Mountain Madness [T]

[SqwhirlGod]

A flat field, that's exactly what this was, nothing special about this field at all, in fact, it was so typical, it actually bothered Nat a little bit. Sitting in the center of the field in a meditative position, he took his mind away from it all and onto the situation at hand. His partner had 2 minutes to get here in time, and the amount of fist marks on the tree were somewhat ridiculous. The amount of times he had battered this very tree in the name of training were quite overwhelming, it had to be his favorite training spot. Nat had memories of everything here, and he means everything.

The shade covered his muscled body with it's dark grasp, hugging every part of him that it possibly could. The light beat through the leaves and onto his pale blue skin, giving him the appearance of a somewhat enlightened being. Well it would have if he wasn't about to get up and do a few exercises while he waited. Standing up, the young Hoshigake began to stretch and move his arms in a circular motion. Taking from the bag behind him a large straw mat which he began to tie around the tree to protect it from incoming strikes.

Exhaling he jogged on the spot and began to get into a proper stance as he threw a quick punch at the tree, shaking it and causing leaves to rain onto his head. THe leaves fell onto his messy hair. Looking up towards them and after shaking them out, he hand one land on the center of his forehead. A smile broke out onto his face as it happened and he chuckled a bit at the beauty of nature, the beauty of a world he wanted to protect.

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[ℐai-ℒin]

[[enter: Jai-Lin Harujuku]]

Trees. That was where Jai-Lin’s mind was at this very distinctive moment. Tree’s were like people. The thought of training on them was one many young did not concern themselves with. It took so many years for them to grow to their proper size, molded by the amount of sun, and water. So much like people. And in one instant; they could be destroyed.

Back to reality her mind flew. Shit. I’m, in for it. She told herself, realizing she spent too much time with her head in the clouds. She broke into an immediate sprint. The foliage flew past her; the area was a rocky one, a heavy wood as well. Kaminari no Kuni was known for it’s rough terrain; with sharp cliffs, heavy woods, and rocky areas.

She knew how impatient he was. Jai-Lin was just as well. Even so; one of them always seemed to be late. Many might wonder how they would be able to meet n places; but the answer was a simple one. The two spent ninty percent of their time out here; training. Perfectly matched in Taijutsu; they knew each others moves almost perfectly. They helped build each other’s skills; it made them not only stronger ninja; but closer friends. Water and Fire. The Dynamic Duo.

The rubber on the bottom of her black, knee high sandals was burning when she skidded to a halt. She asked with a smile. She noticed he was in a fighting stance, but a relaxed one. A single leaf had sat; unafraid of him; on the Hoshigake’s blue-toned forehead. She laughed, exerting her entrance. She took of her weapons and gear, placing them on the top of a boulder. She liked to be without them when she trained.

“So anyways, I was thinking about strengthening my Genjutsu Kai, or my Fukumi Hari.” She said, pushing her braid to the back. “Or I can help you with some techniques; if you want.” She began talking. "Or, we can talk, if that is what you wanted to do." She said. A tot of things had been going on withthe village. Especially the Chuunin exams, which they didn't enter. She wasn't quite sure why, but he had his reasons.

[SqwhirlGod]

Oh yes, she finally arrived and with such a rush of an entrance, turning his head, he felt the leaf fall from his head and onto the ground with the rest of it's green companions. Turning his attention to the newly arrived female with a series of blinks he turned his body, facing it the same direction as his head, twisting in a somewhat eerie fashion as he placed his hands on the back of his head and smiled, somewhat relaxed. It was pretty funny that he was the early one this time and that she had actually made it with some time to spare, usually he would be nearly an hour late caught up in the drifting clouds and floating blades of grass.

"You Actually made it, and with such a fiery entrance...that Katon release does suit you."

He said smiling as he walked closer towards her and moved his hands from his head as he bowed before his squad mate. He was less than a year over his female counterpart, having been born a few months before her, but he always seemed to be a little older, though the youth seemed to beam from his eyes and smile. Tightening his belt his hands bounced off the spongy layer of cartilidge. His rough skin made a tiny scratching noise as his body collided with itself.

"Um, i've never actually learned that Kai technique....would be a good idea wouldn't it?"

He asked a bit embarrassing, realizing he had no defense against Genjutsu users He could be trapped in an illusion and no one would even care enough to help him really. He looked around and wondered for a moment, how exactly would they practice that?

