Been Talkin' Change

[Amy]

All training in this post include Christmas Event discount

Tsubaki stretched her arms out, sore from being held in the same position for the past hour or so. She had been talking to Shirai about his lack of learning medical jutsu and he had teased her about how her non-jutsu medical skills had been falling behind. He had been just teasing her of course but after thinking about it she realized that he was right. So, she had decided to set aside some time each day to work on those skills, no chakra involved.

The first thing she was working on was some simple bandaging. She had employed the use of the one and only Shirai who was more than happy to help her train. She had started pretty slow but was finally getting the hang of it again. She held the bandage loose enough in her hand that the roll could spin while she moved it around and around his “broken” ankle. Her biggest problem had been keeping the bandage too loose, something she didn’t have to think about with chakra. Then, she began overcompensating and making it so tight it was cutting off his circulation. But now, after a bit of practice she was getting the tightness just right.

The last thing she had to perfect was the edges. It seemed to be the most important part of making sure the bandage would be as strong as it could be. There was obviously a limit to how strong a fabric bandage could be but it was still important to make it as good as possible. The whole reason to use a bandage was to help prevent infection and further damage from happening so if it wasn’t strong there was absolutely no reason for it. The person had to be able to move around and perform necessary movements in order for it to be most effective.

She was working on one of the hardest parts of the body, the elbow. With all of the movement it had and the sharp angles it made it weird to bandage. You had to go tight in some places and loose in some places so that when the elbow bent it didn’t put too much pressure on the wound. It was a careful art of
tighter around the top and the bottom and a thicker layer but a looser layer around the center of the elbow. Each time she thought she had it right she had Shirai bend his arm in and out and each time something was too loose or too tight.

Finally, though, after just over two hours she got it right. A quick high five and they moved onto the next thing.

Bandage Wrapping 443/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Bandage Wrapping]
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
The user knows how to utilize bandages, wrapping a wound in a manner that creates a near-perfect barrier from external forces, keeping the wound clean from bacteria. The bandage is tucked in place, preventing it from falling off, though excessive rubbing, pulling, or getting the bandage wet can cause it to fall off.

The Next Day

“Your arm is broken,” Tsubaki said, her lips pursed together. “It’s going to need several months to heal. Maybe more.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t want to scare you but there is a small possibility we will have to amputate. You don’t need both of your arms, do you?”

Shirai stared up at her with a blank expression on his face. “Yes, Cutie, I do need both my arms. Also, neither of my arms are broken.”

“For the purpose of this training, yes, in fact. Your arm is broken. Sit up please.”

After Shirai was sitting up she began positioning his arm in front of him. Splints were very important for supporting serious injuries especially when someone wouldn’t or couldn’t stay bedridden. First and foremost was getting a good wrap on the injury and since Tsubaki had been practicing that a lot lately it took almost no time at all to wrap his imaginary broken arm. Once the easy part was over she stopped joking around and started focusing. The first thing she did was “search” the med tent for some make shift splints. They had pre-cut and shaved sticks ready for exactly that but that seemed like cheating in this situation.

Finally she found some sticks right outside the tent that she needed to do a quick cut on to make the right length and smooth out the rough bark on. Taking a roll of wrap she wrapped it around one of the two sticks she picked up so that she would have a starting point. She placed that stick against his arm first and did one layer of wrap so that it wouldn’t be dislodged when she picked up the second stick. Picking up the second stick she held it against the other side of his arm so the two sticks were parallel to each other. Once both were secured in place she grasped his arm gently. She hmmed and hrmmed to herself as she “re-positioned” his arm until she was satisfied that the bones were all where they should be. She then deftly and firmly wrapped the rest of the roll around both of the sticks so that there was no chance of them moving. She then took two towels from off to the side and tied them together before throwing them over Shirai’s neck. With a few knots in a few specific places a sling was in place and she placed his arm gently in it.

“Guess we won’t have to amputate after all.”

Splint 420/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Splint]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
The user is able to create slings and wraps that support fractures, sprains, and breaks in patients.

[Amy]

All trainings in this post have the Christmas Event discount

“Shirai? Where are you?” Tsubaki called loudly, pushing aside the branches of the trees that were in her way. He had told her to meet him out this way but he was no where to be found. But then she heard it all of a sudden, a very quiet “help me” drifting from the woods to her left. Taking off at a run, Tsubaki made it there in no time to find Shirai laying haphazardly across a log, his eyes wide open and a smirk on his face.

“Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

“Not funny, I was worried. What are you doing?”

“I fell and I need an assessment. Help.”

Tsubaki sighed but walked over to him. She had said she wanted to get better at her field assessments. With such a large crew they couldn’t always give everyone immediate attention and so they needed to be able to triage effectively. She “helped” him sit up against the log and she started examining him. She started at his head, parting his hair to check for any marks or blood. From there she moved onto the crown of his head looking for bruising or cuts. Head wounds bled a lot and would almost always be noticeable but a non bleeding headwound could be very dangerous also. She checked his eyes, nose, and mouth to make sure his airways were clear and there was no blood in his eyes. She checked his ears for foreign objects before running her hands around his neck.

Once that was clear she had him hold his arms out and she ran her hands from each shoulder to each wrist, spreading all of his fingers and feeling for fractures and checking for cuts. From there she lifted his shirt up in the front and then the back, apologizing with a laugh for her cold hands. When his hands reached for his belt, a cheeky grin on his face, she slapped his hands away.

“Not necessary,” she laughed before running the backs of her hands from the front of his pelvis around to underneath and then down his thighs. She bent each of his legs to make sure his knees were functioning well and could bend with a full range of motion. She checked his calves and ankles, spinning his ankles in a full range of motion. The last thing she checked was his feet, checking between each of his toes and double checking the bottom of his feet for any cuts or wounds.

“Looks like the fall won’t be taking you out today.”

Injury Assessment 429/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Injury Assessment]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Unlike the mystical means of diagnosis utilized through iijutsu, those who utilize the Arts of Medicine must learn the most effective manner to assess a patient. Learners of this discipline have learn the most effective manner to diagnose a patient, starting at the head, and assessing for head wounds, then moving down through the torso, both arms, the groin area, both legs, then the back. Those who learn this discipline will be able to account for any wounds that present with physical symptoms on a patient.

Later

“Tsubaki! We need you!”

Rolling off of the cot, she was at the entrance of the tent almost immediately holding the flap open. One of the newer members of the crew was being helped inside, blood dripping from his shoulder. They explained quickly that the man had slipped in the river when trying to catch some fish and smashed his shoulder on a rock, cutting it open. Tsubaki nodded to indicate she was listening while she helped the man take his shirt off. First things first, they needed to stop the bleeding. Grabbing a clean cloth, Tsubaki wrapped it around the wound and began applying pressure. Pressure was the best way to stop bleeding but there were ways that were more efficient than others.

She sighed and repositioned her hands when the bleeding wasn’t stopping as fast as she wanted it to. It was all about the specific points and trying to find them was always tricky to her. She was getting close though because as she slowly moved her fingers around, testing different points, the blood started slowly at a faster and faster pace. She reassured him that she almost had it under control and that he was in no danger of bleeding out. She also thanked him for helping her practice and joked with him in order to help him relax. If he was tensing his shoulders too much it would definitely effect how easy it was to stop the bleeding. Ideally she needed him nice and relaxed even though he was covered in a decent amount of blood.

Finally, Tsubaki knew she had found the right pressure points. She didn’t exactly know how she knew, maybe it was the way it felt under her fingertips or the way the bleeding quickly slowed to a trickle. Maybe it was the way the man beneath her fingers relaxed finally. There truly was no exact way of knowing how she really did know that she had found the correct spots but she had been practicing medicine for long enough to know that it was important she trust herself. She needed the bleeding to stop in its entirety so she kept the same hold for some time, checking underneath the cloth periodically to see how things were coming along.

When at last there was only a little bit of beading blood but no more dripping down his shoulder, Tsubaki removed the cloth and gave him a quick pat on the head.

“Alright, we’re gonna have to clean and stitch that up. I’ll get you on your way in a quick hurry though don’t you worry.”

Pressure Points 434/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Pressure Points]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
The user has learned all appropriate pressure points on a body. In the event of bleeding, they know where to apply pressure to slow the bleeding while treatment is administered.

[Amy]

All trainings in this post have the Christmas Event discount

“You’re sure you don’t mind being my lab rat?”

Kai looked at Tsubaki suspiciously. “Well, when ya put it like tha’ maybe not…”

“Oh hush, you already agreed,” Shirai said from off to the side, lounging on the other cot.

Tsubaki smiled softly to herself as she examined the wound on Kai’s calf. Disinfecting this without chakra just seemed to be barbaric but it was what she had agreed to do. God forbid she should ever not be able to use her chakra this was something she should be good and thorough at. Luckily, they had no shortage of alcohol and a decent supply of sterile water. She started off by examining the wound, taking note of how deep it went - first two layers of muscles, no bone showing. How clean the edges were - very ragged. How long the wound was - about three inches long. It was a simple clean, stitch, and bandage job.

“Ok, this is going to sting a little but I’ll be gentle.”

Taking a cotton swab, Tsubaki dipped it into the bowl of alcohol and with a calm and steady hand began running the swab around the outer edges of the wound. Kai hissed slightly between his teeth but he didn’t move even a smidgen. The pain was nothing to most of these men but being able to handle it didn’t mean it didn’t sting. Spinning the cotton swab around and around as she moved, Tsubaki made sure she picked up every bit of dried blood and debris that surrounded the wound. When the swab got too dirty she placed it to the side and got a new one. It was very important to make sure to not drag around everything she was trying to remove.

Once that was done she got a softer piece of gauze and soaked it in the alcohol. “Another sting,” she warned Kai before dipping into the wound itself. The bleeding had finally stopped but blossomed slightly under the burn of the alcohol which was the reason for the gauze. She needed something that still had enough absorbance to soak up the blood she was creating so she could see what she was doing.

As soon as she was done with that she used tweezers to pull out the several larger pieces of debris that the gauze hadn’t removed. Now that she was sure it was completely clean she had to ensure that the entire area was bacteria free. “Once more sting,” she warned before taking the bowl of alcohol and pouring the remainder directly over the wound.

“Great!” Shirai shouted over Kai’s cry of despair. “Now you can work on your stitching!”

Wound Cleanse 442/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Wound Cleanse]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
The user knows how to use sterile water or alcohol to clean out a wound, destroying any bacteria in the wound to prevent infection.

