to form a certain chakra coat around her knives, the jounin nodded slowly.
"Very good. Makes the next step a bit easier. I wanted to help you use it in your hand to hand combat. Help me remember but how do you fight when it comes down to just hand to hand fighting?" The jounin asked as she would lower her hand.

Satia would dismiss the knife quickly with another subtle movement of her wrist before considering the question carefully, realizing that they hadn't ever actually touched upon the subject before or at least not to her memory. "Ah, well you see aside from my interests in herbology and botany I also have an in depth understanding of biology and it's helped to mold the kind of fighting style I favor in close combat situations" she replied at first before deciding to elaborate further, "I use a variety of quick strikes to various locations on the body to induce different results. I won't bore you with all the medical terms, but for example" she raised one of her hands, positioning both her index and middle finger into a pointing motion, indicating it to be the shape her hands took when striking. "If I attack the suprascapular point between your neck and shoulder, a successful strike followed by a palm strike towards the area just beneath your arm will greatly weaken your ability to lift and move your arm. If I attack the same point again and direct another towards your jugular notch" she motioned to the hollow hole at the base of the neck. "I can induce a severe pain and muscular tensions in the struck areas... it's about hitting the points in specific formats and combining them with follow up strikes for different results... I can imagine this is very confusing" she replied with a small apologetic chuckle.

Listening to her student, Aiko made several mental notes. After Satia's detailed answer, Aiko let a second of silence pass. There were various fighting styles in her mind but one seemed to jump out. She wasn't a master practitioner in the particular fighting style. But she knew enough as had trained various Hyuuga to know how the basics of Gentle Fist worked. Even despite that Satia didn't have the same eyes of a Hyuuga, causing veins to bulge around her eyes, Aiko knew better. The Byakugan helped for a Hyuuga to utilise the Gentle Fist better. But one without the set of eyes would still be able to put the fighting style to good use.
Shaking her head, to indicate that it wasn't confusing at all, Aiko spoke up.
"Very well. Try to apply chakra to the tops of your finger. I will try to teach you how to emulate the Gentle Fist. I have mentored various Hyuuga and know how that fighting style works. Next to various chakra points that you can target."

Raising her own right hand, Aiko would demonstrate what she meant. Focusing and moulding chakra at her fingertips, the soft blue hue was visible. "Try to focus as well as much chakra as you can. The idea is that when you deliver a fast strike that the chakra does half the work. Working as a needle, so to say. Your strike injects it into the victim and disturbs their chakra system. Or potentially, damaging it."

Her eyebrows raised hearing Aiko intended to teach Satia about Gentle Fist, a technique she'd read about in books about the Hyuuga. She'd noticed similarities in her own styles to Gentle Fist but wasn't aware any of it could really benefit her without their special eyes. Paying attention and watching as Aiko moulded her Chakra into a fine needle on her fingers, Satia would move to mirror it with little difficulty considering her prior techniques with her knives. Soon her both her index and middle fingers would also emulate the Chakra needles, concentrating to ensure she'd focused as much as she could into the fine glowing points as she could manage.

Nodding in an approving fashion, Aiko would lower her hand. "If I recall it correctly, you have studied biology. Knowing thus a bit more about the chakra system than most others. I will explain in short though how this can become effective without the eyes of a Hyuuga." Pausing for a moment, Aiko placed her hands on her hips as she would begin to explain it all.
"The body is supposed to have 300 or so tenketsu. Pressure points. It is where the chakra is regulated and released from the body. Most of the time the hand and feet being the easiest points from where chakra is moulded and given shape." This information was no doubt already known to Satia but Aiko doubted that it would do any harm to repeat it.

"Of course, the problem with your eyes is that they don't have the veins that tend to bulge when you lay focus on your opponent. Nor allowing you to spot the chakra pathway and all those pressure points. However, the thing that many and certainly Hyuuga in particular forget is that anybody can learn where these pressure points are. While I know some pressure points, I reckon that you would enjoy some self-study." Producing a small scroll, Aiko would hold it towards Satia. "It doesn't contain all the pressure points. But the ones that are quite easy to hit. Joints, the heart, the head, several spots on the arm and shoulder. Cause while it is great if you could sense or spot them, the goal is often to disturb those points. To disarm or subdue your opponent, preventing from fighting further. If you manage to hit one pressure point that does the same as another, you just need to know where to hit. Not requiring your veins to amp up."

The Genin visibly brightened and looked like she was restraining her own eagerness when the older Cho presented her with the scroll, taking it carefully before she would unravel it between her hands, letting her eyes set upon the information within it while she listened to Aiko speak. "Fascinating... " she commented as she compared what she was reading to her own pre-existing knowledge of the body and mind, able to easily digest what she was reading due to her own private studies. She observed the diagrams and made mental notes of the striking and palm placements, cross referencing it with her own technique of hitting the points to disturb the body on a physical level. "This is most helpful and it plays directly into my strengths, although I'm curious" Satia replied, letting herself immerse in the information a bit longer before she continued. "There's a lot of techniques out there that can affect and infect Chakra pathways... I have to wonder if this technique could also be used as a way to benefit as opposed to also being an aggressive strategy" she would look up to Aiko, her expression curious. "Could this not be used on allies to prevent techniques of opponents from abusing their Chakra pathways? hypothetically speaking, if an opponent was to infect someone's Chakra or drain it, would this same method not prevent that, hitting spots to prevent someone else attack on that person?" she wondered.

Whistling softly, Aiko's eyebrows slightly perked up as Satia asked her questions. "And here I thought that this would be easy." The playful tone of the woman betrayed that she didn't consider Satia's questions as something bad.
"But yes. In theory, it very well can be turned to work like that. There is the risk, of course, that you need to be absolutely certain of what you're doing. But if I would cast a genjutsu on a victim, you could dispel it quickly by hitting the certain pressure points that I am targeting. Like say," Aiko thought for a second, "If I would use a genjutsu that targets a victim's sense of hearing, you just have to hit a pressure point nearby it to effectively as quickly dispel it. But I wager it works on more than just genjutsu. If an enemy would use a sealing technique to constrict or prohibit the use of your ally's right arm, you could try to break it by opening up that pressure point. The drawback is that if you don't watch out that you might cause more harm. But sometimes, we got to take a risk." Pausing, Aiko would wait to see if Satia had any more questions for her.

Satia smiled and nodded, pleased that her theories were true. Learned correctly, studied and practised enough this could prove to really push her skill sets so much further. Reading further she once again let herself dive into the information before she remembered something from a book she'd read long ago about the Hyuuga and their culture, which was more than interesting just from a martial standpoint... though she would admit she was quite biased to her interest in that respect. "Three hundred and sixty one nodes... " her brow furrowed before she once again looked to Aiko, "I wonder if the Sixty Four Palms method can be deduced from this... from what I've read it's a closely kept Hyuuga teaching, but I've read the results of its nature and it's an incredible feat within this martial technique. I don't suppose you know of it?" she asked curiously.

Aiko shook her head as a response, at first. She would then elaborate. "I know a few matters regarding the Gentle Fist. Having mentored Hyuuga, I can try to replicate some basic techniques. But anything more extensive will require some digging. My own fighting style is quite different from the Gentle Fist, so at the moment I can't really offer anything else."
She figured that the Hyuuga would hold information regarding such techniques rather secret. But that didn't mean that she could attempt to unravel a thing or two. Certainly with the troubled state that the clan was in.
"I will memorise the name and see what I can find. I doubt that the Hyuuga will be willing to part with the knowledge without some compensation. But if you are truly eager to learn about it, I will see what I can arrange." Aiko said, flashing a smile afterwards.

The younger Cho smiled and nodded, having expected as much. It was no reflection on Aiko of course, it was a long shot to expect the Jounin to know such a kept clan secret, but Aiko was quite unlike most Jounin and Shinobi she'd met in the past so she'd wondered to whether she might have came across it. "I'd most definitely be interested, if there's anything I can do to aid that compensation I'd be happy to help with it" she replied honestly as she rolled up the scroll and tied it neatly. "Thank you for this information and for the scroll though, this alone will really go far in improving my prowess... I should hope" she said with a small soft chuckle.

"No worries. I can handle anything that the Hyuuga will request." The jounin already had a plan in mind but would require the time to assemble the right resources. Not to mention that she first had to contact him, to see if he perhaps could be of use. If he would be able, then she wouldn't need to even contact the Hyuuga clan. But she didn't consider that worth telling that information to Satia.
"Well, if you have no questions then I suppose we can round today's training. Remember that you have some time before you're required to return to this place to train with Koike Hon. Once that is done, you have the day off."

Satia smiled and gave a single nod before she would press her fist against the palm of her hand and incline her head forwards respectfully. "I think that's all the questions I have for now, thank you Aiko-Sensei... though I can't promise I wont have more questions for you the next time we train together" she said with a small grin.

An amused scoff from Aiko would follow Satia's words. The hints of a smile dawned on the woman's lips as she lightly shook her head. "I suppose that I will then have to prepare even more than I have done today. Now go, you got some hours free before your next training." Deciding to return the gesture, Aiko would already start to prepare for the next training that she had planned.
[/spoili]
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Gerontis · Jul 28, 2018

[fieldbox=Afternoon's training, #00ffff]
In Magnhild, the capital of the Hon Clan - Empire of Akino.
A collab between Winter and Gerontis.

Summary:
The last training of Team 8's member Satia Cho, is with Koike Hon. The two meet up at the Field of Valdar, doing an indoor training. Koike teaches Satia for a bit as they then round up the training, to meet up later.

[spoili]
/So far today was going better than expected. The break after training with Kazumo was quite welcome and gave Koike some time to think. There were more people that came to the Field of Valdar, making use of the facilities to train and hone their skills. Seeing the increasing number of people, Koike decided to not stay outside. Despite one could get some warmth with training, he prefered to head inside now. After making the necessary arrangements, the young man sat on a bench near the front of the training hall, right next to the armoury. Taking a bite of a red apple, Koike watched how a few men trained. The swings and movements were quite familiar as he used a similar style. Munching on his bite, he wondered briefly on how the next training would go. It would be different than what he had been teaching Neji and Kazumo. Judging from what Aiko had shared regarding Satia's capabilities, Koike regarded several options unable. But there were other matters he could try to help and train the young lady. Taking another bite, Koike noticed that it started to snow. Starting out quite light but slowly increasing in volume with each passing minute.

Her breath plumed into a cloud, dissipating in the air before her as she exhaled and walked towards her destination. She wore her simple attire for the colder climates, a dark cloak with a shawl wrapped loosely around her neck to keep her warm. Her footsteps crunched into the snow beneath her feet and she wore an expression of intrigue as she wondered what her training session with Koike would reveal both about him and what he would be able to show her. Upon arriving at the Field of Valdar her blue eyes searched out for him, the hue and color of her irises contrasting sharp against her soft pale complexion as snow began to fall, causing her to let out a content breath as such weather conditions were a favorite of hers. Having spotted him she made her way over before stopping a short distance, allowing a small smile to pass over her features as she inclined her head forwards respectfully. "Good afternoon Koike, Aiko asked me to join you for training?" she asked.

For a moment, Koike was losing himself to his own thoughts. When he noticed that somebody was approaching him, he recognised it was Satia. Getting up, he would offer a respectful bow with his head in return. The question was answered with a nod as a verbal response. "That she has. She told me that you could some training." The tone gave it away it was a mere jest. Gesturing her to come with him, he would walk to the nearby door.

