Sharp Like A Blade

[WrightJustice]

Nishiki seemed to have been roped into some Swordsmen training with one of the Daggers, Yuuto, wishing to hone their skills and so the fox found himself in the domed training facility perhaps thanks to a little bit of payment on Yuuto's end.
The bannin was wearing his usual grand design of a kimono and came fully equipped as he stepped into the marvel of an arena that seemed much improved since his... Scuffle? Whatever you might call the beating he gave Chiane.

Nonetheless the man skipped along the field of grass and found himself in front of the large shack along the wall whereupon he swiftly opened it all out and began sorting a few training paraphernalia for the session, though he wasn't certain what the dagger would be interesting in training so he basically grabbed all sorts of things to set up whatever they might need.
As he was looking through all the things they could set up for the training session, Nishiki was fully expecting Yuuto to arrive at any given moment as he also pondered what they could do and even glanced at the small lake section now and again as he wondered if they would use the water in any of what they were going to do.

[Trusted Grader]

Yuuto had witnessed the greatness of Nishiki when he faced Chiane, a Seven Swordsman who had embarrassed him when he was younger and felt that he needed to earn the same level of power as him. Though he knew that realistically there would always be some power gap between them as he was a Jinch compared to the Karagata.

Utilizing the connections he had within the Seven Swordsmen, he had called upon Nishiki to train with him, he wanted to try something out and see if he could help boost his powers, one way or the other as he had plenty of times been told by Shiv's companion that there was something special about Yuuto. He had hinted about a hidden ability lying within the boy, though they had never explicitly told him about his powers.

Seeing as his father refused to train him, he figured he'd go to the next best, the second in command of the Seven Swordsmen, normally he'd ask his uncle but seeing as Shinjiro was always busy, he'd go to the next best.

[WrightJustice]

Nishiki was pondering about how the training session would go when he swiftly turned to face Yuuto before he could even finish his approach, feeling the vibrations of the boy's movements from behind.
"Ah, there you are" he commented joyously, a sharp grin forming across his face as his foxy ears wiggled with excitement.
"So what kind of training are you looking for today?" he then asked, turned back around towards the grand shed of many equipment and training gadgets.
"There's all these we could use or even just the field for some combat or..." he trailed off as he gestured at everything he spoke of then sort of started scratching his head, not truly knowing what they could be doing as it was truly up Yuuto's idea after all and he still wasn't well accustomed to the young man as of yet.
Perhaps there was also something he could train himself, though it was difficult to come up with something suitable without first knowing what his partner wanted to do and as such he probably seemed a bit awkward just standing there and waiting for hear what was suggested.
Such awkwardness was probably given away quite strongly by the confused like swaying his small elementals performed and the droopy tails he had.
"This... Really... Really... Hurts..." groaned the beast within as it felt the awkwardness deep inside.

[Trusted Grader]

Yuuto wasn't used to speaking with someone so, gentle. No that wasn't the right word, but mild, considering that he was supposed to be the number two guy of the legendary Seven Swordsmen, it was truly fascinating. What do I want to train? Oh right! Yuuto snapped his fingers once he had finished scratching the bottom of his chin and unscrolled a fascinating scroll.

"I've been studying a special clan that lives around Kumogakure, whose specialty was to bond with their allies and enemies. My father's assistant told me about their abilities and how my..." Yuuto stopped speaking as he began to think of his lost mother, the woman he had never met, the woman who had given birth to him, the one Shiv had told him had died. "My relative could use it, though he claimed hers was a lethal version, so I was thinking, maybe I can create a version that boosts my allies ability to cast jutsu and who would be the better testing ground than the legendary elementalist himself?"

Yuuto chuckled as he looked up from the scroll and into the fox man's eyes.

