[Minami Sora]

Sora took in a long, slow breath, her sky-blue gaze calm and focused as she looked out at the empty dojo, bokken held in a loose grip in front of her, tip resting against the hardwood floor. It was late in the school day, nearly time for classes to end and the Students to filter out and head home- but not all of them. Some would remain, whether through requirement or desire, lingering in the halls before making their way, slowly, to the spare dojo where practical Bukijutsu classes were taught. Some who entered recognized her, their eyes lighting up with excitement or bottoming out with dread, though the majority of the children who entered simply regarded her with a look of guarded curiosity, each one wary of just who this strange, pink-haired woman was.

The Jounin waited until everyone was inside before she spoke, instructing the last student to shut the door behind her as she looked over the group, face impassive. They were a motley bunch, ranging from the young and fresh faced to the old and tired, students from clans and not, all of them gathered together for a singular purpose, whether they wanted to be here or not: to learn more about the art of the sword.

"Hello, children. My name is Minami Sora, I will be your instructor for today." Sora said after a moment, eyeing the group with an impassive stare. There was an odd number of students today- 15, to be exact, and with that information the pink-haired Jounin shifted her plans, adjusting what she wanted to do in order to fit the class before her. "Those of you who did not bring your own shinai may retrieve one from the rack before we begin."

That would give her a bit of time to look over the ones who were prepared and decide which among them would serve as the best partner for what she wanted the kids to go over- or, at least it would have, had there been more than a single student who didn’t immediately turn around to find a weapon on the training rack. She hadn’t quite noticed the lone Kunoichi when the girl had entered, but looking at her now she seemed a little on the older side, with pale skin and deep black hair that reminded her a fair bit too much of her former Kuronmeru students, though there was an air of gloom about her that neither of the twins had ever shown. Oh well. Best get this over with.

"You." She said as she pointed to the girl, voice polite in the way a teacher’s could be when dealing with a student she thought might be a problem. "I'll need your help for this."

Fuji Naoko

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  remedials -  -  -

---

”Hello, Minami-sensei!” a choir of students answered and then quickly scattered to get the mock weapons from the locker. All but one. It was rare for Naoko to stand out in anything but kenjutsu was her favorite subject. With an innate talent in bukijutsu and a love for all things swordplay, Naoko was often praised for her weaponry skills. It was her shy nature, gangly appearance and lack of academic competitive spirit that made her slightly forgettable in areas but when it came to kenjutsu - the girl had a god given talent that was one of the reasons Toru had taken her on as his apprentice.

Of course, most people would not know this and she didn’t really mention it, so it had to be witnessed to be understood. The girl was humble and curious more about her surroundings than how people saw her.

She felt very alone when everyone else went off to the locker and her heart beat quicker. The raven haired girl tensed up and looked down. The black curtain of her bangs covered her amber eyes and she slightly kicked her feet around while fumbling with the bamboo sword in her hands. It was true she had specially picked one up for the class but would it be too much to be proud of that? Everyone already thought she could communicate with spirits and was creepy because she looked like a ghost (in good humor… probably) so would standing out now be a bad decision.

’Should I… should I lift my hand to show I have mine and that’s why I didn’t go to the locker? Can sensei see that I have one? Oh no, what if she thinks this is a bokken and singles me out for not having the right weapon and then I’ll have to pretend to go get the right one anyway but that will slow down the class? Oh, no, what if I trip on the way?! How humiliating…’ her mind raced as she gripped the mock blade by the hilt.

It was Sora’s voice singling her out that snapped Naoko out of her thoughts but also scared her. It was like her grim social situation prediction was coming true!!

”Oh, no, so sorry, sensei, this is in fact the right weapon, I didn’t not hear y-...” she mumbled quickly under her breath in a barely audible way as she felt panic take over her body and her hands wanted to shake a little. Oh, what a bad first impression. She kind of wanted to cry… ”Oh.” that word came after a brief pause and realisation that she had not, in fact, disturbed everyone’s day by being the cause of some awful misunderstanding. What an emotional rollercoaster!

