Training Under The Best [Tutor]

[Tomomi]

It was a day or two before the epic conclusion of the World Martial Arts Tournament being hosted by Tea Country. The crowds were buzzing with excitement as the vendors were selling their final products, the gamblers were gambler, and some individuals were still trying to get last minute autographs from the participants in this tournament from the first round eliminations to the final two. All in all, it seemed like everyone was happy and carefree as the festivities were coming to an end in roughly 48 hours from now. As for the heroine of this story, which was me, I had decided after having a lazy morning to get my butt in motion and begin to train after originally planning to be lazy for the day.

However, I was feeling different today. Normally, I would only train by myself in one of the marked-off designated areas, but today, I was feeling "generous" in the sense that I thought some live-action combat with someone else would be quite entertaining, rewarding and simply fun since all my fights since coming to Tea Country had been serious and quite stressful. Thus, I sent a message around via my Byakko Guards that I wished to have a sparring contest with anyone that wanted to test their skills against one of the finalists of the tournament, but I made sure to leave my name out of the message; if one had been watching the tournament closely, the feline-like ears of numerous guards and myself would have been enough evidence to make a hutch that I was the one making the request.

As I waited, I would sit on a nearby stump and close my eyes to simply meditate. This tournament thus far had been an interesting and enjoyable one even if I won two of my battles due to technicalities based on forfeits. That last contest against Yasha had been the true test thus far in this event and my opponent in the upcoming round was no slouch either if he managed to beat my former apprentice and friend, Aikayume Azusa. However while momentum was on his side, it was also on my own as both of our opponents had not been easy to fight at all and one stroke of bad luck could have spelled disaster for us both. Nevertheless, the finals were set with two unlikely opponents facing one another and ones that nobody expected to see make it this far.

As for today when my challenger came, if there was one, I would not be wearing my armor as I typically did when I fought. Instead, I decided to dress more casually and simply enjoy whoever came to entertain me for the day. If they were lucky, they would earn my respect and I may even consider treating them to a meal or a drink since I loved food and a drink after fighting was not a bad deal at all either!

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OOC:

• Word Count: 491/1500

 

[Honnou]

The tournament had branched out into a nigh unpredictable angle. Those whom Hon was assured would make it further in the rounds ended up latched behind by walls of loss, and he was now watching the rise of strange shinobis and their mysterious Ninja Styles unfold without having any idea of whom the winner title would befall. It was like a battle royal for him now - anything could happen. Luckily, he was able to follow most of it via his status as audience in the arena as a tourist of Tea Country, having come all the way from the Lightning Country to see this event through.

Tea Country had the best cafes, there was no doubt about that. Those cafes just excelled in taste, appearance, service and- oh dear sanity, it couldn’t fathom this. The Kumo Fried Chicken had nothing on this - what café had a variety of 36 types of sugar? What café sold edible gold?! Upon taking a good look at them, Hon couldn’t but help feel a little hostile with his intimidating gazes upon the workers as if they wanted to poison him by eating some noble metal - for as far as Hon remembered, you couldn’t digest metal.

He never figured out if he was right or wrong, though, because the meals covered in those thin layers of gold were expensive. It also had a debunking effect on his previous worries; if the gold wasn’t edible, then why would they increase the price to that much? One would obviously try and think ‘uh, but gold is very expensive, so of course it costs a lot’, but given by the comparison to… well, at that point, Hon was just speculating. He had never seen any other store sell edible gold.

If someone actually bought it, wouldn’t they have been poisoned and reported it? That would have cost the café a lot of money, so having such a high price would be suicide. Therefore… argh, he couldn’t just assume the worst out of people. He realized just how mean that was.

He caught words of a challenger from a pair of guards passing by. They explained that one of the finalists in the tournament wanted a sparring contest with someone. It was intriguing and curious to the small Hyuuga, so he would gladly follow the guards to where this famous challenger was.

He was for the moment donning his white kung fu shirt and baggy leggings along with a black cloth tied around his waist. Because of that nerd that he was, he was also wielding his iron bracers or as he called them ‘Carpal Blade Holders’. He didn’t look too excited for a spar… but he recognized the finalist in front of him. She had come a far way compared to what achievements he had… and those were scarce. For him. He was young.

