[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

What, pray tell, could have had a youngster up shortly after dawn on a day off from the academy? Training, that's what! Not all that far removed from his super heavy rock carrying escapades with one of his instructors in the academy Tsugime had once again found himself in the Kiri training grounds. He let out a yawn while trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes and do what he could to wake himself up, but that would probably only happen once the boy got to moving around.

His teacher today was a former instructor in the academy, Minami Sora, who the young Yuki was kinda familiar with in name but this was his first time having a one on one training session with. The boy could feel himself getting stronger with each training session and it had begun to show in his physique with more toned muscles beginning to show through his pasty complexion. Tsugime could also notice himself being able to train longer and hit harder during his daily training; more push ups, more sit ups, a bit more oomph in his punches and kicks, the whole works. But the boy was far from his goal of being the strongest and he needed to push (or be pushed) even further.

"Hmm, I wonder what Sora-sensei is gonna make me do? Hopefully not more rocks..." Tsugime mused aloud to himself as he got in a few last minute stretches to ensure he was prepared for what was to come.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

xxx

[Sora Minami]

Another day, another training session. Sora thought, feeling the rough, semi-frozen bark through her qipao, the air holding a perpetual chill that tried, always, to sink into her bones. She was wearing her winter gear underneath her dress, a thick wool thermal with matching leggings, though the weather hadn’t gotten so cold as to require a cloak just yet. Though, given who she was meant to be training today, perhaps she should have brought it along anyway; Sayu-senpai had taught her to never underestimate the potency of Hyouton, particularly when it came to inflicting cold. Even if the one on the other end of the jutsu was an Academy Student. Perhaps especially because he was an Academy student.

Opening her eyes as the boy below her spoke, the pink-haired Jounin smiled, watching the young Shinobi hopeful stretch as he waited for her to appear. Truth be told, the woman had been waiting for him to arrive in her tree for almost an hour, but there was no reason to let the boy know that. Best to keep his fragile ego intact for now. Letting loose a soft sigh, the Jounin rolled to her right, falling the twenty or so feet to the ground and landing on her feet with vulpine grace, out of sight of Tsugime but not out of ear shot.

At her hip was, as usual, Samidare, but this time there was an added twist; a second blade, made fully of wood, sat nestled next to the deadly katana, a bokken of decent length that the boy would recognize as a practice weapon from the Academy. She had a few other surprises for the young Yuki, but for now, Sora would settle for letting him know she was here.

"Glad to see you got here on time, Yuki-san." She said, strolling across crunchy grass towards her student, smiling in a friendly, platonic way that she’d mastered in the Academy. He’d likely recognize it, even if she had never personally taught the boy; all the Instructors had some variation on the same skill, a way of coming off kind and understanding without showing undue interest. "And that you’re stretching. You’ll need to be limber for what we’ll be doing."

Yuki Tsugime

[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

A loose muscle here, an limber joint there, it was always so interesting to the boy how pulling on muscles in the body made him feel better, or perhaps not better but ready to run head first into whatever exercise he was about to get into. Ensuring that his body was prepared for whatever Sora-sensei had readied for him had the young Yuki intently focused on limbering up, especially considering what his last training instructor had put him through and was little the wiser to today's teacher having been present the entire time and currently walking up behind him.

"Oh, Sora-sensei!" Tsugime exclaimed as he quickly turned around and offered a bow. He knew of the woman from stories other classmates and even some older academy students had told him and strong was an understatement describing her, so it was a wonder she had time to train an academy student and wasn't off on some super secret mission or something. A slight chill ran down the boy's spine as he listened to the woman compliment him on getting some stretching in considering what she had in store for them(or more specifically him) which was ominous to say the least. "What uh... what are we doing today, exactly?" The boy would inquire.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

xxx

[Sora Minami]

Ah, the boy was eager. Good. That would help keep the whining to a minimum. For a little while, at least.

