Coco Casually Cuts Cultivated Cuttings

Coco's yellow rain boots softly padded up the slopes of a steep hill in the Land of lightning. Her thin jacket, was unzipped and blew behind her like a cape. Even with only two and a half layers of Clothing on, she was still hot. It was horrible. She was practically half naked, and she was still too hot to manage. She was drinking twice as much water as she normally would, just to refresh herself. She was afraid that maybe she'd have to cut down to only two layers of clothing. Not an option she was fond of. That would make her feel way too exposed, too open.

Of course she probably wouldn't have been so hot if she hadn't been running up a steep hill. Working out in high altitudes was good for you though! There was less oxygen up here, so your body got used to doing the same amount of work with less air. So when Coco finally found herself in the low lands, then she'd have a buttload of Air to work with. At least that was the plan.

With a final huff she threw herself over the crest of the hill, and let herself roll in the soft grass for a second. Her lungs inflated, and deflated at a rapid rate. In a dizzy haze she stared up at the cotton clouds that hung lazily in the air above. She wondered if she'd ever grow tired of looking at a blue sky. She'd be monstrously disappointed in learning that the Sky in Kumo was not always as it was during sunset, as she first thought. Still blue was nice.
Oh yeah that was pretty good way to get the heart pump. Coco stabbed he sword into the ground, and whipped the sweat from her brow. Goodness , how hot was it in this country. She fanned herself down. She even *Gasp* shrugged off her jacket, and let it fall to the ground. She felt the cool breeze of the mountain air almost penetrate the last two layers of her outfit. It was almost nice. If she hadn't felt horribly exposed. Jeez. Heatstroke or nakedness? She looked down upon her jacket. Dangit! She picked it back up, and slid it around her body. Toasty.

Better be found dead by heat, and fully clothed. Than dead and wearing only two layers of clothing. That be so embarrassing.

She shook away the doubt. It was getting a little tiring. She grabbed her sword from the ground and turned her attentions to the tree. She didn't feel like it really went well with the landscape. A lonely tree atop the hill who wanted that sort of thing? Give Coco a whole forest or, nothing at all. Well horridly overgrown jungle, but same thing. But with more snakes, salamanders, poisonous insects. Dammit Coco hated the jungle. Listen the tree was dead, just deal with it.

Once more she lifted herself to her feet and inspected her surroundings. She stood atop the curve of a large hill that rose above the surroundings landscape. Well most of it. From the Gentle slope of the hills, she could look down into a nearby valley, and get a good view of it's natural splendor. Though Amegakure would always be her home, this place had a natural beauty she'd never seen in all the world.

She nodded and pulled her Katana from her Umbrella. The natural beauty of this land would inflame her heart! She would show this land the beauty of her blade work!!! Atop the hill sat a mighty tree, naturally. And as with all things the tree would make the perfect object to practice. IT was perfect. If she could kill a tree, then she could probably kill a person. That was just logical. Trees have bark, people don't even have bark! Dogs do though.

"This is my sword!" She announced to the Valley. Holding the blade infront of her and letting it's sharp edge shine in the light. "There are many like it, but this one is mine." She Slashed the Blade Mightily and began to practice her Credo. "My Sword is by Best Friend." She bisected the warm mountain air. "It is my life." Her sword whistled as it flies through the air. "I must Master it, as I must master my life." As one of the only Ninjas in her country she had to learn discipline at a young age. She did her best to maintain that control over herself and her life at all times. She never wanted another person to determine her destiny. Though lately it seemed that she was the only person she knew not in control of her life. But She was in Control of her sword, and her sword was her life.

"My Sword, without me, is Useless." Just a lifeless scrap of metal. "Without my Sword, I am Useless." Almost certainly true. Coco wasn't very good at any other form of combat. However she could run away with the best of them. However that didn't really give her a use. "I must strike my sword true." Coco was fast, and with the right technique she could even be strong. If she struck true, and could actually land a hit. She was sure she could kill anything. "I must strike truer than my enemy who is trying to kill me." Of all the Credo she knew this to be true. In the forest she'd only survived because she struck to kill. Her opponents, had other intentions. Even know she shivered in remembrance. She renewed the strength in her sword arm. "I must strike him before he strikes me. I Will..." She would, she was fast. Like a cobra, riding on a cheata. That's right she was like a cobra Cavalry.