"If you won't mind, I have been training almost all day outside. Besides, for what I wanted to train with you wouldn't be ideal outside." The interior of the building was quite spartan. There were little matters that could be called decorations. Some people were inside, arranging and attending to the variety of weapons and armour. Leading Satia to a room that was void of much luxuries, its purpose quite clear to be fit for indoor training.
"Somewhat better. Alright, Aiko told me that you used bladed weapons? Can you perhaps enlighten me a bit more?"

An amused smirk appeared on her features as she tilted her head slightly to his response, picking up on his jest but deciding not to challenge it, there would be plenty of time for that later. She followed him into the building, after all it was quite cold outside so she could understand why he'd rather train inside for now. The interior was unexpected but caught her intrigue immediately, allowing herself to look around a little as she followed. When he asked about her use of bladed weapons she smiled, "Of course" she replied before she brought her arms up in front of her, making a subtle movement with her wrists and fingers which caused two silver blades to seemingly appear in her hands as if out of thin air. She would then overturn her hands so her palms were face up before dragging her thumb across the visible knife pulling it to the side as the other ten knives fanned out in her palms to create two steel fans.

"Ten individual throwing knives tethered to wire. As you can see, right now I have them positioned in a steel fan arrangement" she explained before she dexterously moved four of the five blades between her fingers while the fifth was held in her palms, presenting the back of the knives so he could see the individual tethers. "I can move each individually at range, even simultaneously requiring more concentration, however there's more" she quickly dismissed the ten blades almost as fast as they had appeared before she rolled back the sleeves of her cloak to reveal the bracers where the knives lay dormant, neatly hidden beside fixed wire spools. "These bracers allow me greater control over the knives, once thrown I'm able to summon the knife back to my hand with a specific pull method. I'll demonstrate".

She rolled down her sleeves before summoning forth a single knife into her left hand, she threw it towards the far wall, the knife moving with exceptional speed and smoothness in the glide before Satia bent her finger and moved her arm back slightly. The knife almost immediately whipped back into her hand, the spool in her bracer having wound the wire back with the pull so that it was already primed for another throw. "Do you have any questions?" she asked after her explanation.

Watching, Koike's eyebrows slightly perked up as she would showcase her weapons. Listening to her explanation, Koike made several notes. The particular style on how she used the weapons was something he wasn't used to. It was different than how Katsu manipulated and used knives in combat. And it was certainly different from how he used his own knives in a fight. If anything, Koike would describe the particular usage as sophisticated. Both in design and use.
"Not really. It is pretty easy to comprehend how you use and organise this particular style, after that example." Koike replied on his turn. "I imagine that it requires quite the focus. For if a foe will manage to hamper or pin down the wire, it will become a problem. Or if an ally is stupid enough to run against a wire that is being pulled back." And sadly, Koike knew that some people were too eager enough to do something like that.

"How is your fighting capability without the knives? Hand to hand fighting. Can you say that you're comfortable fighting without your knives?" He decided to ask. There was little he could do for now with the knives. He had an idea but he would have to work it out in his mind. But he decided to see first what her answer would be before he would continue.

Satia gave an almost sympathetic smile with a nod, knowing all too well from her own experience just how careful the user of such a weapon had to be. "You're certainly not wrong, it's a dangerous weapon that requires a lot of practice, focus and maturity... it's taken me many years and superficial cuts to steadily learn how to use it effectively and efficiently" she replied. Hearing him ask about her physical prowess should her knives fail her she nodded confidently, "I have an extensive understanding of biology and through this knowledge I've since incorporated a combat style that allows me to capitalize on that knowledge" she decided to elaborate, "Through a series of fast and precise strikes to key areas of the body, I'm able to shut down muscle and movement of my opponents. Alternatively striking various areas can also induce severe pain in order to prevent my opponent from continuing the fight" she replied with a soft smile.

"And here I thought you were not scary at all," Koike mumbled. He took the information in and pondered for a moment. There was little he could do to help her with her knives. His own experiences with knives were vastly different and not something that Satia could employ with her current fighting style. The way she described her hand to hand fighting style did make him think of a rather known style. Though she didn't have the odd pupils or veins that were ready to bulge around her eyes.

"Okay, then I know what I can train you in. It is a bit tedious and quite difficult but once you get the hang of it, it will be even interesting." He would start. Considering what he needed, Koike would pull out a knife and shred a long piece of cloth from a sleeve. "Usually I don't make these kinds of requests but could you blind yourself?"
Holding the piece of cloth towards her, he would start explaining what he would train her in. "Aiko stated you have some skill and talent for stealth. I will teach you some basics on how to use certain senses in order to combat a foe when you can't use your eyes. When you blindfold yourself, I will let sounds resonate from different directions. You will need to turn to the particular direction and if you feel confident, try to pat the sound. Not punch or kick. Or even stab. A pat or pointing will suffice."

"There's nothing to fear if you don't upset me" Satia replied, allowing just a slither of her jesting humor from the night before to slip through as she gave an amused smile to his response, her expression changing to one of intrigue as he cut a length of cloth before presenting it to her. The Cho girl have him an almost strange and accusing look as she raised her eyebrow for a moment before she took the cloth in her hands, 'This ought to be interesting' she thought to herself as she tied the cloth around her head to cover her eyes, listening to his instructions before giving a nod, "I'll do my best" she replied simply. Satia had high levels of perception which was why she was able to accurately move her knives with such precision and dexterity, however, she had to admit she never before tested her perceptions with her sense of hearing over her sense of sight.

A faint smile crossed Koike's lips. "I shall not attempt to upset you then.." He said as she put on the blindfold. Waiting for a second, he would take a step backwards. To conjure a genjutsu clone and produce some sound from a different direction was anything but difficult. But to make the training work, he would have to make it complicated.

"Okay, just remember. It is only me in the room. Nobody else. If you for whatever reason panic, then just take the blindfold off." He instructed her, "Try to point at me. I will keep talking and over the course, I will make it more difficult. There aren't many people who actually specialise in taking out senses to weaken or totally incapacitate their victims or foes. Aiko, however, is a prime example of how it can work out pretty well. Some foes try to dull your senses. Poison, genjutsu, ninjutsu or even by trying to engage you in the dark of the night." Waiting, Koike would weave three hand signals. Conjuring a genjutsu clone on the opposite side of the room.

"And every disadvantage that is put up against you, makes it easier for your enemy to take you out." The genjutsu clone stated. "Not really a difficult concept to grasp, I wager."

She shook her head a little with a small smirk, "It's adorable that you think I would panic over wearing a blindfold" she replied. Satia would gradually slow her breathing into a more subtle rhythm as she listened to the sounds of his voice and once the different directions of sound came into play she would proceed to point in the direction of the sounds, more or less hitting the direction of the clone each time as the sound reached her. However, as they continued she remembered Aiko explaining about how conjured clones never quite sounded right, with minor disturbances in the tone of words which could allow someone to tell them apart. She frowned a little beneath the blindfold as she paid closer attention and focus to his words, pulling them apart and analyzing them more in depth, thinking it would help sharpen other skill assets to establish herself how to quickly tell between the real and the fake.

She was focusing on what he could glance of her body language. He wondered how adept she would be at this particular training. "The most troublesome matter with stealth is that you need to apply it right," the real Koike said. Slowly but surely, he would take a few steps. Using the sound of his own voice to mask his movement.
"Everybody can try to be silent, hide or move around. But to hear and understand while not able to use all your senses is what sets apart those who can be truly stealth and," Koike stopped talking.

The genjutsu clone still remained in the same spot. "Those who just attempt of being good at stealth. It is less flashy and in some degrees less interesting than conjuring a large flaming ball of death. But I find it certainly more useful." The genjutsu clone said.

She said nothing in response as she decided to let herself concentrate on the sounds and the directions they were coming from. Although she was interested in what he was saying as she herself had somewhat of an understanding about being out of sight and out of mind, covert exercises having been something of an interest to her in various things she'd read in previous years. She kept her index and middle fingers pointed in his direction before shifting them to the clone almost immediately as the voice changed direction, although she kept a mental note of where his last location had been, trying to pull her concentration apart to regard multiple aspects of her environment, a skill she used often when using multiple knives at once. She would continue to concentrate on the sounds, however apart of her mind would skirt the periphery of the room, attempting to seek out any sign of other noise of movement hidden beneath the voice of his clone.

So far so good. When she kept pointing at him, Koike decided to make it slightly more difficult. "Very good." He began. Dismissing the genjutsu clone, Koike would conjure another one. The genjutsu clone would appear as what seemed to be just thin air. Standing at Satia's right flank, the genjutsu clone spoke with a softer tone.
"We are going to make it a bit more difficult. You need to do the same as before. But," the genjutsu clone would become quiet as the real Koike spoke up again.

"If I manage to get you to make a mistake, that means you lost a life. At three loses, it is over." The young man explained. He waited to see if she would be startled or surprised in any sense or form by the sudden sound that appeared closer than before.

She tilted her head in the direction of the clone as it appeared next to her, though she made no over immediate movements that'd express if she was startled or not. Truthfully on the inside she'd felt a twitch and a desire to assume a stance against the sudden invasion of her space, but discipline and mastery over herself enabled her to remain composed. Besides she didn't fear Koike would harm her, at least not without warning given they were training, so there really wasn't anything to worry about. Perhaps had she thought there was a potential to be hit, she might have taken a step or perhaps even flinched. "Another game?" she replied softly, "I'd suggest another wager but I think one ribbon in your hair is enough already" she teased before giving a nod, "I'm ready when you are".

The mere mentioning of another wager as the ribbon brought a small smile upon Koike's lips. He wouldn't react right away. But he waited for a few seconds, letting a silence plague the room after Satia's words. The genjutsu clone would silently reposition itself to the right of Satia before he spoke up. "Fair enough. Two ribbons would be overdoing it."

As the genjutsu clone spoke, the real Koike would take a few more steps to the left of Satia. He was still somewhat in front of her as he spoke up. "Though you seem quite sure that you will win a wager against me. What makes you so sure you won't be the one wearing the ribbons?" Despite the playful attitude between them, he was serious. If she would make a mistake and even slightly be off in point where the sound of his voice came from, he would consider it a first loss.

Beneath the blindfold Satia had closed her eyes, choosing complete darkness over any vague amount of light that would or could pass through the cloth. "Perhaps in the face of adversity I simply choose to be confident" she replied with a smile as she paid attention to the direction of his words and sounds, this time taking her time in pinpointing his location to increase her accuracy and precision. She would point her fingers towards him again after he spoke, aiming her fingers at his head. "What makes you so confident that I will fail?" she returned with a small smirk.

"Good." He softly stated as she pointed at him. It was clear that she wouldn't be easily fooled. Dismissing the genjutsu clone, he would let another long moment of silence followed her words. Slowly walking further to what would be her left, Koike replied back. "Cause ribbons won't suit me. That is one reason." He said. Conjuring a genjutsu clone to Satia's right, he would allow the genjutsu clone to make a faint sound by tapping its right foot twice. "I do recommend trying to do this training now and then. Some people call it meditating but it helped me to become better at it to sit down and just listen to your surrounding." He said, wondering if she would pick out the faint sound of before.

Listening, she continued to point as he made the noises. She continued to hold her breathing it a slowed and reduced pace, letting her breaths fall silent as to allow her sense of hearing to take the lead. Each time he moved or made noise she tried to picture the sound itself outlining the world around her, as if the sound was feeding back vision for her in a sense. It was not something Satia could do as an actual ability but in her mind it made things a little... easier, as if she were constructing a map in her mind of sorts. Almost as soon as he the clone tapped it's feet her fingers pointed for it's head.