Tsubaki rolled her eyes at Shirai but there was a smile on her face. He was always so supportive of her. “Just cause I prefer to use chakra doesn’t mean you’re a better stitcher than I am.” She wrinkled her nose at him before grabbing her suture kit where it lay off to the side. It had been a long time since she had used it but it felt like home in her hands. It was one of the few things that she had left from her childhood. She always kept up on the maintenance and so was able to pull a needle out and immediately begin stitching.

Positioning herself over the wound she used her left hand to hold the edges of the wound closer together. Luckily, it was a pretty ragged wound so she didn’t need to do any additional work to make it easy to stitch up. Clean edges were the worst to stitch because it was nearly impossible to line skin up perfectly like that. Jagged edges made it an easy puzzle to put back together. With her face angled down and steady hands, she inserted the needle into Kai’s skin. It was important to go deep but not too deep and to keep a consistent depth throughout the whole procedure. Each loop she tugged the thread gently, bringing the edges of the wound together. Stitching cleanly was so important for maintaining a healthy wound and ensuring that the work you did cleaning the wound counted for something.

Halfway up the cut Tsubaki leaned back and observed her work. She made sure the distance between stitches was consistent and that the part she had left to do appeared to line up correctly. When she was sure that it did she leaned back down and continued her work. Kai was a true champ, not flinching even when the sharp hooked needle pulled through his sensitive skin. It made sense though, he had probably had more stitches than half the camp combined. The last bit of skin was always the most tricky for her as there was no more extra to work with. It all had to line up perfectly now or never. Having to undo and redo stitches was one of the worst feelings in the world. Her experience was there to help her though and she did it with no problem. When she threaded the last loop and pulled it tightly she tied a quick knot and snapped the excess thread off.

“There,” she said proudly. “Nothing to it.”

Stitching 423/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Stitching]
C-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Assuming the medic has the proper tools to do so, this character is able to use sutures to stitch most minor and moderate wounds closed, preventing the progression of infection and deterioration of the wound.

[Amy]

“You know, I really didn’t want to practice this one with an actual patient,” Tsubaki ground out as she dug the piece of rubber from her med pack. Jin grunted in agreement and pain, his pupils wide with worry. They had been out gathering firewood together when Jin managed to stumble upon an abandoned trap that someone had left set in the woods. They had managed to get the trap off but he was bleeding profusely and Tsubaki didn’t have a jutsu that would work fast enough to stop this bleeding.

“Ya know, if I don’ make it ca-”

“Nope, shaddup. I’ve got this.”

Tsubaki had found her rubber tubing in her med pack and quickly positioned it roughly six inches above the wound. Tourniquets were so finicky. If you didn’t tie it tight enough it wouldn’t stop the bleeding enough and your patient would die right beneath your nose. If you tied it too tight then you would save your patient which was obviously the main goal but you would also almost ensure that the patient would lose whatever part of the limb was below the tourniquet. It did not take long for muscle and tissue to start dying. Even if you tied it perfectly, after a certain amount of time there was no answer other than to amputate. And that was something Tsubaki did not know how to do.

In other words - She could not mess this up.

Once she was sure the tourniquet was tight enough she helped him stand up. “Listen, we have to make it back to camp fast but you also can’t move that leg. So lean on me all you need to, I’ll keep you up.”

“I thi-think it's bleeding again,” Jin mumbled halfway back to camp. Tsubaki swore, quickly bringing the man down to the ground so she could examine his leg again. Sure enough, the tourniquet had become so loose she could fit several fingers between his skin and the rubber. She swore more, knowing that she would never forgive herself if something happened to him while they were out here alone together. She practically tore the rubber from his leg, bracing his foot against her thigh.

Taking a deep breath, steadying herself, she wrapped the rubber around his calf again, determined to get it right. She tied the knot and pulled even tighter than before, hearing the sharp intake of breath from Jin. This time, when she tied the knot off so that it wouldn’t move she felt much more secure in her work.

“I know I’ve got it this time. Let’s get you home.”

Tourniquet 435/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Tourniquet]
C-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
The user has extensive knowledge on how to properly make and apply a tourniquet, and they can often make one out of whatever supplies are available, even scraps of clothing.

Later

“I don’t like this.”

Shirai grimaced, looking down at the deer on the ground.

“I don’t like it either, but I’m not cutting open your throat to practice this. If and when I have to do this to someone its going to be because they really need it done. I would never risk someone's life like this. The deer will at least provide us with food.”

She had already gathered all of the supplies she needed to practice these techniques. She started with the less invasive technique which involved threading a tube down the deer's throat and into their lungs to artificially inflate them. She began by placing the deer’s head in her lap and tilting it’s head back. The tubing was thin but long and it went down easier than she expected. A deer was not a human so it took a few attempts to get the tube into the lungs. She breathed into the tube, watching the deer’s chest cavity inflate.

“That’s so gross,” Shirai groaned, covering his eyes.

“Not as gross as this,” Tsubaki mumbled, removing the tube from the deer’s throat. The jutsu she had used to knock the deer out was the only saving grace in this instance. At least it wouldn’t suffer.

Tsubaki took a deep breath, holding her scalpel at the base of the deer’s throat. She had known of this technique from her mentor back in Kumo, had seen it done several times, but had never done it herself. She really hoped she got it right on the first try and didn’t have to do this to anymore living creatures that didn’t need it.

Counting with her fingers, feeling her way down the deer’s throat, she went as far as you would on a human. Was it right for a deer? She didn’t know, but it couldn’t be that far off. Even though she felt shaky she was proud when she saw her hand was not actually shaking at all as she laid the scalpel against the deer’s throat. It was important to go deep enough to enter the windpipe but not so deep you cut anything else. Her first cut was too shallow and did not allow space for the tube. Shirai encouraged her though, his voice quiet, to try again and so instead of throwing in the towel she re-steadied herself. She placed the scalpel back in its original position and pressed down with slightly more pressure. This time the blade cut through and opened a pathway just large enough to push the tube into.

She inserted it quickly, the path to the lungs much shorter this time than it was from the mouth. Once she felt it enter into the lungs she tested it, finding it was indeed in the deer’s lungs but she was not getting the pressure she needed. “Shirai!?” she cried in a panic, knowing the deer was going to start suffering.

“You’re losing air from the incision,” was all he said. And she was grateful for it. For not telling her what she needed to do.

She quickly grabbed her gauze and tape from her pack and made a tight bandage over the incision and the tube. She breathed a sigh of relief as the air stopped escaping and the deer was settled once again.

“Thank you for your sacrifice,” she whispered, grabbing her scalpel once again.

Airway 562/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Air Way]
C-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
The user is able to use makeshift supplies to obtain and maintain an airway in a patient through various methods, such as intubation or emergency cricothyroidotomy. This allows people to breathe even if they have obstructed airways.

[Amy]

All trainings in this post have the Christmas Event discount

“No you cannot poison me!!!” Shirai shouted, backing away from Tsubaki, a joking smile on his face but real fear in his eyes.

“I have the antidote, Shirai. It’s only…like…half a poisoning.”

“No.”

“Please? I want to learn how to control poison even without the antidote. If I can’t do it without, I have it right here. You know I would never put you in real danger.”

Shirai blew his cheeks out in a giant sigh. “Fine. But if you kill me, I’ll haunt you.”

Tsubaki chuckled because she was not afraid. She had eight minutes to control the poison on her own without using the antidote. She had ten minutes to use the antidote but the two minute cushion was for her own peace of mind. There was no way she would cut it any closer than that. With a two minute cushion she wasn’t worried at all about this training method.

She did feel a little bad about pushing the needle under Shirai’s skin when she heard the intake of his breath. There was no time to waste though as she needed to treat this as the serious issue it was. If someone got bit or shot by something in the field there wouldn’t be time for jokes. The first thing she did was tie a tourniquet around his arm, above where she injected him with the poison. Stopping the aggressive flow of the poison was step number one. The second step was creating a larger exit for the poison versus the small entry point.

Snagging her scalpel, Tsubaki made a small slice in Shirai’s arm in the same location she injected him at. Once the wound was further opened she grabbed his arm right below the tourniquet that had, at this point, completely cut off his circulation. He grunted, clearly in a mild amount of pain.

“Sorry, sweetie. This’ll be fast.” Using both of her thumbs Tsubaki began massaging all the way down the veins and arteries in his arm. He continued to breathe heavily, clearly in pain, but better to practice now than in a truly dangerous situation. Blood began oozing from the cut, thick and oily with the poison. She sighed a heavy breath of relief which only caused Shirai to start,

“Did you not expect this to work?!”

“Of course I did,” Tsubaki laughed, trying to hide the relief in her eyes. She never stopped massaging his arm, waiting to see his blood turn normal again. A signal that all of the poison was out of his veins. She finally realized that her thumbs were set just too widely to hit all of his veins. Moving them closer together pushed another large amount of poison from his veins before it started flowing smoothly and easily.

“OK well just to be on the safe side,” she said before quickly sticking him with the antidote. “I’m confident but I’d be pretty bummed if I killed you.”

Antidote 490/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Antidote]
C-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
The user is able to assess the site of injection of a venom or poison into a patient, properly cut off circulation, and roll veins to force out the poison or venom. So long as they begin with the first post of injection, they can prevent the effects of venom or poison.

Later

“This doesn’t really seem like something you…learn.” Shirai said, a confused lilt to his voice. He stood over Tsubaki where she sat, her forearms resting on her crossed legs. Her back was straight but relaxed, her eyes closed. A small smile crossed her lips at his words though, breaking the peaceful concentration on her face.

“That explains why you don’t know that you can,” she replied, her voice softer than usual. They had been practicing for a little bit already and she was finally starting to get the hang of it. She had several unconscious squirrels in front of her that she was working on while Shirai did his best to distract her. Her job was to not lose focus. It seemed really simple but she wanted to get to the point where not a single bit of her focus left her patient. These squirrels were dinner no matter what but when it was one of her friends on the table she couldn’t risk even a second of distraction.

“Go.”

Tsubaki began using the techniques she had been practicing the past couple weeks. While she cleaned, stitched, and bandaged wounds Shirai did everything he could do to distract her. He threw stones over her head and splashed water behind her. He told loud stories in her ear and blew in her face. The first couple of times it had been hard to concentrate, not because of what he was doing per se but because little thoughts kept creeping in. Like, how this was the perfect job for him. He got to go back to acting exactly like he used to act, trying to annoy everyone. But now, Tsubaki had perfected her tunnel vision. Not only did she not notice what he was doing, she didn’t even have to focus on not noticing. That was what had been hurting her before. He would splash water on her and she would still feel it, notice it, file it as information. But now all she knew was the needle she held in her hand and the tiny wound in the creature in front of her. All she knew was that the bleeding had stopped and the stitching was almost done.

