afternoon [t]

[BLKND]

underneath and unexplored

ogonkurai
Standing in the sun for an indefinite amount of time has its ways of tiring the human body. It is actions such as these that really permit men to test their limits. Two long, thin feet would rest comfortably in the hollows of two black ninja sandals. The bottoms of those feet would press against the bottom of these sandals, consequentially pressing the sole against the massive wooden floor that would hold an ocean of shinobi-in-training during the earlier portions of the day. Currently, it would only hold two men. A young man standing thin, dark, lanky on one side of the room would continue to have the sun staring him in the face through the open walls of the training room. The other side of the room would hold a completely different presence. On the opposite side of the room, also holding a gaze at the young man would be a woman similar in stature. Her long blonde hair would appear to match his. The spare strands of back-length hair that would fold over her face when down would be compact into a rather long ponytail. It's length would provide a rather interesting contrast against her pearl white flak jacket that would cover dark brown skin, much to the accompaniment of her opposition.

"You're not trying hard enough." She would state bluntly to the young man.

She appeared a few years older than her opponent. Additionally, her possession of an official village jacket would signify her rank as either a chuunin or jounin of the village. Her powerful golden eyes would pierce the soul of her opponent, her lack of guard proving her superiority over him. Their relation wasn't clear, though as the young man would flash his eyelashes, taking a deep breath, and a step back, it was obvious that they knew each other enough for him to trust her to not take advantage.

"How hard is hard enough, Ura?" He would reply equally bluntly. His previous defensive stance would morph into something a bit more lackluster. Holding no obvious guard, he now stood in front of her with no obvious want to continue combat.

islands and cities I have looked

[BLKND]

underneath and unexplored

ogonkurai
The young man's sudden shift in position would appear to disgust the woman who stood in front of him. So much so that the anger on her face would leak out into a verbal utterance. Her lip would raise on one side of her face, and her eyebrows would narrow towards her nose. This was a face that he had seen all too often, one that meant that she was soon to do something drastic.

"Pick up a weapon. I'm going to make sure you get the picture..." She would say ominously to her dojo partner.

Her arm would search the side of her torso as her right hand would move to her lower back. Her long, slender fingers would take a hold of the small, almost invisible ninja-to, which had been hanging from her belt during their entire session. Her eyes would scan over him as he would follow suit. However, he wouldn't reach for the simple sword that had been given to him as a present for his graduation by the very woman who threatened him today. No, instead he would turn his back to her, making his way to the pile of giant shuriken which leaned nonchalantly by the door in which they used to enter. The thick leather gloves would glide against the smooth raw metal of the shuriken, his arm reaching over the back of the projectile as his fingers would grip the massive hole in the center of the weapon. As he would lift it into the air, he would feel it's weight. He could feel the killing power of the blades, the capability of slicing directly through someone incapable of evasion. This was a highly capable weapon, one that was just as unforgiving as the person who would use it. The eyes of the woman would brighten as she would view her partner taking up the massive metal instrument. His eyes would glide up to meet hers as he would head back to the spot that he had originally stood, this time however, ready to use this deadly weapon. Of course, this did not cease the woman's use of her miniature sword. As she would raise the tip of the sword to her eye level, she would raise the other hand to her chin, forming a single hand seal with her exposed left appendage.

Almost instantly, there would be a sudden spark at the tip of her weapon. The clear grey steel of her ninja-to starting to navigate it's hue into an almost azure light before sparking a few more times. Visible currents would reach out towards the nearest target- the young man- and eventually the azure would become a luminous white. He would heave a sigh as he would glance upon her jutsu. Whether it was some sort of ninjutsu, kenjutsu or any sort of combination, it was something that obviously ahead of his league. She was going to go rough on him, that's for sure, but at the same time, it would only give him something to take home in the end. If he could survive this encounter, then he was bound to be able to survive any D ranked mission that the Raikage was to assign him.

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[BLKND]

underneath and unexplored

ogonkurai
"Come at me as though you mean to kill me, Kurai." The woman would spout off obnoxiously at the young man.

Her voice was raised, to overcome the constant 'cracking' caused by the lightning jutsu. She was confident in her ability to defeat him. That little taunt was her way of saying that she was not going to do the same for him, for if she did, he would have no chance. Of course,this would only appease the battle-ready genin. He as a novice in combat, that was for sure, but where he lacked in fighting ability, he made up for it- in malice. His massive black collar would hide his devious smile. The white embroidering of flames on his collar would be reminiscent of the technique his eldest sister had promised to teach him. While the technique would not be very useful in a spar against his sister, he would still revel in the name; the laugh of the devil. Just as the name implies, and just as she requested, his vision of her would slightly alter. As the sun would retreat behind the mountaintops, the shadows of her ability would dance along the wall. The wood at their feet would begin to reflect a completely different image. Instead of a woman, she would become a man. Instead of a man, she would become a beast. Instead of a beast, she would become something unimaginable. Something that could only be described as worthy of death. She was worse than a beast, she had become a victim. As his slender fingers would wrap themselves around the thick dark metal, he would see this as his guillotine. Sure, she would put up a fight, but it would be nothing but a prolongation of the inevitable execution that she was due. He would not say much to her, other than the words he had already muttered. The time for talking had ceased. This was a time for action.