“Oh! You’re one of the finalists from the Martial Arts Tournament,” he recognized her with his greeting, “I-I hope I can suffice for a sparring partner if you were that broad on your request for one… uh, let me, just a second-“ Hon realized that he still had his Carpal Blades on, and he swiftly took them off his wrists and laid them together on the ground a bit further away from the stump where the finalist was.

“I’m Honnou Hyuuga… it’s an honor to spar a famous fighter like you,” he revealed his name and admiration along with a quick bow. He was ready.

WC: 584

 

[Tomomi]

As soon as I heard a male voice addressing me, a smile would surface on my face as I opened my green vixen eyes to catch a glimpse at the individual who decided to test their skills against me. His name that he would call himself was Hyuuga Honnou and he appeared to be slightly nervous being in the presence of someone that was a finalist in the tournament, but I could truly not blame him for that. After all, it wasn't every day that a highly-skilled and beautiful woman like myself graced any normal shinobi with their presence. He would certainly be interesting to say the least if his clothing choices were anything to go on as he was dressed rather oddly even for a citizen of this country, but I would allow him to entertain me as he could possibly surprise me.

Giving him the respect that he deserved, I would stand from my position and walk directly over to him stopping once I was there to extend my hand to him. "Hyuuga Honnou, you said? It is an honor to meet you! I am Byakko Kyuji of Wind Country and Sunagakure" I would say as I tilted my head to the one side and gave him a warm, welcoming smile. After my introduction to him and our possible handshake, I would take a step back and cross my arms across my chest. Yes, he would be a sufficient enough opponent for me today as I prepared to fight the Medical Sennin of the Hidden Cloud in the coming days which I could not wait for at all; it would finally be my chance to shine to the world and my home country that I was truly the best fighter in the world. The only true concern that I had fighting a stranger outside of the arena was the possible damage that I could cause to them if I was not careful; maybe I would need to pull my moves a little to not harm him. Only time would truly tell.

Momentarily, I would look him up and down once or twice before giving a nod to him and simply saying: "You are the challenger of my sparring request. I will let you have the first move, Honnou. Don't hold anything back as I will be giving you my best!" I would then take a simple combat stance with no weapon equipped to start this contest and await his first move. Would he try using a weapon? Would he use some kind of Ninjutsu? Maybe, he would use Genjutsu to play with my mind? Who truly knew until he began? I certainly was interested to see what he could do at the very least as all sparring experience was worthwhile in some shape and form.

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OOC:

• Word Count: 467
• Total Word Count: 958/1500

 

[Honnou]

She was oddly welcoming to the strange Hyuuga as she joyously greeted him. He would shake her hand in a mannerly fashion and get a refreshment of her name that many people would likely know by now - Byakko Kyuji from Wind Country. His lip rose up into a slow but pleasant smile, because she was friendlier than he could have hoped for. It was nice to get that anxious feeling out of his chest and take it a bit easier from this point on, or otherwise he would likely be hindered in the point and purpose of his presence in front of her.

Kyuji, the finalist of the Martial Arts Tournament, wanted a challenger. Today, Hon would be the challenger, and he began thinking about how he should try and fight her. As he thought earlier, he actually hadn’t been that present in her fights, but if she managed to get this far, then she must have packed some impressive skills and feats. I’m about to fight an experienced professional…, he began thinking as Kyuji walked back to widen the space between him and her, I hope that I won’t disappoint her or anything… the last thing I want is to embarrass myself like that.

As he was allowed the first move, Hon slowly readied his body in a familiar Jyuuken Stance. His eyes were nailed to Kyuji’s. “Okay,” he replied almost monotone-like as he lowered his voice and focused on his body’s composition. He was a Taijutsu adept - he wouldn’t call himself a master just yet - so close-combat was what he found himself doing the best at. Obviously, Kyuji would likely fend off with her own, unknown technique to him.

His right foot kicked the ground beneath it to launch Hon off like a bullet, charging right at the finalist. Both his hands were covered in a bluish chakra that resembled the heads of mauling lions, and they left a long line of chakra in the air due to his speed. His Hakumei Byakugan was a faint but active, bluish tint as it made sure to keep him aware of the surroundings around him.