All she knew was that she needed to bandage the wound next to keep infection from happening. And then, a tiny sling would probably be useful to the squirrel because the cut was on its abdomen right by its front leg and that would make it really hard to move around. And if the wound became infected it would risk not only the squirrels leg but also its life, quickly, because of being so close to the chest and to the-

Tsubaki fell over with a thud, Shirai bending over her. “Ok. Guess it is possible. Means ya can teach me yah?”

Rolling her eyes, Tsubaki pulled him down next to her, promising to teach him anything he wanted.

Medic 486/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Medic]
C-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
Perhaps one of the most important disciplines of any aspiring Medic, one who has mastered this Discipline can maintain a clear mind when treating patients. Techniques of equal rank or lower that affect this character's emotional stability or distract them from their work will have no effect while they are treating patients.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with event discount

“You can help, yeah?”

Tsubaki bit her lip, looking at the writhing man in front of her. She had come across the two men while gathering herbs, panic set across both of their faces. The one man had fallen into their fire, his hands catching his fall which saved his face and chest but they were severely burned. She didn’t think they had quite reached third degree but they were close.

“Maybe. I don’t have any supplies so I’m going to be figuring this out on the fly. You need to stay back and be quiet. Sir, I’m going to numb the pain a bit and then I’ll need you to hold as still as possible.”

After numbing the man’s hands, allowing him to settle slightly, Tsubaki started considering what she knew and how she could help. She remembered reading about a burn healing jutsu a long time ago. It worked by sinking down to the bottom level of the burn and healing from there rather than the surface. Healing from the surface would do little in this situation. The deeper damage was what she needed to be concerned about.

She formed a few seals, sending her chakra into the man’s first hand. With her eyes closed she kept her mind open to her chakra and what it was sensing and feeling. She started at the surface, the way the dead skin felt and rubbed against her chakra. It begged to be healed but she moved past it. Her chakra sunk down deeper into the wound and threaded its way through the damaged first few layers of muscle.

The heat coming off of the muscle was so hot it nearly distracted her from her goal. She pushed past it though, knowing she had to go deeper. She finally reached the layer of muscle she was looking for. The muscle that was dying, that was simmering, that seemed to be charred away. This muscle would take so long to heal on its own and it was what needed Tsubaki’s attention.

She flooded the muscle with her chakra, pulling life back into it. She soothed the skin and sped up the healing process. She had started panting lightly as she focused, not even noticing when she moved to the second hand. As this was her first time using the skill it was taking more out of her than expected. The second hand was easier though ass she flew by all of the sensations that had slowed her the first time around.

When the second hand was done she fell back on her butt, shoulders raising and lowering dramatically.

“I could only heal the deepest layer but you should be able to manage now until the rest heals naturally. I just need a minute then I’ll wrap them up.”

Burn Heal 466/400Show

*[Iijutsu • Burn Heal]
B-Ranked Ninjutsu
The user will channel chakra and then place their hands over the burned area. The chakra works its way to the deepest layer of the burn at [Control] Speed and begins to cool, numb, and repair the area to prevent harmful, scar-producing blistering in the affected area. This relief downgrades the burn grade by one tier and numbs the affected area.

“You want to poison me!?! Didn’t we just go through this!?” Shirai threw his hands in the air, spinning dramatically.

“It’s just a numbing poison. Even if I can’t fix it all you have to do is lay around for a few hours and it will go away on its own.”

Shirai grumbled a bit more but he climbed up on the table anyways, laying on his back. “OK but do my leg and not my arm so Akio can’t tell me I can still use my good arm. With a bum leg I’ll have to stay here.”

“You got it,” Tsubaki laughed, stabbing the needle into Shirai’s calf. She had picked it up in the village specifically for practicing this jutsu. Any sort of paralysis in battle could be the difference between life and death. Most would wear off on their own but not often soon enough. Forming her seals, Tsubaki waited until Shirai’s leg was completely paralyzed before pushing her chakra into his leg.

It was weird, the way her chakra felt as it flooded his muscle. The muscle felt normal but not. Like it was normal but there was a weird shadow lurking behind. She pulled her chakra back in though, focusing it on a smaller area. She used her chakra like feelers, searching for the hidden shadow that was making his muscle numb.

Finally, after what felt like hours but had surely only been minutes she isolated what could only be a molecule of the poison she had injected into him. She wrapped around it with her chakra, absorbing the way it felt. The way it tried to escape her chakra. She then isolated the bit of chakra that was wrapped around it, extracting it from Shirai’s leg. Once it was out she released that bit of chakra, the poison disappearing as well.

Now that she knew what she needed to do she spread her chakra back out again. She knew what she was looking for now, her chakra searching out those bits of poison that were paralyzing his leg. Now that she could tell her chakra exactly what it was looking for it easily found the rest of the poison, wrapping around each particle and pulling it out of his leg.

Finally, a sheen of sweat coating her forehead, Tsubaki sat up from his leg to see Shirai bending it back and forth.

“That was pretty fast. Don’t suppose you want to practice again and uh…fail?”

Paralysis Removal 411/400Show

*[Iijutsu • Paralysis Removal]
B-Ranked Ninjutsu
The user will channel chakra to their hands and then apply them to the affected area. As this chakra interacts with the temporarily lame muscle tissue, it will restore natural mobility to the area. This lowers the paralysis effects of jutsu and poisons by 2 posts.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event discount

In order to practice the next jutsu on her list, Tsubaki and Shirai took a trip into the nearby town. She needed to be in a place with more people where more injuries were likely to be happening. Ideally, she needed several injuries to heal in a row so that she could get a good gauge on how long it took.

They had spent most of the morning and early afternoon just hanging around, checking in with the local hospital. There wasn’t anything like what she was looking for though. But then, the gods smiled on her while frowning on another group. There had been a rockslide right outside of town and it had taken out an entire carriage of people. Tsubaki directed them quickly, having some of the villagers lay them all out in a row. She knelt in front of the worst injury, a gash to the chest. Placing her hands over the wound, Tusbaki began channeling her chakra into the wound. This jutsu was so different that some of her more specific ones because she wasn’t aiming for anything specific.

This was a jutsu that she could only use or, try to use, because of how much she had been training her chakra. Rather than telling her chakra what to do she just let her chakra sink into the wound and essentially handle everything. It was the kind of technique that required a lot of trust in your own abilities because you couldn’t manufacture this kind of wound without risking someone’s life. But now, things were truly life or death and it was a lot of pressure. But she had faith in herself as her chakra crept through the man’s wound and slowly but surely the bleeding stopped and the wound started to close. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Once the wound was closed enough she moved onto the next worst injury, the only other life threatening one.

She again focused her chakra into her hands, focusing on the way she felt the power flow through her hands. This injury was on the woman’s leg, a huge gash that exposed her bone. Tsubaki’s hands were quickly covered in blood as she placed her hands over the wound, urging her chakra to surge into the woman’s leg. She forced it to go deep, to spread out, to touch every inch of the wound. She encouraged the healing to speed up, forcing the cells to regenerate faster than they ever could on their own. She didn’t realize it but she had started panting, the jutsu taking more out of her than she realized.

A warm hand on her shoulder finally brought her out of it. “They’re both gonna be ok thanks to you.”

Mystical Palm 456/400Show

*[Iijutsu • Mystical Palm]
A-Ranked Ninjutsu
One of the almighty and most highly coveted abilities of medical-nin, the *[Iijutsu • Mystical Palm] technique allows its users to heal wounds quickly and efficiently. After focusing chakra into his/her hands, the user will place them over the wound in question and begin to channel chakra through it. As the chakra interacts with the cells and tissues in the area, the wound will begin to regenerate and heal over until there's no remnant of it ever being there.

“No,” Shirai said, shaking his head. “Go get Akio for this.”

Tsubaki rolled her eyes. “Akio would never hit me. You don’t even have to hit me that hard, just enough for me to practice this.”

“Practice what, exactly? I don’t even understand what you want to do.”

“I’m going to channel chakra into areas of my body about to be hit so that if they are hit I will immediately begin to heal without having to focus on the area. It will help me stay safe if I can do this.”

That was all it took for Shirai to relent, even though he was still unhappy about it. They each set up into a fighting stance to make it more realistic even though Shirai was going to be calling out all of his strikes to start with. Each time he called out an area of Tsubaki’s body she worked on channeling chakra to that area. At first she was too slow, barely any chakra building up in the area before the strike hit. Of course, even if she had succeeded, the chakra wasn’t needed since Shirai was barely touching her.

Slowly though, Tsubaki began to be able to move her chakra around more easily, getting it to the areas Shirai was calling out faster and faster until it was too easy and too unrealistic for a fight. She begged Shirai to go faster and even though he grumbled about it he did. Legs, arms, stomach, faster and faster he hit her as weakly as he could. She finally had to stop him when the fight was so boring she was almost asleep.

“Shirai, please. I need to be able to keep helping even if I have to fight. I can’t let damage to me prevent me from saving someone else. I need to be good at this,”

That seemed to do the trick and suddenly Shirai was not calling out his hits anymore and he was hitting her hard enough that should she mess up it would actually cause some bruises. A small smile grew on Tsubaki’s face as her feet kicked up the leaves and dirt around her. Faster and faster like liquid in her veins her chakra flooded through her body, building up and focusing in area after area. She could feel it working in all of the places Shirai hit but she didn’t have to encourage it to do anything. It just worked on its own.

What this could mean for healing and saving her crew was tremendous. Within the next few hours, everything she had blocked with her chakra was healed.

Secret Healing Injury Destruction 436/400Show

*[Iijutsu • Secret Healing Injury Destruction]
A-Ranked Ninjutsu
The user will channel chakra into an area of their body they are aware will be hit before the strike connects. Any damage to the area will immediately begin to regenerate, be it a bruise, fracture, or extensive wound. However, during this regeneration process, users are not rendered immobile and can continue to fight while their wounds regenerate.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event discount

“No, no, no,” Tsubaki whispered to herself over the unmoving body in front of her. She had only come to town to get some supplies. She hadn’t come to work, she didn’t have any supplies with her. Even if she did, she didn’t know what to do. She had seen the little girl get run over by the carriage. She had heard her bones break. Heard her parents scream her name. Tsubaki had immediately run over and removed the girl from the street and brought her into a nearby clinic. No one there could help her though. Tsubaki didn’t know how she could help her. That wasn’t entirely true, of course. Working at the hospital from Kumo she had heard of a technique before. It was simple but not and extremely dangerous. Life threatening dangerous.

