How long had it been since Ryusei had found himself in Kaminari no Kuni like he did right now? It had been at least two years since he had any reason to be all the way out here. Ironically the mountains were not a good hunting ground apparently as he hadn’t received a contract out here in so long. He was less than a day’s travel from the village itself, but seeing as how he still had provisions for another three days or so he was in no hurry to leave the peace and quiet of the mountainside to deal with the hustle and bustle of a big village. Finding a small river flowing along the side of the mountain Ryusei decided that this was where he would be stopping. The location was nice and isolated and the fresh water stream ran plentiful and clear.

There was also something of a clearing between the outcropping of rocks on the mountainous terrain that appeared as though they would make a good private training ground. It had been over a week since his last job and he could already feel himself beginning to get rusty. For someone who trained their body so hard like Ryusei, a week without any rigorous training or physical activity felt almost like an eternity.  But before he allowed himself to immerse himself in his training, he would need to wash off the road from his body and start from a clean slate. Stabbing one of his oversized trench knives into the side of a tree that grew just off to the side of the river, he would use it to hang his clothing on as he threw his rucksack down at the base of the tree and began to undress.

Slowly he waded into the river, allowing his body to adjust to the water temperature, which luckily was rather warm to the touch due to the warmth of the mid-day sun. The river was a bit deeper than he expected, coming all the way up to his chest, but that was fine. Once he reached the river’s deepest point he would dip his whole body beneath the water, submerging himself before washing. There was something extremely relaxing about bathing out in the wild, in the peace and quiet of the mountain side, far away from the problems of the world. Times like these reminded him of when he was a child back in his home. It wasn’t luxurious or fancy, but it was as relaxing to him as a bath in any 5 star hotel.

The life of a wanderer was not always an easy one. The road was a lonely place, and there were times when having no home to return to and no bed to lay your head was exhausting, both physically and mentally. The only saving grace for that lifestyle was the freedom that it allowed for him in pursuing his goals and the few moments like these that just seemed to wash away all of the weariness of the road.

---

512~

[Training Str E-0 > E-1: 75/75]
[Training Str E-1 > E-2: 150/150]
[Training Str E-2 > E-3: 225/225]
[Training Str E-3 > D-0: 62/300]

Kaekio walked through the field of tall grass, dragging her hands behind. she was tired and wore out from the days... maybe weeks of training that she had gone through. it was so exausting, and she just wanted to give up... her feet caught one another and she fell tumbling down a hill and finally stopping near the edge of a river. she had only rolled through grass and so nothing had hurt her. She let out a long sigh and looked up to the sky. the sky seemed absolutely beautiful to her, maybe the blue? or just the peacefulness of it all. it just seemed absolutely perfect up there. she let out a long sigh as she listened to the rolling river and the gentle breeze. this was a nice change from what she had just endured, although she had given herself enough time to heal properly, it had still been exhausting and the little sleep she had gotten was starting to catch up to her... slowly... very.. very slowly... her eyes shut to the relaxing sound of the river, not asleep yet but almost... just as the lightness of sleep began to grasp at her she heard the water splashing. ignored... but it kept happening as if someone had been stepping into the stream, well or something... she opened her eyes and turned over. her eyes widenned immediately... there was a naked man in the river right before her eyes. she quickly moved behind a tree going unnoticed by the man. then she silently headed up stream going about 50 meters up. then she got undressed into just her bra and panties, and slipped into the rather warm river... the she took a long hard breathe and went underwater. she swam hard at the deepest part and used the movement of the river to aid her as well. she reached him in no time. then a grin on her face appeared as she poped up next to him, and said "Hi! names Kaekio... Whats yours?" she said as she eye smiled at him, partially because of the fact that she enjoyed meeting new people and partially because she probably just scared the living hell out of him. then she would await his response, but she also couldn't help but notice his nice well toned and muscular body. it made her blush a little. she was standing rather close to a naked man in a stream with no one else around. she almost let out a laugh as she thought of what her Sensei might think if he found out about this little encounter she was having. she shook her head and looked back up at the man before her and awaited his response.

