Swing Life Away ~P, NK~

"As she got to Altar she would throw out a light, quick jab with her right aimed at the corner of her jaw"

Altar would watch in dry humor as the girl whacked herself one in the jaw, barely choking back the classic "Why are you hitting yourself?" joke.

Nah jk.

The girl wheeled her arms and took fumbling steps backwards, barely staying on her feet. As she retook the fighting position, a deep blush crept over her face.

"D'aww, that's adorable! She's embarrassed! Altar, stop being a bully." Nekoda almost squealed in delight, then changed to an almost chiding tone when addressing her host. Rolling his eyes, the boy would bite his tongue and return his attention to the spar. It seemed this attempt would be similar to the last, except this time the girl was moving somewhat slower. Good, so she had learned that inertia could be as much of an enemy as a friend. He was glad the girl picked that up fast. He didn't want to go through an unnecessary physics lesson.

The girl's first move was a quick right punch, directed at Altar's jaw. The boy, his guard up, would deflect the girl's right fist further to the right, with his left hand, letting the fist fly well wide of it's mark, sailing past his face and above his shoulder, moving his hand back to guard after the girl's attack had been deflected. Assuming she still went for the knee now that her guard was open, when she started the movement Altar would slide his right foot forward and in between her legs, while moving his left foot back. He would lower his right arm and use it to pin the girl's raised knee to his left side. Assuming this was successful, he would put his left forearm to the girl's neck and push out and down with it, simultaneously lifting and letting go of the girl's knee with his right arm. This would send the girl's legs skyward and her head towards the ground, her right leg following her left, as was natural.

If this all went according to plan, Altar would follow through with the motion on his left arm, following the girl's torso in it's downward motion. Before she had the chance to impact the ground, he would use his left hand, already lowered by her body, to grab her right hand, once again keeping her from impacting the ground by mere inches. He would pull her back to her feet before putting a normal talking distance between the two.

"Hanabi, let me ask you a question. Where do you think you should be attacking me?" The boy would say, extending his arms out to the sides and allowing the girl about a minute to name and point out where she thought she should be aiming her strikes for. After the minute had passed, the boy would hunch slightly to get on eye level with her and take the hand she had been pointing with by the wrist and put it to his forehead.

"Here, Hanabi. Not my head, not my body, but my mind. Attack my mind." the ANBU would say before releasing the girl's wrist. "Your attacks are obvious. I can see them coming from a mile away. They're easily choreographed, easy to counter, because i've seen them a million times before. You have to do something unorthodox. Something different, something unique. If I don't see it coming, how can I plan for it in advance? If I didn't know it was possible, or didn't know you could do it, how could I possibly counter it in the heat of the moment?" the boy would say, beginning to pace backwards, returning to his stance about five meters away from the girl.

"We're ninjas, Hanabi. A ninja's best weapon has, is and always will be surprise. So, surprise me."

>A> shh.

Glad for a break from the less than glamorous display, Hanabi considered his question. She hadn't thought she was supposed to be going after a specific target. She could think of several places it could be advantageous to hit, going after organs to damage their function, or joints to impair movement. But there wasn't one that seemed to be an above and beyond choice over the others. With his strength, she wasn't sure landing a hit against him pretty much anywhere would do much damage. Then, it hit her. She pointed to his balls.

He lifted her wrist, pointing at his head instead. After his speech, he took up position again a few feet away, and she thought about his words. How was she supposed to surprise him? She didn't have his speed, his experience, his technique. After some consideration, she decided to try using that as a weapon. Things had gone the same way twice. If she could get him to expect it to go the same way a third time, it could create an opening.

The young woman made a similar approach to her first attempt, accelerating quickly into a sprint. She leapt into the air, leaning into the jump to thrust her left arm forward in a punch aimed for his nose. If he would grab her arm again, she would try to clasp his with her right, and then use it to swing her lower half forward and hit him with both feet. If he would step to the side and dodge, she would land, bring herself to a halt, and try again.

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As the girl pointed towards his...we'll just say solar plexus, he resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Technically, she was right, but that wasn't the point he was trying to make. However, he'd have to remember to keep a keen eye out for any attempted low blows once the spar continued...

