Training (Private, No-Kill)

Haru was quite resourceful to say the least. He had read right through Shinji's attack. That doujutsu was rather incredible-maybe he should turn up the heat on the boy a bit? Haru had avoided Shinji's well planned attack by doing back flip. Thereby bypassing the foot trap Shinji had set up on the genin. A bit exasperated Shinji did not show it. Instead he held the cool demeanor he had held for the entirety of the spar. Stopping his fist before it went too far Shinji brought it back to a defensive position in front of him. Had he thrown the punch faster then it would have been harder to recenter himself, but as it was it was relatively easy. In fact Haru had just started charging at him as Shinji came back to his original stance he held in the beginning of the match.

Thinking quickly Shinji thought of a rather safe move that would allow him to attack and defend in the same movement. From Haru's movement Shinji could not glean any information as to how he would attack. All Shinji knew was that he was running at him and that it would be hard to stop should Shinji chose to use Haru's momentum against him. Waiting till the last possible second in which he could execute this move Shinji dropped down on his left knee. It was at that moment that Shinji saw what Haru was doing as his leg came right at Shinji's left knee. Normally that would have caused some severe pain if it hit, but Shinji would not allow it to. Shinji kept his eyes on the body of Haru that would no doubt be in front of him. He could just make out where he would need to place his left hand out of his peripheral vision. Moving his hand to match his mind Shinji would attempt to grab the leg that was now coming right towards his left knee with his left hand. At just about the same time Shinji glimpsed what seemed to be Haru's palm headed straight for his temple. Acting purely on instinct Shinji would move his hand in an attempt to grab Haru's wrist. All these movements were at his full speed. Otherwise Shinji probably would have no chance of pulling it off.

If everything went as planned Shinji would be kneeling on his left knee. He would have caught the foot that was headed for his left knee now holding it mere inches away from his knee and he would have Haru's right wrist firmly in his grasp. The tip of Haru's palm would probably be about an inch away from Shinji's temple. In effect Shinji would have Haru in a lock of sorts. However Haru would still be able to use right arm and left leg, which would cause Shinji plenty of trouble still. To stall a bit, assuming all went perfectly up to this point, Shinji would start speaking: "Your doing good. I dont see why you thought you were bad quite honestly you probably have the potential to be much better than I ever will be. By the way very nice use of the bait and switch technique. Tell me how do you feel right now?" He would wait for a response from Haru-hopefully not a fist. Then again were Haru to continue to fight with his free hand then Shinji had a backup plan-always always have a backup plan. And then again if Shinji's maneuvers did not work he would take the hits as they came.

{TWC: 2553}

For a moment, Haru was unsure of what had happened. The moves he had just made were a blur to him, It almost felt like he was watching someone else fight, but that couldn't be. He'd executed the attack well enough, and he knew he made SOME form of contact, because he felt his kinetic energy leave his arm and leg. His eyes were still sore, but less so now. Haru supposed it would fade with time, and some day, he might not feel it at all. That would be nice, but, of course, he was faced with another problem at present. It had seemed both of his attacks had been blocked. Secretly, Haru felt a little agrivated. The Jounin seemed untouchable, even when faced with a move like that. pushing the thought from his mind, Haru tried to regain his awarness of what was going on around him.

Haru was amazed by the speed of the Jounin. Just in the nick of time, he had managed to block both of his attacks. There he was, balancing on one foot, as Shinji gripped his wrist and foot. His mind began racing with ideas for his next move, as this was not a position he wanted to stay in. Then again, He had Shinji in a stalemate, both of his arms were subdued. If he was to strike at him with his free hand, he'd have a very good chance of getting a hit. He figured he had three options: Using his free foot to execute a leg sweep, bringing the fight to the ground, Punching with his free hand, the obvious one, but also the easiest to block. And finally, headbutting, which would hurt pretty bad for both of them, based on past experience, so that was out of the question. Although these thoughts all happened in an instant, it felt like it had been an eternity when Shinji's voice called him back to reality. Haru thought for a moment that Shinji was stalling, before dismissing it. Shinji was going easy on him, he didn't need to stall.

"Thanks." He said in response to Shinji's compliment, Smirking slightly. At his house, compliments were few and far between, so this was a rare experience for him. He wasn't sure what else to say for a while, before realizing he'd been asked a question. "Fine. Just a little strained in the eye, but that's a side effect of using the byakugan " He explained calmly, watching him for any signs of an attack. He was still paranoid about letting his guard down, remembering that was how he'd lost his last spar with his grandfather. He focused on the fight once more, which was still in a stalemate. If Shinji tried to break his grip, he would sweep his other leg, effectively tripping Shinji, and bringing them both to the ground. If he couldn't do that, He could simply strike with his fist: Simple, but Effective. He would not attack until Shinji made a move, It felt wrong to strike at him as they spoke, although he resented giving up such a good opportunity for leverage in the fight.

