[NK] Red and Black

xbba stopped as he brushed Aeiziths hair and relaxed. he was calm as he calmed himself down already. xuba did not loose his tension the slightest but was gentle with the boy.

"i only protected what was not my own, and only wanted to make sure you do not suffer my fate. i cannot turn back. that is why i would avoid you taking the blunt of the damage. both of you."

xuba said looking over at the tear streaked face of elspeth. her lack of understanding of emotional connection was perhaps growing but xuba was not too certain of how far she will grow. his eyes fell on Aeizith and patted his head. his eyes then fell back down to the girl as he made a split second decision and took a breath.

"your duty is to learn. no killing, unless you absolutely must. if any of us are in danger i will allow you to kill the attacker. do not hesitate.. but spare nd show mercy. like insects that cause no harm to you. you cause no harm to them... am i crystal clear elspeth? today was an example of cruel mercy. but he will live... you both need to grow strong so we will improve as a team. if you both are ready and your hearts work as one. perhaps we can all fill what each one is missing.... is that understood both of you?"

xuba asked the two as he gazed between Aeizith and elspeth.xuba took a breath as he calmed himself and he spoke to Aeizith.

"i want to make you stronger thats why i needed to feel your strike ok buddy? the same goes to you elspeth i need to see your strength and see how far you can go. am i under stood?"

xuba brushed Aeizith's hair as he took a step back and crossed his arms and spoke with a grin.

"so do we have a deal?"

"We... We do. I'll do it. I-I mean I'll try," she spoke softly. She cleaned her face meticulously, ridding it of all excess tears, dirt, and mucus. Once satisfied, she looked at the strangers and tilted her head.

"I never got any of your names." she realized. She waited a moment before a thought crossed her mind. "That's your cue to tell me," whispered Elspeth seriously. She scratched her ear, curious as to what would happen next. They could stay together in tornado for longer, doing whatever, or they could venture out. Both had their own pros and cons. Staying in tornado would decrease the chances of being detected by village ninja, but it was plain boring. Leaving would be risky, but there was more opportunity for growth. She already knew what she wanted to do in a heartbeat. "I know a few people. We could get paid a lot for doing various contract jobs. We might have to leave the country, though." She coughed. "But if we keep down low, we should be fine." she decided to take a leap of faith with the strangers. She was to travel with them after all, right? "I can do taijutsu. And I have a fire nature. I learned some fire jutsu earlier today, in fact."

She stretched, cracking her back. She felt a bit antsy to leave and do something, but she wanted to hear their replies. She knew some good restauraunts they could go to to bond, some neat shops in the area... What were they doing next?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

258 words
3043+258= 3301

Aeizith sighed happily, content as Xuba ran his fingers through his white hair once more. He could be so gentle and caring one moment, then so painful and vengeful another... Strangely enough, though, it was comforting to know that the darker-skinned ninja wasn't afraid to take up arms and fight whenever was necessary, unlike himself... It made him believe that he had a strong father-figure looking out for him... training him to be like him...

"I-I understand..." Aeizith said as Xuba explained his actions, taking a step back so he could stare into his eyes once more. Aeizith's eyes glowed in wonder as the older ninja addressed Elspeth, stating that he would teach them both how to grow stronger, how to never kill unless it was absolutely necessary, that they three would improve as a team and asked if they understood. What kind of question was that? Of course he did! "Yeah!" the white-haired child declared, smiling hugely. He was really starting to love Xuba as his teacher... He was so... inspiring for lack of a better word... The commanding nature in his actions, the way he laid out his plan to them, the way he was willing to accept the strange, emotionally estranged Elspeth into their fold... He only felt safer and safer within the protective gaze of this man, feeling that finally, after the hell he'd endured... he finally had a daddy he could look up to... to really care about...

"Y-yeah! We have a deal!" The little boy grinned. He looked back over to Elspeth as she noted she haver actually got their names and his blue eyes widened. That's right... She just showed up and they never formally got introduced. Giggling just a bit as Xuba brushed Aeizith's spiky white hair, the child immeidately walked over to the woman and stuck out his hand for her to shake, his own smile a bit uneasy, but nonetheless inviting. He sympathized her condition, that she couldn't understand herself as well as she should, and he didn't think he should make her feel any less welcome because of it! She was now part of their little family and he wasn't going to let this one fall apart...

"Hi! My name's Aeizith!" He smiled his sweetest. He only smiled wider as she expressed that she knew a few people herself, that they could do jobs or contracts... but they'd have to leave this place... He cocked his head to the side in wonder, a look of enthusiasm spreading across his face as well. He was going to get back to sight-seeing once more and this time, he'd have a real group of people he could trust following him! He was so excited!

"Can we, Xuba?" Aeizith asked, looking like a child asking for a toy. "Can we go do that?"

Xuba listened to the girl. Perhaps her uses were truely to be seen. But he smiled and clapped his hands nodding at her words.