The girl started running towards him, and Altar almost groaned, thinking she hadn't absorbed any of the information he'd just put forward. She was attempting the same damn thing for the third time in a...

Oh. Oh no.

Did she just...? Yes. Yes she did.

She jumped.

As the girl left the air she attempted to position herself parallel to the ground, in a sort of superman punch motion. Altar would step to his right, first moving his right foot before lefting his left as the girl's hand soared just past where he had been. As he lifted his foot, the boy would follow through and lift his left knee up into the stomach of the girl. The problem with jumping was once you were in the air, everything had been set in stone the moment you left the ground.

Once the knee made contact, the girl would most likely falter and fall short of her original path, and she would find a dull ache in her midriff. Putting his hands in his pockets and cocking his head, Altar would speak. "Now, there is one thing I must make clear. You just did the one thing you never, ever do in combat. You do not jump. You do not put yourself completely in the air unless you have no other option available. Because once you are in the air, you cannot move. You cannot change. You are subject to the environment around you and you are left almost completely defenseless. Believe me, I lost my very first tournament match because I put myself into the air, and inertia can be cruel."

Assuming the girl had stood, the boy would retake his fighting stance. This time, however, he would take the offensive. He would charge towards the girl, his hands still in place, his body swaying gently left and right as he ran a straight path towards the girl. Once within proper distance, the boy would halt and shift his left foot forward and right, set to collide with the girl's own right leg at about shin level. Assuming that made impact, the boy would punch first with his right fist, aimed at the girl's left cheek, and then with his own left fist, aimed at the girl's right side, right about where the bottom two ribs were.

If both hits connected, the boy would use his right hand to push the girl's own right outwards and close the remaining distance between the two, pushing his right shoulder into the girl's torso in an attempt to force her backwards and off balance.

[[As many times as I've been told not to jump, I figured I may as well have my character learn that IC =w=]]

After he withdrew his leg, Hanabi fell down to her hands and knees. Thankfully he was holding back, but the hit still knocked the breath out of her. She fell back into a seated position to catch her breath as he spoke. She didn't think she would have a hard time remembering this particular lesson. The thought of what might have happened just now had this been a real fight was chilling.

The new shinobi got back to her feet as he finished speaking and readied herself for combat, fists raised. She was contemplating what her next move would be when, to her surprise, he took the offensive. So I'll have to react to him this time she thought, eyes on his fists. His first attack was low, which she hadn't been expecting. As his foot would connect with her leg she would just slide it back, while struggling to maintain her focus on his hands. This paid off, as he followed the kick with a punch. Keeping her hands close to her center, she would strike her right arm outward, connecting with the inside of his and pushing it off target.

His next strike came almost immediately after. She kept her left elbow tucked close to her body, taking the blow with her lower arm to protect her ribs. As he hit her, she would pull her right arm back and thrust it out again in a jab at his right cheek, hoping he wouldn't have time to block it after his first punch failed.

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256/1,707
Inside to Outside Block, AP 95/100

As the first attack landed, the girl started shifting her foot backwards. Smirking, Altar would take advantage of this, hooking his left foot behind the girl's calf. As she drew her own leg back, she would bring Altar's foot with her, forcing his stance to be somewhat wider. This wasn't ideal, but it could be easily taken advantage of on either side.

Altar, to attempt to take advantage of his movement forward, would follow his movement with his right foot, stepping down behind the girl's right leg with his left foot. Now within the girl's guard, the boy would use his forward motion to swing his right elbow at Hanabi's chin. The close distance would make it difficult for the girl to block unless her hands were already up. The boy would follow through with his elbow regardless of whether or not it hit it's mark, allowing his body to turn and torque to the left. This would make it much harder for the girl to make any meaningful attack until Altar was on the return.

With his return, the boy would take a lower posture to accomodate his widened stance, and re-take his guard before moving his body rightwards again, aiming his left hand for the girl's right side, just below the ribs.

Hanabi wasn't entirely sure what happened, but suddenly Altar was very close. After the fight, she would reflect on the moment and realize how much every movement mattered in battle. Pulling her leg back had just been a reflexive flinch, but her opponent had used it to change the flow of battle.