WC:456

Just as Ryusei closed his eyes to begin washing his face he would immediately turn around, tensed and moving his feet into a defensive posture in response to the sound of something rising from the water behind him. Ashamed and partially angry that he allowed himself to be snuck up on, his brows would furrow and his eyes form into a stern glare. Almost reflexively he moved a hand down to his waist as if to draw a weapon only to feel the tips of his fingers touch the water and realize that all of his weapons were sitting over by the three on the river bank. It was not matter to him though, as he was as adept in hand to hand combat as he was with his weaponry. Who or whatever decided to try and sneak up on him would be in for nothing but problems if it was a fight that they wanted.

Expecting to face a seedy or violent looking man, Ryusei was surprised to turn around and see a woman standing in the river in front of him, but no less suspicious of the stranger. Skeptically he raised an eyebrow at the woman who stood before him, examining her closely as he attempted to discern whether or not she was a threat to him or not. She was moderately tall, maybe just above average height with light blue eyes and long blue hair that fell onto her shoulders and all the way down her back into the water, clinging to her skin due to it still being soaked. To her credit she wasn’t armed, but that might not have been saying much considering she barely had anything on her person, standing before him in nothing but her underwear. Her sudden appearance and more so the nature of her appearance made the entire encounter rather… curious.

For the moment at least, this woman wasn’t armed and he sensed no malicious intent from her. He found her blush a bit odd though. It was a bit too late to begin feeling embarrassed after sneaking up on a bathing man with next to no clothes on so casually. Either way, he intended to find out what exactly it was that she wanted, so that he could continue on with his day in peace. “You’re quite bold, aren’t you?” he began to speak, making note in his mind about how he was unable to hear her enter the water and how she was entirely drenched as if she was submerged, “You entered the river from upstream and swam beneath the surface to get to me, didn’t you? I was wondering why I was unable to hear you coming. That would explain a lot. Clever.” He would lower his arms from their previous defensive posture and place them akimbo to his hip, looking the woman straight in the eyes as he continued, “It’s not every day that half naked women sneak up on me while I’m bathing. Who are you? What is it that you want from me?”

---

1027~ (515)

[Training Str E-3 > D-0: 300/300]
[Training Str D-0 > D-1: 277/325]

Kaekio smiled as she was complimented on her tactics... it hadn't even seemed like such a feat, it was just her being... well her. and she couldn't help but simply smile when her being herself was complimented on, it almost made her day entirely. she simply nodded in response to his question to signify that that is what she had done. “It’s not every day that half naked women sneak up on me while I’m bathing. Who are you? What is it that you want from me?” Kaekio's face light up with blush once more. she didn't quite think of herself as half naked, but the more she though about it she was, and as was he... and the more she thought about it this guy had every right to question her, for all he knew she was a high level ninja and she was sent here to assassinate him for unknown reasons... she bowed her head apologetically, possibly revealing a little to much cleavage, and so she returned to an upright position almost immediately. "Im sorry to have poped in on you like that... i't just i didn't want to be alone on my birthday...." that part was true, today was her birthday, her seventeenth to be specific and there was no one else around to celebrate it with, she didn't except a present or a meal, or anything from the boy in front of her, she just didn't want to be alone. she looked up at him with an unintentional sad gaze, and then her moods Changed dramatically in almost an instant. and she went back to a slight head tilt, and a massive eye smile. "And besides! i allows love making new friends!" this was once again true, if there was one social bug amung the Kumo nin, it was Kaekio, and no one doubted that one for an instant. she had always been rather upbeat and cheery despite the hard times in her life. as a matter of fact, most people didn't know about the difficult times that she had gone through simply because it had seemed like nothing in the world was wrong with this girl. it has even been told that her chakra dances worry free inside of her. Kaekio stood there in the water and awaited to see how the man before her would react to her given statement as to why she had come into the water with him, but then a thought struck her... he still hadn't given her his name, she had given him her name before he had inquired who she was... crap she forgot to tell him that! "OH SHIT SORRY! i forgot to tell you about myself! as i said before my name is Kaekio, i'd prefer to keep my clan a secret for now though, anyways... im a genin from kumogakure, my master is the current raikage, aaaaaannnnnnnddddd i absolutely love white rice!... im out here in the forest for some training which i recently got done... that training was for the chunin exams which are coming up so very soon!... was that enough information for you? or do you require a bit more?... well anyways tell me about yourself, like whats your name, what in the hell are you doing out here in the forest, and without a headband at that, aaannnnddd your favorite food just because i gave mine." she said with a cheerful voice and a smile on her face, now she felt slightly better about standing there ad awaiting his reply. she actually found herself to be quite eager to hear his response, she wanted to know about him, who he was, and why he was out here, what purpose did he have to be out here so far away from the village, and taking a bath at that? weren't there bath houses in the village? sure there were a few pervs at the bath houses in the village, but they only bothered the girls. so why was he out here?


