[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

It had been a week or so since the pink-haired girl had been introduced to the older boy who claimed to be of the same blood as her. Having never met prior to that exchange, Tsuri had readily decided he was definitely at least a cousin to some degree after having thought it over a long session of fishing the few days prior. Today she was going to see if it was true! All she had to do was see if his sword could stretch like Hakugei! It was simple and easy to understand sort of concept that she enjoyed since she had figured out how to connect on a deeper level with Hakugei. She still wasn't the best at it, but she was feeling better now than she ever had before learning her little trick with Hakugei in hand.

'My Lady, do you know what you're planning to do with the young gentlemen if he ends up truly being like us?' Hakugei would ask inwards of the girl, worried of the unseen consequence if the two truly did hit it off because of the current plan to hang out today and train. It was not unprecendented worry, but for Tsuri it was a reason to reply with a giggle fit. Hakugei was always such a worrier, but it genuinely made her happy to know that he cared for her as she cared for the blade. It was a connection that thousands could not replace in her life.

"I'm going to be the best surprise cousin in the world obviously! Then I'm gonna show him up and be even stronger than him!" Tsuri would say out loud pointing up with hakugei laying flat to her chest as he hung from her neck. The sound of silence and then booming laughter signaled Hakugei's approval. She could almost feel his enthusiasm.

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

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[attr="class","sugita"]Sugita was still coming down from the high of facing the Ame Lord. Their spar had quite literally changed his perspective. The young Genin found himself trusting in his strength more and more. It had only been a few days, but he felt as though he could take on the world. He had been given permission to visit Kirigakure and would be leaving within the next few weeks. Suga knew that he had landed the gold mine with this opportunity, and he didn’t want to let Sanosuke down. He would take this moment to prepare himself for his future missions and learn as much as he possibly could on his time away.

For now, he had another promise to keep, this time to young Tsuri. Presumedly, she was another member of his clan though her situation was a bit…different and Sugita wasn’t quite sure how she fit in to everything. He was still puzzled by her odd Lifeblade who seemed to take the form of a fish hook. Sugita had seen several Lifeblades, but nothing he had come across was quite as eccentric as Tsuri’s. Gingādo swore up and down that it truly was a Lifeblade. She wasn’t lying. Perhaps she was just confused or uneducated in their clanlife. Was she an outsider of the clan? Someone forgotten?

"You worry too much,” Gingādo chimed. "You’re walking painfully slow. If you keep at this pace, you’re going to be late young Sugita.”

The Genin’s eyes widened. He was going to be late! He felt his heart jump. If there was one thing that Sugita hated, it was making people wait on him for no good reason. He’d been caught daydreaming. He didn’t want to let Tsuri down. He rushed forward as fast as he could, sprinting off.

He quickly arrived at his destination. It seemed as though Tsuri had already made it. Sugita could hear the young girl mumbling to herself…or presumably her Lifeblade. What was its name again? He would have to ask… "Tsuri!” Sugita called out cheerfully, waving at the younger girl enthusiastically. "I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long…”

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

Tsuri would immediately grin even brighter at the sight of Sugita approaching the young girl. Her instant elation would be met with her skipping over to meet the boy with her arms straight down and outwards from her hips as if she was about to start running. Coming to a stop and humming as she nearly let her excitement overwhelm her sense of self-control, "Sugi-rin! Hihi! I haven't been here for super long, just spending time with Hakugei while we waited for you!"

For the first time sense they met though the girl's happy appearance would shift in a flash, looking at Gingādo then down at Hakugei, then back at Gingādo. Shrugging it off seemingly and going back to smiling as if it hadn't been a thought inside of her mind. A ball of pink energy as always it was no wonder why she liked her nickname Sakanawa, she was just as bubbly as it implied. Her parents also had horrid naming sense if she had been named 'Tsuri'. As if a thought had flashed into her brain again she would make a face like she had had a sudden epiphany. Hopping up and down she would put her two fists together, "Sugi-rin! Sugi-rin! I learned how to do something really really cool! You wanna see?"

