[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Murahira Hana is all but a permanent fixture in the Kumogakure training grounds. It's more common to see her there than the alternative. However, despite her omnipresent nature, her younger peers wanted nothing to do with her because she was far too overbearing and ran them ragged. Many of her older comrades shared the sentiment and wanted nothing to do with her, either, as she tended to demand far too much of them. She just pushed too hard, and it drove people crazy eventually. But no one could deny the benefit that Hana had seen from her hard work. She was the Future of Kumogakure for a reason, even if her work ethic scared her contemporaries away. She had finished up her first routine of the day and was taking a quick break to snack and drink. Staying hydrated was critical to health and a calorie intake was necessary to maintain her rigorous regimen.  Hana didn't look like the type to be out training, though. Her Kimono wasn't quite designed to be visually unimpressive or even made for physical activity. Yet she made it work somehow. But despite her appearance, the array of swords and kunai and seal tags and such arrayed on the table she sat at hinted otherwise. She was clearly there to do something and had an arsenal to back it up. She let out a sigh as she drank her water. What to work on next?

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 240 Words [1/8 Posts]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"flames rising". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." MURAHIRA Shigure had recently arrived in the Hidden Cloud Village after a long trip. He was, however, not necessarily tired, and before going to the hotel room he had booked, he decided to check on the training grounds, for he wanted to return to them later, possibly with one of his friends, Azarea, Daisuke, or Kiho, and get some training done. As he approached the place, he noticed that someone was already there. It was a quite petit girl, with white hair and fox ears. Oh, and a tail as well, of course. "Oh, is that a member of the Murahira clan?" he wondered, having only heard of the clan, but never running into one before. The girl was taking a water break, which was very important during practice. Curious as to what she was up to, he would approach the training ground. Shigure was wearing his full shinobi attire, flak jacket and forehead protector making it clear he was a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village. "Hello there!" he said, waiving to the girl in a casual and friendly greeting. "You are a Murahira, right? Getting some practice done, I assume?" the answer was obvious, yes, but he was just trying to break the ice in a more high-spirited way. "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." Chakra Training Cloud's Training Field [Murahira Hana] [211 words]

[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Taking a Murahira like Hana unawares was not an easy feat. When they can hear something as simple as breathing from across a training ground, it turns into quite the challenge. However, Hana wasn't expecting anyone, nor was she anticipating anyone to interact with her, so she had mostly ignored Shigure during his approach. But he did greet her, so she got up and turned to face him fully.  "Hello," Hana replied with a slight bow. She certainly wasn't a normal person. Those vulpine features set her apart without any trouble. Most people in Kaminari no kuni were used to seeing them around as they had a pretty sizable population, but the Murahira didn't travel often, so outsiders not knowing them wouldn't be a surprise. "I am," Hana answered. "I was about to resume my training, too. I have only been here for three hours, so I have plenty left today." Hana looked Shigure over for a moment. He was a foreigner considering his headband. His eyes were a curious thing. They were a subject of many rumors across the land, so his clan heritage would be no surprise. "What about you? Are you here to train?" Hana inquired. She'd never trained with a foreigner before. Would they be able to keep up?

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 213 Words [2/8 Posts]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"flames rising". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." TRAINING The girl seemed polite enough as she greeted him with a small bow before confirming she was indeed a member of the Murahira clan. She said she was training for around three hours and that she still had plenty of time left today, which made him smile. "You are training a lot! I see you enjoy it. That's good." he said with a firm nod. The girl looked much younger than him, so he assumed she was either a Genin or a Chuunin, but he was going to find out eventually. Hana then asked him what he was there for, and he nodded when she asked if it was to train. "I just arrived in the village, so I decided to come to check the training grounds before checking in to my hotel room. I didn't train yet today due to my travelling, and I wanted to get some training done. Can't waste a day, eh? But in truth, I came here for joint missions between our villages, but I won't be doing that until tomorrow at the earliest." he explained in a rather light-hearted tone. "So, what are you training exactly? Taijutsu? Ninjutsu? Something else? I can maybe assist you, depending on what you are doing. I'm an academy instructor in the Hidden Leaf." he explained, pointing out his job as a reference to the fact that he was used to helping people train and develop their abilities. And on top of it all, he was curious to see what a Murahira was capable of. "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." Chakra Training Training Field [Murahira Hana] [256 words]

