Morning at the Dojo (io,nk)

[with thy permission, I’m going to use my current updated stats <3]

The words that left the wild haired woman’s lips seemed more like a challenge than a statement. Something that Queen may very well even put to the test someday when she could surely match up to the anbu at full strength. For now, she supposed she was right but the blonde fighter would never care to admit it up front. She was too prideful to, and being known as Queen meant that she had quite the reputation to upkeep. Rei followed the woman’s thumb towards the pup who seemed to be watching the fight from near the bleachers, his engagement could be described as two housewives watching a baseball match. The sudden urge to pet the dog hit Queen even hard this time, her fingers twitching to the thought of his fur soft fur against her soft skin was almost sensational. At this point, she just wanted to huge the canine but she continued to fight the urge. The dog’s bark snapped her back into reality where her gaze now fell back on the woman

“Maybe, maybe not. Though, that’s a challenge for another day.” Rei finally responded, not giving a definitive answer. One of these days, she would have to bring the anbu down. It was an inevitable even that was sure to come, but today was surely not the day. For now, she would continue to test herself against one of Konoha’s best.

"Now, I believe it is your turn,"In all fairness, it would be. The anbu had made the first move earlier, so now it was Queen’s turn to take initiative. The woman brought her stance back up, shooting the blonde a quick nod signalling that she was ready. The blonde strengthened her stance and observed her opponent momentarily before proceeding with any further movements. Her guard was fully up with both fists in front of her face. Finally, Queen took one simple step forward, initially leading with her right foot as she began to close the distance. After taking two carefully placed initial steps, the girl would begin to escalate her speed a bit and build her momentum so that once she was close enough, she would use it to rotate her body and wind her leg back to perform a 540 roundhouse kick towards the woman’s upper body; moving at a speed of 82 and strength of 50. She wasn’t sure or whether or not it would land, probably not, but it would surely build up to her next attack.

[That's chill as long I can as well.]

Ashi rose a single eyebrow at the girl's remark. Perhaps it was not spunk that the girl had, perhaps it was arrogance? The Inuzuka could not be sure either way. If the anbu were not so comfortable in her position she may have taken such a remark as an affront or slight. However, as she was, she did not really care. To her it was naught but friendly banter. Harmless, only this and nothing more. Why would the blonde in front of her ever want to kill her, after all?

Either way, the woman did not have much time to ponder imagined slights or cloaked threats. There was still a fight to be had and the Inuzuka owed the blonde a trip to the mats. It was only fair; an eye for an eye, tit for tat. Judging by her fast approaching opponent, Ashi felt she would get the chance she wanted soon. Well, or she would be lying on the mats herself again. Suffice to say that such an event would be quite embarrassing.

Luckily, it appeared that experience was on Ashi's side for once. The blonde's movements were quick, but it helped that the attack she moved to execute took a wind up. That wind up gave the anbu a moment to consider her course of action. Of course, such a moment was there one second and gone the next as the blonde's right leg came whipped around right for Ashi's chest. Once again, Ashi's stance gave her an advantage despite her lesser speed. With a quick shift of her hands, the woman was ready. The left hand was, hopefully, the first to be hit on the lower palm by Queeny's upper right shin. However, as the leg would naturally keep moving and start to slip down, the Inuzuka's right hand came from below to grab. Looking much like she was going to perform a Hadouken closer to her chest, Ashi's fingers would close around the girl's leg, trapping it. If all went as planned, then the blonde's shin would be firmly held by Ashi's almost unbreakable grasp.

The Inzuka's far superior strength allowed such an audacious defense. Certainly, Queen's attack would have floored a less sturdy opponent were they attempt what Ashi did, but Ashi was not a less sturdy opponent despite her looks. Furthermore, if the woman did indeed successfully trap the blonde, then she would not stand idle. In fact, the moment her grasp closed she would attempt to twist the girl's leg to the left [Ashi's left] with considerable force, 80. While twisting Ashi would also attempt to bring her hands across her body to the right hopefully bringing her opponent with her and into a fall. Certainly the blonde could try to resist, but she ran the risk of hurting herself as Ashi exercised her superior strength; sometimes it was better to roll with the punches. If all went as planned then Ashi would have taken an off balance blonde and painfully twisted her from midair directly to the ground, gravity was a pain.

If the girl truly fell, then Ashi would relent in her attack instead of moving to pin her. Her change of heart was brought on by the presence of another person in the dojo, no doubt the owner. He would be watching whatever transpired before him with interest and interest was not something Ashi wanted. Exposure was not something she craved. She did not want to be known as a fighter; no fame nor spotlight were required. She preferred the shadows.

