[Sora Minami]

"Exactly." Sora said, smiling as Homare immediately began to mimic her stance, focusing her efforts on not only where the blade was positioned but her footwork and balance as well. It was always a pleasure to work with someone who understood the importance of the legs in a fight, but especially a young person; she’d tried to instill the necessity of good footwork in all her students at the Academy, but only a handful had taken the lessons to heart. Homare, it seemed, had been one of them.

"It won’t protect you from everything, but it’s a good technique to have when you’re up against another weapon-user, as it doesn’t rely on strength." The Jounin said as she watched her student shift into a more relaxed, fluid stance, the same stance she taught to every Academy Student when they first began to pick up the sword. It was a simple form (blade held in both hands, tsuba in line with the waist, tip pointed at the enemy’s throat), but its strength was in its simplicity, as it could flow into any position, be it attack or defense.

Sora gave Homare a few minutes to try and practice the maneuver, letting the Genin flow through the steps on her own before she came in to make any corrections. That was a vital part of teaching that many of the Instructors missed; sometimes you had to guide a student to the desired point, yes, but most of the time it was better to let them come to that conclusion organically, as the knowledge was much more likely to stick than if it had simply been memorized through rote repetition.

She did step in eventually though, gently pushing the girl’s arms forward, straightening a wrist, tilting her back foot out a hair- all minor adjustments, but ones that added up to something substantially less comfortable and far, far more effective. Once she was done, Sora stepped back, far enough to be within striking range but not so close as to make the girl nervous. "Alright. You ready to try using it?"

Mayonaka Homare

[Mayonaka Homare]

Homare easily allows Sora to guide her body into the more correct position, ensuring that she was actually going to be able to train the technique correctly by first getting her posture correct. With that complete, she's asked if she's ready to try using it, and although she's slightly nervous about performing well, it's not like the sensation is a brand new one. It was almost a bit funny, since her real parents were already gone and her foster parents were more lenient on her than most, it had to be Homare herself that was pushing her own need to be highly effective in everything she did. As it was, she was glad that she only needed some minor corrections on her form; she couldn't imagine some of the other students that had never really taken after Bukijutsu would have been able to replicate her stance nearly as effectively. The Mayonaka takes a deep breath, forcibly relaxing her muscles a bit from their nervous tensing, and instead staying to that middle ground of flexible, but maintaining a firmness that she'd be able to transition into more forceful power.

"Always ready to a certain extent, Miss Sora."

It was at least somewhat true. Her attention is fixed somewhat on Sora, but her eyes seem unfocused, almost as though they're staring at the horizon. In actuality, her eyes are only somewhat focused, keeping her old Academy sensei in full view, but keeping track of movements with her peripheral vision, which she knows is a lot better at tracking movements, and so would be a lot more helpful in allowing her an effective defense. While Homare as a genin couldn't be expected to seriously be able to deflect or dodge all of a jounin's moves, much less keep track if Sora decided to use her full capabilities, in training she might be able to deflect at least a few, as long as Sora decided to move at a reduced speed and with less strength than she'd normally be capable of. With only two of her arms really required for wielding the sword, the genin's other arms stay back and down, far out of the way, and also far out of reach without very nearly running directly into her katana. It wouldn't do for her to be training in the use of the sword and leave one of her other arms wide open like that.

[Sora Minami]

"Good." Sora said, smiling as she shifted her left foot back, twisting her upper torso around until her shoulders were nearly aligned with Homare’s sword. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before placing her right hand on Samidare’s hilt without grasping it, her left sitting just below the tsuba- and then exploded into motion, twisting the saya to the left as she took hold of the hilt, uncoiled her torso, and stepped forward all in one instant, exhaling only once her left foot hit the ground to add power and speed to the blow.

It wasn’t as fast as she could have gone, far from it, but it would still be faster than anything the Mayonaka had ever seen her use before, faster than anything she’d ever had to defend against before- a fact that might make her react on instinct rather than thought, as the girl was sometimes prone to do. Even if she failed to block the blow, however, Sora was prepared, as she could halt the cut at any point along its arc without any difficulty. She was fairly certain the girl would get it though. She was clever like that.

