[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." LIFE AS A CHUUNIN Shigure nodded firmly when Kojirou started speaking, and when the Honou paused, the Hyuuga continued. "Your lava form will be easier to control and you will be able to maintain it for longer." he added. Once he said that, Kojirou affirmed he would keep it in mind but it would take time, for his abilities took some time to develop and that made Shigure think on himself. Heck, he took forever to reach a level which could be considered decent by the Hyuuga clan standards. "I feel ya. It took me years to develop my skills. But don't fret, once you build a solid foundation to your skillset, it becomes a bit easier." and that was true; the hardest part of any training was getting the basics correctly. Once that was achieved the development was smoother. Then, he inquired about how it was to be a Chuunin and Shigure smiled, thinking about his current life. "Being a Chuunin is interesting, and quite eventful. I took on some extra roles, so my time is indeed tight, but it's okay. We, as shinobi, need to do our best for the sake of our country and our village, right?" Shigure's tone had plenty of conviction. "As of now, I have to juggle my time between my job as an academy instructor, as a member of the barrier corps, and my responsibilities as heir to the Hyuuga clan. Plus the missions! Hahaha!" he scratched the back of his head, for speaking out loud all the things he was doing made him realise why sometimes he was feeling just completely drained. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Feedback [Honō Kojirou] [268 words]

[Honō Kojirou]

Being a Chūnin sounded busy… but then again, what else did Kojirou expect? Chūnins were tasked with many village-maintaining duties, some of which Shigure himself had occupied; being academy instructors, joining special corps, and- okay, wait, not the part about being an heir... wait, he was the heir?! That was like royalty, right?!

Damn... and the heir of the Hyūga clan made time to spar with him. Kojirou felt so warm and blessed inside, as if he had achieved an invaluable gift from someone. Still, heirs and the like were not exactly a thing in the Honō clan, which made Kojirou raise a brow upon thinking about that. "Heirs… yeah, some clans go by an heir system. We just choose whoever’s most reliable,” he informed the Hyūga, not going into details about the whole ‘absolution’ aspect where the leader should be expected to respond to any opposition on their own from envious competitors, even if it resulted in death. Still, constant struggles like those gave rise to only the strongest and finest shinobi in their clan, and Kojirou had no qualms about that. It wasn’t like competitors were forced to seek leadership, anyway.

Besides, Kojirou had other issues... but wait, he could try and ask Shigure for advice. That man had to know how to handle a Genin Team, right?

"Hey, Shigure... you were part of a Genin Team yourself, right? Back when you were Genin? Say, if you... ended up angering them, how would you try to fix things?”

WC: 250
Hyūga Shigure

[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." UNDERSTANDING Many clans still had a system with leaders and heirs following a dynasty system; some even went as far as to have princes, kings and queens, a memento of the warring states period. It was reasonable that some clans moved past it, but the ones more attached to tradition were unlikely to enjoy such reforms. "Some clans are more attached to the traditional ways. The Hyuuga are a heavily dogmatic clan." he added with a quite serene tone, not showing support or criticism to that; he knew better than to throw the name of his clan in the mud in front of a member of a foreign shinobi village, allied as it may. Since they were resting, Shigure would grab one of his small scrolls from a pocket on his flak jacket, and unsealed a box filled with assorted dango. "Help yourself, buddy." he offered, grabbing a handful and shoving it in his mouth. The explosion of flavours made him giggle and smile. "Delicious!" he exclaimed, as per usual. Regardless if Kojirou wanted it or not, he would continue to eat, only pausing when the Honou boy asked him a question about his former Genin team. The Hyuuga arched one of his brows and nodded. "I've been to two Genin teams I would say. My original team back when I was fresh out of the academy, and my last team, the one I was a part of until I became a Chuunin." he said. His expression became far more serious, as talking about his Genin teams carried a heavy emotional weight to him. "I haven't had an issues with my last team in regards to that, but with my original team... Well, me and Kaito bumped heads some times, we had very different personalities. However..." he paused, touching his chin with his index and thumb. "Ultimately, I think it boils down to empathy, trying to understand one another and be mature enough to put your differences aside. With time, me and Kaito became good friends." he explained, thinking of the deceased Senju who he held in a very dear place in his heart. "I assume you had some bad experiences, am I right?" he asked. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Conversation [Honō Kojirou] [364 words]