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

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[attr="class","sugita"]Sugita could see the ball of energy that was the younger girl before him. It brought a brightness to his heart, though even more of a wonderful thing that the two were seemingly related. There were not many people within his clan who were his age, so to find one so coincidentally was his luck of the year. Tsuri seemed kind and carefree. It was a shame that the shinobi world might break that.

Perhaps…he could prevent that from occurring so soon.

"There you go again trying to take in the lost puppy. When will you ever learn, young Sugita, that you cannot protect everyone?” The grey-eyed Genin simply ignored Gingādo from within, holding the hilt of his sword as if to shush him metaphorically. He was right, though. He couldn’t protect everyone, but he sure as hell could try.

He had only been referred to as "-rin” by one other person: Shuichi. With that thought in mind, he found himself saddened, though did his best to not let that sadness appear. The memories of his mission to bring home Shuichi’s Lifeblade still haunted him. Again, the cruelness of the Shinobi world had already begun to affect him once again. This time, however, he found himself more mentally prepared. He shoved the unwanted thoughts aside. There was too much happiness in front of him to let them linger.

Sugita smiled warmly as Tsuri approached him with eager happiness. "I’d love to. Show me what you can do!”

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

Without skipping a beat the girl would take Hakugei off of her neck and look off to find a good place for her to try and strike. The want to impress her friend/cousin growing stronger by the minute as she took up a pose like she was getting ready to prepare a fishing line for a cast, Hakugei pointing outwards in her hand. Having met Sugita on a training ground near the academy had its perks though as she trained her self onto the dummy furthest from the two.

Swinging back her arm, Hakugei would seem to open wide as if flexing a jaw, her arm arcing outwards in a fast motion that looked like it would do nothing at first, but that wasn't necessarily true in this case. As her arm would arc out from her Hakugei would stretch further and further away until it found purchase the blade seeming to effortlessly swivel and hook around the back of the training dummy before realing inwards. The wood and straw chopping down before Hakugei recoiled effortlessly back to its normal form as an over-sized fishhook.

Tsuri would point and smile over to Sugita, "Sugi-rin! I can fish with Hakugei even if I don't have a fishing pole! Isn't that super duper neat-o?! I bet you can do it too!!!"

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

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[attr="class","sugita"]The Genin boy wanted to start learning more about the people in his clan. Having been mostly close to his immediate family, he was sad to say he didn’t really know much personally about the people within his clan. He hoped that Tsuri would be the start to making a difference with that…He wanted to give her the attention she deserved. Perhaps…he could protect her? She seemed confident so far, and strong and her resolve seemed to be there. Who was he kidding? She didn’t need saving.

Sugita watched closely as the younger girl preformed her technique. He was amazed at her control over his Lifeblade so far. She seemed to have a very strong connection with it, perhaps even as strong as his was with Gingādo. As Tsuri slung the hook outward and it slung around a dummy, Sugita could instantly see what she was trying to accomplish. She was using it to wrap around an enemy to confine them with her hook. It was a simple yet very useful technique. At the moment, he didn’t have anything close to that.

"Wow. Did you come up with that on your own?” Sugita’s voice sang with praise. "Sure, I can give it a shot!”

Gingādo was able to extend, though the flexibility of the chain would make their techniques use slightly different. If he used this technique with the tang of the blade going inward on the enemy, it could nearly cut someone in half. The other way, however, and it would confine them similar to how Tsuri had accomplished.

Sugita released his Lifeblade from his back, readying it at the hilt before striking outward in a similar manner as Tsuri. In that moment, he released the hold on the chain, his large sword stringing outward towards the dummy. Sugita managed to get it in the spot he needed, and then maneuvered the blade to try and wrap it around the dummy.

The weight of his blade, however, made the technique much more difficult and it simply splatted to the ground with a thud.

Sugita rubbed the side of his cheek with his finger with embarrassment. "Haha, could you show me the technique one more time?” Perhaps he had missed something vital.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

It seemed that Sugita was responsive to her attempts to use the jutsu that she had and it had gone off without a hitch. The girl couldn't smile wider if she wanted to, seeming to gloat a bit about the accopmplishment in her own mind. Hopping up and down for a moment in excitement, all before an untimely bad footing would find her face first down in the muddy earth. She had been so high just a moment before but she turned her head and her eyes would bubble with stream-like tears.