"Today, Yuki-san, we are going to do my favorite type of training." The pink-haired Jounin said as the boy straightened himself out, her lips parting in a smile. "Full contact sparring." Sora gave the bokken at her side a pat at that, her sky-blue gaze a light with the kind of devious mischief that only a child could understand; then, before Tsugime could speak again, the woman reached into the pouch on her back and pulled out two pairs of small metal rings, sized and weighted to fit an Academy Student. She held them up for a moment, allowing her pupil to see what it was she was holding before she tossed them his way, knowing he would underestimate their weight and, more than likely, fail to catch them properly.

"Put those on your wrists and ankles." She said after a moment, smile flattening out to something more serious as she waited for the boy to comply. Once he had, she gave him a few moments to test out how the rings felt; they were heavy, but not so heavy as to make it seem he wouldn’t be able to move around in them. Which, of course, was the deceptive part about them- the boy wouldn’t feel the burn of every punch and kick right away, but over time the extra effort he needed to expend to produce the same level of power would add up. It was a sneaky way to improve one’s strength, as you could do it anywhere, so long as you were wearing the rings.

"When you’re ready, come at me as hard as you can. Hold nothing back."

Yuki Tsugime

[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

Lifting weights, a full body workout, perhaps even learning a new jutsu were all possibilities that Tsugime was expecting to hear so imagine his surprise when the pink haired woman told him that they were going to be sparring. She, a top ninja in the village versus an academy student. The boy's eyes shifted to the wooden weapon at Sora's side before taking note of the devious grin that crossed her face. Flashbacks of his encounter with Enya played in his mind and for a brief moment the pain and humiliation that came from the faux mission sat at the top of his thoughts. But Sora-sensei wouldn't have gone too far with one of the village's youth would she?

The boy had questions but before he could get a single one out a hand was outstretched to catch a couple pairs of seemingly mundane metal rings. Nearly as soon as they touched his hand Tsugime's wrist snapped back at the unexpected weight, his eyes widening in shock. "Whoa what the-" More questions popped in his head but the instructions combined with the now more stern look on his instructor's face stifled them to a nod of the head. The Yuki would take a moment to attach the heavy bands to both wrists and ankles, his extremities instantly weighed down. A couple test punches and kicks was all he could manage to acclimate himself to the new feeling, heavy but not too much to the point where he'd be unable to get out attacks.

Sora would instruct for him to fight her with everything he had, a proposition that was easier said than done considering their difference in... well, everything, but he had asked for this training and here it was. "Hai, Sora-sensei."

Tsugime would take the best fighters stance he knew, or at least felt the most comfortable: feet shoulder width apart with his right foot slightly in front of the other and arms at the ready. With a deep breath the boy would charge at his instructor, the added weight on his ankles making his first few steps a bit awkward but he'd acclimate. His path would take him in a curving arc to Sora's left side as he'd loose a couple of jabs at the womans' midsection.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

xxx

[Sora Minami]

Sora nodded once as the boy readied himself, lifting her right hand up to rest it atop the hilt of her bokken, waiting. Tsugime took a few moments to reorient his punches and kicks to include the added weight, but once the Yuki had done so, he moved, lurching the first few steps but catching himself the more he ran, taking a curved path towards her left side, launching a series of quick jabs.

Trying to stay out of range of the bokken. She thought, stepping into the boy’s path as he pulled back his fist; she drew her practice sword in a single, smooth arc that brought the flat of the wooden blade up in between the Yuki boy’s fist and her body, blocking the first punch outright with a one-handed grip. Her bokken slipped forward just as he was readying the second jab, a simple flick of her wrist enough to push his attack out of the way, forcing him to over-extend and open himself up for all sorts of counters…

None of which the pink-haired Jounin took advantage of, instead sliding back one, two, three steps in quick succession before settling her bokken in a simple low-stance, one hand held behind her back, half-turned so that her profile was much, much smaller than it should have been. She didn’t mock, didn’t poke, didn’t make any comments about the boy’s form; she was not a Taijutsu instructor and, even if she was, the point of this wasn’t to make Tsugime technically perfect. This was a strength training exercise- and as the young Yuki was about to find out, the small weights he had affixed to his wrists and ankles could make a world of difference, especially in a fight.

