Catching Up (Hikari)

Salzem prepared himself for whatever Hikari had planned, distinctly aware of the new limitations on his speed. It was funny really. He had access to speed beyond himself for so long, it made him forget the actual, natural limitations he was subject to without his earring. He was going to need more training without it, get back to the roots and all. The older hyuuga took a leap backwards, now putting a good 6 feet between them. Not too great a distance really, but he supposed that whatever she had planned didn't require a lot of distance. The lycan's brow furled in contemplation as Hikari's skin took on a light blue-ish glow as the lightning super-charged her cells, granting her enhanced speed. He knew not what technique she actually used or how it applied to the current situation, but he wasn't anyone to judge, really. What he needed to do was figure out what it's purpose was and how it would hurt him if his friend's plan came full circle. Then, it did. She dashed forwards, nearly completely overriding Salzem's reflexes as she closed the distance. He could see her shadow and her blurred form, but couldn't make out the signs she wove. He didn't need to it seemed as he hand exploded with lightning, giving the lycan all the information he needed to make an assessment. A chidori? She was going to hit him with that? It was such a cinimatic jutsu to say the least, but Salzem didn't disapprove at all. In fact, he had a secret flair for the dramatic and quietly enjoyed little moments like this where he could have a "Clash" of techniques.

At 3 feet away, Salzem's form began to emanate a far stronger blue-ish glow than Hikari's creating a very obvious flaming aura around his form. At 2, the lycan dashed himself, Closing the remaining distance at a speed of 130, practically the same as Hikari as she brought her hand up for her jab and Salzem brought his up for his Lariat. As Hikari slammed her electric hand into Salzem's stomach, Salzem would slam his arm into Hikari's throat (speed 130, strength 45), likely sending her flying backwards a few feet, but causing no damage like before to her frame besides some more lost blood. Salzem, on the other-hand, felt the electricity jolt through his nerves, though her hand didn't quite meet up to the "blade" part of "lightning blade". He knew this was just a watered-down version of her technique as was his, but that certainly didn't mean it was painless. The shock scrambled his thoughts for a moment and made nerves feel like searing and his skin where she touched actually burn. While the attack certainly didn't send him flying back, it did cause him to skid backwards several feet as well, a hand immediate going to his struck form and a small but steady stream of blood dripping from his mouth.

While she ran forward at a dashing pace, quickly shortening the gap between Salzem and herself, the former’s body became enveloped in a more powerful aura of blue energy likened to dancing wisps of a blazing fire. As the space between them was a mere two feet apart, Salzem sprinted towards her, his form a blue haze flashing before her lilac eyes. While her electric fist slammed into his gut, sending thousands of shock waves coursing through his body, his own arm knocked the wind out of her body as it roughly rammed into her throat. The intensity of the impact sent the petite girl flying a few feet backwards, causing little injury to her bones, crimson streaking the ground as she coughed up a fair amount of blood. As her body finished ridding itself of blood, she wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, as most shinobi and kunoichi do whilst fighting, and took in the effects her jutsu had on Salzem as she regained her composure and stood steadily, her body still encased in the same gentle blue glow as before, due to the Lightning Javelin jutsu still being active, until she cancelled it. Although she had lessened the power of her chidori greatly, the force shoved him back a few feet as well. His hand rested upon his injury while blood oozed out of his mouth as a result of the damage done, similar to her own injury- if it could even be called such a thing.

