Word Count: 401/6000
3000 for learning Kenjutsu
3000 for Kenjutsu D>C

Chakra: 185/200

Fūton: Reppūshō:

The sun shone brightly overhead, not a single cloud in the sky. The heat in Sunagakure was overwhelming, to say the least, but for Gin it only meant that she was back home. She breathed in the dry air happily and sighed. It was definitely good to be back home. The young Kazekage didn't quite mind the scorching heat. In fact, she welcomed it. It gave her an excuse to wear as little clothing as possible. Granted, the young woman's body was still covered in bandaged from head to toe. She wore a purple gi and a white hakama over them. To be honest, covering herself so much felt unnatural. What could she say? Gin refused to get further treatment at the hospital. Her hatred of all things involving medical ninjutsu won over the pain that she felt every time she moved. Third degree burns still covered her back, a couple of her ribs were still broken and she had bruises and scrapes everywhere. Just the results of a battle between two Kage, really. Speaking of which, Jurou had still yet to hold up on his end of the bargain. Gin had fought him fair and square. And she had stopped drinking. But she supposed she could collect that bounty later. Naiya was still strapped to her side, though it wouldn’t be for long. She planned on giving it to Jurou once they met up again, as a symbol of their new friendship. But that would come later. Now, Gin needed to catch up on her training, particularly for ninjutsu. Her swordsmanship hardly left any room for improvement, while her skills in ninjutsu were still somewhat lacking. In any case, she could easily take care of that in the Sand Arena, which was where she was headed to. She walked down the streets of Sunagakure, greeting the people who acknowledged her presence as she passed by. It was nice to receive a warm welcome. It was nice to be back home in general.

Gin ran a hand through her hair as she finally approached the arena. The place seemed empty enough, all the better for her to train. She knew that she would likely have to channel part of Sunagakure's budget to fixing the damned arena after she was done, so best to have it empty so that she could wreck it in peace and tranquility. Then again, she already had to pay Konoha to repair the Dense Forest. All of the expenses from her battle with Jurou were now on her back since Kirigakure was both broke and nonexistent. Gin sighed miserably. She had forgotten that being back home meant taking care of her dreaded administrative duties again. God, how she hated paperwork. But there would be time for that later. She had to focus. Gin entered the arena absentmindedly, assuming that it would be empty. However she heard... was that someone cursing? Gin stood by for a moment, redirecting her gaze towards the source of the consistent whining. She smirked, recognizing the man's black hair and generally rugged appearance. She stood in silence, watching him. Was he holding a sword in his hand? Everything from his stance to his grip was downright wrong. He had likely never held a sword in his life. Gin laughed, she couldn't hold it back anymore. Of course, she winced. "Ouch," She mumbled under her breath, holding her hand to her broken ribs. God, laughing was painful.

The young Kazekage made her way around the arena, towards Trilby, one of her former students. She had heard that he managed to make a name for himself while she was gone, though she didn't quite know the details. Doing so would require reading something lacking erotic content, in other words, paperwork. She once again shuddered at the thought of having to go back to her office later. "Your skills are quite pathetic. If you keep on holding that thing as if it were a wooden stick, it'll keep on being no more than just that," She said, going directly to the point. No need to beat around the bush, really. No need for greetings or introductions, either. They already knew each other well enough. "Let me show you what real Kenjutsu looks like." Gin motioned for him to step aside and grabbed one of the wooden swords that Trilby had brought with him. She stood in a simple and basic stance and stared at the training dummy for a fraction of a second before lifting the sword above her head and rapidly slicing down, aiming at the dummy's head. Her natural strength combined with the well placed blow were enough to tear the thing in two unequal halves. Gin smiled to herself. Thankfully, her limbs hadn't been fractured during the fight. She handed the wooden sword to Trilby and started going towards the other end of the arena.