Tsubaki knew that she should just walk away and that Shirai and Akio would not understand if she died saving this one random little girl. But Tsubaki knew that she couldn’t live with herself if she just walked past those sobbing parents and told them some empty apologies. Chakra had already been focused into Tsubaki’s hands by the time she realized she had already made her decision.

She placed her chakra coated hands over the chest of the young girl and began letting her chakra flow from her body into the girl. Tsubaki knew there was more than this, she had to attach her own life force to her chakra in order to transfer it to the girl. She knew the risks. If the girl died while she was performing this and she didn’t stop, the technique would drain her of all of her life force and chakra and it would kill her. Since the girl was still alive it should leave her with enough to recover so that both of them could survive.

Tsubaki could feel herself becoming tired and weaker the longer she focused her chakra into the girl. It was weird, that should could no longer sense the chakra or life force as it flowed into the girl, as it became hers and it was no longer her own. It formed itself to fit the girl instead, transforming into her own chakra and life force. Bringing the girl back from the brink of death. Tsubaki started breathing heavier and heavier and it was harder and harder to focus on the task at hand.

She hadn;t known that it would be this hard to keep going when she got this far into it. She had to pull strength from everywhere she could think of. She thought about Shirai and Akio and how they needed her to succeed in this. They needed her to come home. No one here even knew where the crew was, they would have no idea who to tell if she didn’t make it. Who knew how long they would be searching for her before they found out what happened to her. They may never find her.

Thinking of her loved ones strengthened Tsubaki’s heart and her resolve and kept her focused on the little girl in front of her. Though there was a haze that was forming over her vision, Tsubaki could tell that the girl was breathing easier and her heartbeat was stronger. So strong. Thank goodness, Tsubaki thought to herself as she drifted into unconsciousness.

“”Mommy, Daddy, she’s awake!”

Tsubaki groaned, sitting up slowly, holding her head gently. She had no idea where she was or what had happened. That is, until she saw the little girl and her beaming parents, tears in their eyes. Tsubaki breathed a heavy sigh of relief, laying back down. Now just to figure out what to tell the crew.

One's Life Resurrection 621/540Show

*[Iijutsu • One's Life Resurrection]
S-Ranked Ninjutsu
Revered for its outcome but cherished for its effects, the *[Iijutsu • One's Life Resurrection] technique is performed by highly skilled medical shinobi in times of emergency. To begin, the user will focus chakra into their hands and follow by placing them on the chest of a body which had perished within the current thread. By transferring not just their chakra but life essence into the dead body over the course of one (1) post, the user is able to resurrect it at the expense of his/her own life. However, if the patient in question is only fatally injured but not quite dead, the user of this technique will not transfer all of their life essence and can live through the use of this technique. If this occurs, the user will be rendered unconscious for five (5) posts following. This technique cannot be used more than once per thread.

“Whatcha doin’?” Shirai asked, having stumbled upon Tsubaki alone in a quiet part of the woods.

“Practicing.”

“I can see that. Practicing what?”

“Making weapons.” Tsubaki’s hands moved in front of her, seals forming. Recent events had led to her being more intent on learning new skills. She didn’t know how much this would help her but it was a start. She couldn’t just jump off the deep end. She had been out here practicing this for an hour or so. It was one she had been working on a long time ago but one that she had never gotten the chance to perfect. Not enough to use it in a fight.

A shuriken made of water appeared in her hands and she quickly grasped it, pulling back and throwing it at a nearby tree. It held its shape very well, spinning perfectly through the air. The shuriken flew forward before lodging itself in a tree a few meters away. She then brought her hands together but groaned loudly when nothing happened.

She heard Shirai say something to her but she didn’t respond, Already, her hands were flying through the seals again. This was important. It had been so long since she learned a new jutsu and she had so many more to learn. She had to be able to do it. This time when she threw the Shuriken it burst into water before it even hit the tree,

“It’s supposed to explode,” she explained to Shirai as she began sealing again. “But not until I tell it to.” She must have messed one of them up. This time, when she threw the shuriken it landed in the next tree and when she brought her hands together in kai it exploded, blowing a chunk out of the tree and sprinkling water around.

“Cool,” Shirai said, a slight tinge of awe in his voice.

Water Shuriken 313/300Show

*Suiton • Water Shuriken
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will form a shuriken of water that can be thrown up to 10 meters. When kai'd, this shuriken explodes with [Control] Strength and covers the immediate area in water. If not consumed, this technique lasts for three posts.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event discount

“Make sure to stay behind me for this one,” Tsubaki warned Shirai. “You’re here for the trial and error of this one.” This time, Tsubaki wanted to be able to spread water faster and over a more wide spread area. She didn’t know what for yet but she could feel greatness starting to build up in her and this seemed like it was part of it.

She used her knowledge of handseals to get started. She led herself along slowly, feeling the way her chakra formed in her system. Even though she knew it wasn’t correct the first time she still attempted to fire the jutsu which resulted in her gagging, a ball of water exploding inside of her mouth.

“Attractive,” Shirai snickered from behind her. She just ignored him though. There was plenty of time later for payback. What had happened was actually a huge indicator of what she had done wrong so she made more than a few adjustments to her seals the second time around. This time, she fired one and then two balls of water from her mouth but they only traveled about half the distance she wanted them to.

She was almost there, though. Two more seal changes and a slightly different intention in her chakra when she finished off her seals. Everything just felt right this time when she took a deep breath and expelled three balls of water. She aimed at the trees in front of her, two out of three balls hitting the trees and exploding into showers of water.

Not good enough, she told herself. She couldn’t just have the skill she needed to be able to land the shots. So once again she formed the seals, changing nothing this time, Except her target. She spun quickly after finishing the seals and aimed for three trees near Shirai, showering him in the water from the explosions. She looked him up and down slowly, smirking.

“Attractive.”

Rain Gun 324/300Show

*Suiton • Rain Gun
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user expels three (3) 2-centimeter diameter droplets of water from their mouth in quick succession, each of which explode with [Control] Strength on impact, scattering water all over the immediate area. These droplets fly up to 25 meters away at [Control] Speed.

“This is pretty fun, you should let me watch ya more often,” Shirai wriggled his eyebrows at her from where he was lounging. He had decided to keep her company as she continued to train.

With her ideas forming to join her Iijutsu and Suiton together she knew she needed to be able to use a lot more water at one time. She was starting to remember that seals for similar jutsu followed a similar order so it was getting easier and easier to figure out how to do what she wanted to do. This time, she didn’t want small and explosive she wanted widespread coverage.

She made her chakra big and soft this time, lengthening her seals, letting the chakra build and build and build. When it felt ready she completed her seals and released the jutsu. To say it wasn’t what she imagined would have been an understatement. Instead of a large rush of water flying in the direction she intended, a large amount of water basically pooled out of her mouth. She pointed behind her in the general direction of Shirai.

“Don’t say a thing.”

This time, she knew exactly what she did wrong. She had forgotten to direct her chakra in any one way so instead of being a projectile it just…tumbled. This time, she did not forget her directionals and she made her hand seals with much more intention than she had the first time. It was hard to explain how it felt when it was right but the way her chakra built up it was so easy to tell.

She took a deep breath as she finished her seals, letting her lungs and chest fill with her chakra. Using her body to propel the release forward, Tsubaki opened her mouth and let loose a large cone of water, The entire area in front of her became soaked almost instantly, the dry ground soaking it all up, the leaves of trees suddenly dripping.

Shirai called out from behind her once again. “Why do we gotta live by water if ya can do that?

Great Stream 348/300Show

*Suiton • Great Stream
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user expels a massive conical water torrent that drenches an area thoroughly, capable of soaking a meter down nearly instantly for soil and like materials. The cone has a base width of 15 meters and a range of 25 meters and travels at [Control] Speed, pushing things back with [Control] Strength.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event discount

“This doesn’t seem safe…” Shirai trailed off, his weight bouncing back and forth between his feet.

“It’s fine!” Tsubaki called, trying not to lose focus on what she was doing. She needed a way to isolate enemies, keep them away from her family. But she didn’t really want to just outright try to murder them either. So, she had an idea for at least one situation. She had requested Shirai stand atop the water while she squatted on the edge of the water. Her seals completed and she lowered her hands to the water, channeling her chakra into the water. She watched as the water began to move under Shirai’s feet, not enough to unbalance him but just enough that it was clear something was going on. Around his body the water started to raise up but it fell back down about the time it made it to his knees.

Time and again this is where she got stuck. The seals were easy enough once she figured them out but they weren’t perfect because she could not get the final result she wanted. Shirai stood quietly where he was, knowing he could offer no help. But finally, after nearly two hours of trial and error when Tsubaki finished the last seal she felt the chakra shift. She felt the intense power flow from her hands towards Shirai. This time, there were no small ripples of movement and instead a huge vortex of water rose up and surrounded Shirai.

Tsubaki practically jumped in excitement, calling out to Shirai. “I did it!”

She heard a muffled reply but couldn’t make out what he said. “What?” She called out but his next response was even quieter.

“Can’t breathe…” she finally made out, a confused look crossing her face before realization set in. She quickly released the technique, the water falling back into the lake around Shirai. He was bent over at the waist, his hands propping him up on his knees.

“Well,” she said as she rushed over to him. “I would say that is pretty effective.”

Pacifistic Domination 344/300Show

*Suiton • Pacifistic Domination
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Created to safely incapacitate opponents, after performing the correct hand seals, if the opponent is within 25 meters and is standing a top a body of water with the user's chakra in it, the user will begin to churn their chakra causing the water to turn into a vortex and engulf the opponent, trapping them in a vortex about two meters in diameter. Once the target is inside, the user must hold the last seal and cannot use any other techniques, capable of holding this for up to five posts. In order to escape, the target must have at least [Control] strength to 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 an Endurance stat higher than 10, it would require three posts for them to pass out. Should the target possess an Endurance stat above 20, it would require five posts for them to pass out, but anything higher than 30 would allow them to resist passing out altogether.

“Ya sayin’ I got cooties?” Kai asked, his voice clearly betraying his hurt feelings. Tsubaki laughed, shaking her head.

“No, Kai, this is just practice for if someone does have cooties and I have to help them. Sometimes poison and stuff can be transferable from person to person if they breathe on each other. This is for in case I have to help someone like that. But if that happens I need to be ready to do it.”

She leaned back, playing with her seals a little bit. She had a general idea of how to get this done as it was pretty simple after all. She just needed to coat her mouth, nose, and hands with a thin layer of chakra. It was hardly a jutsu at all, more like a…coat of armor. A very small coat of armor. Well, three very small coats of armor. The first time she tried she used three seals but it ended up being way too much chakra and she found she had a hard time breathing through either her nose or mouth and the coating on her hands was so thick she wouldn’t be able to hold a scalpel let alone a needle. Quickly she canceled it before Kai noticed she couldn’t breathe and thought harder about what she wanted to do.

