Practice makes perfect, or so they say (Open)

[Kildred]

Usio walked into the middle of the barren training area. This particular one was probably meant for sparring and hand-to-hand combat, though he couldn't be certain. He did have training in mind, and it didn't have much to do with actual fighting. Going through his usual hand-seals, he summoned two of his rock clones. They immediately took off and hid themselves from view. Standing in the center of the field, he let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. The darkness that filled his eyes slowly began to brighten as he saw various signatures. Many small dots of chakra flew overhead. Birds, likely scattered from his clone. Still, he wasn't able to see very far. His Doton Ryouuken had a larger range than this. As a large chakra signature entered his vision and made his way towards him, a tap on his shoulder alerted him to his clones arrival. After a few seconds, the signature matched the location of where the clone stood now. Sighing, he opened his eyes and adjusted his sight.

Sensing in that fashion would take further practice. His clones stood off to the side, using his ninja wire as a makeshift ruler. In various positions, they all performed hand-seals and slammed their hands on the ground. A large wall lifted up in three different areas, with enough space to stand on one foot at it's apex. A few more walls were created, and after all was said and done, a number of earthen pillars were placed. The clones stood off to the side as Usio jumped up and pulled himself to a wary standing position on top of one. Breathing slowly, he focused his chakra in his legs and rapidly moved forward to a pillar in front of him. Almost over shooting it, he managed to keep on foot on top of his target. He did a few awkward twists in order to keep his balance. Chuckling nervously, he tried once more, this time slipping off and slamming his hip into the pillar and falling to the ground.

Writhing a bit, he sat up and lifted his shirt. As bad as it was to miss that jump, it granted him another thing to practice. Damn, that smarts. His hand glowed with his chakra, which he laid upon his hip. The pain was only slightly soothed, but it was better than nothing. He needed much more practice with practically everything he knew, and it was daunting to say the least. He wondered if the other genins had this much trouble. Sighing, he dusted himself off and stood up. The pain in his hip had subsided, which meant it was time to try again. Waving his clones over, they approached and held their hands out. Jumping into their outstretched hands, they catapulted him up to the closest pillar. Getting his balance again, he continued his shunshin training.

[Krethean]

Ujiyasu was in the mood to practice. He was itching to start doing missions, now that he had finally graduated from the Academy, and he knew that if he wanted to a lot more fun, he’d need to progress through the ranks. After all, right now the best he could do is look for some C Ranked missions: at least they have some fighting guaranteed. Regardless, now that he’s been given his village headband, which he wore proudly on his forehead, his life got so much more interesting. He was now a Shinobi… a rookie of course, but a Shinobi nonetheless. It was the start of his dream to keep the freedom he cherished, and give everyone in Kusa the same feeling of liberty he enjoyed under the ninja’s protection.

The tall, wild haired boy walked toward the combat practice area, wearing a yellow and red tiger-patterned, fur top with loose and purple pants. The reddish rope-like belt held a bag or two on the left side of his hip that wavered a little with each barefoot step he took. The cool ground felt nice under his feet, and the lush environment always managed to crack a smile on the young boy’s face, almost lending him a crazed look. He loved the outdoors, and today was no exception.

A little further ahead, he saw a boy who looked familiar to him. He had a few clones helping him up onto one of a series of pillars, positioned in a way to provide a simple path up in the air. Hmmm those pillars had to have been made by him. Only one shmuck I know looks like that and uses Doton… and if I know him I might need to get his attention.

“HEY! USIO! HOW ARE YA?!”

He grinned broadly as he called out to Usio, even if he probably distracted his fellow Kusa Shinobi in doing so. He hadn’t planned on having company, but with the farmer boy around, he could practice his skills in more ways. No water around… ahh, I can still get some training out of this. Even without my clones.

[Kildred]

Standing still, one foot on the pillar, Usio let out a breath as he envisioned his path. Shunshin was not too difficult when you had a linear path and lots of ground to land on. Being seven feet in the air with only scant pillars to land on was meant to help hone his reaction skills and accuracy. If he was even a fraction of an inch off, he could likely slip and injure himself. This practice may not have been especially necessary, but every little bit helped him become better. He wasn't really keen on being a shinobi, but it helped keep his farm and store afloat, and the better at it he was, the more money he'd be able to make. Tightening the muscles in his legs, he braced and jumped forward.

“HEY! USIO! HOW ARE YA?!”