[813/3000]

Gin walked towards the other end of the arena. Might as well start her training, though having Trilby there would likely make things more difficult. It was such a bother to have to mind her strength while training. She should have gone up to the Kazekage’s Peak. No one bothered her up there, after all. The damn thing was practically a private bunker that was at her disposal whenever she wanted it. However, that would mean climbing up a mountain, which was something she was in no condition to do. Hell, she was technically in no condition to train, but who cared? Maybe it was a good idea to have the Spacial Jounin around. He could drag her to the hospital after she passed out. Yes, that would work out wonderfully. Now all she needed to do was think of a way to have him stay inside the arena. Maybe she could give him a something to work on, a piece of advice to further aid his rather pathetic attempt at trying to hold a sword. She chuckled. Who in hell tried to teach himself kenjutsu when he clearly had no natural talent for it whatsoever? Gin shook her head.

The young Kazekage closed her eyes for a brief moment. She took several deep breaths and alienated herself from what surrounded her. She focused on the flow of her chakra within her own body, the source of all of her power. The energy coursed through her veins. It was a wonderful feeling, especially during a fight. There was nothing quite like the mixture of chakra and adrenaline running through her body as she tried to strike down an opponent with her blade. No, the feeling was quite unique. It was one of the things she lived for, really. She began performing several hand signs, trying to execute one of her wind jutsu. However, she stopped when Trilby addressed her. She turned towards him and cocked her head to the side. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?" She said, sounding rather annoyed. This was one of the reasons why she often trained alone. Training with others was often distracting and hardly ever yielded any benefits. There was little she could learn from someone of a lower rank, other than a new specialty altogether. But it was best to leave that to a further date. She would much rather spend her time focusing on improving what she already knew before attempting to learn something else. In other words, ninjutsu was her priority, though learning Fuuinjutsu from Trilby sounded rather tempting. But it was best to wait for the man to reach a higher rank and skill before she asked him to teach her his sealing techniques.

In any case, Gin walked towards Trilby, limping slightly from the wound that Jurou had inflicted on her leg. She groaned. It would take a while for that to heal on its own. And avoiding infections and taking medication was rather annoying. Gin scoffed at Trilby's comment. "Pathetic?" She repeated. "Really, now? Tell me, could you do any better without poking your one good eye out? I suppose not, or else you wouldn't be taunting me to try and show you more of what I can do." Yes, Gin was in a pissy mood. Her mood changed frequently, something she attributed to the overwhelming fatigue that she had been starting to feel ever since she came back from Konoha. That fight with Jurou had really taken a toll on her. The young woman yawned loudly and decided to sit on the ground, next to Trilby. She had an annoyed expression on her face. You could even call it a scowl. She eyed the sword, stuck blade first into the ground. She was skeptical. He wouldn’t offer to pay for her entire bar tab – which was a considerable amount of money, enough to buy a small apartment, really – if there wasn’t something more than meets the eye. And Gin was a rather cautious, almost even paranoid woman. When it came to anything that required tactic, she always had more than one plan. She considered every possibility, everything that could go wrong before she even made her first move. Or at least she usually did. In this case, she really couldn’t be bothered. She was much too tired, much too fatigued to care for caution. “I don’t drink anymore,” She said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking to the side. Should she just be smart and back away from the challenge? She wondered. Nah. She could be careful some other time. She would much rather be her impulsive self at the moment.

The young Kazekage stood up from the ground and walked over to the blade. She frowned. What could possibly be so special about it? She wondered. It looked like a regular blade. In any case, she wrapped both her hands around the hilt and pulled it towards her with all her strength. As she did, she felt the skin on her torso, left leg and back rip open. She let out a loud screech and wrapped her arms around her bleeding stomach. “You fucking son of a bitch!” She yelled weakly. Wait… weakly? What was wrong with her? The pain was excruciating, yes, but not worse than when the wounds had been inflicted on her skin. Why did she sound like she was about to cry? “That fucking hurt,” She whimpered. Her eyes were even watering. She collapsed on the ground and held her knees to her chest, thinking that that might stop both the bleeding and the pain. She knew nothing of medicine; she just went with her instincts. She dug her head between her knees and let out a shaky breath. What the hell was wrong with her?! Her head was spinning and she felt like she was about to burst into tears. It was quite unlike her, really. Gin usually withstood pain rather well, or at least she had all throughout her fight with Jurou. What was so different now?