Did she even need seals? She asked herself, tapping her fingers along her leg. She could manipulate her chakra without it, was this something that just required some concentration? She tried that next, taking a second to let her chakra flood over her skin. It did in fact work, she was able to apply a very thin coating of chakra everywhere she wanted it to be. But when she went to start work on Kai she realized that because there was no seal the chakra dissipated way too easily as soon as she started using it for anything else.

OK so she just probably needed one seal to keep the chakra in place after she had it where she wanted. She held her hand in a single seal and again focused on channeling chakra to all of the places she wanted it to be. Like before she felt the chakra flow and form easily with barely any effort. But this time after she began working on Kai the chakra stayed where she had urged it to be without a second thought. It was hardly any drain and it worked perfectly for protection. A piece of cake.

PPE 416/400Show

*[Iijutsu • Personal Protective Equipment]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
When real latex equipment is not on hand, the user will perform a single hand seal and will focus chakra onto their hands, nose, and mouth to form a thin layer of chakra around them at [Control] Speed and Strength. This chakra will filter bacteria and other particles to and from the user, the environment, and their medical equipment. This technique can be held as long as the user has chakra.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event discount

“What is that!?” Shirai shouted, causing Tsubaki to lose focus and the water dragon to collapse to the ground in a large splash of water. She sighed, turning her hands up.

“Well, it was a dragon. Now it’s a puddle.”

Tsubaki began creating the seals for the dragon again, the seals coming much easier now. She had been practicing this for a while and was able to make the dragon easily but she also wanted to be able to control the dragon. She kept adjusting the seals slightly, adjusting her chakra, trying to find the sweet spot where the dragon was strong and could withstand the movement and where she had enough chakra that controlling it was easy.

She had gotten one turn of the dragon before Shirai interrupted her but this next time already felt better. Since she had gotten the one turn it she had known she was close. With a few small adjustments she was possible she could get more. She launched it carefully towards the treeline, sending it past a tree with a wide open space behind it. Using her hands to help her imagine the trajectory, she turned the dragon and wrapped it around the tree and bringing it back towards her. This was exactly what she wanted. People rarely stood still to be hit with attacks so she needed her attack to be able to also move.

She let the dragon fly by her and Shirai before flinging it around them, small bits of water flecking off of the dragon onto them. “Once more,” she muttered to herself, pulling the dragon around the far tree once more. She could feel her chakra’s hold loosening, knowing that her control of the projectille was about to fail. But that was all she needed. Three good turns. After that she let it fly forward in a straight line, crashing into a tree behind them.

“Much better,” she said with a small smile.

Water Dragon Projectile 325/300Show

*Suiton • Water Dragon Projectile
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user creates a dragon head of water. Once it has been created, the user can launch the three-meter diameter projectile towards a target at [Control] Speed and Strength for up to 40 meters. Following the head is a long body and tail, stretching nearly six-meters. During the course of it's travel, the user may alter the course of the dragon three times, allowing it to complete a U-turn per alteration.

“I would really like to stop attacking you,” Shirai mumbled, standing a few yards away from Tsubaki.

“Don’t worry,” she replied. “You won’t be able to get anything to touch me.”

She began working on her seals. Having a barrier was of the utmost importance being a medic. If someone got injured during a fight she couldn’t be worried about being attacked while she was performing life saving techniques. She had a pretty weak barrier that was good for protecting from weather but she needed something better to be able to protect her from enemies. That meant she needed more chakra in her technique and hse needed it to be a bit bigger.

Her first set of seals formed and she tried to do it like her other technique, a complete dome. The extra chakra wasn’t enough for that though, the water collapsing soon after she made it. She tapped her toes on the ground, thinking. Thinking about the situations where she would be needing this technique. Finally, she came to a decision. She did her seals again, similar to her other jutsu but with the extra chakra. This time she forwent the “roof” and did higher walls. Her chakra held firm and she implored Shirai to throw weapons at her.

All of the weapons fell through the wall but they did lose all speed. She grunted to herself, she wanted it to be stronger. If she could at least block people with Shirai’s strength that was about all she could ask for. She released the technique and started over, flooding even more chakra into the technique. Again, she asked Shirai to throw some weapons.

All of them except one bounced off of the wall and the one that didn’t lost all speed and fell to the ground right inside the barrier. “Perfect!” Tsubaki shouted. “Now you can hide in here with me when there is danger!!”

Water Encampment 317/300Show

*Suiton • Water Encampment Wall
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will expel a large amount of water from their body as a sweeping defense against hostile techniques. The water from the technique forms a cylinder around the user at [Control] Speed, and flows around the user. It is approximately 7 meters around and 2 meters thick, leaving only the top unprotected. The wall has the ability to deflect things with [Control] Strength, but even if something break through, the walls thick nature makes traversing through the water fully troublesome. The wall lasts up to three posts unless dispelled earlier by the user or destroyed.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event discount

“I promise I won’t leave you in there for long,” Tsubaki pleaded to Shirai. “At worst you’ll just get a little dizzy.” When he still looked unconvinced, she followed up with “Don’t you want me to be able to scoop up someone who is trying to attack me!?”

Shirai sighed, holding his arms out in a ‘come at me’ type of way. With a large grin Tsubaki began working on her seals. She had already been working on forming the ball itself but now she needed a victim helper. The large ball of water formed in front of her, much taller than herself, Shirai, even Akio. Which assured Tsubaki that it would be able to envelop any normal size human.

To Shirai’s surprise she canceled the first one she made. “I need it to move!” she shouted to him as an explanation. She formed the seals again, this time making sure the orb moved at a good pace towards Shirai. In this case it wasn’t the speed that would get someone, it was the wide area it covered.

“Stop backing up!” She yelled to Shira, laughing at him. It didn’t even look like he was doing it on purpose but he was definitely nervous about being captured by the large orb of water. Her words seemed to be all of the encouragement he needed though as he stopped trying to escape the inevitable and let the water swallow him up.

She observed carefully while he was in the ball, spinning around. He didn’t look panicked yet but he was definitely concerned. She felt the technique could last a while but she didn’t want to accidentally drown him. Once she was sure that the technique was solid and wasn’t going to fall apart immediately she canceled it, letting Shirai tumble to the ground.

“Please not again,” he begged from the ground, his eyes rolling around in his head.

Water Prison 319/300Show

*Suiton • Water Prison
B-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user is able to spew a large ball of water that stands at three meters in diameter. This ball rolls forward at the desired target up to 40 meters away and at [Control] Speed. Should this strike the 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 3 prisoners. One can resist being pulled into the ball if they have a strength higher than [Control]. The trapped targets will spin with the sphere and may become nauseated and dizzy from the disorientation. The technique lasts for a total of 4 posts before bursting.

Tsubaki sat cross-legged against a tree, working on some seals by herself. She didn’t like practicing her weapon techniques around others as much as some of her other stuff. But this was something that she really felt she needed. She had some weapons that she carried on her person but depending on the situation she might need something more aggressive.

She wanted something that could double as a long and short range technique. She didn’t have any long weapons so that was her inspiration. After forming the hand seals she held out her hand and waited to see the water taking shape in her hand. the first time it was simply a large rod of water. Useless. The second time, it had a hilt but no blade. The third time it didn’t even take shape but the fourth time she got the sword shape she wanted.

She hefted it in her hand and held it out, pointed at a nearby rock and urged her chakra through the sword. Water could only spill out of the tip of the sword though so she canceled the whole technique. She started from the beginning, changing a few seals up. She got the sword in her hand again but when she went to fire the water again, nothing happened.

Groaning in frustration, she canceled the jutsu again and started from the beginning. She just needed to make a couple of more very small changes to get exactly what she wanted. Once again she had a sword in her hand, pointing it out at the rock. Focusing hard, she forced her chakra to bend to her will and this time a decent sized bolt of water fired out of the sword and crashed into the rock in front of her. A small smile lit up her face as she fired several more bolts.

This would do, she thought to herself.

Water Blade 315/300Show

*Suiton • Water Blade
A-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will create a pressurized blade of water in their hand. The blade is approximately 1/2 meter wide and 2 meters tall, resembling a larger sword. The pressurized blade of water has [Control] Strength and may fire half-meter long blades of water with [Control] Speed and Strength. It lasts for 4 posts or until destroyed.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event discount

Tsubaki stood at the edge of the water, forming seals, What good was suiton if you didn’t have a few good submerged attacks? Nothing, she told herself, which was why she had come here today. She had thought of something that should be pretty terrifying and if not terrifying, at least surprising.

When her seals were finished she watched the water in front of her start to churn. She urged her chakra to bring to life the sea creatures she wanted. She watched anxiously and saw her chakra fly out from the churning center but nothing happened afterwards. Not great but a good start.

She began her seals over again, adjusting her flow of chakra. She held her hand out to the water and again it began churning at her behest. This time she could see shapes beginning to take form in the bubbling water. One, then two, then three shot out but they all immediately dissipating back into the water. She was feeling very successful but she wanted more. She wanted them to have true shape.

So she tried once again, forming the seals and holding her hand out over the water. Once again the water churned and this time she saw three clear forms taking shape. Large sharks circled around and this time they didn’t shoot off randomly. They swam around, as though looking for something. She heard Shirai’s foot steps coming up behind her. “Hey Cutie, what are you- hey!”

Shirai stumbled back from the edge of the water where he had run up to, the three sharks taking off straight towards him. Tsubaki was also incredibly surprised and even though she was ready to Kai them she wasn’t able to get it off in time. Tsubaki laughed as the sharks broke apart as they hit the shore. “Sorry, but I guess that is useful.”

Swarming Sharks 320/300Show

*Suiton • Swarming Sharks
A-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will hold their hand out to a body of water. The water begins to swirl around and form into 5 3-meter long sharks similar to Great Whites. The sharks will swarm towards opponent's who stand on the body of water with [Control] Speed and ravage them with [Control] Strength. These sharks last for 5 posts before dispersing back into water.

Another day and another jutsu. She didn’t ask for help with this one as she didn’t want to accidentally hurt anyone. Plus, she would know if this jutsu was a success whether there was an “enemy” or not. She yawned as the seals formed, her head shaking slightly. She had been working so hard the past few weeks. The motivation to get stronger had really hit her lately and she wasn’t going to stop now.

