Warm Up

[Jack_Spaden]

The training grounds seemed to be an eternal crossroads, a catalyst for transition no matter what station or power level one held in their life. For some it was a necessity and for others it was an assignment. Part of Fi's rehabilitation from the hospital was to participate in live spars when his recovery reached a certain point. He was a little hesitant to jump back into it but he also understood that the best way to get back to a point where he could join a squad was to follow instructions to the letter. Whether it was a boring assignment like gate duty, tracking down lost pets or literally putting up an add for a training partner.

Which is what he did about two days ago.

The add read as follows:

WANTED - TRAINING PARTNER AT THE LISTED LOCATION.

GENIN LEVEL ONLY PLEASE, APPEAR IN PERSON TO PROVIDE PRACTICE IN A VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES. ALL MANNERS OF TRAINING ALLOWED AND ENCOURAGED.

He had tried to make it simple, to the point and as convenient as possible so that anyone on their way to the training ground would be able to pass by anyways and not have a problem finding him.

Fi found himself on edge.

Not necessarily afraid but definitely excited about what could happen. Sparring was one of the final steps that he had to go through before he would be allowed to join a team again, something he sorely wanted to do. Despite the tragedy that had occurred over a year ago he found that he needed to fill the void that his team had left behind. He wanted nothing more than to be out there conducting missions and learning how to work as an efficient team with others. To do that he had to have a certain amount of time sparring with comparable opponents, he didn't necessarily have to win but the implication was that the better he did the faster he would be considered 'recovered' enough to be put on team based missions instead of the solo chores.

He briefly reviewed the tools that he had at his disposal. Three of his kunai had a paper bomb wrapped around the handle so that when he held it the explosive tag was completely concealed. Above all else, deception was the cornerstone of ninjutsu and he valued it highly as a battle tactic. One Kunai had a wire already tied through the eye-socket at the end of the handle. Fi ensured that the knot was tied properly so he wouldn't have to waste time trying to make a trap on the fly. Whoever showed up would most likely be specialized in some type of combat, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu or Genjutsu.

Fi reasoned that the best way to approach a fight would be to scout them, control the battlefield. Get them to show their hand and then decide where the best position to keep them on the battlefield would be. Stealth, intelligence and application of technique were the best things he could utilize.

He had selected a battleground that was familiar to him, often used by higher ranking shinobi. The clearing was circular. 50 meters from one side to the other perfectly. The grass was mostly undisturbed through some unknown means and came up to about mid shin. The training ground was dotted with kunai target, wooden posts that stood six feet tall and were wide enough for a person to hide behind. The targets were about 30 in all, placed variously throughout the field and they had seen better days in terms of wear. The outside of the battlefield was densely lined with trees to separate it from other areas, the woodline would provide ample places to hide if he needed to move to it.

Fi stood on one of the posts, towards the center of the clearing and slowly struck matches to light them. He would watch the match burn completely before putting it out underfoot. He passed the time patiently as he waited to see if anyone would show up today.

[Unknown Eldritch]

"Did this guy have to choose a training field so far away?" Yoru grumbled tiredly, making his way down the well-worn path to the training ground that he had copied off of the flyer that he had come across on his way to the academy training grounds to get more used to his newest techniques. The flyer seemed to be fairly neat-looking, indicating that whoever wrote it took their time in making it.

At the moment, Yoru was making his way down a dirt path that seemed to be used often, which was the only reason why he hadn't just headed home after thinking that it was just a joke pulled by a mischievous kid.

It was fairly early in the morning, with the pale sun obscured by several particularly large clouds, though despite that Yoru would estimate it to be about... 6 or 7 in the morning. He shuddered slightly as a cold breeze bit through his coat, and silently prayed that this would be worth it. After all, Yoru himself really needed to improve himself physically, considering how physically inept he was.

Hearing the sound of grass being crushed beneath his sandals, Yoru glanced around, noticing that he was standing at the edge of fairly large clearing. He mentally made note of how tall the grass was, as well as how dense the trees around the clearing were. Then he noticed the boy stnding near the center of the clearing. He noted how... odd the boy's clothing was, with the color scheme and the type of clothing he was wearing seeming more suited to a village like Kiri.

Walking forwards with his hands tucked away in his pockets, Yoru called out "Yo, you the one who wanted a training partner?", staring at the boy with half-lidded eyes.