WC:683
+ 456 = 1136
1136/1175 D -> D-3 Endurance

The blush that once again crept up onto the strange girl’s face only served to put Ryusei a bit more at ease after she snuck up on him. At the very least he didn’t sense any malicious intent from her, and her behavior made it seem more and more like she was beginning to see the oddities in her behavior for what they were. When she bowed her head in an apology, Ryusei’s eyes couldn’t help but wander down to the rather generous amount of cleavage that was now on display as she leaned forward. When she immediately shot back up he would glance away for a moment, returning his gaze to meet hers once she made mention of it being her birthday.

When their eyes met again Ryusei would notice a distinctly saddened expression on the previously cheerful woman’s face, an expression that she would immediately change back to a wide smile. The brief, yet noticeable change was intriguing. He wondered what could have brought about such a drastic and short lived disposition, but knowing it was not his place to inquire about it he left it alone. The comment about making new friends was amusing as well. Ryusei wasn’t the type to be actively searching for or keeping many friends at all. It was an inconvenience to someone who lived a life like he did. There was too much unknown and too much risk involved in the life of a bounty hunter to hold stable relationships of any kind, even as simple as friendship. As such, it was often better to simply sever ties to the outside world before they were broken apart by circumstance. At least things were cleaner that way.

Then, the next thing he heard was a torrent of seemingly trivial information that he didn’t ask for spilling out of her mouth rapidly. For someone who went through the trouble of sneaking up on him silently, she sure did like to talk a lot. At least some of the information was relevant, and he did end up getting her name after all. Well, her first name at least, but that was all he really needed. “My name is Ryusei” he said plainly in response to her line of questioning, “As for my surname, I think I’ll keep that a secret for as long as you do. I’m just a traveler. I decided to stop and rest here on this mountainside while I was in the area. I figured since it was a good ways out from the nearby village I would be alone, but seeing as you’re here I guess that’s not the case. I don’t have a headband on because I don’t own one. I’m not a shinobi of any major village. I’m a wanderer.  I have no particular loyalty to any village or land, so I don’t wear any of their symbols. As far as favorite foods, I don’t know if I have one per se. Maybe steak. You said you were participating in the upcoming chunnin exams? I was thinking of participating myself. It sounded like a good way to test my mettle and get my name out there.”

---

1571 (544)

[Training Str D-0 > D-1: 325/325]
[Training Str D-1 > D-2: 400/400]
[Training Str D-2 > D-3: 96/450]

"You said you were participating in the upcoming chunnin exams? I was thinking of participating myself. It sounded like a good way to test my mettle and get my name out there." Great just what Kaekio needed... another competitor, actually... now that she thought about it, they could help each other out... if not a lot then at least just a little. Kaekios's face would light up as this idea struck her full force. SHE COULD TRAIN WITH HIM! "Oh? you are are you? well if the case then why don't we help each other out? we both could use some training..." Kaekio switched to close range combat mode, and locked in on him.his muscles seemed strong and well, not even just his arms which would signify a Bukijustu user, no his whole body was toned well... so by that Kaekio could only assume he used Taijust, if not both taijustu and bukijustu. Kaekio could also tell by the only minor amounts of Eletrical signals coursing through him, that he was not a raiton style user... Kaekio wasn't sure whether to be excited or sad about this... raiton was her greatest downfall, however had he had it he could have helped her become more attuned to it's nature. she pushed herself up on top of the water and stood there. "so straight off the bat i can tell two things about you, first judging by your well built muscle structure, you practice taijustu.... and second, you don't know how to utilize raiton. am i wrong?" she said giggling as she stood above him. "come up here with me... we are gonna do a little exersize. seeing as how you use Taijustu i want you to try and punch me. well when you get up here of course... and don't worry about hitting me, this is a two way practice, you get to practice how to read your opponents movements and how to strike when they react a certain way.... i will be practicing my dodging techniques.... if you don't like this method of training, i can certainly run up the stream and grab my swords, then we can have a much more dangerous form of combat...." she said with a grin... as she stood there and awaited for him to join her on top of the stream... the one thing she had on him however was her ability to predict his movements. she could see everything he tried to aim at her, and she would be able to dodge it flawlessly. how ever she was not well trained in taijustu so a counter attack for her was highly unlikely, and he were to simply glance at her lower muscle structure, while with definite muscle, it didn't quite have the muscle to be a taijustu user.


