The Search for a Leaf in the Desert! [Ari]

Nobu stood at the training grounds, unsure exactly what to do. His thoughts would only keep shifting to the news he had heard only the other day, and the dark thoughts that accompanied them. This was the first time he had been to the training grounds since, his training suffering each day he would spend neglecting it and he knew this, but he just wasn’t able to muster up the will to train. Every exercise would only remind him yet again, or so he thought. So he chose not to do much of anything.
 
Idly sitting in the sand, Nobu would delve into his own thoughts for several hours, his stomach grumbling from hunger, though he lacked the appetite to do much about it. Sitting back, he would decide to just watch the clouds go by, trying to enjoy the peace and enjoy the little things in life. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of unease.
 
Another hour goes by, and Nobu gets up. He had to do something to take his mind off of things, something that would protect him from the dark thoughts that were consuming him little by little. At the current rate he might succumb to the feelings within, likely ending in disaster for all of those around him and destroying himself in the process.
 
“Maybe some training wouldn’t be so bad….” Nobu mutters out loud, though a whisper almost inaudible to any who would be near.

Looking around the training grounds, Nobu doesn’t notice anybody that he had recognized at first glance. A few new faces could be seen training in the distance, but Nobu needed something more familiar, something he knew. His mind shifted thoughts of the person he really wanted to train with…
 
He had to find someone who wasn't a genin, fresh out of the Academy and looking to train. Someone who would be an adequate challenge. Someone who would push him, making him focus all of his thoughts only on the battle at hand. Only a handful of people he knew fit that description, and they weren’t the easiest of people to find. Nobu hadn’t seen Ryu in quite some time, and Nobunaga was likely busy on a Jounin level assignment for he wasn’t available either. Even the Kazekage Koroshi had been surprisingly busy with his Kage duties as of late. The only other person that came to mind left was Ari, but she was only here temporarily on some assignment. Would she even still be in the village? Just wondering about Ari had temporarily taken his mind off of things. He hadn’t consciously noted this, but his mood elevated slightly at the thought of an intense spar with the strong martial artist.
 
Nobu had no idea where to find her, and so he decided to ask around town. He questioned every single person he passed by, giving a description and such. Nobody seemed to know anything at all, a most disappointing realization. Then it dawned on Nobu to go to the Kage’s offices. They were here on business, but they were foreign shinobi and the clerk would likely have knowledge of their location at any given time.
 
Rushing over with much haste, he made it in only thirty or so minutes as he was quite far away from the building when the idea struck him. Approaching the desk, Nobu politely asks “Do you know where the Leaf shinobi are at right now? I am looking for one in particular. She goes by the name of Ari.”

The clerk shook her head, signaling to Nobu that this might have been a bust as well. Maybe since the Leaf and Sand were allies the village didn’t feel the need to keep constant surveillance on them, or maybe Nobu just wasn’t high enough rank to be granted such information. Either way, he was at a road block.
 

Maybe if he had just continued to search around town he might stumble into her. Of course, this may all be for nothing, as he isn’t sure if she is even still in the village. He sure hoped that she was…

"Greetings again, Nobu." A familiar voice echoed from the Kage building's entrance. Although Ari's appearance had changed since she last saw him, she still held the same posture. She continued her introduction with both hands relaxed on her hips and a confident smirk. "You appear to have grown since I last saw you... I can detect your Chakra without even trying." Ari then leaned on her right shoulder at the doorway, leaving space for Nobu to walk outside. "I overheard you questioning the clerk about my location just now, is there a reason you need me?" She maintained a calm tone; with no pressing matters requiring her attention, Ari had learned to relax since she last saw Nobu. Although she neglected to explain why her appearance had changed since last seeing him, she didn't do this with a malicious intent. Ari had simply forgotten that she was transformed while meeting Nobu for the first time. It was after all quite natural for her to take on different appearances out of boredom.