[Jack_Spaden]

Fi had just struck a new match when he heard the hail.

He turned in that direction and held up one hand, striking what he considered to be a friendly demeanor when most of his face was covered in wrappings. "That would be me, I was hoping someone near my skill level would come for a good match or that someone way stronger would come and show me what I'm lacking. Which one are you going to be?"

The match burned in his off hand, held near enough to his face that he could feel the heat. It was another part of his recovery, to be near heat and to be comfortable with fire even though the thought of catching ablaze freaked him out so badly. The flamed burned steadily and anyone nearby would undoubtedly smell the expended matches, a tell tale sign that he had been doing this for a good ten minutes or so. The words he spoke were bright like the morning sun that was now at his bad and casting his shadow forward but they weren't without the hint of a challenge. Fi knew this was a necessary part of recovery so he wasn't going to do the job halfway if his opponent was going to be strong.

He lowered his hand and drew his coat out from behind him as a light breeze picked up. He didn't want it to inhibit his movement, the air was a bit cool and moved from behind him and toward the newcomer. Fi judged him to be near his age though he looked physically smaller, not unlike one of the smarter genin that had graduated the academy with him. Tall but he looked light, which meant he was either very fast or physically weaker. While it remained to be seen, that ruled out Taijutsu as being his immediate specialty in Fi's mind.

Let's see where he takes this but... if I'm correct then I'll have to move quickly. He thought to himself.

[Unknown Eldritch]

Yoru was more than a little bit confused at seeing not only the boy holding a match near his own face, but also seeing more than a few burned matchsticks littering the ground around him, the smell of smoke prominent in the air.

Shaking off his confusion, Yoru said "Yeah... I'm not exactly the most physically capable, so when I saw your flyer, I decided that it might be a good opportunity to work on that. So yeah, sorry if I'm not up to par with your standards, but I'm here to spar with you."

Yoru's tone had a tinge of excitement to it, as this was his first time sparring with another genin, and he was curious about how he would measure up against someone of a 'similar' skill level. He did hope that he would be able to make up for his lacking physical skills with his Ninjutsu arsenal, as he wanted to pose at least some challenge to the boy.

"The name's Takara Yoru, nice to meet you." Yoru mentally noticed the boy trying to seem more intimidating, whether it was conscious or not. He was standing up tall with the sun at his back, and giving him an appearance of superiority. Regardless, that wasn't important. Yoru stretched breifly, flexing his fingers to get his blood pumping as an interested glint came to his eyes, curious about his opponent's skillset.

[Jack_Spaden]

The match continued to burn slowly as Fi thought about how he wanted to approach the situation. Though the advice of his mentor had always been to gather knowledge in whatever way possible for committing.

"You can call me Fi, I'm very happy to meet you and hope that we both are able to learn today."

He didn't give up the high ground though. He dropped the match that had mostly burnt up and decided to go with the same options he had learned a year ago, reconnaissance through systematic testing. His right hand went to his pocket where he slid three matches into the cusp of his glove without drawing it out. To an observer it would just look like his right hand rested in his pocket for a moment. His left hand made a much more visual gesture of reaching into his leg pouch and drawing out three kunai, each one tucked between his fingers so that he could hold them while forming a fist. These were normal kunai, nothing special attached to them.

"If you're ready to begin? We go until the other yields."

While ready to give the match his all, especially considering that his opponent was likely to be versed in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, he was unwillingly to attack without a signal of acceptance. He drew his right hand out of his pocket and made the sign of confrontation with his fingers. He held it chest level and waited respectfully for his opponent to acknowledge while his kunai were clenched in his left hand at his side. His feet moved, so that while standing on the post the back of his left heel was hanging off the back of the post and would allow him to drop behind it immediately just by buckling his knee. If he were attack with a ranged move he would need avenues of escape and it wouldn't hurt to have a place to hide handseals after his hands were free.

[Unknown Eldritch]

Yoru was running through everything that he could infer about his opponent, which was unfortunately, not very much. He didn't seem to be spectacularly strong(though Yoru knew not to judge based on appearances), and he didn't seem to have any distinct weaponry on him, though it may have just been sealed. He seemed to have quite a few of those matches, so chances are that he may be either a Katon or Fuuton user. Considering that he had chosen this specific training ground for some reason, with the thick vegetation that would make it relatively easy to hide, chances are that this... Fi may be skilled in long-range battle.