WC: 474 
chakra used:20 switched to close combat mode and 5 for supernatural walking practice
474 - 39 for Endurance training = 435 for use
Endurance training complete! 1175/1175

Kaekio’s face lit up when Ryusei mentioned his participation in the upcoming chunnin exams. It was nice that they had something in common, but he wasn’t expecting her to be so eager to ask him, a complete stranger, to help her train right there on the spot just because she heard him say one sentence. Maybe he should have expected it considering her behavior before. She certainly didn’t seem like one to be shy or coy about asking for what she wanted. Even still, as she leapt up out of the stream and used the Supernatural Walking Practice jutsu to stand on the surface of the water revealing her clothing that consisted of nothing but a soaking wet bra and panties clinging tightly to her skin, he wondered whether or not she actually realized the situation she was in.

Whatever she thought of the situation one thing was clear, she was really dead set on this whole training thing. After only a few moments of being atop the surface of the water she began to go on with a whole tangent of some analytical information she just seemed to pull out of thin air. Apparently by his “well built muscle structure” she could surmise that he was a taijutsu user, but really who didn’t practice taijutsu, at least at a very basic level, nowadays? Also she made it a point to question him about his use, or lack thereof, of the raiton element. It was another strange question, but perhaps they were specific to her training.

“That’s very perceptive of you,” Ryusei began, still staying in the water instead of jumping out like she did, “You’re right, I am a taijutsu practitioner and no, I don’t use raiton. Are you sure it’s really ok to just decide to train with me so randomly? It feels a bit odd for someone to just ask me to swing at them so casually.” He stopped trying to plead a case to reason with her before she would even say anything in response. From the personality she had shown thus far he highly doubted that anything he could say was going to sway her once she made her mind up about something. It wouldn’t take a psychic to sense that this girl was stubborn. At the very least, maybe he would just be able to hold back a bit to avoid the possibility of actually injuring her before the exams and make her happy.

“Well, I would join you up there, but there is one problem,” he said with a smirk as he began to walk himself out of the water and towards his belongings, revealing himself to be completely naked and making no effort to cover up as he turned to face her and continued speaking as he began to cloth himself, “I think it would be better for both parties involved if I at least put some pants on before we started participating in any kind of physical activity.” That was the ultimate test of how bold Kaekio really was. Ryusei was not embarrassed in the slightest about being naked in front of others, but even the most outgoing woman had to be a little taken aback by unknowingly walking in on a full frontal naked Ryusei. Although he couldn’t imagine her not knowing he was naked. She swam downstream and towards him, surely she could have seen under the water that he had no bottoms on and he even mentioned that he had been bathing.

---

594~

[Training Rea D-2 > D-3: 450/450] (Rather than Strength)
[Training End E-0 > E-1: 75/75]
[Training End E-1 > E-2: 150/150]
[Training End E-2 > E-3: 15/225]

