[Okami Tadaomi]

Tadaomi held his weapon steady in front of him, looking past the wooden blade to his opponent. A few weeks ago, Tadaomi would haven't even given the girl a second look, but now, he knew her better than he knew most other people in general. It had all started when they happened to run into each other during a training session. After sharing a quick spar, the girl had requested that he continue to train her, and he was glad to do so. For all of their past sessions, they had practiced with matching wooden spears, their primary weapons, and he had been rather meticulous to go over the fundamentals. Today, however, they were doing something different. Suikazura would still be using a training spear for this session, but Tadaomi had decided to mix things up for his student by bringing a practice katana instead.

"Remember what we've gone over in the past, Suikazura. Spears ultimately have the advantage in this match-up, but should a sword-wielder manage to get past your blade, you'll find yourself in a nearly unwinnable situation. Now... are you ready?"

As usual, Tadaomi was accompanied by his feline friend, Daisuke, who was laying down rather comfortably a few meters away. The cat had also gotten rather accustomed to their new weekly routine and was usually eager to head out when the time came.

[Suikazura]

    It was still a different kind of experience to the girl to have to use a spear, a tipped weapon was much different from the basic staffarm which utilized both of its sides as a practical force for controlling and attacking the enemy from many different points on the body. The spear on the other hand only utilized control in aggression, but you had to be careful on your spacing most often than not. Her new spear was still a mystery in use to her though and figuring use for its mostly one sided mechanics had proven worth while. Tadaomi had been a wonderful teacher and sparring partner and she was glad she had taken the time to approach the young man. Readying herself in a stance that he had taught to her, Suika’s eyes began to devour the way that Tadaomi stood and looked. This to Tadaomi was something of a unique quirk Suikazura seemed to portray whenever they had sparred, her eyes seemed to almost record his movements. As if she was predicting when he would slip up and give her the room to send him a killer blow, like an owl watching its prey.

    "I am as ready as I possibly could be Senpai.” Suikazura would say she stance reaching a slightly lower position, lax, but ready to move the spear held with one hand near the back her forward palm almost looking the guide it rather than grasping the wooden weapon. She awaited her Tadaomi to begin their spar.

((Okami Tadaomi )) ☆ NOTES GO HERE

AI ♥

[Okami Tadaomi]

Tadaomi specialized in using a naginata himself, but that didn't mean was a complete stranger to swords. He had studied the fundamentals of wielding a katana early on in his shinobi career, and he even made sure to brush up on his skills every now and then. Still, this training exercise was more of a way to test Suikazura's ability to adapt to different weapons and fighting styles, which meant that as long as he kept her on her toes, Tadaomi was doing his job.

"Very well, we'll reset as soon as someone gets a clean hit with their 'blade', ready? Begin!"

The chuunin called the start of the sparring match and immediately corrected his stance. It was true that the spear had the advantage in range, but if Tadaomi could just work his way in, then he could use one hand to grasp the spear shaft, leaving Suikazura wide open. Getting in was the tricky part, and Tadaomi eyed the girl warily, making sure to stay out of stabbing range. He decided that he'd take the offensive to test the waters, and he lunged diagonally forward, both of his hands held tightly around the wooden katana. He wasn't really committed to the attack, however, and if Suikazura followed his movements with the spear tip, he'd quick hop back and keep his distance from the girl.

[Suikazura]

 
    Suikazura had long since readied for this exchange, and as she had learned, while it was a true spar, they were not held to just the weapon at hand. She would take a deep breath, Tadaomi had shown her that in their first sparring match, stubbornly however she kept to her form. As true to form as she could be Tadaomi’s ploys also seemed to fail, never hasty to judge his movement the girl followed his movement near to the drop, even adjusting her footing to match his movement into her range, as she followed him however he would leap back to keep his distance, something Suika was sure to capitalize. Following him with a low to the ground dash the girl would shift the spear, her right arm grasped firmly a foot from the spearhead, and as she would close in, the boy catching his footing quick as he had been before countless times build feint a short close range jab before flickering from vision, she would appear again above him bringing the spear down with her full weight from the air, a dangerous maneuver for sure, but one that would further cause retreat if Tadaomi did not practice caution.