So, with her sword held low, Sora waited, calmly watching her student to see who he would react.

Yuki Tsugime

Jutsu/SA's/Equipment Used

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu:
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.

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.

[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

Apply pressure and keep his head on a swivel, those were the two things Tsugime had been working on when it came to fighting. If he could keep his opponent on the defensive and control the pace of the battle it would only benefit him, but counters were always something that one had to watch out for --especially against someone much more experienced than himself-- so he couldn't just blindly rush in. The feeling of compressed foot against his fist would signal that Sora had blocked his initial attack but as the boy readied his next strike she would use her free hand to push his hand out of the way opening his stance.

However, instead of going on the attack herself she would instead put some distance between the two of them while readying herself for the next round of attacks. "Hmm." Tsugime knew it was going to be an uphill battle but the ease at which Sora-sensei had nullified his strikes was a problem. Still, he was nowhere near ready to give up and would just have to adjust accordingly. A slight stinging sensation ran through the boy's arms causing him to give them a once over in confusion, it felt similar to when he had been carrying those heavy stones but he'd barely done anything strenuous so far. Weird. Shaking his arms to try and rid himself of the feeling before focusing on the pink haired woman once more.

The sword was troublesome but swinging it around was a commitment no matter how little the action, so he'd just have to use that to his advantage. The boy would once more run in, this time from the left and aim to take her feet out with a slide tackle. If she jumped up then Tsugime would spring to his feet as fast as he could and swing a left hook aimed at her midsection.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

xxx

[Sora Minami]

Sora watched Tsugime carefully, her sky-blue gaze flat and level as the boy shook his arms, wincing slightly. She knew the kind of pain he’d been feeling; the slight sting of exertion, his arms and legs growing heavier than normal as he moved more and more, pushing himself harder to perform at the same level he was used to. The point of the Hung Gar rings wasn’t in how much they weighed, but in the consistency with which they pulled against the wearer's limbs, weighing them down little by little and forcing their muscles to work just that little bit more than they wanted to. It didn’t seem like much at first, but with enough time the boy’s arms and legs would feel heavier and more worn out than he knew was possible… and that was where the true test came in.

So, when the young Student moved in once again, coming at her from the right (his left) in a sliding tackle meant to take her legs out from under her, the Jounin didn’t leap over him- instead, she side-stepped to the left, pivoting on her lead foot as Tsugime slid past her, bokken swinging down in a (relatively) gentle strike against his right forearm that would, nonetheless, leave a painful welt if it hit. Which it likely would, given the disparity between them, even with her holding back… but you never knew.

"Too direct, Yuki-san. You know better than to charge a superior opponent head on like that."

Yuki Tsugime

[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

He had more or less expected Sora to evade his initial strike which was why he planned on leaping up to catch the woman in the middle of her movement, but what the boy hadn't accounted for was for her to simply side step his sliding tackle thus making his follow up all but nil. His eyes followed the woman as she prepared to swing at him and he brought his arm up out of instinct to protect his head unknowingly making the intended target that much easier to strike; the pain of a wooden sword hitting flesh beginning to take hold as he slide came to a stop.

She would chide him for taking such a direct approach against a superior target --though Tsugime thought by angling his attacks he was doing just the opposite-- causing the boy to huff in mild frustration. "Hai, it won't happen again." If too forward was the problem then that meant the Yuki simply needed to make more of a distraction when he attacked next. Getting back to his feet the unmistakable slog of fatigue caused him to wobble a bit as his legs felt like he had just ran laps around the academy for some reason. Sure, he had charged in a couple times at Sora-sensei but that shouldn't have left him feeling like this already. Did it have something to do with those rings she had made him wear? They had some weight to them, sure, but they weren't nearly as heavy as those boulders from his last training session and he had been able to make it through a couple of them before his arms and legs started feeling like this. No matter, he'd just have to push through.