[Honō Kojirou]

Kojirou did as offered, helping himself to more dangos and stuffing his mouth in delight. Still, the question at hand was a deep one for the young swordsman… his old Genin Team had, say, some kind of unfinished business with him. He had been able to avoid them for the most part, and after the last Chūnin Exams, he just hadn’t seen them around at all. Still, he… felt so conflicted concerning them. Those words they said back then… their treatment of him, and his outrage… it haunted him, deep inside. It was unfitting of a Honō to lose his composure in such a manner, and he was ashamed of the result of that bout.

Two Genin Teams? That was a thing unheard of for the swordsman, and it rose other questions that he likely didn’t want to ask just yet… but Shigure hadn’t had any issues with them. Surely, they must’ve gotten along, even if he changed teams once. Although, he mentioned a Kaito and those two bumping heads, but Kojirou could already feel that it wasn’t exactly the same instance with his old team. How he wished that it was just him being a brat and the others bumping heads with him… it would’ve made things so much easier.

Kojirou didn’t know the details of Shigure’s past, but he paid close attention to the words about empathy. Ultimately, what Kojirou needed to do was try to end the conflict and move on.

"I once joined a team myself,” the swordsman finally began explaining, "It was me, Sushami and Myō Tamio. We were… old Academy classmates as well, and they had issues with me training back home with my clan all the time. I… even skipped quite a few classes back at the Academy to make time for training back home, all because I possess Lava Release.” The burn marks on his body were permanent badges of struggle and reward, both marks of honor and sources of pain.

"I’m happy that I got to awaken my clan’s Kekkei Genkai, but… they said that I was being pretentious, because I wasn’t able to work with them as much as I wanted to. I-I don’t get what got to their heads, I tried to explain them every time – Lava Release is terrifying if I don’t master it in time. If I didn’t master it quickly, then… what if I ended up causing an accident? During a mission, or something…”

Kojirou felt like hugging his knees as he took a deep breath. He was getting angry, that much was clear. "They wouldn’t listen to me. They said I was bragging about my Kekkei Genkai, and before I said anything else, Sushami… began punching me. So I punched back… and… I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

Kojirou left Sushami beaten black and blue with bulges of reddened skin all over his body, all caused by the swordsman’s bare fists. Sushami had trouble breathing properly for weeks due to the injuries, while Kojirou himself only sustained minor bruises. This was… 4 years ago, when Kojirou was yet a green Genin who had only mastered one Rubber Jutsu. The effort, time, blood, sweat and burns it took to master that one Jutsu… his precious Lava Release Jutsu, the reward for his hard work… to be stomped on by that idiot was the last straw.

He promised himself that he’d master as many Lava Release Jutsu as possible. Until he was confident in his ability with the advanced Chakra Nature, then… listen, he was such a young Genin; he was just paranoid of causing friendly fire or something! Was it really that dumb of him to put aside that much time?! Was it really that many hours he skipped on for the sake of training?! He didn’t know!

"… Lava is a terrifying element, Shigure. You haven’t seen even a fraction of just… just how much destruction it can cause – to the living, to the stone we’re sitting on, and to the earth itself. If I don’t master it…”