((Okami Tadaomi )) ☆ body flicker technique

AI ♥

[Okami Tadaomi]

As expected, Suikazura easily called him out on his feint, moving with him to ensure that he was always just out his own striking range while she could still jab him with the spear. Once she fended off his mock attack, the genin went straight on the offensive, dashing forward while remaining close to the ground. Tadaomi reacted by shifting his own guard lower, only to be caught by surprise when Suika suddenly disappeared from his immediate vision. The chuunin's eyes immediately shot around to reacquire his opponent, shooting upwards as Suika reappeared from above. Pulling his sword back in closer to his body, Tadaomi had little time to evade the attack, deciding to opt for the unconventional and dashing forward, weaving past Suikazura's defense and skidding to a halt behind her.

It had been a very solid attack from his kouhai, and Tadaomi felt a bead of sweat flow down the side of his face as he realized just how close he had been to getting hit so soon after the start of their bout. Still, he had managed to evade the bold attack, and now the initiative was his. It would take only a brief moment for Suika to turn around and face him again, so Tadaomi once again attempted to rush in close, his eyes locked onto the tip of his opponent's spear and his body ready to dart away just in case it came swinging his way.

[Suikazura]

Life’s Sweetest Delights

conceal their meanings

♕

    It was maddening that that hadn’t worked, but she refused to let her Senpai take the momentum so easily, she would perform a quick hand seal setting a substitution, before twisting spear in hand, preparing for her Senpai’s rush, as he would get close she would follow into Tadaomi’s movement, watching his sword and him like he did to her. She was improving at the watching of her senior’s movements and it was obvious he was watching her weapon. Which was why she was so unafraid of trying her absolute hardest in this fight. She wanted to be allowed to feed her sparring partner sweets and continue to grow in skill with him.
    As they would meet in range she would aim the spear point to his abdomen and thrust from well past where Tadaomi should have been able to hit her, but her spear would meet its mark if he continued to press without any movement out of the way. If he were to dodge and hit her the substitution would pop and he would see as a rock popped before him. Suika would come rushing from behind quietly, trying to rush close for a lunging slash much akin to the one she had originally learned from her respected Senpai.

(Okami Tadaomi ) Subtitution Jutsu used

temp by ai

[Okami Tadaomi]

Tadaomi had been right to anticipate a swift response from the genin, and he narrowly slipped past the point of her initial spear thrust with a nimble turn of his upper body. He used the momentum from the evasive maneuver to continue forward, slashing outwards with his weapon for an easy attack on the girl. Surprisingly, his attack hit its mark, though Tadaomi soon found out that Suika had already planned for this outcome. The girl simply disappeared from sight, a rock appearing instantly where she had been only a moment before. The Nekomata shinobi immediately crouched down into a defensive position, scanning his surroundings for an incoming attack only to turn around at the last moment.

As he turned to face the lunging attack, Tadaomi managed to catch a glimpse of the girl's form in the corner of his eye, and instinctively he swung his weapon around to counter attack. If he had been using a spear of his own, there was a good chance that he might've hit his kouhai first, but he wasn't. Tadaomi's wooden katana swiped at the air as the chuunin felt a sharp pain on his arm, causing him to exhale sharply. Relaxing his posture, Tadaomi moved to properly face Suikazura, giving her a quick, slight bow.

"Seems as though the first clean hit is yours, Suikazura. Very well done. Shall we continue?"

Tadaomi, while a bit disappointed in his lack of awareness, was still proud of his kouhai's foresight and quick thinking. He hadn't expected to lose the first bout so quickly, but it wasn't as if they're training session was over quite yet. The chuunin figured that they could do about 2-3 more rounds before they'd call it a day, and he was eager to prove that not every round would be won by his trainee.

[Suikazura]

Life’s Sweetest Delights

conceal their meanings

♕

    Suikazura was swelling with pride, and it showed in her glee. Her breathing was rough, but the smile definitely showed that there was something gratifying to the girl about her actions. As she showed this look of clear pleasure, she would bow to the older boy a bow as well. She had no reason to be a poor sport to manners since this had been her first hit in the few weeks that they had been training together out here. It was not unusual for her to be in such a good mood if one were to think obviously, it did not matter to her that it was at an unfair advantage in terms of used abilities it happened, at least that was her viewing.
    "Thank you Senpai. I believe that is my first blow I have landed on you to win a bout of ours. Thank you for the instruction so far, but I think it best we continue for now as well.” Suikazura would state, she had to get stronger still though. That blow had not been held back, but by a small amount as all they could gain from the blows was pain. She wanted to keep pushing past that pain, to endure.
    The next round she would have to be careful as it was, as she had exhausted herself a bit with the rapid molding of chakra and physical exertion she had performed in a short span of time. Preparing herself again she would take a stance befitting her weapon again, this time to keep Tadaomi at a set distance, or at least fend him off.