Hearing his sparring partner ask if he was ready while performing the sign of confrontation, Yoru returned the favor. The moment that Yoru thought that he had gotten the point across and noticed Fi preparing to attack, he flashed through several handseals as fast as he could before slamming a hand on the ground, saturating a fairly large area with Raiton chakra as he quietly hissed out "Raiton • Galvanic Zone,, careful to keep his eyes on his opponent.

Jutsu UsedShow

*Raiton • Galvanic Zone
C-ranked Raiton Jutsu
After performing the correct hand seals, the user will seep Raiton chakra in an area around them with a 20m diameter. The user's Raiton techniques will travel 5 points faster when they travel through this zone for 3 posts. This technique ends the moment the user leaves this area. They also return to normal speed upon leaving the area. This technique does not apply the shocking effect.

[Jack_Spaden]

As soon as the opponent dropped the sign of confrontation Fi threw his kunai as hard as he could, letting all four go at once. Given the close range they wouldn't take long to move through the air. He didn't stop think about if it was too drastic a way to start or too dangerous, nevertheless they weren't aimed to kill. Fi just wanted to put his opponent off balance so he had aimed at the knees of his opponent in his standing position.

Hands seals... I was right but Ninjutsu or Genjtsu?

After the single movement of the arm his right went to his pouch. He let his already positioned knee buckle and pushed himself off the post, backwards as far as he could to create distance from his opponent's building chakra. He had no idea what it would be yet. Before his feet hit the ground he dropped the smoke bomb so that it would obscure the area and his next move.

Time to find out.

His movement would put the post between him and his opponent's original location. The total distance being about ten meters between them. When he hit the ground, in the smoke cloud he quickly performed the hand seals for one his own techniques and sprinted to his left to take cover behind another post, careful to take cover as soon as possible. The smoke cover would completely obscure the hand seals he performed, Fi doubted his opponent would even know that he was readying a technique if all went well. If not, then he would have to take the chance see where his tactics led him.

He hesitated only long enough to form his handseals, so that someone looking at the cloud might get the idea that he had gone in an unexpected direction. Then he bolted. The distance between this new post and his smoke cloud was about 5 meters and it would place him further away from his opponent, which seemed advantageous. He hoped to have enough speed to move about before his opponent could mount an attack.

Mid-sprint Fi would reach for his pouch to pull out another Kunai, ready to start up an assault.

SpoilerShow

-4 Kunai
-1 Smokebomb

41/45 Kunai remaining
4/5 Smoke bombs remaining


Technique that seals were performed for:

Supaidā no ashi (Spider Legs)
D-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu; Sound Initiation
The user will do a series of hand seals, then within the next post, clang two pieces of metal together. Anyone who hears the clang of metal will immediately feel as if one or more spiders have crawled under their clothing, along their back and shoulders. This works as an effective distraction that can also cause some mental stress on the target.. This genjutsu lasts 3 posts.

Genjutsu is not initiated yet.

[Unknown Eldritch]

The moment that he had finished blurring through his hand seals, Yoru noticed a quartet of kunai flying at him at (to him)high speeds. Without much time to react, Yoru threw himself to his left, just barely managing to completely evade three of the kunai, only for the fourth to leave a thin slice on his left shin.

With barely a grunt, Yoru got back to his feet, hands already blurring through another set of hand seals despite the exhaustion brought on by the usage of a C-Rank jutsu, momentarily pausing when he saw the rather large cloud of smoke concealing his opponent's movements. Finishing the last few hand seals, Yoru felt slump slightly in exhaustion, doubtlessly from using a jutsu so soon after his previous one. Despite this, he managed to stay standing as a copy of himself formed out of Raiton chakra, standing guard just in front of Yoru as he attempted to steady his heavy breathing. Regardless of how good his chakra control was, he had still used a C-Rank and D-Rank jutsu in rapid succession, which was rather taxing on his small reserves.

Upon catching his breath, Yoru sent his clone sprinting forward at top speed(Which was rather significant, thanks to the Galvanic Zone he had used just before) towards the cloud his opponent was in, preparing himself for any counter-attacks by getting low to the ground, hands close together in case he would need to perform another jutsu, though he hoped he would get a little bit of rest beforehand.

