The sun slowly rose along the horizon, lighting up the village of Kirigakure. The light shone beautifully on top of the water, reflecting the rays onto the nearby buildings.

Riss slowly inched to the edge of her bed and moved her foot from underneath her covers. Using her foot, she searched for the floor. With a lazy groan, Riss planted her foot on the ground and followed it with her other foot. Pushing herself up and out of her bed, she took her first few steps and lifted her arms above her head. With a long stretch, her joints gave a satisfying pop. Letting out a light exhale, she moved over to her wardrobe. Getting her usual wear out, she quickly got dressed and headed towards the kitchen. Riss poked her head into her mother's room and silently tilted her head. Her mother was still asleep, so she would have to fend for herself to get some breakfast. Making sure she was quiet, she searched through the kitchen and grabbed a piece of fruit. After a few bites, she walked out the door and into the depths of Kiri.

Looking around, she noticed not many people were out and about in the morning. Usually, there would be a bit of a crowd walking about, but not this morning. With a grin, Riss walked along until she reached a quiet spot next to the multiple rivers and water flows in Kiri. Sitting along the side of the water, she took her shoes off and put her feet into the water. Closing her eyes and leaning back, she let her mind wander, not aware of anyone near her.

[277]

Dedicated to his training, the Yuurei male had found a nice spot to sit himself upon, turn inwards and meditate in pensivity of his genjutsu talents. THe little spats and stunts of it he'd pulled during the exams had been sufficient at the time but now he was a full fledge shinobi, that had changed, now he needed solid techniques. Grasping at inspiration, toying with his chakra flows, Ryota considered every which way to expand his methods. Conceptualising a handful of illusionary jutsu, the teenager rose and considered his surroundings. Early sun and peaceful whispering of the river, his own back concealed by a large boulder dislodged some times ago and sank into stone, the smell of nature filtered through to him, scent of nearby obscured flower coaxing him.

Rising to his full stance he eased the press to his mind, taking a stance mimicking wielding a blade. Basic steps. Left foot back, slightly raised, drop to bend the knees slightly, left hand below right upon the tsuba, tighten with bottom three fingers of left hand. An exhalation parsed his thoughts. Visualising a shadow in his mind, the shinobi set about wielding the phantom blade to cut down an equally non-existant foe. His goal was speed not some idle show of strength. It was a strange notion of his teacher as child, cutting harder with strength did not exist. To cut harder was to cut faster and more precisely. Weaving through the air the two painted shape after shape, marking their tapestry of war in the air. After his fatigue caught up with him, sweat coating his brow and dehydration sparkling dark in his vision the boy bowed to the imaginary shadow, falling back to a seat. Propped against the rock, Ryota noticed something new as he looked about his favoured landscape.

...A girl? Naturally, she was yet to notice him thanks to the talents of his clan. She seemed to be doing nothing in particular, merely eating something. Offering a mental shrug, the black haired experiment called out, raising a hand and letting it hang amongst cool watered breeze.

"Hey! You!" Speaking would interrupt the natural masking of his presence instigated by the Yuurei's inheritence. She was somewhat familiar but at this distance, fatigue obscured his mind.

[381]

Riss jumped at the sudden and loud voice. Quickly whipping her head and torso around to look towards the source of the voice, she lost her balance and slipped straight into the water. With a medium sized splash, she sunk down a few feet before her mind was able to comprehend what had just happened. Opening her eyes under the water and looking towards the bright surface of the water, she quickly swam upwards and gripped onto the ledge she fell off of. Taking a gasp of air, she slowly stood up and shook her arms. A small spray of water came off her as she did so. Feelings of embarrassment were the first thing to hit her, but they were quickly followed by a goof bit of anger.

Bringing a hand up and brushing the wet hair out of her face, her anger started to get the better of her. A bit blushed due to the embarrassment and anger, she took a small step away from the edge of the water. Her clothes were absolutely soaked, and her attitude was only going to get more sour. Glancing around, she noticed that someone was in the distance. She could only assume that the person was who yelled, and her anger had to be directed somewhere. Clenching her hands into fists, she grit her teeth and started to stomp her way towards the boy. A trail of cooled water followed behind her as she walked. She was shaking slightly because of a combination of the cold water and her rage. "A-Are you serious?!" Her voice sounded incredibly anger, and didn't show any signs of calming down. "You don't j-just yell, 'Hey! You!' at someone! Now I'm soaked because of you!" Riss glared at the boy and waited for him to respond. Crossing her arms, a small stream of water dripped from her robes.