The voice rang out across the field, causing him to instantly locate the source. Without keeping an eye on the pillar, he overshot the distance and started a rapid descent. Scrambling, he grabbed the top of the pillar as he passed, which twisted his direction and flung him to the side. His hand burned as he sailed straight into another pillar, comically sitting there for a second before sliding down the rest of the distance. When he hit the ground, he landed on his back, which forced the remaining air out of his lungs. Gasping for breath, he pushed himself to a sitting position and looked for who had caused him such grief.

Oh, of course. The most boisterous person in the whole damn village. After catching his breath, he coated his hand in healing chakra again, and looked over to the boy as he stood. "You know, 'Yasu, one of these days...one of these days, you're gonna need my help. You will mess up, laying on the ground, calling for my help. And I will stand over you, and I will do nothing. Nothing but laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh." As he spoke, he walked over, looking at him in the eyes, words dripping with resentment. When he finished, he stood a scant foot from him. At this distance, it was easily noticeable to see the corners of his lips twitching, belying his true feelings about the situation.

[Krethean]

It was impossible not to laugh, but Ujiyasu let a small one fly as Usio fell. It wasn’t the fact that he fell, but how that made it hilarious. He still had a playful grin on his face when Usio picked himself up, walked toward the freshman and reprimanded him in his own way.

“Oh come ooon, I was just saying hi! It wasn’t like I was purposefully trying to break an arm or a leg. “

Ujiyasu looked at the pillars again and thought about a few things before he looked back at the farmer, with a glint in his eye. He had an idea that’d help both of them train hard… and surprisingly it doesn’t involve fighting. Well… at least not right now anyway. Always time for a fun fight later!

“Well, I see you’re doing some speed training. Wouldn’t mind brushing up on my Shunshin too! If you want, I can make things a little interesting for us… if you feel like a little more of a challenge.”

Ujiyasu looked up at the clear sky with a smile and let some of his chakra flow into the air, mixing the air and the moisture together to cool it down significantly. He did this largely so he could prepare his chakra and the environment around him for a jutsu he had in mind for their training.

“We can take it in turns, but while one of us goes across, I can make a snowstorm. Lower visibility and give some wind resistance… or have the wind blow in our favour. Not to mention all that snow flying about. Oooor, I can make the snowstorm, let the snow melt and we can have some water to go with our practise!”

[Kildred]

"It's always got to be a competition with you, doesn't it? You can't just practice for the sake of getting better." Holding his fingers to the bridge of his nose as if he was exasperated, Usio mockingly threw his hands in the air. "Fine! Go and make your snowstorm. We'll practice with the wind, and then you can use the water when it melts." Throwing a few hand-seals together, he summoned up more pillars, not making any extra effort to get them to exact distances from each other. The ground rumbled and rocks bounced along the ground as the pillars came up, one by one. From here on, they'd have to improvise if and when they missed. "Oh, and if you screw up, I'll give you three heals for free. After that, you'll have to convince me." He greeted Ujiyasu with a snark grin, issuing his challenge.

[Krethean]

“Convince you? Well, maybe I won’t make the wind blow a little harsher while you’re landing. That work?”

Ujiyasu stuck his tongue out before he jumped up to the pillar and climbed it. With no water present, he couldn’t use his Water Clones to help, that and he wanted to scale such constructs anyway. Help keep his skills sharp, especially when he’s out and about. Once he reached the top, he took a look at the rest of the pillars. It was probably just him, but some of the platforms looked a little off distance-wise. But it wasn’t totally significant. Besides, it’d offer him some excellent practise anyway.

He looked down at Usio and called out to the farmer. He could feel the air cool down significantly as he spent a good portion of his chakra preparing the air and the environment around him. Now he was ready to cast his jutsu, but he wanted to wait for Usio to get ready.

“Ready when you are!”

[Kildred]

"And maybe I won't make the ground disappear beneath your feet." Gathering a bit of chakra at his feet, Usio jumped straight up into the air. He easily cleared the height of the pillar, but had no forward momentum to actually land on it. Moving his feet together, he pushed off the air itself and jumped again, flipping forward and landing upright with his arms stretched out. "By all means, after you." He didn't know why, but Ujiyasu's personality, irksome as it was, drove him to competition. The boy loved to test himself, and in turn made him want to do the same. It was quite troublesome when he was content enough just doing a bit of practicing, and now look at him; ready to practice high-speed movement in a makeshift snowstorm with wind blowing, water and snow assailing him, and lord knows what else. Why did he do this to himself?

[Krethean]

Laughter escaped Ujiyasu’s mouth as he executed a string of hand seals. As he positioned his hands into the final seal, he unleashed his chakra overhead. Within moments the wind began to pick up in its intensity before the area around the duo darkened a bit. Snow formed from the chakra that was released, and the wind carried the snow down to the ground rapidly. Almost instantly, visibility dropped considerably, and Ujiyasu knew it was time, as this blizzard won’t last very long.