(Wc 2647)

Shinji let a light smile stretch across his face. Haru's eyes being strained was expected and understandable. Shinji hoped to disarm Haru with that simple smile. It seemed that Haru was planning on attacking, so it would be up to Shinji to make the attack that very well could finish the spar. However, he did not want to hurt the smaller genin. Taking a quick second to evaluate his position Shinji went over what he could do. If one were to see Shinji's brain they just might see the cogs turning and grinding as he thought of each attack pattern. He needed one that would not hurt Haru too bad, but he also wanted one to finish up this spar. Then in a spark of genius Shinji thought of an attack pattern. If Haru looked closely he might see the new resolve in Shinji's expression. Now was the time to act. Furthermore if Haru were to watch carefully he would probably be able to see Shinji's muscles tense a moment before he launched his attack.

It all happened in tandem. Shinji strengthened his grip on Haru and attempted to pull him towards him. Once he could no longer hold onto Haru he would let go. At the same time Shinji's right leg tensed and pushed his body upwards and into the now, if all things went as planned, falling Haru. Allowing his right shoulder to lead Shinji would in effect have pulled Haru directly into a full on body check. If all worked perfectly Shinji's right shoulder would impact Haru square in his chest. Using all his strength Shinji would continue to push his body upwards and hopefully send Haru flying through the air a good way. He would then probably land on the mat with a thud and have at most a few bruises to show for it. If all went as planned Shinji would stand up and look at Haru. He would understand if the genin wanted to stop for a bit, so he would allow him the chance to call the spar for now until he got stronger. At which point Shinji and him would be able to fight on equal terms and hopefully as fellow jounin of the sky nation.

{TWC: 2926}
(We can keep sparring or not its up to you.)

The smile that streached across Shinji's face comforted him... and unnerved him at the same time. That smile suggested that a plan had formed in his head. at the same time, Haru needed a plan, too. Fast. He glanced around, trying to think of how he'd get the better of Shinji, as impossible as it sounded. Unfortunately, the Byakugan could NOT let you read minds, which left Haru feeling like he was missing something, something important. Haru studied his situation carefully. Perhaps he should just go with a leg sweep, that way, he could get free of this gridlock before Shinji thought of something that could end this fight in an instant. Frowning, Haru had just decided to go with the Leg sweep, when he noticed Shinji's expression change. He saw his muscles tense, felt his grip tighten, and knew he'd thought of something. There wasn't any way to avoid the attack, however, he was stuck, with no way out, he'd waited too long, given up his window.

Haru Helt himself yanked towards the Jounin, instinctively bringing his free leg up to knee his stomach, however, whether or not this hit, it would prove pointless. The attack still followed through. He felt himself beginning to fall as Shinji let go of him, and tried to twist away in the air. he didn't have enough momentum for that, and ended up failing as soon as he started the desperate escape attempt. Then he felt himself sent flying across the room, into the mat. However "padded" the mat was, it still hurt a lot when he landed, right on his back, which he felt pop slightly. The wind was completely knocked out of him, and he took a moment to recover. He rolled onto his stomach, holding his back for a moment, trying to catch his breath. Eventually, the pain dulled, and he felt himself able to breath again. It hadn't hurt very bad, just jarred him, but he knew that the fight would continue exactly this way if he chose to drag it out. Slowly rising to his feet, a beat up Haru held up a hand in submission.
"Alright... oww... I give." he muttered. He'd held out longer then he expected, though. Originally, He'd thought he'd have been beaten to a pulp in under a minute. Smirking slightly, he then realized he'd gotten a lot better at Taijutsu. Up until now, he'd never thought himself capable of doing the things he'd just done. "I guess that's it." Said Haru, slowing his breathing. "For now." He added, making sure to emphasize it. "Let's do this again some time, once I've gotten better at this." He said, exited at the possibility of facing him as an equal one day. Slipping off the training weights, which he'd worn throughout the fight, Haru sat down in a chair to rest a moment. He knew he'd taken a beating, one simple stroke had managed to put him into submission. He'd have to work on that. Maybe do some endurance training. He glanced at his watch, noticing that it was time for him to head home, and nodded.
"Looks like I gotta get going, thanks for helping me out." He said, slipping his shoes back on, and picking up his bag. "See you around." He said, walking out the door. He was never one for saying goodbye, and he had a feeling he'd see Shinji again soon...