[1825/3000]

So Trilby refused to believe that the young Kazekage had quit drinking. To be honest, she wouldn't believe herself if she didn't know what was at stake if she drank. She would lose both Soul Cutter and the twins to Jurou. Gin shuddered at the thought. Sure, the Mizukage was a good man. He was strong and very much capable for defending the two little girls. However, he had some trouble giving affection and warming up to people, even those within his direct family. He was a cold person in general, though he had a good heart and good intentions. The kids needed their mother to help guide them along as well. And now that the four of them were in Suna, maybe they could finally start acting like a family for once. The idea of it was something that Gin had looked forward to since she had the twins. It had always been made impossible by the fact that she and Jurou resented each other. She resented him for leaving Suna while she was pregnant. He resented her for ending their relationship. However, that seemed to be over. The fight they had had changed that, or so she thought. She touched her face and traced the edges of the scar that Jurou had left on her face with her fingertips. That was the only wound that had healed so far. She smiled, thinking that he now bore a similar mark for everyone to see. In a way, he was hers and she was his.

The young Kazekage was broken out of her thoughts by the pills that Trilby threw on the ground next to her. "Hm?" she uttered, cocking her head to the side. Tramadol...? Gin didn't even know what that was or what it did. So the pain would stop? What did he take her for? Some weakling? Gin was the motherfucking Kazekage! Besides, she hated medicine. The young woman slowly got up, doing her best to ignore her open wounds. She stared at Trilby and narrowed her eyes. "Who do you think I am?" She asked him, her voice menacing. "After about three years of being my student you still take me for some sort of small child?" She smirked and spat on the pills that the Special Jounin had thrown on the ground. She refused to take them. She would show him exactly what he could do, even in this state, with 3rd degree burns on her back and torso, a set of broken ribs and cuts and bruises all over her body. She was confident that she could still take him on. "I was able to fight the Mizukage himself with these injuries. Let's face it, you can't stand a chance even if I don't use my swords," She said, walking slowly to the other side of the arena. She untied the purple gi, removing it from her torso. Best get that burden off of her, revealing her torso covered in old bandages. Dried blood littered the cloth that covered her. She had yet to go to the hospital since she arrived to Suna, not that she cared. She avoided that place like the plague and for good reason. The doctors there already hated her. She didn't trust anyone there. At. All.

The young Kazekage untied Naiya from her side and dropped it on the ground next to her gi. "I'd let you borrow Naiya for this spar, but you would likely poke your own eye out and stab yourself in the face. So come at me with one of those training swords and let’s see if I can get you to do something that mildly resembles Kenjutsu with it. Start by fixing your grip on the blade or else you'll do zero to no damage with it," She explained. The Kazekage's arsenal of ninjutsu was limited, but she didn't care. It would only add to the challenge of facing Trilby. If anything, she could summon up one of her blades. That counted as a ninjutsu, right? She snickered. This would be interesting. Gin lowered her stance, wincing slightly. Her legs were in pain, but she would hold back on whining for now. She had a high tolerance for pain. Hey, nothing beats giving birth to twins, now, does it? Talk about pain. Gin shuddered at the memory. She hoped and prayed that she would never have to go through that again. Raising two kids was enough. Two more would just be insanity. She couldn't even picture what her house would look like. A total mess of melting walls, broken doors, shattered glass and burning furniture wouldn't be too far off. Again, she mentally shuddered.