The shiny blue water beneath Kaekio's face reflected the bright red radiating off of her face. she had completely forgot that the man was naked, and bathing that she had so rudely interrupted. her eyes drifting else where in attempt to keep her virgin eyes just that, virgin... she had absolutely no intention of staring at a mans ass today. as she looked around she also began to feel how grabby her panties were, and the blush on her faces reddened even more than it had before. he could have probably seen the very defined detail of what was between her legs, and the thought of that utterly embarrassed her. she might have as well shoved her bare crotch in his face. as a matter of face standing above him as she had and with how tightly the minimal amount of cloths she had on clung to her, she had basically done just that very thing. this man had come as close to seeing kaekio naked as any one ever had, and she didn't enjoy the thought of that one little bit. "uhhh... well umm uhh yeah, i guess i uhh should as well" she ran off the river, and into the cover of the bushes, and then she sprinted as fast as she could up the stream to where here cloths lay on the ground. she didn't even care about being wet anymore, she was so embarrassed by what had just transpired that she didn't care. she slipped into her typical blue and black cloths that she always wore, and grabbed the swords and shoes. not bothering to put either on as she ran back down stream. once she reached the camp spot she set both of the things she held in her hands on the ground, and stepped onto the stream once more, fully ready to take on the man one again. once she was finally back to the spot she was before she had a little more courage, now that she had her cloths on, and she spoke once more ready to answer his questions that he had asked before she left. "yes im sure i want to train with you.... i think your a good person and i believe in you... now as for the oddity of my causality, yes i understand that it's odd but trust me i will be absolutely fine, and i fully expect you to go with all you have got at me or else you will never in your entire life be able to hit me.... not even once, and i can promise you that... trust me, im a big girl i can take whatever punch you throw at me." she said this with a grin, shee knew damn well that his punches would come so veyr clear to her, and that any move he tried to make, she would be able to see it almost instantly... she didn't need to depend on the much slower process of analyzing her opponents each and every move, when she could see them the moment before they happened. however she did feel a little bareness around her, due to the fact that she was still locked onto his chakra signature, she couldn't sense any other thing around her and wouldn't until she released the lock she had on him, but she needed to maintain this lock because she would need to read his movements in order to dodge him effectively. Kaekio grinned as she stood there waiting for her training partner to come up and train with her, and at least he wouldn't be naked because there was no way he could have possibly dressed so slow that he was not done by the time kaekio ran up the river, put on her cloths, and ran back down. so she awaited her opponent to come at her unarmed and using nothing except his fist. she would read and analyse his every move in an instant and react to it flawlessly, as ifshe could read his mind and knew what move he was gonna make even before he himself knew what he was gonna do. it would be tricky for him to lay a single finger on her, if he used only his fist, which is what kaekio had told him to do in the first place. but that was what the training was for, was so that she could get better at reading the electrical signals your brain sent to your body and so that he could learn how to hit an opponent that was moved as though the wind commanded her body away from his blows. as she thought all of this out, she could only grin the slightest bit. she was about to finally spar with someone of her own caliber, another person who was on her level. until now she had only sparred with the higher ups, a jounin and the raikage were not the best at giving her an opportunity to show them how powerful she was, and how powerful she could become, however this man standing before her was different. he was on her level and he didn't have the choice whether to let her win or lose, that would be decided by performance, not by a person, and so the grin on Kaekio's face displayed true excitement for the spar to come, and she was so happy and overjoyed that she would be able to partake in it, just as she was excited about partaking in the chunin exams.


Chakra: 120/150 maintained supernatural walking practice, and close range combat.
WC: 932
932 + 435 = 1367
1367 words for total use
-1k for flame burst
367 words for use

As he began to dress himself, making no effort to take cover behind a tree or cover up his explicit areas, he would notice Kaekio begin to turn a bright red. It seemed as though this bold and brazen girl that had no issue with approaching a man while he bathed was not completely without shame. He wasn’t sure if it was seeing the lower half of him completely exposed before her eyes or the realization of just how much she was showing him in her soaking wet underwear, but her demeanor changed dramatically as she turned her head away embarrassed when he moved to the river bank. When he turned to grab the rest of his clothing he would hear small splashed on the water’s surface, turning to see Kaekio running frantically up the river, he could only imagine to go retrieve whatever clothes she was wearing before she stripped down to join him in the river.

He figured she would be back so he wouldn’t even bother calling out to her when she was running to ask where she was going, instead just taking his time to finish putting his clothing on. When he was finished getting dressed he would look around for Kaekio, waiting a few moments before seeing her walking back downstream, now clothed and with weapons in hand. She would place her blades and shoes down beside the tree where he had left his belongings and waste no time making her way back onto the water’s surface

"Yes I’m sure I want to train with you.... I think you’re a good person and I believe in you... now as for the oddity of my causality, yes I understand that it's odd but trust me I will be absolutely fine, and I fully expect you to go with all you have got at me or else you will never in your entire life be able to hit me.... not even once, and I can promise you that... trust me, I’m a big girl I can take whatever punch you throw at me."