(Total Word Count: 3218)

+16 stats
+32 JP

(In addition to stats, I'm gonna change my spec to taijutsu)

(Exit)

Shinji merely nodded Haru was good. In fact he was probably better than Shinji when he was a genin. However, unlike Shinji Haru seemed to know when to quit. Had it been Shinji in Haru's place he would have kept fighting till he had the crap beat out of him. Though Shinji would not hold it against him. He hoped next time that Haru and he would be able to fight as equals or maybe run a few missions together who knew what lay in store for the two ninja? All Shinji knew was that he still had some training to do despite this spar. So, he remained in the room to practice his ninjutsu a skill, which he was particularly lacking in and one that all ninja should have some skill in. He knew fuinjutsu almost perfectly due to his Uzumaki origin and had a pretty good grasp of the basic skills of a shinobi due to the constant drilling of the three most basic techniques a shinobi has access to. Though ninjutsu was something he never really got around to, but knew he should. After all most shinobi fought with it and it would be rather hard fighting against them if they were to have that advantage over him-something Shinji would not allow to pass.

Taking a break before trying his hand at ninjutsu Shinji reflected on the spar he had just had. As a whole it had been a very good one. However, he never did figure out if Haru knew the gentle fist technique-not that he really wanted to find out, because it would mean getting hit, which was something that was out of the question. Of course had he been able to use the gentle fist SHinji was pretty sure he would be a lot more skilled than he had been then again maybe not. For now that would remain a though on his mind as Shinji evaluated his own fight. Though he would never tell Haru he had been pushed to the limit of his taijutsu during that fight. Quite honestly he sucked at hand to hand combat, so it had been a good experience. Next time SHinji knew he would be at a disadvantage. As such to to offset this foreseen disadvantage Shinji had to learn the art of ninjutsu, which would allow him to attack from afar and leave Haru at a disadvantage, thus turning a possible disadvantage into an advantage. That thought returned Shinji to the task at hand: learning Ninjutsu.

Standing up Shinji set up a few targets and looked at them with a sneer that did not often cross his face. Pulling out his blade Mazkaze Shinji held it and aimed it at the targets. He knew that within the blade was the ability to fire off an "evil wind blast" that required the same kind of chakra control for ninjutsu. As such using this blast many times would help him get the feel for ninjutsu and its various nuances. Channeling his chakra into the blade SHinji fired off the blast leaving a sizable hole in the first target. The next two targets were promptly turned into donuts as well. Time started blur together as it moved to the interior.

Shinji was still practicing with the blast of Mazkaze, but his mind was elsewhere. His thoughts drifted from idea to idea and from notion to notion until they came to rest on the fragility of the nations as they were. As far as Shinji knew there were two nations the fire one and the sky. Honestly Shinji saw no real difference in the two. Yet still it seemed hostilities were just waiting to blow up at any second. Maybe it was the state of large empires-always at each others necks. Ready to attack at the slightest chance of weakness. Shinji doubted that the sky nation could survive if the Fire nation chose to bring its full might down upon it. Then again who knows? After all what self respecting empire completely destroys another. Shinji took solace in the fact that if the fire nation were to attack then it would be over quickly. However until that day he would train as hard as possible as a proud shinobi of the sky.

Time quickly flowed back to a normal pace to Shinji anyway as he noticed that he had been practicing for about two hours ready. He could feel the chakra strain he had put himself under. His whole body seemed to be shaking from the strain-had he pushed himself too far or was he merely at a threshold of new power? Either way he decided he needed a break. Sheathing Makaze Shinji walked over to the only jug of water in the room. Wiping the sweat from his brow Shinji grabbed a cup and filled it to the brim with the slightly stagnant water. Had Shinji not been exhausted he would have spat out the water, but as it were it was godsend from the heavens above and it was surprisingly refreshing. Downing the cup in a matter of seconds Shinji refilled it.

Drinking it down again he felt his body coming back to life in an odd way-it felt more powerful like his chakra was flowing smoother. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt much more at ease with himself. Upon giving it some thought SHinji decided he might be a bit delirious, but chose to continue training all the same. Quitters never got anywhere and Shinji was no quitter. Returning to his target practice he surveyed his handy work. He had shot small holes in each target almost perfectly so far-he hoped this was a sign that his ninjutsu was getting stronger or at least better. Taking a deep breath Shinji embarked on another harsh training session. Each second he could feel his chakra ebbing out of him-it was starting to hurt quite a bit. After another two hours SHinji chose to stop for good now and call it a day. He had done so much in very little time.