As Nobu begins to head out of the Kage’s building, he hears a familiar voice, one belonging to the person he was seeking. His head darts up, hoping to look upon Ari as she spoke to him. What he sees before him was not what he had expected, the woman with Ari voice completely different from the image of Ari he had in his mind. Quickly eyeing up the odd woman, he notes the tone and posture along with the clothes she happened to be wearing. She definitely reminded him of Ari, and she knew him by name and noted his growth. Maybe it was some form of transformation jutsu that happened to be deceiving his eyes.
 
“Ari?” Nobu would ask, though in just a brief moment later he would come to the decision that it was in fact the woman he sought. “Ari! You don’t look the same as before. Maybe that is why I was having such a hard time finding you in the village. I would not have noticed it was you had you not revealed yourself.” Nobu would say this with a grin, clearly happy to have found the Leaf shinobi. “Yeah, I had been doing some serious training since our last encounter. Need to grow strong to meet all my goals!” Nobu’s mind was taken off of his troubles, at least for the time being. It was a much needed reprieve.
 
“As for why I was looking for you, I sought a training partner. I was looking for someone that I knew would be able to push me to my limits and then some. You were among the first to come to mind.” Nobu would step out of the building, passing next to this very different Ari. He still inspected her, despite deciding in his mind that this was in fact Ari. “I am actually really glad you are still in the village. I was starting to think that you might have already left.” Finishing his walk out of the building and into the center of the road, he spins around and faces the worthy combatant before him.
 
“So, what do you say? Up for some training?” Nobu would ask. Despite his relatively upbeat tempo and the smile on his face, his eyes told a different story. Something was bothering the boy, and a keen eye would note this. Still the youth had spring in his step and was looking for a challenge.
 

The question now was whether or not Ari would accept…

Ari raised her arms and briefly checked herself over to understand why Nobu said he didn't recognise her. It finally dawned on her in a few seconds, although she wasn't sure how to explain that she changed appearances for leisure. Instead, Ari decided to let Nobu take the lead in conversation as he spoke of his recent training. She was happy to hear that he'd been training hard and noticeably achieved some impressive results in the short time she'd seen him last. Although the results Nobu had achieved in said time frame were not unlike Ari's when she spent most of her time training. Having remained silent while Nobu spoke, she continued to do so as he walked out of the building. Ari turned until she was leaning with her back against the wall beside the door frame, maintaining eye contact with Nobu.

It was then that he proposed to do some training. The last time Ari trained with him, she focused on teaching him. She wasn't very interested in teaching him anymore however, he appeared to be strong enough for a decent spar. Ari hoped this was his intention. With his final question, she nodded briefly while answering. "If it's a fight you're looking for, count me in." With that, she pressed off the wall and began walking to the road's centre, five meters away from him. Ari hadn't spent enough time in Nobu's company to know whether something was bothering him or not by an expression, so she remained unaware. However, even if she did notice it, she wasn't great at consoling people to begin with. In a single swift movement, Ari flung her arms back and threw her karate gi's shirt off.

She then caught it with her right hand and tossed it aside, allowing it to land in the sand beside the Kage building. "I might need a while to warm up since I haven't been in a fight for about a year. That being the case, I'll let you make the first move." Ari's words were not reflected in the tone of her voice, which remained confident and energetic. She resumed her favourite stance during her last sentence, raising her left hand in front of her chest by one foot; while her right hand was positioned in front of her lowest right rib by six inches. With both feet separated by shoulder width, Ari's left foot remained in front, directly beneath her left hand on a forty-five degree angle facing inwards. Her right foot faced forward, firmly planted on the ground slightly behind her right shoulder.

Assuming this stance was easy and comfortable, the main advantage Ari saw to using it. Although it also offered a fair amount of offensive and defensive options. Ari had never actually sparred someone since reaching what she figured was her maximum potential. It was sure to be educational, if not fun.