[594]

Splashing into the river like that was a fine way to introduce herself. As her red hair vanished beneath the surface, Ryota rose up, pushing himself of the rock into a steady height, prompting a dull throb in his limbs from the training. Before long she reappeared, the chuckling ghost barely halfway across the distance.

Raising an eyebrow in scepticism as he was prone to do so when confronted the experimental shinobi did little in the way of preventing her speaking. Eyeing her attire it seemed she was most definitely a Kirigakure shinobi too, albeit a very thoroughly soaked through one. "I apologise for startling you, Miss." Came the instant diplomatic process. Being honest, he did feel sorry for the amusing incident. Yielding a shrug, the Yuurei turned Suzuki added, "My name is Ryota, by the way. I'd offer to dry your clothes but unfortunately I'm not exactly proficient in any instant way of doing so." Thanks to a degree of ignorance regarding regular social conduct he then dared to continue with an uninformed smile, "Perhaps I may be able to foot some kind of bill or offer the services of my home?" In his mind, a perfectly innocent question. Thanks to an increasingly sheltered life his 'common sense' was at an all time low.

[598]

Just by listening to the boy’s response, she could tell that he wasn’t too much of a social type. Though it would explain the unexpected outburst of a greeting, as well as the less than enthusiastic apology. There was no doubt in her mind that she looked like an absolute idiot falling into the water, but knowing this didn’t make her sympathize with the Ryota. At least Riss was able to calm herself enough where she could catch a name, and also take in the boy’s features. With a glance up and down, she noted the boy was a good bit taller than her. A Kiri headband that was worn around his neck was about eye level with her, and the boy seemed to be about the same age as her. Quickly snapping back into the conversation, Riss quickly interjected the moment Ryota finished speaking.

Still maintaining an angered and sour tone, Riss slowly lowered her head, all while continuing her glare. The volume of her voice dropped a bit, probably because screaming wasn’t going to give her much results. “Here’s what’s going to happen, alright? You’re going to take me to your home. You’re going to get me something to dry myself off. Then, and only then will I forgive you. Got it?!”

Walking back and slipping on her shoes, she made her way back and stood in front of Ryota. With a slight huff, she turned her head away from Ryota and broke the angry eye contact that she had previously given him. “My name is Riss…” She had already decided the boy was only going to get her name until they were on the way to the boy’s house. Out of all the people she had met by random chance, this encounter had to have been among one of the most embarrassing and bizarre.

[911]

If truth be told he certainly wasn't, having spent so much time secluded but it was not to say that Ryota wasn't keen on expanding his social horizons. Much of his time in the academy had been spent following seclusion under private tutelage in spare time yet all things must come to change.

Raising both eyebrows in more genuine shock at her sour tone, he let the sentence rattle to an end before inclining his head respectfully for a moment after letting his eyebrows drop back down. "Of course." Words before conflict after all, a small smile suppressed broke free for a few moment as she fitted her shoes before being quickly obscured again. The break in eye contact threw him for a loop, the introduction even more! What a drastic change in temperament. The genin supposed his civil offer had been sufficient in building a bridge, even if out of rope and twigs.

"Please, this way." He said, breaking away from the irregular handful of moments. As he walked the short way back into the city, Ryota thought on this individual. She seemed pleasant enough excluding her hostile reaction to an accident. Admittedly he had likely caused it but all graduates were experienced in the ways of walking upon irregular surfaces, was it not the duty of such students to be prepared? The teen pondered the nature of her reaction if he uttered this as they crossed the threshold of marshland giving way to the limits of districts. Pushing sweat laden hair out of his face it was deduced better not to do such a thing lest he lose further favour. Approaching a quaint, terraced house amongst a block situated upon uneven hill the training worn genin fished a key from his pocket and turned it in the lock, grinding the mechanism within open. Within lay a white hallway two people abreadth, a stairway a quarter of the way in cutting it to a single person's breadth and a door to the right of it, the only other at the far end of the wooden floored hall.