The girl could learn with the teacher herself?! Instantly, her shoulders relaxed and a smile curled her lips. She even straightened up a little but still looked down so her eyes stayed hidden. There was a bashful blush coloring her pale face.

She nodded and walked up front to Sora and bowed politely: ”Thank you for your tutelage, sensei! My name is Fuji Naoko, I look forward to learning from you today.” she introduced herself clearly and politely before straightening back up from her bow and ready to be molded.

---

TAG : Minami Sora || WORDS : 556 || NOTES :1/6

simple thread template no jutsu by odango

[Minami Sora]

Noako… Fuji? Sora thought, her impassive gaze faltering for just a second as she gave the young, pale girl another look. She had the typical paleness that came with being a Kuronmeru, their dark-blood seeming to leech the color from everywhere on their body but their eyes (she was certain Inei, the only exception she had seen, intentionally had his skin tanned on a regular basis), but a quick glance at her eyes showed she had a vibrant set of amber orbs rather than the typical blue or dark gray that others of that clan were known for. Perhaps an uncanny, and unfortunate, resemblance?

The pink-haired Jounin blinked, her focus returning to the moment at hand as the girl blurted out an odd sentence about having the right weapon, only to realize her mistake a moment later, a blush spreading across her pale cheeks. The girl, Naoko, bowed respectfully before she approached, carrying her shinai like a proper weapon, just as she was supposed to, the bamboo shaft held in a loop in her obi, one hand where the saya would be, the other loose at her side. That she didn’t release her grip on the tool when she bowed was of great interest- even the most studious of pupils tended to forget that bit, no matter how much they were reminded of it. That she had done it without having to be told…

Interesting. She gave the girl a soft smile as she took her place at the front of the class, the other students filtering back to their spots with a murmur. She couldn’t quite make out exactly what was being whispered amongst those in the back, but she had a fair idea of what it might be given what those closer to her were saying. Or, rather, what they weren’t saying, and how what they were saying came across.

"Your sensei left me a rather detailed schedule of what this class has been working on." Sora began without warning, her voice loud and sharp enough that every student, from front to back, quieted in an instant. "Today, you are supposed to be going over remedials, practicing the basic kata in order to show you have enough mastery over the forms to move on to more advanced teaching." She paused then, letting the students absorb what was being said- and pick up on the implication that, perhaps, she wasn’t quite in tune with what their sensei wanted her to teach them.

"We will not be doing that. Not in the way you are used to, at least." Again, she paused, hands coming up as she formed a single seal and summoned three Shadow Clones ahead of her, pairing up the fourteen remaining students while she continued to speak. "My clones will pair you with a partner, and for the duration of the class you will spar, two at a time, as if you were in a real fight." Sora let that settle over the group before she spoke again, allowing the students there to understand on their own what it meant… and how they might go about winning.

"Fuji-san, you will be sparring with me."

Fuji Naoko

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  remedials -  -  -

---

How exciting! A smile crept up on her porcelain face as the young teen straightened up more and nodded to their teacher. ”Thank you for your guidance, sensei!” she exclaimed politely and excitedly and did another deep bow now standing in front of Sora. What a pretty name that was. Like the sky.

”Hey, look, look, Yuurei-chan is pairing up with the teacher…” someone whispered to their smaller group and a bunch of kids started giggling.

”Good that. She’s super creepy with a weapon. Weirdy calm and it’s like she’s possessed… I would hate to spar with her. It’s embarrassing to lose against a loser. I would never live that down.” a different kid sighed after being assigned a partner.

”It’s good as well for us.” another chimed in, ”They say whoever holds eye contact with her for more than three seconds is cursed.”

”Oh, so true! Himiko totally broke her ankle the next day after asking Yuurei-chan for her notes.” The chatting continued.

Naoko could hear some of it and her posture sank again. It was awkward to just listen to it and keep her mood up. She was under the belief that if she just let it happen then eventually it would become an anecdote they could all laugh about but… that had not changed since she entered the academy and it was her last year now.

