[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

Luckily for Ataru, there were some ways to read the patterns of attacks he was likely to face - in order to manipulate the chakra strings, Tomomi had to move their fingers. They were very subtle motions, slight twitches of muscle and tendons. At a distance such a thing could be almost impossible to see, but up close Ataru had a good chance of utilizing that information to help inform his dodges.

It seemed like the trickier strikes were forcing him to hone his efficiency, too, unable to do quite as many flashy dodges when he had to put his concentration into the danger that was surrounding him, carefully managing to dodge what Tomomi sent his way. Such a tricky foe - Tomomi was taking it just a little easy on him considering his age, but they could tell he would be genuinely quite hard to catch. Squirrely, almost, though perhaps that was just a reflection of his energy.

She wanted to see how Ataru might react to a somewhat difficult situation. Maneuvering the strings, she came at Ataru from the left side with the sword. A kunai came from his rear-right, making it hard to dodge that direction away from the sword. At the same time, a shuriken came in from the front and high. This closed off a few escape avenues from the onslaught - could he read that situation quickly enough and avoid being struck by any of those particular assaults, especially with the other weapons still posing a thread around him?

---

Uzumaki Ataru

[Uzumaki Ataru]

The wind howls with a low winding growl, as the rain picks up the slight rumble of thunder could be heard in the far distance followed closely by the light flensing flash of lightning. The pitter-patter of water permeates their ears but even as it does Ataru focuses outwards honing his sense of focus to be razor-sharp, watching the minute flex of their fingers curl and digits articulate in subtle and more outright motions. Directing his many notes of shuriken and kunai upon the willowy air around them, those thin needles of burning ash etched its pain into his soul and came remembered within his heart. Such slim barely perceptible profiles did not nearly compare to this but still possessed their own adversities punishing against the envelope of his skill and that which he further strived to attain. It was surely a challenge one he still needed to pay stalwart attention to juggle, but the boy looked forward to and even thrived on this mounting challenge that only increased in tempo.

Matching the rhythm to his motions, he was a tricky one and there was no doubt in his mind that things could and likely would get much harder but such is why he pushed himself ever on and forward to meet those limits and shatter them. Twisting their body out of the sword's path, utilizing evasive footwork he spun and in a quick series of twisting steps bobbed and weaved through the blanketing storm that threatened to consume him on multiple sides. Careening his body in a torqueing manner in combination where fancy footwork either couldn't or wouldn't work if he was at long range he would've been doomed but here in close proximity he could more easily read his movements but also had less time to react. At the edges of his mind, he felt a slight pulling tug, everything that came in and went was purely reactionary, taking in and digesting information before applying honed instinct whilst mirroring the things that he perceived with his applied senses.

[Yamanaka Tomomi]

YAMANAKA TOMOMI

NINGYO/HIDARI

With tricky formulations like that, it was clear that Ataru's dodges were narrower- he was still reacting, but he had a lot less margin for error and could more easily make a mistake and move into the path of a slicing blade. It made sense for where he was at in his training timeline. Just an academy student, he still had a lot to learn about attack patterns and techniques he could use to dodge. Against a much older shinobi trying their hardest, or against a bukijutsu expert, he would find more trouble than this, but that was just more reason to keep practicing.

Still, the rain was starting to come now, working its way up to a thunderstorm. Tomomi didn't mind standing outside in the rain for a mission, but for some light training, it seemed a little unnecessary to get soaked to the bone.

"Very good. It seems you're an artful dodger - trying to pin you down with ranged strikes would be quite troublesome. I think we should wrap this up for today, but I do have one last assignment for you. Try to get home while getting wet as little as possible. Work on dodging from cover to cover along the city streets until you can make it back indoors." That would present a fun challenge, a continuation of the practice they'd been doing here.

---

Uzumaki Ataru

[Uzumaki Ataru]

The window of opportunity for his many evasive actions had indeed grown smaller, as he grew more stoically serious in the face of such a potent challenge seeking to push themselves against the ramping difficulty. For an Academy Student he might be considered an exceptional example of someone who dedicated themselves to their craft yet compared to those more adept at the Genin level and beyond, even he couldn't hold a candle to such individuals. He could only imagine the kind of people both in the village and beyond that he had never met nor gained exposure to, as well as the varied methods of a shinobi especially when it came to bukijutsu and those more seasoned such as the Yamanaka stood across from him. The ninja world was a big place but that is exactly why Ataru trained so relentlessly, exposing himself to newfound experiences and pushing himself harder and harder though not nearly at his limit the rain had become more than a hindrance but a significant obstacle. One that the Uzumaki seemed keen on adapting to and did so for a fairly long while but as things progressed it soon evolved into a fully-fledged thunderstorm, and his attire came to stain with water as the instructor put a halt to their training.

Looking up and paying attention to the sky for the first time since their training had begun he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the wind and rain striking against brushing against his face. Holding out a hand to catch the rain drops and howling gale unlike many others, he enjoyed such weather soaking it in for a handful of moments before reverting his attention and gazing back towards Tomomi. Lending out an ear to their words the boy nods succinctly at them, they spoke reasonably enough though as she levied a challenge towards the boy as a further measure to add atop the pile of their training his smile grew a tad bit brightening the situation somewhat and inclement weather that roared threateningly overhead. "Heck yeah! I can do that Sensei, it sounds fun, and thanks for again training me today. I hope to see ya around!" Unexpectedly he hugs them with the same speed he had been avoiding their attacks just moments earlier, pressing his head against their flack jacket and wrapping his arms around their back before then separating as fast as he had come forth.

Running past them he jumps onto the top of the wooden training dummy he had been practicing against in the beginning before then launching himself into the canopy of a tree, standing along a stout branch he turns around and waves at her bidding them farewell. "Jaa Ne!" Proceeding to move from branch to branch, under cover of the forest and foliage looking to traverse into the more urban area soon but doing his utmost to do as he was assigned. Moving quickly yet methodically through the terrain, seeking to avoid getting wet as much as possible - it'd prove an altogether different kind of challenge than what he was used to but the Uzumaki was determined to live up to and face it head-on. Relishing the change of pace...