WC: 673
Hyūga Shigure

[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." MEND A BROKEN HEART As Kojirou started to explain his side of the story, it made sense he asked such a question. It was tough to be ostracised by your peers because of your family obligations. Heck, Shigure knew that all too well, for he had to dedicate a lot of his time to his clan's training. Because the Hyuuga were so influential, his first assigned sensei had been a member of his clan, but his second team had a member of the Gure clan as its leader, and although he did train with the team and Yuuta a few times, the majority of his training was still within the walls of the Hyuuga district, honing his Kekkei Genkai and the Gentle Fist. The Hyuuga was silent, carefully listening to every word the Honou was sharing with him. The sadness struck his white eyes, he was empathetic to his suffering. Once he was done, he sighed deeply and nodded. "Kekkei Genkais are dangerous, powerful things. I've faced them before, elemental ones, and indeed... You did nothing wrong, if you can't control such a destructive element, you could become a liability for your team. But listen, Kojirou, those who do not possess Kekkei Genkai can grow to fear them, or envy them... It's part of human nature. I'm not saying they are right in feeling those things, for they are not, but this is how the world is." he said, sighing deeply as he remembered the threat of the Hidden Mist removing Wahei's eye because it was a Byakugan, and the terrible fate Yusaku befell when at the hands of the Hidden Snow Village, after which he was returned home with no eyes. "Some people will want to kill you because of that, or steal it if biologically possible. You shouldn't have punched your teammate in that situation, but I can hardly blame you for defending yourself. It was the responsibility of your sensei to prevent such situation, you were a kid, and a fresh ninja. But please, don't let that bad experience haunt you... It can cause a lot of damage to your heart." he sighed, gazing away for a moment. "When my original team died and I was the only one left alive, it broke me... I suffered for years and I couldn't even leave my room. I regret giving in to the darkness and weakness in my heart, I should've fought against it more, but I just didn't have the strength at the time. Now..." he paused, looking back at the Honou boy. Shigure cracked a kind smile on his face. "You are strong, and you have a good heart. Don't ever let people make you doubt that, okay?" and as he said that, he grabbed another dango and ate it. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Conversation [Honō Kojirou] [461 words]

[Honō Kojirou]

Envious… huh…

That was a perspective that Kojirou had yet to face in this world – someone outside of his village who were willing to go that far to obtain his Kekkei Genkai for militaristic reason. It was… something he had heard of in stories and rumors travelling about – if people with Kekkei Genkai ventured alone to missions abroad, then they could risk being abducted and harvested for genetic material. It was scary.

What was even scarier was hearing that Shigure’s original team had all died. His team had… perished? All of them? That was a nightmare for a fresh Genin, and that was an even greater nightmare for a Genin with a big heart. Kojirou looked so distraught at the notion, almost as if he couldn’t believe what Shigure just said. "…” He couldn’t push any words out. Nothing he had to say would mend the wounds, anyway, not at this point in time… but Shigure still smiled at him.

Ninjas were enduring, weren’t they?

Grabbing another dango, Kojirou added: "Shinobi sure go through a lot, don’t they… but I feel happy to be a shinobi myself. I’ll manage.” Hmh… what a tickly feeling in his chest. Was that relief? The lifting of a heavy burden creaking his shoulders for years?

"… I wanna spar again. I feel so relaxed now, gotta get back to the heat,” he grinned, "You said I gotta get better at controlling my chakra, correct? I usually train my breathing in that regard – breathing can really affect your flow of chakra, if you focus hard enough.” Yes, that legendary Kenjin Nōdo principle came to mind, but would Shigure have knowledge of that school of Kenjutsu?

"… Are there other ways of focusing your chakra a little easier?”

WC: 292
Hyūga Shigure

[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." CHAKRA CONTROL Indeed, the shinobi world was a hard one, full of misery and death, but still, Shigure didn't see himself not being a shinobi, even if he could maybe be a chef upon retiring, when his body was no longer capable of battling. In any case, being a shinobi meant that the had the power to protect those he cared about, and to also work towards making the world a better place. And taht was good enough for him. "Despite the hardships of our life as shinobi, I'm proud to be one. I want to be a change I want to see in the world, help people break out of the cycle of hatred. But I'm not naive to think that the path ahead will be a peaceful one." he said with a firm nod. He had plenty of conviction inside of him, he was - after all - a carrier of the Will of Fire. In any case, after eating and resting for a bit, Kojirou seemed ready to get back into training and his grin made Shigure chuckle and widen a smile himself. The Hyuuga promptly got up and stretched his arms as he listened to what the Honou boy had to say. He had taken Shigure's words to heart and he now wanted to learn how to better control his chakra. Yes, controlling one's breathing was the right step, but just one in a multitude of steps one had to take in order to achieve a masterful control over their chakra. "Breathing is the basic of it, but extremely important. Another thing you need to do is increase your own chakra awareness. You need to concentrate so that you can feel the chakra flowing within your body. It's a bit easier for me as a Hyuuga, but everyone is capable of achieving that with intense practice." he said, lifting his index finger, almost like a school teacher; which he was. "When you learn to feel the chakra flowing inside of you, you will notice the chakra you are wasting and burning away unnecessarily, but that's still the easy part." he said, as he widened his smile. "Because then you will need to work hard to use just the bare minimum chakra with your jutsu, and even the smallest mistake at that will make your technique fail. Still, there's only one way of achieving that: intense, continuous practice. So... Are you ready?" he asked, as he slid back into his fighting stance, activating his Byakugan. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Ready for round 2 [Honō Kojirou] [417 words]