Mayonaka Homare

Jutsu/SA's/Equipment Used

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu:
NAME: Iaigiri - [Iai Beheading] - Used at half speed.
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/a
DESCRIPTION: The user performs a quick and powerful slash with their sword, appearing almost like a blur, in order to cur the intended target before immediately resheating the blade afterwards. In the hands of the right user, this attack can even cut clean through a boulder.
Special Abilities:
The Kunoichi That Goes On And On And On… [Endurance SA]
Perhaps part of her genetics or simply a random quirk of fate, Sora is unnaturally resilient, be it to physical pain or the toils of extended combat. While most Shinobi would collapse in exhaustion at having used all but the smallest sliver of their chakra reserves, she pushes on; while most Shinobi would wilt beneath the weight of sleepless night after sleepless night, she keeps going. This does not mean she does not feel pain/the strain of extended combat, but rather that her threshold for shutting down because of it is far higher than others. To give an example, if she were to be stabbed through her abdomen, she would still feel the pain of the injury, and it would hinder her ability to move/act, but it wouldn’t stop her, whereas a normal ninja might freeze up or shut down from the pain.

Bet You Didn’t See That Coming [Speed SA]
A byproduct of her enhanced endurance, Sora (despite what many would think) dislikes being injured- and with that dislike comes the intense desire to avoid getting hurt, a desire that has pushed her to hone her body until it could move faster than most others of her rank. In short, Sora is fast- very, very fast.

POWAH! UNLIMITED POWAH!! [Chakra Reserves SA]
After a lifetime of utilizing nearly every ounce of chakra in her body just to survive, Sora’s chakra reserves have expanded a considerable amount to compensate- while she’s no Jinchuuriki, her ability to toss out jutsu after jutsu and still have enough chakra to keep going is quite remarkable, a testament to just how much of the stuff she actually has.

I Am Not Left-Handed [Kenjutsu Mastery SA]
Sora is not merely a Kenjutsu specialist- she is a master when it comes to the art of the sword; after over two decades of training, her skills are unrivaled within Kirigakure, falling short only to the Seven Swordsman themselves… some of them, anyway. This mastery allows her a distinct advantage when fighting other Bukijutsu specialists of similar or lesser rank.

If You Try For Speed, You Do Not Achieve Speed [Bukijutsu Speed SA]
Beyond being a master of Kenjutsu, Sora has practiced for decades to become the faster swordswoman she can be. As such, her Kenjutsu techniques come out faster and move quicker than those performed by others of her rank.

Equipment: Samidare | Spring Rain Blade (Drawn)
SA’s
Unbreakable
Whatever metal and forging process was used in the creation of Samidare, it worked; Samidare is utterly unbreakable by most any means, capable of being engulfed in an S-Rank Jutsu and remaining unscathed. Though it is possible that the blade could potentially be broken by a sufficiently powerful attack (such as, say, a Bijuu-dama), this has never been tested, so it is not known if it would survive.

Sharper Than Your Average Blade
Due to its nature as an unbreakable blade, Samidare bears a cutting edge that is of particular note, which allows it to slice through even steel with little in the way of resistance, so long as the proper force is applied. Additionally, this edge never needs to be resharpened, as it never grows dull or rolls, thus making it perfect for frontline combat.

Light as Spring Rain
Perhaps a quirk of its forging (or perhaps an intentional feature), Samidare is considerably lighter than a blade its size and length ought to be; while this would normally result in a less effective weapon, Samidare loses none of its integrity or cutting power, as it is somehow able to leverage the same amount of force through less mass. This lightness allows the user to swing the weapon about with much greater speed for the same amount of physical exertion.

Chakra Conduction
Being Chakra Conductive, Samidare is capable of channeling all types of Chakra for use in Bukijustu, and, more particularly, it has a slight affinity for Raiton chakra thanks to Sora’s constant use of the blade for that purpose. This affinity does not do anything of real note, but it does feel as if the blade were more eager to drink in Raiton Chakra than other types.