"My Sword and I know that what counts in battle is not the number of times we strike, or the noise of cry, nor the smoke we make." All that right, flash was very important to Coco. Like really important. It was definatly to compisate for her lack of actual abilities, but that was besides the point. In the end what truly mattered was her skill with the sword. At least that's what the Credo Stated. "We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit..." She brought her sword up diagonally, and the wind flowed in the direction she wend through the strokes. She'd been slowly channeling her Chakra through the hilt. More and more with each stoke the wind began surging along with each flick of her blade. God she loved having a wind nature.

"My sword is human, even as I, because it is my life." Coco figured that when Full Metal Jacket said it, it meant more. Coco lived in a world where salamanders could talk. So saying that something was human wasn't that strange. However if she was going to steal something from a movie, she had to commit to it. But yes she had to care for equipment like she did herself. If she failed it in the down time, it would fail her in battle. "Thus, I will learn it as a sister." Or at least a very good friend. "I will learn it's weaknesses, it's strength, it's parts, it's accessories, it's handle, and it's blade." Coco could disassemble her sword blindfolded in seconds. "I will keep my blade clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready." Pffft. Coco was a neat freak as it was. She didn't really need much practice in that area. She watched as the blade gleamed in the sun. Glorious. "we will become part of each other." Especially true when she infused the blade with chakra, her chakra was it's chakra, they were one. Mostly. Coco thoroughly hoped that her blade wasn't going to get too close to her. Like in her body. That'd be pretty uncomfortable.

"Before God, I swear this creed. My sword and I are the defenders of my village. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life."

She grabbed her Umbrella and flicked her Katana into her sheath. Lately the bulky thing had been used more for shade than anything else. Still love the thing though. She faced that tree, and with the look to kill. "Heyah!" She yelled like an apache. She launched her blade from her sheath and sliced through the tree. 'Thunk'. Okay so she sliced into the tree. Wasn't that good enough for you people. Plus she did it really fast, like really fast. Stupid tree didn't even have enough time to defend against her. It's defenses were completely down! Ha what a sucker. Though her strike wasn't all the powerful. Looks like she'd have to strike the darn thing down a hundred times, before it would fall. No she was pretty sure that, that wasn't how the technique was suppose to work.

Ya that tree was suppose to be on the ground by now. Dang looks like this would a round two. She placed her blade back into her umbrella once more. After the blade was nessled comfortably inside her umbrella's sheath she could hear the cracking of wood. She craned her head over to the tree, the gash she'd placed in it earlier had grown larger. That's weird. Yet at the same time it was entirely thematic. She shrugged, and got back into position. Whatever that didn't make a lot of sense, but her best friend had a puppet who could fly, so who cares about logic? Coco spits in the face of logic! She fought a cat with a sword in it's mouth once.

Sword in hand Coco threw herself at the tree. She held her Umbrella tight against her side. She wanted that Tree dead. Her legs were a blur. This stationary target was so dead! Whipping her Sword out from her umbrella she attacked the tree. The razor sharp steel of her blade sliced into the soft bark. Honestly it wasn't fair. The organic matter of the tree wasn't even close to being sword proof. It sunk into the wood, she got halfway through before she started to feel herself slow down. Nonono! Coco was stong! Stronger than growing trees, or pouring rain! She controlled the blowing wind, and could make lightning strike! She could cut this darn tree in half if she had to. Again she channeled that chakra through her body, because that was kind of her thing! She could infuse the F out of chakra. With that bit of monologue inside of her heart. Her muscles bulged, and her blade began it's exit through the tree. Rather than blood, the exit would was really just a bunch of splintering wood, but it still felt good anyway. A tree who saw it would have been plenty scared. Scared Barkless even.

Still despite that awfully clean and deep cut the tree, stood. Mighty and oaken it was. But wait dear reader Coco wasn't done. With an good and hearty sheathing, she placed her sword back in it's home once more. And with that the Tree came crumbling down. Coco brushed a bead of sweat away from her forehead. "I'm so glad that actually worked. It would have been really embarrassing otherwise.