Nodding slowly, he had seen enough. The basic for Silent Killing were nothing new to her. Dispelling the genjutsu clone, Koike considered to test it. But from what he had seen, it would be futile to keep up with the mere basics. Yet, he hadn't planned to train the advanced steps with her. But he would inform Aiko that she seemed ready for those. "You can take the blindfold off." He began. "Very well done. You didn't make a single mistake." Nodding to emphasis that he approved, Koike continued on.

"I was told that you were bad at genjutsu. But you're perceptive. The previous training already showed that. Which is good. Cause it means that you won't be completely helpless against illusions and trickery of genjutsu." Pausing for a moment, Koike decided to ask her something. "I want to train you how to recognise as defend yourself against genjutsu. This might require me to put a genjutsu on you. Is there any kind of fear or dislike I need to keep in mind?"

Taking off the blindfold she allowed a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light, "Well I must really want to see you in that ribbon, it's good motivation" she replied with a small amount of wit before cocking her head to the side at the question about what she could be afraid of, a question she had to pause and think about for a moment. "Hmmm, drowning would be something that I'm fearful of I suppose" she replied honestly. It was a reasonable fear, though it didn't stop her from swimming and she didn't fear the water. It was more the situation of drowning, being unable to breathe and inhaling water into the lungs. She knew enough about biology to be very aware of the misconceptions of it being a peaceful way to die... in fact, it was a rather painful and excruciating way to pass.

The reply caught him off guard. Causing Koike to snicker back a laugh. "I suppose that a ribbon will look amazing on me. Though I hope that it won't be any radiant colour." He replied, shaking his head before hearing her answer to his question. Becoming somewhat more serious, Koike considered his options. Luckily his genjutsu arsenal didn't include anything that gave the idea that she would be drowning. But he couldn't think of one that couldn't be stressful.
"So, I will be explaining everything step by step. The reason why I do this isn't because I don't think you will be up for it. But because I want you to be aware and rationalise that I got the situation under control. At all times." He started. "I am going to place a genjutsu upon you. It will cause you to lose your eyesight. As long as you are close to me, you will be blind. If you thus get stressed out just tell me. I will step away and dismiss the genjutsu right away."

Pausing, Koike would weigh his next words. Not entirely certain how he could make this training exercise less stressful than he imagined it to be, Koike decided to just continue. "Are you aware of how genjutsu is build up? Such as knowing it is a mixture of yang and yin elements? Also, if you have any questions then feel free to ask them before we start."

She raised an eyebrow hearing what he intended to do, nodding as she paid attention. "Sounds... interesting" she replied as her features began to change to a slight frown the more she thought about it. She had to admit she found it a little endearing that he was concerned about her stress levels even if it was probably common practice during the training, but honestly she wasn't afraid. She trusted him enough to know she wasn't in any real danger and despite not being able to perform Genjutsu she'd read enough to know that she'd be under some form of illusion, meaning the loss of her sight was only temporary. She was sure that if it were to suddenly happen to her during an engagement she'd be far more concerned about it and more liable to become distressed. "Whenever you're ready Koike" she replied softly.

Nodding, Koike would weave the handsignals for the respective genjutsu. Stepping forward, he would pat her right shoulder with his left hand before taking a step back. The effect would soon dawn upon Satia, robbing her of her eyesight seeing Koike still was two steps away. Deciding to talk, hoping it would make it less troublesome, he started to explain it.
"Genjutsu is in short a chakra technique that is quite focused on the ying aspect. Creating illusions and what not. Some can be dispelled by you but most often they can't. Cause the user controls and conjures them. Genjutsu like these are direct attacks. Trying to rob you of a sense or disturbing it." Koike explained. He paused as he observed her features for a moment, trying to gauge how she was doing.

"There are generic ways to combat most genjutsu. First is introducing pain. It will disturb your chakra system slightly and thus break the genjutsu. It is the least favorite and usually avoided by most. The next is to disturb your own chakra system. Focusing and moulding your chakra and then dispelling it to cause a disturbance. It sounds simple but in combat it isn't easy to focus on it to create a strong enough disturbance to break a genjutsu. The third is that another person disturbs the genjutsu for you. By pouring some of their chakra into you, they will disturb your chakra system and thus dispel the genjutsu." Pausing once more, Koike would gesture towards Satia. Realising only that she wouldn't be able to see it. "There are, however, genjutsu that you can't just dispel with one of these methods. Sometimes making the effects even worse than before. Go, however, ahead and try to break from this genjutsu with disturbing your own chakra."

The young Cho girl placed her hands on her hips and remained still even as her vision blackened and fell away, causing her more inquisitive and analytical mind to delve deep into the sensation and attempt to pull it apart and understand it. It was quite the experience and despite the world becoming dark, Satia wore an intrigued smile on her features, as if she were experiencing something that was pleasantly interesting to her... which probably wasn't far from the truth. "Fascinating... " she commented as she listened to him explain how it could be dispelled or interrupted. Giving a small nod she would bring her hands together before performing some simple handsigns, exhaling a deep breath of wind release from her nose which pushed dust and debris outwards from around her feet. Controlling air in such manner was one of the many ways Satia mediated and perhaps aided in making her so strong with her natural element.

Her first few attempts didn't work, though she persevered and didn't appear to show signs of stress of frustrating, instead of slowing down and deciding to take her time. After a few moments she moved her hands before her chest and positioned them into a shape, with her right hand held horizontal with her palm facing to her left, the other cupped beneath it as if it were to catch water. Her head inclined forwards slightly and after a moment she would focus a delicate shove to her Chakra flow, causing her to physically flinch a little before light began to flood back into her eyes, causing her to close them and wince a little. "Oh... that was unpleasant" she said softly with a small smile as she let herself adjust.

Waiting, Koike simply waited. He wished that he had a sensor such as Saki to aid in this training. But judging that she kept trying to disturb her own chakra system, he reckoned that the first few attempts were no success. Upon seeing how she positioned her hands, Koike briefly wondered what she would do. When Satia managed to dispel the genjutsu, a faint smile knitted itself on his lips. "I apologise. But you did well." Judging by the fact that she managed to break out of it without panicking was a good sign. One that meant she wouldn't panick too soon as he had seen other genin do when confronted with being underneath a genjutsu that robbed them of an important sense.

"Next, I want to introduce another type of genjutsu. This is a genjutsu you can't dispel. Cause the source of the genjutsu isn't you, so to say, as with the previous technique. Same as when I conjure a genjutsu clone, I control and am able to dispel it. All you can do is see it and either fall for it. Or able to manage to figure out that it isn't a real danger. Other genjutsu techniques are a bit more elaborated. Influencing an area. Meaning that if you're in that area, you will be affected by it. Let me show you." Weaving various handsigns, Koike would pull out a knife. Allowing the respective genjutsu flow into the weapon, Koike would take several steps back. Nothing seemed yet different.

"I have applied a very small effect on this dagger. If you would come and close the distance, you will lose your hearing. You will be deafened by a constant bell ringing. Nothing that should pain you but will rob you of using your ears to catch sounds. Only way for you to dispel it is forcing me to dispel the technique. Or if I run out of chakra. In this case, if the chakra I poured into the item runs out of chakra, it will also be the end of the genjutsu." Now he would wait to see if she wanted to experience the particular genjutsu or had any questions.

Paying attention once more as he spoke, she would walk closer towards the dagger, raising her eyebrows when she heard the ringing which blocked out everything else quite sufficiently. It was the kind of sound that you'd expect to have to shout over for any hope of contacting another person even if they were up close. Taking a step back she nodded, "I see" she replied before her brow furrowed slightly, the more strategic and analytical side of her mind surfacing as she looked back towards Koike, "Would it not be more effective to apply a Genjutsu that took sound away from the weapon, or even made it invisible?" she asked curiously, knowing full well the kind of value that could have as someone who used knives a fair bit in their combat skill set.

Dispelling the genjutsu, Koike would holster the weapon away. The question caused Koike to briefly seem surprised. Not that he had found the question to be stupid. Quite the opposite. "There are some techniques that muffle the sound of swinging a blade. The problem is often that when you swing a weapon that the sound isn't that noticeable. By the time you hear it, it is likely to hit within a second later. Many people aren't capable of quickly avoiding a surprise attack from the back. So it might have to do with some preservation of chakra. But I imagine if you try to muffle the sound of your attack in, let's say, a smoke cloud? Or from any obscured scenario where you aren't able to deliver an attack to the back, I reckon it would have some value." The second one was a bit easier to answer, in his opinion.

"Making a weapon invisible with genjutsu isn't far from impossible. There is only a problem with it. If I make a weapon invisible for you, you will still notice that I am wielding something. It will be harder to dodge and avoid being stabbed or wounded. But the problem is that if it directly impacts you, the genjutsu will be easily recognised and dispelled. If I make it invisible for everybody, including myself without directly impacting you with the genjutsu, it can be dangerous for me as the wielder. Not able to see your weapon can result in all kind of mishaps. Nothing more embarrassing and riskier than trying to block an attack but you miscalculated the range of your, let us say sword." Realising that he had almost entered a rant, Koike coughed softly.

"If it does interest you, there are some camouflage techniques. Good questions though."

Satia nodded her thanks before hearing his reply which pushed her thoughts and ideas elsewhere, thinking back to some of the various experiences she'd had in other training sessions, specifically with a certain Jounin who had felled her on more than one occasion. "Actually, I would be rather interested in learning camouflage techniques, but preferably ones that would work to disguise me instead of a weapon" she replied. Many times Aiko had been seen fading into a puddle of water or falling away into a shadow, skills which Satia admired but also saw great value in. The potential for them in the field was staggering and she had to admit, pulling it off against Aiko was an idea she found both amusing and desirable. She didn't doubt that perhaps it was quite advanced and something that might fall beyond her Chakra control and experience, but she would steel her determination for it.

Thinking of something, Koike wagered the risks. "I might have something. It isn't really flashy though." He continued. "There is one technique I could try to pass on. It isn't perfect and requires you to use it carefully. For if an enemy notices what you're doing, the tactical value of the technique will be quite less." Glancing around, he would gesture to the part of the room where there were more shadows. Gesturing her to walk with him to that part of the room, he gestured to the shadows.

"This might sound odd but people are usually not that aware of shadows. They are in many places and yet they don't attract much attention. What I am going to try teach you is how to vanish into a shadow. If that would be something you consider interesting enough to indulge in."

Remembering more vividly how Aiko had so easily blended into her shadow she imagined this was something similar. "That makes sense" she replied, voicing her confidence in his explanation, imagining how something as mundane as shadows could be easily overlooked through a quick peripheral glance. "I'd definitely be interested, I can imagine a lot of useful situations and scenarios for such a skill" she replied softly. She already had a question to follow up on this new ability but she would wait to ask him after the lesson about it.

"It isn't that hard to use even. All you need is to time it right and in what situation. Touch the shadow. Best to do so with a foot." Koike started to explain. "It requires a few handsigns but once you completely master it, you can do it without them." He paused for a moment. "It will feel odd at first. You can still use your senses when hidden. Move around in the shadow. Potentially moving to another if they cross or connect." Showing the few handsigns, Koike gestured to the nearby shadow for her to give it a try.

Satia raised her eyebrows upon hearing that it would be possible to cross between shadows and essentially move between them, sensing an even greater utility in the technique in how she could apply it in the field and in various different situations. She was pulled from her thoughts only when Koike motioned for her to try it for herself, causing her to give him a soft amused expression... the kind of expression one might give another when they make an endearing statement or action. "Perhaps you could demonstrate it for me, I could read the handsigns from a book but I have the advantage of having you here to show me in person" she smiled, making sure not to sound condescending in her tone as she spoke.