She wanted a technique that would allow her to…launch her enemies away. She really needed things that would keep enemies away from her and her patients. Why not launch them into the air with a large explosive burst of water. It needed to be big because she didn’t want to worry about trying to be precise. She just wanted to be able to make the enemy go away. And if they got a little hurt in the process well that was just a bonus.

After the last seal Tsubaki felt her chakra channeled into her heel. With a deep breath, a bit worried about what was going to happen, she slammed her heel into the ground. She then immediately yelped in surprise as a burst of water bubbled up from the ground beneath her feet. Luckily, not only had the location failed but so had the power so while it was enough to knock her off her feet it didn’t hurt her.

She was suddenly extra grateful that she didn’t have anyone there watching her. Shaking the water off she began again, carefully adjusting her chakra so that she didn’t accidentally attack herself again. She released the jutsu with the kick of her heel and was pleased to see the water jump up in front of her this time, versus jumping up underneath her. The water was tall and strong, the sound of it loud to her ears. She was very satisfied but when she released the jutsu she realized she had a second problem to account for. With her hands over her head, she ran as fast as she could, unable to hold in her laughter. She needed a shower anyways, she comforted herself.

Grand Geyser 360/300Show

*Suiton • Grand Geyser
A-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will flow chakra into their heel. When they next slam their heel into the ground, a massive 25-meter diameter geyser will shoot up from the ground directly in front of them at [Control] Speed and Strength for up to 60 meters. The sheer force of the water alone is dangerous, not to mention the gravity of it all falling back to earth.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this thread have Christmas Event discount

Standing in the middle of an empty area Tsubaki rubbed her hands together. This was going to be larger than anything she had ever done before. But it was what she needed. She felt like threat after threat kept coming for her family and she was determined to keep them safe. They were all strong men and that was great but Akio had brought her here and she felt it her duty to protect them. This was a jutsu her father had used and she had seen him practice it multiple times. She was going to have to figure it out from memory and feel.

She took the seals slowly, feeling her chakra churn and build up. She needed a lot of chakra for this technique. It was going to be large. Dangerous. Effective. It was why she had gone so far from the crew. She didn’t want to risk anyone getting caught up in it. As she finished her seals she held her hands out and watched as water started to form in front of her. It started small but grew quickly, soon reaching over her head. Before it got much further than that all of the water crashed to the ground, almost knocking her off her feet. Undeterred, Tsubaki started again.

Two days later found Tsubaki in the same spot. She had been working non-stop, only sleeping and eating when absolutely necessary. And that was pretty much only when her chakra was almost entirely drained. She had almost been there once before the previous day. A lovely and large wave had formed in front of her but it had only traveled maybe ten meters before collapsing. It had been powerful but Tsubaki didn’t think that it was good enough. So she didn’t go easy on herself and she had started over.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead Tsubaki knew that she was almost there. The area in front her had already been nearly decimated by the repeated attacks but she hadn’t completed one yet that felt perfect.
This time though there was an ease in her chakra that hadn’t been there before. An ease in the way it moved through her body and the way the water formed in front of her.

With a large “push” Tsubaki watched the wave crash forward, taking down everything in its path, throwing around all of the debris from the previous attempts. There would be very few people that could stand in the way of such a powerful technique. It covered such a large area it would be even harder to move out of the way. She watched the wave slowly dissipate way down the ways. With a tired, but content, sigh she sat down and closed her eyes. Finally, she felt good about what she had done.

Tidal Wave 466/440Show

*Suiton • Tidal Wave
S-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user creates water from thin air and forms so much that it creates a tidal wave 80 meters wide and 20 meters tall. The wave will flow forward at [Control] speed and strength, crashing into and destroying everything in it's path for up to 80 meters before running out of power.

Tsubaki was still out in the middle of what felt like nowhere working on one more large jutsu. She had been practicing the beginning portion of the jutsu for several days already and had gotten to the point where she could form the outer ring every single time without fail. But now, she wanted more from it. She wants to destroy anyone and everything that got near her.

She had situated many large boulders and logs around her for while she worked on this next portion. She ran through the seals she already had solidly down but rather than stopping she continued to form seals. Her chakra came to life, flooding into her hands, releasing when she slammed them into the ground. In an instant, a spot of water appeared and ran around her in both directions, meeting behind her. Once the edges of the water had met behind her it exploded upwards. Rather than staying as a solid wall though the water began to split off into tentacles. They began thrashing around her but rather than destroying the objects around her they just thrashed wildly. After one almost clipped her she canceled the jutsu quickly, shaking the water off of her as it fell.

Close, she murmured as she wasted no time starting again. She had been so close but she needed the tentacles to be more precise. She couldn’t worry about them accidentally hurting her when they were supposed to be protecting her. She worked on the seals again, knowing there were a lot and there was a chance she had simply messed one up. It was one of the most complicated techniques she had ever used. She knew she could do it though.

Not until after a short nap though, she told herself as she finally sat down after four more attempts to get the tentacles to do what she wanted. She dreamed about the jutsu while she rested and when she awoke she felt refreshed and ready to bend her chakra to her will. With a refreshed attitude she formed her seals again, carefully shaping her chakra. She held it gently almost and rather than beating her chakra into doing what she wanted she worked with it.

The water formed around her perfectly as usual, as she had come to expect, and then it split perfectly into the tentacles. Tsubaki didn’t move and she wasn’t scared when the tentacles began moving all around her. This time, they behaved. With a fierce, terrifying accuracy they smashed every single stone and log inside the water circle. Tsubaki felt a strange feeling she had never felt before as she looked over the destruction that surrounded her. She hoped she never had to use this.

Kraken 455/440Show

*Suiton • Kraken
S-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user slams their hand down on the ground, causing a ring of water to form around them. At [Control] Speed, the ring will rapidly expand outward up to 80 meters before forming a thick wall of tentacles which then come spinning in, grabbing everything inside the ring besides the user and tearing it apart at [Control] strength.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas Event bonus

Tsubaki had set up all of her supplies beforehand. She knew that she usually would not have so much prep time but since she was only practicing it did not make sense to set herself up for failure. Laying in front of her in the med tent were Shirai and Kai, both slightly unwilling participants. Something about needing their blood and not wanting to share it and wouldn’t they die without it?

Shirai of course, knew this was perfectly…safe. But as Kai had no idea about medical anything it made sense that he was a little nervous. “Don’t worry, Kai, it won’t even be active for very long since both of you are currently full up on blood. The hard part is getting all of the tubes inserted correctly and making the flow right. Kai nodded but he did not look comforted. The first thing Tsubaki did was tie a tourniquet around Shirai’s arm to pop his veins out. She took the first large bore needle into her hands and positioned it against Shirai’s largest vein. She taped it down but left it alone, moving to do the same thing to Kai.

He had a harder time sitting still so it took a second longer to get one into his veins. But once it was in that seemed to be the hardest part. Well, Tsubaki thought to herself, she supposed the hardest part was not injecting a bunch of air into anyone’s body. She seemed to recall something about that not being good for people. She took the tubing in her hands and unraveled a piece the length that she needed. She left a little bit extra on the length to cut off after she had measured it a third time. She didn’t want to waste equipment.

She talked to herself as she began attaching the tubing, first to Shirai. She released the needle that was in his arm and let the tub begin to fill with blood. When it reached the end of the tube she attached the other end to kai and released the opening on his own needle. She watched carefully for a few minutes, making sure that the blood was flowing from Shirai and into Kai. Both of them gave her a thumbs up when she asked how they were doing and she was satisfied with that.

With smooth movements she closed off kai’s needle again and detached the tube. She sealed the end of the tube so there was no more flow of blood before releasing the end from Shirai’s arm. “Bandaids for both of my helpers,” she said with a grin, placing bright pink bandages on both of their arms.

Field Transfusion 455/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Field Transfusion]
B-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Assuming they have the approriate materials, the user is able to set up a field transfusion, taking blood from one person and transfusing it into their patient, adding to their blood volume and potentially extending their life. A Field Tranfusion can extend the life of a patient by up to 3 posts.

“Take him over there!!” Tsubaki yelled over the screams and sounds of fire burning. They had come to town to stock up on supplies and had found several buildings on fire. Everyone was helping rescue people, bringing them into the street but many of them were injured and no one knew who to handle first. Tsubaki had dove right into the hecticness and began directing people around. She had such command to her voice that no one even second guessed her at the start.

Tsubaki had been doctoring people up for a long time and though she had never had to direct such a large number of injured people at the same time it came naturally to her. The most important thing was identifying what was wrong with people and how quickly they needed help and how serious their injuries were. She only had a few seconds with each patient to decide what level of care they needed. Did they go off to the side where people were waiting with water and towels to clean people up? Did they go over to the doctors aids who were helping people breathe easier from smoke inhalation and bandaging up superficial burns? Or were their burns so serious that they needed to go see one of the available doctors immediate?

Each time she sent a patient somewhere the more confident she felt. No one had come to complain about someone being sent to the wrong spot so she didn’t stop and simply kept going. Looking up from one of the last patients, Tsubaki noticed two men carrying out a lifeless body. They weren’t bringing the body to her instead carrying him off to the side with the other deceased people. “Hey!” she shouted, chasing after them. “Bring him to me!”

“He’s dead miss, we know a dead body when we see one.”

Tsubaki ignored them and placed her hands on the “dead’ person’s chest. “No, but he will be if he doesn’t get help right now. Put him down.” As soon as the man was on the ground Tsubaki performed a tracheotomy, opening the man’s airway that had swollen shut from smoke inhalation. The men watching groaned in disgust but Tsubaki didn’t care. “Take him to the doctors immediately hee’s going to need more help. And carry him carefully!”

Sighing heavily, Tsubaki stood up and saw in relief that rescuers had stopped going inside the burning buildings. They must have gotten everyone out. For such a large fire it seemed like they had only had four deaths. It wasn’t ideal but it was better than what it could have been.

Priority 437/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Priority]
B-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
When faced with multiple patients, one who has mastered this Discipline is able to rapidly assess multiple patients and determine priority of their individual injuries and determine which require the highest priorities and which can survive with delayed care. An additional benefit of this Discipline is that one who has mastered it is always able to determine whether a patient is alive or dead unless they are under the effects of equal or higher technique designed to make them appear dead.

[Amy]

All jutsu in this post trained with Christmas event bonus

“I told you that is wasn’t a big deal,” Shirai laughed as he laid down on the cot in the med tent, his shirt discarded on the floor beside him. “It just hurts a bit when I use my shoulder but I can manage just fine.”

“I’m sure you can,” Tsubaki said as she began pulling out a bunch of her needles. “But this is a great opportunity for me to practice this. I would much rather practice now that in the middle of battle and accidentally temporarily paralyze someone instead of numbing the pain.”