WC: 358
TWC: 584 + 358 = 942

 

[Tomomi]

Watching him taking the infamous Jyuuken Stance gifted to the skilled Hyuugas of the world, I would chuckle to myself. It seemed that I was going to be fighting a run-of-the-mill Hyuuga that had no tricks up his sleeve as he rushed towards me with his hands radiating a blue aura around them. If I was to be hit with those hands of his, I would likely start to have problems with my chakra circuits as those gifted with the Byakugan knew quite well how to stop an opponent in their tracks by slowly disabling them from within. Their other talent was also causing injuries from within that were significantly more difficult to recover from while fighting or tending to a patient in the Hospital; indeed, I knew the tricks of those eyes and that stance, but I knew that I mustn't get cocky or I would risk putting myself in a situation that could ultimately spell disaster if I wasn't careful.

As he got closer to me, I would sidestep his attack and attempt to jab him in the face. The force behind that punch however was not even 50% of my strength as I did not want to start the contest showing all my skills to him or that would be boring especially if he got frustrated and began to simply wail at me. No, I was starting the session off slowly as I did in each of my tournament fights simply because I was engaging his skills and knowledge of combat. It would prove unfruitful for me if I did not allow myself to study him a little and see what he was fully capable of doing especially since he was a foreign shinobi and I would likely not see him again after this World Martial Arts Tournament ended in Tea. Thus, it was best to take my time and enjoy this little sparring session with him before I began to fully take it serious.

Regardless of my jab actually hitting him or him evading it, I would chuckle internally to him before simply address him: "As expected, you mastered your stance and eyes nearly perfectly. I am impressed that someone however as young as you has the capability of honing those two skills nearly flawless as it would take many years to perfect these skills. Tell me, Honnou, how old are you exactly and how old do you believe I am?" Regardless of responding or not, I would not let him have a real moment to breathe as I would dash at him with my bare fists and throw a few punches at his abdominal region still holding back slightly. If I had to calculate how much force were behind my punches, I would say around 75% of what I fully was capable of doing. After all, I needed to see if he could show me more and entertain me a little bit more.

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OOC:

• Word Count: 488
• Total Word Count: 1446/1500

 

[Honnou]

Upon charging up right in front of Kyuji, Hon was surprised to see her sidestep his approach with a little space between them yet. It was an honest, surprising move, but Hon could quickly follow up on that as Kyuji’s counterattack was detected. He simply pulled his head back and lowered his body, balancing on the tips of his toes for a brief moment before planting his entire foothold and stepping a few meters back in the blink of an eye. He did mean to follow up instantly with another melee attack, but Kyuji’s words made him curious and invited him to think about… her age? Was that even relevant?

He could have sworn that guessing a girl’s age was a taboo, nowadays- oh boy, there was a punch heading his way!

His knee was lifted up to parry the few punches that were aimed at his lower body, while his other leg struggled to keep its foothold. Kyuji’s punches were getting very heavy, so he couldn’t rely on the balance of one leg for too long. “I-I’m 15!” he replied in the middle of the fist flurry, “A-And I’d say you’re around my age…!” At last, he grew tired of the defensive stance of his. It was time to show his leg work.

He quickly lowered his body and planted his hands on the ground, using them to hold his body as he swept both legs in a low, counter clock-wise kick to throw Kyuji off balance. As he knew little of her mobility, it was likely that the finalist was able to avoid losing their balance - in this case, he followed up by having both hands behind his shoulders and pushing himself forward in a diagonal fashion, having both feet stretch out forward to push Kyuji from her present position. He didn’t need to guess her presence, because his Byakugan was extraordinary, and he could detect her position with ease.

WC: 323
TWC: 942 + 323 = 1265

 

[Tomomi]

A smile would surface on my face as I heard his response to my question. This teenager was fighting a finalist in the World Martial Arts Tournament, an honor that any shinobi or civilian would gladly accept even if it meant taking a significant amount of punishment throughout the spar. However, this Hyuuga residing from the Lighting Country was different in many ways than the average teenager; he actually might have surpassed my talents and skills at that age which was not the greatest accomplishment in the world since I was not particularly that skilled in fighting back then. Nevertheless, he impressed me and he would likely get stronger and more skilled with age.