But on to the matter at hand! She had to concentrate on the flow of her own chakra within her body and expelling it from herself and towards the outside, embedding it with her elemental chakra and turning it into ninjutsu. It was an art, or so Gin considered it. It wasn’t as beautiful to her as Kenjutsu was, but it was still something to be greatly admired and feared. A well executed mix between the two could mean someone’s death. It was quick and painless, a clean cut across the throat, a stab to the heart or a slice through vital organs in another person’s body. A blade meant power, not something to be taken lightly. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to focus on her other senses rather than her sight. She could hear the wind breeze by, lifting the sand beneath her feet and pelting her lightly. As long as the small grains didn’t get in her bandages she would be fine. She would avoid infections along with an unwanted visit to the hospital. She was just fighting a special Jounin, after all, what was the worst that could happen? Well, a lot of things, given her undying pride and willpower along with her current condition. Gin would likely drive herself to the edge before admitting defeat, just as she had done when she fought Jurou. And that had gotten her to how she was right now. But she cared little for that. There was nothing that Gin enjoyed more than a good fight, something that challenged her power and skill. That was why she dreamed of a death on the battlefield, at the hands of someone worthy, someone who greatly overpowered her. That would be the only instance when the Kazekage would admit defeat and therefore welcome death with open arms. But until then, she would fight for the thrill, the adrenaline coursing through her veins, rushing through her body. Albeit, the prospect of fighting Trilby wasn’t that thrilling. She knew how far his skills in Fuuinjutsu and ninjutsu could go. She had trained him, after all. Not only that, but he was now limited to using a sword. It was Hardly thrilling, really. But Gin would manage to get some fun out of it, she was sure.

[2987/3000]

Gin's back was still facing Trilby. She reached into her item's pouch and pulled out a rubber band to tie her hair. It was best to have it not get in the way while she was fighting. She wouldn't want it cut off for no good reason. She curled her silver locks of hair into a loose bun. There, that would help keep it in place for a while. "Hm?" She uttered as she turned towards Trilby. "Yellow... discharge?" She was unfamiliar with the term. She looked down at herself, particularly at the bandages wrapped around her torso. There was a slight edge of yellow along her blood stains. Did he mean that? Gin wondered. She knew practically nothing of these things. She usually just walked into the hospital and had people fix her and leaved it at that. "So that's yellow discharge?" She asked pointing at the stain. "I thought that was just the color blood turned when bandages got old," She shrugged, not minding the fact that it meant that she likely had infected 3rd degree burns underneath that. Oh well. She would take care of that. Eventually. Yes, eventually was a good time. For Gin, that usually meant when she was on the brink of death and crying and screaming in pain, unless someone else dragged her into the emergency room, though the later hardly ever happened. No one ever wanted to deal with that.

Gin walked over to Trilby. Best get this training started. The sooner she did, the sooner she could get back to her... ugh... never mind that. She didn't want to get back to her paperwork. She wanted and needed this distraction, this break from her administrative duties. She hated reading through reports with a passion, though maybe that was because she took the time to memorize every detail of what happened. She was very thorough, but she thought she needed to be. She was somewhat paranoid. She wanted to know everything that happened within Suna, everything that involved its people. That was why she often read the profiles of each shinobi within the Hidden Sand Village. The young Kazekage wanted to know what she had at her disposal at all times. That was the reason why she kept such close tabs on who entered, who left, who was injured, who was in health, who became a shinobi and who retired. Each of them had a role to play, one that she had to assign within the grand scheme of things. And she knew her students and their skills the best. She knew what Trilby could do down the most meaningless details. She was very observant. She knew that he had a particular talent for Fuuinjutsu and that his Ninjutsu was above the average. It would be fun to see what he could pull off with Kenjutsu. Gin was curious, now. “Come now, hit me with your best shot, Trilby,” She said.

Only a few moments later, he came at her with his real sword. Gin cocked an eyebrow momentarily. He had ignored a direct order from the Kazekage herself? How obstinate and hardheaded. His attack was predictable, his stance was weak. Well, she couldn’t really expect anything less from a mere beginner. No matter, she would make it her goal to fix it. He would become a decent Kenjutsu user when they were both done with this training session. And the young Kazekage thought she might as well train her own skills in Ninjutsu while she was at it. It had been her initial plan, after all. There was no reason why she should change her plan. She would just adapt it to training Trilby. As he came at her, Gin jumped in the air. Her timing was impeccable, what you would expect from a warrior of her caliber. But then again, Trilby’s attack was obvious. She would work to fix that. She had to admit, though, he had done a decent job, for a beginner. She landed on top of the flat end of his blade, which he had extended towards her. Now, it was time to correct his stance. Gin placed her hands on his shoulders, pushing them back and setting him straight as she crouched on his blade. “Keep your shoulders straight, eyes on your target. Your legs are too close together. Fix that, too. Also, bend your knees a little more,” She said quickly. She jumped from the blade once again. She concentrated on her chakra’s flow. She directed it towards her legs, particularly the soles of her feet. “Wind Style: Solid Air!” She yelled. The air below her feet instantly solidified, creating a solid surface for her to stand on.