[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Hana seemed to droop a little bit when he mentioned that she enjoyed training. Not quite crestfallen, but perhaps disappointed. "It is not about enjoying it. It is my duty to improve myself," Hana replied. "Someday, I might be given other duties, but for now I have but one - to train as much as I can so that I am the best I can be for Kumogakure." His explanation about what he was doing in Kumogakure also seemed to sit poorly with the apparently extremely zealous Murahira. Hana didn't come outright and say it, but she clearly had something she disapproved of. "Effective use of time is paramount to a shinobi," Hana commented in a stern tone. "No time must be wasted. If we have time, we must train. If we have a mission, we should prepare." Shigure should easily pick up on what bothers Hana. She doesn't approve of anyone not working quite as hard as her, which isn't uncommon in people who go way overboard like that. "I trained in bukijutsu to get started and moved on to chakra control and some preparatory katon ninjutsu work," Hana explain. "I intend to work on taijutsu, as well as bukijutsu next. I also have fuuinjutsu and genjutsu to practice later today, and I will probably wrap things up with sensory and stealth techniques." It was an extensive regimen... It covered everything. Granted, the Murahira were frequently generalists, so it was not out of character for them to be diverse in their skill sets, but training everything in a single day, much less every day, was probably not healthy. Granted, she seemed okay. Her youth might be helping...

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 277 Words [3/8 Posts]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"flames rising". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." MY CHAKRA NATURE Shigure shrugged at her words. "We can enjoy a duty. I, for instances, quite enjoy training. It makes my morning brighter." he said with a large, satisfied smile on his face. When she continued, with her stern tone, he chuckled lightly, finding it almost cute how strict the girl portrayed herself. "Rest is important as well. Our bodies only grow stronger from training when we are resting. Don't neglect that." Shigure gave her that piece of advice. In any case, he listened carefully when she went on to explain what she had been training, and when she mentioned Fire Release, he took a mental note. "Fire Release, uh? That happens to be my chakra nature. How far along did you get with your training? Maybe I can offer some pointers." he offered, with a friendly smile on his face. The way she was training was proof that she was still a fledging shinobi, with plenty of energy and youth, but lack of focus. Trying to cover all that in a single day was not the most productive use of her time, he believed, but maybe he could help her with one thing, while performing some training of his own. Well, the offer was out there, it was up to the girl if she would take it or not. "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." Chakra Training Training Field [Murahira Hana] [220 words]

[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Shigure seemed to earn some points with Hana by mentioning that he enjoyed duty, and that he enjoyed training. She wasn't too keen on the rest part, mostly because she felt it was necessary to push herself to her limits or her limits would never move. "Perhaps you can," Hana admitted as she turned to the side. "I do not know any techniques at this point. I can, however, generate a basic fire effect." Hana fwipped her fingers through a couple of seals, took a deep breath, and then blew a gout of flame out of her mouth. At first, it was fairly normal, but she added another hand seal after that, and the flame grew in volume and intensity. It also got hotter - way hotter; it was hot enough that the color of the fire shifted from reddish orange to blue-ish white. After she was done demonstrating her capability, she turned back to Shigure. "I intended to master the basics before developing techniques or learning them from my clan. I am at that point, I think, so now it is just down to figuring out what to do with it." She stepped away from the table where she had her things arrayed and looked back. It was a reasonable enough distance that it'd not all be in the way. "I had some techniques in mind, though. I have seen some people around here use a technique to generate a cloud of ash. It is one that I would like to learn, if you know of it."

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 257 Words [4/8 Posts]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"flames rising". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." CHAKRA REACTIVE PAPER Hana said she didn't know any Fire Release techniques, which made him think of a particular type of training that could help her develop her Fire Release nature and attune her chakra to that, learning how to mould the element in her core, even before she could use actual techniques. The Murahira would then waive a few hand seals and blow a small flame from her mouth, heating up so that it reached a different hue, and almost blue-ish white one. "That's rather interesting." he said with a small nod. Her plan made sense, and maybe, if he could help her get a better control over her own chakra nature, she would have an easier time developing said techniques. "I'm familiar with the technique, although my focus is on oil based fire release techniques, and sheer searing teachniques. But I've seen that technique being used a couple times, quite the interesting one. Could be useful for you, if you can fight without using your eyes, that's for sure." he said, indirectly mentioning the fact that she had fox ears. Then, reaching out to his pocket, he grabbed a few chakra reactive pieces of paper. "This is a training my master got me to do, and it helped me better control my chakra nature. Here... Take this." he said, offering the piece of paper. "Once you channel your chakra nature into the paper, it will turn to ash. But what I want you to do is to control it so it doesn't crumble. Think you can do that?" he asked, offering her the paper so they could start this training. "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." Chakra Training Training Field [Murahira Hana] [271 words]