Ryota motioned to the stairs with a motion of the hand, "Please, the stairs turn to the right on their final few steps. To your immediate left is a bathroom. The house is empty for today, my mother has other business to attend to." Stepping aside, he gripped the internal handle of the door ready to close it behind the dripping ninja. Of course, upstairs there would be two other doors, one immediately in front of Riss and one some meter to the right.

[1033]

Riss quietly followed Ryota as he led her through the city. Droplets of water slid down her leg and into her shoes, causing her each step to squeak as she walked alongside Ryota. Riss had her arms crossed as she continued along. It was a bit unlike her to travel with someone she just met, let alone travel with someone that angered her. The only excuse she could use to justify herself was that Ryota seemed legitimately apologetic about the situation. She quietly started to think about how she fell into the water and how it could have gone differently. Given a little better reaction time, she could’ve gripped onto the edge, or balanced on top of the water. Thanks to Ryota, she wasn’t really expecting to be scared by the sudden noise. Even if Riss seemed angry on the outside, her mind was calm enough where she could forgive him, but couldn’t say it out loud.

Soon enough, the duo reached Ryota’s home. Riss paused, looking up at the house and taking in a few details about it. It was a charming little house, and certainly had a home-y feel to it. With a few steps forward, Riss stopped staring at the exterior and walked inside. Quietly listening to Ryota as he described where the bathroom was, she nodded once before turning towards the stairs. Passing Ryota with a slight glare, she walked up the stairs, leaving a few drops of water on each of the stairs she stepped on. Turning left at the top of the stairs, she entered the door that Ryota had explained to her. Closing the door behind her, she grabbed the nearest towel and started to dry off. Her clothes and hair were still pretty damp, but at least she was fairly dry and no longer tracking water wherever she went. With a sigh, she came out of the bathroom and started going back to the stairs. Riss was tempted to look into the other room, but seeing how her host was being kind enough to give her a towel after the accident, she decided against it. Heading back to the bottom of the stairs, she confronted Ryota with a somewhat strained grin. “I’m dried off…” Riss paused a moment and tilted her head to one side. With a reluctant sigh, she looked up at her host with a more genuine smile. “I forgive you… and thank you for letting me into your home...”

[1327]

Creaking as they bore even the daintiest of weights, Ryota smiled in relief at her civil acceptance of his offer. Of course it had been readily apparent when the kunoichi had followed him home but that was irrelevant. A person may change their mind at any time. Closing over the white, double glazed door and twisting the handle upwards with a click of several locks within the frame, the ninja turned about, hand on hip and another to his heated forehead. With a lengthy exhalation the white hallway of his home seemd to stretch and blur as fatigue set in- Or no? Was it a blood sugar issue? Forming small 'o' with his lips this descendant of the mists puffed up his cheeks with forceful, hot breath.

"Right." He declared through a sigh, dropping his hand with his shoulders the boy walked on through the small hallway to the kitchen, hearing the telltale sounds of the unvarnished, unpolished four panel wooden doors creak on brass hinges and the rusted clack of the black wooden knob forming the handle squealing softly for a decent oiling. Departing into the kitchen he plucked an apple from a fruit bowl deposited upon the worktop, idly staring out into an embellishedly beautiful garden with a slight smile, dim glimmer of pride showing at his family's hard work into making this small oasis. As a few moments passed ans the apple tossed out into the garden, the teenager strode back forth into the hallway at hearing the door creak once more, awaiting his companion with quite a blank expression. After all, he had known people to be unnerverved by an uncalled for smile. Her strained grin and almost forced statement of affairs coaxed a small tug to the corners of his lips as a laugh was deftly suppressed. Indeed, he could see she was drier than prior. At the titling of her head his breath caught and expression dropped back to an empty display, panic mildly drawing up. Had she noticed?! Was she about to scold him? Tensing somewhat, Ryota feared a rebuke at his mirth. As his stomach intended to knot the sigh did so easily undo it, bringing him to nod affirmedly. Subtley releasing a breaht he never knew was held through mildly parted lips, the smile that came next warmed his hearts and her words even more so.