[Honō Kojirou]

Chakra awareness, huh… yeah, Kojirou didn’t possess any Visual Prowess, so the road towards getting an image of his own chakra usage would be long. And yet, it required a very familiar requisite; concentration. That was one thing that Kojirou had trained a lot in… simply concentrating. Whether if it was during combat, in the midst of silence or when walking through a buzzy street, he made sure to keep his mind sharpened. Now, he just had to sharpen it even further, and Shigure was willing to help him with that. Kojirou couldn’t be more grateful.

He grabbed the tsuka of his katana and unsheathed it, then held it in front of his face with the sharp side pointing upwards. His focus was at its peak with the katana in his hands, and he could already feel the heat of his chakra emerge again…

No… he had to relax a little more. The heat would make him overexert himself, and that would lead to further waste of chakra. Take a deep breath, Kojirou… and cool down your lungs.

After listening to his own, internal advice, the root of his blade – around the habaki and the tsuba, the guard of his katana that separated the blade from the tsuka – began glowing slightly red. The glow disappeared quickly after before he leapt forward, focusing on how the chakra flowed through his body when he released it through his feet for momentum. There was a rush of energy that surged from his chest and out around his lungs before sinking down to his knees and legs, but it was… difficult to visualize that beyond a blur. Therefore, the dash itself had contained wasteful chakra.

However, when he lunged forward to perform an overhead strike, Kojirou could clearly visualize the chakra travelling through his arms to his hands, spewing out through his very fingertips and through the blade in his hands. He could definitely see it… it was way easier to visualize it through the blade than through his body, actually.

Still, being too direct against Shigure did not bode well… so Kojirou, right when he came up in front of his target, swung his blade to the left and down in an arc motion before immediately jabbing it to the side. Now, he was aiming a horizontal slash towards the Hyūga, mimicking the sequence of one of those Kenjutsu he read about a few days ago…

WC: 403
[Kojirou is charging forward and about to do an overhead strike, but attempts to change trajectory. Not a very fast adjustment, but he's trying to be tricky]
Hyūga Shigure

SPOILER: Click to show

[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." FEINT AND COUNTER He could already see that he was mindful of his chakra, for it started to flow less wildly. That was good, it meant he had enough concentration to proceed down that path. Of course it wasn't going to be a walk in the park; it never was. But Shigure was confident he could attain an efficient control over his chakra if he trained really hard and reflected on his own training, and he was willing to help pave the way towards that. With his focus, he managed to channel some of his chakra into his blade, and it glowed in a red hue, but that was short-lived for it vanished the moment he leapt forward, advancing for an attack. He could see the increased flow of chakra inside his body, the amount leaking off his tenketsus due to excessive flow, a mistake most people made until they attained a more masterful control, but it was already leaking less than when they first sparred. "That's an improvement, but still too wasteful!" he exclaimed, trying to shed some light into the aspect Kojirou could not really see. Still, the Hyuuga wasn't just giving advice: this was a training for himself as well. Kojirou was a clever fighter, and he knew that by now, so the direct attack looked off to him, and rightfully so, for it was a feint of sorts. The Honou changed trajectory mid-attack and changed that into a horizontal slash towards Shigure, who used his fast reflexes to perceive and react, and his great movement speed to dash backwards like a blur. Still, the blade grazed by his flak jacket; if it wasn't for Shigure's style as a speedster, he would've taken that slash. "Wow! That one was too close for comfort!" he said, chuckling lightly and cracking a grin, for he didn't waste any time once he avoided the attack. Quickly shifting the direction of his body, he dashed towards Kojirou like a blur, coming in an angle, towards the opposite side of where his sword was to try and make it harder for the Honou to counter. Preparing his palm, he aimed at a strike at his chin with the goal of lifting him up so he would fall back on the ground. If hit, the nature of the Gentle Fist would probably make his jaw feel a numbing pain. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Dodges by quickly moving backwards, advances with a Gentle Fist counter to the chin. [Honō Kojirou] [407 words]