Almost as though wanting to ruin any sort of climactic engagement process, Kurai would be upon his older sister. While not exerting any extraordinary speed, he would hardly require it. Moving just enough to make his sister prepare for his attack, he would stop on a dime almost three feet away, just out of her striking zone. The golden eyes of the woman would flicker upon seeing this, her sword moving back into a defensive position as she would notice him cocking back his shuriken as he would cease to progress. Instantly afterward, the massive shuriken was thrown at her neck, much to the guillotine's likeness. However as it shredded the air around it, it would be no match for the small white blade that would quickly deflect the powerful projectile into the air, it's spinning going in the opposite direction, allowing it to still concretely stab the wooden ceiling above them. Neither of them would follow the distraction of the shuruiken. Instead, it would be Ura who would use the opportunity for an assault, her blunt-tipped sword thrusting at her younger brother's throat. His eyes would expand as his hand would raise to his defense, quickly meeting his other hand to form a single hand seal. It would hardly be fast enough however. The blade would rip through the young man's shoulder, exposing his evident crimson blood to the blade. His eyes would squint in pain as his voice would shriek in horror. The ghostly whales of an inexperienced Genin being null to the woman, it would not phase her thinking. Within an instant her eyes were to the ceiling.

"Mekurumeku!" The thick voice of the young man would echo throughout the no-walled room.

islands and cities I have looked

[BLKND]

underneath and unexplored

ogonkurai
The blonde kunoichi would quickly divert her eyes, her shoulder launching over her tightly shut optics as a terrible white light would cloud the room. Despite her method of defending her eyes, she could still see the light, throughout the prevalent bastion of darkness she had created. However, it would be this bastion that would allow her to quickly get her eyes back on the young man hanging from the ceiling. This time, she would have no time to defend herself. As soon as she would turn her head back to the ceiling, she could feel her brother's fist shoving itself into her abdomen. Having launched himself from the ceiling into her frame, his first instinct would be to dive for her stomach. It would not only knock the wind out of her, but perhaps allow him another hit in the process. It did. She would stumble backwards, allowing him to quickly counter, his palms spreading across the wooden floor as his right leg would extend into the air, quickly followed by his left. His ankle would catch the back of hers, using his. Using his upper body to maintain balance, he would sweep her leg right from underneath her, causing it to launch itself into the air. The consequential attack would end up leaving Ura on her back, the impact of flesh and bone against the solid wooden floor being just as painful as the fist to the gut. It would not be enough to outwit, or defeat a trained Chuunin ninja however.

The pain was adequate, but far from effective. Her back would quickly arch as her legs would continue to fall towards her head, her left hand placing itself flat against the floor as she would perform a rather acrobatic back hand kip into the air, launching herself behind where she lay to create some distance between her and her, now unarmed, opponent.

"Decent trick for a Genin, but I fear you're still not trying hard enough,"

The ninja-to would aim itself at the young man's head. His crouched position would not serve to assist him. He was in the open, and aside from the massive shuriken that lay in between them, he was defenseless. Ironically, even if the shuriken were in his possession, it would still cease to prevent any sort of raiton jutsu from hitting him. He had run out of tricks. His feet would slowly slide against the dusty wooden floor as he would prepare himself for an inevitable defeat at the hands of his sister. He just wanted her to hurry up. The constant pointing of her blade at him, preparing her technique was killing him, but he knew that as soon as he moved, he would be hit by it, his best bet was to make sure he would prepare himself for the pain.

"Bang, you're dead." She would state playfully, the constant surge of lightning running through the sword instantly dying as she would toss it lightly back into its casing.

islands and cities I have looked

[BLKND]

underneath and unexplored

ogonkurai
Kurai would stand bewildered as he continued to stare at his sister with some sort of intensity. She had reverted herself from the image of a victim, back to a woman, a familiar woman at that. Her long blonde ponytail would bounce nonchalantly as she would make her way over to him, extending her index and middle finger as a means to signify the end of their spar. It would take Kurai time to process this occurrence. Instead of lying on the floor, with nerves and senses failing him completely, he was being offered a pain-free 'out' from the dojo. With a gulp, a sigh and a confused frown he would slowly straighten himself out, extending his hand as well to meet hers. The gloved hand and the bare hand would connect, the two fingers intertwining as though the two here holding hands. The moment would end abruptly however as Ura's hand would instead take control of her brother's wrist, yanking it towards her as her opposite hand would ram itself into his unprotected stomach. She would shove his hand to the side as the young man would fall to his knees, his slender golden eyes now massive as the moon as he continued to stare at the ground, his vision constantly shifting focus as he would try his best to catch his breath.

"There are no free exits from battle. Someone always ends up getting hurt. Remember that." She would say with a condescending tone as she would turn her back to him.

Without another word she would begin her journey out of the training room, leaving the young man to consider this session by himself. She was right, if she were an enemy, that fist could have been a kunai. Instead of holding his stomach, gasping for air, he could be holding his throat for the same reason. She was an interesting person, Ura, though as Kurai would slowly raise, he would realize just how normal she actually was. A soldier to the end.

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[Kii!]

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