Day three: working out the kinks.

She moved swifty across the town at her full speed, heading towards the large stadium like training facility where she would able to work her body back I to it's old shape. She still felt weak, but after sleeping for a full day due to putting a barely revived body through training more rigorous then she'd ever experienced, she felt a bit stronger and more able. She noticed as she ran that things felt slower, her eyes which saw in almost stop motion naturally, reading the world like a cartoon being drawn a page at a time, even she seemed to move unnaturally slow. She recognized it first against the boy kiru, how the time phrame needed between her attacks had shifted drastically, allowing his strikes to pass her block well before she had the chance to erect it, and this worried her. That meant it was time to stop coddling her well worn body and put some new scars of practice over her broken body.

She slowed her momentum as she got to the training room, slipping quickly through the doorway to close it behind her. She locked to the door to ensure privacy. The last thing she needed was someone coming in to interior her. With a quick single hand seal she summoned a shadow clone, watching it poof into existence in front of her as she called out to the protector who existed within the scythe of sorrow. "Selene. U have my permission to take over my clone, let's work the kings out and get whatever it is that's holding me back ejected from my body" in response the clone's eyes shifted, the look behind them changing from that of the bright excited c rank missing ninja to the calm glance of the scythe's soul Selene. She moved her hands together to use the transformation technique, her body glowing with a white light. She grew significantly taller, now standing at five door eleven inches and her body filled out differently then Kira's. Her skin was well worn with age but still soft and fair, tanned a bit more then it he original clones was. Her attire was a long black silk dress that stopped it's flow down her body just at the ankles, simple but elegant, and her hair was much longer and stark ehit, like that of an elderly woman well within her years.

"Understood Kira. I am sorry I've not been more help child. What would you like to work on?" To be honest Kira had absolutely no idea. She knew she needed to do something to get the familiar burn of lactic acid back into her well rested muscles but as to what...she drew a blank.

"I um.... I'm really not sure?" Her words held a bit of embaracement evident in her time. She'd always been the type to follow, formulating plans and contingencies based on the whim of another lead. When she fought another she responded to their actions, waiting to see how her opponents plan was formed and finding the way out of it to respond with equal power. It was second nature to her and she was excellent at it, finding her strategic mind to overtake any opponent but the two she considered family, her team mates maku and youka.

(Twc 550)

"Let's just play it by ear then. if you feel your power start to decline let me know. The last thing we need you to do is pass out in the middle of the battle field. " With that said The woman ran towards kira, deciding to start off light with some taijutsu to ease her back into the fight. she'd fought kiru and daiyuki, one of those fights not really ending so well for her. Kiru's power was more then she remembered, mostly because of the difference in her strength because of the reanimation, though Selene would never tell her that. Instead she resolved to simply aid Kira in the process of gaining her power back. She worried about what would happen when Maku and Youka finally came across Kira once more. The exchange between the three was something Kira had no clue about but Selene remembered vividly. She had to just hope it didn't happen soon and that the two missing ninja would be so overjoyed to be rid of the burden of their loss that they would embrace her and not ask questions.

As she finally got within range she threw out a quick left jab, leaning her weight forward with the punch to throw a follow up attack with with her left leg, a front kick aimed at Kira's chest moments after the punch would land unless Kira blocked each. She would pull the strike at the last second in the event it looked like it would hit, though she sincerely hoped she would have no need to. If not blocked each attack would stop less then a milimeter from the strike location at her cheek or chest just below the breasts.

Kira sprung into action, the cloak floating around her body to make her turn an extremely dark black color. It was origionally intended to be used to hide herself in darkness, or that's what had been told to her when she first learned the technique, but she had found other much more useful purposes. Selene got into range and as she began to attack a small shield shot out of kira's body at chest level, moving upwards to push the hand away as another at her hip seemed to reach out from the cloak to deflect Selene's foot away from her body. "Good." Selene spoke not stopping her assault. She spun, exposing her back for a brief moment before her stationary leg lifted from the ground to be replaced with the leg that had just been blocked. As her right leg landed on the ground her left leg shot outward from her body to throw a round kick aimed at kira's left side, right at the center of her ribs. The shield retracted quickly, and as she attacked again another formed, this time not even extending from her body. It seemed to pour from her skin to form an armor plating that could absorb the impact, it's actually physical form not resting against her clothes to ensure no recoil to the shield's master's body. The kick seemed to land but Kira pushed forward as Selene struck, making it clear that it had not effected her at all.