A sigh escaped his lips as he half turned to the shadow. "So much for trying to not exhaust more chakra. But very well. Hmm, hang on." Pulling out a senbon, Koike would pull a bit of wire. Attaching the wire with a small knot to the but of the needle, Koike would pull out another senbon. With both ends of the wire now having a senbon, Koike would walk to a nearby wooden furniture, a closet, Using one senbon, Koike would anchor the long needle. Now grabbing the other, he would pin it on the ground with the wire stretched.

"Now, as I said, if there is a bridge between two shadows." Despite he didn't need to use the handsigns, he would still weave them. At a slow pace so that Satia could memorise the few signs. Placing his foot underneath the wire, Koike would vanish at a rapid pace into the ground. A second or two later, his hands would appear at the shadow near the closet. Pulling himself out of the shadow, Koike dusted his clothes off. "Very nifty technique. There is a more advanced version of it. Though the problem is that even if you are hidden in the shadow, you are still prone to being wounded. If somebody has this odd idea or just has seen you moving into a shadow, they could try to stab or hurt you with attacking where you're hiding. Those with sensory ninjutsu can trace you when you're hiding."

Her brow furrowed at first, his sigh having made her believe for a moment that she was bothering him with her questions before her expression eased upon hearing his words. Watching his demonstration as she listened she had to admit she wasn't entirely confident about being able to do it, not for any other reason other than her mind trying to comprehend the process a little too in depth. Nevertheless she nodded before looking towards him as he reappeared, "Is there a way to mask yourself against sensory ninjutsu?" she asked curiously.

The question wasn't hard to answer. "Yes. Multiple ways from what I know. Concealing your chakra is one way. Some people know how to briefly pose their chakra signature as a different one. Blending into the mass and not be able to be pin-pointed." He answered. His left eyebrow raised slightly. "Why? Already on the run for the authorities?"

She tilted her head to the side and gave him a flat expression before her expression lifted into a small smirk, "Not yet" she replied before allowing herself to become more serious, "It's just that such a technique would seem pointless or too risky to perform without having some kind of safeguard against being found through a sensory technique" she replied, her tone indicating an analytical approach to the theory of the technique which was often a telltale sign that Satia was invested into ascertaining complete knowledge over what it was she was being taught or learning.

"True. A sensor would pretty much nullify the usage of this kind of technique. Though that is a problem with most hiding techniques. From what I can tell you is that concealing your presence from sensors is a hindrance too." He paused, considering how to explain it. "When you conceal your chakra, you need to imagine that you prevent yourself from using it. Your chakra system won't suffer because of it but you won't be able to mould or use any ninjutsu while concealing yourself. You are still visible, however, with the naked eye. With hiding techniques such as the one I showed you, you will become able to hide away from people. But a sensor will be capable of locating you. Both concealing your chakra and using your chakra to hide have their advantages and disadvantages."

Pausing after the answer, he flashed an apologising smile. "I don't know how to suppress my chakra though. So I wouldn't be able to help you with that. If it is of any comfort, only a small amount of people indulge in sensory ninjutsu from what I have seen."

Listening intently she would eventually give a slow nod of understanding as she absorbed the information. "I see, it makes sense" she replied at first before shaking her head a little. "It's alright, it at least gives me something to look for the next time I find myself in a library" she replied with a reassuring smile before looking back towards the shadowed corner. "In any case I better give this a try, no?" she continued before she started to concentrate, once again taking her time as she moved through the handsigns, molding her Chakra before stepping a foot into the shadow. It was slow but she eventually started to absorb into it, though not at the same pace Koike had demonstrated which was probably to be expected considering she hadn't done this before. In a moment more she'd completely disappeared before she would emerge from the other shadow slowly. "... That is also quite a strange sensation" she commented.

When she gave it a try, Koike placed his hands at his hips. He couldn't help but be a bit curious. The technique wasn't that special perhaps. Other than that many people didn't seem to know or use the particular technique. Something he didn't mind, at all. The slower pace which she started to sink into the shadow caused him to chuckle for a second. When Satia emerged once more, but from another shadow, he nodded before speaking up. "Yeah. It will be quite a weird sensation. But this technique has saved me out of many nasty situations. I hope it will be useful for you as well." Flashing a smile, he would return a question. "Any questions for at the moment?"

She shook her head a little with a small smile, "I don't believe so, I think I'll just have to practice them till I'm able to perform them comfortably... though I can certainly see the benefits" she replied enthusiastically. She could imagine multiple ways of incorporating it into her combat style and skill set, she just needed to practice on making herself able to do it faster and more smoothly.

She wasn't wrong. Practice would make her better at using the technique. Glad that she was enthusiastic with the technique, Koike nodded once more. "Good. I suppose that does conclude our training. Which means that I probably should bring out a report to Aiko and then meet you later. If that is still on the table?" He decided to ask, unsure why he felt the need to ask if she was still interested to meet up.

Satia inclined her head forwards respectfully with her thanks, "As long as I can manage to evade Aiko then I should be able to meet with you... although you should know that if we're caught I most certainly will be in some trouble for it. Luckily for you I deem the risk worth it" she grinned, her tone retaining a small amount of playfulness as she motioned for them to make leave from the place.

The answer caused him to snort back a laughter. Briefly Koike's eyes closed as he lightly shook his head. A grin appeared on his lips and stayed there after he responded back. "I feel honoured. Though I imagine that it also could be that you're looking forward to that ribbon." He would walk towards the door. Opening it, he held it open for her. Briefly glancing at the odd senbon as wire that he hadn't cleaned up. Deciding that it wouldn't be a big problem, Koike spoke up again. "If it is to any comfort, you might get some drinks for free. If that isn't worth some trouble, then I don't know what is."

Stepping through the opened door she smiled before waiting outside, turning towards him as she cocked her head to the side a little. "You might be right, but we'll have to wait and see. Thank you for the training Koike I'll be sure to take it on board. I'll see you later" she said and once again bowed her head forwards slightly before taking her leave into the light snowfall.

[/spoili][/fieldbox]

Oetje · Jul 28, 2018

[fieldbox=Finding the Flow, burlywood]
In Magnhild, Field of Valdar.
* Empire of Akino *
A collab between FrostedCamel and Oetje

Summary:
Meilin decides to see if Suzu Yamada, a member of the Sworn Sword, has some time. With something on her mind, she tries to seek some advice and knowledge that Suzu might have over the 'problem' that Meilin faces. Gaining some advice and knowledge from Suzu, the latter trains and helps Meilin to advance in the usage of chakra flow.

[spoili]
Walking through the streets, Meilin was starting to feel more and more at home in Magnhild. The city had something that just made her feel comforted. Safe. She wasn't entirely sure what the reasons were. It could be that she heard Chonobi everywhere. The fact that she knew and could easily blend in with the traditions and manners. Perhaps because she didn't have the idea that she was living once more in two different worlds, one each dominated by another culture.
Making her way to the citadel within the city, Meilin bite her lower lip. She wasn't entirely certain on how she would get to meet Suzu. But she wouldn't gain any progress by just sitting down and pondering.

Arriving at the gates, she would bring up the invitation of the feast as stating her name to the guards. Requesting a meeting with a Sworn Sword, by the name of Suzu. The present guards were skeptical and Meilin couldn't blame them. Being told to wait, Meilin would just step aside, waiting in the cold to see if Suzu had some time off to meet up today.

Suzu had just gotten off of her shift of watch duty and returned to the quarters provided her when there was a rapping at her door. She stood and moved to it quietly, opening the door partially and giving the Hon Guard a suspicious look as the man informed her with a thick Chonobi accent that she had a visitor. For a moment she wanted to disagree, inform the man he was wrong and that she never had visitors until he added in the girls name. Suzu quickly told him to have the girl wait and went about stripping her armor off and changing into something more suitable for the cold weather outside.

Minutes later and she was exiting the keep by a smaller secondary gate located a short distance from the first. She gave a nod to the Sworn Sword and the Hon Guards in place as she left and quickly wheeled toward the main gate. She spotted Meilin when she was still out of earshot but quickly crunched her way through the snow and to the Chuunins side, "You caught me at a good time Meilin, what is it you need? The training I offered?" she asked curiously as she smiled at the young Cho.

Waiting, Meilin held the hood of her jacket up. Her earlier opinion was that the snow created a wonderful scenery. But now her opinion was decreasing as she stood there, waiting in the cold. Even clothed well for the cold temperature, Meilin was making a quick prayer to Audhild to bring Spring back.
Spotting somebody walking out of the gate, Meilin shot a sideways look to the respective person. Recognising Suzu, Meilin turned towards the approaching woman.
"Well, yes and no." Meilin answered, deciding to decipher her rather cryptic answer. "I might need some advice and help with something else. That I am not sure off. Should we perhaps go to a more suitable place?" The young woman suggested, already half turning around.

Suzu nodded and held her smile as the young Cho spoke, a small amount of curiosity growing when she stated she wasn't here for the samurai saber technique but instead something else, "A better place we go to then." she agreed as Meilin wanted to leave the front gate of the Keep, no doubt she felt uncomfortable in such a visible location by people who's job it was to watch others.

Following Meilin she'd take a few skipping strides to fall in at her side and tilt her head in her direction, "So what is it then? Your Genin already causing a headache? Or maybe your old members aren't mixing with the new? Or is it something worse?" she asked, remembering the story that Meilin had told her about killing someone recently that didn't exactly deserve to die. She steeled herself slightly if that was the issue, more than expecting it to be the issue, and began to search for the words she thought would best bring a girl like Meilin back from the edge of her own festering thoughts.

One would assume that being on the move was good to drive the cold out. But Meilin received a cold breeze straight in her face. Hearing what Suzu asked, Meilin considered telling about Aoi and Dagrún. The thing was that Meilin wasn't sure if she was too concerned about the two. If something bothered Aoi, she would be open with her, right?
"The new genin is doing fine. Obedient and eager to learn. I think that is quite a good mix of things for a genin," Meilin replied, at first. "It is about something else. I am not sure if it is worse or better but I decided to do a simple introduction with the team. Letting them introduce themselves while showing their chakra affinity. I have fire. Or well," a frown knitted itself on Meilin's brow, her left hand making a vague gesture as if she waved the breeze of before away.

"I thought I had. I expected my chakra paper to turn into ash or whatever. The problem is," her right hand dug into a pocket. Pulling out the piece of paper that was crystalized in purple.
"I got this." Meilin continued, on a softer tone. Holding the odd item subtly towards Suzu. "I am not sure if this is a prank pulled by the local administration. I used seven of the papers but all got the same result. So far, nobody else on the team had an odd reaction on their paper. So I am at a loss of what is going on."

The Genin was doing alright, and she didn't touch on any issues with the team so that was a step in the right direction as far as Suzu was concerned. When she began to speak about the small introduction that she had conducted she wasn't sure in the slightest where it was headed but continued to listen and watch as they went. When Meilin pulled out a small piece of what used to be chakra paper and held it out to her Suzu would grab it and hold it up closer to her face as she inspected the crystallized piece of paper between her fingers.

She had stopped listening to Meilin the moment the girl had produced it from her pocket and only managed to tune back in at the tail end of what she was saying. She slipped the paper into her own pocket and picked her pace up slightly, "It seems that you possess something other than fire affinity Cho." she would state as they began to near the fields that she was pretty sure Meilin was leading her to, "How is it that you came to believe fire is your release? Did the papers in the Academy say such?" she asked, trying to figure out where the system had somehow failed the young Cho.