Beaming in return this ghost given flesh offered a small bow of gratitude and acceptance of thanks. "Please, it was only the correct thing to do. I am glad you're smiling again." Straightening his back again the smile persisted as less of a grin than before, lips now joined. "I must ask," Inquired Ryota as curiosity gripped his mind regarding the earlier morning. "Were you there to train this morning?" Came the question, blue eyes fixing on her own, looking for an asnwer.

[1513]

Riss was glad to see that her apology was taken with no conflict at all. Part of her expected a bit of retaliation when she apologized. She made a bit of a scene when she demanded that she be brought to his home simply to dry off. It was a rude move on her part, but her anger was definitely in control at that point. The most confusing part was probably how quickly she was through with her fit of anger. She hoped Ryota wouldn’t dwell on it and just assume that she was having an off day.

As Ryota asked her a question about why she was by the water in the first place, along with the quick mentioning of training, she took a few seconds to think about her answer. Riss brought a hand up and scratched the back of her head. “Training? No, I wasn’t going to train there this morning. I mean, I was thinking of doing something like that later today.” She shrugged her shoulders up, unsure if her answer was good enough. Before she was able to follow up and explain herself a little more, an idea popped into her head. With a large grin, she showed quite a bit of excitement over her sudden thought. “Maybe we could train together? If not today, maybe another day?” Riss had a couple reasons she wanted to get to know Ryota a little bit more. The first and most obvious being that she wanted to get a bit of revenge. Even though she said she had forgiven Ryota, that still wasn’t going to satisfy her need for a bit of friendly vengeance. The second reason being that she wanted to make a few more friends that were around her rank and age. Seeing as Ryota was one of the first to fit that description, she definitely wanted to befriend him. With a small nod, Riss put her hands behind her back and hoped for a positive answer from Ryota.

[1660]

The absent minded, casual expression of thought falling from this girl's repertoire of idiosyncratic expressions brought curiosity to his mind. It was not something often seen, in his mind Ryota had it set as a semi-intentional thing, no accident but then stranger accidents had happened in the great wide world. Giving an affirming nod at her answer, it was plenty satisfactory. The small smile persisted however, such a casual step around his question and an offer of a distracting answer.

Raising his eyebrows, the ghostly shadow was taken aback somewhat by the sudden surge of ecstatic behaviour and an unexpected offer. As the excitement caught fire in himself with a few first sparks reaching out, Ryota grinned a broad smile, breaking social boundary and patting her upon the shoulder, firmly yet still with a degree of softness and compatriotism. "I would be happy to!" His mind quickly skittered over sore muscles, a slight waining of his joints. Today? Tomorrow? There was a slot in the next week- "Ah, to the depths with it!" He decalred aloud, throwing his hands in the air and turning towards the door, fiddling with lock and key. "Today! Now, if you have the time?" Even though the request stretched forward he scarcely waited, ushering her from the house with a few quick shoves so he might yet lock the door and with that, he set off down the road. A training partner! THis would be new. Aside from being partnered on a day-by-day basis in the academy, Ryota had not known even the whispers of this bond since his days in the laboratory and not in more honest guise until before that in his days as a thief amongst the rain-slicked streets. As luck bore them both, sun shone down plentifully this day in contrast.

It seemed scarce moment before his jog elapsed the streets of stone and wood into the marshland and amongst that, a deft cut through obscured knolls and hills yielded a swifted path to their prior spot, close as it already was to the outskirts. Rushing up to the peak of that small cliff, the genjutsu user bend nearly full double, hands upon his hips and brath well caught in his lungs like a soft fire's first embers rising from ash. Oh yes, his limbs certainly reawkened at this run. Turning about face he called out, "So tell me! What would you like to train first?" In a voice excited through panting breaths, heaving clear air back into his lungs before long.

[1940]

Riss was glad to hear the boy accept. Knowing only a few people around her age and rank to train with, it’d be nice having someone that matches her. As for skill, no doubt the boy had a different set of abilities he’d be able to use on her. The only thing she could hope for was to keep the boy on edge and entertained enough during the spars that he’d like to spend time training with her again. Though there was a tiny bit of doubt, Riss tried not to worry much. With a grin, she responded to his question of time. “I’d be happy to train today. And even more so if we did so now.” A slight burst of energy caused Riss to jump once before heading to the training grounds with a bound in her step. The day had gone rather interesting for her. Having been scared into some water, giving a bit of lip to her new companion, and ending up befriending the boy and training with him. It struck her as odd how quickly the two became a group. She couldn’t truly call the boy a full ‘friend’, but there was a certain aura around him that she enjoyed. With a quiet sigh, she continued on to wherever they would end up training.