Pulling out a rubber kunai from his pouch Tsugime would go through three seals as two identical copies of himself poofed into existence next to him, a devilish grin creeping across their features. They'd dart off towards Sora twisting into a figure eight formation weaving around each other in an attempt to disguise the true boy. The Tsugime on the left, a clone, would go in for a strike to the woman's midsection with the kunai as the Tsugime in the center did similar but to her legs, leaving the true one to come from the right aiming to hit her around the hip. The wooden sword she wielded was definitely a problem and it made fighting up close tough, but if he could keep the pressure on and make it difficult for her to swing at him then that was a win in his book.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Bunshin no Jutsu [Clone Technique]
RANK: E
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu [General]
ELEMENT: None
HANDSEALS: 3
DESCRIPTION:

After performing the necessary hand seals, the user can create a handful of intangible clones to confuse the enemy. They do not contain solid mass, have no shadows and do not interact with the surrounding environment, making them somewhat easy to distinguish from the real person.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

xxx

[Sora Minami]

Sora watched Tsugime stand to his feet with a pained wobble and knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the boy didn’t have much more time to go. If his limbs were already starting to shake beneath the extra effort he’d expended in the short time since they’d started, the Jounin knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer; a few more minutes, if that, and the boy would be at his limit. The boy’s response was only slightly petulant, his frustration evident as he stood on wobbling knees, clearly in pain. She didn’t chide him for the attitude though, and instead simply reset her stance, sliding her body to one side as she folded her free hand behind her back and extended her bokken out once more, waiting.

It didn’t take long for her student to take her advice; forming the hand seals necessary for the Bunshin technique, Tsugime summoned a pair of illusory clones, all of which charged forwards, weaving back and forth before her to try and conceal the real one. She knew which of the three was real, could tell by the way the clone's limbs did wobble as he started running, but for the sake of teaching the boy the pink-haired Jounin didn’t immediately reveal this information. Instead, she utilized her superior speed to leap back just enough to evade the boy’s strikes and open him up to another counter attack a moment later…

Which she took full advantage of, her bokken flashing out in a wide, sweeping arc from left to right that cut through both clones with ease, the wood tip screaming for the boy’s exposed shoulder blade. She was holding back, not using even a quarter of her full speed, which should be enough to let the boy dodge out of the way, if he was quick on his feet. But dodging would mean exertion, a lot of it, and that was the goal here- not to beat him up, but to make the Yuki boy hit his limit as fast and hard as possible… so when the time came, he would know how and when to push past them.

Yuki Tsugime

[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

Sora didn't immediately move which maybe, just maybe meant that the weaving copies of Tsugime had made her pause for just a couple moments and if that were the case then maybe his plan would work. Of course he need much more than a hit or two with fake weapons to do anything of note but it would be a start and give the student the confidence needed to continue on. As he and his clones neared however he'd see the pink haired woman once more leap back to put distance between them but unlike last time she didn't stop there and instead went on the offensive and swung her bokken through his clones and at him. Thankfully, being on the farthest side from the strike --in addition to Sora not swinging at full speed-- allowed Tsugime enough time to jump out of the way as he came to a rolling stop before popping back to his feet.

There wasn't time to be upset about his attack being thwarted as more pain shot through his arms and legs. "Gah, what the..." Had he been hit after all? No, that would have been pain in one spot but it hurt everywhere. He had done some running and jumping sure but being this tired didn't make sense. Was all the training he had done up this point all for naught? Tsugime thought he had been getting stronger, that he had been making decent progress but maybe that wasn't the case.

Labored breaths, sweat dripping from his forehead and crimson eyes focused on his instructor who seemed to be waiting on his next move. Straight forward attacks didn't work, neither did going for the legs or trying to confuse her with clones, so what could he do? Well he wasn't gonna give up, that was for sure.