She didn't want to hear that. Despite the evidence that fire wasn't her affinity, Meilin didn't want to hear that. Nodding slowly, she would listen to the questions of Suzu.
"I am not sure. I remember the first 'use' of chakra was when I had an accident. It left a slightly burnt mark on my sibling's face for days. Leading to the impression that it was an affinity for fire." Meilin explained as she kept thinking about why she had never questioned it before.
"In the Academy, I was never tasked to use the chakra paper to figure out my affinity. I have been trained and educated to mould and use fire release. I assume that the accident didn't warrant a test, I guess."
It still didn't answer what her affinity was. But Meilin would just keep walking alongside Suzu. Hoping that the woman had an idea of what it could be.

Unbelievable. They'd never tested the girl's affinity after her incident. A short sight, a failure on the part of her teachers, they of all people should have known that chakra burned no matter the nature if it was molded outside of one's body and in contact with another. Especially if they weren't truly I control of it at the time. Suzu turned to Meilin as they went, "Have you told anyone else? Perhaps your Miyazato teammate?" she asked, she could offer insight as well being now the first and most experienced user of a Kekkei Genkai on the team.

"You have a Kekkei Genkai, you realize this right? I'm just confirming it for you? That your true nature is Crystal?" she asked, pretty sure that Meilin was either refusing what she already knew or just too confused to accept it.

"I haven't told anybody. Not yet. I wanted to figure out this more on my own before I would move to others. Seeing, however, that my own attempts were futile, I first considered going to you and then to Ao-- Miyazato." Meilin answered back.
Though she heard what Suzu said, Meilin didn't like it. A kekkei genkai was a bloodline ability. So did that mean that one of her parents had it as well? Or was it the result of a dark secret? Neither options were really comforting at the moment.
"I guess. But I have never heard or seen anything like Crystal release. Frankly, I didn't even hear of it being a release until now."
For a moment, Meilin could sympathise with Dea now. When the girl was confused why her chakra paper had transmuted itself to dirt. Giving her the idea that her release was that. Dirt.
"Do you know anybody with that release? Somebody that you know, can perhaps help me with it?"

Suzu was surprised she was the first person Meilin had approached and not one of her teammates instead. She hadn't expected that Meilin had this sort of trust in her, at least she hadn't come to really accept that the girl might actually look up to her despite everything she'd been witness to by Suzu's hand.

"It's not anything against the rules to approach others about, although you may want to keep it from being spread for at least a little bit until you get a better handle on the situation." Suzu said with a nod. When Meilin stated she'd never heard of the release Suzu found herself frowning, she'd expected the Cho to be a bit more well versed in her field, even if Crystal was rather obscure, not knowing of it and facing off against one of the rare users would surely spell her room without any prior knowledge of it. It seemed Suzu's perception of the Chuunin had been unfairly high for the girls level and experience. "Alright. Alright." She said almost stalling for her thoughts to catch up, "I know of one shinobi that possesses Crystal Release." she said as they walked, "Only issue is that she's dead." Suzu finished with a shrug.

"But there have got to be others you can go to for this. I'm just not sure who."

Listening to Suzu, Meilin already had a question on the tip of her tongue when the older woman states she knew of a shinobi that had Crystal Release. Only she was dead. That wasn't going to be much of help. Thinking about it, Meilin wondered if there were people that had trained with this particular person. Perhaps those people could lend some help? Deciding to keep that for herself, Meilin did decide to question something.
"Do you have any name by any chance? Of that person who had Crystal Release?"
Once more, Meilin thought about Aoi. But she couldn't shake off the idea that it was bad. Certainly considering what Aoi had told about her own experience with her own bloodline ability.

"Other than that, I suppose I should try to delve into books and what not. Not my most favorite way to kill time. But better than doing nothing, I guess." Releasing a soft sigh, Meilin decided to switch the topic for now. They should be arriving at the Field of Valdar shortly, anyways.
"So, chakra flow? I know how to surround something with my chakra. And I get that it enhances the imbued weapon or such. But you said that you could do more with it?"

Suzu shrugged again at Meilin's question for a name and sighed, "Konoha's Crystal, that's all I know her by, or Crystal? Depends who you're talking with I guess. She was ANBU, I don't know her real name, sorry." Suzu finished and smiled as Meilin brought up that she should likely study up even if she didn't want to.

"A good plan, even if it's deathly boring." Suzu jested to try and perhaps lift the girls mood slightly.

Nodding Suzu would hum an agreement that more could be done with chakra flow than simply coating a weapon. As they enter the fields of Valdar she'd bring them to the first open field she could find that had a large earthen mound at the far end and dummy's set up for throwing weapons and bow and arrow. She'd motion for Meilin to stand at her side as she then pointed to the dummies at the far end.

"Much more can be done. Simply coating your weapon is child's play. Sure it increases the effectiveness of your weapon but it still remains close ranged with maybe a small amount of new reach," she tapped the palm of her hand on her katana at her hip and pulled it from its sheath as she continued talking, "I know we did your hand last time, you say you can do a weapon. But does that mean a kunai or a wakizashi? A dagger or a sword?" as she spoke her own weapon would begin to glow blue with the eerie light of the chakra beginning to surround it. "With enough practice in molding your chakra and bending it to your will you can put it into a state that it will be able to remain for quite some time once it is no longer being constantly fed by you," she'd point the tip of her blade at a dummy, "the trick is figuring out how to do that." as she said it she'd pull her katana back and then slash it out at the dummy some twenty meters away, a blue crescent of chakra roaring out from where her blade had slashed and toward the dummy at speed comparable to an arrow.

The dummy showered splinters and pieces of wood as the crescent of chakra hit and left a large and deep gash horizontally across its center. Suzu turned to look at Meilin, "Quite the technique. Start small, figure out how to get your chakra to maintain itself when you're no longer feeding it, from there figure out how to make it maintain its shape, it's cutting edge, and then it's power." she pointed the tip of her blade at the dummy once more as the blue hue faded away from it, "See what you can do maybe?" she suggested, knowing full well Meilin wouldn't be able to do this on her first try, likely not even her hundredth.

Konoha's Crystal? Fitting, Meilin imagined with the particular release. Too bad that she was neither in Konohagakure or having any sufficient permission to view into the dossiers of the ANBU. There was the idea to request if Suzu could do that for her. But Meilin considered that the woman had already given a start. If this particular crystal user was known then perhaps there were more people who knew of this 'Crystal'.
A polite smile dawned briefly on Meilin's lips on Suzu's reply regarding the studying.
As they entered the Field of Valdar, Meilin paid close attention to what Suzu did as said. Nodding at first, she would answer the woman's question.
"Currently? A very flimsy coat around my longsword. I can make it more stable around a short weapon but nothing of great potential." Meilin answered.

The aftermath of the dummy by Suzu's attack left Meilin speechless. Staring at the destruction that had been brought upon the wooden obstacle, she wasn't sure what to think of it. Of course, she wanted to reach that level. To be able to deliver the same.
Pulling out a knife, Meilin would coat the blade with chakra. It wasn't as intensely blue as Suzu's chakra coat. It seemed much more fragile. Focusing on her breath and the control of the chakra coat, Meilin faced the direction of the dummy.

Taking a step forward, Meilin lashed out. She tried to imagine the chakra lashing out. Forming a crescent of chakra that would soar forwards, slashing the dummy in half. Instead, it just became unstable and briefly vanished.
"Damnit."
Trying it several more times, Meilin didn't gain any progress. But there was no sign yet that she was going to stop trying.

Suzu watched as Meilin pulled a smaller blade and coated it in chakra. She nodded at the amount in which Meilin had obviously grown from the last time she had struggled to simply coat her own hand and watched as she raised the blade. She noticed it was a bit pale, and the chakra seemed to have less of a defined shape then she would have liked but it would work almost as well. With the small hints of the true level of Meilin's ability at this point she was now sure of the fact that this would be an exercise in futility for the coming day. But hopefully, that futility would drive the young Chuunin to put the effort into the technique to one day master it, to use it as Suzu had just shown it could be used.

When Meilin's attempt ended with an unstable bubble of quickly dissipating chakra Suzu waved a hand in her direction, "Don't let it get you down, I was nowhere near what I just did when I started. Even as an ANBU I was rather bad at this." she said with a reassuring smile, "It's still all about chakra control at this point, if you simply let it go without forcing it to remain as you do, then what just happened will always happen." she stated with a nod as if such a vague tip would help Meilin at all.

Meilin turned half around towards Suzu, to give the woman a nod. As she turned around, she realised something. Just a second ago, she had learned that the woman had been with the ANBU. Despite that wasn't anything bad, it was in a sense intimidating. To learn that the woman had been an ANBU, Meilin couldn't fathom on what kind of high-stake missions she had been sent on. Pulling her focus back on the objective, Meilin grabbed the hilt with both hands. Moulding chakra, she would let it slowly but surely surround the blade of her weapon. The blue hue was in no way or form the same intensity as that of Suzu. It was a flimsy comparison at best. Trying to think of a reason on how to make this easier for herself, Meilin would slowly pull her left hand back. Briefly, the chakra coat seemed unstable but stabilized itself. Perhaps she hadn't insert enough chakra to make it sustain a jump?

Inhaling slowly, Meilin focused her attention on the coating. When it became unstable and seemed to fade away, the Cho almost panicked. But it slowly but surely became stable as the density visibly became tighter. Giving the weapon a spin, Meilin noticed that the chakra coat briefly flickered but remained the same. Nodding, to nobody in particular, Meilin would ready herself. Placing her gaze on the dummy, her eyes narrowed.
Lashing out with a standard swing from the side, she would do her best to make the chakra jump from the blade. It moved into a decent pace but would dissipate after two meters.
Blinking, Meilin frowned. There was no chakra remaining on her blade and it was clear she wasn't happy with the progress. Repeating the process several times, no significant development followed.

Panting, Meilin lowered her blade as she hadn't even gotten close to the dummy. Straighten her back, she turned half around towards Suzu to ask the woman a question.
"Got any tips or tricks perhaps?" Meilin asked, trying to mask her frustration at what she considered her incompetence with a polite tone.

Suzu crossed her arms as she watched Meilin continue to be able to get her chakra to reach out for her. She smiled as each attempt seemed to get a little bit better until they became sort of stuck around the same distance away every try. She tapped at her forearm and listened to Meilin as she asked again for any sort of help she could get, her overly polite tone a giveaway for the girls frustration with the technique.

Smiling Suzu shook her head and pointed at the weapon in Meilin's hand, "You seem to have the right idea. Just keep practising it, you'll get past what you can do in no time if this simple example is enough to go by. As far as getting larger blades to do this? You need to work on you chakra control of course, and build your endurance. This is a rather draining technique afterall."

She nodded, turning her attention back at the dummy. Meilin wasn't sure why she was so amped up. Lately, she had noticed more progress with her team. With both Madoc and Aoi. The errors of Hanaguro were started to become replaced, slowly. But now everything seemed to stagnate. Her dynamic with Aoi wasn't what it was. She couldn't progress herself more at a technique, this chakra flow. If she couldn't progress further at a decent pace, then how could she manage to mentor Dea?
The frustration started to reach towards the surface, clawing its way through Meilin and causing her to feel uncomfortable. Sheathing her short sword, Meilin nodded once more before she turned to Suzu.
"I suppose that practice makes perfect indeed." The Cho said, a faint smile crossing her lips. "What more should I know about chakra flow?" She decided to ask.

Suzu nodded slightly before bringing a hand to her chin and seeming to think for a bit, "If I had to simply restate a tip for this technique, it's that you have to enforce your will on your own chakra. Make it bend to your whim so to speak. Make it so subservient to you that even after you've sent the chakra on its way like I showed, it continues to follow what you wanted it to do." she said before lowering her hand from her chin, "Everything else is about all I've got for you. Teaching isn't exactly something I've done before." she admitted plainly.