As the duo made their way to the grounds, Riss took note of her companion’s breathing. Whether it was heavy due to excitement or pained due to exhaustion, she would try to keep an eye on his condition while they trained. With a nod to acknowledge Ryota’s comment, she put a hand on her hip and thought. “I’ve been trying to work on different Fuuinjutsus… but I’m only experimenting. I’d like to work on them if that’s alright with you.” Her mention of Fuuinjutsu would definitely make Ryota aware of some of her skills, but as for how she used them, he would merely have to find out. With a slight adjustment of her belt, she made sure her kunai and equipment bag were safely within her reach. If the training was going to go how she thought, she would need a bit of range to fully show her style of fighting. Finally ending her mental checklist of equipment, she took a place across from Ryota and cracked her knuckles. “I’m ready when you are.”

[2054]

Pushing sweat laden hair back with a steady hand, a mirthy chuckle emerged from him at her declaration of fuuinjutsu practice. "Excellent!" He tacked on. "I've not had much of a chance to fight a fuuinjutsu user. It will certainly provide a most interesting match-up!" Encouraged the assassin with glee in his voice as his panting slowed and heaving of his chest receded. He supposed this made it an official first battle, eh? Invigorated even further, feeling the pounding pulse of his heart a drum beat to the coming spar the adrenaline coursed through his blood to wash away fatigue. Stood atop the very ledge Riss had taken upon herself to fall from, Ryota bent his knees slightly and assumed a stance not unlike that used in kendo, offering a bow before taking kunai in hand to wield tip upwards, other hand a palm ready to grasp, held about level with his chest and weapon leading further forward of the two. "I hope you don't mind," He began with a cursory wave of the tool.  "I'm not good hand-to-hand so I take up arms over fists." An urge to give it a stylistic twirl overtook him, grasping it once more blade up as a final, soundless breath escaped him. Birdsong, a gentle breeze and the sounds of crashing water rushed through his mind as his entire being; his entire focus shifted to give this girl his all. As his presence peeled away from the world with his words and what was once material became ghostly, the fact he could still be seen the only evidence he had ever walked through the world. As the last shreds of anything outside of combat filtered out of his mind, the concept of evaluating her abilities for future coalition came to a forefront before sinking back into the calm inner waters. Concealing the weakness of fatigue to offer no further advantage, Ryota drew in his breath and held it to further emphasise his focus as he slid closer a scant three steps with delicate footwork, easing down to the bottom of the slope and preparing himself to meet whatever physical assault she could try as he pondered the possibilities with only a hint of strategy in mind.

[2319]

Riss took a deep breath, calming herself and preparing for the fight. Her mind would have to be sharp during the entire spar. Having no clue what Ryota’s abilities were and not knowing how to counter such abilities were the first steps she would have to take to win. Lifting her head up and listening in on her partner’s words, she shook her head with a smile. “Don’t worry, hand-to-hand isn’t really my thing either… I prefer range!” Silently reaching back behind her she gripped a single shuriken and whipped her arm forward. The shuriken flew towards Ryota and flashed as the sun reflected off its shined surface. Whether or not Ryota was prepared to dodge it, deflect it, or take the hit, Riss wasn’t going to waste any time. She quickly removed one of her many kunai that she had stored in her pack. Checking its edge to make sure it was sharp and twirling it once in her right hand, she gripped onto it with the blade facing away from her. She had made the first move and intended to keep the pressure on.