But, I couldn't stand there and admire his natural talents as he was still attacking me switching from his feet to his legs which would connect and cause me to lose my balance for a moment. However when he decided to use his arms to push himself towards me, I would simply smirk as he made a grave mistake using himself as a projectile towards me. See using the force behind your body would knock over a normal shinobi and even possibly knock them out when the bodies connected with one another. Unfortunately for him, the skill level was varied a little bit too much as I would simply side-step the projectile Hon and throw a few fists at his body trying to knock him to the ground to stop his momentum. There was no malice behind them, but power-wise, they did have a little bit more force behind them likely 80-85% of my overall strength. Considering that this was a spar and not an actual fight, there was no truly no purpose in using all my skills at my disposal or trying to go for a finishing blow that could injure him; I was trying to protect him from needing to be rushed to a hospital or an equivalent facility.

Regardless of my punches connecting or not, I would respond to Hon's answer to my question with the following: "My physical age in this body is around a twenty-one year olds. However, mentally I am far passed that age and I have lived longer than this body has. You see Hon of Lightning Country, this isn't my original body. Actually, I woke up in this body after an incident during a night in my country where I failed to save someone close to me. She's doing okay now though, but we haven't really talked since then which is understandable after our last encounter." In all honesty, it still stung a little that our relationship together had fallen in recent times due to her losing her mind back then and my outburst in front of our current and former Kazekages in this country; but, the past was the past and all I could is move forward and try to get stronger and wiser for the next time that we encountered one another. One thing was for sure, I would not lose to her in combat next time.

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OOC:

• Word Count: 511
• Total Word Count: 1957/1500

 

[Honnou]

She was quick enough to evade his momentum. Perhaps pushing himself up using his arms was less effective than holding his stance on his feet instead. As Kyuji side-stepped away from both his feet projecting towards her, Hon was found in a brief opening where a few fists managed to plant onto his defensive arms as he just got to shield his torso. It was in a hurry and caught Hon off guard, until he felt the force of those punches thoroughly, which resulted in him hitting the ground beneath him heavier. He was bounced up a few centimeters by the impact with a slight pain surging up from his back, but the pain soothed away and allowed Hon to swing around on his hands once more, doing a 360 degrees windmill with both legs up on hip height before pushing himself up and finally landing on his feet.

… Wait. Given by her explanation, this wasn’t her body? Was she possessing a host? Was she some kind of powerful entity who relied on external links and hosts such as this one? It sounded surreal at first, but upon hearing her explanation, Hon’s surprised face turned into an understanding gaze. “… That sounds sad,” he commented. To fail saving someone close to you and end up in a whole new body and life… it sounded like a harsh change of pace in life that Kyuji probably didn’t wish upon herself back then. How she had managed to come this far, however, was awe-worthy.

She was a very tough opponent.

Hon’s hands approached each other in front of his chest, fingers arced as he performed a few hand seals.

Lightning Style, Amp Field!

Electric bolts travelled between his fingertips in high speed as his entire body soon got enveloped in a thin layer of electrical charges. The charged particles escaped into the ground and turned the path towards Kyuji into a lightning field. Hopefully, people rarely expected this from a Hyuuga.

WC: 330
TWC: 1265 + 330 = 1595

 

[Tomomi]

Impressive. That was all I could think as he quickly kept his rapid pace of attacking me going by sending electrical currents towards me through the technique known as Amp Field if I had heard correctly. It was quite honestly a surprise to see someone with Hyuuga blood tapping into some form of Ninjutsu, but it wasn't completely unheard of especially since I had been using Ninjutsu and Genjutsu in my contests against the representatives from the other countries and I fought primarily with my celestial sword with my lord's life essence infused into it. However, it was still nice to see that he was not a one-trick fighter like some people in this world unfortunately were; it was after all better to have options when fighting than to have a limited arsenal and simply hoping for the best.

