[Senju Kazuto]

It had been some time since he had made the amends with the Hyuga, he had presented his father's corona and he used his talents to create a new hall in which the elders of such august clan could drone themselves to sleep. He could see the glint of amusement and the feeling of superiority that they had when he had simply bowed to them. It meant little to him, but he was glad that he had managed to be convincing enough to buy time and space for Hitomi to operate. They had parted that they with the her privately telling him that if he needed anything, he needed but to ask. Of course, he had taken that raincheck and given his past experiences, he had come to terms that he wasn't as agile as he thought after several missions and after hearing his wife talk about how many injuries he was accruing in his outings. With that in mind, he had send a letter to the head of the Hyuga, if anyone could help him, it was her, given the recent exchanges between the clans, he imagined she was probably the only one that could be willing to aid him and in privacy at that. So he had made the letter containing a hidden message that he was certain that Hitomi could crack. At least he hoped. As he awaited at the outskirts of the village with the sun rising to its zenith, he would glance at the people coming and going to the village, like a line of ants from the distance returning and moving away from the hive. He leaned against the trunk of a tree, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed after a few seconds of watching the distant line of people.

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MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hyūga Hitomi]

Hyūga Hitomi

Hitomi would approach her second meeting with Kazuto far differently to the previous one, the Hyūga clan head dressed in her more usual attire meant for training and combat rather than to show off her status and clan's wealth. She didn't expect to sneak up on the man, but she definitely wasn't making a big deal of her movements, she didn't need people keeping a track of what she was up to after all.

The Senju hadn't exactly told her where to meet with him, but she'd be a poor Hyūga if she couldn't find him with a general direction provided to her. A few moments of active Byakugan told her exactly where to meet with the man. With shinobi like themselves it was always best to try and do things with as few prying eyes as possible, so finding a quiet place to train was definitely the best option.

With the sort of stealth one would expect of her rank, Hitomi would make her way to where Kazuto was waiting, emerging out of the tree line on silent feet, though she was sure that he would pick up on her presence well before she could startle him. "It's strange that a married man would pen a secret letter to meet with an unmarried woman at dawn Kazuto-dono," she teased, her crooked smile and pale eyes so much more animated than their last meeting, so much more... normal.

This wasn't a rendezvous between two noble clan heads, but rather two higher ranked shinobi.

"What favour did you wish to ask?"

Word Count: 260
Tags: Senju Kazuto
Training: 1/8
Jutsu Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

N/A

[Senju Kazuto]

"Ah." Kazuto said with a chuckle. "I can see how that might rise eyebrows and spread rumors of a tryst between two clan heads." In retrospective, perhaps approaching her in that way was not the most sound way, but he knew that any official missive sent to her would likely be discarted by whatever filters the clan had to deal with correspondence. "Well, they can make whatever rumors they like, I assure you my request is more noble than that." He said as his features hardened slightly from the humor that had existed between the them at the moment. "Truth is, my recent missions haven't been a complete success." He said, taking a moment to walk around the tree he had been leaning against. His features turning slightly more somber as he relived the his missions. On paper the objective had been achieved, his shinobi had been been kept intact had them come with him but he himself had been injured whether accompanied or by himself. "I have accrued more injuries than necessary. I don't fear them, is a necessity, but there will be a day that I can't simply just endure wounds whenever they come." He explained. In truth, there was also the matter that he didn't want to worry his wife anymore. Even when she hid it, he could see the concern behind the tranquil expression she would always put forth. "To that end, I need to train myself to react faster, to dodge and simply not be in the way of my enemies attacks." He said as he would turn towards Hitomi. "That is the favor I ask from you." In truth there was no one better than her to aid him with this pursuit. "If you have the time that is."

-tag- Hyūga Hitomi -words- 305 -notes- --- -music- ---

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[Hyūga Hitomi]

Hyūga Hitomi

"If Miho-dono challenges me to single combat then I will have to do something drastic, just so you are aware," Hitomi joked, though her amused countenance changed as he started to lay out his request, the air between them becoming much more serious, listening to the concerns that the man was expressing.  

"So, you want to practice dodging me in order to get better at avoiding enemies?" she asked, seeking clarification, "you are aware I am not just a gentle fist practitioner, right?" with that the Hyūga head casually pressed a finger against the tree, the wood cracking and indenting as though it were bubbles in a bathtub under her enhanced strength. "Although... I do need to practice my jyuken more effectively, so maybe not using that."