[Honō Kojirou]

!!!

Kojirou’s eyes flared up at the sight of Shigure’s flak jacket taking a hit. Just at the edge of it, but the swordsman had made contact at last! That meant that his feint wasn’t anticipated, and he reflected upon the trickiness of a shinobi in combat. Feint attacks like these… were quite efficient.

Still, against someone like Shigure, Kojirou had no time to think about other feint attacks. The Hyūga was already on the attack, having reached a position behind Kojirou’s katana where it’d take a long arc to reach him again. The swordsman couldn’t swing back at him in time, and he instinctively rose his feet from the ground as a palm was planted right under his chin and sent him somersaulting backwards.

It wasn’t as impactful as he expected, but that wasn’t the dangerous aspect of the Gentle Fist. Kojirou felt such a stinging pain nubm his chin to the point where it felt difficult just keeping his mouth closed. Yet, he managed to gain control over his spinning body and land on his feet many meters away, looking over at Shigure with a weird ‘uhhhhhh’ look on his jaw-numb face. It looked a bit like he was about to drool like some kind of braindead, hospitalized patient.

It didn’t prevent him from breathing, though. Kojirou breathed in deeply, appearing like swallowing an ocean’s worth of air, before his eyes flared up once more. He could feel the chakra inside of him itching to explode, but the more it burned, the easier it was to leak out of his Tenketsu. He felt like this hot-blooded sensation was something that he needed to suppress...

He kept that in mind as he charged forward again, deciding to zig-zag his way towards Shigure with a width of 15 meters per dash. This required him to channel certain amounts of chakra through his feet and releasing it at just the right times, bypassing the battle-lust itself that seemed to detriment him in this specific instance. Upon approaching Shigure like this, Kojirou would end with another leap up in the air, readying a heavy overhead strike.

WC: 354
[Kojirou is hit, spins and lands on his feet, does an oonga boonga face cuz his chin is sore, and then zig-zags towards Shigure with a jumping overhead strike at the end.]
Hyūga Shigure

[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." A STEP FURTHER With a well-timed counter, he pushed Kojirou away and the numbness in his chin was visible. Yes, he knew how terrible the feeling of being on the receiving end of the Gentle Fist was, he was at such position many times over when training with his father or his fiancée, and usually their matches were more of a world of pain at the end. When sparring with others, Shigure would always try to tone it down so to avoid causing unnecessary damage, which was a bit hard since that was the essence of the Gentle Fist. But still, going through that type of pain helped people grow stronger and albeit strengthening your inner organs is something impossible, developing a degree of pain resistance can be extremely useful. Still, the Honou's tenacity was commendable and even after that hit, he was already on the move, coming in a zig zag pattern. Shigure's eyes could follow him properly, and he responded in kind, using his superior speed to move like a blur, mimicking the pattern the Honou boy displayed, and when he did try to attack by leaping in the air, Shigure dashed, circling around him in half-moon so he would not only get away from the range of his blade, but at the same time flank him. Then, he would prepare and wait for his body to come closer to the ground, but not entirely. When Kojirou was but a few inches from the ground, Shigure would move at him, aiming to hit him at the centremost tenketsu in his body, near his chakra core. His goal was to cause an intense pain and a huge disruption. If successful, moulding chakra would become far more challenging, but there was an upside to that: if Kojirou insisted and powered through the pain, he would need to properly control his chakra, otherwise using it would be very difficult. "Hold on to that pain, to that feeling. See how tough it is to mould chakra now? This is what you should aim for to avoid wasting. You are doing better, but still far from optimal! Let's go beyond, Kojirou!!" he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice; he was having a blast wit this bout. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Mimics zig zag pattern, but when Kojirou leaps, he circle around at full speed. Aims to counter when he is close to returning to the ground, trying to block his chakra core tenketsu and make it way harder to mould chakra. [Honō Kojirou] [415 words]