Make it bend to her whim? Meilin frowned slightly as she thought about it. When Suzu stated that teaching wasn't something she done before, Meilin flashed a smile.
"That is okay. I will try to make the best out of your advice. So far, it has helped me to progress so you're not that half bad." The Cho replied as she would memorise the tip. It was clear that she couldn't yet apply this yet in serious combat. Perhaps she should try to find some time and space to further her training.
"I want to say that I am very grateful that you make time for me to train me. I would have offered you something but sadly, I don't have much to offer in return to show my gratitude."

Suzu smiled and nodded, "I'd hope I could teach a Chuunin at the very least something they can work off of." she said as a joke before Meilin stated she wished she had some way to pay her back. She thought for a second before simply shrugging, "For now it's no issue, I don't need you to reimburse me. Perhaps another time I'll get something from you." she finished with a small smile. At the very least it meant she had a team of average Shinobi that she could call upon if they were ever in the same area, like their run-in in Hanaguro. Although they were by no means an elite group it was good to know there was a possibility that on occasion there were shinobi she knew she could trust when called upon. She turned to the sky and tried to figure out what time it might have been through the clouds bug gave up shortly after.

"I should get going, I received a mission earlier today. You're moving along well Meilin." she would finish.

"Heh," Meilin flashed a hint of a smile as she heard the joke of Suzu. Hearing that Suzu would perhaps get something from her did raise some hairs on Meilin's neck. But she didn't give into the thoughts she considered irrational.
"Very well. I owe you one." Pausing for a moment as she considered what she should say as goodbye, Meilin stretched out her right hand towards Suzu.
"Thanks. Good luck on your mission and may your God watch over you," she said as she briefly glanced at her right wrist before looking back at Suzu.

Suzu smiled and nodded once to affirm that Meilin indeed owed her before watching as the young Chuunin stretched out her hand. She reached forward to shake it before noticing the way the girl looked to her wrist. She understood immediately, having been privy to the sight a few times the night before and even seeing it from some of the Chonobi Sworn Swords in the Royal Palace. She'd reach her hand past Meilin's and grasp at the girls wrist, giving a firm shaking of their arms before releasing it, "May yours as well." she finished before turning to leave the field.

When Suzu understood the subtle hint, Meilin would grasp and shake in return. Letting her arm hang at her side, she watched how Suzu would leave the field. Half turning towards the dummy, Meilin considered something. But instead of forcing herself to continue, she decided to head back. There was something else she wanted to work on.
[/spoili]
[/fieldbox]

Walter Swan · Jul 29, 2018

[fieldbox="The Pen is Mightier than the Sword, SkyBlue"]

Shion Kobayashi & [color= #00B2EE]Kukiko Yuki[/color] | Members of Team 17 | Republic of the Water Country, Kirigakure

@FrostedCaramel
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was a quiet day at the library of Kirigakure Shinobi Academy, the tables filled sparsely with a few students and shinobi. Shion was sitting in a secluded corner of the library surrounded by bookshelves, a place where she and Kukiko had trained in before. It was a nice and quiet place to practice some jutsus as long as they didn't involve any destruction.

Chakra bubbled up the genin's palm as her eyes closed, focusing her mind. Her hand didn't feel as much as pain or stress as before and though it still took some effort, she could now maintain the same aura in her palm for at least five minutes. When Akane Kobayashi heard about Kukiko's training, she had Shion practice the technique in place of daily meditation. It granted her better concentration and focus more than a regular meditation would and not to mention, she couldn't sneak off a nap unlike in a meditation lest she failed the technique.

Breathing out deeply and slowly, Shion slowly let the chakra in her palm fade away. She sighed as she leaned her back onto the chair and placed her feet onto the table. The duration in which she managed to keep the chakra focused in her hand isn't very impressive especially in a battlefield that could last more than five minutes. And while her Iaido training was proceeding smoothly, she still had ways to go, compared to her rival Yuyuko.

"Feels like I haven't been making much progress," the genin sighed as she placed her hands behind her head, closing her eyes.

Kukiko had almost expected to see Shion in the library again, and to find her in the place she had shown her was definitely well within that same expectation. She watched for a little from behind Shion a bit aways as the girl practiced her chakra control, molding and holding it to her hand for a good five minutes before she seemed to reach her limit. Kukiko smiled and waited a bit as the girl seemed to stretch and lean back into her hands. She would walk into the smaller secluded area and stand behind her student gazing down at her from above.

[color= #00B2EE]"Getting better it'd seem."[/color] she started as she peered down at the Genin, [color= #00B2EE]"Anything I can help with again ?"[/color] she asked curiously as a smile grew on her lips.

"Oh, sensei!" Shion got up hurriedly as she noticed Kukiko, "You must have already seen my practice, huh?"

"As you can see, I can keep the chakra around my palm for about five minutes but any more than that and it just started to dissipate away," she explained, "So I'm curious. Does that have something to do with endurance or do I need to improve my technique?"

Kukiko smiled and nodded as her student spoke, and was even a little surprised she had the answer to her question already but just hadn't quite decided which of her two options it was yet, [color= #00B2EE]"It's endurance, molding chakra is hard and it take more out of you than you may realize,"[/color] she nodded again and moved around the table, [color= #00B2EE]"Continuing to practice like this will eventually see you getting farther with how long you can hold it together but, if I were you I'd try practicing other things at the same time. Endurance exercises would likely do you the best good."[/color] she said as she took a seat at the table across from her student.

[color= #00B2EE]"Maybe start running farther than you normally do, or workout longer than average. Make a new average so to speak."[/color] Kukiko said with a smile, [color= #00B2EE]"Building your bodies strength should allow you to endure more taxing chakra usage as well as make you a better shinobi so it's a win-win right?"[/color]

"In the end, it all comes down to endurance, huh?" Shion said in resignation as she slumped back down onto the chair, "And I was hoping that's not the case."

"But I have a tight schedule lately since I'm learning Iaido," she said as she crossed her arms deep in thought, "Not sure if I can fit in a longer workout right now."

"Sensei, what if I use more difficult variations of my workouts while keeping the same duration?" the genin asked as she looked at Kukiko, "If I can't work longer, I can just work harder in my allotted time, right?"

Kukiko nodded and wondered how she'd forgotten that Yuyuko and her were trying to further their Iaido abilities as well, [color= #00B2EE]"That should work, it'll be more intense but you'll get the same effect from a less intense but longer duration."[/color] she said with a smile before pulling a pen from her pocket and sliding it across the table to Shion.

[color= #00B2EE]"Try and coat the pen, and if possible extend your chakra out farther than the pen, as far as you can until it will fail and keep it just before that point."[/color] she leaned back and watched to see if Shion would be able to get her chakra to flow and hold onto something that wasn't her own body.

'"Ooh, next stage already?" Shion said as she excitedly pick up the pen and held it in front of her face. Scrunching her eyebrows in concentration, the genin carefully poured the chakra from her hand into the pen, her chakra taking the form of water drops as they slowly crawled up the pen.

"Huh?" the small drops of chakra stopped at the middle of the pen before they dripped off its surface one by one, as they faded away into the thin air, "That's strange. It felt like my chakra split off from me when it's around the middle of the pen."

Kukiko watched as Shion showed her the fruits of her labor this far, the ability to get a minuscule amount of chakra to travel halfway up the pen, she tilted her head and stared a moment as the chakra bubbled off the pen and Shion tried to figure out what might have gone wrong with her attempt.

[color= #00B2EE]"Well that's what's going to happen. You can keep it on your own hand because the chakra is flowing through you, it doesn't flow through a weapon or in this case,"[/color] she pointed, [color= #00B2EE]"a pen."[/color] She shook her head and continued, [color= #00B2EE]"The goal now is to be able to continue to hold a form and control over your chakra the farther it gets away from its source, that being your hand. So now on practice like this with a pen or a stick or a weapon. See how far you can extend your chakras reach, overtime you'll get it to the end of whatever you're using and until you can do it with your katana you should move up in the length of an object every time you feel comfortable holding your chakra to the last one."[/color] she suggested, a small regimented training program that would see Shion's ability grow and probably even help her with her endurance issue.

"Got it, sensei!" Shion replied with a confident smile as she spinned the pen in her hand, "I'll get it right in no time."

"By the way, I've been wondering," the genin looked at the pen as she held it between her fingers, "Are there any techniques that uses chakra coating? Aside from Samurai Sabre Technique, I mean."

Kukiko nodded and smiled at her student as she seemed to be happy with her progress, which was exactly what she had managed, progress on her own. She tilted her head and shrugged at Shion for her question, [color= #00B2EE]"Of course there are, a few simply coat a weapon like a kunai or a dagger in a smaller version of samurai sabre, and then you can use what you learn here for more interesting techniques that don't actually involve coating things but more so controlling them, like chakra strings, although that's a very difficult technique that I don't imagine you'd be able to learn anytime soon."[/color] she said before motioning to pen, [color= #00B2EE]"Get past the pen and master your katana and maybe then we'll talk about other techniques."[/color]

"Controlling objects, huh? I never knew you could do that with the same technique," Shion commented before she stood up, "Guess I have one more thing to look forward to, eh?"

According to Kukiko, the idea was to extend the chakra out enough to cover the object she was holding. Maybe she would have a better time visualizing the process if she treated the pen as a part of her body rather than an object she was holding. With this in mind, Shion lowered herself into a stance before slashed and stabbed at the empty air with the pen to familiarize her body with the object.

After a few attacks, she switched back to a reverse grip and closed her eyes in concentration as she covered her hand in an aura of light-blue chakra. The aura slowly stretched out from her hand as it tried to mold itself around the pen but despite her efforts, the aura barely managed to cover the lower half of the pen.

After a minute of practice, Shion stopped with a sharp exhale as the chakra around her hand dissipated, "Hah...hah...this is much harder than I thought. It felt like I'm trying to pull off my hands."

"But this time, I felt like I have a more solid control over my chakra," the genin stated her experience excitedly, "Before, it felt like the chakra 'split off' from my hand when it was traveling along the pen."

Kukiko let out a laugh and shook her head at Shion, [color= #00B2EE]"It's not the same technique, just a branch off from chakra flow really."[/color] she corrected before watching her student get to work. She had to admit, she was a little happy with the fact that the girl was so determined, so willing to put in the work and grow. It didn't matter what her reason for it was, as long as Kukiko could consider that she'd done everything she could to prepare her fresh Genin for the harsh realities of their job as they moved up in rank and responsibility she would be content.

When Shion finished with the pen Kukiko gave her a small clap before pointing to the Genin, [color= #00B2EE]"As I said, need to build your endurance. Can't just go expending big amounts of chakra and not expect to get tired out if you're not used to it. But feeling more in control is a good sign, means you're starting to get a better sense of your own chakra I'd think."[/color] Kukiko said reassuringly before raising her hands up and forming three seals in quick succession, [color= #00B2EE]"The better you get at chakra flow and by extension control, the more interesting techniques you'll be able to learn that have nothing to do with chakra flow itself but require the endurance and control you're working on."[/color] as she spoke a ball of ice would form in her hand and she'd begin to toss it from hand to hand as she went on, [color= #00B2EE]"Figure out things like this, simple things that are only hard in the moment, and you will open yourself up to a lot of possibilities on your path as a shinobi."[/color] she caught the ball in one hand and held it for a moment before it broke into smaller pieces, quickly melted into chakra and vanished into the air.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Shion said in awe as the ice ball disappeared, "You just dismiss it with your mind so that must mean it is connected to you through chakra but you didn't even need to touch it to maintain its form!"