Nevertheless, my opponent was young and still had a lot to learn before he would be able to stand toe to toe with me in a real sparring match. He was more or less a warmup for the main attraction that would be here before I knew it. But, I would not leave him disappointed at all since he was brave enough to stand up and be my opponent for practice. A simple one handed handseal would be formed and a sphere of air would surround me shielding me from the electrical currents that my opponent had tried to use against me. But, I knew that that technique of his could linger if he choose it to so I needed to keep paying attention.

While the currents and the wind met one another and created a rather unpleasant high-pitched noise, I would use another technique to burrow into the ground beneath me and make my way over to little Hon hopefully undetected while he was preoccupied with watching our two ninjutsu meet one another. If I was not detected and I successfully made my way over to him, I would grab onto his legs and yank him into the ground beneath him knowing full well that I would likely be getting getting zapped with his Amp Field if he was paying close enough attention. If successful, I would simply stand above him on the surface of the field and say while winking: "Are you ready to give up?"

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OOC:

• Word Count: 387
• Total Word Count: 2344/1500
• Jutsu Used:
  • Vacuum Sphere Mastered to Jutsu Clash your Amp Field
  • Then, Inner Earth Reflection Lure Mastered with its Special Action

 

[Honnou]

Hon’s ears caught the terrifying sound of sharp air cutting off his Amp Field at Kyuji’s position. It also released a lot of light, but Hon didn’t expect to lose Kyuji off his sight. Instead, he dashed forward and attempted to break through the collision with one of his clan’s techniques, the Gentle Twin Step Lion. Each palm pointed forward and emitted a flowing aura, almost water-like, that soon manifested the heads of ferocious lions alike those in statues at many temples.

… Wait, Kyuji was gone?!

Hon looked to the left and to the right in vain. His Byakugan didn’t let a single angle - that was a lie - pass unlooked as his field of vision had increased inhumanly… that was why he was quick to assume that Kyuji must have-

Argh, piss, he was too late. Kyuji’s hands on his legs shocked him, and before he knew it, his entire body yanked into the ground like a bolt. “… Oops,” he let out. Kyuji had chosen a surreal area in combat; underground. It was only surreal to a shinobi like Hon who hadn’t experienced such a strategy before… he would likely remember it.

“Hnng, hnng…” he tried to shake himself off from the ground, but how much could he do while not able to move a muscle? “… Okay, I give up.” He found it needed to put an end to the spar between those two as he moved his head up - thankfully, it wasn’t buried down as well. “This was fun… I got to fight an idol like you and all,” he admitted in awe, “… Will I be stuck here forever?”

WC: 277
TWC: 1595 + 277 = 1872

 

[Tomomi]

Game. Set. Match. The words that I had been waiting for from my young opponent had finally been said as he was left stuck in the ground unable to move at all more or less. Sure, it was a cheaper way of ending a spar with someone younger and still growing as a shinobi, but it was better for him to be made aware of an area that he was weak at so he could practice and perfect it more and more.

Smirking at him, I would place my hands beside his head and allow some of my chakra to leave my body through my fingertips allowing the ground to loosen a little bit around him. It should have been enough for him to handle on his own, but I would take my hands and grab onto his shoulders to assist him with being yanked from the ground so i knew he wouldn't go hungry or die of thirst because of me. This scene was likely quite awkward for anyone that was watching around us, but the well-being and health of people were my top priority in life even if I enjoyed sparring and hunting for criminals in the Red Light District back home in my free time. Before I would leave, I would summon a Medical Assistant or two to look over his body to ensure nothing was injured or would raise concerns or problems for him in the future which unsurprisingly, it did not appear so.

Once he seemed to be okay enough to be left alone, my assistants would poof and I would give him one last smile before I spoke to him: "Be proud of yourself, Hon of Lightning Country. You fought bravely and did not back down when things did not look great for yourself. You were honestly outmatched, but you will grow from this experience and be able to stand toe-to-toe with me before long. When you are ready, come to Wind Country and seek me out for a rematch, I will be waiting~" Then, a simple head-pat would be given to him before I turned and walked away waving back at him.

Yes, he was a good warm-up for the main course. I would not forget this little Hyuuga from Lighting Country anytime soon.

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OOC:

• Word Count: 381
• Total Word Count: 2725/1500
• Topic Left Unless Stopped