[Honō Kojirou]

Oh shit.

Kojirou had noticed the shift in Shigure’s position, but his body hadn’t yet attuned to it. He just wasn’t that fast yet, and before his feet just got to touch the ground, all air left Kojirou’s lungs with a loud bash to the diaphragm or just below, sending his entire body into a temporary crunch as he held his belly reflexively. His eyes were about to pop out of his skull, and he struggled for a brief moment to balance on his feet.

His skin felt so prickly and painful… surely, at close-range, Shigure couldn’t be beat by him. However, as Kojirou weaved a single handseal, his skin prickled unbearably – it was as if he was setting himself on fire with his own chakra, making any attempt at molding more a hell to go through. "Ungh…!!!” he groaned, catching his breath once more and raising his brows at Shigure’s explanation.

His Tenketsu… no, his center core of his chakra system was disrupted with that direct hand bash from earlier. Molding chakra hurt so much… and it forced Kojirou to be sparce and really hold his chakra in like holding in a morning poop after 12 hours of sleep. Okay, the pain was subsiding a tiny bit, so he was able to grab the handle of his katana again. He wasn’t ready to cast a Jutsu under these conditions just yet.

Just yet, huh… he wasn’t going anywhere with that kind of mindset. Maybe Shigure was getting to his head, but as Kojirou had just grabbed the tsuka, he suddenly let go of it again and did what he planned to not do in a situation like this. The body-breaking Jutsu… he weaved three, recognizable handseals that Shigure had seen before.

Why was his chakra running so slowly? Using the Nekketsukan like this would give any foe time to charge up on him, but he had no choice – his Tenketsu were weakened and couldn’t afford to channel more chakra than what his nervous system could handle in terms of the pain that followed. But still, the Jutsu was cast, and he could move… Shigure’s Byakugan would be able to see the slow build-up of chakra in his body, taking its damn time to heat his skin up.

With reddened eyes, Kojirou charged forward in the same zig-zag pattern as earlier, albeit visibly slower and less momentous than before. This time, he wouldn’t aim for an overhead strike, but instead he’d draw his blade at high speed and perform an Iaido.

WC: 421
[Using Nekketsukan again but to a much smaller degree, Kojirou zig-zags up to Shigure again and performs Iaido.]
Hyūga Shigure

[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." BLOOD With the closure of the tenketsu closest to his chakra core, Kojirou was under a very tough situation, but he would grow considerably from it. Shigure advised him to remember that feeling, and when he tried moulding his chakra, he realised just how much more difficult it was right now. Instead, he had to focus on his own chakra pathway system, feel the flow and basically force just the necessary amount through each tenketsu it needed to go through until he was able to activate his Lava Form from before. The sole fact that he managed to pulled that off considering how many tenketsus had been closed so far was quite impressive, and showed that the Honou was indeed one of fiery determination. "Amazing, Kojirou! You did it! I'm proud of you!" he said, with a large smile on his face. He was an incredible young man, and Shigure saw plenty of potential in him. "I'm sure you will do great in your Chuunin Exams. You will not fall there, Kojirou." he thought to himself. Regardless, such determination could be borderline reckless at times, so it was about time to call an end to this battle. As he saw him coming on the same pattern as before, Shigure assumed he would come for an overhead slash and dashed forwards with his incredible speed. But he was wrong. Instead of leaping, Kojirou channeled all of his speed and power in drawing his sword with a iaido technique. Shigure's eyes widened as he noticed the blade coming out, and using all his reflexes, agility and speed, he side-stepped to the left, trying to avoid the Genin's blade. He didn't however. The blade hit his right arm, a couple inches beneath the shoulder. It wasn't an incapacitating attack for Shigure still managed to get out of the way for the most part, but it was a deep cut nonetheless, and made him grimace. "Ugh!" he groaned as the scarlet blood spilled out of the wound. Without losing his momentum, however, he spun his waist, and aimed to hit Kojirou with a palm strike to his right lung. Not too much chakra, just enough to knock the air out of his lungs and make him grasp for air for a feel seconds. It was time to wrap up this training. If successful, Shigure would then stop and sigh deeply. "That was a dangerous one! And I think I will need some patching up before I'm able to travel!" but his tone was not one of complaining. What was one more scar to his collection, right? "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Trainig Uses his full speed, reflexes and agility to try to dodge the slash, but is still hit in the right arm. Counters with a palm strike to the lung, and tries to end the sparring. [Honō Kojirou] [464 words]