"I don't know if we could do that without a proper...Gen user...so how about we work on our footwork? There are plenty of high speed ninja out there, if we can't match them we can't hit them!"

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[ℐai-ℒin]

SPOILER: Click to show

Shunpo (Flashing Light Steps)
Rank: D
Type: Supplementary / Taijutsu / High-Speed Movement
Range: 0 - 10 meters
Stamina: Low
Special: Shunpo is much like Shunshin, a forward-moving high-speed technique that transports the user across a short space in the blink of an eye. When used, the user will rush almost instantly to wherever they are facing. The user can Shunpo once per thread, plus once more each time retrained. One cannot attack or perform techniques during Shunpo.
Description: Shunpo, a Taijutsu master's response to the Body Flicker Technique, relies solely on the user's ability to harness their inner ki and gain enough stamina to withstand the sudden strain imposed on one's legs. However, once properly trained, the Taijutsu Type will find their legs moving at speeds unknown to common man, to the point most would make the foolish mistake of assuming one is using Shunshin. However, unlike that chakra inspired run, Shunpo is pure stamina and movement skill, allowing for tighter, quicker, and more reactionary movements essential for someone that relies on movement. Although Shunpo itself moves in a single line, its many variations is what makes it so lethal.
Domain: Shunpo - Universal Taijutsu.

As she stretched out her arms, he mentioned a fiery entrance. It was true; she used Katon jutsu. Although; he would always have the upper hand. Suiton was it’s successor; after all. But it made her techniques stronger; she had to push harder. He casually walked over towards Jai-Lin, bowing. “Well your in a good mood today.” She laughed, curtseying in response. Her fixed his belt, and started to talk about the Kai technique, and needing a Gen user.

She hadn’t thought of that. Scratching her neck, she thought about it. “Yeah, I guess I didn‘t think about that. It would be easy for me, because I just have to strengthen it,” She commented on the Kai jutsu.

...so how about we work on our footwork? There are plenty of high speed ninja out there, if we can't match them we can't hit them!" Nat remarked. He had a point. They were supposed to be Taijutsu users, after all. They needed more techniques, more strength, more everything. No matter how much Natume’s shark like demeanor could intimidate the enemy; they were still just Genin. And he wasn’t even an adult yet. Being from the Hoshigake clan, they aged differently. He still had a year or two. And the adult Hoshigake’s were rather frightening. Most of them were brash and firey, but Nat seemed to deflect that. He wasn’t that frightening. At least, that was what Jai-Lin thought. But she was used to him; they were teammates after all.

“Alright, so Shunpo it is.” She grinned. “So I learned this one a few weeks ago.” She grinned. The girl was sure he thought she meant Shushin. “It‘s totally chakra free, completely tai footwork.” She explained. It was extremely useful. Saving Chakra was key to a battle. That and speed. So this jutsu was two in one.

At the instant, she tightened her whole body into an intense, speed flicker. Justa quick blur of green and blonde.In an impossible to see run, she had appeared several meters away; as what seemed to the eye as a small jerk of her body was really a whole movement across the forest floor. Jogging back to him, she centered herself once again. “It takes a few tries.”

[SqwhirlGod]

Nat looked about, his eyes scanning the land as she mentioned something about Shunpo, supposedly a Chakra free way to Shushin. Nat raised a brow as he showed the top row of fangs as he did, showing that she had piqued his interest. He had the potential to reach unbelievable amounts of strength due to his blood, his very shark like existence. But outside of the water he was not entitled to very much speed, there were actually no techniques for such a thing that they could teach him. He was always very much excited when it came to saving Chakra as well, Suiton Techniques were usually large in scale and big on chakra usage, he knew this and if he wanted to become a great suiton user, he needed to be able to conserve it.

Thoughts began to rush through his head on what exactly this technique would look like, and as he was about to ask, his partner had vanished from his sight. Thrown off on quite a loop by the sudden bit of movement she had just displayed, managing to quite effectively evade his sights. Turning around, he found Jai quite a distance away from where she was before, abandoning him by the tree, but she soon returned lightly jogging towards her squadmate. His eyes were big(ish) with wonder as he looked at her in amazement.

"wow! You're pretty fast! how many time can you pull that off? It looks so tiring..."

He commented with a smirk, showing how proud he was of his partners sudden increase of speed. If he removed his weights, he could quite possibly move at higher speeds as well, but that speed? He was more than a bit unsure about that.