Anyways, she clenched her fist around her weapon and waited for her teacher to take a stance to start the practical exercise or give any further direction.

---

TAG : Minami Sora || WORDS : 267 || NOTES :2/6

simple thread template no jutsu by odango

[Minami Sora]

Sora’s clones moved through the class, assigning the remaining students their partners with calm, focused efficiency, their expressions flat and decidedly neutral as the children whispered amongst themselves. Some of what they said was simple gossip, but every time her clones heard an actual insult be thrown towards Fuji-san, the clone made sure to give the offending student a good rap along the knuckles with a shinai, redirecting their attention back to the matter at hand. It took a few minutes for the class to get organized into proper groups, but eventually the children were split into pairs, with two spars going on at once while her clones watched, giving tips and criticism where needed.

As for the real her, she nodded towards Naoko, granting the girl a soft, genuine smile as she raised her own shinai in a one-handed version of Chudan, the tip of the bamboo blade pointed just above the teen’s head. Her feet were shoulder length apart, entire body relaxed but ready- the kind of stance one might expect a master to take against a beginner, however talented. Still, she didn’t soften her smile, and with a simple breath she spoke, voice calm but focused as she waited for the young girl to make the first move.

"Whenever you’re ready, Fuji-san."

Fuji Naoko

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  remedials -  -  -

---

”Whoa~” she sighed. What a cool lady. Sure, kind of intimidating and just all around scary but cool and pretty, too. Naoko couldn’t help but wonder how someone became cool and pretty. Was it because of training? After a few more years of training maybe she would be cooler? So… coolness could be quantified?

Anyways, she nodded to the challenge and took a moment to look Sora over. Her bangs covered her eyes a little so it was hard to see where Naoko was looking exactly but she would advance soon. Her hold on the weapon was with her left hand at the bottom of the hilt and right hand before the guard with the string facing upwards. The girl would pull her mock blade in a waki-gamae on the opposite side depending on which hand Sora was holding hers.

After a slight recoil, the girl leapt forward with a quick swipe from around her body. She didn’t know how Sora would move but Naoko’s intention was to hit her blade against the sensei’s and somehow rotate inwards and strike once more at the body. It would probably not go as planned but one had to start somewhere.

---

TAG : Minami Sora || WORDS : 200 || NOTES :3/6

simple thread template no jutsu by odango

[Minami Sora]

Sora stood before Naoko, calm as a still pond, her expression both empty and hyper-focused all at once; the world shrunk down to just the two of them as she took in a single, deep breath in time with the raven-haired girl’s step forward. The elder Kunoichi exhaled, shinai shifting into the incoming swipe as she brought her left hand up and, without missing a beat, met her student’s attack with a perfect middle-block, blade interposed between herself and her opponent’s at a slightly oblique angle. A classic response to a classic opening- but would the girl know how to handle the counter stroke? Let’s see.

The pink-haired woman stepped inwards, using the advantage of her height and reach to quite literally shove the girl’s blade aside. Her shinai twisted around the second she drew in close, the bamboo blade falling in a picture perfect Hidari Kesagiri, the next cut in the classic sequence of moves taught to every student in the Academy. It was meant to be utilized with the full weight of the body behind it, striking at the neck of the opponent, cleaving down through their shoulder blade and into the heart, but she had not used even a quarter of her full strength or speed. Enough for the girl to feel as if it were a proper challenge, but not one she couldn’t overcome if she pushed herself.

Come on kid. Show me what you’re made of.

Fuji Naoko

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  remedials -  -  -

---

”Left! She's going left.” her eyes recognised the strike incoming and Naoko spun her body towards it. She would block under the strike and quickly transition into a Kawasemi. It was a three strike combo with a diagonal strike from above, a diagonal strike from below and a third horizontal strike. Naoko saw the teacher’s hand move with her strike so while not stronger or faster, she could go with the flow of Sora’s strikes and use it to her advantage when possible. Right now her goal was to hit Sora’s weapon out of her hand. Naoko didn’t think she could actually win against a full-fledged kunoichi but she wanted to see if she could maybe disarm her - or get close to it.