Ari seemed up for the fight, tossing off her shirt and assuming a stance ready for combat.  Nobu looked around, questioning her choice of location for the spar. He didn’t want to throw a wrench in the works here, but this was right in front of the Kazekage’s office and in the middle of the village. Despite this being a spar and likely not being a particularly destructive contest, he still felt it would be better to move this to the actual training area. Still, she had seemed ready to begin right now.
 
Nobu would assume his stance and begin to focus on the task at hand. Ari said he would have the first move, though he wasn’t sure exactly how hard to go. Ari seemed able to contend at Nobu’s full capability, but he still had his reservations. Well, here goes.
 
Shifting his weight, Nobu would quickly dash towards Ari (Speed 50) approaching her on her left side. Lifting his left leg, he would launch a knee towards the gut of Ari (Speed 50, Power 50). He would be using the same level of ability he had used in a prior spar with a high ranking shinobi. He expected her to defend against this but what would she do? Would she block, dodge, or something else entirely?
 

If she blocked, he would drop his left leg down towards her left knee (Speed 50, Power 50) in an attempt to weaken her footing. He would wait to see how she reacted before pressing the attack any more. Her counter should be interesting to witness, and so Nobu would eagerly await it.

"Good..." Ari muttered, observing Nobu as he took a stance; unfortunately she couldn't see anything unique about it. However, all the best Taijutsu users knew the importance of one's stance, depending on one's positioning, defensive and offensive possibilities were opened. This wouldn't really matter for Ari at the moment though. Unfortunately Nobu had underestimated her abilities and "rushed" at her, with less than half her speed and slightly more than half her strength. This was a good opportunity on the other hand to put her stance's defensive abilities into practice. Ari's stance always had one foot in front and the other behind, this was partly for balance and movement.

Using an unconventional defensive method, she leaned back to be horizontal with Nobu's shin at her maximum passive speed (120) before his knee could strike her. This held two purposes, first being to avoid the point of impact which naturally held Nobu's strength, his knee. This movement used her legs to lean in and come into direct contact with his shin against her abdomen. At the same speed, using all of her strength (80), Ari would suddenly jolt directly into Nobu's shin with her abdomen. Naturally ensuring she performed this movement before his foot could hit her crotch and cause any harm.

The defensive "technique" was performed by simply standing up straight, using the position of Nobu's shin against her abdomen in an attempt to throw him off balance. If successful, the most injury he should receive would be a sandy bum she figured. Ari was also concerned about injuring him, so she opted for this less offensive method to test his strength and speed. However, she still wasn't aware he was holding back. Disappointed, yet hopeful, Ari eagerly awaited his next move. If things didn't go as planned she would improvise.

Ari had defended against his attack, something to be expected of a shinobi of her caliber. It was also an interesting way to go about it, as it would require her to be both fast enough to dodge and strong enough to generate the force to push Nobu away. He had figured that she was confident in her strength but this only cemented the idea within his mind. 
 
And she was indeed strong enough to launch Nobu back with the maneuver. He would do a back handspring to utilize the force of her move to place a little space between them (likely about 2 meters). She was fast, and even stronger than Nobu had originally expected. Good, this experience would prove most valuable to Nobu.
 
“You are quite fast, Ari. I shouldn’t have insulted you by expecting any less. I won’t insult you any further.” Nobu would say in a relatively serious tone. A hint of excitement would gleam in his eye and he would continue to press the attack. This time he would explode at Ari with intense speed, much greater than that before launching an extended kick aimed at her sternum (Dynamic Entry Speed 120; 100+20 from scaled jutsu, Power:90; 70+20 from scaled jutsu) closing the 2 meter distance between them in almost no time at all. She would likely be able to handle things at this speed as well. Would the attack connect? Maybe…
 
In reality, his body eagerly awaited Ari’s counter, almost shuddering with anticipation.


Let us see some of that power, Ari.


[AP: 225 - 10 = 215]