[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory "My ears are sharp - better than most in my clan," Hana explained. "I can hear well enough that being able to see is just a bonus." Oil and searing heat techniques were common in the Murahira clan, too. Ash-based techniques like these were not. It had been a bit of a surprise to Hana as it felt like a good way to take advantage of their exceptional hearing to get one over on their opponent. It may have stemmed from only a portion of the Murahira having the hijutsu. "My clan uses a lot of that, too," Hana admitted. "I've not learned those techniques quite yet, though, as I mentioned." Hana hadn't seen chakra paper for quite a while. Every shinobi had handled it at one point, since it was one of the best ways to determine what chakra nature they possessed. However, using it for training was not something she had dealt with before. She took one sheet of paper from him and examined it. Years had passed since she last used one, so she wasn't confident how much chakra the paper could take before it burst into flames or crumbled to ash. Hana furrowed her brow slightly and looked at Shigure. "I am positive I can," Hana stated firmly. "Maybe not on the first try, though." Hana was correct. She applied her chakra to the paper and overwhelmed it. The paper crumbled into ash a few seconds after she began, and she shook her head.  "Another."

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 248 Words [5/8 Posts]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"flames rising". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." BREATHING AND CONTROL Saying she had sharper ears than most of her clan was a bold statement, but he had no reason to question her. His Byakugan was not even close to being the best in his clan, even though he had been working hard to improve it. Still, if she was truly capable of fighting blind, that technique would be great for her. It came as no surprise that the Murahira would be using similar techniques to what Shigure had, as they were extremely useful and effective. In any case, they proceeded with the training and once he grabbed the paper, and she said that she could do it, but perhaps not on her first try. "That's okay. Took me three to get it right. And then a couple more with an added challenge." he said, trying to incentive the girl. Then, as she applied chakra on the first paper, it immediately crumbled into ash, and when she asked for another, he would give it to her. "Control your flow, align it with your breathing to make it easier. Deep and slow." he said, demonstrating to her how he would do the breathing, and the moulding of chakra in his pathway system. "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." Chakra Training Training Field [Murahira Hana] [202 words]

[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory "Do you know much of the Murahira, Hyuuga-san?" Hana inquired. "During pregnancy, the mother endures a harmless ritual that establishes the Kitsune transformation in the child. Not all are successful, but for those who are they are born like me, with some fox-like traits." She gestured to her ears and put her tail through an elaborate swoosh. "Our ears are keen, but they are special in that we can hear the flow of chakra through the world, and through other people, much like your Byakugan can see it." Hana took the other piece of paper and held it up. Her left ear flicked and readjusted as she focused on it. She began to release chakra into it and listened very carefully.  Breathing and aligning chakra helped. It was not the first time she had heard those words. It was important to maintain calm and balanced. However, she had learned from the first piece of paper just what it would sound like.  "Once I hear something, I do not forget it." Her chakra flowed into the paper, pushing it too its limits, but every time it came close, Hana curbed it just enough. Eventually, she had more or less maximized her chakra's presence in the paper. She looked to Shigure. "It is a good exercise. I can see why you would use it. It requires a different type of focus than it does to utilize a jutsu, but the idea of maximizing efficiency and control is valuable."

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 246 Words [6/8 Posts]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"flames rising". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." TEST OF CONCENTRATION When asked if he knew much about the Murahira, Shigure shook his head. "I admit I only know very basic information." and when he admitted to that, Hana started explaining the process of the fox transformation hijutsu. It was interesting. He always found it amusing how clans who lacked a kekkei genkai sometimes managed to create rituals to aim to replicate a portion of their genetic powers, it was something he truly admired. He found it even more amusing when she compared it to the Byakugan. To hear chakra was kind of a cool concept, he had to admit. "Hear chakra, uh? Interesting indeed. I guess that would be like the Byakugan, in a way." he said with a nod and the friendly smile on his face. On her next try, Hana managed to have her chakra flow through the paper without making it turn into ash, and that was good. She agreed the exercise was interesting, but he was not yet done. "Well, good job on controlling the chakra. Now the challenge is to do so under duress. Once you do that, then you can truly say you managed to master your chakra nature transformation. So... Get ready!" he said, with a mischievous smirk on his face. His hands quickly waived a set of hand seals, and then, his right hand came next to his mouth, to help channel the fire balls to come. "Katon! Housenka no Jutsu!" Shigure would spit five small fire balls in quick succession, aiming them at different parts of Hana's body: legs, core, arms, head, and chest, one after the other, to force her to start moving fast to avoid getting burned. Still, her goal was to keep the control over her chakra while doing that. Would the girl be up for the task? "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." Chakra Training Uses fire balls to test her reflexes and concentration [Murahira Hana] [309 words]

Technique used:

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Housenka no Jutsu [Phoenix Sage Fire Technique]
Rank: C
Chakra Usage: Low
Type: Ninjutsu
Element: Katon
HANDSEALS: 3
Description: After performing the necessary handseals, the user expels a series of small fireballs, each one about the size of a kunai. This are fired in succession and in such numbers that it makes it difficult to dodge by simple means. They are light in form and so they can even be used to hide shuriken within them without being disturbed.