Ryusei smirked at her comments, amused by the statement about never being able to hit her. Leaving his weapons behind on the riverbank he would walk out onto water in nothing but a form fitting black tee shirt and black pants with several pouches around the legs to hold whatever he needed, usually equipment. He also left his shoes by the tree as she did in order to prevent getting water on the inside of his boots as they trained in the river. He eyed her posture up and down as he approached, looking for potential weak spots in her stance that he could exploit if it was battle of taijutsu. She seemed very confident in her ability to avoid getting hit. Regardless of what she said, he obviously wouldn’t be sparring without restraint. No matter how confident she was, it would be irresponsible to not hold back in a training match. “So what do I get if I manage to land a hit on you?” he asked tauntingly, aiming to rile her up a bit, “Or are you all talk?”

---

536~

[Training End E-2 > E-3: 225/225]
[Training End E-3 > D-0: 300/300]
[Training End D-0 > D-1: 26/325]

Kaekio rolled her eyes as he pondered if he would receive something for hitting her. "Sure if you do manage to hit me, ill give you anything within reason... and by reason i mean like a highfive or maybe 5 ryo..." she said still standing on the river and awaiting him to arrive. she let out a slightly exhausted breathe, he would probably assume that it had just been from running, but she was actually draining herself of chakra quiet fast, and apparently not for any reason. her close range current perception did drain a bit of chakra and as well as the supernatural walking practice, she was draining a a decent amount of chakra from her body, and it wasn't for any specific purpose... but as he finally stood on the river she smiled a tiny bit... maybe they would actually get to start this training session off.. she took a ready stance, and awaited him to make his, she was ready, she could take it. as he stood on the river he was finally in her short range, and she could see the way his brain transferred signals to his legs right before his muscles contracted and he took a step "So are we gonna start this or are you just gonna talk all day?" she gave him a slightly mocking face and then giggled a little bit. watching his brain functions like a hawk, she needed to be ready for his attacks, he specialized in this type of combat, and she did not. it was almost frightening for her, but she had full faith in her abilities, and so she remained focused on him... as long as she did that, she was practically invincible around him. that was unless he threw her a curve ball and started using his entire body with his attacks. then kaekio would find it much harder to be able to dodge him.... but she may still be able to manage him. her gaze turned from energetic and cheerful to focused and serious, this look that she was giving him most people found the scariest aspect about her, the ones that knew her better found how she preformed in combat to be much scarier.

WC: 372
367 + 372 = 739 for use

“Well that’s not very much motivation at all,” he teased, taking his own fighting stance about 5 feet away from her, “I was expecting someone who talked so big to be willing to put a bit more on the line. I don’t know if I can fight you seriously for just a high five. I was raised to never return from a fight empty handed.” He stood on the balls of his feet which were approximately shoulder width apart and staggered slightly left before right, knees slightly bent to allow for maximum mobility. He raised his loosened fists up before his face in a defensive posture, but maintaining a clear line of site between their eyes. He thumbed his nose and smirked at the girl in front of him before continuing, “But who knows, if you can back up your talk you might be fun to play with after all. You might even be able to help me shake off the rust before the exams. You saw a lot more of me than I intended on showing anyone today. It’s time for you to show me something in return. I want a challenge.”

With that challenge issued he would make his move to begin their spar, lunging forward, making a zigzag pattern as he closed the gap between he and his opponent. The water splashed beneath his feet with each step as he moved forward, never breaking eye contact with Kaekio as to not telegraph his intended strike targets. He of course had no idea ahead of time exactly what kind of ability he was about to face. All he saw him before was a young kunoichi who intended to be his competition at the upcoming Chunnin Exams and an opportunity to gauge her strength.

He would put no real force behind his initial strikes. They weren’t intended to injure her even if they connected. Their true purpose, and his true intention, was to use them to test Kaekio’s ability. If she was so confident in her ability to avoid being hit at all he would need to test out her prowess for evasion himself. The test would be simple and straightforward, a series of punches that she of course would have to avoid if she wanted to maintain her bravado.  Once he had closed the gap between them he would launch his first series of strikes, a one-two-three combo including a straight jab with his right fist aimed at her face, followed by a second straight jab, this one with his left that would aim for her face wherever she had moved to, and finished up by a right hook that he would aim low and into her ribs. It was an incredibly basic combination that pretty much any fighter that had practiced boxing, even in passing, should have known. Judging by the fact that she carried swords he could tell that she was a bukijutsu practitioner, which also meant that she had some experience in melee combat. It remained to be seen however, just how much experience she had in close range without her weapons in hand.