(Okami Tadaomi)

temp by ai

[Okami Tadaomi]

Thankfully, for Tadaomi's pride at least, Suika didn't seem to be the type of person to gloat after a victory, which actually only seemed to infuriate the chuunin a bit. If she rubbed it in just a little bit, then he'd find it easier to unleash his full strength on the girl, but as it stood, it would be a bit unfair for him to go all out. Still, the genin agreed to continue, and since she had won the first bout, Tadaomi would be increasing the intensity, though only a bit. The intent was to improve Suika's combat abilities, after all, and suddenly utilizing his clan's hijutsu would do little to improving his kouhai's skill.

Once the two were ready to begin again, Tadaomi gave Suika a slight dip of the head to let her know that the spar had started once again. Like the first bout, Tadaomi took the offensive first, though this time he took a different approach. Instead of cautiously attacking, the chuunin advanced far more aggressively, looking to breakthrough Suika's defenses by removing them with his sword. While moving towards the genin, Tadaomi swung his weapon repeatedly towards his student's weapon, attempting to swat it away and noting how quickly the girl brought up her defense back up.

[Suikazura]

Life’s Sweetest Delights

conceal their meanings

♕

    Tadaomi was rarely a cautionless fighter, as such Suikazura took this as a warning. Switching to a fitting more of a staff she would block the incoming slashes at her, taking care to not let him get within shortened piercing range. As such she would find herself in a rather well off position. If he stepped in as to enter her range her spear was quick to head for a joint or vital organ. Taking short half-steps at first in her movement, then full steps. Tadaomi had barely had time to exert himself previously and she had already pushed herself quite hard. Suikazura wasn't going to give up though, but this time it was simply the weapons she would use. It was hard to use a spear when a sword user would simply enter your range though, was this why swords were considered so strong? She genuinely couldn't tell, but she wanted to. What did she have for getting out of this, what was her out? She didn't quite know.
    As she would block the watched Tadoami, there had to be some timing to it. She would watch for his rhythm, how did he move, how hard were his swings, how did his body move? She had entered full observation mode again, her eyes feeling like they would swallow the older boy as they lost a bit of color, as her focused changed to only be him. Defend, observe, block, observe, pivot, force space, observe, defend, observe. This cycle would continue until Tadaomi inevitably broke it, the girl already being worn down for the long run.

(Okami Tadaomi)

temp by ai

[Okami Tadaomi]

Sweat began to form on the edges of Tadaomi's face as he continued prodding and poking at Suika's defense. She was quite the student, adapting to each change of the chuunin's rhythm and utilizing stellar movement to ensure that he couldn't simply launch himself into her danger zone. The Nekomata shinobi operated on pure instinct alone, trusting his clan training to break through. He wanted to let his breathe come out in labored bursts, but while he let his body work on his offense automatically, Tadaomi focused on keeping his breathing in check. He was sure that the girl would break soon, but it would be no good if he managed to find an opening but was too exhausted to capitalize on it.

Eventually it happened. There was a slight lapse in defense as Tadaomi once again slapped away the tip of Suika's spear to the side. The girl had been rather diligent in returning the point into a defensive position, but this time she was too slow in putting her guard back up. It wouldn't have been the end of the world, but it was combined with a slow backstep from the girl, giving Tadaomi the perfect moment to slip in. Quickly moving past the point of the spear, Tadaomi found himself within the safe zone of a spear's range. He used his forearm to push against the spear's shaft as he slid forward, getting almost close enough to headbutt the girl before tapping the girl lightly on the shoulder with his training sword.

"There's a clean hit. I do believe the second round... goes to me..."

Tadaomi confidently stated the results of their second bout before stepping away, though he had to pause once or twice to catch his breathe. He really had to exert more and more effort against Suika each time they trained, but that was part of the satisfaction of helping a newer shinobi.