'Please don't cry my lady... he won't think less of you for this surely!' A voice would call into her mind with an encouraging tone that made it obvious that she was going to be fine. Hakugei was her biggest supporter after all, after all he was part of her too. Her tears stopping she would turn her head towards Sugita, and begin to stand, wiping the mud and tears from her face, thanking the rain for its constant pouring. It made it far easier to get the mud off of her jacket as well.

"Eheh hehe. Oops, sorry Sugi-rin," Tsuri would say going right back her her grinning, cheerful self save for a bit more red in the face. Turning she would look back at the dummy, "I'll do it again! Make sure you watch plenty this time!"

Extending her arm back, holding Hakugei she begins to channel chakra into the blade and Hakugei begin to stetch like a fishing line as she swings him outward. Looping in the air to show off a little as it would coil down and over the dummy.

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

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[attr="class","sugita"]As Sugita turned to look at Tsuri, he smiled. Her jumping up and down made him happy. He wasn’t quite sure he understood what was making her so happy, but it was clearly there as bright as day and as loud as thunder. As she landed, she slid, falling face first into the mud.

As she looked up, Sugita’s heart dropped. She was so upset. Without much thinking involved, Sugita also jumped, allowing his feet to slide out from underneath him where he landed, like Tsuri, face first in the mud. He attempted to stand back up and slid again into the mud. He then looked up at her, a smile cracking through a now fully mud-covered face. It was never as bad to be the only one, and he hoped that maybe if he too was covered in mud…she wouldn’t feel too embarrassed about it anymore. If nothing, perhaps she would get a laugh out of it and not think about it anymore.

If they kept training out here long enough, no one would be able to tell they fell in the mud by the time they returned home either. "You don’t have anything to apologize for…” he said gently. Sugita made sure to watch Tsuri closely, mimicking her movements without fully committing to them with sword in hand so that he could feel the movements and hopefully replicate them as she had.

After she had performed the technique again, Sugita did one more practice set of the movements before deciding to fully commit. He lunged his sword outward, releasing the chain from its hilt and allowed it to swing around the dummy. This time, it managed to twirl backward, wrapping fully around the dummy but then fell promptly to the mud before latching over itself firmly enough to hold the target.

"You owe me for this one,” Gingādo said with an obviously annoyed tone.

"You'll be okay," Sugita replied, "It's for a good cause."

"Hmmm…” He turned to Tsuri. "You think maybe my sword is too heavy? Do you think aiming higher at the start would help any?” he questioned. She seemed to be the expert at this, after all.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Kirigara Sugita

Tsuri would practically sparkle at the obvious gesture to make her feel better. Perhaps Sugita didn't know that Tsuri would simply cry rivers regardless of anyone else interferring with her, but that didn't mean that the gesture wasn't worth its weight in gold. As they both stood there covered in mud she would chuckle lightly. Her giggling would end though as she began to watch her older cousin perform the technique that she had genuinely only shown the boy twice. It was as if she was awe-struck that he had picked up the technique so quickly, though, of course, she had accidently figured out the technique itself.

Responding as he asked her a question, she would place a thumb and pointer on her chin and rub while staring up into empty space with a look of concentration on her face. As if the light bulb would click she would spin and look at the boy with a smile, "Try getting some more momentum into it Sugi-rin! I don't have to worry as much, but Hakugei is a really small blade all things considered. So its easier to build the movement to go SWOOSH and send him out like a fishing pole. If you run a little and spin I bet you could nail down the jutsu and probably cut that dummy in half!!!"

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

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He was glad to see that his little charade had managed to at least get a laugh out of the girl. He didn’t mind putting himself in situations like this to make others feel better. She seemed quick to recover.

Sugita listened to Tsuri’s advice in how he should adjust the technique. Their style of LifeBlades were very different, and it would reflect in how they approached their techniques in combat.