He kicked off and focused his Chakra into his legs to drastically increase his speed, his body seemingly flickered as if he teleported. One platform... two... things were going ok for the wild Genin, until he went for the third. His feet weren’t able to get a firm footing on the platform, and coupled with the powerful winds and snow assaulting him, he lost his balance. He quickly reached for the rock formation with his right hand and only just caught it. He struggled to turn and pull himself up as the snowstorm subsided. Once he managed to climb up, after a few moments of precariously hanging, he shook his right hand as if trying to shake the pain away from it.

Ujiyasu looked around the area and saw it blanketed with snow and sleet. Well, at least I have more to work with now.

“Damn, that was fun... painful, but fun. Didn’t get too far though. Looks like I’ll need more practise.”

[Kildred]

The winds ran across Usio's face, threatening him with frigid cold in stark contrast to the day's heat from before. Standing on the pillar, he watched Ujiyasu's run. He crossed his arms and looked over at the boy. "Oi, oi! At least try to make it a proper match! If you can't keep up in the early rounds, I'll have to disqualify you!" He ribbed the boy on his fault before launching himself forward in the same manner. Of course, he was not as used to snow and ice as the Hyouton user, and slid off the very first pillar he landed on. Sucking in air through his teeth, he made no effort to grab the pillar and instead let himself keep falling to the next one. Once in range, he locked his feet on the side of it. Having already dropped halfway down, he pushed off and resumed his high-speed motions, jumping off the sides of the pillars instead. Once he moved up enough, he latched onto the top and pulled himself to a standing position. "There, see? A good, what? Seven jumps? Over twice your measly three." He didn't want to think how he would've done if the snowstorm had kept up.

[Krethean]

“Hey, I did say I needed more practise. Anyway, now with those platforms being covered in snow, it should make things a little interesting. That and when the snow melts, I have something else planned. Anyway, get ready for Round 2!!”

Immediately after he finished talking, Ujiyasu performed the same hand seals again and poured more of his Chakra into the air above him, before Usio could even react. Once again the snow storm tore through the air, hurling more and more snow at the area. With a grin, Ujiyasu kicked off again and used his Chakra to propel him forward instantly. The poor visibility made finding each platform trickier, but the eccentric boy had now gotten more used to the wild weather and the limited space.

He learned from his past mistake that he needed to focus more on balance, over speed. For the duration of the snow storm, Ujiyasu managed to keep his balance while landing on each platform, and scouted the next one he needed to go on. The snowstorm began to subside when Ujiyasu misjudged his aim after his fifth platform and fell to the ground with a yell... or was it a laugh?

If one were to look at the now bulky mass of snow that piled all around the training area, one could make out the indent of where Ujiyasu fell. After a few moments, the boisterous Kusa Genin broke out of the snow, laughing as if it was the single most awesome thing he has ever done.

“Ahhh, THAT was fun! I think that’ll be enough snow for now though...”

Ujiyasu looked around up high for his training partner, wondering how he did, considering he got pretty far the last time. Not that he actually saw what Usio did in the first place.

[Kildred]

When Ujiyasu brought the storm back in full force, Usio clicked his tongue in irritation. He had a break last time, what with the snow dying down when he actually jumped. Now that he was prepared, he'd have to jump around simultaneously with the other genin. Luckily, he still had a trump card. With a huff, he disregarded his words and jumped forward in tandem. The field around him flickered by almost faster than he could perceive. Every jump gave him only a precious moment to gauge where to jump next, but he knew the second he touched the pillar. His chakra would pulse through the earthen construct and give him a view of exactly where each one was. He managed four straight successful jumps before he realized his folly. When he landed, he knew where the pillars were. He did not, however, keep track of Ujiyasu. As he moved forward, he spied the boy careening towards him. He had missed his jump, but was still close enough that Usio would have to dodge in order to avoid contact.

As a result, he missed the pillar completely. He wasn't even able to right himself in midair. After a second or two of free-falling, he slammed into the snow-covered ground, flits of frozen water falling around him. Pushing off the ground, he rubbed his face and looked over at his compatriot. "What, it's not enough you had to bring ice and water into this? You have to sabotage me too?" He wasn't angry about the ordeal. He just didn't like the cold.

[Krethean]

"I didn't intend to do that. If I wanted to sabotage you, I'd actually try to. Like lobbing my Wind Bomb near you while you jump."