After she analyzed the situation within a second or two, Hikari did not hesitate to continue the onslaught of attacks for their spar. If Salzem wanted to put an end to their spar, she would be able to quickly withdraw whatever jutsu she decided to use. The Hyuuga, if not interrupted by Salzem or one of his attacks, weaved the rat, tiger, dog, ox, rabbit, and tiger hand signs for the Phoenix Fire jutsu, concentrating her fire chakra within her stomach before she expelled the chakra through her mouth, forming six fireballs that were a foot in radius. She hurled all six of the fireballs at Salzem [power 40, speed 40], and no matter what they impacted, the fireballs would explode with an explosion radius of one meter. If all of this were to go through, Hikari would use the smoke from the explosions to her advantage. After the fireballs made contact and exploded, and if nothing was hurled at or targeted her, she would dash forwards towards Salzem [speed 145] (wherever he was after the exploding fireballs took effect, if they did) and weave the ox, rabbit, and monkey hand seals. Using the fireballs as a mere distraction, her main attack was to use the Chidori once more, this time hoping to make contact with him (but to not gravely maim the young ninja, just send the same amount of electricity coursing through him as before to shock him for a moment or two). She would focus her lightning chakra to her left hand this time around [power 35], while her right hand stayed free, ready to strike or defend against anything Salzem threw her way. Being this close to the lycan wasn’t ideal, but in order for her to learn more advanced chidori derived jutsus such as Chidori Katana or Chidori Senbon, she had to first master the original chidori.

(WC: 3,524)
[AP: 387 -20 Phoenix Fire & -30 Lightning Javelin & -45 Chidori & -1 Byakugan = 291]

Salzem's blow sent Hikari flying back while Salzem stood and took her shocking fist, a similar amount of damage seemingly delivered between them. The lycan wiped the blood from his mouth as Hikari did, readying a little surprise for the hyuuga student of his... the last remaining student of his... Hikari let out a barrage of six fireballs at the lycan, each one small and slow and not very powerful, easy dodge fodder for someone of his speed. As the balls came down, he ducked under one, stepped back from another, completely ignored a few as they flew by, all the while avoiding their 3-foot radius explosions. (speed 100). However... instead of actually being an attack, it seemed Hikari used the explosions to kick up dust, creating a smokescreen between him and her... Effective... against someone with lesser senses but for someone like Salzem... smell and hearing were more than enough...

The Lycan and Hikari remained still for but a moment, charging their own little attacks, Hikari her Chidori and Salzem, his chakra into his arm and throughout his body to a lesser extent... But then that moment passed and the two charged at each other through the dust-cloud, bringing their attacks forward. Hikari's lightning blade scattered the dust around them as it came around, creating a clear space between them for her to see the titanic mutant wolf arm coming around, his claws curled in to cut while the rest of him glowed with a yellow aura. (speed 120)

the two brought their attacks around (speed 140, strength 50, sharpness 75), Salzem's arm would pass Hikari's as the two attacks flew at their targets.... Salzem would catch the girl's hand in his free one, sending another volt of electricity through his body, searing Salzem's flesh but to a manageable degree fore he was already healing... Meanwhile, Salzem's claws would slash across Hikari's chest, cutting her deeply and likely the force of which would send her flying back unless she were to stop it like he did her.

AP: 680

-7 Partial Transformation
-20 7 Heavens Breathing Method.

The younger shinobi was able to easily sense her through the smoke, she figured that would happen since he is part lycan after all. But just seeing if the idea could possibly work in a real battle, maybe not against someone with such keen senses, was also a goal of hers. They were sparring to not only see the others skills and how far they’ve improved, but to become more equipped for combat against various opponents one might face in the dangerous shinobi world. As the two ninja charged one another through the murky air, their jutsu- specifically the lightning from Hikari’s chidori- cleared the air, bringing visibility back to them.

The kunoichi noted Salzem’s werewolf arm, her eyes trailing to his pointed, razor sharp claws, the perfect weapon to rip your enemies to shreds with. The Hyuuga was thankful they were sparring as friends, and not fighting to their deaths- otherwise hers would be a rather quick demise, his claws could easily tear right through her jugular. The rest of the lycan glowed a faint yellow, his arm the only remnant of his werewolf form- she realized at that moment that Salzem could transform all of his body, or transform just a singular part if he so willed it. This knowledge impressed her, as if could be a great asset in any fight; engaged in combat with an enemy shinobi, place a smoke screen or chakra suppression to aid in an ambush attack, and then strike with a hairy, sharp claw before they even know what hit them. Through the smoke, they probably wouldn’t be able to tell it was a transformed claw that hit them, so when Salzem transformed into his werewolf form, they would be paralyzed with shock and disbelief- at least, that would be the best reaction.