He imagined himself casting the sword outward once again, and then took a few steps backward. The Genin took a deep breath, gripping tightly on the hilt of his blade as he focused for another round to attempt the jutsu.

Sugita lunched forward with a powerful kick off with his back leg, then extended his arm outward, releasing the blade once again from its chain. He put additional thrust behind the blade, with clear emphasis on strength as his arm swung the blade outward. Its weight did not feel as heavy this time around. Once it was in position, he tugged on it, manipulating the direction of the blade and forcing it to wrap around the dummy. One. Two. Three times it wrapped around with the length of the chain, and then clamped shut with the sound of raging metal against metal. The dummy seemed to sit in place momentarily before simply…falling over into two pieces.

The boy, red cheeked and wide eyed, gave a small fist pump at his accomplishment. He managed to pick up the technique faster than he originally thought he would.

"Wow, thanks Tsuri…You have no idea how much it means to me.” He offered the girl a high five.

"Clearly, I owe you one…”

What he could do for Tsuri, well he didn’t really know her well enough to make a logical guess, but he could only assume she had a few things up her sleeve she’d want to learn as well.

Shodo Tsuri

[Shodo Tsuri]

Tag

Tsuri would raise her hands in awe smiling as she looked out at the damage that her cousin had managed to cause from his usage of the exact same technique that she had used moments before. Making up for his lack of finesse with mass and experience. The heavier blade obviousously taking more effort than one as small and deft to motion as Tsuri's. A giggle would still come from the pink haired child as she started hopping from excitement, "Sugi-rin your amazing! If you can do this I bet you can do some super cool stuff... speaking of, you should be able to control the direction and what stretches intuitively. I can stretch Hakugei fairly easy using this trick, but I bet they he a whole bunch less than your lifeblade."

'That should be a no brainer My Lady. That boy's blade is many times my size over... it should be extremely weighted.' Hakugei would speak into her mind as if both confirming the fact, and notifying her that her cousin likely knew this already. The blue-haired boy stood almost a good full foot above her and had far more muscle definition in his arms from the use of his sword.

"Would you like to practice the technique some more Sugi-rin? I think you just need to get a little bit better and you won't have any issues... hmmm," Tsuri would put a finger on her chin and tilt her head before the lightbulb seemed to light itself. Waving real fast to get his attention she would get into the pose that one would run in. Taking off she would stop and twist her whole body as if it was one part of the same, sending Hakugei out yet again. This time the movement was faster from the added motion and momentum.

Cupping her mouth as Hakugei snaked through the air for the other training dummy she would call back to the genin, "Try it while moving now Sugi-rin!"

- ❤ -

[Kirigara Sugita]

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[attr="class","sugita"]Sugita was honestly a bit surprised in himself. He was beginning to feel some strain in his arm. The weight of the blade certainly made the technique much harder to perform, but the boy was having an easier time handling the strain now than he had even weeks ago. Perhaps it was due to all of the intense training he was putting on himself, but his strength was certainly increasing over time. Much of it was thanks to the help of his friends and mentors such as Fruit and Tsuri and even Sanosuke and Asuka. The thought warmed him.

He nodded firmly, readying his blade once again. He backed up and after firmly gripping his blade, Sugita charged forward yet again, but also to the side. He swung his blade outward, maneuver it and allowing it to extend towards another dummy. With this attempt, it was more at an angle and now while moving at a rather fast pace, however, as Tsuri had suggested. This technique was similar to his guillotine technique, perhaps one of the reasons it felt so natural to him so quickly.

As the blade neared the target, he quickly pulled back, collapsing the blade and forcing it to wrap around the target. It seemed to work, and the blade wrapped around the target several times before collapsing on itself with a metallic ding. Sugita smirked. "You’re a pretty good teacher, Tsuri…” He said, releasing the grip on the dummy as he retracted his sword. "I owe you for this, really…” he said genuinely with a smile shortly following.

"Maybe I could teach you one of my techniques some time as a tradeoff. How does that sound?”

Shodo Tsuri