Water to Blood

[MedeaMoirae]

The sun was only just rising beyond the mist. For a moment Naoko stood in the doorway of her training room to stare at the mist and the beauty she found in it. Her mind was on so many things, it moved quickly from one topic to another. Her life was changing, progressing, and not at any snail’s pace either.

She turned back to the center of the room and sat down, tucking her feet under herself, elbows resting on her knees as she closed her eyes and attempted to clear her mind. She had a lot to do today, starting with training a new jutsu. She breathed in and out slowly, controlling her breath, imagining the breeze coming in through the doors had color to it and was flowing over her. Slowly the colors swirled in her mind, and her thoughts wandered to her two genin, she hoped she could call them chunin soon. The test proctor was meeting with her later to let her know how their exam went. If they hadn't passed she'd...

Naoko shook her head, mentally chiding herself for letting her mind wander. She chose a different color as she imagined the wind passing over her again, it was not her affinity but she loved the feel of it on her body. Yet as she thought it, her mind wandered to her new friend, a ninja who seemed to have the same talent for the spilling of blood as she did, and part of her hoped it would become more than a friendship. Before she knew it her thoughts of the wind had turned to a certain man's hands.... and she shook her head violently. "Enough!" she told herself.

She was thinking too much on everything, the stress was bothering her. In quiet thought she stood and she undid the clasp that held her dress in place, allowing the cloth to fall to the ground, revealing the black shorts and loose black shirt that she wore beneath. As she stepped out toward the mist and into her backyard she pulled the single chopstick out of the ribbons around one of her forearms and twisted it in her hair, wrapping the hair around it and securing it to the back of her head.

She reached her place several feet from the water and closed her eyes, mentally she pushed her stress into the mist, drawing to herself calm, strength and focus. For several moments she stood like this, calm, and still, with only a slight breeze that attempted to play with her hair, but played with the loose fabric of her shirt. Before long the mist already had caused parts of her shirt to start to cling to her.

She took up another stance, feet shoulder width apart, hands moving slowly from one handseal to the next as she practiced the motions she had memorized from her texts within her office. After going through them at least five times she opened her eyes and moved quickly from one seal into the next, producing a water clone of herself in front of her, just before the edge of the water. The clone was there just long enough for her to see it, before it splashed onto the ground.

Naoko frowned. While she was glad that she’d made a clone on her first attempt, she wasn’t happy that it had lasted such a short period of time. She must’ve let something distract her. She sighed heavily, and took a moment once more to calm herself. In her mind she imagined the water flowing up over the ground, her feet, up her legs, arms and even over her face. The water was in her, she had only to call it to her, to command it as she saw fit. It was a part of her.

She opened her eyes again, forming the seals in quick succession once more and the water clone stood in front of her again. She opened her eyes and looked at it a moment, as it turned as if to take steps away from her, only to fall into a puddle again. Naoko frowned, growling quietly to herself. ”Really? It is not this hard to concentrate!” she told herself.

She sighed heavily, crossing her arms. ’I’d give myself a glare, but that’d probably be a distraction too.’ she thought to herself. She sighed again, and took up her stance, letting calm wash over her, knowing if she dwelled on her frustrations it would only cause problems with her training, and she wasn’t looking to spend all day on this jutsu.

She brought her heart rate back to normal and calmed herself, thinking again of the water running over her, and through her. She performed the handseals again, and the clone stood before her. Her and the clone stared eye to eye a moment, and then the clone started pacing back and forth in front of her. Concentrating on what she was doing, Naoko herself began to do the same, in the opposite direction. After several moments the clone fell into a puddle once more.

Naoko took a deep breath and performed the handseals once more, and the clone stood before her again. There was one more thing she had to do, had to see, before she could call herself ready to perform this jutsu in battle.

After several moments of herself and her clone staring each other down, the clone spun, back now facing Naoko as the clone performed the proper seals, and pulled its hands apart, a water whip forming in her hand. Naoko herself drew a kunai and flicked it towards the clone, penetrating the whip and it fell apart. A second later the clone fell into a puddle as Naoko released the jutsu.

Naoko sighed heavily, smiling. ”Good…”

Jutsu TrainingShow

*Water Clone Technique
C-ranked Suiton Ninjutsu
After performing the required seals, the user will be able to create clones made of water. Unlike a normal clone, the water clone has the ability to interact more with the environment due to it having physical substance. This allows the clone to carry out limited attacks on its target. The range of the clone is limited, only able to travel about fifty meters from the user. The user distributes a sufficient amount of chakra equally amongst their other clones, allowing them to use any C or D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu the user knows.