"You've got to show me how you did that."

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[ℐai-ℒin]

She could tell he was pretty exited for this one. Who wouldn’t be? Its an amazing technique in itself. But it took time to learn. Jai-Lin remembered when she had been taught it, and how many times she managed to fall flat on her face at the sheer speed of it. The footwork was difficult when you were going that speed. However, she remembered it to be a rather low ranked jutsu. But that didn’t matter. Any jutsu could be deadly.

"wow! You're pretty fast! how many time can you pull that off? It looks so tiring..." He complimented.

“Well,” She gestured with her hands, looking off as if the thought was in the clouds somewhere, “In battle, only once. I’m not good enough at it yet to use it very often.” She shrugged, rolling her eyes. Certain was the fact that it was dangerous for the inexperienced. “Especially because when you first learn it, you are so focused on yourself, you loose track of your enemy.” Jai-Lin informed her teammate, arching her eyebrows.
“Once you get the hang of it, you‘ll get it really well. But remember to practice it with thouse things off at one point. You have to be used to your foot work.” She laughed. The directive was towards his weights, which slowed him down. But we was still very close to her speed with them on. Maybe some day she would need to buy those. But she needed money.

"You've got to show me how you did that." Natume’s remarked, ready for some learning.

With a relaxing sigh, she centered herself square. “Ahhh-right.” She dragged, skipping the hard L sound. “So you remember Ki training, I hope. ” She referred to the form of chakra-less body strength. She rubbed her calves in discomfort, they were burning a bit. It wasn’t light on the muscles. She could imagine over-use ripping them up pretty bad. “It‘s really pretty much the whole thing. If you add that with enough stamina, you can get far enough.” She said. “I have yet to reach the maximum distance, which can be up to ten meters or so.”

So she found her perfect position for honing her power, feet slightly further than shoulder width. She knew he was very observant, and would catch onto it. “It‘s all about the first step. Imagine all of your physical energy, and use it to push yourself forward with you calve muscles on your quadriceps…” She explained.

Jai-Lin planned to set an example, as she picked up one heel slightly off the ground, slowing down the process. She needed to exercise it anyways. “If you start slow, you can execute it better later. It‘s sort of like studies.” Jai explained, growing quiet as she grew tense, summoning her Physical Ki. It wasn’t the same as summoning chakra; although they both took the same balance. Imagining her entire body moving into one small movement, she thrusted herself into the first step, then tried to stop herself; having to take a couple more. She skidded to a halt. “It‘s easier if you start it while running.”

She knew he wouldn’t get it at first. Like any jutsu; it took a balance of things, poise, energy, thought…

[[and 25 exp. xD]]

[SqwhirlGod]

Nat smirked at her comment about using it in battle once, it seemed like such a useful technique, he wondered why she could only use it once. Maybe it did take a lot of getting use to for the body to use so much physical might on such a small body part. Most people didn't have the leg strength required to run for all to long without complaining, he could, she could, and it's all thanks to Taijutsu. Her latest comment about becoming unaware of the opponent made him chuckle even more, due to the noses and eyes of the Hoshigake, he was unsure whether or not he'd lose track of a foe so easily, but he'd never know, he's never moved that quickly.

"Only one way to find out!"

He uttered, determination seeming to ooze from every orifice of his body, scales, muscles and bones alike. He kept his eyes carefully on the female before him, watching her feet more so than anything else and with his intense focus, his eyes did not stray. Carefully heeding her words about Ki, the physical version of Chakra, he had remembered the very lessons his parents gave him as a child. They were wonderful times and he really wished they were still here with him, but they left long ago to Kirigakure for the ocean.

Shaking away the thoughts he pulled up his pants a bit as he moved his legs shoulder width apart and focused the Ki towards the balls of his feet as he pushed with all his might, but simply ended up head butting a tree. Landing on his butt with a devious thud, the ground shook a bit below the power of the young Shark boy. Scratching the top of his head, Nat stayed down, dusting off his clothing and closing a single eye as he stared at the maiden above him.

"Isn't there some drill i could practice?"

He had the feeling of it, but the wild burst of energy at his feet was more than he actually needed, propelling him like a rocket into the tree. Slowly getting up, began to practice focusing Ki to his feet with the simple exercise of...well jumping up and down. He began to alter the amount of energy he was using to help himself get a grip Of what exactly he was doing, he probably should have warmed up first. IT would have saved him the minor headache, but luckily for him, that layer of cartilage was coming in handy.