[Mayonaka Homare]

Homare watches closely as Sora gets herself in position with her blade at her side, but the genin is careful not to anticipate the strike, but to only act as the attack comes. Then she sees the sudden rush of motion and follows the arc as it approaches, moving her own sword rapidly into a more helpful position in order to catch the attack on her blade and then rock her hands up and forwards, locking the blade against her tsuba as she steps in around the much sharper sword, so that her face is directly in front of Sora's, leaving the jounin in a much less defensible position. Her hold on her own blade twists as she moves, suddenly dropping the block on Samidare and turning her blade to point behind her so she would be able to bring the pommel of the handle forwards. One of her other arms is even brought up as she moves in, moving to continue to keep a hand on the jounin's arm, the way she would against an actual opponent in order to maintain some level of control over their weapon. In a real fight, she might have aimed the pommel strike at the opponent's face to distract or daze them, or at their gut to knock the wind from them, but in this case, she doesn't complete the move and simply brings the pommel close to Sora's cheekbone, in a smooth and slow motion to show where her strike would have been.

It's only after this blocking training that she realizes it was the fastest attack she'd ever personally seen, and steps back quickly to return to the previous stance, taking a deep breath in through her nostrils, and then letting it slowly escape through her mouth. It was exhilarating, but also left her feeling a bit terrified with the knowledge that she would likely face attacks that were at least somewhere near that speed; her best asset was likely going to be her weapons, for now, so she was going to need to get used to seeing attacks come out with rapid speed like that. It took a few breaths, but a quick squeeze of her hands around the handle of her blade was enough to instantly stop any shaking from the rush of adrenaline she got from seeing such an attack. She felt she was getting the hang of it, fairly quickly.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Ittoryu: Ryuurei Fusagu [One Sword Style: Flowing Block]
RANK: D
STAMINA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: N/a
HANDSEALS: N/a
DESCRIPTION: Less a set technique and more a way of utilizing one’s weapon to the fullest, Ryuurei Fusagu is designed around one core concept- the art of "flowing,” like water, around an attack in order to open up new angles and create opening in an opponent’s defenses that would not naturally be there if you stand against them face to face. To this end, the steps of the technique are rather simple: the user brings their weapon up to deflect an opponent’s blow as normal, but steps around the attack rather than holding their ground (without dropping their block), thus deflecting the incoming blow while forcing their enemy into a momentary overextension, opening them up for a counter-strike. Though quite useful, this technique is limited to use in close quarters, and is utterly useless at range.

[Sora Minami]

Sora felt, rather than saw, Homare’s reaction. It wasn’t that her brain didn’t process the motions, but rather that her body, honed by decades of practice, simply knew the moves the girl would make; the shift to low guard, blocking the cut as it rose, only to cock both their blades up, locking Samidare onto her blade’s tsuba while simultaneously stepping to the side, forming but not completing a pommel strike to the face. The girl even brought one of her other arms up, granting her further control of the offending arm and severely limiting what options she had to respond.

Had this been a real fight, and had she been a real foe, the Mayonaka would have walked away with a near certain kill. She could have stopped it of course. There were half a dozen ways she could have reversed the scenario from losing to winning, even now, but being a teacher often meant letting your students get away with certain things that wouldn’t fly for an enemy. If only so they had a bit of hope for the future.

"Good job." Sora said as she pulled back, allowing the Genin a moment to let her nerves recover from the massive jolt of adrenaline that had just been shot through her system. "That was half-speed, Homare. Most Chuunin can’t even follow me at that level, let alone react in time to perform a proper flowing block." The pink-haired woman gave the girl another smile then, her teeth showing as she sheathed Samidare, waiting.

"Whenever you’re ready, we’ll try it again. Just so you have some more practice."

Mayonaka Homare

[Mayonaka Homare]

Homare is quick to calm down again, feeling a small welling of pride when she's told that most Chuunin can't follow her when she's going half-speed. In truth, Homare had been so hyperfocused on Sora and her movements that she was certain if she were to try such an intense focus in the field, she would be cut down quickly by a different opponent that she hadn't even seen. While being able to impress Sora was definitely a positive, it wasn't the type of focus she could rely on in an actual combat scenario - perhaps it was still useful to train with that capability, and learn to do it with far less focus, and that would definitely require her doing it much more than just once. To that end, Homare looks at Sora again with newfound determination, feeling steady enough now and able to hold her katana now with much more ease instead of gripping it like she's trying to choke it to death, repeating a previous statement she'd made earlier, and really feeling like it's more true now than it was then.

"Always ready to a certain extent, Miss Sora."