[Dreadfully sorry for the wait.]

[I just had a rough time picturing this still so I just went with the flow xD btw, you can just refuse my offer for another round x.x It just felt like something queen would so. Just don’t exit yet because I must huge the dog >:0]

Queen’s kick had come fast, but apparently not fast enough. The wild haired woman had a speedy defense, and caught her attacking foot in it’s tracks just as it had prepared to hit her body. Queen could feel as a second hand grabbed hold of the blonde fighter’s attacking leg. This had been the girl’s mistake. She had quickly forgotten that she was up against an experienced fighter, one of Konoha’s best on top of that; and not just the average joe that she typically fights within the ropes of the boxing ring. Had she been so quick to forget the unbreakable hold that the anbu had her in just moments ago? So it would seem. Sometimes, Queen was just too cocky for her own good.

Now caught in this hold, the much more experienced fighter began to twist the girl’s leg towards her left. Due to her current position being mid air and the anbu’s brute strength, Queen was smart enough to know that the odds were not in her favour. The girl followed in with the movements without any other choice, a sharp pain shooting through her leg as well ash her back as she the force brought down unto the mat.

While she had been brought down, Queen had dispelled her bloodline, but had brought it up once again as the dog lover now had her pinned down to the floor. While she had favoured her speed before, the girl focused her clan’s powers towards her strength (bringing it up to 75). With this newfound power, the girl didn’t necessarily have enough to break free, but just enough to resist the crushing force of the anbu. Though, to her surprise, this isn’t what happened next. Rather than pinning her to the ground, the anbu simply backed off. It was quite shocking to say the least since just moment before, she was talking about not going for the ending blow.

Without getting up, Queen’s gaze fell towards the entrance of the dojo where she had picked up another person coming in. Surely it was Shimagi-Senpai, the man who had initially taught the blonde how to fight. “You didn’t go for the throat” Queen teased the anbu as she got back up, dusting herself off in the process. She had tossed the dog lover’s words right back at her, but mainly in a joking manner. “Have stage fright?” She followed it up once she was complete up right. “Hello Shimagi-Senapai.” The girl called out to the older male, who approached the ring. “Why hello there Queen, new sparring partner I see?” He voice was raspy and slow, but still full of life. “Mhm. Better than the last.” She shot a look at the anbu. Her face showed no signs of emotion, but to those who looked closely, could spot a look of appreciation; something that was quite rare coming from the blonde. “Well carry on you two, I don’t want to halter your training.” The man walked off towards the back of the dojo without saying another word. Not missing a beat, Queen faced the skilled anbu once more. “I believe it’s safe to say we’re tied. Care for another round?” The girl put her guard back up, ready to go at it once more. Usually, her opponents were quite easy. This was the first real challenge she had in a while and she was truly enjoying herself. “I didn’t catch your name by the way?” Was the last thing she said before she expected to exchange blows with the anbu one more time.

Ashi's strength prevailed in the end. The blonde's attack had been reckless to say the least. Offering one's leg to a stronger opponent was a good way to get put down and fast. Certainly in an arena of regular humans the blonde's attack would have been perfect and probably knocked Ashi for a loop. However, normal could not truly describe shinobi in combat. It took tact and deception to win fights as a shinobi. Rarely was brute force enough. In fact, more often than not it was a good way to get killed.

"I'm not much of an exhibitionist and three's a crowd," Ashi shot back at the blonde's taunt before falling silent to listen to the exchange between her the man who could only be the owner of the dojo. The woman much preferred fighting in the shadows to fighting in the spotlight. Such was her nature. Perhaps in her younger days she would have shone all the brighter in the spotlight, but those days were gone. Those days were before fighting was for sport and not for her life.

While the old man and younger girl conversed, Ashi sauntered back to the edge of the ring closest to Chai. Once there, she leaned up against the ropes and waited silently. As the man walked off Ashi took note of the sound, well rather the lack of sound, as the rain had relented at last. Unfortunately, the fatigue of night before was catching up with her the longer she stood still. Sure, she was an anbu, but she was also human.

"Sorry, but I really should take advantage of this break in the weather," Ashi explained, still leaning against the ropes and waving at the ceiling and sky above. "Oh, and my name is Ashi. It's been a pleasure Queeny."

A slight pause before Ashi's curiosity got the better of her.

"What genin squad are you on?"