[Honō Kojirou]

There it was! Kojirou actually managed to land a hit on Shigure, for the first time since they began their spar! What a thrilling achievement!

It was as if all of Kojirou’s breath left his body upon witnessing that… a heavy, melting breath that could ignite the grass beneath their feet, emptying his lungs a bit. Kojirou wasn’t able to follow up with another slash, because once again, Shigure used his amazing speed to respond kindly and empty the boy’s other lung for air as well. Kojirou was gasping for air after that hit, and his Jutsu dissipated.

"*huuuuuuuuuuff*… *h-huuuuuuuff*… T-Ah! Haaaah…”

Kojirou dropped onto his butt and caught his air after a long moment. Shigure seemed all fine with the cut, didn’t sound angry or anything… he actually sounded a bit happy. Kojirou had improved quite a bit during their first-second spar together, and the swordsman had just gotten first-hand experienced fighting a Hyūga. They were exceptionally fast, that was one thing. Their Taijutsu was of another world, how simple yet efficient each hit was… and with minimal energy outputs too, as shown on Shigure’s still fresh face.

The allies of Kusagakure were something else, that much was certain.

"S-Sorry about the cut… it hurts, using chakra like weaving a haori while you’re *cough* trying to fight someone…” he expressed, wiping sweat off of his scarred forehead, "But… next time, it might not be so difficult to control my chakra. Or maybe the time after that.”

Chakra control was a desired skill. But Kojirou had learned something else during this bout… simply, he was good at reading and responding to a new opponent’s moves. It might’ve sounded less than being able to control one’s chakra well, but Kojirou stood his ground against a Chūnin for quite a bit. Sweet.

WC: 300
Hyūga Shigure

[Hyūga Shigure]

"imitations of strength". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." SEE YOU SOON Kojirou was drained after this last exchange, but he was proud of himself as he should be as the last attack was pretty good. Shigure was also quite satisfied with this sparring session, he had put his movement speed to a test in battle against someone he wasn't used to fighting, and it did no disappoint. Of course it still needed some more fine-tuning, but he was getting there. The Grass shinobi dropped on his but, gasping for air, while Shigure grabbed a bottle of ointment made by his clan to tend to wounds like that. He grabbed a bit with his finger and spread on the cut, not flinching much; at this point in life, he was quite used to injuries such as this, his body was covered in scars. When the boy apologised for the cut he shook his head. "Don't fret, this is part of training." he said in a rather friendly tone. "It was a pretty good maneuver, by the way. If you keep on training, you can not only improve your chakra control, but also improve your reflexes." with that being said, it was about time to bid farewell to the Honou kid. "Well, I'm heading to the inn. I have to go back to the Leaf tomorrow. Hope to see you again soon, Kojirou. I will love to see how much you improved. And I hope we can train together again sometime soon." and with the friendly smile on his face, Shigure waved to the Honou boy before he walked towards the inn. He needed to patch up his arm and get some shut eye. "So what if it seems hopeless? If it were me, I still wouldn't give up. Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honour as a Shinobi, for the price of freedom is steep." Training Exit post [Honō Kojirou] [273 words]