Taking a few slow steps forward, her walk gradually turned into a full sprint as she closed the distance between her and Ryota. Her eyes examined her surrounding as she began running straight ahead. There was enough space to fight, as well as plenty of high ground. Snapping her focus on Ryota, Riss opened the palm of her free hand and slowed her momentum when she reached within a few feet of Ryota. Adjusting the position of her blade, she aimed to get close enough to perform a few quick hand seals and hopefully pull off a jutsu. With an upwards moving stab, she watched Ryota’s hands and feet, waiting to see if he would retaliate with a counterattack or jutsu. Her goal of getting in close was to find an opportunity to disarm or strike her opponent. Not being incredibly talented at fighting, she would have to adapt as the spar progressed.

(If possible, would I be able to get a hold of your weapon, as well as get at least one or two hits with a fuuinjutsu? I have to show their use in combat before they’re fully approved. Once I’ve shown them, I’ll try to make this fight as even as possible. Maybe even end it in a tie?)

Items Used:

[2393]

A slight vein of confidence had sprouted inside, leaving the lesser of the two ninja unprepared. Having expected a close combat approach following in the line of fuuinjutsu, Ryota drew a step back, shoe scraping along the dirt and kicking up dust on the dull overhang, swinging forward in an attempt to intercept the oncoming shuriken, a whir of breeze as the thrust of his kunai accompanied by the tearing of fabric ended in a thin cut displayed along where the tool had nicked his forearm before clattering to the ground. Yanking himself back onto the buffer of his left foot to push back into a sturdier stance the shinobi offered an exhalation to ease his wits against the stinging. It was admittedly trivial against his pain threshold but had caught him by surprise yet not a single inch of flinch was offered for the smart move againt him. Clenching his jaw blue eyes gazed out to watch for the next motion from this opponent. Cold sweat adorned his brow as did the salted taste of it. The lapse in psychology suddenly drew phantom weight to his limbs, the sounds of water drowning it steadily from an otherwise serene mind.

As a handful of excuses clouded his mind, he was tired, he had run! Food- As the words rattled in his skull the girl was soon darting towards him with nary a care in the world it seemed due to her confidence. She was quick, notably so for someone of their level. Rolling the tension from his jaw Ryota was left with no fruther time to react and returned the favour, flinging a single shuriken towards this foe from his off-hand with rusting aim as he bound back further up the ledge, giving a cautionary vertical swipe towards the approaching being with his kunai as his back foot found firm graps on the tips of the reaching rock, leading foot snapping to follow it. It was far too early to unveil a jutsu just yet!

Items Utilised::

[2655]

Riss’ eyes tracked Ryota’s hands as he flung a shuriken directly at her. She had barely enough time to notice it as it came flying towards her. Watching and waiting to see where the wind would take it, she quickly tilted her head to avoid it from slicing across her face. Instead, it sliced off a few strands of hair that were left in place when she moved her head. Her flexibility range was exceptional when dodging the shuriken, showing she had trained her reflexes. However, her foolhardiness would play a large role in the spar with her new companion. Not being one to stand down, she would most likely stay on the offensive no matter what.

Lifting her Kunai, she made contact with Ryota’s weapon, thus stopping both her attempt at an attack and her opponent’s as well. Here they remained locked for a brief moment, exchanging glances at each other. Riss kept her eyes on Ryota’s free hand, as well as his own kunai. It was only after her weapon started to give that she decided it was time to test out her first jutsu. It was rather early in the fight to be showing her hand, but she didn’t even think twice about it. Squinting slightly as she adjusted her grip on her kunai, she prepared her next move.

With a slight push of her kunai, she broke the lock between their blades and quickly started a short stream, of hand signs. The jutsu seemed to be done as quickly as it was started, showing Riss had some experience with multitasking. With a forward thrust of her hand, she would grab Ryota’s hand that held the kunai and begin to place a seal on it, she would then force his weapon to the ground, thus making the weapon to be locked in place on the ground. No matter what Ryota would do to try and retrieve it, the kunai would seem to be too heavy to lift. It would appear like the kunai would be a part of the ground. The seal would last for quite some time and allow Riss to fight Ryota with a bit of an advantage. If he had another kunai on him, it would merely be an inconvenience. Nonetheless, Riss would still make the most out of her seal and attempt to push Ryota away from the sealed weapon and further up the inclined rock.