Indeed, Homare was now exuding calmness as her eyes return to a less focused appearance. If she was ever going to become an expert at bukijutsu, she'd have to get much more used to fast, hard attacks; her opponents wouldn't be holding back, and if she was ever going to be a Chuunin, she would have to be better than one at the start of the Chuunin Exams, or she'd end up being left in the dust by the other genin she'd have to go up against. And if she didn't enter the Chuunin Exams, she'd have to prove that she was more fit than any of the other candidates for ranking up. Of course, after her training with Sora, she'd likely try to do some training on her Mayonaka clan techniques, and without anyone to really teach her... But now she clears her mind, and all that exists for Homare is the training field and her old Academy sensei.

[Sora Minami]

"I hope so." Sora said, smiling as she set herself into her iaido stance once more. The girl was learning quickly, but there was something she had yet to grasp that would make utilizing the flowing block effortless. It was one of the hardest skills for a swordsman to master, but one that would be vital for the girl moving forward if she wanted to truly reach the heights of skill she would need to wield her weapons effectively- how to not think, yet still move in time with her opponent.

The pink-haired woman moved in, bringing her blade out in the same line,only this time she added a new twist, one that would force Homare to adapt on the fly. Her cut came exactly as before, at the same speed and angle, but the second before the girl brought her weapon up to perform a flowing block, the Jounin froze, her blade halting mid-swing as she flipped her wrist and twisted, reversing both the angle and path of her cut while simultaneously grabbing her blade’s hilt with her other hand, turning what ought to have been screamingly fast iaigiri into a powerful overhand chop.

She wouldn’t hit the girl if her blow made it through -there was no point in hurting her- but Sora would let the blade touch her forehead, just to show how dangerous messing up the technique could be. If she got through, of course.

Mayonaka Homare

[Mayonaka Homare]

Homare had been preparing for a simple recitation of the previous attack when Sora returns to the Iaido stance again, and so she focuses on just trying to react to her sensei's movements rather than trying to anticipate her attack again. It wouldn't do to respond a split-second sooner than necessary, and therefore risk a rapid switch to a counter-attack- And the attack comes again in what seems like a near-instant, and Homare waits until just the last second to move into the block, only to suddenly find that her blade and Sora's do not, in fact, meet at all, and then all she sees is a silvery flash as the sword suddenly shifts, turning it from a horizontal slash that might have cut down a Chuunin into an even more deadly overhead strike before the Mayonaka could have shifted her own blade to a more effective blocking position.

Her body reacts on instinct by drawing her axe with her middle left hand, immediately extending the handle to fully open the axe blade and trying to move it into position to block the overhead strike- Unfortunately, the genin is a bit too slow on the move to really make good on the block she starts to prepare, having planned on catching the blade in the crook of the axe head and the handle. Not that such a block would have done her much good against Samidare, of course, but it might have been an effective tactic against a genin or even a chuunin of similar skill to herself. Homare does the next-best thing; a dual-strike in combat is at least moderately better than a one-sided loss, and so she turns the motion of her initial block into the wind-up for a thrust. Of course, her own counter-attack would have aimed for an enemy's face, but her own thrust is carefully threaded past Sora's head on the right side, at least a couple inches away from her face so that there's no chance for her to strike Sora, even if she were more clumsy with a blade, which she rarely ever was.

The adrenaline rush is back, but she's able to control the slight panic that she feels when she sees such a rapid attack aimed towards her; Homare's breathing and heart rate are still elevated, but now her hands were at least no longer shaking in the aftermath of their sparring meeting.

"I'm... probably still going to... need more practice with being on the defensive..."

A few deep breaths are enough to fully calm Homare this time; she's becoming acclimated to real combat, which felt completely different to the Academy sparring, if she was being honest. Academy sparring had been intense; this actual training was orders of magnitude more exhilerating.

[Sora Minami]

Homare’s reaction was good- she knew there was no way to get her weapon up in time, no real way to leap back or out of the way, so the girl improvised, whipping her ax from her back and thrusting it up in an attempt to catch Samidare in the crook of the weapon mid-transition. Unfortunately for the Genin the shift wasn’t fast enough, her ax barely rising level with her scalp as Samidare came to rest, gently, against her forehead, the razor edge pricking the girl’s hair but not cutting.