• Taijutsu – 1
• Stamina – 3
• Strength – 1
• Speed – 3

Additional Jutsu UsedShow

*Water Whip
D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
Water Whip is a technique that utilizes water to create a seven foot long whip. To do this, they must perform the needed seals and concentrate chakra in their hands. By placing them together and pulling them apart, the user will be able to form the whip, where the grip is simply a sphere of water that encases one of the user’s hands. The hand it surrounds is up to the user, but it cannot switch after the technique has been cast. If anything enters the water that is around the user’s hand, the whip will lose its form and splash onto the ground. The whip is about one inch in diameter and functions as a regular whip, delivering as much pain as a leather whip would. However, the whip is a little more durable, unable to be cut by strike from regular metal if attacked with a strength stat less than the user’s control. The whip lasts one post for every stamina point the user has.

Required Word CountShow

Base Word Count (C Rank Jutsu) = 1500
Naoko’s Calculated Reduction = 650
Naoko’s Required Word Count = 850
Final Count (Not including spoilers) = 885

[MedeaMoirae]

The sun was bright, but the mist clung to the air. Naoko wasn’t anywhere near home today. She had gone for quite the long walk today, walking until she was in the middle of a deserted area with scattered trees, and some wildlife. She needed to train, and she preferred quiet and solitude for such a thing.

She sat down in the wet grass, crossing her legs, elbows on her knees, as she cleared her mind. This had become a standard ritual for every training, she found it was easier to learn something new when her mind was clear of all distraction, or at least most distractions. She kept her location in mind, picturing it, and nothing else, except the puddles that dotted the landscape, imagining it seeping up through the ground and washing over her body, becoming a part of her. For several moments she just let the water mentally wash over her, and through her.

After several moments, Naoko stood, dropping a piece of her dress to the ground, leaving only the shorts and no sleeve shirt she wore beneath. She looked around her, listening to the sound of the birds, grinning from ear to ear when she thought about today’s training, after all, there would be a huge humorous side to it today.

’Perhaps trying this without a specific target first would be a good idea.’ Naoko closed her eyes a moment, thinking on what she was doing, imagining again that the water flowed over and through her, her mind concentrating on what had to be done. Suddenly she dropped into a stance with her feet shoulder width apart and slowly performed the necessary handseals, making sure to get each one right in the right order. As soon as the final handseal had been performed, water came forth from Naoko’s mouth to the ground before, forming into a sphere that rolled across the landscape for two or three meters before it splashed into a puddle.

Naoko smiled. ’It’s a good start.’ she thought to herself. She looked around for a decent target, a grin spilling across her face. She tried to hide it, but she was getting a great deal of childish amusement out of this, or at least she was about to be. She didn’t have to watch for long, as a squirrel stepped into view. He was apparently looking for a nut he’d buried some time ago as he started digging.

Naoko had to keep from laughing, this was going to be hilarious. She formed the necessary handseals. She moved a bit quicker than before, but not very so she wouldn’t startle her target. Her movements weren’t completely slow, but they were deliberate. Upon the last handseal, again the water poured from her mouth and the orb of water rolled towards the squirrel. The squirrel, obviously startled either by movement or sound, looked up, and with a terrified squeak took off running away from the water orb, but he was a little bit late. The water orb picked up the squirrel, spinning him a couple of times before he was rudely thrown from the orb and a few feet later, the orb splashed apart.

The poor terrified squirrel took off up a nearby tree, while Naoko hit the ground, laughing hysterically. She lay on the ground laughing for some time, seeming unable to get the hilarious image out of her head, which of course was what had led to the poor thing getting thrown from the water prison in such a fashion. After seeing him spun a couple of times she had already started laughing and lost her grip on the jutsu. But this was not a time when she chided herself over it, after all, who wouldn’t laugh at the sight of a squirrel spinning in such a way? She was certain even Shiv would laugh at such a sight.

After finally composing herself, Naoko took up her stance once more, practicing without a target. This time she spend up her handseals, moving seamlessly from one into another, as quickly as her hands could move. Yet again as soon as she had formed the final handseal, water poured forth from her lips upon the ground, rolling forward into a sphere of water that rolled about three meters before falling into a puddle. For a moment Naoko simply stood there, staring at the puddle that was left. She looked around, seeking a new target, smiling to herself as she thought this might be a useful tool to use on her ninja, or on Shiv just for humor’s sake.

