Training while its Raining {p/nk/io}

Altar awoke with a start. A gentle tapping at his window. Surprisingly steady, unalike the monsoon like storms they had received every other day in Tengakure, but much heavier than a simple misting. Strange...he had never seen rain in this tropical paradise. Would it feel the same as the rain back home? Would it rejuvenate him like the rain in Tengakure could? Well, there was only one way to find out.

Altar would throw on some simple clothes, a mesh undershirt and snug black pants, and toss his duster on over his clothes. Black boots to complete the look. Before leaving his house, would make sure to sling his katana over his shoulder. It was scratched and dinged to all hell, but it had survived multiple battles with weapons much better than itself. Much alike Altar.

As Altar left, his first observation was the scent. He had loved the smell of Tengakure rain. But here, it smelled...different. Like the sunshine that had once reigned these islands now found itself trapped in the waters. Other than that, it was similar. It was still rain, after all.

Altar normally took back roads and alleys, but decided against that on this night. Those paths were closed and tiny. He wanted a wide open area. So, he took the main road right from his house, the construct towering well above the clouds themselves. It was his slice of home, after all. Walking along the road, Altar would do his best to avoid puddles. He didn't mind getting rained on, but for some reason he always had an aversion to puddles.

...and maybe that was why. His eyes snapping to his right, Altar would stop his movement and tense his body. There was a faint chakra signature coming from one of the puddles in the dead center of the roadway. It could've been left by someone, but it seemed much too...constant. It wasn't leaving. Altar knew of the Hozuki clan, and bloodline. However, he knew of no Hozuki that called Kirigakure home.

Mocing his body to face the puddle, Altar would nonchalantly place his right hand on his left shoulder, tensing the arm in case quick movement was suddenly necessary. He would cock his head to the right, his left arm hanging limp at his side.

"Y'know, you blend in pretty well. I could've just stepped right on you. So if you'd kindly, i'd rather not address a puddle in the street and look like a madman. Reveal yourself?" Altar would say, motioning to the puddle with his left arm.

Altar would raise an eyebrow as the puddle in the street slowly rose to form a human being. So he was correct, it was a Hozuki. Strange, though. No one he recognized. And he thought he knew most people in the village. That was his job after all, protect and serve and all that jazz.

The boy addressed himself as Miz Hozuki. A name he had thought he heard tumbled around before idly, but nothing of great interest. So he was either a low ranking village nin, or a low ranking Missing Ninja. He had a small enough chakra signature.

"My name is Altar Shinkou. A jounin of Kirigakure. I've never heard your name before. Are you of the mist?" Altar would say, looking to the boy's face for a reaction. If the words and facial reaction didn't match, he knew what had to be done.

Rakka was walking through the street, minding her own business, turning the corner and noticing Altar Shinkou talking to a puddle. Without breaking her stride, she turned on her heels and went the other way, wanting nothing to do with that freak.

(Exit)

Miz listened to his question as he looked the  fellow villager over. A jounin? Rather impressive, Miz thought as he brushed his wet dreadlocks behind his ear. Luckily he had silenced his voices which were just dying to make remarks he could feel them trying to speak! Wait a minute, the kage had suggested making friends and getting to know people, or this is what MIz took from the words that he had said to him.
“Yes, I am from the mist. My family has been villagers here, -er well as long as we have been here. We came from Tenga when everyone else traveled here. If I may ask, since you are a Jounin, would you care to train with me? I need to learn  and train to become a Genin.” He said to the Jounin he stood before him. This was not easy for Miz to say considering he was not fond of being around people, but he knew if he intended to do anything with himself, it was time for him to come out of his shell. This was NOT going to be easy. This would mean learning to speak to other people and to tolerate people. The first step is always the hardest.   


 (Ha, Rakka, that was funny!)   

Altar's face would relax as the boy explained that he was from the mist. He had previously been a part of Tengakure. Strange, certainly not a face he recognized. The boy seemed impressed that Altar was a jounin as he had claimed. He asked to train with him, as he was just an academy student.

At hearing this, Altar's face would twist, a sort of menacing yet happy grin appearing on Altar's face. Oh, this was going to be fun. Altar's hand would retract itself from his shoulder, coming to rest in front of him, poised for a fight.

"Alright, i'll train with you. But don't expect me to go easy on you." Altar would say, joy practically flashing from his deep crimson eyes. Perhaps he had been around Xyxer too much lately...

Altar would smile as the boy stood in the center of the street, seeming to contemplate himself. Perhaps he heard voices in his head, akin to the ones in Altar's own mind. Of course, he doubted they could toy with him as much. There was a difference between a man's demons, and actual seperate entities. And no entity nor non-corporeal voice could be as evil and as cruel, as sadistic and twisted as Kalamity. He had only met one being in his life that had rivaled Kalamity. The man known as Xyxer Gyojin. Those two would get along splendidly.

Seemingly snapped out of his thought, the boy rushed Altar, aiming for a simple punch to the stomach. The boy was, as expected, slow. He was a Academy Student, where Altar was a Jounin. The power difference was immense. Altar wouldn't rely on his own ability, but he wouldn't make this fair, either. The best way to build endurance? Run uphill, not on flat ground. The best way to get better at fighting? Fight an uphill battle, not one on even ground. He wouldn't beat the boy to the ground, but he would most definitely make strategy a necessity.

As the boy ran at Altar, Altar would use the boy's extended arm and momentum against him. Hooking his own right arm into the boy's extended left, Altar would wrench his arm forward and up, front-flipping Miz into the air. As he couldn't control himself from this point, Altar would spin leftwards and use his heel to kick Miz in the stomach in mid-air, and send the boy crashing into the wall of the building just behind Altar. The boy would obviously hit hard and it would leave bruises, but Altar had held back most of his strength. Thy boy would suffer no burdenous injury. From here, Altar would dash backwards, simply disappearing and reappearing to Miz's eyes. He would stop about 5 meters from the boy, who would just be rising at this point. His face stoic, Altar would raise his voice against the weather to give advice to Miz.

"We're far from even, Hozuki. I'm much faster and stronger than you. So you can't rely on a straight charge. There's plenty of cover, there's plenty of alleys that all hook around in intricate systems. Use your mind. You can't win by brute force, so utilize strategy. Because I can tell you, going head to head with me won't work."