Slumping down where he stood he let out a huge breath and wiped the sweat from his brow for the second time that day. Forcing himself to stand he put away his knife and staggered out of the room and into the elevator. It was here that Shinji was stopped dead in his tracks. Standing, waiting fro the elevator, was he old academy teacher. Trying to shy away SHinji found that his legs no longer obeyed him-he was on physical autopilot. He now found himself a sweating wreak right next to his old academy student who probably remembered his less than stellar grades. However, his old teacher did not notice him until they both stepped into the elevator. It was then that the teacher, Rin, if SHinji remembered started talking: "Hey, Shinji is that you?" Shinji gave him a blank look and simply nodded. Rin continued on: "My you have grown. Oh by the way I saw that last bit of the spar you back there and watched a bit of your training. You seem to be a lot more determined than when you were genin if I recall correctly..." Shinji cut him off here with a polite tone: "Yeah I know I was probably a pain and not very go-.." Shinji was cut off this time by Rin in a more stern voice: "Nonsense! In fact I saw a lot of potential in you and look I was spot on. Now alas my dear Shinji this is my floor fare thee well and keep up the good work. You should be able to master ninjutsu in no time. It is not all that hard." With that the elevator doors opened and Rin left leaving Shinji alone in the elevator.

SHinji was not really sure what just happened, but if he heard everything right he had just been told, by a teacher who had never told him good job or anything that he was doing a good job. The world was indeed a strange place full of strange poeple. Although truly now, despite the fatigue, Shinji was glowing with pride. Maybe he was going in the right direction as a shinobi-only time would truly tell. Reaching the ground floor Shinji strode out the front doors of the training tower. The second he reached the outside world he felt the cool rain from the various steam implements condensing above in the atmosphere. It was a nice cool feeling on Shinji's sweaty face. However the nice feeling was accompanied by a rank smell of pollution. That was the one flaw of Tengakure if Shinji had to give it one. The factories and technology really made a mess of the environment.

The lights on the streets were being turned on and SHinji's path home led him straight through the warehouse district. The warehouse district was a place of constant trouble. As such SHinjiwas not surprised int eh least when he was stopped by a thug who demanded that Shinji hand over all his money. Naturally SHinji was not too keen on the idea. With a sigh he told the would be robber that he was getting his money. Instead Shinji drew Makaze and pointed it at the man who merely snorted and turned up his nose saying that he wasnt afraid of a dull butter knife. Shinji was not really up for talking tis man down , so it came down to a true test of his ninjutsu skills. Allowing the chakra to flow in the blade of Makaze it was surrounded by a small black sphere of chakra that heralded the blast. Of course the robber merely laughed a evil laugh and quite possibly his last one as he was soon to find out. The next instant Shinji felt a small pain throughout his body as he fired off the blast at the man. The net effect was that the man was sent flying through the air and into a dumpster. he was knocked out cold. Shinji did not even bother to check for a pulse. He did not really care it was some common thug.

The rest of the walk home was rather peaceful. Shinji felt fully confident in the fact that he had mastered the chakra flow required for ninjutsu. After all he had just used it to take down a would be assailant. if that was not a test he did not know what was. As he walked down the streets towards home the lamps got brighter and brighter or maybe Shinji got more and more tired either way he knew that he was at his limit. Ever since that morning he had still been tired and now it was all coming to a head. Finally arriving at the front door of his house Shinji pushed it open very quietly so as to not wake his surrogate parents. Last time he came in late he had woken them up-not the best idea nor a model ninja ideal. This time he got in without a sound and made a beeline to the bathroom. Not bothering with the shower Shinji splashed some water on his face brushed his teethand went to his room.

Once in his room he slumped down on his bed and let his eyes close. However, he did not fall asleep right away. Instead his mind wandered to his real parents as it often did as of late. he wanted to find out who they were and what they did. Plus why they left him at the mercy of the orphanage. Deep down Shinji hoped that they were still alive somewhere looking for him, but he rather doubted it. Maybe he would find their graves or maybe just rumors-even that would be enough for Shinji. With that last thought in his mind SHinji allowed the abyss that is sleep to take him. The dreams he had that night were of the parents he never had and fights he hoped he would never have to fight. Like most people he found that dreams were often more real than reality. In the reality of dreams anything could happen one could die and live see and not see. That was the odd backwards world of dreams. Maybe one day humans would understand them, but that night would not be the night. That night dreams would still reign supreme and send Shinji on a journey into the subconscious world.

{Last post word count: 2080 (training for ninjutsu spec.) Overall word count: 5006 Rewards: +25 stats, +50JP and Ninjutsu spec trained.}
{Exit and topic closed}

Bump for both of us.

Approved then.