---

526~

[Training End D-0 > D-1: 325/325]
[Training End D-1 > D-2: 227/400]

Right punch aimed at her face. Kaekio could could see the signal in his brain before his muscle received word of it. kaekio adjusted her head to the left of the punch, out of it's way in perfect time so he would believe that she just had quick reflexes. then good ole lefty with the same intensions, but with an added twist to right after it send his right hand to gut. she had to assess what to do now. it was more than a simple dodge this one. now she had to adjust for two attack instead of one. a mear grin could be seen a crossed her face as she transferred the chakra in her feet to in her hands. she began to fall as she arced backwards leaving the uppercut to strike thin air but only a few centimeters away from her, as well as the left jab to strike a good foot above her head. and placed her hands in a bridge position and pushed off the water.doing a weird looking back hand spring and forcing her legs that were currently underwater to shoot upwards kicking water all over the man before her. she transfered the supernatural walking practice back into her feet as they touched water and brought herself up towards a stand position. now the two of them were in practically the same position as when they start. "well i guess now would be the appropriate time to make a move on you i guess, but im not really all that talented in hand to hand... like i guess i could through in a kick and i punch, but really in the end that would only jeopardize my ability to dodge your hits..."  she said with a serious expression on her face and an analytically tone in her voice. something about her changed when she got into a combat situation... she seemed less like the cheery ditzy girl that would forget someone is naked in a stream, and more like a tactician noting every single detail in a battle to it's finest point. she seemed focused and attentive. this change was due to the fact that she had something to prove...


WC:370

An amused huff escaped Ryusei’s lips as Kaekio managed to dodge his initial moves. Her ability to juke to the left of his first jab proved her confidence in her abilities, even if only a bit. Even if he was holding back slightly, being able to dodge it that smoothly with so little time denoted at least a respectable amount of skill. The little back flip she performed in order to dodge his last two punches was flashy, unnecessary, a waste of energy, and a risky movement, but it showed lithe movements and good mobility that he could have expected from a melee fighter that didn’t rely on raw strength. Somehow he doubted that she would classify her fighting style as bruiser-esque.

Her comments and reluctance to attempt a counter engage on him however, were intriguing. For all of her confidence and careless behavior before, she seemed to be very conscious and very wary of the limitations of her own abilities. She was correct in surmising that a careless attempt to engage in hand to hand combat by an inexperienced brawler against a specialist could easily end up doing her more harm than good. If she was afraid to engage him directly, he might be able to use that to his advantage. More importantly, if she wasn’t comfortable engaging in hand to hand combat against him that would only create opportunity for him. All he had to do was force the issue and make her fight his style of fighting instead of her own.

“Not bad,” he teased with a haughty smirk, taking up a fighting pose once again, “But you know, if all you plan on doing is dodging, eventually you are going to lose. I won’t beat myself. You’re going to need to take the offensive eventually. Do you think you can?”  He would lunge forward again, making the same manner of zigzag dashes as before, but this time he wouldn’t make it so easy for Kaekio. Everything would be the same in his approach as before while he dashed towards her yet again, until the very last moment. Instead of going in for the three punch combo that he attempted before he would lunge forward as if to go for a heavy right hook towards her face, allowing his fist to travel right in front of her face to draw her attention while he positioned his left leg between hers in her stance.

The punch was of course a diversion to make the placement of his leg seem natural for the type of strike that he was attempting. When his fist was only an inch or so from her face he would turn on his heel, aiming to turn his leg and foot to sit directly behind her right leg. He would then squat down and hook his foot, sweeping it around aiming to trip her from behind rather than strike. Should he be successful he would take the time to laugh as Kaekio lost her balance and tumbled into the water. Should he jump up into the air to go over the sweep he would launch himself out from his slight squatting position, aiming to grab her mid-air where she would have no footing to reposition herself. From there he would attempt to throw her gently back down into the water anyway, still aiming to take delight in teasing her.