[TWC 1884 That'll be 9 stats, and the rest of Iai Beheading, if nobody minds]

Once more Coco returned to the wind swept hill top. The brilliant green grass waved lazily in the wind, giving her a warm greeting as she marched up the slope. High above the sky glew a soft blue, she still couldn't help but be dazzled by the color of the sky here. In the air whispy clouds floated quickly far above her reach. The sun beat down upon the hill, all too intently for Coco. She'd gotten better at handling the heat in Kumo, but she didn't see how these people did it. Oh wait, they didn't wear a shirt, plus sweater, plus jacket, plus scarf at all hours of the day. As Coco made her way up the hill side she could see the tree she'd chopped down earlier poking over the hill. She felt a twinge of guilt. Poor tree, wasn't hurting anyone. IT was just standing their providing shade, then Coco had to come around and chop it's barky butt down to the ground. Rather skillfully, she thought. Rather Skillfully. It couldn't have been helped! It couldn't' have! She need that tree to die to prove how powerful that move was! She couldn't' have just used it on the air, that wouldn't prove anything.
She cast a sad look down upon the tree. it's leafs were drying out, going from green to brown. She clicked her tounge, if it hadn't been the only tree on this hill it would have been easier. That darn piece of lumber just had to be so artfully placed.

She shrugged. "Oh well, no use crying over split wood." She sauntered off a few feet away from the downed tree. And pulled A shuriken out from the folds of her jacket. She felt the cold steel kiss her thumb and forefinger. She held it in a throwing position. "You are a Shuriken, not much on the eye, but stick with me, and Kid. We'll watch you fly!" She'd make that piece of metal fly like a bird, only there was one problem, birds flew in packs. This little guy was going to get lonely and lost if Coco didn't find him any friends. So that was the point of today's training. The Shuriken Shadown Clone Jutsu. A ninjutsu invented by the third Hokage. Hiruzen Sarubobi. Also know as The Professor, it was suppose to allow a ninja the ability the throw a single shuriken and create a hundred different clones of the object. Allowing the ninja to overwhelm their opponents, with out having to carry around the great that would normally be required to launch such an attack. It was a nifty little skill, and one Coco had been wanting to learn for ages. Now that Akira had throurghly taught her the finer poinst of Ninjutsu she felt like she could finally handle such an advanced technique.

She felt like she could. She'd been going at it for several days now. And the prospects weren't overly promising. It'd been three days and so far she'd gotten as far as creating two duplicates. Which was pretty cool on it's own, but for all the hand sings, and the chakra, she could have just thrown three shuriken! That was just economical!

She let loose her shuriken sending it shredding through the air. She formed the hand signs for the jutsu and let her Chakra explode from her body. Two shadowy figures appeared around the original, and followed it on it's path. Coco sighed, had it not been so cool, she would have been distraught about it. Luckily she'd recently been able to expand her pool of chakra, or else that would have been a pretty big waste. Coco liked it, having more chakra that is. Stamina was more like it. She could train longer, without all of the side effects. She remember just learning Chakra infusion she'd been completely whipped out by the end of it, and that was much simpler than what she was attempting to do. Life was good. Or it would have been if a thousand shurikens appeared in the sky when she wanted them too. She'd seemed to have hit a dead end. If two clones was going to be the limit of her abilities it wasn't going to take her very far in the world now was it?

She sat herself down on the grass and thought about what to do. She looked lazily over at the Shuriken she'd thrown. Worse part about cutting down the tree was that she no longer had a target. Her shuriken would just go flying off the hill and into the nearby valley. That was pretty good training on it's own, but boy did it get annoying after the third time. It got to the point where she'd just have a shadow clone go do it for her. Honestly Shadow clones were these most use ful thing ever, she was surprised more people didn't join on in, in the fun.

Oh wait a minute! The Janitor in Coco's mind was installing a light. Ding! There it went. Coco's eyes suddenly shimmered as an Idea flew through her grey matter. She drew a scroll out from her pack, and prepared a pen for when the time was needed. She then performed the signs for a regular Shadow clones, and with a puff of smoke the two Clones appeared. Before the smoke could even vanish she grabbed her scroll, and jotted down two different worlds, and tore them into two different pieces of papers. The clones didn't question what was going on, because well... they already knew. They just didn't know what worlds they were going to get.