"Good observation. We can leave here in due time. But the goal of us lies in not only creating a safe heaven. But standing our ground. It will not be easy. But that is why i will test you both. If you both can put up a decent fight. We will leave after a proper investment. But if not... we will camp here and strengthen our bodies through this countries tornadeos. Ultimately it is our goal to defend ourselves at our best... am i understood?"

Xuba adressed the two as he took a casual stance and glanced at the girl.

As the stranger slipped into a stance, she got into a basic forward stance with her left foot forward, bent slightly, and her left foot facing at a forty five degree angle behind it and to the left. This way, it would be easy to attack and get out of the way depending on whether or not her opponent decided to take the initiative or wait for her. Her fists were clenched, thumbs on top so as not to break them. She was about to make her move before a question came to her mind.

"Are we allowed to use elemental jutsu?" She asked earnestly. Whether or not he replied, she would dip down onto her left leg, roll forwards and use the momentum for a vicious sweep at the back of his knees. If it came into contact, it would cause him to crumple. She brought her foot back as fast as she could and stepped back out of his range to avoid any retaliation attacks. She brought her hands up a bit higher so her elbows would guard her stomach and solar plexus and her hands and arms would guard her face without hampering her vision. She glanced briefly at Aeizith to see what he was doing, and decided to hold back and let him take the spotlight for a bit. If he chose to attack, she would swing down to flank Xuba from the right side. Next, she waited for her foe to make a move.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
249
3550 total words (too hot, hot damn)

(so sorry for being late! I didn't see the notification until now!)

Aeizith was somewhat dubious as to what Xuba was asking, for him to hit him in some attempt to measure his strength.... Uhm... didn't ninja hit like... giant logs to do that or something...? No, it seemed his teacher wanted to be the one to personally assess their power... Maybe, if they were in some grounds designed for such things, the boy wouldn't feel so self-conscious about what he was going to do... but then again, Aeizith was self-conscious about everything... The little white-haired boy held up his small clenched fist, his hand shaking somewhat in fear and anticipation. Surely, his hit wouldn't harm someone as invincible and amazing as Xuba, but he was more afraid he might end up hurting himself... But still, the child couldn't just turn down a request from the man who's protected him so... effectively for all the time they've been together! Such a thing would be mad, ungrateful! And Aeizith didn't think himself any of those things...

With a cry of effort, Aeizith would throw a punch (speed 5, Strength 5) at the older man, having all his power behind the blow, aimed directly upwards in an upper-cut towards his gut. It held every last drop of power he could muster, all the aiming he could do, but it had none of the confidence, the zeal most people had behind their attacks. More or less (possibly much more), this attack would appear more as a move of pure desperation, as if Xuba and wasted all his good options, leaving the boy with only the bad and Aeizith knew it... If it hit, chances were, his knuckles would slam into something hard, solid.... painful... Like hitting a brick-wall, but a bit softer, the recoil muffled somewhat by the ninja's clothes.

If Aeizith missed, his fist would probably shoot into the air instead, leaving his body completely open for a counter-attack if his master so-desired. Meanwhile, Elspeth would flank right, using the VERY little distance they had to the sides to get behind the older ninja, most likely to put the odds in her favor... The little white-haired boy winced in anticipation for Xuba to strike him, to punish him for letting his guard down... Oh.... it was going to be painful...

Xuba studied the girl as she dipped down. A low front leaning stance capeable for an powerful and very troublesome sweep. Xuba turned to a more limber and versitile fighter stance yet he didnt place his guard up just yet. 

Then the boy Aiezith decided to in a fasion decided to strike towards xuba with a simple uppercut. Or better termenology. A driving fist that  had a uppercut feel. A shot to the solar phlexes  which was smart.

Hmmmm


Xuba thought as he shifted his lead foot back to avoid the sweep of the girl and with a simple semi circle motion of his rear hand xuba grabbed aeiziths hand mid strike(speef:30)

And with a slight twist of xubas hips. By using the boy's momentum and continuing it past xuba. Aiezith would find himself flying behind xuba into some hay.

"Your punch telegraphs alot. A uppercut is costly Aeizith. No elemental techniques. Its a test of physicality and willpower."

Xuba adressed the two. As he scooted forward while in fighter stance. The girl had the right idea. Was it going to add another deminsion to the challenge? Perhaps.

Xuba did not strike back till he was confident the moment would come where he nedded to settle up a powerful offense before countering.


Wait and absorb what i can

Xuba simply stepped over her sweep and grabbed Aeizith's hand. Using his momentum, the boy ended up being thrown into a pile of hay. I hadn't even noticed that before. Life's full of surprises I guess. ...Or perhaps I'm just not a very good ninja yet. The man was fast. Very fast. She'd need to use some kind of trickery or clever skills to defeat him. Especially since elemental jutsu weren't allowed. Elemental. Maybe regular supplementary ones would work? She ran to the wall and used her momentum to scramble halfway up (around five feet or so) before kicking off. Nah, taijutsu was cool. She would've used her fall's momentum to roll directly behind Xuba and launch one more sweep at point blank range at the back of his knees once more. Then she would have used the remaining momentum to scramble away a few feet, leaving Aeizith in front of him and herself behind.

