Walking up the Steppes

[Trucro]

Ryuu sat on his horse who was trotting along through the mountain pass. He had a frown on his face, but the truth was that it wasn’t even his face. He didn’t look like himself, not at all. It was his jutsu that hid him, making him look entirely different so that he could fit in amongst the other Tenrai in the steppes. With his different appearance came a different name: Umaro. It was a good name for infiltrating a Tenrai tribe; after all, it was one of the most popular names with all the Tenrai. His mission, of course, was to kill one of the leaders of the tribe he rode with, a man by the name of Torunai. Ryuu hadn’t met Torunai yet, which he felt was odd, having been amongst the Tenrai for a few weeks. His mission, however, wasn’t the only thing on his mind.

“Umaro!” Ryuu spun around at the mention of his alias. There, on a horse just behind him, was a man he knew to be named Isha. Isha was a great warrior, perhaps the greatest among the tribe. He was middle aged, but had the body of a much younger man, and some said, the mind of a child. Nevertheless, Umaro always seemed to like him. So, he let it be. It appeared as though Isha enjoyed Umaro as well, as he had taken him under his wing after just a short time. “I want to show you something.” As he said this, Isha dropped down from his horse, allowing several others to pass him and continue on their way. Umaro did the same, falling to the ground. He had gotten the hang of riding a horse long ago, and knew that he looked like a pro as he dismounted.

“What is it?” Umaro asked. It wasn’t odd for Isha to ask to speak with him in private, although he hadn’t actually gleemed any insight from the man. Most of their private conversations were just jokes about other members of the tribe. This time, Isha was more serious.

“I’ve decided, Umaro, that I am going to teach you to be a great warrior.” As Isha finished his sentence, he smiled at Ryuu. “Of course, before I teach you to fight, you must learn to run.”

“Learn to run?” Umaro asked, a bit confused.

“Yes, you must run. Horses are the best teachers; they run more carefree, more fluidly, than any other creature. This is necessary for battle.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Let me show you…” he said. Isha led Umaro to an open plateau atop one of the cliffs. The plateau stretched out farther than Umaro could see. “Now, when you run, you want to keep your feet turned slightly inward. This will protect the weak points in your legs, and will make you run faster too! And lower your shoulders, like so.” Isha demonstrated for a moment before taking off, running at a high speed across the plateau.

Umaro emulated Isha’s stance as best he could, rushing forward as fast as he could. His first few steps were awkward, stumbling pidgeon-toed with his shoulders at his knees. But after a few more, he pulled his head up. He could feel the wind rushing through his hair, and he took a deep breath. He moved faster and faster, picking up speed. He could see Isha, several dozen meters away. He had stopped waiting for Umaro. Umaro continued forward, but as he approached, Isha stepped in front. Before he could stop, Isha stuck out his arm, showing Umaro his fist as he reached him. Umaro closed his eyes, knowing it was too late to stop. He pulled his feet in, his body now moving beyond his control. He dropped down, placing a hand on the ground as he skidded across the dirt. He opened his eyes to see Isha standing in front of him, his fist held out in the opposite direction.

“Wow, you picked that up fast,” Isha said happily.

Jutsu Training: 671/400

jutsu trainedShow

[color=#939905][b]Karakorun Style • Gallop[/b][/color]
D-Ranked Taijutsu Stance
This stance was created by horsemen in the even that they fell off their horse. The user will begin this stance while running, lowering their shoulders and turning their legs slightly inward. This prepares the user for dodges more easily, providing torque in the legs and maneuverability in the shoulders.

[Trucro]

“Well, now that you know how to run,” Isha began. “I’ve gotta teach you how to keep that pretty face of yours pretty. So, I’ll show you the next technique; come after me!” Umaro(Ryuu) rose one of his eyebrows in confusion. “Go ahead, take your best shot,” Isha clarified, pointing at his face. Umaro nodded, and walked over to Isha, raising his arms. He jabbed his fist once towards Isha’s face. The horseman bent to the left from his waist, easily avoiding the attack. “Try again?”

Umaro(Ryuu) began swinging at Isha with both hands, but Isha was faster. He bent back and forth with ease, avoiding each fist just as it came across. After a few swings, Umaro stopped, realizing the futility. Isha, however, was clearly having fun. He became visibly disappointed when Umaro stopped, rolling his eyes as he let out a sigh.

“Alright, I guess it is your training, not my game time. Why don’t you give it a shot! The trick is to keep your waist fluid.” As Isha finished talking, he rose his hands, clenching them in fists. “You ready?”

“Sure thing,” Umaro responded.

“Alright, here I come!” Isha stepped forwards, striking with his right arm. Umaro leaned to the right, avoiding the attack. He leaned a bit too far, however, and lost his balance, falling to the ground. Isha immediately began to laugh as Umaro’s face turned red. “You overreacted there a bit! The idea is to make small movements to avoid attacks; anyone can leap out of the way of a punch, but then you can’t follow it up. Now let’s try again.” Umaro stood and nodded.

He stood up, facing Isha once again. Isha pulled back his left arm before striking forwards. Umaro leaned to his left, dodging the attack. Unlike before, he kept his balance, safetly avoiding the attack while remaining close enough to counter. Isha didn’t give him a chance, swinging forward with his right fist in a hook motion. Umaro leaned back as Isha’s fist crossed just in front of his face. He pulled himself back up, standing straight again as Isha sent another punch flying forwards. Umaro began to lean away again, but wasn’t fast enough. Isha’s fist caught Umaro in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Umaro(Ryuu) began to worry that his cover was blown; his face was covered in paper that hid his appearance, so every time someone touched it, he risked being caught.

“You okay?” Isha asked. He seemed not to have noticed anything, and Umaro let out a sigh of relief. “Let’s try it again…”

Jutsu Training: 428/400

Jutsu TrainedShow

Karakorun Style • Mane Dance
D-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
The user of this technique has practiced avoiding attacks to his upper body in close quarters. Rather than making large movements to dodge attacks, the user of this technique simply uses their waist to bend and turn out of the way. This allows the user to remain in close quarters with their opponents even as they are attacked, preparing them for a counter attack. The user will be able to dodge attacks so long as their speed+instinct/2 is greater than the speed of the attack.