Coco handed the piece of paper that read "Bubble." To the one on her right, and the one that read "Bird." to the one on her left. She watched as her clones read over the words they were giving, and contemplated it. They sat there in silence for ten minutes, just letting their thoughts wander before the OG Coco finally spoke up. "So what do you think we're doing wrong?" The plan had been that She'd give her clones two different words on the moment of their creation, and have them read it. Then the clones would have time to let their minds wander. Of course their wandering minds would be based off the words that they read. Hopefully placing both of them in a different enough mindset from Coco that they had at least a slightly different approach to the situation in mind.

"I just think it's weird that we can only do two clones of the Shuriken, just like we can only make two clones." Announced 'Bird' not long after the question was presented.

Coco nodded. "That's interesting. Think it might be a chakra thing?"

'Bird shook her head. "No I think we're fine on chakra, we're just having a hard time visualizing the one Shuriken become a hundred. I think it's a focus thing. You can imagine it splitting into three Shuriken, but a hundred is just to much to handle, especially when you're trying to manipulate chakra into a hundred different vessels."

"So we're doomed?" Coco asked. Though she knew it wasn't true, after all this clone was only her, she still had to voice the concern.

"Not at all." Bird Answered. "We just have to find a way to visualize, and form the chakra is all."

Coco nodded. "I like your answers. You honor all of us, Cocos in the world." She turned to her second clone 'Bubble.' "What about you?"

Bubble just shrugged. "I was thinking about Akira." She admitted truthfully to her fellow Cocos.

"Hey!" Coco announced to herself. "I gave you bubble, not bimbo. You're suppose to help out with the Jutsu not think about Akira! No matter how handsome, or strong, or talented he is!" She paused and all three Coco's let out a sigh. He sure was dreamy that was for sure.

Even so Bubble shook her head. "No that's not what I was talking about. Akira and his whole Idea that A jutsu is like a Painting. Maybe you could try Visualizing it like you did the Chidori. It seemed to help then, why not this time around too?"

"Oh my god I'm a genius." Coco announced with a Satisfied smile. "Good work you two. Feel free to dig into my back pack there is some lunch in there, you guys deserve it!"