Naoko looked around, seeking another good target. The squirrel had been hilarious, though she had originally gone looking for fish, but somehow she thought catching fish like this was so much more boring, she felt like laughing, even if she was training. Who said all training needed to be boring? Just as she was thinking about looking for a better target, another squirrel strayed across her path, and Naoko smiled to herself. It was probably going to be a repeat of earlier, but it would still be amusing. At least that was what she thought until she saw a bird land in front of her.

She grinned from ear to ear as she formed the necessary handseals. Yet again upon the final seal water poured from her mouth and formed into an orb, rolling forward towards Naoko’s intended target, the bird. Just as the orb got close, the bird moved as if to fly away, but the water caught it and suddenly the bird found itself suspended in water, trapped, and blinking rapidly. Naoko laughed, but this time maintaining the shape of the water, maintaining the prison. After a few moments, she finally released it, as she had no intention of drowning a bird that day. The water fell into a puddle, and the bird cawed angrily for awhile, it’s feathers wet and needing to dry as it stumbled away.

Naoko couldn’t help but laugh at the bird’s angry little fit and it’s action of storming away. She only had a moment’s amusement of it however, as she needed a larger target. She started walking, looking for something bigger, but couldn’t seem to find anything suitable. Then she saw it in front of her. She knew that one of her brothers was out in this area training, but she hadn’t thought that she might run into him. She grinned from ear to ear, momentarily remembering some of his slights against her as a child.

Without a sound, she formed the seals and the water poured from her mouth for the last time in her training session, rolling forward, and her brother turned around just in time to be engulfed by it. She grinned from ear to ear as she walked closer to the orb that now had imprisoned her brother. ”That’ll teach you to steal my toys.” she told him, turning to leave, a few brief moments later the water prison fell into a puddle, and Naoko’s brother fell out, sputtering, and possibly cursing his sister a bit.

Word Count RequirementShow

B Rank Jutsu Training Word Count Requirement: 1800
Naoko’s Reduction: [(Ninjutsu Stat: 6) + (Wit Stat: 7)] x 50 = 650
Naoko’s B Rank Jutsu Training Word Count Requirement: 1150

Jutsu Being TrainedShow

*Water Prison
B-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
By forming a string of seals, the user is able to spew a large ball of water that stands at three meters in diameter. This ball rolls at the target at a speed of seven. Should this strike a target, they will become engulfed within the sphere. However, if this manages to strike multiple targets, it will envelop them as well, up to a total of three prisoners. One can resist being pulled into the ball if they have a strength of seven or higher. The ball will roll thirty meters, regardless of whether or not anyone has been captured. Once inside, the targets will spin with the sphere and may cause dizziness, nausea and disorientation. The technique lasts for a total of five posts, rolling included, before bursting.

[MedeaMoirae]

Naoko stepped out onto the frozen lake. It was here that things had started, where Yukio had made her realize that she needed to face Ryota again. So it seemed fitting to her that she should train here. Though the last time she was here she had nearly drown when she slipped into a crack and fell beneath the surface, if it weren’t for Yukio, she would have. ”Face my fear huh? Let’s see how it goes…” She’d been afraid of ice ever since her first encounter with Ryota, when he’d used it to poison her, to torture her, and even worse.

Naoko drew her sword and brought it up high over her head, hesitating barely a moment before she brought it down with her full strength onto the ice. Bits of ice flew and she could hear the rumble of cracks beneath the surface. She brought it up again, and brought it down one more time. As the cracks rippled across the ice surface, Naoko backed up, sheathing her sword. The opening was small, but it was enough.

Naoko sighed, closing her eyes, willing the water to be a part of her, as it had always been. She dropped into the proper stance and her hands were moving fast with the proper handsigns. Water came from the hole she had made in the ice and wrapped around her hand, forming a whip of water. She brought her arm around and circled the whip around her head before snapping it in front of her. She concentrated on the whip, circling it around her head again and snapping it in front of her.

Her feet slipped, and she cringed as she tried to maintain her balance, and the whip. Again she brought it around over her head, spinning it twice, and snapping the whip again. After a final snap, she let the water splash to the top of the ice. She formed another set of handseals and her body bent and buckled as she spewed water from her mouth. The water splashed in front of her, moving and rippling until it formed a concave wall in front of her.