No, it never occurred to Ashi that the blonde was not even a genin yet. Surely she had to be at least a genin, right? The woman had not ever seen her at the academy, but that was not saying too much as Ashi was only around periodically as a result of her day job. Simply put the blonde was interesting and quite skilled, Ashi could respect that. More than respect it she wanted to watch her career closely and knowing her genin team number would go a long way to that end.

‘Fair enough’ The girl thought to herself. “I see.” the girl responded. The sound of rain poring against the building rooftop did seem to have stopped, which possibly meant it was sunny once again in the village of Konoha. While it may have been nice out, the blonde fighter still had much training to do. Besides, she personally favoured the rain. Something about the gloomy ambience soothed her. Or maybe it was just how the weather was a representation of her life. Dark clouds with tears of pain dripping from them. Very sad indeed.

“It’s just Queen.” The girl replied. She didn’t understand why people kept having the tendency to call her Queeny. “And likewise.” The following question took the girl by surprise a bit. A slight look of disappointment on her face before she finally replied. “I’m not in one. The academy banned me from partaking in the examination process due to my inability for form chakra.” She replied, her disappointment turning into slight rage. They wouldn’t let her partake in the exams, but she could probably beat every single Genin of the recent graduating class, hell she can probably defeat every Genin of Konoha. Yet, they refused to let her become a ninja for her “own safety”. pfft, bullshit.

“Say Ashi?” The girl sounded uncertain as she tried to muster up the odd courage to ask the girl a question. Queen’s eyes fell upon the dog who still lay near the bleachers of the dojo, resting more than guarding over the anbu’s things. Her fingers twitched as the girl bit her lip. She could almost feel the cuttable fur of the creature as she would embrace it in a bear hug. “Umm. Could I maybe… pet your dog?” She finally asked. It was odd, very odd for the girl to show such uncertainty, but for some reason she feared rejection of her request. She wasn’t sure was it was about the humble beast, but she would not relent until she saw her request fulfilled .

"Whatever you say Queeny," Ashi said with a mischievous smile. Sure, she was not too certain as to the veracity of Queen as an actual name, but it was nothing a look in the village files wouldn't fix.

What came next was quite the shock to the Inuzuka though, the blonde did not have a genin squad. No, worse yet she had been barred from the academy. The village was odd in this respect. Often they were finicky about details. Sometimes certain people needed...motivation.

"No, that simply won't do."

A pause as Ashi inclined her head slightly in thought.

"I know a few people in the academy system. You have talent that shouldn't be put to waste. A career in the service of Konoha would do you good, develop discipline. I'll have a talk with my friends and arrange an exam. Talent shouldn't be wasted..."

Ashi's last few words were not so much to Queen but just a statement of her own beliefs. Then came the final request. It was a request that Ashi often got from her students at the academy. Well, the polite ones anyway. More often than not the unruly tikes just grabbed onto poor Chai.

"That's not really my call," Ashi laughed airily. Calming down she called over the large hound. "Chai, what do you think?"

At first Chai seemed to flatten himself further as if to say he was happy right where he was. However, after a moment he made a movement that looked almost like a shrug and stood up. It took a few long strides for the hound to reach the side of ring. Once Chai arrived, Ashi stooped down and lifted up the lower rope allowing Chai to enter the ring.

Time for me to tap out, Chai. You're up...

As the large canine entered the ring, Ashi slipped out through the ropes and back to where Chai once sat. On one hand, Ashi would start to replace the armor she once wore while, on the other, Chai sat patiently on his haunches a meter away from the self proclaimed taijutsu queen. As she re-armed herself Ashi watched the two, dog and girl. It was an odd, normally Chai was a bit stingy when it came to those who pet him. The woman couldn't shake an odd feeling in the back of her mind. It was a feeling without form, more like a cloud. She couldn't place her finger on what it was really.

The anbu calling her Queeny once more slightly irritated the girl, but she proceeded to just shake it off. Sure, many mocked her now but one day she would show everyone that she was worthy of the name. Ashi’s next few words brought the girl to forget the moment before. Although the dog lover apparently seemed to think that she knew the girl and thinking she needed some sort of discipline, she was ultimately doing the girl a favour. A chance to prove herself as a fighter, and to rise up within the village ranks with nothing but taijutsu under her belt. While Queen despised ninja, she saw it as a beacon of hope, an opportunity that would allow her to grow and prosper, and lead her to continue on her goal to become the world’s best at taijutsu.