With that Coco closed her eyes, and visualized a large golden frame. Like what you'd see in a mansion or a museum, much larger than anything a regular person would keep around. This was going to be a big one.
Next she imagined the other party goers, the actual clones of PrimeL The original Shuriken. She saw upon the staircase twenty of his friends, all liked up on the steps like they were going to take a picture. It was all boys on the left and girls on the right. They were positioned one person every three steps. On the top was Johnna and Vivi. A hopelessly in love couple. They wore a matching Tan Suit, and dress. Vivi's dress had plenty ruffles on the skirt, and her hair was tied back with a tan ribbon. From across the staircase They looked at each other with loving, longing looks. Johnna's slightly shadowed jaw slipped into a smile as he looked at his lover. Coco imagined the two of them as Shuriekn. They'd always be close by each other, she assumed. Yeah when she performed the Jutsu these two would be closer than any of the other Shuriken, striking the same target, almost acting as a single Shuriken, rather than two. She smiled just at the thought of it, okay that was pretty cute. Next on the staircase was Kasra, and Doro. Doro was a slight looking young man, though in his dark blue silk suit he didn't look too scrawny. His long limbs worked with his work. Her nervously played with this tie, and glasses as he waited on the staircase. Across from his sister Kasra gave him a look of pity. She was equally thin, just hot as tall as her brother giving her less of a jack Skelington look. Her simple blue dress clung happily to her slight frame, and her hair was done up with a peacock feather. She'd invited her brother to the party to get him out into the world and meet new people, but he was just so shy that he couldn't bring himself to have much fun. So she'd be constantly chasing after Doro trying to drag him into conversations and dances, both of which he was reluctant to engage in. As Shuriken these siblings would constantly be traveling together. Doro would always veer to the left, and Kasra wouldn't be far behind trying to drag him back to the center of the Shuriken cluster. Down below them was a slightly older couple, mid thirties. Tasha and Trace, were both dressed up in simple black outfits, a tux for Trace and a evening dress of Tasha. The two stand confidently near the top of the staircase. Their bodies turned slightly towards each other. Each of them has a hand upon the smoothly shaven hand rail. Tasha cracks an electric smile full of straight teeth, and Trace has this charming little smirk upon his own face. The two of them are the sturdy rock of a relationship that all the other shuriken look up to for support, and a grounding center. Sure they aren't as obnoxiously in love as Johnna and Vivi, or maybe they are and just don't show it. They've been dating for years, and have been good and well in love for every second of it. They fight, and whine, and kiss, and make up. Whenever there was a double date to be had, they were always the first people you asked. They were great at parties, and fun to be around. Oh yes Coco recognized these two shuriken. They were the two she'd been summoning all this time. She knew it had to be true. They were after all the heart of their group of friends. Below them was Alex and Alex. Well Alexander and Alexandria. Those names alone are quite the conversation starters don't you think? They're both dressed like neither of them had actually been planning on joining in on a party tonight. Alex just wore a baby blue button up shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, and some flip flops. His hair was a spiky straw yellow mess, and he still had his sun glasses resting on top of the mess. Alex on the other hand was just wearing a pink blouse and some black leggings. Hardly had any make up on, and her hair was done up in a messy bun. To be honest no one at the party actually knew them, everyone was just to wrapped up in the big party to ask them who they were. As they both stood on the staircase they shifted nervously, what would happen if people knew that they didn't belong there?  Honestly they just wanted to see how far into the mansion they could make it before someone kicked them now, here they were getting a picture taken on the staircase! They really hoped they'd be giving out wallet sized versions of this picture, because they needed to make this triumph of party crashing immortal. As Shuriken the two of them would come from completely out of the blue to strike at their enemy. After all what was the point of crashing a party if you weren't going to make an impression while doing it? Finally the last couple upon the staircase was Vance, and Celia. Vance was a tall white haired man, though his skin was still young and flawless. Her stood proudly, as well as confidently upon the second to lass row of stairs. His horribly tacky blood red suit would stand out like a sore thumb if his vibrant hair didn't already do that for him. What was it made out of? Crushed velvet? Oh Coco, what are you doing? Celia was less of a disaster. She like Vance also wore a blood red dress, though it looked more like an upside down rose, not velvet thankfully. Some kind of satin. While her night black hair was done up with a pair of metal chopsticks. She wore a lot of blush as well as crimson red lips. Let's just pull this band aid off really quickly. The two of them were vampires! Yes Scary I know, but don't make a big fuss out of it, they're people too, no matter how much they try to eat other people. Which was kind of funny because that was the exact reason they'd come to this party. They were getting pretty hungry and had to go for a late night snack. Now these two were vampires of taste and style. At least one of them was, the other wore crushed velvet suits. That's why they were here tonight, to feast on some stylish young people! Alex and Alex where already off the chopping block. As Shuriken these stylish immortal would fly in the shadows of another Shuriken. hiding in it's wake before it was time to strike with laser like precision.
Coco nodded to herself, and broke her concentration. Well she sure hoped this worked, because if not she just spent a whole lot of time coming up with outfits and back stories for a group of people who really didn't matter. And that would have been tragic. Personally she was falling in love with Alex And Alex's care free, easy going attitude, it was charming really. She let her Shuriken fly from her hands and performed the nessesarry hand signs, before sending her chakra in after Prime: The Original Shuriken. Just as planned a myriad of pointy stars appeared in ten small puffs of smoke! And then Boom! They all went flying in perfect synchronicity! Oh yeah now mama was cooking with fire. She'd hate to be on the receiving end of that baby! It was just like a normal barrage of shuriken, but it only took one little guy to start it. Plus the fact that every star was launched at the same time made that little cloud of metal almost impossible to just knock away with a kunai. Even the fact that it was a cloud increased the difficulty of just dodging the move. Plus with Coco's throwing arm those bad boys had some heat behind them! More more she made a few hand signs and let her chakra flow. A strong gust of wind blasted out from her, and collided with the traveling Shuriken. The lurched slightly as the undercurrent pick them up, the quickly picked up their pace. Ah man! They were actual physical copies. She'd actually done it! And combined with her gale palm these things could fly like the wind and punch through ply wood if they needed too, Coco was having a pretty happy day how. Then of course as all god things must, this too ended as they cloud of metal strays flew over the crest of the hill and down into the valley below.