Shrugging slightly, the kunoichi gestured for Kazuto to lead the way, "I have a few hours before class, and I have been trying to get myself to an acceptable taijutsu level since becoming clan head, so we can train for a bit." Any chance to improve herself, to prepare herself for what was inevitable, the clan elders challenging her, at least some of them. She had to be able to defeat them with the clan's own skillset, otherwise others would claim her victory tainted. 

Word Count: 211
Tags: Senju Kazuto
Training: 2/8
Jutsu Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

N/A

[Senju Kazuto]

Her expression seemed to change slowly as she would hear his request. The more joyous qualities of her persona washed away as she considered the request. As she would reply and state that she wasn't merely a gentle fist practitioner, pressing her finger agaisnt the bark of the tree, her digit breaking surface of the bark, the tree creaking and shaking at the duress of her strength. Nonplussed, the Senju moved his gaze from the Hyuga and looked at her. "I'm aware." He answered quietly, he had seen that strength before in his wife and that made Hitomi ever more fearsome. In truth he didn't care if she wanted to switch between both types of style at her combinience. Battle where for all intends and purposes and he would rather be prepared for as much as he could rather than be awaiting for the very same thing. But if this was something she desired to improve then there was something of gain for both of them and maybe in the process they gain a better understanding of each of them. "That will do." He said, giving her a brief smile. The time that she had to spare would do and every second that they put towards that would be a second well used to improve each other. "I know of a place that we can train away from prying eyes. it won't take long for us to reach there He said, sparing some of the details as the place rather than a location they could travel to was more of a place they had to 'jump' to. "If you could give me your hand." He said, extending his hand for her to reach as he began to plot the route towards the 'beacon'. "It'll be a quick jump."

-tag- @hyuugahitomo -words- 308 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Hyūga Hitomi]

Hyūga Hitomi

Already beginning to mentally prepare herself for a taxing training session, Hitomi frowned slightly at his terminology, a quick 'jump'? What did he mean by that? Without any further information there was only really a question of how much she currently trusted him, which meant that after a brief moment of puzzlement she simply reached out to grasp the offered hand, figuring that she would see for herself what he was talking about when he did whatever he was planning to do.

At the very least finding a spot where they couldn't be seen would be good, since two clan heads training together would definitely draw attention and potentially criticism from clan members. Plus... well, at their level it was better if people didn't know what they were capable of, just in case.

Regardless, once they arrrived wherever it was that he was going to take her, Hitomi would spend a little bit of time stretching out and preparing for the training session, no point pulling a muscle or anything when it could be easily prevented. Her opening movements were fluid and calm, but not quite those that Kazuto would recognise as the gentle fist, mostly because they were non-combat motions designed to help with the requisite flexibility that the style needed, and thus weren't really seen outside of the clan compound.

Word Count: 222
Tags: Senju Kazuto
Training: 3/8
Jutsu Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

N/A

[Senju Kazuto]

"Take a deep breath if you feel nauseous." Kazuto warned her. It wouldn't be the first time that someone who wasn't used to the technique fell the effects, after all, blinking in and out of reality would be unnatural to the rational mind. As soon as she would take his hand, the two faded as if they had never existed, traveling through a grey plane that seemingly had no beginning and no end, reappearing in the matter of an instant in a secluded forest kept in what seemed to be a perennial autumn. The scent of untouched wildlands stuck him and the telltale signs that this location had been used by training before met them. "How are you faring?" He turned to the Hyuga, concerned on whether or not she had survived the trip without feeling sick, but sure that the famous restraint of her clan would kick in should she feel infirm at the sudden jump. As she seemed fine she would start a warm up regime that seemed somewhat unfamiliar, save for some of the exercises in the sequence that reminded him of some techniques he had seen from her fellow Hyuga before. For his part, the Senju would do the same. In reality just reading himself to dodge whatever barrage of attacks she would launch towards him. Trying to remind himself the few times he had sparred with others of her clan. They had been a good experience for sure, but you could hardly consider a genin or a subpar Jonin as good comparisons. "Whenever you're ready, Hitomi-dono." He said, after being done with his calisthenics, hopping slightly from side to side and raising his guard, eyes narrowing and focusing the Hyuga, bracing himself for the moment she would leap in and start her attack.

-tag- Hyūga Hitomi -words- 308 -notes- --- -music- ---

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[Hyūga Hitomi]

Hyūga Hitomi

The jutsu he had used to transport them was unsettling to say the least, though with her own capabilities Hitomi was stable and showed no signs of any rebellion from her internal organs, as was expected from the head of the Hyūga, regardless of her relatively young age. Simply nodding to Kazuto to indicate that she was alright, she made sure that she was ready to go.