Tsubaki rubbed her hands along Shirai’s shoulder, pressing in various places and asking him whether or not it hurt. She was trying to get an idea of where the pain was centered and how far out it went so that she could get all of the pain receptors she needed to get and not waste time on ones she didn’t need to get. Picking up the first needle she placed it at the far edge of where Shirai’s said his pain was.

He winced slightly but assured Tsubaki it was due to surprise, not pain. Which was good because this was supposed to help stop pain and should not be painful at all. She used her fingers to feel her way across Shirai’s back, feeling for the pressure points that she needed to insert the needles into. It was not a quick process since she was having to find each one on her own but she could see that once she knew where all of the points were that this would be a very fast process.

The more needles she inserted into Shirai’s shoulder the more his body started to relax which let her know that she was making progress and it also let her know that he was lying about how much pain he had been in the past few days. “You know, I know that you can tough it out and wait for your shoulder to heal naturally but it would take me all of about ten minutes to fix you up for good. Why deny me that?”

“You’ve been so busy training. I didn’t want to pull you away from that.”

Tsubaki shook her head, nearing the center of the area of pain she focusing on. Once she made it to the middle he should be pain free. “It’s never inconvenient for me to help you. There, see if you can still use your arm and shoulder.” Shirai sat up and moved his arm up and down, smiling widely.

“No pain at all cutie! Thanks!”

Comfort 433/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Comfort]
B-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Through the use of acupuncture and their knowledge of pressure points, the user is able to quickly apply a series of pricks, leaving the needles in, that dulls pain in localized areas of the body or even the entire body. This method only isolates pain receptors, not other receptors, allowing someone under the effects of this technique to continue to function. The pain dulling effects will last for up to 5 posts, at which points the needles will have to be removed and then replaced.

Tsubaki yawned, rubbing her eyes. She had been up studying for what felt like days. She had purchased the anatomy book from town and had used it to work on what she already knew, She was no longer happy knowing most things. Or being pretty good. Or even being great. Tsubaki wanted to be perfect. She wanted to be a force to be reckoned with. She wanted to threaten people and have them take her seriously. So she had been studying her books, revising the knowledge she had memorized and most importantly she had been studying her own chakra system.

The first test she gave herself she also completed on herself. She had always had notoriously small veins and she was also severely dehydrated at that moment having forgotten to eat or drink while she studied. Her veins were basically invisible. But it felt weird, when she went to stick herself with a needle that it wasn’t hard at all. It was like she just…knew. She got it on the first try, blood leaking out of the needle. In almost a haze, Tsubaki walked into the woods and began hunting down animals. She knew it wasn’t exactly the same but as she wasn’t a murderer it was the only option she had.

She started small, finding a nest of rabbits first. With only a single strike with a finger jab the first rabbit died instantly. She tied it to her pack and began hunting for larger prey. She was pretty sure with her strength alone she could kill a rabbit with a single well pointed blow so she wouldn’t really believe her training had paid off until she could kill something larger. Like a large cat or a deer or an elk or maybe a bear. Imagine, she thought to herself, a slightly crazed smile showing on her face. The look on Akio’s face if she were the one to come back to camp dragging a bear behind her. He would probably be too surprised to even be mad at her taking the risk. Theoretically, it wouldn’t even be hard to kill a bear if she had gotten as good as she expected she had. A bear would be much more like a human anyways. Could walk on two feet. Would be much larger than her just like most people would.

And suddenly, Tsubaki found herself in a clearing with a deer just a few meters in front of her. She immediately leapt up into the trees and circled around the clearing until she was positioned over the unsuspecting creature. With one silent breath Tsubaki jumped down and jammed her two index fingers into the deer’s chest over its heart. The deer didn’t even have time to look surprised before its heart stopped and it collapsed to the ground.

Not a bear but, it would do.

Anatomy 478/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Anatomy]
A-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
One who has mastered this discipline has an near unparalleled comprehension of anatomy and physiology. They are able to locate even the smallest of veins in any person, regardless of variances in shape or size. This knowledge extends to chakra systems, nervous systems, and anything else. Much of this knowledge extends into the biology of non-human species as well, though with less precision. This discipline, combined with enough accuracy, can turn even the simplest of attacks into a fatal blow.

[Amy]

“Shut up!” Tsubaki yelled, pointing behind herself blindly. “Get them out of here.” Her face was hard, focused, serious. She had come across a couple and their small child who had gotten pulled under the surface of the water by…well, no one knew what but what Tsubaki knew was the child’s leg was bleeding profusely but the child was not breathing. She had been studying pressure points more and more often lately and she was sure she could help this child. But first, she needed to heal the leg which is what she was in the middle of doing while the parents screamed and cried at her that the child needed to breathe. As though she didn’t know that. But a breathing child who would bleed out immediately wasn’t any good either.

Once the bleeding had stopped Tsubaki moved her focus to the child’s chest. She knew or rather she thought she knew exactly what pressure points she needed. She tilted the child’s head back and braced it on a rock so that it would stay tilted back, keeping the airway open. She then slid her hands around on his chest, counting spaces and inches and going by feel until she was sure her fingers were placed over every single one of the pressure points she needed. This wasn’t something where she could fail a bunch of times until she got it right. She had to get it right this first time. Right now. Or this child was going to be dead. Rather, stay dead.

Taking a deep breath Tsubaki pushed down on all pressure points at the same time, feeling the boy’s body convulse once under her fingertips. Without waiting any longer Tsubaki leaned down and breathed into his mouth before moving her hands to his chest and pushing down rhythmically. She counted each push, periodically breathing into his mouth again so that his lungs were full of oxygen that could flow throughout his body. She had completely blocked out the crying parents behind her and was entirely focused on bringing this little boy back to life. He was too small, he had barely had any time to live his life. Luckily, after only a few more moments the boy coughed loudly, water spilling out of the corners of his mouth. Tsubaki helped him sit up and pushed him into his parents arms. She did a quick assessment to be sure he was out of danger and suffered no additional injuries. Once she was sure she quickly slipped away from the area, leaving the happy family to their reunion.

Resuscitation 430/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Resuscitation]
A-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
In the event a patient has passed, in some cases it is possible to resuscitate the patient. Most major injuries must be first treated, as any untreated injuries would simply cause the patient to perish after resuscitation. Should the injuries be treated and this technique be initiated within 2 posts of the target's death, the user will applies pressure to a series of pressure points and begin CPR, bringing the patient back to life. This technique will inevitably fail if not initiated within the 2 post period.

“It’s like the other one I practiced,” Tsubaki panted to Shirai as they worked on the crewman in front of them. He had fallen off of a roof and seemed to have several severe injuries from his neck down. It would be hard to give him enough pain medication to keep him still and Tsubaki couldn’t waste that much chakra on numbing him when she was going to need it for other procedures. So she figured, just like with the way she numbed the pain in Shirai’s shoulder she could also numb all of this man’s pain. “In your case we only wanted to numb your pain but in this case I think we should just try to numb everything. We need him to keep still anyways, might as well make it easier on everyone. That means probably I can skip the needles and just push his pressure points one by one. I just have to make sure I get them all or he’s gonna stay in pain.”

Since the man was already laying on his stomach, Tsubaki made the easy decision to use the pressure points on his back. She laid her hands up on the top of his shoulders, digging her fingers into his muscle and feeling around carefully. He writhed beneath her, he was practically going insane with pain and Tsubaki was in a huge rush to help him feel better. She was worried there was damage to his spine and the more he moved the more he was likely going to make it worse. Each time she found one of the pressure points she was looking for it she pressed into hard, leaving behind a thumb print at each location. As she went the man’s back became indented with many thumb prints but slowly his body started to still on the table. His eyes that had been clouded over in desperate pain became clearer and he was able to answer some very basic questions that Shirai asked him while Tsubaki worked.

By the time Tsubaki had made it to the middle of his back the man had stopped moving almost entirely. His feet and ankles still twitched and while there didn’t seem to be any injury that far down Tsubaki didn’t want to risk there being something they hadn’t noticed yet. So instead of stopping she kept going the rest of the way down his back, breathing easier when she realized that all movement had stopped. Because she had started at the top of his back he was still able to move his eyes, blink, and breathe on his own. But he confirmed that he could not move and that while he felt some dull discomfort all of the major pain was gone. Tsubaki and Shirai breathed a quick sigh of relief before they prepared to put his body back together again.

Stun 476/400Show

*[Medicinal Style • Stun]
A-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Through the use of needles, the user will target a series of pressure points on a targets back or chest, using it to stop signals from being transfered through their nervous system. This prevents movement, causes full body paralysis from the neck down in their patient, and dulls all pain receptors as well. While the technique has effective medical purposes, it can also be used in combat. The paralysis lasts for 4 posts before fading, at which points the needles must be removed and replaced to perpetuate the effect.

[Amy]

“I don’t like this,” Shirai said warily, backing up from Tsubaki.

“You’re not supposed to like it,” she replied simply, smoothly putting away the kunai she had been holding. That seemed to be too much for him so she would attack with her hand instead. She had assured him multiple times that this wouldn’t hurt at least not as much as he was probably imagining. She had told him many times that if successful he would pass out nearly immediately. And if she failed she could take the pain away almost instantly.

Plus, she had spent days studying the pressure point she was going after. There had been several different ones she considered using for this but the carotid artery seemed like the best target. She studied her own neck and the neck of everyone she interacted with. She watched the way blood pumped through it and she paid attention to how everyone’s neck was a different length which meant the pressure point was not always in the same spot. She waited until she was completely confident she could do it without hurting Shirai before she asked him for help. He of course, said no.

He had finally agreed but still remained highly reluctant. Finally though he had backed up so far that his back ended up against a tree and there was no where for him to go. She shot her hand out and before he had a chance to object she pinched hard at the pressure point over his artery. He yelped and tried to swipe her hand away but before he could he was passed out on the ground.

“Hm,” Tsubaki hummed to herself as she lowered Shiria’s body to the ground. That was OK but not perfect because he shouldn’t have any time to react before going unconscious. She held her hand over his neck and healed the bruise that was already forming on his neck. She sat nearby and waited for him to wake up, studying his neck while she waited. Realizing that she had been just a few millimeters off of her mark and that was why he had had time to register what she was doing before he passed out.

Several hours later and she had finally convinced him to try again. He stood in the same spot as before, a small grimace on his face. “It did hurt last time you know.” He pouted.

“I know, I’m sorry. I promise it won’t hurt this time. I spent the whole time you were sleeping studying and I definitely have it down pat now. It really won’t hurt this time.”