When the wall was up, she formed the proper handseals again, allowing the water to form over her hand, and the whip to extend from it as she swung it over her head and snapped it. She felt herself being to tire, just the smallest hint of the chakra she was using. Both jutsu were only D rank, but it was still a drain, yet she felt it wasn’t pushing her hard enough, she needed to push her limits. She allowed the water to fall away, and she went back to forming handseals.

Three water clones rose to life behind her, walking in circles around her and her wall. Two of them did quick handseals and water whips formed over their hands. Naoko took up a defensive stance just as her wall fell away, forming her own water whip over her hand. Both clones brought their whips over their heads and snapped them in her direction. Naoko rolled away, and came up, bringing her whip and snapping it just as the clones were bringing up their own whips.

She caught one of the whips with hers and yanked as hard as she could, the whip broke apart and she lashed out again, catching the clone around the waist and throwing it. The second clone’s whip lashed out, catching her free arm. The third clone formed several handseals. The clone’s body buckled and bent, suddenly expelling a ball of water from it’s mouth towards Naoko herself.

Naoko snapped her whip out at the clone who held her, wrapping it around the clone’s neck and giving it a yank, sending the clone flying, just as the ball of water impacted. Naoko swore as she hit the ground from the impact and skidded on the ice, just barely keeping the water whip on her hand. She got to her feet with little difficulty, bringing the whip over her head and sending it towards the clone, the whip wrapping around the clone’s waist as Naoko pulled and sent the clone flying.

Two of the clones had dispersed, the third stood, forming handseals for a water whip and lashing out at Naoko. Naoko took her own whip and the two whips intertwined, and splashed apart. Naoko formed several quick handseals, a ball of water forming in her right hand. She threw it hard and it slammed into the face of the clone, covering its eyes.

Naoko crossed her arms and watched with a smile as the clone struggling to pull the water off, she hadn’t really given them much of her strength since she’d been using them just to practice her ninjutsu as much as possible. Finally the clone stumbled and fell right into the hole in the ice Naoko had made with her sword previously and the clone dispersed.

Naoko sat heavily on the ice, despite the cold, trying to catch her breath.

Training InformationShow

Stat Training – Ninjutsu
Necessary Words: 800
Words Used: 837

Jutsu UsedShow

*Water Whip
D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
Water Whip is a technique that utilizes water to create a seven foot long whip. To do this, they must perform the needed seals and concentrate chakra in their hands. By placing them together and pulling them apart, the user will be able to form the whip, where the grip is simply a sphere of water that encases one of the user’s hands. The hand it surrounds is up to the user, but it cannot switch after the technique has been cast. If anything enters the water that is around the user’s hand, the whip will lose its form and splash onto the ground. The whip is about one inch in diameter and functions as a regular whip, delivering as much pain as a leather whip would. However, the whip is a little more durable, unable to be cut by strike from regular metal if attacked with a strength stat less than the user’s control. The whip lasts one post for every stamina point the user has.
*Dense Cannon
D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
Replacing speed for power, this technique creates a dense ball of water meant to cause heavy blunt damage. Once the seals are formed for this technique, the user will create a ball of water from within their body and will expel it through their mouth. The ball sits at about two feet in diameter. It will travel at a speed of three, up to five meters, but strikes with a force of four.
*Umbrella Defense
D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
After performing a set of seals, the user will be able to create a solid, yet watery defense. Once the seals are performed, the user will spray water created from the inside of their chest through their mouth. Once the water is expelled, it will form sort of an umbrella shape that is concave to the user and about two meters in diameter. This defense can be formed in any direction the user can spit, up to two meters away. Once created, it lasts for three posts before falling lifelessly to the ground.
*Visual Impairment
D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
A fairly tricky technique to pull off, the user will form a string of seals and create a small ball of water within their dominant hand. This ball of water is only about three inches in radius and stays solid until contact is made with it. Should this technique strike a target in the head, the water will cover the eyes so that the victim’s vision is blurred. The impediment is equal to as if they were underwater. This ball can either be thrown or applied by force, but should it hit anything other than the head, it will simply fall to the ground. The ball stays solid for two posts, and should it hit the target, will stay on their face for three posts unless pulled off. Any target with a strength of three or higher can easily pull the water off their face.
*Water Clone Technique
C-ranked Suiton Ninjutsu
After performing the required seals, the user will be able to create clones made of water. Unlike a normal clone, the water clone has the ability to interact more with the environment due to it having physical substance. This allows the clone to carry out limited attacks on its target. The range of the clone is limited, only able to travel about fifty meters from the user. The user distributes a sufficient amount of chakra equally amongst their other clones, allowing them to use any C or D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu the user knows.
Taijutsu – 1
Stamina – 3
Strength – 1
Speed – 3

[MedeaMoirae]

Naoko was staring out at the sunrise with an expression on her face akin to sorrow. It was time to stop wallowing in her own grief. Whether Yukio lived or died, she needed to get on with her life, and with her work. Since she wouldn’t likely have his back up in the fight with Ryota, she would have even more work to do now. She needed to get back to her training, it was time to do what was required to achieve the Chiton.