"I've been getting quicker and more efficient with my shadow shields, Can you tell?" Kira said her words punctuated by a flurry of punches to Selene's body. She dodged each, her body seeming to dance left and right to barely get out of the way in time, a calculated movement that would be incredibly beautiful to watch. As kira's last strike came forward her arm rose up, coming across her body to knife hand outward, pushing the final jab away from her and opening her opponent up. Left right left right left right, Her arms moved quickly throwing the same flurry against Kira that she had just dodged. Just as her mentor had Kira decided thist ime she would not need the shadow shields. Instead she danced about, hers more exagerated and allowing more room between the attack and it's intended target. Her feet shifted in a serpentine patern as she moved about to ensure none of the strikes hit her and as the last came out a shadow shield flew from her chest to meet it strait on.

(TWC 1261)

They clashed, the strikes doing nothing to one another aside from shooting a bit of dull pain down selene's wrist. "Not half bad....You're getting back into fighting order. I'm glad " She would take a moment to let Kira catch her breath, drawing the bandages from her side bag and wrapping her fists to cushion them, but to ease her own pain and make it easier in the event she landed a hit.

  "If you're ready we may begin again." Selene said, her voice completely calm and serious. She showed no emotion, a fact that Kira had gotten used to at this point. With a nod of her head they continued, throwing strikes left and right as they danced about the training room. Each strike was met with just enough force, whether by Selene's arms or a quick dodge or Kira's shields or a shift to one side or there other, that neither could feel the impacts. it was like a choreographed dance routine the'd practiced for years. Kira jumped backwards, her hair shifting in front of her eyes for a moment as she floated through the air. She brought a hand up to pull the bangs back to their origional possition behind her ear, trying to keep her focus on the woman attacking her. Selene smiled, running forward quickly. In the air Selene had a definite advantage. She was able to move at her full speed as Kira's momentum slowed with each moment she was air born, allowing the distance to close incredibly quick. When Kira was about to land she noticed her opponent waiting below her. It was by far the worst way this could have ended she was fairly sure. As she fell to the ground Saw Selene's body bend forward to spring her back up into the air using one of her own taijutsu moves. She shot a shadow shield from her feet, the shadows around her lets flowing down her bbody to create a small dome outward below her that would grow rapidly in size. The shadow cloak continued to flow from her skin, her head and shoulders now visible. Her chest shifted color next, though it was barelly noticable thanks to the black savar suit she wore. Finally she was left with very little of the cloak surrounding her but with a max sized dome beneath her which she stood on and within it Selene stood in the darkness searching for a way out.

   "This girl....She is always innovative, i'll have to give her that.   " She looked around the large black dome of a shield meant to block attacks. She'd managed to find a use for it outside of the norm, a fact that didn't necessarily suprise the spirit of sorrow, however the way in which she had done it was quite a surprise indeed. She tested the shadow walls of her prison, pushing inward against them. "Hm....." She struck it several times with her fists, doing absolutely nothing to the shield and causing a bit of pain to her knuckles as they hit the heavy object. "This....Is quite unfortunate. " She activated the cursed mark given by Kiru, letting it's power course through her body. As she felt it's strength peak she pulled her fist back to strike the shield which shattered, sending kira spralling downward to hit the ground just to her left.

   "Cursed mark?" Kira asked, knowing there were only two situations where she herself could break the shield that easilly without leaving a large pool of water about the battle field or shadows floating about her body. Selene nodded, confirming the assumption.

   "Yea. Clear considering there was one strike and the pressure of a kick wouldn't have shattered the dome that high up. Good analysis though. A jutsu would have left water behind to make it clear or I would still have the tendrils about not to mention this was a blunt break not that of a sharp spear, the cracks were too large near the point of impact. The only option left would be the spectre mark. " They both nodded. Kira stood slowly, brushing herself off to stand in front of selene.

    "Precisely my thinking. Honestly I only took into consideration that there werent any sewing tendrils about though. I didn't have time to look at the break patern before I fell. I think that's enough for today Selene. I should go grab some lunch if that's ok. " Selene nodded and then was gone in a puff of smoke and kira left the training area with a smile.

(TWC 2021 requesting mastery of shadow shields (2k left) and 10 stats)

Approved for appropriate rewards