Grabbing a handful of shuriken the Yuki would once more charge in towards Sora, the pain in his legs slowing his pace but he'd power through best he could. Launching the wooden objects he'd aim for the woman's left side hoping to either make her dodge right or focus on blocking them with her bokken but either way Tsugime would come in from the right with his rubber kunai still in hand aiming a strike at her midsection. His mind knew what he wanted to do but the body was slow to react and he hoped it wouldn't throw off his timing too much when in actuality he was just about to make things worse for himself going forward.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

xxx

[Sora Minami]

Tsugime was slowing.

The boy managed to leap out of the way of her strike, his face scrunching up in obvious pain as he rolled backwards, letting out a gasp of pain, surprise writ large across the boy’s face. There was nothing for her to say; he had done a much better job then, utilizing the techniques at his disposal to try and create an opening in her defenses. Had she been a fellow Academy Student, or even a Genin, that trick might have actually worked, allowing him to get a hit in where he otherwise wouldn’t have. But she was a Jounin, a damn good one at that, and this training was about building the Yuki boy’s strength up, not his ego.

"Better, but still a bit too forward. Use your angles. Make one, if you have to." The pink-haired woman said, holding her bokken level with the ground as the boy caught his breath, sweat covering his brow despite how little they’d actually done. Just a little more now, surely, and he’d have to stop. So the Jounin moved with her student, stepping into the line of fire of his wooden shuriken, bokken flicking once, twice, three times in rapid succession, utilizing the Mirror Blade technique to launch them around in a curving arc that would have them slam into Tsugime’s back as he drew in close, swinging a rubber kunai for her midsection once more.

Sora didn’t bother blocking the boy’s strike- instead, she simply kept moving, avoiding his swipe by what would look like the slimmest of margins, allowing him to get tantalizingly close before she slid out of the way, staying on the retreat, forcing her student to keep moving, keep fighting against the weights on his wrists and ankles in order to keep up. Just a little more.

Yuki Tsugime

Jutsu/SA's/Equipment Used

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu:
NAME: Kagami Yaiba [Mirror Blade]
RANK: C
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Bukijutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION: Despite the name of this technique, it can be used with most weapons, although it’s difficulty mastering it means it requires a skilled user of such a weapon. Thus a swordsman would not automatically be able to perform this technique with a club. A relatively straightforward technique, it is nevertheless very effective against incoming shuriken. The user guards against an incoming shuriken with his or her weapon. However, rather than simply deflecting it, the user hits the shuriken from such an angle that it is sent back towards the enemy. Skilled users of this technique can even reflect kunai towards moving opponents by calculating their movement pattern (Chuunin+), or even reflect a shuriken while adding a curve to it (Special Jounin+). One use of this technique can send back up to three shuriken for a Genin, five for a Chuunin, eight for a Special Jounin and ten for Jounin and higher.
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.

[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

His brain telling him to stop moving was nearly enough to drown out Sora-sensei's words but he was attentive even through the increasing pain. He really couldn't understand why his arms and legs were hurting so much after this amount of exertion. Sure, he had never gone up against a Jounin before and that no doubt required him to use every bit of brainpower to not be embarrassed --even if she was taking it very easy on him-- but the boy had fought for longer during spars in the academy without feeling this tired. No matter, he was going push through until he at least got one hit on the woman.

With his shuriken thrown and kunai in hand Tsugime felt that this plan was going to work, especially once he saw Sora raise her bokken to block the incoming projectiles and that meant if only for a moment she would have to turn some focus from him. What the boy didn't account for, however, was the woman deflecting the weapons in such a way that they curved around and were now headed towards their owner. With his focus squarely on landing a strike on his instructor the feeling of getting hit in the back with the shuriken completely took Tsugime by surprise and the shock caused him to miss his swing by mere inches.