Ujiyasu pulled himself up from the snow and secretly picked up some snow in the process. When he was about to straighten up, he tossed some of the snow at Usio and laughed.

"Besides... it made for some fun practise! The snow will take a fair while before it melts, but at least we have a bit of a cushion. Even if it's cold and can sting..."

Ujiyasu did feel a few of the knocks he endured from the training session so far, and while the snow did help with the last fall, it did still hurt. Nonetheless, Ujiyasu trudged back to the first pillar and scaled it, ready to try again, this time with much better visibility. However he did know that the tops of the pillars would become very treacherous with the slowly melting snow. He figured that he could train and improve his Shunshin, but also mix it up with some practise with his Taijutsu. The smaller space meant he would need to keep his stance, and footwork was a key factor when it came to any Taijutsu, even punches.

The fur-clad Genin took up a right back guard stance, as he practised a mix of quick and heavy strikes on top of the snow capped platform. Even though his body ached, practising with his body did feel pretty good. He had spent a large amount of Chakra in not only summoning the snow storms, but he spent the majority actually preparing the area for his Hyouton Jutsu. He knew from what others have said, especially among the instructors, that his Chakra was quite unique... how most other people would never be able to use Hyouton like he could, let alone be able to use three Releases all at once with little experience, and to him it stood to reason that it would be more taxing to use than both his wind and water Releases. Nevertheless, he endeavoured to practise with it whenever he could. After all, if it’s something that’s virtually unique to him, why not be good with it?

It’s the same approach he took to his Taijutsu. Sure his Chakra nature prompted him to focus more on the art of Ninjutsu, but he loved a good fight, and getting up close and personal with his opponent always gave him a good thrill... especially when he successfully taken the opponent or enemy down and defeated them.

All through his practise, he had a wild grin that seemed fixed on his equally outlandish features.

[Kildred]

The snow smacked Usio right in the face. He didn't move, letting the falling snow reveal his unamused expression. Spitting, he rose to a standing position and took the time to heal himself a bit. Using all this chakra had left him feeling a little drained, but he still had more in him yet. After the patch up, he watched Ujiyasu run back up the pillars and start a sort of taijutsu training regime. He stretched out a bit, letting the ache leave his arms before doing anything else taxing on his body. Waving his clones over, he mulled quietly over his next action. He came here originally to train several things at once. With a glance upwards, he decided that taijutsu was also on the list.

All three jumped up on top of the pillars, but only one clone stayed near Usio. He stretched his legs for his next workout and waited for the clone to approach Ujiyasu. When he was just within reach..."If you're gonna train taijutsu, use an opponent!" With his yell, both clones took to the offensive. Usio battled the clone closest to him, while the other launched itself at Ujiyasu, spinning rapidly and bringing it's foot down to attack. After that, he had no idea as he was too busy with his own training. His knuckle dusters clanged with each hit and block against the rocky clone, ringing out a sort of melody to all present.

[Krethean]

With Usio’s statement, Ujiyasu saw a clone after he turned to look at where the farmer was. With a wild laugh, he brought his right hand up to catch the offending limb and destabilized the clone’s descent. With a shake of the head, Ujiyasu jumped down and got himself ready, beckoning the clone to follow.

“How about you try again… this time without trying to off yourself like that! Going for a kick like that on a small platform was bound to get very messy for one of us.”

The snow began to melt slowly, which was good for Ujiyasu. Now he’ll have access to his Suiton Release Jutsu as well. Probably use that after this little fight.

Ujiyasu was ecstatic… that was all that could be said. He was in his element… he was fighting. He was going to have a blast!

[Kildred]

Usio clashed with his clone, swinging wide intentionally to draw an attack. Getting his wish, he grabbed hold of the offending arm and twisted it away, throwing his clone a short distance. Hearing Ujiyasu's declaration, he mentally sighed. That's the point of a clone. To do things too dangerous for yourself... The clone stood back up, rushing him and putting him back on the defense. He wasn't one to put himself in unnecessary danger, but he much rather preferred striking oncoming attacks to avoid damage. It was something that required utmost accuracy, which is why he practiced it the most. Every strike that rained down on him was either met by an equal one, or batted away.

The clone standing on the pillar looked down at Ujiyasu, bits of granite falling from it's face. Leaning forward, it fell off and proceeded to go into another spinning kick. This time was a feint, as it prepared to jump off the air and into the powerfully-built boy. It's makeshift muscles tensed as it fell, making no more noise than it's rocky exterior would natural make. Arms moved to cross around it's chest during the spin, preparing for the next set of moves against the genin.