Gin stuck her tongue out at Trilby. “Try to reach me now~” She called out to him, running on top of the air, simply taking her time to show off the fact that she was hovering a good five meters on top of him. Now it was time to actually attack him and see how he reacted to it. She would go easy on him at first. She saw no need to actually attack him seriously. She stopped, setting herself down in a stance. She smiled wickedly. “Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball!” She yelled loudly. A sphere of wind appeared on her hand. She threw it in Trilby’s direction. It flew towards him rapidly, with enough force to crush his ribs if it hit him directly. She did the same, five more times, launching them in towards different parts of his body, one at each limb and one at his torso. She would wait to see what he would do. A smirk was plastered on her face. This was bound to be fun. There was nothing like a decent fight, after all.

Word Count: 3952/3000

Chakra: 220/250

Spoiler:

Gin couldn't help but grin widely as she saw Trilby slide back a few feet. "Come on, now! Is that all you've got? Pretty pathetic if you ask me!" She yelled. Gin sat on the air crossing her arms over her bandage covered chest, waiting for Trilby to do something. She looked down at him and focused on his footwork. Wow. That... That left much to be desired. "That's beyond pathetic, Trilby. If anyone ever asks, you were never my student. That is, unless you do something decent for once, in which case you can feel free to flaunt the fact that the one and only Kazekage was your lovely teacher," She kept on taunting him, mocking him. Truth be told, she didn't quite mean what she was saying - which was made rather obvious by the large grin on her face. Gin only wanted to gauge a reaction from her former student. His stubbornness and pride often made him someone easy to tease. She stuck her tongue out at him. She rather liked using high ground to her advantage. That was one of the benefits of being able to use Wind Release and the jutsu that derived from it. She had taken an interest in other elements, Fire and Lightning, for the most part. However, nothing quite compared to Wind. Speaking of which! She had a new technique to train. Might was well get that over and done with. Who better to test it on than Trilby?

The young Kazekage was almost caught off guard by his next assault. Trilby had jumped several meters into the air in order to try and land a hit on Gin. Without much thought, Gin leaped from her current position, climbing several meters further into the air. She could stand at a maximum height of fifteen meters. Jumping up to eight was more than enough, though. That way she didn't necessarily have to yell for Trilby to hear her. Not only that, but he was still within range of the technique that she wanted to train. "Nice try, but with that awful footwork and lack of balance, you'll never land a single hit with that sword of yours. Yamato, is it? Might take that off your hands once this is over. My teachings require a form of payment, after all," She said, rather smugly at that. She stuck her tongue out at Trilby in an almost childish manner. What could she say? The young woman was having fun, despite her current injuries, possible infections and all of that. She could stand the pain. She was the strongest shinobi within Sunagakure, after all. “And now it’s my turn,” She said happily.

The young Kazekage sank down into a stance. Her eyes narrowed, though there was still a hint of mischief in them. It was the same with her smile and her expression in general. There was hardly a time when Gin was completely serious. She enjoyed what she did. There was no real need to take the fun out of things, was there? Gin took a deep breath, taking in as much air into her lungs as she could. She held it there for a moment, fusing it with the chakra that she had made travel through her body and towards her lungs in order to perform the technique effectively. Truth be told, however, she doubted the fact that she would get it right on the first try. She would likely make a fool out of herself, kind of like how she had done with Ezra when she had trained the current technique that was letting her stand on the air. She remembered falling several meters and landing on her ass. Oh well. These things happened all the time, especially when training something new and foreign. It was why she didn’t really hold Trilby’s awful stance and footwork against him. But on to the technique at hand! The results would likely make Trilby laugh his ass off, but that wouldn’t stop Gin from trying.