She dropped her cloak in the dirt, walking to the edge of the water. The mist clung to the air like usual, and the water was likely cold, but Naoko didn’t mind. She set aside her sword, and her pouches, all of her things except for her clothes themselves.

Without so much as a pause, she stepped out onto the water, using the *[Act of Water Surface Walking] Technique to walk on the surface. She took several steps, maybe a dozen, to get to deeper water. With a smile she closed her eyes and released the technique, letting herself slip beneath the surface of the water. She loved how cool it was and how it felt against her skin. For a moment it felt as if she was being held by Yukio. Under the water she couldn’t help but smile, until her feet touched the bottom. She wiggled her toes in the cold soil at the bottom, and relished the feeling for only a moment.

Then suddenly she bent her knees and pushed with her feet, sending herself up through the water and breaking the surface. Once her hands cleared the surface, into the air she used the *[Act of Water Surface Walking] Technique again, only this time using her hands. She pushed so that her feet cleared and she landed on top of the water, using the technique in her feet once more.

Without skipping a beat or pausing she formed several hand seals, her eyes intent on a duck that was floating innocently on the top of the water with three or four friends, about five meters away from her. In the water, beneath the duck as he innocently moved along, chakra churned and churned, suddenly the water came up, engulfing the duck and trapping him in a swirling vortex of water and chakra. Naoko couldn’t help but grin at the poor duck, trapped, and could almost hear the quacking he was attempting to make, if he would’ve been able to make a sound in that vortex anyway.

While maintaining the vortex, Naoko turned her attention to the other ducks, some of whom were trying to scatter away from the vortex, a couple of them had gotten caught up in it as well. But there was one in particular she had her eye on. She formed several hand seals in quick succession. Her body buckled and moved and water spewed forth from her mouth, forming a ball of water that rolled forward across the water’s surface towards the duck. The duck let out a loud startled noise as it was engulfed by the water prison. The poor duck spun and spun, and it continued rolling as it reached the edge of the water and onto the ground it rolled.

Naoko turned her eyes away from the water prison and glanced at the vortex before she formed several more hand seals. As she did, she concentrated the chakra in her hand and water collected, trailing from her hand down to the body of water on which she stood, forming her water whip. Just as it formed she heard the water prison that had been rolling away from her splash into nothingness, it’s ‘occupant’ making several noises of insult as it tried to shake itself of the water, only managing to fall to the ground as a result of the dizziness that came from spinning in the water prison for such a distance.

Naoko spun the whip over her head a couple of times before snapping it behind her, and again, before snapping it over her own head. As she spun and snapped it a couple of more times she closed her eyes, letting her mind run over one of her favorite tunes. She stepped to the side a few times, spinning very slowly as she spun the whip over her head in a similar fashion. As she brought it down, she didn’t snap it this time, pushing up with her feet to do a sideways cartwheel without touching her hands to the surface of the water, her feet delicately touching to the top of the water again.

As her toes touched to the water again she heard a great noise behind her as the water vortex slowed, losing momentum. Naoko let go of the water whip, allowing it to splash into the water as she brought both hands up to form another set of hand seals. Two water clones rose up out of the water, standing on it’s surface just as she did, and running over to stand within five meters of the water vortex. Both clones did the proper hand seals for the water vortex, soon bringing it back up to a proper speed as they both reinforced the jutsu and kept the water spinning.

Naoko turned away from the clones and the vortex, taking in deep breaths as she jumped into the air, doing one full rotation sideways, doing the hand seals for the water whip again in the air. As her first foot touched down to the surface of the water again, the water whip formed in her hand and she turned, lashing it out at the branch of a tree that wasn’t far from her now. She yanked, using her own momentum and strength to pull herself forward, lifting her feet off the ground. She landed on the hard ground under the tree, side-stepping to avoid actually hitting the tree.