[WrightJustice]

Nishiki's ears perked up as he heard the explanation and his tails moved in a slow thoughtful manner as he took such an ability in, dissecting it and pondering their best move.
"Interesting" he commented as he then turned back to the cupboard and seemed to start pulling out a couple of durable dummies.
"I suppose then I should be doing some jutsu and I guess we can compare... Well... I suppose until you do it I can't fully tell what we're comparing so I guess get ready to well do it" he went on as he walked across the grass and placed each training firmly on the ground before returning to his dagger companion.
"So I suppose this'll do as the control" he finalised his words as the signs of channelling became apparent with a magenta glow, his right hand whipping a small teru teru mizu doll from his pouch as he flooded it with katon chakra.
Then with an excited flourish he released it out from his hand, causing it to expand into a sort of flaming, ghostly figure, perhaps not unlike a jack-o-lantern given the colour of the flames, which then hauntingly blasted into the left most dummy.

After being struck the pair could evaluate the damage and the speed it took, noting it for the next one as Nishiki then whipped out another doll, though he wasn't putting much effort for the time being given it was training and as such was sticking to 10 control.
"Right, now, I guess try and do you thing and I will do it a second time" he instructed as he held his teru teru bozu much the same as last time, ready to begin channelling.

SpoilerShow

Katon • Ember Ghost
D-Rank Ninjutsu
The user will channel katon chakra into a weather doll causing it to expand and burn up into a 1 foot diameter ghostly looking fireball which then zooms at the opponent. It travels up to 10 meters away at [control] speed and a strength.

[Trusted Grader]

Yuuto had kept a close eye on Nishiki, he seemed like a kind man, someone he could get along with so when he agreed to help him train he was joyous, but that didn't mean that things couldn't go wrong and Yuuto could end up hurt, most likely he would regenerate but still. Yuuto raised his shield as Nishiki spoke, he prepared himself for what was to come. "I got you! First I need to complete some speed training, try to hit me Nishiki-San." Yuuto rushed to his left and continued to dash in a half-circle fashion.

He needed to dodge his first attack and mentally prepare himself for a follow-up, speed training wasn't just how fast one could run, it was also how fast one could react to their enemy's attacks. Nishi was a legend around these parts so it was a true honor for Yuuto to be able to train with him, he would take this with the utmost seriousness and not waste the man's valuable time, especially not when war was around the corner, which seemed to be the feeling he carried ever since Heart invaded.

Dodge the attack, find the loophole, and strike your enemy down. Yuuto had plans on upgrading his sword further but first, he needed to become faster! Yuuto wondered what Nishiki would pull next, guess only time would tell. Time to prove that Mondai's training had an effect!

---

602/600 +1 Speed.

[WrightJustice]

Nishiki turned and looked at Yuuto with a hint of confusion, tilting his head as his ears twitched with concern as he did so.
"Oh... Okay?" he sheepishly commented in return, truly unsure of the situation "What's with this kid's deal? Does he actually know what he's doing? Why did I set up the training dummies and what was that about some clan's powers he might have? Whatever." he then crankily rambled in his thoughts as he regained his posture and tried to come up with how to handle some speed training instead.
Yoshimitsu then bellowed with laughter in return, sending the pair's mind space into an outrageous uproar "haaahahaahhaahahaaahaaa you sure have a handful hahahahaha" he bellowed on for a good while.

The bannin sighed and focused up as he instead eyed the dagger, taking in his movements and speed as he instead tired to hone in on how exactly he moved in the hopes to push him just far enough without over doing things.
As he focused he put away the doll for the time being as grin formed, supposing to himself that as a member of the swordsmen speed came best in close combat and so he grabbed the handles of both his swords and pulled them out in a crossing manoeuvre before shifting his stance so the right was out and parallel with the ground and the left was high above his head.

With his stance ready Nishiki took a breath and shouted his kiai then moved in a moment's notice coming down at Yuuto at a fraction of a speed faster than the younger was moving, aiming to push him beyond his limits but being careful not to land a serious blow if he failed to dodge by striking with the blunt end but it didn't end there as he would twist his wrist and immediately strike a second time in the direction he attempted to dodge to well and truly push said limits to the max.