The young Kazekage placed all of her weight on her left foot in order to anchor herself in place. She quickly exhaled the gust of wind that had collected in her lungs and spun around in place. Gin made the gust of wind extend over a radius of ten meters, enough to reach Trilby. Just as she began to concentrate in order to sharpen the stream of wind, everything went slightly wrong. Gin had placed a little bit too much chakra into her attack. Not only that but she had also somehow forgotten to leave a decent amount of space between her own body and the strong wind currents dancing around her. The result? Fairly simple. Gin was launched several feet across the Sandy Arena, towards the bleachers at the other end of where she was standing. She skidded several feet away, barely managing to keep herself floating on the air. In fact, she had let herself drop several feet towards the ground. Gin got up slowly, rubbing her sore limbs and grunting. That definitely didn’t help with the pain. Well, at least she hadn’t sliced herself to bits, right? She still stood on the air and walked towards where Trilby was standing. No doubt he would be laughing his ass off. Gin sighed. Oh well! Nothing that could really be done until she got the jutsu right and blasted him with the slicing air current. She ran a hand through her long locks of hair. Despite everything, she still managed to look upbeat and somewhat smug. Trilby had yet to land a single hit on her, after all.

Spoiler:

While Trilby avidly searched for the sword he had so clumsily dropped, Gin attempted the new technique she had been studying for the first time. Of course she would wind up on the other side of the arena, crashed against the bleachers. Damn that hurt. The young Kazekage could feel her wounds splitting open. She let out a loud grunt. The fact that the wounds were likely infected didn't make things any better. If anything, it made the impact hurt even more. Nevertheless, this was hardly the time to let her guard down. This was a fight, after all, though she was limited to only using her small array of ninjutsu techniques. If only she had Soul Cutter with her, she would be able to test it out on her former student. She knew what the blade was capable of, though not in full detail. But that was still in Jurou's possession and she couldn't quite rip it out of his tiny little hands just yet. In a show of good faith, Gin would give him Naiya while he gave her Soul Cutter. The trade would work out perfectly whenever it came by. But for now, she was stuck using just wind techniques against her subordinate. Oh well, she could make this work in her favor, right? She didn't quite know how, since she had forbidden herself to use a sword, but she would manage. An idea would come up from somewhere. For now, she just had to concentrate on keeping the pain at bay. Why had she refused the medication, again? Oh, right, her pride had gotten in the way.

Well, what was left for her to do was get up and get her ass moving before he realized that she was vulnerable at the moment. The old blood on her bandages mixed in with the new one, which made it hard to tell that her wounds had opened up again. The way she saw it, she could still be able to remain conscious for the next half an hour before she gave in due to blood loss. She knew she would likely end up in the hospital after this. Great, just great... She didn't really need more time away from her duties. Gin was sure that after that trip to Konoha her paperwork would now occupy the entirety of her office. She sighed internally. The woes of being a high ranking officer within Sunagakure...

Now on her feet and ready, the young Kazekage could see Trilby charging towards her. She smirked. She knew what she had gotten wrong the last time she attempted the jutsu and would therefore avoid making the same mistakes. After all, despite her looks and careless demeanor, Gin was a very talented kunoichi. She learned rather quickly and worked to notice her own mistakes. She would just have to concentrate, even though the time she had to react was limited. Still, she wouldn’t let herself get bested by someone three ranks below her. She had a reputation to uphold, after all. Gin’s eyes narrowed in on Trilby. She quickly extended the palm of her hand. Time seemed to freeze for her as she closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt a light breeze hit her skin. She breathed in the air into her lungs, repeating the process of infusing it with chakra. She quickly got into a stance, anchoring her weight on a part of her body so that she could spin around in place. As Trilby approached, Gin yelled out “Wind Style: Vacuum Wind Wave,” She executed the jutsu, covering a 20m radius with cutting wind, sharp enough to cause deep wounds and gashes through the skin. Once she was done, regardless of whether or not she had trapped Trilby within her technique, she would smirk and pat herself on the back for having gotten it right.

Spoiler: