[Akira]

Hotarubi had been busy: busy with the life of a ninja and was in the middle of replenishing his stocks, and more importantly: learning the art of Bukijutsu. Well - it wasn't bukijutsu as such but it was about the use of a weapon to help him amplify his own techniques, the Hexcore. For a while, frankly, Hotarubi hadn't used it. He had thought the use of having earth to help him, keep it inside him to use for the addition of earth was extremely helpful: but more oft than not he was simply forming using regular earth techniques.

So - the thought changed. What if he could use it to help amplify his ninjutsu - make it the source, the recipient of Doton techniques? Channel techniques through them? Well, he had begun to use it a bit more. One glaring issue, aside from his tutoring with Osamu once in a blue moon (and probably rarer so than that since he had learned what he had 'wanted') was actually activating and making use of the earth that had been sealed, while he wasn't holding it.

Turns out, it wasn't terrifically useful to conjure a Doton technique using a earth-summoning fuinjutsu, when it pooled it in the immediate area, blocking one's own view? Well, Hotarubi hadn't. But - for the current time, he was in what could only be described as a self, man made valley being created and just ending abruptly. Most could tell it was man made by the way no vegetation was there.

Hotarubi was using the hole, when he wasn't pulling it from the countryside, from this particular area - but it required him to pass through enough, which he mostly did in the northern territories since that was what Kenji had him doing, going back and forth between the villages and the capital city.

For then: Hotarubi was drawing in earth, holding the orb in his hand as earth was being pulled into it.

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[raimaa futago]

On the road again~ Raimaa had told Shuka and Mei about some guy with a lead on her precious relics in the Basin land, and that she was taking some vacation days to go pursuit it. Good chance it wouldn't come to anything since there was a lot of replicas and sword hunters around that would love to get their hands on such a thing, but any chance was a chance, and she wasn't going to pass it up. So, striding on through the land, she would note the rather heavy use of Chakra. She wasn't a Sensor Nin, so couldn't track people from their raw emissions alone, but when someone was blasting it out like that...well, it was a shout in a silent room.

Following them to their source, she'd find drunk earth guy. Just practicing, in the middle of nowhere. Raimaa sometimes took herself out the village, but not to a whole different country...Still, the more pressing issue was that they weren't exactly friends after that last encounter, so she would just give him a light wave and let him react to that.

[Akira]

Hotarubi was far enough away that he should not have expected to see any other soul, so as the vacuum dislodged the large chunks of earth into the orb he held; Hotarubi turned before the rest of his body as the being coming by seemingly stopped at the edge of his scenery.

Oh - they waved at him. Hotarubi's head tilted. "You." His lips moved, and if her perception was sharp enough, then though he did not yell she would have understood. Not letting go of the orb, it would stop glowing enough from the Fuinjutsu that he walked away it would stop the effect. "You're here for round two?" A smirk on his face, as he came quite close to her.

"Nice to see you, running into a foreign face by chance is rare. Why are you in Bonchi no Kuni?" Hotarubi's tone did not hold an edge to it as much as he was to be curious. What... was her name? "I... didn't get your name." Hotarubi didn't remember if he had given his name, but then again he had been drunk out of his mind.

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[raimaa futago]

"Certainly with somebody" Raimaa would reply. He had set the tone, so she would just roll with it. "But not with you, no. You are boring to fight"

She would then shift to leave, before he continued the conversation. This, was confusing. Did people open up with aggressive commentary and then try to make nice immediately afterwards or something? What was going on here?

"Nice is certainly a choice of words. But, no you did not get my name. You were busy trying to drunkenly murder me while also complaining that it is a terribly sad fate you have to murder people. Still, it's Oudis if you must know. Are you going to try and soberly murder me this time, or can I get back to what I was doing?"

[Akira]

He was boring to fight? "Effective, I'll take." He did not try to argue with her - he didn't need to be exciting or flashy, he needed to be effective. He needed to be able to kill. The Yamakira shrugged.

Oudis? He had never even heard that style of name. She might as well have called her some form of common landmark, or a foreign person's equivalent of being called 'water' Hotarubi didn't believe it for a second... and just assumed it was some form of pseudonym, one to avoid giving her real name, because she didn't look particularly... foreign, to him - but that was just prejudice talking at that point.

He frowned when she was already setting off - she had proclaimed she was... Yuki - and he remmebered they were allies. "That's... not how I remember it." But she was likely right. "That does depend on why you're in Bonchi no Kuni," Hotarubi did state a little more firmly the second time. It did seem like he did have some shinobi-bones in him after all capable of protecting the land he served in.

"We are allied nations - but this is the middle of nowhere. You stumbled on one of my own 'resource' centres, after all." That being fancy words for 'my random space in the middle of nowhere' as he held the orb in his hand, semi-itching to put it in a competitive practice against actual ninja instead of banditry for once.

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[raimaa futago]

"Of course you remember it differently. The brain loves itself some romance, and there is nothing less romantic than the truth" Raimaa would reply. She would however, pause and turn back to him at the next part.

"Resource center? It's a hole in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing worth taking here, and even if there was it's the middle of the land of basins. Do you think I have mapped this location exactly from the port to here or something?"

[Akira]

"I." He frowned at her. She was correct. Usually he was stubborn enough to enable himself to take a stance but his teaching with Kenji was in some fashion having an effect on him to allow him to consider, "Dammit. Alright. Shut the fuck up." Though the other part of Kenji was, as he would have affectionately said it, to 'grow up' - which was for Hotarubi to not to rise to anger so quickly.

That was not an element he had mastered properly. The element of earth? Hell yeah. The element of self? Far from. The orb would be sucked into his palm and to the perceptible it would bulge along his arm as he went to rest in his core - the torso. It was almost equivalent to disarming himself! (it wasn't).

But then - out of curiosity. "Are you on a mission?" Maybe it was an alternative way of probing, but the special Jonin couldn't help but wonder if she were there on a reason outside of his paycheck, or if it was... fun.

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[raimaa futago]

Such a friendly person. No wonder he was surrounded by supportive allies, practicing in his own village while getting many helpful tips from others in the process. Raimaa would continue to walk away from his hole, and give him a wave when he asked her if she was here for any specific reasons.

"Communication on official matters should be sent by letter to Lady Shuka. A reply can be expected within three to five working days" Raimaa would reply, her voice making it very clear she was reciting a pre-written statement.

[Akira]

"Very professional. Well done you." His voice was childish: like someone who had been told off, grumbling away. Well, since she was leaving and it had been established that she could - and he wasn't going to stop her he would watch her leave and turn back to his own ... whatever it had been. He shook his head, not entirely happy with the way the situation had handled itself.

Hotarubi would summon the orb - it would flow from one side out into the other hand where it had started from the opposite side and he would make a point, running - jumping, using the summoning effort as he ran chakra through it and it would create a boulder about thrice as himself: his jump bolstering the chance for him to grip at it with his fingers, and throw it down - toward an imaginary opponent.

That was what he had been thinking of doing, and now he had someone to think about while doing it. And the second time he did it, he would arc the ball out - running chakra through it, and those boulders would fly from the orb again, a free-projectile machine. But, if he wanted to do the truly cool stuff he would need to learn how to do it from afar. Maybe that meant more lessons with Osamu, he supposed...

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