"Sometimes, when you feel your defenses being whittled away, it's best to take a gamble on a surprise offensive countermeasure. Remember this Suika. Staying on the defensive too long gives your opponent all the initiative, all the options."

Tadaomi was easily able to tell what had gone wrong for Suika there, and while the best long-term solution to her mistake would probably have been to train up more stamina, sometimes there really was no other option but to attempt to catch the opponent off guard with an offensive switch.

[Suikazura]

Life’s Sweetest Delights

conceal their meanings

♕

    Suikazura would listen while breathing heavily, she had not been able to keep up again, she needed to keep up more. It had not been all for not though, as her stubborn side would show through. Standing straight on the spear she would show strong intention to listen to the boy and what he was saying, Tadaomi giving her a rather valuable lesson. One she would continue to take to heart and try to wrap around. She had lost due to her intent to focus on defense, but it was not entirely useless, she was getting the hang of this. She was improving and Tadaomi was, in fact, the reason.
    "Thank you for... the spar Tadaomi-Senpai. I... appreciate the lessons a lot I assure you." She would say between breaths, taking a bow towards the boy. Suikazura, when she would straighten, would flash him a bright smile, something glowing from her, a rarity for the girl when compared to her normal more gentle smiles. This one had pride and glee wrapped together in a delicate fashion. This was not all she had thought, as the boy would learn though. As she turned to where she had left her bag next to Daisuke, giving the cat a light scritching as she opened her bag.
    "You made a promise to me around a month and a half ago Tadaomi-Senpai. That I could feed you, at least, when I beat you in a bout. I believe I have done so as I can say in confidence, so you and Daisuke can dig in now. And yes I made sure it was safe for him, though I may have spent a little longer looking into feline needs for how much I could give to him." Suika would say as she would pull out what appeared to be perfectly triangular riceball.
    She would set one down for Daisuke and reach to hand one to Tadaomi, and would continue to until he took the food. If he was a man of his word he would take the riceball and find himself entranced to a mildly sweet taste of coconut, and what would taste like crushed salted nuts of some form. Like a candy bar in the shape and texture of a riceball. The center of Tadaomi's containing what looked like a soft light chocolate, whereas Daisuke's had a tad bit of cooked salmon.
    She would watch intently for the two to eat her confectionery that she had attempted at making. Its taste possibly sweeter than they liked, or at least, Tadaomi's may have. The gaze she held onto him though would be solid, like she was expecting him to eat the entire treat even if it was not to his liking. She had worked hard to get him this food as it had been.

Okami Tadaomi

temp by ai

[Okami Tadaomi]

Between Suikazura's labored breathes, and Tadaomi's explanation of what she had done wrong, it seemed that the two had come to a natural stop to their training for the day. There was a bit of confusion on Tadaomi's face as Suika bowed quickly before moving to retrieve her bag, Daisuke following along assuming that their business here was complete. The chuunin especially knew that their training session was over when the girl began speaking of a promise they made awhile ago, stirring up a memory that Tadaomi had done his best to bury under their rigorous training. The girl first set one of the riceballs down for Daisuke, who began to dig into it ravenously despite not receiving the 'eat' signal from Tadaomi: apparently it smelled that good to the feline. The chuunin, of course, was much more hesitant, pausing to come up with an excuse.

"Well I hardly- I mean I don' think- er... very well."

There was a clear blush in the teen's cheeks as he reluctantly set aside his wooden katana, reaching out to accept the rice triangle from his determined kouhai. The chuunin's coal-colored eyes studied the treat dubiously, flickering a few times towards the girl just to confirm that yes, she was going to stand there until he ate it. Finally, the silky-haired shinobi took the plunge, biting a small piece off the top of the triangle, though it was still deep enough to get at the chocolate filled center. He chewed twice before pausing at the flavor, continuing with the chewing once he processed it. It was... actually quite delicious, and he sheepishly looked at the genin's face.

"It is... very tasty, I'll concede. I suppose it might be best for you to win more often, Suika. Thank you."

The Nekomata shinobi couldn't help but smile, a rare sight for sure, along with his compliment. Despite his stony exterior, he most definitely had a weak spot for all things sweet, and he was rather impressed with the girl's culinary skills on top of her growing combat ones. In the end, Tadaomi was grateful that he had Suika had the courage to approach him that one day and become training partners.