Yet she didn’t stop there. She still had some energy left, she could feel it. She dropped the water whip again as she turned to face the water, suddenly running towards it again. She used the water walking technique yet again as she ran across it’s surface, not even a hesitation at her first step onto the water. She was making a bee line for one of the clones. As she approached she formed the hand seals again for water prison. She was skidding to slow down as her body buckled and bent, water spewing forth from her mouth and forming a ball that rolled towards the clone.

The clone heard the sound, spinning towards her and forming it’s own hand seals for water prison, it’s own body buckling and bending as well, the two water prisons collided with one another in a great splash, but Naoko herself was moving right along behind it, dropping to skid across the surface of the water and slamming into the knees of the clone.

The clone splashed into the water and Naoko jumped to her feet, running around the water vortex towards the second clone who had had no view of the encounter between her and the first. She kept her distance from the vortex to avoid being drawn in and at the last second dropped into another skid, taking out the knees of the second, and very surprised, clone.

Final clone, and vortex, all splashed into the water at once, causing a large wave that slammed into Naoko, washing her up onto the shore.

Naoko laughed and sputtered, coughing up a lil water, before sprawling out on the ground with a laugh. She’d found it rather fun.

Training InformationShow

1275/1200 words
Stat Training: Ninjutsu

SpoilerShow

*[Act of Water Surface Walking]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
A variation of the Act of Tree Climbing technique, this jutsu requires the user to focus a precise and balanced amount of charka into the soles of his/her feet. By doing so, the user is able to walk on the surface of water as though it were a solid surface. Users with low control 2 or lower are much more likely to fall through the surface of the water, while users with average control 3 or higher will be able to use this technique functionally. It lasts for a number of posts equal to the user's stamina stat times 3.

*Water Vortex
C-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
Prerequisite: The intended target must be on top of water
This technique is meant to immobilize and capture a target without dealing any type of fatal blow. After performing the required seals, the user will churn chakra in a body of water. The water will then engulf the target, trapping them in a vortex about two meters in diameter. However, for this technique to be used, the user must be within five meters of the target when the vortex is initially created and must stand within one meter of the vortex after the target is caught. Once the target is inside, the user must hold the last seal and cannot use any other techniques. The technique lasts one post for every two points of stamina the user has. In order to escape, the target must have a strength higher than the user’s control and physically make their way out, or the user must be disrupted. Most shinobi would pass out after two posts due to a lack of oxygen. However, if a target possesses a stamina stat of six or seven, it would require three posts for them to pass out. Should the target possess a stamina stat of eight or nine, it would require five posts for them to pass out, but anything higher would allow them to resist passing out altogether.

*Water Prison
B-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
By forming a string of seals, the user is able to spew a large ball of water that stands at three meters in diameter. This ball rolls at the target at a speed of seven. Should this strike a target, they will become engulfed within the sphere. However, if this manages to strike multiple targets, it will envelop them as well, up to a total of three prisoners. One can resist being pulled into the ball if they have a strength of seven or higher. The ball will roll thirty meters, regardless of whether or not anyone has been captured. Once inside, the targets will spin with the sphere and may cause dizziness, nausea and disorientation. The technique lasts for a total of five posts, rolling included, before bursting.

*Water Whip
D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu
Water Whip is a technique that utilizes water to create a seven foot long whip. To do this, they must perform the needed seals and concentrate chakra in their hands. By placing them together and pulling them apart, the user will be able to form the whip, where the grip is simply a sphere of water that encases one of the user’s hands. The hand it surrounds is up to the user, but it cannot switch after the technique has been cast. If anything enters the water that is around the user’s hand, the whip will lose its form and splash onto the ground. The whip is about one inch in diameter and functions as a regular whip, delivering as much pain as a leather whip would. However, the whip is a little more durable, unable to be cut by strike from regular metal if attacked with a strength stat less than the user’s control. The whip lasts one post for every stamina point the user has.

*Water Clone Technique
C-ranked Suiton Ninjutsu
After performing the required seals, the user will be able to create clones made of water. Unlike a normal clone, the water clone has the ability to interact more with the environment due to it having physical substance. This allows the clone to carry out limited attacks on its target. The range of the clone is limited, only able to travel about fifty meters from the user. The user distributes a sufficient amount of chakra equally amongst their other clones, allowing them to use any C or D-Rank Suiton Ninjutsu the user knows.
Taijutsu – 1
Stamina – 3
Strength – 1
Speed – 3

[MedeaMoirae]

The morning was dawning beautifully, and Naoko was already awake and dressed. She stood beneath the cherry tree in her back yard, staring up at it and wishing it had blossoms though unfortunately it wasn't the season for it. Today she had abandoned her ninja gear and her usual garb for a simple red no sleeved shirt and a pair of tan shorts. She walked the path along the water, looking for a suitable place for her training, and it didn't take long. Today would have nothing to do with weapons, only with her control of her own jutsu. She'd been having trouble lately with her Iijutsu training and thought perhaps some training would do her good.