“Thank you.” Those were the only words the left the girl’s lips. It was a blessing that the anbu was doing her this kindness, even though some of her reasoning were unwarranted [discipline? pfftt Queen doesn’t need no disciplining]…. well maybe she did, but there was a good chance it wouldn’t work on the stubborn girl. Hell, her father had tried for 13 years with little success. Of course, the blonde fighter wasn’t a big fan of following another’s orders. She was more of a take charge kind of gal.

Rei’s heart skipped a beat as Ashi called out to the dog. Her lilac eyes observed the beast as he continued to just give more comfortable upon the spot that he was on. A sudden sadness overcame the girl before the pup stood up and make his way towards the ring. Queen’s eyebrows rose in sudden delight as he came in while the anbu stepped out, as if switching places in a tag team match. The pup known as Chai stood just a meter away, making queen think her every move. He looked so cuddly, so huggable. The girl took a few steps towards the dog until she was right in front of him. She would crouch down slightly and bring a slow but steady hand down onto the dog’s head. A jolt of joy filled her as her hand felt the fur in-between her fingers. She would continue to pet the dog for a few seconds before she took a leap of faith, causing her to kneel down and hug the big furry animal on. If she were allowed during this moment of time, she would be in a moment of bliss and pure joy; a big old smile would even shine on her face which was quire rare for the blonde girl. After a few seconds, she would let go of the animal, her facial expression returning to it’s usual stoic nature.

“Thank you Chai.” She would thank the beast, before glancing at the clock on the westward wall. Ten o’clock already. Hmm, time sure seemed to have past. “Looks like I should get going too.” Queen sighed. She hated attending to her family’s company business, but it was just something she was just forced to do. “Guess I’ll see you around Ash.” The anbu wasn’t going to be the only one making nicknames. “and thanks again, I appreciate the favour.” Queen would continue to step out of the ring and walk towards her training bag. She slipped on her boots and put the bag over her shoulder before she waved a farewell once more and headed off into the now sunny village. Looked like the storm had finally relented, and a rainbow could be seen right over the Hokage mountain. Even though she was off to perform some unwanted duties, it seemed as if it were going to be a pretty good day.

[exit]
twc: 6604

Claiming 33 stats, 2406 words towards intersection method (finishing it) 623 towards tai block (finishing it) 809 towards heavenly breathing method. 2766 towards Breathing method (A rank)

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Ashi did not need to look down at her body to strap on her armor; it was her second skin. She could put it on and take it off in perfect darkness, muscle memory was a hell of a thing. So, instead of paying attention to what her hands were doing, the woman kept an eye on Chai. The lovable hound was pretty laid back. However, he did have one quirk, he hated when other pulled on his ears. At best he tolerated Ashi tugging on his ears, but anyone else? Such an action was out of the question. Hopefully she would not have to warn Queen.

Chai's response to being pet on the head was as you might expect. His ears pushed back, not in an aggressive way, but in such a way as to invite the blonde's hand. Ashi could not help flinching at what happened next, but Chai handled it well. Her companion was much better at dealing with emotional situations than Ashi was really. Perhaps that was why the pair worked so well in the field? They balanced each other. Of course, some might say a dog cannot have a personality, Ashi would say different. In fact, she found that Chai was more agreeable than much of the human race she had encountered.

Unconsciously clipping on her arm-guards, the woman's thoughts drifted back to her academy days. Had she learned discipline there? Sort of. When she was actually student she was far from a model student. Always fighting and scraping by on exams. Somehow she passed, but her true discipline came from teaching. Teaching forced her to understand that to instill any semblance of respect in her peers she required discipline and an aire of professionalism. And here she was working as one Konoha's elite.

Wrapping the black cloak of her trade around her form, Ashi waited for Chai. Once the dog was released from Queen's embrace he made his way back to his friend's side. In response to Queen's farewell and repeated thanks Ashi gave a halfhearted salute. She didn't mind another name, she already had so many. Wolf, Ashi, Miss Ashi, Miss Inuzuka, Dog-Lady and the list went on and on. What was one more?

As the girl left Ashi glanced down at Chai. No words were exchanged nor any sounds for that matter. However, they both knew what the other was thinking: rest. They needed some rest. And rest they would. The pair set out into the noticeably drier streets. Here and there the populace of Konoha was coming out of hiding; the streets were starting to become busy again, but Ashi would be in bed before everyone was truly awake.

[Exit and topic closed. 6457, +32ap and 5000/5000 words for training S-rank Taijutsu Style: Block]

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