SpoilerShow

*[Zantou • Winter Solstice]
D-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The basic Stance of Zantou, the practitioner holds one blade forward, parallel to the ground, and holds the other high over the head, pointing toward the opponent. The low blade grants the practitioner the ability to quickly defend against an opponent's attack while the blade raised overhead allows the practitioner to either quickly attack or counterattack with a powerful downward swing or thrust. This pairing of defense and offense serves as one of the cores of Zantou's swordsmanship. Drawing in a deep breath, the practitioner also gathers up their energy and releases a kiai. This Stance allows the practitioner to ignore non-critical distractions and minor environmental factors, such as small amounts of excess heat, small amounts of excess cold, small amounts of fatigue, and even small amounts of pain, allowing them to focus entirely on their opponents' movements and the tasks at hand. While in this Stance, the practitioner is conferred with a +2 increase to Strength and +1 increase to Will Power but suffers a -2 penalty to Chakra Pool and -1 penalty to Control. The practitioner may end this Stance whenever they so wish.

*[Zantou • Cold Snap]
D-Rank Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite(s): *[Zantou • Winter River Flows].
While slashing an opponent, the practitioner twists their wrist while simultaneously channeling the momentum of the first attack into another slash in a different direction, allowing the practitioner to attack another area of the opponent's body with the same sequence of movements.

[Trusted Grader]

Yuuto was indeed all over the place, his mind broke when Mondai was splayed out on the ground in the very same arena he was running in, maybe Yuuto was also mortal? Mondai had always been seen as a strong fool who got through situations without worry, but the damage he sustained got Yuuto shook, hence the training. He wanted to train his secret clan ability but knew that he first needed to be able to be fast enough to have it be useful.

Eeeh, what am I doing? I should've thought first before I spoke, hope he doesn't take it wrong. Ever the caring person Yuuto hoped that he didn't offend Nishiki but from the looks of it the half-fox man was ready to tango. He knew that he needed to train his endurance if he truly wanted to be able to sustain himself, if not then no matter if he was fast enough to react to them, he would tire out before they even got started. Yuuto knew better than to stop now that he was so close to victory, Nishiki was to be a good teacher and together he was certain that the future would hold great things for Kirigakure.

He thought a lot about his role in the world lately and how he had been placed around to protect and save, he knew deep down that if he truly wanted to serve the world then he needed to become tip-top shape, that meant that even though he won against Hitachi he would forever have to sharpen his sword in order to keep strong, he would have to raise a dagger of his own and take on bigger responsibilities, so training was of the utmost.

Yes sir, he wasn't here to waste Nishiki's valuable time, no, he was here to learn from the very best and one day be able to stand by his side proudly, he had heard how he fought the mighty Fuhen while he was away dealing with hearts army and wanted to greet the man himself, to think that he agreed to train him meant the world to him and therefor time would be of the essence.

His legs pushed through to continue rushing at speeds above his natural, his lungs steady while his heart was struggling to maintain it's natural cool, eyes dashing and mind wandering to how he would be able to surprise Nishiki, he wasn't JUST here to train, he wanted to see what he could pull off and prove that he would be a worthy Sword, for he was about to face Hitachi in a couple of hours.

This is the final piece of training before I get him. Yuuto knew that no matter what happened, he was certainly going to walk away alive from that arena.

The man almost blinked toward Yuuto, fortunately, his twitch muscles allowed him to pull up his shield and block the first strike, sending him sliding backward, "Nice one!" Yuuto congratulated his sempai before returning a strike with his shield, he would try to charge him if that failed then he would swing Liberation in a full 360 circle motion to clear some space between them.

Nishiki is fast, I can't let him get one second of breathing space, or else he will clear me out. Yuuto planned on casting a genjutsu but for now, he wanted to train his senses to be able to keep up with the fox. He's so cool though. Yuuto cleared his throat and gripped his sword harder, he was facing the second in command after all. His eyes set on the foxes as he prepared for the next part of his assault.

---

615/600 +1 endurance.

MetaShow

Heroic Guard
D-rank Taijutsu Discipline
Prerequisite: Guard
After extensive training he has learned to keep the shield in away to protect as much of his body as possible even when attacking.

Heroic Charge!
D-Rank Maneuver Taijutsu
The user raises their shield and rushes towards their target, if the user has higher strength then the target will be knocked down, otherwise they will end up dazed, either way this technique causes a (-1 Will) to the target for 3 posts.