Properly warmed up, Hitomi didn't give any verbal sign that she was going on the attack, instead simply launching herself at the Senju with the trademark speed and grace of her clan. Her first attacks were simply testing strikes, having never faced Kazuto in combat before, Hitomi wanted to know what he was capable of in this kind of situation before she went further. Teasing blows to his limbs meant to slow down the flow of chakra or the body parts themselves, a few cheeky strikes towards the face and throat, and even a hooked leg meant to trip him up.

Kazuto had asked for her help in speeding him up, which meant she needed to find where he currently was before she could try anything to help him to where he wanted to go. She was, after all, an Academy Instructor as well as a medic, and knew the importance of diagnostic testing before teaching a student how to improve.

Even if that student was overall more skilled than her.

Word Count: 238
Tags: Senju Kazuto
Training: 4/8
Jutsu Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

N/A

[Senju Kazuto]

If there was any relieve tat his sparring partner had survived her first teleportation trip without major issue, it soon evaporated as Hitomi launched into attack. Fight and flight reflexes took over, his hands crossing over his chest as a measure of protect himself, a part of him realizing the futility of such move when the gentle fist could bypass such crude methods of defense, trying to weave away from the initial strikes but feeling when several strikes managed to find their mark on his limbs, shoulders and chest. A few strikes came to his face and throat, forcing him to roll and duck away, gaining space between the two of them. As the initial dust of their scrap settled, the Senju went through the motions. Sure he had been caught by surprise, but he found that the number of strikes that had land on his body had been at least a dozen, perhaps a few more. But he also took stock on the subtle nuances in the way Hitomi moved. It was all the telltale signs of the gentle fist but if he had to compare them with other Hyuga he had sparred with, hers were more precise compared to the clunky movement that Shodaime had used and there were more elegance than what Shigure used to employ. In short, she was rather magnificent with her clan's trademark technique. "I won't complain about the sudden attack." He said with a wry smile. Understand that it had been a way for her to understand the reach of his skills in this part of close quarters combat. He didn't have problems dodging, but such flurry had forced him to a retreat had tested him and probably she had found his limits with that brief assessment.

-tag- Hyūga Hitomi -words- 304 -notes- --- -music- ---

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[Hyūga Hitomi]

Hyūga Hitomi

"You shouldn't complain, because you asked for my help with your training," Hitomi snarked back cheekily, unaware of his thoughts regarding her skill with her clan's taijutsu. If one were to ask Hitomi, in honesty, she would not put herself up there amongst Juken practitioners, perhaps she had a grace that others might not, but in terms of technique and power she felt woefully lacking. As much as she wanted to be able to focus more on her medical skills and rounding herself out more as a kunoichi, right now her position in her clan meant that getting skilled enough to defeat any challengers for the role as clan head.

Training against the Senju head would definitely help there, she was sure.

"I'm going to pick up the pace now," she warned him even as she began to move, Kazuto having fallen into the space where her Byakugan was at its' strongest visual acuity, the zone the clan referred to as their Eight Trigrams. The doujutsu was poorly understood by outsiders, deliberately so, for all its vaunted ability it was perhaps at its most dangerous within the Zone of the Eight Trigrams. Chakra, muscular, vascular, and nervous systems, all were open to Hitomi's view. She may not have had the greatest range in her clan, but to the best of her knowledge she had the most fine tuned Byakugan of any living Hyūga.

Which meant that her next strikes were aimed with deadly precision, taking into account what she had seen of Kazuto's skill, moving at a speed that would challenge him while pushing him to improve. She wasn't using her strongest or fastest attacks, but the goal wasn't to use her best, it was to help them both develop their skills. While matching his capabilities, she was also working to ensure that her strikes were refined and technically perfect. 

Two palms

Four palms

Eight palms

Sixteen palms

Thirty two palms

Her strikes doubled with every step, the time they took equal despite this, until her arms were almost a blur. Slowed enough for Kazuto to see, controlled enough to hurt if he didn't do something about them. 

Word Count: 358
Tags: Senju Kazuto
Training: 5/8
Jutsu Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hakke Sanjūni Shō [ Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palm]

RANK: C

CHAKRA USAGE: Low

CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu

DESCRIPTION:

Essentially a simplistic version of a much more powerful maneuver of the Gentle Fist . However it seems to be quite effective on it’s own. It was born from the difficulty to perform the last sequence of its parent technique. It is used to close off the flow of chakra through thirty-two chakra points of the opponent’s Chakra Pathway System, eliminating their ability to use chakra for some time and make it difficult for them to move. This is done by delivering quick strikes to the enemy in a sequence.