---

572~

[Training End D-1 > D-2: 400/400]
[Training End D-2 > D-3: 399/450]

Same zigzag advancement pattern as before, but he couldn't possibly be planning the same attack again could he? no there was no way. any person to even claim to be skilled at taijustu would not use the same attack pattern twice in a row would they? they electrical signals in Ryusei's brain told her just that. she simply stood there when the punch came her way, and when he did the leg swipe she let it happen. but once again she arched her back and used the supernatural walking practice in her hands to give her leverage, her right leg was left free from the attack, and so she brought it up and left a kick loose straight towards the head of the the guy the was currently attempting to sweep her off her feet. her kick wouldn't be the most perfect thing, seeing has how she didn't frequently practice this form of combat, but a kick is a kick and all humans can kick.after her kick she would push off the water with her hands, no so much that it would be a jump of sort, just simply enough to twist her body backwards so that she could stand up right once more... she let out a long breathe... this was getting to be increasingly difficult... and she might have to do something about it if he kept using his legs at this point she could tell that she was much faster than him. maybe she could use her speed to her advantage.

((OOC: that kick should hit given your E-ranked reaction time and my C-ranked speed...

and sorry for the late and short reply, i was kinda out of it last night, and today im in a little bit of a rush... i have a Wedding to attend))

WC: 259
Total: 1365 - 1k for Dragon Yawn

Ryusei had to admit, this girl was better than he gave her credit for. Avoiding his first string of strikes was easy, something any shinobi worth their salt should have been able to do if they wanted to be worthy of that name. Her movements in response to his second attempt however, were not those of a normal genin who was still getting their feet wet in the dangerous world they lived in. They were too smooth, too easy… as if she knew what was coming the whole time. Just as she had done before, when the time came to react to his strikes, she would arch her back towards the water, performing a backwards flip with her hands being used for balance. It appeared though, that he was not the only one with intentions of throwing a curveball into this second round as Kaekio had set her own plans in motion, attempting a kick at him mid-backflip. Having committed so heavily into landing his chain, Ryusei could do nothing but sluggishly tuck his head down and raise his arm to mitigate the force of the strike that would push him below the water’s surface.

Beneath the surface of the water he would remain for several moments, consciously choosing not to come to the surface where Kaekio awaited. Over and over again in his mind he would play the last sequence of maneuvers the two of them had made. For someone who was apparently not a taijutsu specialist, she was more than capable of holding her own. Her movements were fluid and her kicks sharp, if not a bit lacking in raw power. The whole thing seemed too easy for her, especially considering the fact that she said she was a genin. If she were a higher rank maybe he could understand the ease with which she countered his movements, but as a genin he found it so improbable. Was the gap in their current physical abilities so great that she could overcome the clear lack of polish with sheer ability? There was only one way to find out.

Slowly he would begin to reposition himself below the water’s surface, getting onto his feet and into a squatting position from which he could push himself back up to the surface. Instead of simply returning to the surface and facing her head on once again however, he would launch himself up from the riverbed  directly at her position, intending to grab a hold of her. If she was so easily able to read his strikes and react accordingly in melee combat, the most obvious progression was clear, turn to grappling. If he could get a hold of her, he would truly be able to test the girl’s physical prowess. When caught in a grabbling much, her nimble and clean movements would mean very little. There was nothing clean or graceful about grappling. Only two things could prepare a person for that form of combat, raw strength and experience, the latter of which he doubted she could match him in.

Coming from directly below her would disrupt the rhythm that Kaekio had been working with up until that point. Standing in one location and relying on her footing or balance would no longer help her, only make her more likely to get caught in his grapple. Should she attempt to sidestep he would simply remain low and use a lower center of gravity to rapidly change directions, once again aiming to take out her legs, but this time too close to the surface to catch with another one of her little kicks. Should she jump skyward  to avoid him he would leap up after her, catching her mid-air where she would have no footing to attempt any more of her clever dodges.

---

635~

[Training Perception D-2 > D-3: 450/450] (rather than Endurance)
[Training Rea E-0 > E-1: 75/75]
[Training Rea E-1 > E-2: 150/150]
[Training Rea E-2 > E-3: 225/225]
[Training Spd E-3 > D-0: 134/300] (Rather than Reaction time)