She sighed and looked to her two clones who where busy eating her lunch. She let out a guilty giggle. "Hey do one of you guys mind getting that back for me?"

The two of them just gave her a look, as their full mouths chewed away at Coco's sandwich. "Um no? We're already working."

Coco glared. "That's not work! That's a break! At work they give you a break from work so people can do what you're doing right now!" She couldn't believe that she was arguing with herself on this!

They just sighed that ever present Coco sigh. "We're not working, working. We're thinking up the rest of the party personalities for you." "Yeah." The other clone added on. Once you poof us away you'll have all the knowledge that we gained on out picinic here. That way you don't have to make the ball of a hundred dancers like you were going to."

"Oh." Coco announced surprised. Her clones were pretty cool. Well how could they not be, just look a who they were based off of, I mean come on! Coco was all that and a bag of chips.

"Yeah so why don't you go fetch that Shuriken and let us get back to work." Nevermind, Coco found herself as obnoxious as she found everyone else. With a reluctant Groan she went ahead and chases after her fleeing Shuriken. She leapt over the downed tree, and looked down into the slight valley on the other side. It was mostly just rolling green hills and a two poor trees growing diagonally upon the hill side. She ran ackwardly down the slanted hill and saw that the kill side was riddle with Shuriken. Now she just had to decide which on was hers...

Luckily not too hard, in a poof of smoke the other shuriken vanish, leaving a single blade embedded into the hillside. Coco tried to determine how long the shuriken had stayed materialized, but it was hard to say. Three posts? give or take. She snatched the shuriken up from the ground and headed back towards her hill. Her boots slipped a little upon the dewy morning wetness of the grassy hill, but other than that not much harm done. Her two clones were still making quick work of her Luch. Finishing off the last chip just as she came over the crest of the hill. "Alright you two." Coco announced holding her Shuriken over her head. "Let's do it once more, this time with feeling." Her two clones vanished in a poof of smoke, and Coco's mind was flooded in with their memories. Looks like they'd managed to ad forty additional characters to her picture each, oh so tantalizingly close to reaching that goal of 100.

She strolled back into her original position. This was the one she could feel it. She held Prime rightly into her hand. This time she had it! She chunked her Shuriken with all the skill that a Kunochi could muster, sending it's sharp black from soaring through the air at a deadly speed. She performed the needed hand sings and shot her chakra into the Shuriken. The shadow images of ninety other shuriken phased into reality as Coco's mind sharpened in on their flight. They appeared around the original like little flickering faries, before they final became full bodied clones of the ordinal star. Coco sent her chakra forward one more time and summoned up the last remaining Shuriken. Herald the cloud spun wildly on his side as he entered the Cluster. The lion and Lancelot both appeared at the front of the metal cloud, brace and courageous souls the two of them. The twins both appeared near the end of he pack each orbiting around the other as they traveled. Precilla took the far right while her Arch Rival Gwyn too the far left, each of them rush to be the first to his the target. Helsing the vampire hunter trailed not far behind Vance and his date, making sure they didn't get in the way of any other Shuriken. And of course at the heart of the cloud was Coco, and Akira. The two most Charming Shuriken out of the entire bunch, if you asked Coco.

Coco's eyes glinted with pride as the full 100 shuriken clones swept over the hill town, and down into the valley. He glowed with pride as the swarm of deadly metal vanished below. She'd done it! An A rank jutsu under her sleeve and she didn't even need a Teacher for it! It'd taken a few days, it'd taken some grit, and it'd taken a whole lotta chakra, but by gum she'd done. it!

[TWC 3666]
+18 stats
+2861 to Shuriken Shadow Clone
+805 to A Jutsu