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[ℐai-ℒin]

Jai-Lin tried to cover her amusement; with a failing attempt. Natsume had skittered right into the trunk of a tree. She looked crookedly at it with folded arms. ”Well, You did a number on that tree, if your idea was to head butt it!” She laughed, pointing at the clumps of bark falling off.

"Isn't there some drill i could practice?"

Jai shifted her weight, trying to remember it. “I guess it‘s easier to start it with a jog.” She shrugged, trying to think of how she learned it. He stood up, jumping up and down. She shook her head, telling herself she needed to work on her teaching skills. “It‘s kind of something you have to learn on a personal level, but…” She spoke, bending down and picking up a small leaf, “hold on.” Jai instructed.

She slid the leaf under the pad of her glove, and focused herself. She was practicing as well, after all. She made herself aware of her surroundings; how many feet each tree sat from her; Possible dividends in the earth that could throw her off. Upon assessment, she felt prepared; imagining putting herself seven meters away; a straight shot.

She felt her physical energy begin to energize; like each atom of her body was beginning to shake. She had momentarily shut her eyes in focus, fearful she might lose her Ki. Ki wasn’t very stable, and could easily lose itself with the slightest whisper of distraction. It was something hard to toy with.

In an instant, she disappeared with the slightest movement of a step, skiiding to a halt. Touching the ground, she mentally measured her distance. 6 meters. She told herself. The different between six and seven could kill her in battle. Gathering herself to stand up proper, she waved over at Natsume. “It‘s easier with a target!” She grinned, placing the leaf on the ground. Pretentiously, she stepped a few feet away, not wanting to come into contact with him. It could be painful. She felt the fire in her muscles twice as hard now, they were starting to throb. She hadn’t used it twice. Jai should have warmed up.

[SqwhirlGod]

Rubbing his head as he got up the the teenage shark stopped his jumping as he watched her do it once more, Jolting from where she was standing previously towards the tree once again, moving quite distance, having this technique could easily stop him from being able to hit her during a spar if she was able to master this technique. He watched her place leaves into her shoes and begin to focus onto key points on her foot, he assumed anyway, before he decided to copy that himself.

Look around he managed to discover a small stone not to far from his current position, it was small flat and round, not to mention the fact that it was a blue nearly akin to his own skin color. He foudn it to be a marvelous addition to his pocket lint collection as he raised it off the ground and threw it up and down, testing it's weight. It was a pretty stone, even for him and with a slight smirk he threw it up and whipped it out of the air with a vicious grab. Holding the stone steady he slipped it into the front of his shoe and felt it sit beneath the ball of his left foot.

Jumping on a single foot he alternated legs each time he touched down, making a shoe of his rather aerobic jumping style. He could feel his heart racing and his new found stone keeping his foot cool even while he focused onto it. Relieving the stress he was placing on his feet by jumping, as he stood up in a single place and let the world pass by, looking up at the clouds that drifted before turning and smiling to Jai-Lin.

"This is for you!"

He said Determination clearly in his voice, staring up at the passing cloud, he marked it in his mind with a red dot. He lifted his right foot forward and with a slow, dramatic fall forward he flew forward, landing a little just ahead of the cloud in the sky, effectively moving a small distance at close to, but not entirely, Shunpo speed. He smiled at his partner and looked back to the cloud with a smile,

"Thanks."

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[chiatsuki]

+ 41 sqwhirl
+ 38 jai

[ℐai-ℒin]

Watching from afar with her arms crossed, she saw Natsume tense. He was getting ready to perform. She cocked her head, when he looked up at her, but he was speaking to her.

"This is for you!" He had said. She couldn’t help but smile.

And, with a slight movement of his right heel, and broke into a relative shunpo. She was quite impressed. It had taken Jai a good amount of time to learn that technique. His speed seemed rather low, but the blame was taken by his practice weights. With this one technique, she was officially certain she knew he would always be her competition. A healthy one, of course. But definitely someone who would make her stronger. His determination, his speed. Everything.

“Allright,” Jai-Lin smiled, accepting his thank you silently. Her hand slid to her back pouch, unzipping it. “Eat up.” She grinned, tossing a bag of chips at him. “We better get back to the village, Natume.” She always had food with her. It was mandatory.

But something felt wrong, like the air was astir.

[[Sorry its short but the Bijuu is going to attack our village and I am in too many threads xD]]]