After noticing the werewolf arm, and as they were closing in on one another, the Hyuuga placed her right hand on the hilt of the katana strapped to her left hip [speed 145?] (her ninjato was strapped to her right hip). As the two attacks collided, their hands passed one another until Salzem caught her hand in his free hand, stopping her chidori from touching his skin, but the electricity still ran deep through his arm, sizzling slightly where his hand grabbed her own but not as much as it should have normally. On her side, however, as the lycan’s claws came at her, the Hyuuga did something very un-Hyuuga like: she unsheathed her katana[health 100, sharpness 100, strength 50, speed 145] and used it to block Salzem’s claws, a screeching sound echoing as the claws scraped against metal (unless his paw is really, really big, then the katana blade might be in between his claws).

If her drawing speed for the katana, or her reaction time, wasn’t fast enough to block against the lycan, Hikari would be hit by the blunt force of the claws, her chest and garments torn where the claws dug deep, and be thrown back for the billionth time this day, her body rolling a good few feet and kicking up dirt as she went until she came to a complete stop lying on the ground, her wounds darkening where she lay.

(WC: 4,053)
(AP: 291 -1 byakugan = 290)

While his body was suffering another thousand volts, his body was already beginning ot heal thanks to his Lycanthropic healing factor passive effect, especially his arm which had taken the majority of the damage. If only to heal himself faster, the lycan's other arm transformed the moment her chidori touched him (speed 180). The pain was intense... a burning searing scream as his body resented him for allowing himself to get hit but almost as quickly, it began to quiet, his flesh repairing the aggravated seared skin and shedding the dead.

Salzem's claws, instead of raking against her flesh, screeched and grinded against the edge of Hikari's sword she drew to defend herself, their strength matching, cancelling out each-other's attacks with their own defenses, leading to a sort of power-struggle with the lycan's hand clasped around hikari's, holding her from progressing or retreating (strength 95), and then his claws still grinding against Hikari's blade, sparks flying as the hyuuga attepmpted to put up a defense against the feral onslaught (strength 50). With both her hands occupied, his student was unable to weave signs, leaving her unable to cast jutsu... that made her vulnerable...

With a grunt, Salzem's claws hooked around Hikari's sword and, with a strength of 95 and speed of 140, wrenched the blade from her grasp, throwing it to the ground behind him. With her disarmed, Salzem would quickly through his head forward, colliding into Hikari's with a strength of 55, cracking his forehead against hers likely giving them both a concussion, though while Salzem's would heal in a few seconds (or at least the swelling would go down a bit), the hyuuga's would last a good long while.

AP: 653

-20 Seven Heavens Beathing Method
-7 Partial Transformation.

While the blade of her sword and Salzem’s claws continued to clash, each fending the other off quite well. Their strengths at that moment were the same, and hence why neither gained a lead in the struggle they found themselves in. However, Hikari knew the struggle wouldn’t last forever, and that ultimately Salzem would get the best of her- he was superior in regards to strength (and, well, everything else really). She mentally ran through her arsenal, trying to recall any jutsu that didn’t require hand signs, yet the only thing she knew was her Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, but that required both her palms. Her left wrist was still caught by Salzem, and she had no doubts he would continue his grasp on her, it was the only logical thing one in their positions would do. Unless, of course, Hikari had a close combat move that only required one hand, she would be perfectly fine in this situation if she did…

Then a memory flashed through her mind, something that seemed to be destined for a moment such as this one. It was about a lightning jutsu Hikari had recently read about, for if she wasn’’t out training, on a mission, or working at the hospital, she was at the library researching new jutsu to train. This jutsu, called the Hell Stab, was passed down by the third Raikage until it was placed in a lightning jutsu book collection for anyone to learn. The Hell Stab is a jutsu that required no hand seals and lasted until it was cancelled, similar to the Lightning Javelin, and all Hikari had to do to use this jutsu was concentrate a considerable amount of her lightning chakra to the tips of her fingers on a single hand, then to perform a thrusting motion with the aforementioned hand.