She finally found a good place, a sheer rock face that jutted up out of the water. Of course the water was between her and it. She had a long road in front of her, and this was a start to meeting it head on. She took a moment to focus the chakra into her feet at the water's edge, before stepping out onto its surface. The water was still, staring down into its depths she felt like she was walking on glass. Each step was sturdy, her balance was as it needed to be, but part of her still felt like she had to walk cautiously. She'd always hated this jutsu. Though she walked on stable 'ground', instinctively her mind played tricks on her and made her think she could lose her balance at any moment. She remembered training this as a Genin, fighting against that instinct, and convincing herself her body knew better than her mind. It was with this jutsu that she first began to meditate during certain types of training, for inner peace was vital when using any secrets of her village. After all chakra was to those who didn't know it, only 'magic'. Even a ninja is only human and the mind has to overcome what it believes to be 'impossible' before learning and using secrets such as these.

She walked across the water slowly, deliberately concentrating on every step and every release of chakra. She knew this jutsu well enough she could have run across without hesitation, but the point here was something entirely different. Every step needed to be consciously and carefully controlled. With a smile she had a playfully childish thought, a whim if you will, a whim that she readily gave into. Suddenly she sprang into the air and she danced across the water's surface. Her arms moved in grand sweeping motions and her body followed with the momentum. At times the tips of her toes were all that touched the water's surface and she had to focus her chakra there, at other times it was the full bottoms of her feet, and at others it was only the balls of her feet that touched anything at all.

She laughed and she smiled like a child as she moved and she twirled. It was as if the wind had accepted her as one of its own and spun her around happily, her ever and eternal dancing partner. Her hair flowed behind her and all around her, and all in all she felt happy and carefree for a moment. Though this was training, she was thoroughly enjoying every second, even as she controlled the chakra. Yet for all her spins and turns she did finally come to rest in front of her ultimate goal. Across the water from her starting point was a jagged cliff that jutted up out of the water and into the sky. Today she planned to climb it.

She stared up at the great beast and gave a heavy sigh, even as she closed her eyes to focus chakra in her hands as well as her feet. It was all the same concept after all. She reached out and took a hold of the first piece of rock that jutted out from the cliff's surface, and soon to follow a second. She closed her eyes once both her hands had a good hold and took a deep breath as she picked up her left foot and searched with her toes for a good foothold. Then came her right, seeking a foothold of its own. This would be a perilous climb, even with the jutsu she was using, however she had taken a look at this place before. Though the cliff seemed high, there were many that used this as a jumping point for swimming, enjoying the exhilaration of the fall to reach some sort of level of high. Naoko had never really understood the concept, but had taken note that it would be a good place for training such as this.

And so she began her climbing journey, one hand, and then the next, then a foot, and the other. She couldn't help but chuckle as she moved. If Shiv saw her now he'd probably have a heart attack thinking she would hurt herself. He was a battle-hardened warrior, but she'd always managed to bring a more sensitive side out of him. That was one of the things she loved about him.

As her thoughts crossed the Shiv, her hand slipped and for a moment it felt like her own heart had jumped into her throat and her eyes wandered down. She wasn't to the top just yet, but the height was there and for a moment she couldn't believe people jumped off this thing for fun. She swung her body back to the cliff face and got a good hold with her free hand once more before finding footholds for both of her feet. Between her dancing on the water and climbing this cliff face, she already felt so very tired. But she pressed on, fighting to control her chakra flow.

This was much like what her Iijutsu felt like lately. Forced, hardly any control, and every time her hands slipped on the rock face she had to force herself to get it back under control. By time she reached the top, she was panting, but she was grinning as she looked down and felt the blood rush to her head. "I can't believe people do this for fun." she muttered.

And yet, she closed her eyes, and over the edge she stepped, dropping herself into the water below.