Jutsu UsedShow

Raiton • Static Clone
D-Ranked Raiton Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals, the user will create a copy of themselves out of Raiton chakra. The clone does not have any special attributes, but it is more durable than the Raiton • Shock Double technique with the stats listed below.
Taijutsu: 3
Stamina: 5
Strength: 2
Speed: 2

[Jack_Spaden]

A clone? Ninjutsu then, Shinobi battle skill number two. I need to break his concentration before moving in.

He peered around the post just enough to see the clone sprint for the cloud at a speed that matched his own. The clone moved too fast to be normal though if it was a low level technique and that was the startling part. Fi didn't know if it was a full fledged shadow clone or if it had an elemental advantage but the situation remained the same. His opponent was a Ninjutsu type user, the possibility of Genjutsu had not been ruled out yet either. However, if the clone was moving for the cloud then that meant his own presence was in doubt still and that gave him a small advantage to press.

Fi pulled a second Kunai from his bag and moved from behind the post, still further back as he bolted another five meters away from the opponent, still moving to his left. During this he began an assault of projectiles. Moving out from behind the post he let his kunai bang together before throwing them one after the other at the clone. It was moving fast but fairly straightforward and it didn't surpass his own speed, or so he thought. After the kunai clanged together he would throw them, his left first and then his right as he moved. After one was thrown he would drawn another fluidly to throw a third and the fourth projectile he reached tried to reach for would be a smoke bomb. He knew that he needed to disable the opponent's method of attack if he was going to win which meant using misdirection and managing his chakra reserve better.

"Over here." He spoke after throwing his first projectile and without any urgency during his sprint, he moved in the classic way that all Shinobi did during a run with his body titled forward and his arms loose so that he could use projectiles.

When the metal Kunai banged together they would initiate his Genjutsu if the other shinobi was capable of hearing it and he hoped to gather a moment's time with it. The movement he took was aimed to take him to the next available kunai target post to hide behind, a plan began forming in his mind about how he wanted to trap his sparring partner.

Focus their attention, vanish and then show them what you want them to see so that you can control their focus. That's how 9 always said it I think.

SpoilerShow

-3 Kunai

38/45 Kunai remaining
4/5 Smoke bombs remaining


Genjutsu initiated

Supaidā no ashi (Spider Legs)
D-Ranked Illusion Genjutsu; Sound Initiation
The user will do a series of hand seals, then within the next post, clang two pieces of metal together. Anyone who hears the clang of metal will immediately feel as if one or more spiders have crawled under their clothing, along their back and shoulders. This works as an effective distraction that can also cause some mental stress on the target.. This genjutsu lasts 3 posts.

Taijutsu Stance used

*[Flawless Aim Style • Tracking]
D-Rank Taijutsu Discipline
This allows the user to hit a moving target so long as it is moving in a way predictable to the user. They must still take into account travel time, and sudden changes in path will still affect the outcome.

[Unknown Eldritch]

Eyes narrowed in concentration as he panted lightly, Yoru was momentarily surpirsed to see Kunai being thrown at his clone from behind the training post. Biting back a frustrated curse at how he didn't notice his sparring partner move, Yoru carefully began to focus his chakra, waiting for the chance for him to use a technique as he focused on where the kunai had come from.

CLONE POV

There was nothing in the smoke. Where did the Target go? Clone heard the sharp metal whizzing through the air at it. Clone jumped, not wanting to be hit by the sharp metal. Clone landed on ground and heard more sharp metal at it. Clone tried it's best to avoid the metal to buy time for Creator. Clone got a small cut on right arm, but was mostly okay, because small cut did not inhibit. Seeing Target, Clone started running towards them to distract when it saw Creator's eyes glaze over and try hitting their own back. Clone decided to stop Target from hiding again, and ran at Target while picking up one of the sharp metals that were stuck in ground after being thrown at it. Clone would try to keep Target busy until Creator was awake.

YORU POV

"Over here." Yoru focused his gaze on where he had heard the voice, only to hear the sound of metal against metal, followed immediately afterwards by the feeling of more than a few small legs skittering up his back. Flinching violently at the unexpected sensation, Yoru reflexively tried to crush any insects that were on his back, only to feel nothing but his own hand. His eyes then widened in realization as Yoru tried to ignore the sensation, moving his hands into the Kai Release hand seal, pulsing his chakra to try to break the Genjutsu he was under, relaxing when he felt it break. He was not looking forward to finding out if there was anything else to the Genjutsu.