Looking back, the boy would notice the wooden shuriken laying harmlessly on the ground as the gears turned to figure out what had happened. He had seen the woman raise the bokken to block them but they should have just been flung off into the distance instead of him becoming the target. Weird. By the time he returned his attention to Sora she once again put a good bit of distance between them. Back to square one, but this time he was in even more pain. Even thinking about running towards the woman again made his extremities pulsate with the pain of fatigue.

'Gotta push through, can't just quit when it hurts.' The boy thought to himself as his attention refocused on the pink haired Jounin. At this rate he had about one last charge in him before needing a break so it had to be good. Taking out a second kunai to add to the one still in his hand the boy would sink into a runners stance before taking off towards Sora once more, his legs feeling as if they were liable to fall off at any point, but he'd push on. He'd try his best to serpentine while closing the distance though the fatigue made him look akin to a lazy snake. Once he was a couple meters out Tsugime would fling the kunai in his right hand aiming it at Sora's head as he aimed another strike at her left side. This was gonna work, it had to work.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

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[Sora Minami]

"It hurts, doesn’t it?" Sora said quietly as the young Academy Student wobbled to his feet, breathing heavily as he stared at her, clearly at the end of his rope. His arms and legs trembled from the effort it took to stand, his breathing heavy and labored, every breath an effort that left him just a little more winded than it should have. But for all the young boy’s exhaustion, there was more than just ice in his blood; there was iron as well, and a quiet determination to keep going that one couldn’t simply train into a person. You could teach someone their limits, show them how to push through pain but stubbornness, true stubbornness, was genetic. You either had it… or you didn’t.

"This is what the Hung Gar Rings do." She said as the boy mustered up the strength for one more charge, his body shaking with the effort of each movement. He looked like a drunk, hopping about as he was- but the pink-haired woman didn’t move, her sky-blue gaze focused on her student’s face, on the effort he was putting forth to succeed, even if he knew it wouldn’t, couldn’t work. "They train your body to punch harder by forcing you to exert more effort when you move. Every single movement is harder when you have them on, even breathing."

So when the boy drew close, flinging his singular kunai at her head while striking out with his left arm, she didn’t dodge. Her bokken came up, knocking the rubber projectile aside, but his punch landed, the force behind it strong for a boy his age. Not that it hurt, but still. He had some kick to him.

"Congratulations, Tsugime. You hit me."

Yuki Tsugime

[Yuki Tsugime]

polly voo franzy?

If she had told him the purpose of the rings fashioned to his wrists and ankles a little earlier then perhaps Tsugime would have had the energy to be surprised, to take a glance at the instruments that had his entire body on fire but he knew that even a modicum of attention taken away from keeping his legs moving would end with him falling flat on his face and he had been acquainted with the ground already a couple times today. At some point down the line, maybe today maybe tomorrow Sora's words would finally click and he'd be amazed that such inconspicuous looking objects could have such an effect on the body, but for right now all he wanted was to prove that he could do something right and that Sora-sensei hadn't wasted her time.

He'd watch as the woman brought up her bokken to block the projectile giving the 'opening' he was looking for. Bringing his left arm across every ounce of strength the boy could muster went into his strike and he was confident --no, hoping-- that he'd feel fist connect to flesh or clothing or something... and it did! Hearing Sora confirm his success brought the weakest of smiles to the student's face mere moments before he dropped to the ground in a heap, face staring up at the clouds as he struggled to catch his breath. "I'm sorry... Sora-sensei... I just need.. a minute." Tsugime requested between labored breaths.

Would he be as exhausted when it came to real fighting? The boy had used a single rudimentary technique but otherwise relied mostly on weaponry and physical attacks; how would he fare when actual jutsu came into play? When he tried --assuming he had won the generic lottery-- to use his clan's techniques? Would he tire out in a few minutes time like today? That was in part why he had been working so hard to build up his strength so his attacks culd deal more damage to try and end fights before exhaustion of this level set in, even if it were artificially amplified to a degree.

tagged: Sora Minami || word count: x || notes: x

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