Training informationShow

Stat Training: Control
Words Required: 1,000
Words Used: 1,059

[MedeaMoirae]

The mist seemed especially thick that day. And yet, Naoko wore only a pair of shorts, a short sleeved shirt, and sandals. Her weapons and normal garb had been left at home, in fact she was standing on the roof of a business in the busy marketplace, staring down at all those below. This would be an interesting day for training, she knew she'd probably scare the crap out of several people today, and with a grin set on her face, she took off at a run. Through the mist she ran, enjoying the feel of it on her face, even as her foot left the roof and seemed to take to the air. She was in the air for only a moment it seemed, but it felt wonderful, yet before long gravity took hold and her feet touched another rooftop briefly.

She let her knees buckle in a sense and she rolled, coming up to her feet and still running. It was a day where speed would be a necessity. This wasn't going to be the simple swiftness of feet either. As she ran, her hands were moving, forming hand seals as fast as she could form them. Yet she channeled no chakra through these hand seals, she made no attempts to start any true jutsu. She was only trying to get herself to move faster than before. In every sense she needed to move faster.

As she ran someone stepped out onto the roof. It seemed they had things set up to where they could do their laundry and Naoko would have to do some quick thinking as she was about to run face first into them. She spun herself, barely dodging them but also losing her balance. She had to drop her shoulder and roll, coming up onto her feet once more and laughing as she continued running. She leaped the next gap between rooftops, skidding across this next one as she landed before righting herself and running straight forward.

Still her hands flew into seals as she ran, a great childish grin plastered across her face. She hadn't had this much fun in a long time, and this training would be necessary for her next steps. She needed to learn additional kenjutsu if she was going to live up to the legend of the seven swordsmen. She'd had ideas about this since she was a child, this had been her dream, but never had she ever imagined she'd actually LEAD the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Yet here she was, named the leader and now she was flying across rooftops, training in preparation for additional Kenjutsu. There was much she needed to learn.

'Tori, I, Inu, Tatsu, Ushi, Tora, Mi, Ne, Uma, Saru, U, Hitsuji.'

Her feet dropped her to a slightly lower roof top as she ran and recited the names of the hand signs in her mind as she formed them, still flowing no chakra through them for the moment and only forming them to form the habit.

'Tori, I, Inu, Tatsu, Ushi, Tora, Mi, Ne, Uma, Saru, U, Hitsuji.'

She skidded across another roof and had to jump up to the next roof. It caused her some difficulty as her hands were occupied and couldn't exactly aid herself in that regard. At the next rooftop, the distance between the two buildings was greater than she had anticipated, and though she jumped as high as she could, she wasn't sure she would make it. Her foot seemed to barely catch the edge of the roof and she had to pause in her hand seals in order to catch herself. Dropping her shoulder she rolled up to her feet once more and resumed running. She was running out of breath, and her left side was starting to cause her some pain. And yet she continued moving. She turned to another edge of the roof and dropped down into the alley, still running as she had on the rooftops. From time to time a door would open and someone would step out, she would have to side step quickly to avoid it. An animal would jump out and she'd have to do the same.

'Tori, I, Inu, Tatsu, Ushi, Tora, Mi, Ne, Uma, Saru, U, Hitsuji.'

She just had to keep moving. At this point that is what she kept reminding herself of as she recited the hand seals and moved as quickly as she could manage. And yet as she formed the seals and she ran, it wasn't long before someone stepped out of a doorway and she didn't have a way of stepping around them. She jumped onto a barrel, onto a crate, and back up onto the rooftops, barely making it without falling. Even so she staggered and it took her a moment catch her footing once more.

'Tori, I, Inu, Tatsu, Ushi, Tora, Mi, Ne, Uma, Saru, U, Hitsuji.'

She was running out of steam, but she pushed herself to keep moving. As she leaped to another roof, she skidded across it and rolled off, fortunately landing on her feet in the marketplace below. A couple of people gasped and jumped back and out of her way. She kept moving, making her way down a side alley and jumping up onto another stack of crates, running across three of them before leaping onto the roof once more. She just had to go a little farther. She was almost to the end of the marketplace where a line of homes would begin, a line of homes that would lead her back to her own. Once she reached that point she would walk the rest of the way, allowing herself time to rest and her heart rate to slow to normal before arriving at home.

'Tori, I, Inu, Tatsu, Ushi, Tora, Mi, Ne, Uma, Saru, U, Hitsuji.'

She muttered the names of the hand seals yet again as her hands moved through them and she skidded across the edge of the last roof top, landing on the street below. She let herself slow and walk, stretching her arms and fingers now. Finally, she was done.

Training InformationShow

Training: Speed
Words Required: 1,000
Words Used: 1,021