[Murahira Hana]

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

in life, honor - in death, glory A new day is just another day in the routine for Murahira Hana. Many girls her age would be out having fun, playing games, spending time with their friends, or partaking in the latest trends - but not Hana. Hana did little else but train. Her pursuit of perfection was well known, and many steered clear of her because of it. Even the most earnest and eager of the instructors in Kumogakure had exhausted themselves trying to keep up with Hana and their own schedules.  So, she often trained alone. Just as she was doing this morning. Clad in her typical kimono, if one could call such a boldly minimal version such, and armed with numerous training weapons, she had set out once more in her quest for development.  A series of training dummies had been set out for her to use. Each one bore marks of wear and tear, from both Hana and others, and were slated to acquire even more. No one would claim that Hana was being gentle with them... She had squared off against another of the dummies, and as soon as she was ready, Hana kicked a spoke on the base and set it spinning rapidly. Several wooden arms threatened her if she came too close, but that was entirely the point.  Hana moved in and with both hands firmly on the hilt of her sword, raised and angled the blade to intercept one spinning at eye-level. The arm and her sword collided with a loud tock, and then Hana practically vanished from sight only to reappear behind the dummy which was promptly struck by a solid blow. It was more than enough to topple the dummy to the ground. As the trail of dust from her half-circle path around the dummy settled, Hana put her foot on the dummy's base and pushed down, flipping it back up. She stopped the dummy with one hand, but the arms spun and threatened to strike her, so Hana casually intercepted one with her knee and then stepped back to reset her position.  She had many more repetitions to do.

TITLE: A Swordsman's Journey TAGS: Kekkan Mitsuda WORDS: 351 Words [1/8 Posts]

[Kekkan Mitsuda]

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[attr="class","mitsudapost"]Mitsuda would only be in Kumogakure for a few more days. After dropping off confidential paperwork and, oddly enough, meeting up with his old friend Kuzumi, he found himself more or less at a loss for things to do. Time had taught him many things and occupying himself was an easier task than most. The old Sage had many years to reflect on things. Memories crept up at times when he wished they would not. He had had his fair share of harsh times and had seen enough for several lifetimes. It often brought out the worst in him, and escaping that reality was a regular need.

He found himself doing what he knew in cases like this: simply wandering. It would not be viable to return home so soon and without anywhere else to go, it would need to be enough to buy his time until he needed to venture out once again. Curiosity peeked at him as it had been quite some time since he had seen certain parts of Kumogakure–the training ground called to him.

Slowly he made his way. The memory of its location did not elude him. As he approached he could hear repetitious clacks of the familiar sound of attacks against dummies. Mitsuda found himself uninterested, as usual. If anything, he wished to see the dojos further to the south, however, a snake within his sleeve wriggled restlessly, hissing with agitation. The more Mitsuda tried to ignore it, the more it thrashed around. "Behave, you fool!”

The snake slithered out of Mitsuda’s sleeve, wrapping around his arm and making its way upward, meeting his gaze. The Sage furrowed his eyes. It was an unusual action for one of his snakes to act so defiantly, though it was clear something had egged it to act in such a manner. "What are you not telling me, young friend…” he wondered.

It was now that curiosity struck him more. Another thawk from afar drew his attention, and Mitsuda let out a sight, following it where he then saw a young figure. A beautiful white kimono with blue accents flowed downward, but what drew Mitsuda’s attention the most was a pair of fox ears and a matching tail.

Now, it made sense. A fox was the Snake’s natural enemy. By the looks of it, this young girl was easily around Yaki and Mairusu’s age and with a headband, he would guess she could be around their rank as well. He approached silently, studying her form and strength.

"A dummy will not make you stronger if that is what you're hoping for,” he said nonchalantly. "It's in the name, is it not?"

Murahira Hana

[Murahira Hana]

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

in life, honor - in death, glory Strike. Reset. Repeat. Hana went through the motions of the Subakage-ryū's Bounding Willow Strike over and over. She would continue, undeterred. She would deflect the strikes, move, then lash out and blast the dummy from the ground only to pick it back up again. Eventually, something would have to give. Something would break, whether it would be the dummy, the training sword, or Hana's seemingly endless work ethic. She couldn't keep it up forever... or could she? A distraction approached. Her ears picked up on the footsteps off to her side and as she propped the dummy up again, Hana turned to the newcomer. He wasn't familiar. He didn't seem to be a local, either. However, he didn't seem hostile, so she paid him less attention. But his comment on the dummy and her training caused her to pause again.  "It won't?" Hana inquired as she turned to the dummy. "My defense efficiency has increased slightly, as has my striking power. Time to strike from the block has decreased, and the wasted movement and inefficiencies have been reduced to a tolerable level for actual implementation." Hana stepped away from the dummy and faced Mitsuda fully. "The dummy has assisted in refining my skill to a degree I feel confident in using it during a live exercise. I see no reason to assume that the dummy was not integral to my improvement." She tipped her head to the side and looked Mitsuda over for a moment before gracing him with a slight bow. "I am Murahira Hana, genin of Kumogakure."

TITLE: A Swordsman's Journey TAGS: Kekkan Mitsuda WORDS: 259 Words [2/8 Posts]

[Kekkan Mitsuda]

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[attr="class","mitsudapost"]Mitsuda shook his head. Surely, she must know that. "An enemy unwilling to dodge or strike back will help you with very little.” He stared blankly at the dummy, remembering the days when he was also in her position. Sometimes, training like this was really the only way when one did not have a teacher of their own to rely on. Perhaps she was in the same predicament. His apprentices were lucky enough to have several teachers to rely on, even outside of his own training.

"True, it will help with muscle memory, but it’s easy to lose that in the stress of a battle against an opponent who moves against you,” he would pause, repeating her name in his head as if to stamp it into his memory. "I am Kekkan Mitsuda. I am just a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf–enjoying an extended stay.” Mitsuda did not feel the need to disclose his rank of Sage needlessly. He was neither one to gloat nor was he one to really want others to know about his position. In other words, a very private man.

"If you would like, I have free time–at least for a little. Would you like for me to assess your strengths and form?” he offered first, something quite atypical for the Sage. He was hard-pressed to offer his assistance, being old and lazy though not always seeming that way.

Murahira Hana

[Murahira Hana]

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

in life, honor - in death, glory "Mastery of a technique's form is a good first step to mastering the implementation," Hana commented, taking at fairly firm opposition to his stance on dummy training. After he introduced himself, Hana looked him over, as if memorizing his appearance. "There've been a lot of Konohagakure shinobi around lately." Hana eventually turned back to the training dummy as if she was considering resuming her training as-is. However, after a long pause, she stepped back.  "I suppose that I would be foolish to pass up an opportunity to learn from another." Hana sheathed her sword and slid the scabbard into the sash at her waist so that she didn't have to hold onto it anymore. She had taken the time to train with other Konoha-nin in the past, and they often had a different way of doing things, so she wasn't confident on what he had in mind. "Do you have something you'd like to do to... assess my strengths?"  She had taken tests in the past. Hana wasn't a huge fan of tests or examinations. They often felt stuff and overly rigid in a way that didn't represent the world and how a battle truly unfolded, but as she looked Mitsuda over again, he didn't strike her as the type to stick to a standardized regimen.

TITLE: A Swordsman's Journey TAGS: Kekkan Mitsuda WORDS: 216 Words [3/8 Posts]