The Jounin didn’t stop there, her own instincts flaring as she pivoted mid-step, her head twisting out of the way of Homare’s perceived attack fast enough that the Mayonaka may not have even seen the motion at all. She kept Samidare steady, the flat of the blade gliding past the girl’s forehead as she planted her back foot into the ground firmly, pulsing chakra through her legs and halting her momentum entirely. She paused then, pulling her weapon back into a neutral position at her side as stepped back far enough to let the girl catch her breath.

"You’ll get used to it." Sora said, smiling as she sheathed her blade. "It takes time, but eventually this kind of thing will be as easy as breathing.” And Homare would, of that she was certain.

Mayonaka Homare

[Mayonaka Homare]

Homare instinctively winces as the sharp edge of Samidare comes to rest, just barely, on her scalp, which keeps her from moving much at all after contact is made. The genin knows better, with how sharp that legendary blade is and with Sora's expertise with the weapon, than to move all that much once the movement is complete. She sighs softly as Sora steps back from her own attack to place Samidare at her side, letting Homare herself pull back as well. Still, Sora's words of encouragement leave the genin feeling hopeful about her ability to make good on the technique, and even to become more proficient in combat, especially with such rapid attacks. She was even capable of controlling her panic reaction by the second try at using this defensive technique, so she was already getting better with her combat training. It was like the difference of speed she'd had to get used to when she had learned to sprint full-tilt the way ninja did. While it had been terrifying the speeds she could reach the first time she'd done it, she had eventually become accustomed to it and was no longer afraid of falling on her face.

With that memory in mind, Homare herself was certain in her eventual success, and after having watched Sora's movements, she felt she could use this new technique effectively in combat already. With a little more perfection, she knew she'd make good use of it. But for now, she should really show her appreciation to her sensei.

"Thank you very much for this lesson, Miss Sora. I will take it to heart and improve on my skills as a swordswoman."

Granted, it wasn't likely that Homare would ever reach the same level that Sora had strained, but she would at least put that much effort into her training.

[Sora Minami]

"I’m certain you will." Sora replied, sheathing her sword before bowing slightly to Homare. It was another tradition, though not one she had managed to institute at the Academy; no, this one came from her first Sensei, the man who had started her down the path of being a Shinobi, the man whose death had been the catalyst for her growth and, in truth, the reason why she had lived as long as she had. It had taken her a long time to realize just how influential the man had been, but when she had… Well. She would do what she could to honor his memory, regardless of her doubts.

"I’d find someone of your rank to spar with, if you want a better idea of where you stand." The Jounin said, smiling as she stood up straight. Genin could be clever, yes, and could theoretically beat a Chuunin if given a favorable matchup, but against someone of her rank and skill level? It wasn’t even fair. Like comparing a toddler to an adult, really. Someone on her team might help, though off the top of her head she wasn’t certain who that might be. There were a lot of Genin, after all.

Mayonaka Homare

[Mayonaka Homare]

Homare rapidly returns her katana to its own sheathe when it seems that their training is complete for now; it had certainly been a lot of training and the Mayonaka shinobi needed some time to rest and perhaps have a shower before she would do any further training, at least for a while. The suggestion that she go and find a genin to spar against sounds good for her, especially since she knew any sparring with a Jounin would simply end instantly. For now, the blue-haired genin returns the bow for Sora, with her own going a bit deeper; a bow was a little bit more awkward for someone with six arms, but she allowed her two upper arms to clasp themselves behind her back, the two middle arms to press against her own legs, and her lower arms were held firmly to her sides as she bends at the waist, a very careful movement to show respect for her sensei. It was especially awkward for Homare at first because this hadn't been done very often at the Academy, and she'd rarely had any need to bow to anyone since then.

At least the vote of confidence that she'd be able to handle this technique and further improve on her skills as a swordswoman left her feeling successful, and so she raises back up from the bow with a rare smile on her face, a genuine one but a small one as always. As she'd already thanked Miss Sora for the lesson and promised to improve her skills, she quickly runs off from the training field, eager to go and find either Shizuka or this new Kaguya to spar with; perhaps this "Gomi" stranger, as she'd been told that she was called the Rampart for some reason or another, so she'd likely be able to handle physical combat... Maybe.

[OOC: Thread Exit, Completion]