Chakra 135/150:

[2796]

Staggering back to take something vaguely resembling his predetermined steps as the kunai effectively bonded with the ground and a fair amount of air rushed from his lungs, Ryota gritted his teeth. It appeared this girl had been slick and outsmarted him. She even managed to push him back! Grah! Such a basic miscalculation in tactics! Chalking the event further up to tiredness on his part the weapon wielder realised he was in a foul position with no hand-to-hand prowess to speak of. Having been intercepted and held in place with the sheer force of her friction behind the collision of blades had been quite a shock to the teen's system, shaking the Yuurei up internally and scrambling whatever self-superior mood he'd been in.

Arriving at the solid conclusion that gaining some distance between the two would be ideal Ryota leapt back, landing atop the pool of water hunched down on three of four limbs, the faint blue glow like some ethereal light about his feet and hand keeping him steady as he plucked another shuriken from the pouch at the rear of his belt in readiness displayed the usage of a jutsu to keep him afloat. Eyes upwards through unkempt hair the shinobi pushed off the surface of the water with his hand to right him back to full height with the shuriken nestled between his middle fingers and a harrumph of effort.

"Very good! I must admit I didn't expect that!" Came praise in heightened volume and quite a cheery tone. A grin grew from his scowl as his expression softened through the utterance. Flattery was one of the easier ways to goad an opponent into dropping their guard or becoming lax in their attacks but this was beside the point of his honesty at this interval. Opting to learn rather than assault just yet the watchful assassin rendered bladeless had elected to simply bide his time and observe what else she had up her sleeve.

Would she try to pluck the star from his grasp or another technique? Either way the boy tensed his midrift and prepared to take the next attack as best he was able to.

Jutsu/Chakra Used:

[3022]

Riss stepped forward and placed her foot on top of the water. With a downward push, she took a few more steps forward and kept her balance above the water. She seemed comfortable with walking on top of it. Putting her kunai back into its sheathe, she placed her hand on her hips and let out a quiet giggle. Ryota’s flattery definitely put her off, feeling relaxed, even for just a second. “I actually didn’t expect that sealing technique to work! Only bad bit about showing that off this early is the fact you know about my Fuuinjutsus now.” The fight was still on and Riss kept her guard up, but she took the time to comment about her own ability. Ryota’s praise worked in distracting her, seeing as she didn’t notice her opponent grab another shuriken from his belt.

Ryota didn’t seem to go on the offensive, other than throwing the shuriken. Though he didn’t seem to be too angry that she had taken away his primary weapon. Unless of course he had a weapon concealed that she wasn’t aware of. Riss would have been cautious getting in close if her opponent had concealed a weapon, but seeing as he started out with a simple kunai, she could assume she completely disarmed him of any larger weapons. Seeing as it was safe to go in for another attack, she put her hands together and started another stream of hand signs. As the signs started, Riss began to walk towards Ryota. As soon as the signs were through, she opened her right palm and rushed across the top of the water to where Ryota was standing. On her approach, she would reach with her open hand and slam it against Ryota’s chest. If she had made contact, the feeling in her opponent’s arms and legs would seem to drain. His chest would then begin to hurt. Riss would then follow up with a heavy strike to the pained area of his chest. Feeling would return to his arms and legs, but not before leaving him with a disrupted and leaking chakra flow that would quickly correct itself. Of course, if she missed or was blocked, she would quickly take another action to counter.

[3169]

Chakra 120/150:

Bobbing in his psuedo-pugilist's stance with a peculiar absence of ripples or pitter-patter of water Ryota had maintained a solid grin. He was beginning to have a great deal of fun with this as the cool breeze whipped across some reddening flesh under the gaze of sun at the back of his neck. Speaking with the same enthusaism as he threw a few testy punches in the air with his makeshift spiked knuckles, subtley adjusting his fingers about them with this frivolous show of a distraction in showboating. A feeling of amusement rose amongst his otherwise bubbling surface of soul, shunning the stinging burn as the drying skin tightened and complained down so many pathways. "Ah, come on." Came further encouragement, his tone oddly neutral with his regulated breathing giving a delusion of shaken focus about the edges of his words. "Don't put yourself down now, get creative!"
By this point she had come to close the distance, Ryota's gazed fixed steadily over her right shoulder. An idiot he was not, an enemy would only calmly approach for a steady and precise attack or for some kind of feint. Weighing his options as the ripples of her steps marking the glistening gold upon blue at their feet overtook his own spectral footsteps. Weighing his options a feint could render him unraveled and destroyed in his unarmed state yet her assumption of a solid strike for free in the guise of friendship would provide him ample chance. As she reached the striking distance of his tall frame the shinobi took no half measures, jabbing out with shuriken spiked fist albeit an untrained, messy blow he knew was sure to leave him regretting sooner rather than later. Being a sparring match he simply made vague aim at her shoulder, a moment of panic gripping him as he hand rushed towards his chest. The result would likely be he would come out worse for wear but a crazy tactic was just what it took to unsettle an opponent.