Not knowing what to do next and deciding to wait for the boy once more, she slid into a saddle leg (horse) stance, leaving her lower to the ground but much more balanced. She scratched her wrist once before putting her fists in front of her in a basic guard, with her right hand hooked in front of her but a few inches before her body and her left fist facing upwards and resting at her hip. It was a very string position, but left little room for mobility. In hindsight, perhaps a regular stance would have been better, but now she was comitted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
WC: 261
Total WC: 3550+261= 3811

Aeizith shouldn't have been surprised that Xuba was able to duck out of the way of his punch, but he was still unable to keep himself from stumbling past. With only the tiniest shift in his weight, Xuba turned himself out of the way of the white-haired boy's uppercut, causing him to fall past, yelping in surprise as he fell face-first into a pile of hay right behind. His head spun as he slowly turned himself around to face the back of his teacher and guardian, Xuba remarking that his attack telegraphed too much, then stated that this wasn't a battle for jutsu, but one of grit and willpower. Aeizith watched as the woman held Xuba's attention and, while she did, Aeizith would lash out with his foot suddenly, a straight-kick aimed directly at the behind of his knee, striking at it with a strength of 5 and a speed of 5. If he was lucky, the darker-skinned ninja wouldn't see the attack coming and his leg would collapse just as Elspeth begins her sweep from behind as well, hopefully taking out his other leg and causing the older, more powerful ninja to collapse on the ground and make himself vulnerable.

Though, he doubted this little strategy would even work on someone like Xuba. In fact, chances were, if Aeizith's foot even hit, it'd be like striking a solid stone surface or something equally resistant to pushes or pulls. Xuba didn't seem like anyone could match him in a game of taijutsu, much less the pair of them... He couldn't help but feel... out of place in this kind of fight. Were he allowed to contend with some jutsu he had been practicing, or maybe be fighting with someone more his level, Aeizith might've felt content knowing he was about to lose because, at least then, it felt like he had a chance... Of course, Aeizith was just being the little child he was when he thought these things. His rude awakening with Xuba redirecting his punch was a blow to his little-kid pride and was very quickly growing frustrated. He knew this was for his own good, but that was little comfort... at least to him...

the two were fighting in a unique tandem of one strikes, and other engages. it was effective and works well as xuba considered his options while Aeizith got up from the hay and the girl continued on her assault. xuba watched the girl press off the nearby wall and vault over his head. xuba grounded himself then lightened his stance in a instant.

another sweep. to keep one on their toes. but Aeizith is also behind me as well.


xuba thought as he spun around in a 180 degree turn.  pulling in his rear leg and simply scooted back an inch. xuba then grounded his rear foot coming into a low cat stance by lightening his his lead foot by tilting his lead foot and resting on the ball of his lead leg.  This stance swap now made girl's sweep keep its power, and speed. However, due to shifting his weight it only kicked up his lead foot while xuba maintained balance  on his rear foot and transitioned to a crane stance.

"nice one. keep at it"

xuba stated as he turned his head towards now Aeizith whom was now in middle of adding his own mix to her combat. xuba admired the boy's persistence as  he rushed towards xuba with an now intent to kick xuba's leg. the kick connected and xuba remained in a powerful crane stance nodding at the boy. 

"good job Aeizith. you made a hit... now hit me with a three hit combo please?"

xuba stated as he aimed a light but fast roundhouse kick to the boy's head. (speed: 30, power:9) xuba would follow that roundhouse kick by allowing it to sail through and in a show of great control and speed. his leg would snap back towards the boy's shoulder in a quick hook kick (speed:30, strength:13).

xuba would hop towards the girl with a powerful bound and a show of athleticism. xuba would jump up with his one leg and (jumping speed:15 (half of the average strength and speed), jumping height: 1 meter. (its a controlled hop) however xubas assault would begin mid air. as he would start by doing jumping front snap kick. by shifting each leg up towards  his chest and striking out with his left leg. the kick would be aimed at the girl's chest. (strength:15, speed:30) 

if blocked xuba would step down on the girl's blocking arm(s) with maximum force. (speed(30, strength:30) and aim a low side kick towards the left side of her head (strength: 16, speed:30) xuba would then finish off his assault by kicking off the girl and grabbing attempting to grab her arm. (speed:30) if xuba would grab her arm. Then xuba would swing her towards Aeizith( strength:20: speed:30) hopefully causing the two to  collide.


if his jumping kick would somehow miss. xuba would land with a slide on the ground and turn to face the two.  milldly impressed. yet he hardly broke a sweat.