[Warai Ameko]

Ameko put the full weight of her body behind the uppercut, a last ditch move that connects with a satisfying thunk. But even as it makes contact, she knows in her heart that it is too little too late. Her balance is gone, and she is not a ground-based fighter. Risuki’s kick is not as accurate as the younger genin would have expected, and she managed to just move out of the way. But even as her older teammate retreated from the combat, Ameko knew that she had lost. The final trading of blows may have been a victory on paper, but the end of the fight had a clear outcome. Risuki had won, and brought the spar to a conclusion accordingly. The whistles sounded, not too dissimilar to the commands Ameko used for her own familiars, and the hyenas were released. Free to lick their wounds and growl as Risuki retrieved the pelt. The boys were aggressive, but intelligent enough to know the difference between sparring and life-or-death combat, and to recognise when the former came to its conclusion. Ameko’s face blushed in slight indignation at the loss, and for a moment she wished she could retreat to lick her wounds in the same vein as her companions. But that was unbecoming, even if she was becoming more feral by the day. Perhaps she was a tad too committed to her training regime. Grabbing Risuki’s hand, and allowing the older genin to pull her to her feet, she forced an easy smile to her face. A free hand reached to her knee, rubbing the buckled joint as it continued to shoot bolts of pain and weakness up the limb. "Well fought,” The Warai grinned, "I’ve never seen anything like that before. Turning a pelt into an animal.” She whistled, "Here I thought my family were the only ones who bothered to keep to fighting alongside beasts. ‘Course, the real beast was probably you. Damn, you hit like a hammer… And what are those steel things you’re wearing? My foot is sore just from hitting you”

Karamatta Risuki

[Karamatta Risuki]

Risuki knows herself that she would have felt quite miffed if she had felt that she was beaten in a spar, so she wasn't about to hold it against Ameko if she slapped the offered hand away. So it's with a bit of a relief that she helps Ameko back to her feet, although the way she rubs at her knee joint makes her worry that she hadn't quite held back enough during their spar. After a moment, though, it seems that the knee isn't seriously damaged, just sore from the force of her kick. She gives the shorter shinobi a wide grin as she remarks about fighting alongside beasts like those of the Warai clan, but Risuki simply shrugs.

"Fer a Karamatta, it's just somethin' we've got in our blood. Like hair color or eye color or somethin'."

Risuki didn't really know much about what it was with kekkei genkai, but she was told that it was what the Karamatta clan had, kept hidden completely for several generations, only to become less latent and start showing up seemingly everywhere within their clan. The interest in the Hung Gar rings makes her feel quite proud of herself, and she unclips the pair from her wrists, handing them over to Ameko, who might be surprised at the intense weight of the metallic rings, though they would be easy enough to hold onto after an initial shocking weight drop.

"They're called Hung Gar rings, and they feel like they weigh a ton. I used 'em for strength training for a while, now I'm tryin' to use them to be able to punch and kick faster. It takes more strength and speed to make yer hands and feet go from a still guard to a jab, y'see? So I'm hopin' these will help me train my body fer it, and in the meantime, they make me hit way harder because of the extra weight."

[Warai Ameko]

In their blood, one of those born abilities then. Ameko noted that for later use. She wasn’t particularly well-versed in the ways of the clans, nor did she particularly care to be. But understanding the abilities of her teammates, that seemed to be pertinent. Battle would require them to rely on one another and that meant understanding how one another operated, it required understanding the source of their abilities. "Ah, gotcha,” She answered, teeth gritting as she continued to rub at her knee. Most of her body ached, but the most recent damage clearly was weighing on her the most, "My bond with the hyenas is a tad different. It’s like a ritual thing. Blood, yeah, but intermingled. Y’know? They do a little ceremony, bond pups and babes and pow… Warai.” Shinobi abilities aside, it was clear that Risuki was a trained martial artist, and that had manifested through the weight of the rings that she used. She handed them over to Ameko, and the younger girl was shocked by the sheer mass of the objects. Taking them into her grip, she’d expected them to be more akin to bracelets, albeit more weighted, and found herself almost thrown off balance by their absolute weight. Of course, she was rather strong herself, and apart from a quick stumble, she swiftly righted herself. Still, it was evident from her expression just how impressed she was. "Makes sense,” Ameko mused, raising the Hung Gar as if they were dumbbells, "Might need to ask where you sourced ‘em, they seem useful.” Ameko had never particularly dedicated herself to resistance training. She was abnormally strong, yes, but that had been due to the requirements of wrestling with literal predators, less so than pumping iron. "Alright,” Ameko slurred finally, offering the rings back, "Now that we’ve summed each other up, I think we’re in a decent spot. I know I’m younger than a lotta the Suna genin. But, hell, the other villages have kids running around a couple years south of me anyway, so it ‘aint like I’m the odd one.” Ameko extended her hand again, offering it in a handshake, "Looking forward to working with ya, Risuki.”

Karamatta Risuki

[Karamatta Risuki]

Risuki smirks as Ameko expresses even more interest in the Hung Gar rings. It wasn't lost on her that she'd faltered just a little bit when she'd first been handed over the metal weighted bracelets, but with how rapidly she'd righted herself, it was definitely clear that she was able to handle the additional weight of the training aids. She accepts them back, quickly replacing them on her wrists again, even though they make her arms feel heavy and slow all over again. The Karamatta reminds herself that, at the moment, her fighting style definitely picks up the slack for the speed she feels like she's lacking; Ameko herself could punch just a little bit faster, and if she could reach that level of combat, all the better, but she thought it might be a losing race already.

When Ameko brings up her age, Risuki can't help but chuckle a bit, although her reasoning made sense, and she gladly accepts the handshake, giving her hand a slight squeeze. As much as the older of the two didn't want to admit it, she felt that this shorter young woman was definitely going to give her the competitive push to improve herself even further, and that was definitely useful to have on her team.

"Ya sure don't fight like a kid. 'N the feeling's mutual."