Chakra 100/110:

[3362]

Staring forward, intended on hitting her opponent, Riss didn’t seem to notice the blade coming towards her until it was too late. Biting her lip, she could have attempted to avoid the counter immediately, but decided to press forward. Ryota and Riss seemed to exchange blows. His makeshift spiked knuckle gliding across the top of her shoulder, for her direct hit into his chest. The cut stung as the blade sliced through her clothes and into her shoulder, but she remained focused and struck Ryota’s chest. The strike would leave him with numbed limbs, but also a pained chest. She was positive she got a strike off, so she quickly ducked low to the surface of the water and slid back.

The cut on her shoulder finally caught up to her as the adrenaline rush slowly started to disappear. Clutching her shoulder, she brought her eyes over the wound, only to see how bad she had actually been cut. Bringing her hand away and looking at it, her palm was absolutely covered. With a sigh, she put her hand back over the wound and shook her head. As painful as it was to move her arm, she waved her hand in defeat. If it wasn’t a spar, she would have continued on. But seeing as her arm would’ve continued to bleed out, it wasn’t work opening it up any more than it already was. “Gah… Sorry Ryota, that cut was a little too much.” In all honesty, she could have kept on, but not wanting the cut to turn into an ugly scar, she would have to feign weakness. “I concede.” With a roll over her eyes and a grin, she walked along the surface of the water to where Ryota was. “You aren’t such a bad fighter. You’re horrible with social stuff, but a good fighter.” She playfully mocked him, adding on a load of sarcasm to her words.

[3489]


((Hope you're alright if we end it here. It'd give us the introduction thing we would be looking for, and we'd be able to add Maigo in on a new thread later on. Yeah?))

(Makes a lot of sense. I apologise for slipping back not a trashy posting habit regarding time.)

Only a furrowed brow betrayed the burning pain as the star forged in iron bit rusted teeth through his skin. Ryota had accrued a remarkable tolerance for physical pain through his time, a body weathered against a storm of surgery. As the fabric and flesh opened like some blood slick zipper of a demon's grotesque jacket it became apparent in this instant just how foolish the idea had been. Splitting beyond her shoulder a splat of crimson splashed against the ground, a faint line of pain in memoriam no less. Indeed, to his chagrin the girl had elected the option of an eye for an eye, recoiling with a staggered and windless breath bent double as if some great heap of brick has been deposited upon his back, a sheer lack of sensation crawling across his chest as the other hand waved the heated pain through cool air, shuriken protruding from 'tween his fingers.

After a few moments of panic as roots of nothingness burrowed through his torso and gorged faintly on his limbs drew his mind in every direction to bare it threadbare, it drew to him that in fact his life was not drawing to an end but he was simply ensnared in a technique. Drawing up with his arm now neatly snug about his midrift, tapping on his lowest rib to keep a semblence of sanity against the encroaching fear he called up with a smile, "R-really?! Could've at least numbed my hand, gosh..." His heavy sarcasm almost dripped as thick as his breathing. Head dropping back down, Ryota nodded in acceptance of her concession. "'preciated!" The number ninja gasped out, breaking his usually somewhat composed speech patterns. Biting the imaginary bullet, Ryota hooked a finger into the shuriken embedded in his hand and yanked it from his hand, pressing the broken skin firmly to his clothes in effort to stem the flow as he steeled his body against the fresh hurt.

Riss's own sarcasm yanked a smirk from him. Ok, she had a good sense of humour and seemed to have appealed to his wit. As the day went on he'd wind his way home, finding a neat new scar some time later to always remember this first meeting.

[3740]

[End]