All of this thinking took but a few seconds, while they were still trying to one up the other with their blade or claws respectively. Salzem, as she already knew, was able to wrench her Konoha katana out of her hand with such speed and strength she hadn’t seen before, the blade thrown behind him. After her blade was torn from her grasp, she concentrated her lightning chakra into her right hand, specifically her four fingers (excluding her thumb). While Salzem’s head rapidly flung towards her own, Hikari’s lightning charged hand thrust toward his head[strength 60, power 40, speed 145] to collide with his forehead, causing an electric current to shock him and hopefully stop him in his tracks but not enough to knock him out or do physical damage to his nerves or eyesight.

If Hikari was too slow with her hand or focusing her lightning chakra, then Salzem’s head would collide with her own, causing the young girl’s forehead to bleed slightly with her ears ringing from the impact. After the initial impact, Hikari would realize the force gave her a concussion that would last a few hours, or even days if she didn’t heal herself quickly enough.

(WC: 4,553)
(AP: 290 -60 Lightning Javelin(forgot to subtract from last post) & -30 Hell Stab & -1 byakugan = 199)

(OOC: I’m sorry if I am flirting with godmodding or metagaming or anything like that with these fighting posts. If it doesn’t seem logical to you what I’ve done, please let me know so I don’t keep making the same mistake ^_^’)

As Salzem's head came down and Hikari's hand charged with lightning came around the lycan smiled, knowing that the girl had fallen for his trap. Twisting his neck to the left at speeds of 140, Hikari's hand would slip past his neck, lightning crackling and searing some of Salzem's black hair but doing little else. Meanwhile, as one of her hands was caught in his and the other was passing wide of it's target, the young hyuuga's torso was left wide open to assault. Salzem would throw a massive punch into the girl's gut with his free hand, an uppercut that created a huge wave of air-pressure between him and her in addition to the blow itself (speed 200, strength 135 scaled down to 60). This attack would no doubt send Hikari sailing back but, before her back hit the ground, Salzem would appear before her again, another punch slamming into her cheek, smashing her head into the ground with the same speed and strength as the last too.

These two blows were all the lycan needed so he stopped the assault here, the power of which capable of breaking bone perhaps, but easily making her bleed, no doubt paying her back for the effective sensory damage her lightning jutsu was intended to inflict. If these attacks hit, Hikari would be lying in a crater, stunned, perhaps even knocked out as Salzem made his way over to her, his arms slipping back into their normal human shape. If she was indeed knocked out, the Lycan would scoop her up in his arms, cradling her softly as he carried her out onto some solid ground. Weaving a few handsigns, his hands began to glow a gentle blue-green, his chakra taking on healing properties as he gently rested one on her forehead, the other on her stomach, waiting for his medical ninjutsu to do its thing.

If she was awake, Salzem would smile down at her, offering her a hand up if she could stand, but, if not, he'd simply take her in his arms, holding her close before he set her down and began working on her with his medical ninjutsu.

"Hey... Good fight..." He'd say, grinning widely. "You're so strong..."

With that mischievous grin, Hikari knew she had made a grievous error. The young man twisted his head just as quickly as her hand had moved to stop him, thus instead of her hand coming into contact with his visage, she was met with air. Her lightning sizzled away a few strands of his black hair, but otherwise no damage had been done to the lycan- while the Hyuuga was in for a world of pain. While her left wrist was still caught in the grasp of Salzem’s and her right hand near his neck, her body was left wide open. Without any hesitation, Salzem threw a powerful, wave creating punch into her stomach, at a speed she could not even react to. It amazed her the power of his reflexes, being able to reach top speeds even with the lack of his piercing of swiftness earring.