Her mind was zoned in. All of her attention was on Sora and how the woman seemed completely unphased. There were no unnecessary movements. Naoko would fan about it if she wasn’t focused on reading and reacting only.

Afterwards, the discarded Kuronmeru girl would try to go into Tsubame Gaeshi - Returning Swallow Cut. It was a sequence of four cuts (hidari kesa, gyaku kesa, switch feet, migi kesa, gyaku kesa). There would be no pause during her movements and there were some "oooh”s and "aaaah”s going around.

---

TAG : Minami Sora || WORDS : 200 || NOTES :4/6

simple thread template no jutsu by odango

[Minami Sora]

Quick on her feet. Sora thought as Naoko twisted into the path of her blow, managing to bring her shinai up under the strike and deflect to to the side before rising to deliver a Kawasemi- a rapid series of three strikes that each came from criss-crossing angles, meant to either overwhelm or confuse an opponent, forcing them to misstep and create an opening where there otherwise wouldn’t be one. Though the technique itself was fairly easy to learn, what intrigued the pink-haired woman was not that the young Student knew how to use it, but that she had chosen to do so at all. Using pure offense to overwhelm a competent opponent was dangerous enough, but against someone you knew was better than you? It was practically asking to lose…

Unless it was in this exact setting.

A smile, soft but noticeable, spread across the Jounin’s lips as she met Naoko’s first attack with her shinai, using her reach advantage to step back to the right as the two bamboo blades clashed, only to stutter-step forwards, whipping her weapon across her body to meet the second strike, which skittered off her shinai, only to twist her wrist and, without missing a beat, flick her weapon into the girl’s, pushing what would have otherwise been a solid horizontal cut out of the way.

Naoko didn’t stop though, pushing her way forwards as she rained down cuts in a seemingly wild display of raw aggression- but where others might have seen a child desperately flailing in an attempt to land even a single hit, Sora saw only control. Each of the girl’s movements were calm and precise, her mind and body focused down to a razor’s edge as she pushed forwards, looking to achieve her goal. It wasn’t something that a child could learn in the Academy, wasn’t a skill that could be taught at all, only gained through experience or raw talent…

And for the raven-haired girl, it was clearly all talent.

Sora’s smile widened as she countered Naoko’s Tsubame Gaeshi with one of her own, mirrored so that their strikes would collide with perfect synchronicity. The dojo rang out with the sounds of their clash, the shinai straining beneath the force of the repeated blows- several of the other students stopped what they were doing to gawk, earning a swift smack from her clones, but the pink-haired woman paid them no mind.

Her focus was entirely on the girl, bamboo blade moving without thought as she stepped into the smaller Kunoichi’s range and, with a flick of her arm, fired off a tsuke, aiming the point of her weapon down in an attempt to strike at the girl’s ribcage. The moment before impact, however, she twisted her wrist and hips, shifting her attack from a downward thrust to a rising diagonal cut, left to right, meant to both catch Naoko off-guard and test her reflexes. She was moving a bit faster now, pushing to see just where the girl’s limit was, though the blow held the same level of force as before- enough to hurt, but only for a few seconds.

Alright, Fuji-san. Let’s see how far you can go.

Fuji Naoko

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  remedials -  -  -

---

”She mimicked it?!” The thought didn’t even register completely as Naoko followed through the movements. It was like nothing she would do would surprise the older kunoichi - it made sense, really. Sora was probably some super shinobi level 6 who had seen it all. Meanwhile, Naoko was an orphan who had no friends, no relatives that wanted her and no friends to mention. Toru was the exception. The Mizukage alone, at that time in her life, provided her the equivalent of kinship. They didn’t meet often but he would train her weekly and sometimes they would eat together or take walks. It was nice. However, it was not a luxury she could afford all the time. For a teenager to run the state and the village was a lot of work and Naoko sometimes felt bad for keeping Toru from how busy he probably was. So she preferred to stay by herself now. Alone. Unaware that her mother was actually Kuronmeru Yuuto’s half-sister and that she and Enyo shared a grandfather, the girl had no sense of belonging besides the village (in spirit) and Kaguya Toru.