[Senju Kazuto]

He allowed himself to chuckle at her joking tone and remark. His lips twisting in a quick smirk as they shared that moment. But soon whatever levity existed between them would died as she would alert him that she was about pick up on the intensity of her strikes. His eyes settled on Hitomi as nodded in acceptance, feeling the stings of her attacks that had landed. He drew in a breath and narrowed his eyes, curling fingers into fists, sending chakra to his feet as he would need whatever advantage he could muster, even if she held back. A part of himself braced, another part of himself readying to move out of the way. Kazuto would bend his knees, raised his arms and waited. If Hitomi had been true about her holding back and choosing the pace of her strikes then, he would take her word. To his eyes she would glide like a specter, moving like quicksilver even in a self admitted diminished state. His eyes fallowed the strikes, looking at them as if time had stood still. Fight and flight impulses took over, training edged into his very muscles directed his movements as he would dodge or try to, rotating upon himself, barely dodging the sequences of strikes that she launched with deadly accuracy, hands coming to merely deflect the strikes. He wanted to say that he had been successful, but even in such dimmed form, most of the strikes found their mark. Dodge and duck from one, rotate away from another, but then others of her palm strikes found his flesh. Each strike took the breath from his lungs, every move slower as the pain of the blows made every movement more sluggish than the last until the set of strikes finally landed on him and the Senju lost his footing. Coughing, he stared at leaves that crowned the trees, holding his hand against his chest and sitting down with effort, feeling rivulets of sweat rolling down his skin, whilst he would try to find Hitomi, as she looked as if she hadn't drawn a sweat from the exertion. "Again..." He said, trying to raise to his feet, attempting to shake the pain away, gritting his teeth and breathing through bared teeth.

-tag- Hyūga Hitomi -words- 386 -notes- --- -music- ---

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[Hyūga Hitomi]

Hyūga Hitomi

"You can do better than that Kazuto-dono," the Hyūga encouraged as she offered her hand to lift him to his feet. If he accepted, he would be able to feel the unnatural strength in her body as she easily pulled his much larger frame up and into place. "You are thinking too much, too many minds," she stated, hands clasped in front of her demurely as she looked him over, the veins around her eyes still bulging with the activated Byakugan.

"Your mind seems to be on the environment, your body, me, my limbs, and my movements. I don't know if this is normal for you, but you need to try to clear your thoughts, to work on instinct. Mushin. No mind." Perhaps he was currently bothered, or distracted, but it shone through in his movements, at least in the here and now, and if she just needed to remind him of something or if she had taught him something new, it didn't matter, so long as it helped.

With that said, she lashed out at the man, a limb whipping through the air to poke at a tender spot, just enough chakra in the tips of her fingers to leave a stinging mark against a tenketsu. This was followed by another, and another, trying to push him into a state of thoughtless reaction. As soon as she fel tthat he had reached such a mental state, she would slip back into the pose that signified the start of the Hakke Sanjūni Shō, lashing out with two, four, eight, sixteen, and then thirty two blows rapidly as she tried to slip around him, aiming for the same points she had hit before in order to give him a chance to build up a proper reaction to her attacks.

Or hurt more if he couldn't defend himself. Whichever worked.

Word Count: 308
Tags: Senju Kazuto
Training: 6/8
Jutsu Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hakke Sanjūni Shō [ Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palm]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
DESCRIPTION:
Essentially a simplistic version of a much more powerful maneuver of the Gentle Fist . However it seems to be quite effective on it’s own. It was born from the difficulty to perform the last sequence of its parent technique. It is used to close off the flow of chakra through thirty-two chakra points of the opponent’s Chakra Pathway System, eliminating their ability to use chakra for some time and make it difficult for them to move. This is done by delivering quick strikes to the enemy in a sequence.