"What's the secret behind it, sensei?" the genin asked excitedly as she bounced up and down, "Tell me! Tell me!"

Raising an eyebrow at her students apparent excitement over what she'd just done Kukiko shrugged, [color= #00B2EE]"I'm not really sure. Beyond making the ice I don't have to put very much effort into it. I don't need to maintain it like you do with molding your chakra, and to get rid of it I just need to be touching it. After all it's still my chakra, if I will it away it'll go away for me."[/color] she stated, never having really thought too much about it before she wasn't sure if she was completely correct.

[color= #00B2EE]"Don't think it'll help very much with what you're doing though."[/color] she admitted before leaning a bit back in her chair, [color= #00B2EE]"If that's all,"[/color] she turned to look over her shoulder at the clock on the wall, [color= #00B2EE]"I've to meet someone, a new member of the team actually. So I should get going Shion."[/color] she smiled at her student.

"A new member? In that case, you shouldn't keep her waiting, sensei," Shion paused for a moment before continuing with a tilt of her head, "Or wait, is it a 'him'?"

"No matter! Your top student can handle everything by herself," the genin declared with her chest puffed out in pride, "Keep working on my techniques and improve my endurance, right? I got that."

"I will clean up here so you can go ahead and meet our new member," she said as she got up before she remembered that she was still holding the jonin's pen, "Oh, right! Here's your pen, sensei."

Kukiko stood and reached forward to grab the pen from her student with a warm smile, [color= #00B2EE]"Thanks Shion, and the new member is a girl. You'll meet her soon, so don't get yourself worked up over anything like it."[/color] she finished before turning and walking away from their secluded corner of the library.

"Roger that," Shion replied as Kukiko walked away, "See you later, sensei."

After the jonin was out of her sight, the genin sank back into the chair with a sigh, before she stared at the ceiling, "Still, this is going too slow."

"Anyway, back to work," she said as she got up from the chair and started gathering the books as part of her clean-up.

[/fieldbox]

FrostedCaramel · Jul 29, 2018

[fieldbox="This Side of the Paradise, #696969"] Imagawa Yasuo |Akenian-Claw Border | Empire of Akino

A burgeoning merchant by the name of Imagawa Yasuo takes a tense trip into the Claw Country to deliver some wares and prospect for new clientele.

The carriage moaned and creaked as it made its way slowly along, the soft crunch of snow drowning out what little may have been heard from the other carriages and people on the road surrounding them. The cart began to slow and horses whinnied as they came to a stop a bit too close to the carriage in front of them. Yasuo watched silently from his position next to the carts driver; a man by the name of Hishio; as he leaned forward and batted at the backs of the horses, whispering sweet nothings to calm the easily spooked beasts as they stepped in place and appeared to be weighing their ability to make their way off the road to free themselves from their claustrophobic predicament as their heads seemed to search their sides with a bit of urgency.

"They going to be alright?" Yasuo asked the cart driver as he leaned forward and reached a hand out to pat the nearest of the horses, his voice slightly muffled by the scarf wrapped around his face.

"Just a lil' spooked is all. Fine horses they are, just big babies when things come in close." Hishio said as he turned his bare face to Yasuo and flashed a smile. How he was managing that right now Yasuo wasn't sure as he watched his own breath as he exhaled through his scarf while it drifted away in long whispering streams. "Had this one for fifteen years," Hishio said as he pointed to the horse in front of Yasuo, "Strong and dependable mhmm, names Ein. Good horse, a leader. And this one here's Zwei, nine years going on ten in a week yessir." Hishio said as his smile grew, obviously the man was very proud of his horses. "They're just babies sometimes, but like any baby, just need to talk them down is all."

Yasuo nodded as he continued to rub the horse in front of him, "I'm inclined to believe a man so proud of his horses as you are." he said with a smile, although it was lost to his scarf he hoped it was evident in his eyes for Hishio to notice.

"Thank you kindly," Hishio started before turning to look forward once more, "Seems whatever held us up has finished, lines moving once more." the older man said with a nod forward as the carts ahead of them began to move once more. The wheels seemed to whine as the horses began to pull them forward, the entire cart laden with cargo apparently protesting as it was slowly pulled through the muddy snow. Yasuo eyed the small palisade ahead of them that signified the Akinian-Tea Countries border and the multitude of armed sentries posted a top it and the duo of immigration officials checking papers ahead. He reached a hand up and pulled away a flap of his large outer coat, flinching slightly as the cold saw its opportunity to invade what had been previously comfortably warm before reaching a hand into the inner coat pocket and pulling a wrapped paper from within.

He undid the small string holding it rolled with his gloved hands less than elegantly before folding it once in his hand and continuing to watch forward. The immigration officers at the checkpoint were talking with a cart driver before they waved him to the side of the road where another cart was being checked by soldiers. He turned to Hishio and tried to make himself appear calm but failed utterly as anxiety seeped from his words, "Do they check everyone that goes through?" he asked trying to appear curious rather than afraid. He watched as Hishio raised a hand up to Yasuo and chuckled as if he had just stated something terribly funny.

"They check often, but not everyone, plus it's not like we've anything to hi--" Hishio's eyes narrowed and he turned to look at the crates of goods and stacks of food stuffs Yasuo had hired him to cart into the Tea Country. The carts owner leaned his head forward and stared daggers at his employer, "Do we have something to hide Mister…?"

Yasuo raised his hands up innocently and waved them soothingly at his driver, his documents crinkling in the wind as he did, "Of course not! Of course not! I'm just nervous is all, have never been into the Tea Country. Heh..." he finished as he brought his hands down and continued to watch Hishio who seemed to think for a moment before cracking a grin and nodding.

"Good, else it's your ass on the line not mine, I ain't know about nothing past what you've told me." he stated before turning back to watch the cart ahead of them slowly creep ahead to the crossing.

It would take another fifteen minutes to finally get to the border crossing. Yasuo pulled his scarf down and immediately hated the cold as it nipped at his lips while the two immigrations officers stepped up alongside the cart on both sides of the two men riding it.

"Papers, please." the officer at Yasuo's side said as he reached a hand out expectantly. Yasuo nodded and fumbled with the papers in his hand as he tried to unfold them and straighten out the paper before handing it down to the man who seemed to only breeze over the multitude of sheets detailing everything from Yasuo to the goods he was transporting. "Here you are." the officer said as he handed the papers back to Yasuo who nodded speechlessly as he took the papers. The officer wouldn't return the nod as he was already walking back and along the side of the cart as he periodically peered in between the carts railings. Yasuo had to turn in his seat to watch the man as he crossed the back without doing any sort of inspection and walked up alongside his partner.

Yasuo watched as they seemed to talk and the second officer pointed at the papers that Hishio had given him. They came to some sort of an agreement and nodded almost in unison as the first officer would take the papers and turn around, waving a soldier that was waiting to the side forward and handing him the papers, "Take her over their for a more thorough inspection, just a precautionary measure, nothing to be alarmed by." the officer delivered in such a deadpan voice that Yasuo was sure he was simply repeating the same words he'd used thousands of times at this point as if on autopilot.

The horses began to move and the cart was pulled off to the side as Yasuo would turn to Hishio, "Precautionary? Did we do something wrong? I don't get it..." he said quickly as anxiety rose within him. The older cart driver turned to him and simply shrugged, "They're just doing their jobs, I have no idea why we got stopped, we just did. Now shut up and let them check so we can move along as quick as possible."

Let them check? Check? Yasuo cursed in his mind as he remembered the cart from earlier being inspected by the group of soldiers and realized they were now in the same position. He felt the clatter of the rear gate as it was dropped and found himself standing up to watch as two soldiers climbed aboard the cart with tools to pry open boxes in their hands. His eyes widened as they began to open the boxes closest to the end of the cart and inspect the contents. His hand was beginning to raise as he was going to start yelling at the soldiers for touching his goods but before it could get farther than his waist there was a hand holding it in place. He looked down quickly at Hishio in confusion as the older man simply shook his head.

"Not worth it kid, really." he said as he pulled a pipe from his pocket and began to pack it in the cold.

Yasuo turned back to the soldiers as one undid a long bale of reeds and searched through it before tying it back up and shrugging at his comrade who was searching a box closer to the front of the cart. Yasuo could feel the sweat running down his neck as the cold cooled it and caused it feel as though someone was running ice down his back. He watched in frustration as one of the soldiers opened another box and pulled out a small piece of pottery, the hay protecting it falling out of the inside of it as he did before he reached his hand down and into the hay. He rummaged around a moment and Yasuo watched intently as he pulled a second nearly identical piece of pottery from the box before nodding to the first soldier and placing both of the items back into the crate. The two soldiers took a moment to close up anything they'd left open before jumping off the back of the cart and closing the gate.

Yasuo turned around in time to watch the soldier that had Hishio's papers jog up along side and give the older man a nod, "You're good to go, sorry for the inconvenience sir." he said as he gave a quick nod and backed away from the cart.

"Nothing to worry about, thanks for you help." Hishio replied which confused Yasuo but he didn't raise any sort of question as to why the older man would call such a thing "help" as the cart began to lurch and move back onto the main road.

The two men sat in silence for a while as the commotion of the border crossing died off in the distance behind them before Hishio would point his pipe at Yasuo without looking. The sweet scent of the leaf burning within assaulting Yasuo's senses he'd cough and wave away the smoke as Hishio spoke, "You almost made that a lot harder than it needed to be, I tell you to stay calm you stay calm that sort of thing happens at the crossing all the time.." he said before laughing, "Could've sworn you were going to piss yerself. You sure you're not smuggling something back there?" he said jokingly as Yasuo would laugh as well.

"Positive. I'm not cut to be a smuggler as you just witnessed." Yasuo said shakily as he smiled and Hishio continued to laugh.

Night had fallen a few hours after the cart had arrived to a small town just ten kilometers outside of Yakurao and the soft glow of lantern light lit his way as he moved through the cart to a crate in the middle. He slid a flat tool beneath the lid and cracked the lid open as he raised the lantern higher to inspect the contents after they had been moved about by the soldiers from earlier. Reaching a hand down into the crate he'd wrap his fingers around one of the pottery pieces and bring it up to his face to inspect it for any cracks or damage. A small mumble of approval escaped his lips as he'd place the piece on a nearby crate before he'd reach both hands down into the hay near the edges of the box and search for a moment. He tugged once and nothing happened before giving the crate a kick and tugging again. This time the hay and pottery rose up all at once, the siding seeming to slide apart in pieces half as thick as he lifted the fake inside of the crate away and set is to the side.

Leaning down he'd pick the lantern back up and raise it so he could peer in at the person inside. A white haired woman by the name of "Rabbit" was staring back at him with eyes that seemed less than amused with the entire situation.

"When I was told the Zero Teams could get me in, no one said it would involve freezing in a box for ten hours." she said flatly as she rose up slowly and stretched herself out. There was a loud pop as she moved her head from side to side and a successive amount of cracking as she would twist her upper-body. He watched a moment and just smiled before pointing to a bale of reeds stacked beneath the others, "That one there has your weapons within it, once you get them wrap it back up, you know the drill." Hishio said as he raised his pipe to his lips and took a long drag, "You can call me Atlas, I'll take you to meet the rest of the team that you need to get you into Yakurao in the morning. For now get your stuff and I'll get you a room, I'll be waiting out front, just other side of here." he said as he motioned to the building the cart was huddled up against before he'd turn around and jump down from the cart, leaving the woman to get her equipment and meet him at the inn just on the other side of the building.[/fieldbox]

Jessie Targaryen · Jul 29, 2018

[fieldbox= Operation Hawke's Eyes Part 1, darkcyan]

[ Amegakure to Aguni ]

{A collab between Talentless and Jason}

Summary:
ANBU operatives Sairento and Kali are deployed to Aguni with a simple mission: Assassinate Tokaji of Aguni.