Hikari, due to the severity of his punch, fell backwards, her body falling quickly to the ground in a slight daze. Before she could hit the ground, however, Salzem continued his onslaught of attacks, or attack per se, punching her with similar power in the cheek. A deafening crunch sound could be heard as her head slammed into the ground, instantly knocking her unconscious. The damage done by the two blows, three if one would count slamming into solid ground, was a broken cheekbone, a gash on her forehead from the ground, and blood being coughed up due to the gut strike. Likewise, due to her falling unconscious, her Lightning Javelin jutsu, Hell Stab jutsu, and Byakugan were all deactivated.

Kuro, although he was antsy and wanted to defend Hikari, he waited, knowing that Salzem was a friend Hikari trusted greatly. The wolf stayed right where he was, watching Salzem pick her up from the crater caused by the impact and place her on level ground to begin healing her. He was slowly beginning to trust the lycan, although it would take awhile for him to fully trust Salzem.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only several minutes, the white haired girl awoke to Salzem’s blue-green tinted hands healing the wounds he cast upon her. One hand laid gently on her forehead, while the other rested on her stomach. She could feel the effects of the wounds wearing off as he continued to heal her.

Salzem’s comment made her chuckle and roll her eyes as she replied, “Says the one who has knocked me out twice. You are the strong one here, Sal.” As she finished speaking she gave him a soft smile, reassuring him that she felt no malicious about what took place during their sparring.

(WC: 5,000)
(AP: 199)

It took several long minutes before Hikari made any sign of movement beyond the rise and fall of her chest but she did move... her head turning just a bit to face him and her eyes opening a little. Salzem smiled in relief as his friend smiled back at him, moving his hand from her forehead to her wounded cheek, cradling her face in his hand. When she remarked that it was he who kept knocking her out and beating her, that he was the strong one, the lycan only shook his head lightly, gently carressing her wounded skin.

"No... I may keep beating you, but you keep getting up... that's true strength, Hikari." Wow... wasn't he philosophical this day... It would be a minute or two more before the girl could sit up and, when she could, Salzem merely adjusted himself into a kneeling position beside her, still healing his friend. He wasn't going to let her walk home with her guts and face feeling like they were falling apart, nor was he going to give her the indignity of having her carried throughout town, especially into her own district.

"Hikari, do you know how much I care about you?" He asked, completely dead serious. "You're like a sister to me... You've been nothing but kind, strong... and... and you survived despite everything that's happened..." He smiled lightly.

The words that flowed out of the younger shinobi’s mouth surprised her, she never knew he could sound like the teacher he was. He combatted her claims of his strength surpassing hers by philosophically stating how her resilience in fighting was true strength. Hikari had never really thought of her beatings in that light before, she always deemed her strength on how much damage she could do without herself being one upped and taken out.

“You sound like a sage right now, with your philosophical teaching.” Although her tone was laced with humor, she really did appreciate his kind words and encouragement. “Thank you, Salzem. I have learned many valuable skills from being here with you.” As she spoke her body felt lighter and she moved to sit up, resting her hands on either side of her to support her. Salzem’s hands continued their gentle healing, her cheek and torso slowly but surely reconnecting any damaged or broken bones, nerves, and tissue.

All of a sudden Salzem’s voice was monotone, a sign the words he spoke were not to be taken lightly. Despite the smile that finished his sentence, Hikari knew the deeper meaning behind the words. She remembered their time not so long ago at the cemetery, the pain both experienced due to the realization they lost dear friends to the inevitable shinobi world. The Hyuuga, however, would not resurface those memories in their time together, she had already grieved more than a kunoichi should for the loss of Kouse and Cole.

She chose her words carefully, as she could not say he was like the brother she never had for she did, in fact, have a brother at one time, but he was lost to the cruel world just as the rest of them were. “Our feelings are one in the same, Salzem.” Her voice was quiet, gentle as she danced lightly over this touchy subject. “ You once were a stranger just on a mission with me, but now, you are my closest family. You are all I have left.” Her pale eyes gazed softly into his own as her lips curved upward into a small smile, the words she spoke were genuine and heartfelt.