[Senju Kazuto]

He took his hand and once again, he was reminded about the unnatural strength that she possessed. Rising to his feet he would turn to listen to her about the advice that she had to give to him. Her words would then cut deeper that he allowed himself to show. She wasn't wrong. He had never been afraid of injury, or taking the hits, of placing himself before his teammates and danger. But his life wasn't his own anymore, after he had become a husband and a parent. He owed it to his family as much as he did to his village. As he continued to listen to Hitomi's words, he tried to apply whatever technique of meditation that he knew off, drew up a short breath, made hands into fists, anything that would help as he tried to move past the distractions that were around him, the last few words that she spoke becoming distant echoes until finally they were lost in the sound of a breeze. The Senju kept his gaze on the Hyuga, her lips moving, but his ears not registering the words and when she stopped speaking, he could see in her eyes the intention that she took, the subtle hints of muscles priming for an strike. Wordlessly, chakra still running down his feet he began. It couldn't be said that he was more fluid in his retreat as the barrage of strikes came but he was at the very least able to dodge her strikes, almost as he allowed his body to move by itself, strikes that had landed before missed their hit, there was progress, but even as he had taken several steps, he felt the strikes again, her chakra invading its way into his body, pain flaring, breath being taken out from his lungs as if her strikes had managed to ripped the very air from his chest. He would cross his arms before his chest, ducking before he would rotate away from her last strike, he allowed his momentum continue as he dragged his feet and stopped, painting from the exertion, feeling his skin burning, skin moist with perspiration. "Better...?"

-tag- Hyūga Hitomi -words- 368 -notes- --- -music- ---

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[Hyūga Hitomi]

Hyūga Hitomi

Hitomi was paying close attention as Kazuto tried his best to dodge her strikes, the Hyūga head adjusting her own motions to be just that little bit more targetted, that little bit better where she could. In the realm of taijutsu they were actually rather equally matched, in terms of technical capability and overall speed and strength, her main advantage was in the nature of the Gentle Fist when combined with the Byakugan are her particularly precise version of the doujutsu.

Being able to see neural activity and understand what that meant was a surprising boon for someone in a fight.

Instead of answering the man as he paused to ask his question, Hitomi continued her assault, a raised eyebrow the only sign he would get before she launched herself at him in another flurry of blows. It might have initially looked like the same series of movements as she had used on him prior, but Kazuto would quickly notice that she was striking at him faster, harder. Two, four strikes in the same pace it had taken only two before, eight, sixteen, thirty two.... sixty four. Her palms and extended fingers hurtled towards him with all the grace and speed she could muster as she tried to force him to move even faster, even more carefully.

While she was holding back on the chakra she released with each strike, once again only aiming to cause a mark and some pain instead of closing tenketsu, it would still hurt, still be a motivating force for Kazuto to not want to get hit. And each mark he'd earn would simply be a reminder of a possible death she could have granted him.

Word Count: 281
Tags: Senju Kazuto
Training: 7/8
Jutsu Used:

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Hakke Rokujūyon Shō [ Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms]

RANK: B

CHAKRA USAGE: Medium

CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu

DESCRIPTION:

The Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is a taijutsu that should only be passed down in the main house of the Hyūga. Using the Byakugan’s near 360º filed of vision the user will strike the enemies within their eye reach with violent palm or finger thrusts. By striking sixty-four of the tenketsu, they will cause a huge disruption in which the chakra flow of the enemy will be forcefully stopped, making it unable for them to even properly stand after the assault. Each set of strikes is done at an exponentially increasing pace and strength. The attack not only disables the enemy but also knocks them back with every set of strikes.

[Senju Kazuto]

No answer, no reply that would have given him some form of encouragement but the sheer fact that she continued. Pain burned on the sites that she had strikes, his muscles cried in agony as they tried to compute the signals send by his brain as he ducked, weaved and dodged out of the way. He felt his lung burning up, his teeth grinding as he forced his body to cope with the sudden range of movement and the speed that she struck. But in that part of his mind that didn't concentrate of the sudden urge he had to move away, he could appreciate that his sparring partner was amazing. There was much to gain from just being in the opposite end of her surgical strikes. Even as he backed away, dodging the mounting barrage of strikes he could admire the form, the poise that she used for her strikes in an artistic fashion. This time however, even when a score of strikes managed to pierce him and send pain through his being, he had managed to see enough, to act on memory, to force himself a step above. As his boots skidded on the soil and he stopped, panting and drawing breath and the adrenaline wore off for an instant, revealing the pain and burning in his flesh, he still stood. A hand would reach towards one of his shoulders, easing in the discomfort, grimacing slightly as he took a knee and raised a hand to get a moment to catch his breath and consolidate. He tried his best to keep his mind aware of only the Head of the Hyuga and he had managed to a certain degree, still he knew that she was holding back. He raised his free hand, signaling her for a small reprieve, a respite to catch some breath. "I'm sorry... Age, it seems, has begun to catch up with me." He said, allowing himself a moment of a jest.

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MADE BY VEL OF GS