This sort of emptiness left room for practice, however. With little distraction, the girl had spent most of her free time either experimenting with kenjutsu or baking. Those were the two hobbies she cared for the most.

Today was a day when one of them would shine. The girl wasn’t openly smiling but her alert amber eyes gleefully danced along Sora’s movements and the cogs in her brain were eagerly thinking of the next step (and the one after that, and the one after that, …)

Naoko prepared to evade Sora’s initial strike but then, when she changed trajectory, Naoko was too slow. She got a gut feeling something would be wrong and could follow the twist of her wrist but was not fast enough to evade. All she could do was put up her own weapon to guard along her side and fortify it with both arms. Her knees bent and she took it. The impact made her slide to the side. It was uncomfortable. A part of her wanted to take a breather but that did not sit with her fighting style. Like a viper, the girl stayed low, recoiled and swiped in a form of Mizu Gaeshi (an diagonal upwards strike and a horizontal one to follow) and then would hop upwards and chain it with a fast Doruma Otoshi with her weight behind the first strike. There were multiple reasons: it was an easy sequence to do after landing; it would give her time to think while the barrage continued; the change in height from first two strikes to the third was varied so it was harder to break; the previous strikes had been angled so she felt a need to mix it up with more horizontal ones.

The young Kuronmeru reject hadn’t even noticed that she was holding on so hard to her blade that her hand had bruised and was now bleeding just slightly.. It didn’t hurt at all. It felt warm and would just leave a dark stain on her hand for later. Nothing mattered to Naoko besides the spar in that moment - she was having too much fun. The rest of the world might as well not have existed at the time.

---

TAG : Minami Sora || WORDS : 558 || NOTES :5/6

simple thread template no jutsu by odango

[Minami Sora]

Sora felt her strike connect, her bamboo blade hitting Naoko’s in a sharp clash of wood that sent the smaller, younger Kunoichi sliding to one side; she had braced herself for the blow, reacting on instinct in order to distribute the force across a larger area, which kept her from getting too injured. Still, there was no getting out of such a strike without some kind of injury- she could see the slight discoloration on the girl’s main sword hand,black blood pooling in her skin and dripping down onto the floor from a small cut that had-

Wait. What? The thought hit the pink-haired Jounin like a punch in the gut, her sky-blue gaze going wide with surprise as her student reoriented, attempting to go on the offensive and set the pace of the fight. Under normal circumstance, she would have played along, letting the girl push her back in order to see just what she might pull out to land a hit- but with the surprise of the girl’s black blood, she didn’t have time to rein her instincts in, didn’t have the focus to hold back as she ought to.

Her shinai moved in a blur, the tip of her weapon meeting Naoko’s first blow and directing it off to her left with a flick of motion that utilized the full strength of her body as she stepped inside and, with a single breath, brought the shinai down in a perfect hidari-kesagiri. The blow was strong, utilizing the full force of her legs and torso, her breath exploding out as she struck to enhance the force of the strike for maximum impact- if it hit, she would almost certainly break something, potentially shattering the poor girl’s shoulder blade entirely, if not worse.

Luckily for Naoko, however, it did not.

Sora’s body froze a millimeter from impact, her mind at last catching up with her instincts as she utilized the Decelerate technique to halt her attack before it landed… and, in so doing, left herself completely open to the girl’s swift series of horizontal strikes that smashed against her ribcage, knocking the air from her lungs and pushing her back a few steps. To the other students, it would look as if Nako had gotten the better of her in that exchange, managing to outspeed her despite how close it seemed- only the two of them would know the truth. You and I are going to have a talk when this is over, young lady.

"Very good Fuji-san. I didn’t see that coming at all."

Fuji Naoko