[spoili]
An assassination? Nothing seemed particularly difficult about the current mission. It would be a fairly simple in and out. Get in, assassinate the target, then leave without a trace. His main concern lay in the presence of the Fang operatives. Not that Sairento felt them a threat, but he much preferred to not leave a trail of bodies pointing directly to him. No doubt brass would have his head if he did something like that.

Letting out a small sigh, he shrugged and moved into the armory to start preparing what he hadn't already had for the mission. Sairento was fairly confident that Kali would be along soon enough to meet him for the mission. As he looked at the racks of various weapons and poisons stockpiled by the ANBU over the years, he hummed slightly as he tried to decide which one to use.

It was the first time in a while that Kali would be working with another member of the anbu. And it just wasn't anyone, it was Sairento, it made her borderline excited something she rarely feels from time to time. She's always had her eyes on him since her first days of training in the organization, someone she's been dying to get more personal time with, well as personal as someone can get on a high risk job. The assignment itself didn't seem all too hard, take out the target without leaving any trace, sure she couldn't use her abilities, which kinda takes the fun out of it, but it wasn't something that wasn't out of her skill set, not at the least.

The young girl walked into the armory and her hazel eyes fell on Sairento. "Oh, guess Someone's early " she stated before walking to the arsenal and grabbing a tanto and some senbon. She felt the need to engage in some form of dialogue with the man, and decided to see his opinion on the mission. "This mission doesn't seem to complex, though I think that the fang operatives might be an issue, could use some poisons on them, or maybe just a simple diversion, what do you think, Sai?" Kali faced him with a raised eyebrow.

So Kali had arrived, good. Sairento turned towards her and gave a small shrug. "Won't know for certain until we're on site. So we will scout and plan it, then execute." He said calmly as he grabbed a bag to stash his weapons in. It looked more like a travel bag one might expect from somebody travelling for sightseeing, which worked well for him. Into the bag went a few small knives, and some senbon. Reaching up to one of the shelves, he grabbed a small vial and turned to show it to Kali.

"If there is alot of guards, we may need to find a way to use this. Shouldn't be overly traceable, and very lethal. Could be put on a senbon or slipped into a drink. Not sure yet." He said before carefully slipping it into his bag. Then the man opened the bag slung over his back and carefully placed various items that seemed normal for travel over it. Clothes and the likes. "If we need to stay longer than a day, we may want to use some sort of cover. What'll it be?" He asked the younger ANBU with a raised eyebrow as he waited for her to finish preparing.

Kali began to pack what she needed in her bag, extra clothing, civilian clothing and her mask. She also grabbed a vile of the poison and some Kunai as well for her own sake, scouting seemed like the safest bet, even with all the information they got about the site, it's best to see things from their own perspective. Once she was presented the question her mind reached for the first thing, hopefully Sai went for it.

" well, I think we should go for a newly wedded couple" she slowly smirked, the idea was almost humorous to her. " One that is going into town for their honeymoon" she said with a casual shrug.

The man gave a light shrug to the thought. Could work, it was a tried and true cover. "Alright. That'll be it then. Once you're situated we should head out. A bit of a hike ahead of us so we better head out soon." He said calmly, before moving to wait by the door for the girl. He remembered Kali from when she had first started in the ANBU, but hadn't worked with her much since. It would be interesting to see how she grew since then.

It had been a rather long day of travel, Sairento for one was more than content to flop onto the bed in the inn room they got. Not that he was tired, but the weather had simply been miserable for traveling. Even for Ame. Rain and cold turned alot of the area muddy, and certainly took away all hints of warmth one might get. The ANBU let out a long sigh as he shrugged, the two having stopped at an Inn about halfway on their two-day journey to the target city. No sense in pushing yourself, and Sairento felt it was a good chance to get some more details figured out. After a bit of relaxing, he finally stood. "Alright. Let's get some details worked out." He said in a hushed tone, having already checked and found himself content that the room was secure. Looking towards Kali he awaited the girl's response.

Kali was happy to finally be inside, the rain was taking a toll on her, making her feel exhausted. It was nice to finally be inside somewhere where she felt warm. She closed the door behind her and placed down her bag, and watched as Sai dropped to the bed. Kali took a second to look around the room to make sure things were secure. The last thing they wanted was to be eavesdropped on. Missions like this where they needed to rest up for a bit is where operatives were the most vulnerable, it's the perfect time to strike when the victims are Relaxed, calm, and at ease, makes them Very easy prey. Once things seemed secure she turned her attention to her fellow operative, Sai was always so serious about the job, as you should be about Anbu work, but it always seemed to come as a funny thing to her. Even the kinda person that she was, Kali would still find some time every now and then to focus on life, and my about her work. It was almost admirable.

" lets get it done it quick, I'm looking forward to some sleep " her voice was soft. She was also looking forward to the fact that they were most likely gonna be sharing a bed for the night, hopefully little ol' Sai could handle that.

"You and me both." The ANBU said calmly as pulled out a small scrap of paper and a pencil. Then he moved to sit next to Kali, so she wouldn't really have to strain to see the drawing. "The target's home is in the center of town, more or less." He said, recalling some details from the briefing. On the paper he made a dot then a larger circle around it. "So. We know that there likely will be a high risk of being seen, given that many eyes will be around at all times." He said as he made further dots within the circle.

"I think one of use will make the infiltration while the other plays an Overwatch role. Make sure nobody gets eyes on and moves to keep the infiltrator updated." He explained calmly, figuring it best to have the roles sorted out before they moved in to start executing the mission. "Naturally, we may need to adapt upon arrival but for now it's likely best to get roles and such sorted. What do you think?" He asked Kali, an eyebrow slightly raised as this was yet another test.

" I can keep an eye on everything, clearly with this high risk, it's better that you would take out the target, I'll keep an eye on the compound, and make sure you have a safe entrance and exit" She had a straight face on the whole time she explained. As much as she wanted to take the target, it wasn't practical for her to do so, his skills outmatched hers in this field, especially since she couldn't use her abilities, which is something she usually relies on.

Sairento nodded calmly, seemed like a solid plan. Though that would mean once he entered he'd be on his own. Not exactly an issue for him, so it should work fine. "Great. Seems like a good start. Try to make sure you don't attack anybody, we want a minimal footprint so hopefully our attack leaves only one victim. What do you think, our special drink or something… direct?" He said with a raised eyebrow, already having an idea how he did it but once more testing the younger ANBU.

" specialty drink of course, Incase there's no chance of catching our target alone, and when they find the he's been poisoned they could blame it on the staff, or his family… if played right." Kali explained. The idea seemed to have less of a chance to have any mishaps. And wasn't as traceable as a blade to the neck. " just gotta are how we get the drink to him… all an all let's try to aim for poisoning him, but if it comes down to it and we can't we'll just have to take him out the classic way...what do you think, sai?" the girl bumped him in the side with her elbow playfully, this wasn't her first rodeo and she wanted to make that apparent.

He took a few moments to consider it, it would make things more complicated but could lead to less of a trail after themselves. "Yeah, sounds good. Though it'll be fast so one of us will need to deliver it. Meaning we can't pin it on the family, instead on a servant. Should work just as well." He said before stretching slightly and sighing. "Think we've gotten a good enough plan before he get the details. For now, relax. Tomorrow's gonna be showtime." He said calmly, standing to head to the bathroom to wash his face. "Just hope the weather isn't shit the whole way there, sometimes I grow tired of all the rain." He mumbled to himself as he went in, only to emerge not long after with a bit of water on his face from washing it only moments before.

Kali sighed and fell back onto the bed, the day was quite tiring, and all that walking in the rain was sure taking its toll. " it be nice if all this rain would ease up on us ya know. Given the circumstances, don't you think karma would be on are side? Huh Sai?" the young adult asked. She then slowly rose to see the bathroom being free. She grabbed her bag and walked over to him, and playfully, pushed him aside. " my turn " she then went in and closed the door behind her. After a few moments she walked out wearing her night robes. The robes were a pastel yellow with mute red roses. " That's better " she spoke softly before tossing her bag to the side.

"You brought nightrobes?" Sairento asked, slightly confused seeing as he imagined them to not the most efficient if they had to move in the middle of the night. "Well. Hope we won't need to bail out then. Can't imagine its easy in those. Once we are on sight I advise not bothering. We may want to make the move during the night." He added, before rolling on his side to face the wall and away from her. "Don't let me sleep too late." He said calmly, closing his eyes to rest before tomorrow.

Kali raised a brow before shrugging " The night robes are part of my night time routine Sai, being anbu you don't get many chances to keep to the everyday routine, and well I still get to do this, get nice and comfortable in these robes " She then walked over to her side of the bed and laid down. " Don't worry, I usually wake up early anyways " She said rolling over to her side opposite to him, and gently closed her eyes, and like that she was out like a light.

The young adult felt quite at peace as her body slowly began to wake up, she felt nice and warm, something she hadn't felt in a while, strangely… warm. She slowly opened her eyes to see she was laying on sai's chest, one arm and leg thrown over him. Kali's pale cheeks slowly began to turn a bright red. She slowly took her limbs off of him, making sure he wouldn't wake up to see what she had down in her sleep. Once she got off him, she grew a slight smirk as a devilish idea had popped up in her head. She turned her body perpendicular to his, and placed both of her feet on his side and gave him a nice push...off the bed. " Goodmorning Sai " she said with a slight giggle.

Sairento did not wake as peacefully as Kali did. Finding himself slamming into the floor as he was pushed off the bed and the girl giggled to herself from her position. Sairento let out an irritated sigh as he got to his feet, looking at the girl with an even more irritated look on his features. "We've got business. Act professional." He scolded her, before moving to pack his stuff and otherwise get ready for the day. It took him not but 10 minutes before he was ready and cast a look at Kali. "Get ready. We need to reach the city." He said rather firmly, still irritated with her childish act earlier in the morning.

Once everything was settled and they made it out to the road, Sairento immediately began keeping a close watch of the surroundings. Just in case something went wrong, though he certainly doubted that they would. He also tried to keep a good pace to get to the city sooner rather than later. No use wasting time, he wanted to be in and out as soon as he could. Hopefully this mission would be no more than two days outside of travel. It was just a simple assassination. The only worry for him was those damn operatives from the Fang. The unknown factor in all of this. Although the sooner they got there, the sooner he could gauge what they were up against.

Kali rolled her eyes at him after her scolding, the poor man couldn't lighten up. She rolled off the bed and finally got her stuff together, grabbing her bag she went for the bathroom. She changed into more casual clothing, something that looked more civilized. And so the day began.

Kali kept her wits about her while they traveled, it was quiet not much talking. Sairento was more focused on their surrounds, and sure Kali was too, but she couldn't help but think about the mission at hand. Going over the target in her head, it was sad poor man has no idea what was coming for him, that soon would be his last day on this earth, that all his hopes and dreams would be crushed because one man demanded it. Maybe he deserved it, maybe by doing this they would save lives, or maybe none at all they would never know.

Hours pass, the night sky was setting in. And soon they found themselves on the outskirts of Aguni.

" thought we'd never make it, so tell me sai, what's the first order of business here " Kali asked with a lighter tone then their current mission asked for.[/spoili][/fieldbox]

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