Thankfully she had been mimicking his stance, so when he swung his elbow forward her hands were already waiting for it. Unfortunately, she didn't really know what to do with them, so the result was his arm propelling her hands into her face. Ow. Her arms were now in no position to make a counter attack, but there was the wide stance he'd made for himself when he had hooked his leg around hers, and with their closeness, he was in a poor position to block, or even see, a low central attack. The kunoichi would shoot her right knee up as he turned into it, aiming to slam her leg into his crotch.

If it would miss, his next attack would hit below her guard, which was now up again. She would absorb the blow as best she could, wincing, and move around to match his own movement while trying to create some space.

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209/1,916

Altar was satisfied with the girl's meager block. She had avoided taking most of the damage from the elbow. However, what he wasn't satisfied with was their position. He was way too close and his legs were too far apart. It would be easy for the girl to get a hit in. However, she had been at least a little impacted by the elbow, and as such she needed to take a little time before her next move. There was always a gap. Always.

As Altar began to swing his left hand back in to the girl's body, he would notice the girl's right leg shifting, her knee moving upwards towards... Oh, fuck no.

The boy would divert his attack, lowering his posture to get his hand to it's goal faster. He would block Hanabi's leg, just above the knee, with his open left hand. The knee's final destination would be mere inches from it's original target, something Altar was incredibly happy for. After stopping the knee's initial attack, the boy would shift his left foot backward, grabbing the girl's already lifted knee and lifting it further, aiming to knock her off balance and remedy his wide stance.

After shifting his left foot slightly, the boy would move his right foot forward and use his low posture to push into the girl at about sternum level, using his left foot to push off the ground behind him. This would most likely knock the girl on her rear, and if not it would send her about a meter backwards.

After this, the boy would actually sigh with relief, right hand on his right knee, looking at Hanabi and cocking an eyebrow, the slightest hint of joking irritation in his voice and a sarcastic smile on his face. "Girl, you ever heard the saying 'You break it, you buy it'? What about 'Look but don't touch'? Y'know i'm an avid supporter of doing whatever it takes to win a fight, but c'mon, a low blow in a spar? I almost feel insulted!" the boy would say, holding a hand to his heart and overacting an expression of intense pain.

Hanabi stumbled back as Altar pushed her, trying to regain her balance but ultimately falling backwards. He didn't pursue her, so the kunoichi remained seated and caught her breath. She gave him a sheepish grin, replying "Well, you said to try and surprise you." The young woman got back to her feet and wiped a sheen of sweat from her brow.

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60/1,976

"Well, that sure as hell surprised me, so fair enough." the boy would reply, watching the girl rise. She seemed pretty tuckered out. Perhaps it'd be better of they stopped there for the day. She already showed promise beyond what he was used to when it came to fresh genin

"Well, you did well. Very well, Hanabi. You're much more adept than a newly crowned genin would be typically. Perhaps it runs in the family." Altar would say, his eyes quickly widening after the words escaped his mouth. Ah, he hadn't even thought about it. Hopefully she didn't take offense...

Putting his hands in his pockets, the boy would cough and look upwards, doing his best to avoid eye contact after that slip of the tongue. "If you'd like, we can call it a day at that. You look pretty worn out..."

Had the words come out of the blue, they would have thrown Hanabi for a loop. But her brother had already been on her mind several times that day, so being compared to him now brought more pride than it did sadness. Still, she couldn't help but think of this scenario playing out with him instead of Altar. He would probably take her fishing to celebrate with a cookout, and spend the whole time trying to catch fish with water jutsu instead of touching a pole. Then he'd surprise her with the spar, probably saying something about wanting to be her first opponent as a real ninja. Of course she would lose in an equally pitiful way as she had today. He would pat her on the head and say 'that's okay, kiddo,' like he used to when she was upset, oblivious to the fact that it would actually be the happiest she'd been in a long time. Well, maybe it was more sadness than pride.

She came back to reality to find Altar offering to wrap up the session. Hanabi breathed a little sigh of relief. She was pretty winded. On the bright side, she had a few bruises to practice her medical jutsu on now. "Okay." She answered, "Um, thank you. For helping me."

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