Tsubaki stared carefully at Shirai’s neck, watching his artery throb along with his heartbeat. She really didn’t want to hurt him again. She had promised him that she wouldn’t and so she was dedicated to getting it right this time. She walked slowly towards him and reached out again, this time too quickly for him to even try to stop her out of instinct. Without a yelp this time he fell to the ground, stopped only by Tsubaki catching him.

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, laying him on the ground. She healed him again and hunkered down to wait for him to wake up again.

Faint Touch 545/540[bShow

*[Medicinal Style • Faint Touch][/b]
S-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
The user will move towards a target with either a sharp weapon or their hand. Targeting a pressure point on their carotid artery, the user will either stab it (with a weapon) or pinch it (with their hand). Should they be successful, any targets with less than 35 Endurance will faint. This loss of consciousness will last for at least 2 posts.

[Amy]

Tsubaki stood at the edge of the treeline, bouncing up and down on her toes. She was currently staying in a medium sized town without a lot going on. It was a farming town so there weren’t many injuries happening that needed her help. There had been one her first week there where someone had had their foot crushed but other than that it was small injuries that the local doctor didn’t need her help with.

She bent down and stretched her legs as she thought about how she had gotten here. Her hands clasped under her toes and she pulled herself down deeper and deeper into the stretch. She stood back up, pulling each of her legs up behind her, stretching her foot all the way up against her body. How embarrassing would it be for her to get a cramp and have to ask for help. She would never live it down in her own mind.

So, since she couldn’t work on her medical skills she figured she might as well train. It seemed to be what she always fell back to lately. Probably a result of traveling alone and not wanting to make any new friends. She had spent all morning debating what to work on and finally decided she should work on being faster. On a battlefield or even just a normal emergency, getting to the wounded as fast as possible was so important. So, she had set herself up a little training track.

Back and forth, from one end to the other, she ran as fast as she could, having already warmed up on her way there. Then, she noted her time and decided how much of an improvement to try for. In one day, a 10% improvement seemed do able. If nothing else, it was a good goal. First she tried to identify where she was lacking. Definitely she was running faster after the first lap so that meant she was losing speed somewhere when she started.
“I wish I could see myself,” she muttered, wasting more time stretching.

“You’re moving back before you move forward so you’re losing momentum, then having to make up the momentum, then increase your momentum more to get to your current top speed. Which, to be honest, is a pretty shameful speed.”

Tsubaki had turned the moment she heard the man begin speaking, finding him almost instantly due to the fact that he wasn’t trying to hide. But she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet.
She immediately took off on another lap, spending time on each step, wondering who the heck that guy could be. She had her suspicions but why would he come out here to watch her run? Her legs extended to their full length the deeper into thought she got. She had forgotten how good it felt to just run for no reason other than doing it. Finally, she made it back to her starting point and she finally spoke.

“Who’re you?”

“Sorry,” the man laughed. He wasn’t much older than Tsubaki and he was dressed in overalls and work boots. Likely, a farmer from the town. “You can call me Dai. My father owns one of the farms in town. He didn’t need me today though so I came out here to relax when I heard you talking to yourself.”

Tsubaki examined him for a moment and found that she had no reason to not believe him. She sensed no chakra or ill intent from him and he was indeed dressed like a farmer. He spoke like the people of the town too. It made sense that she would run into him out here.

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll try it out.” She gave Dai a tight smile before turning back to the task at hand. The last thing that she needed was the inexperienced opinion of a random villager. But, she also wasn’t so dumb as to ignore advice so, keeping in mind what he said she tried to keep her body weight forward instead of allowing herself to tilt back as though she were winding up. She would have never thought that she was doing that but when she first settled into a starting stance she immediately felt herself do it. This was why it was beneficial to be able to watch yourself. In a few seconds he had fixed what could have taken her weeks to even discover.

When her mental countdown finished she took off as fast as she could, instantly feeling herself much closer to her top speed immediately. It was no surprise that she hadn’t done it absolutely perfectly the first but it felt pretty damn near perfect. Also not surprising. She had always been quick to pick things up and learn them, establish them, keep them up. It was why her parents had always seen such a bright future for her. So much potential.

When she made it back to the ‘starting line’, she realized that Dai was still there and he was clapping for her.

“Didn’t really think ya’d listen.”

“Why? Tsubaki asked, her eyes barely flickering over to the man. He stared at her with something that looked a lot like respect

“Well for starters you don’t seem to care for me at all,” he laughed. “But you’re also not the first ninja to make their way through this village. I tried offering one of them help one time too and he told me if I butted in again he would burn my family farm down.” The small shrug he offered did not meet the seriousness of his words.

Tsubaki startled but didn’t stop herself from taking off again. She focused even harder this time on the making sure that all of her energy went into her first step forward with no lost movement going back. She still felt just the tiniest of shifts backwards before she went forwards. It was so annoying, she chastised herself as she sprinted to the goal at the end. She knew why she was doing it. Subconsciously, she was winding up, in an idea to propel herself forward. But, as expected, that’s not how the body worked in this kind of scenario.

She turned around the tree and raced back, once again easily hitting her top speed as she whipped around the tree. Something that was actually propelling her forward. A heavy sigh left her mouth as she stopped back near Dai again. “That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. Why’d you decide to offer advice to me then? What if I didn’t wait for there to be a second time?”

Dai shrugged, his broad shoulders nearly reaching his ears. “Didn’t figure someone so intent on helping anyone she could would do that. Figured the worst would be you tellin’ me to fuck off. Pardon the language.”

Tsubaki laughed this time, a bit more sincerity in her smile. “I almost did telly ou to fuck off. Calling my speed shameful when I know you can’t run this fast.”

He laughed right back at her. “True, but those other ninjas who have been here certainly could.”

Shaking her head, Tsubaki once again toed her own line in the dirt. “Well then, you make sure to tell me when I am faster.”

Running off again, Tsubaki could feel that she was very nearly able to eliminate all of the loss of energy at the beginning of her run. She was excited. Her time was already improving just from this little bit of training. She couldn’t quite explain it but she felt a sense of competition against the ninja that had been to this town in the past. She wanted Dai to tell her that she was the fastest one who had been there. Silly? Perhaps, she told herself. But a little competition would only urge her forward. Her feet were starting to hurt but that only encouraged her more.

On the way back she could feel that she was getting even faster on the back end of the run. It made sense though. She was hitting a higher speed before ever spinning around the trunk so when she released from her spin she was increasing a higher rate of speed which meant that she was ending at an even higher speed. It felt good to be that fast. But also, it felt good to know for sure that she hadn’t reached her peak. Her body was capable of more and she was going to use every bit of dedication she had to pull it out. Forcefully, if needed.

“Not yet,” Dai said when she stopped in front of him again. He didn’t have to explain what he was talking about. Tsubaki already knew. She didn’t mind though. She still had time.

“Trust me, I know. But I’m faster than I was before so I’ll take that as a win for today.” Tsubaki reached down to grab her things, realizing something as she stood up.

“I’m Tsubaki, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.”

Maybe, just maybe, knowing someone wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

[First Quarter Training Discount]
[Speed Training x2 1541/1500]

[Amy]

After giving herself enough time to rest up, Tsubaki headed back to her favorite training spot. She wasn’t quite where she wanted to be yet speed wise so she decided to work on that more. This time, she wanted to ensure that she could keep her top speed for longer. Being able to do short sprints was great but there were going to be times she needed to go further distances. So she chose the same starting point but this time she was going to run around the village. The village wasn’t huge and if she could keep her top speed she should be able to do it in about five minutes. She would never have dreamed of being this fast when she was a child but here she was.

“Training again?”

Dai’s voice sounded from the rock he had sat upon last time.

“You following me?” Tsubaki asked not unkindly.

“Kinda, I guess. Can see the path up here from the fields and I noticed you again. I can leave…”

“You’re fine,” Tsubaki said, giving her legs a good stretch. “But don’t know how much fun you’ll have sitting here. I’ll be running around the village.”

Dai shrugged and settled in. “Waiting here will give you something to look forward to.”

Shaking her head, Tsubaki wasted no time starting her run. Thanks to her practice last time she lost no momentum when she first started. The task for today was maintaining that speed for longer periods of time. She didn’t know how long or far she could hold her top speed before now but she was going to find out today. This first time around was hard as she tried to find the best route to go with the least amount of resistance to her. She ended up being surprised by a lot of logs and other debris in her way.

But still she focused on the way her legs maintained the same distance with each lunge forward. Still though, she felt like her speed was all over the place even when she didn’t account for the unpredictable path she was on. Every time she felt herself slow down she had to speed back up and how did she know for sure that she was at the same speed? There was no way to know for sure. Maybe it was a little faster, maybe a little slower. She had thought this would be so easy for some reason but instead it was so hard.

“Twelve minutes,” Dai said when she finally made it back to him, a stormy look sitting upon her face.

“Did I ask?” She pretended to stretch but really she was trying to not pout. This was so much harder than she thought it would be.

“Don’t pretend that’s not what you’re doing out here.”

Tsubaki sighed and shook her head. She didn’t bother to say anything else before she started running again. It was annoying because she was pretty sure she knew what was wrong. She could account for some of the time in the route being new but that did not account for an extra seven minutes she needed to cut down on. She knew she was faster than this.

Her problem was the thinking. It was the incessant noise that ever existed inside of her head. The thoughts that pulled her away from what she was doing and every time her mind drifted back to Shirai or Akio or something else her feet ended up lagging behind. And who knew how long that was happening before she keyed back in and had to speed up? She knew that this is where she was losing most of her speed. There was no way to keep her legs and feet moving consistently when her brain was beating her up.

But how did she just stop thinking? Or, maybe, she considered. She just needed to learn how to use her mental frustrations to propel her forward instead of dragging her down. She always let her past drag her down and she was so tired of it. But things were not going to change on their own. She had to make those changes. So rather than letting the thoughts distract her, she focused on them instead.

Suddenly, she realized that she was back in front of Dai again. He didn’t say anything and Tsubaki didn’t blame him.

“I know it took longer that time. I was working through some stuff. Sorry I was rude.”

Shaking her head, Tsubaki ran off before he could say anything else. She could not keep letting herself be bogged down like this. So every time something popped into her mind to try to distract her, she focused on the future aspect of it instead. Instead of remembering leaving Shirai behind she ran towards seeing him again. Instead of remembering Akio striking her, she ran towards helping him. And she did that over and over and over until she was in front of Dai again.

“Better,” he said quietly. “Ten minutes.”

[Speed Training 853/750]
[First Quarter Event Discount -250 words]