[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory "In a way," Hana agreed with a slight smile. He could see chakra, and she could hear chakra. Both of them possessed some sort of advantage over other shinobi because of it, at least to some degree. How they utilized each advantage, however, might vary quite a bit. Hana seemed pleased with herself, or at least pleased that Shigure recognized her ability. Had she not trained with something similar in the past, she might not have succeeded as quickly as she did.  Maintaining control under duress would certainly be more difficult. She took a moment to pick up on what he was saying, though - that he was going to make her work harder. When Shigure began weaving seals, Hana's left ear flicked slightly. The way his chakra flowed, the way it was molded - all of it. She recognized it. It was a technique frequently used by her clan, or at least a version of it.  By the time he managed to expel the flames, she had already danced backwards to put a little distance between them. She knew what was coming. Several small fireballs, each moving quickly and with the potential to alter course or track down a target to some minor degree. She cast a quick glance at the paper.  Maintaining it would be tricky, as the paper was fickle and already prone to combustion even without her being distracted.  It'd be better to make it quick, then. As the last fireball was released, and just before the first hit her, Hana practically vanished. Shigure's byakugan might have been able to follow her, but normal eyes would struggle. Dust from the training ground puffed up from the ground where footsteps had fallen in rapid succession as Hana moved out and around the incoming fireballs with enough speed that the force she applied caused a small snap, like a whipcrack.  She promptly appeared and grinned. The paper had almost burned, and though there was the tiniest wrinkle in one corner, nothing else had gone awry, yet. "That technique, or at least a version of it, is a favorite among many in my clan," Hana commented. "It's on my list of things to learn soon. Perhaps you'll be able to teach me?"

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 371 Words [7/8 Posts]

[Hyūga Shigure]

"flames rising". "No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living." TECHNIQUE The fire balls were fast, and they could adjust their trajectory, but Shigure didn't do that. His goal was not to necessarily hit the girl, but to force her to dodge, moving her body in a stressful situation, without losing her control over the change in her chakra nature, thus keeping the paper from crumbling. And she managed to do that. At the end of the assault, she seemed rather satisfied with her results and grinned from ear to ear. Shigure responded with a similar smile and he nodded at the girl, hearing her say that this was one of her favourite techniques. "Good job there, Hana. Sharp reflexes, and the paper is still there. With this, you should be able to learn Fire Release techniques with ease. So..." he paused, taking a few steps to approach her. "If you truly want, I can teach the technique. You already showed you are fine with using your nature transformation, so converting your base chakra to fire should be easy for you. Now... For this technique, you need to use the following hand seals: Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Rabbit, and finally Tiger." he explained as he slowly waived the mentioned hand seals. "Then, move your hand to your mouth, to help you give the fire balls direction, and expel the chakra you moulded inside of you." he explained, spitting out three fire balls towards the skies. Shigure would then fold his arms in front of his chest and nod. "Not too bad, eh?" he concluded. "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." Chakra Training Demonstrates technique in details [Murahira Hana] [255 words]

[Murahira Hana]

Hana Murahira Do your best until you know better once you know better, then do better

in life, honor - in death, glory Dodging one technique was simple enough. Dodging multiple would be tricky. Adjusting the trajectory of Housenka no Jutsu to catch Hana's Shunpo would have been difficult to say the least, but she couldn't move like that repeatedly. So, it may have only been a matter of time before she was overwhelmed. But this was not a real battle. Shigure was not trying to take her down or injure her. Hana was able to show off her abilities a little bit without any trouble for either of them. He praised her in the end, which meant to her that her efforts were not in vain. "It was close," Hana replied as she examined the paper closely. "I wasn't sure I could move like that and maintain such steady control, but it worked out."  Hana put a little more chakra into the paper and it turned to ash and blew away in the wind. It was easier than trying to hold on to it or dispose of it in any other way.  Hana watched as he demonstrated the technique, but perhaps more importantly, she listened. She picked up on how he was converting the chakra in his body and moulding it to suit the technique. It was a good way for her to learn how to do it, but for now she had other things on her mind. "It was very nice," Hana complimented. "I'm going to work on a few things I had planned for today, but later... if you want... you could stop by again and we could go over some other things. Could even do some one-on-one or something. I doubt I'll have other opportunities to fight a Hyuuga anytime soon." With that said, she scurried off to do whatever it was foxgirls do when they train.

TITLE: Flames Rising TAGS: Hyūga Shigure WORDS: 298 Words [8/8 Posts - Completed]