After the sensation left his body, Yoru glanced back up, seeing his clone holding a kunai and sprinting towards Fi. Eyes narrowed in thought, Yoru swiftly blurred through the handseals of one of his other techniques. Gathering Suiton chakra into his mouth, Yoru condensed it into the form of one of his other self-created techniques, spitting out a pretty fast needle made of water before he crouched down in the moderately tall grass to make himself a smaller target, relaxing as his meager reserves struggled to keep up with the pace he was using techniques at, a few small beads of sweat gathering at his hairline.

Jutsu UsedShow

*[Basic Jutsu • Kai Release]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
A rather simple technique that allows the user to escape from a genjutsu. The stat requirements for this technique can be found in the genjutsu rules.

Suiton • Water Needle
D-Ranked Suiton Ninjutsu
After performing a short set of hand seals, the user gathers Suiton chakra into their mouth. They then purse their lips together before spitting out the condensed water in the form of an incredibly sharp needle that travels in a straight line at 8 speed, impacting with 2 strength.

[Jack_Spaden]

Right over here, let's see how long he can keep up the Ninjutsu.

As the Clone scooped up a Kunai and the opponent pressed his hands together for the Kai seal Fi took his opportunity. With the smoke bomb in hand that he had been reaching for he disappeared once more into the cloud but with a new strategy now that he had established what his opponent's plan was to take him out. Clone usage while staying back to form Ninjutsu, smart and effective if you could pin someone down. He summarized that this shinobi would make a valuable teammate whenever they found themselves in a four man cell, specialists were always highly prized for their skills and unique contribution.

With the smoke bomb activated he dropped to the ground, on his face much like the opponent was so that anyone would be hard pressed to hit him just by firing blankly into the cloud. He stabbed one of his prepared Kunai into the ground so that only the handle was sticking out and weaved his own hand seals as he waited for the clone to run in. What he was about to do was a bit unorthodox but he couldn't afford to fight a long range battle when he lacked any ranged Ninjutsu to retaliate with. The kunai he had stabbed into the ground was one with a paperbomb wrapped around it, something he summarized would be enough to stagger a ninja of his level and undoubtedly destroy a clone if he played his cards right. Given the speed of the clone he wagered that it should be on top of him just as he finished the hand seals for a simple, D-rank technique that all shinobi were taught in the academy.

He finished his seals and then waited, everything depended on what exactly the clone was going to do and what the opponent was throwing at him. Fi only guessed that the opponent was going to throw more Ninjutsu or clones at him because that had been his fighting style thus far, the substition jutsu that was prepared was a fail safe if his plan went off course but it was also the lynch pin for his next maneuver. He doubted his Genjutsu bought him more than a second, anyone with good enough chakra to make a clone could break it. The best he could hope for was to be in that smoke cloud, laying flat in the grass with his paper bomb landmine ready to blow on command.

While it was likely he could defeat a clone of a ninjutsu specialist in close combat he didn't want to play into the plans of his sparring partner, that would undoubtedly double the difficulty of the challenge already on the table. Without a definitive target the water needle technique, unknown to Fi all but in theory, would pass over his head or to the side unless the opponent had a way to track him in the smoke cloud.

SpoilerShow

- 1 Smoke Bomb

- 1 Kunai with 1 Paper Bomb rolled around the handle

4/5 Paper Bomb
37/45 Kunai remaining
3/5 Smoke bombs remaining

Seals performed for the following Ninjutsu, awaiting activation

*[Basic Jutsu • Change of Body Stance Technique]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
After completing the necessary handseals, the user is able to quickly substitute his/her body with a nearby object that is at least 2/3rds his/her size, but no bigger than their body. This substitution allows the object to take the force of the attack that was meant for the user, additionally allowing the user to create distance between him/her and the opponent. The object used in this jutsu may not be objects that are imbued with chakra or controlled by it, and they may also only be single, solid objects within a 20 yard radius of the user. This technique may only be used a total of one time in a single thread, give or take how many times Shunshin no Jutsu has already been used.

[\spoiler]