Today was a day of anxiety for Strafe. He was going to take on one of the biggest challenges of his life. He woke up to a gleaming light that pierced the window like a dagger. After rubbing his eyes with his index fingers, he lifted himself to a sitting position on the side of his bed. He had just woken up and was already slightly nervous about today. He stretched his arms behind his head before standing up slowly and walking to his closet once again. He didn't need to look nice today, so he just grabbed his regular attire composed of white and blue. He immediately started putting on his clothes at a slow pace. He then walked over and grabbed his shinobi sandals, putting them on. He walked over to the left side of the room,, grabbing his equipment for the day. First his Kunai pouch which was standard with every ninja. His second item was not as common though.

He then picked up a metal bo-staff and held in in both hands, looking it over and getting a feel for the wait. The Staff of Hurricanes, or so it was called, was a gift from his father that he was presented. While he had never thought about using a staff in combat before, he would not waste a perfectly good ninja tool based on nerves. Strafe switched it over to his right hand and looked around his room again before walking through the door. He turned to his right sharply and started descending down the stairs. He finally made it to ground level and walked around a corner before seeing his mother in the kitchen. He smiled and spoke with love. "I'm heading out to train! Love you!." He said smiling before turning to the door and opening it. "Love you too!." Was all he heard before exiting through the threshold an into the yard of his house. He immediately walked over to the street, only to be met by his favorite comrade, Momaru. "How are you this morning?" The gigantic lion asked with a smile and a soft tone. "Great! Ready to train?" Strafe asked jumping on the majestic creatures back. Momaru didn't have to answer that question, as Strafe already knew the answer.

The grey and black colored lion's paws hit the ground softly as they made their way to the Swamp of Sorrows. Strafe had been training there since he was a young lad, so this felt only right to do. There would be plenty of things to try his Bojutsu on, including who he was riding on. They had talked about it earlier that week. His final test of this training would be a fight with Momaru in close quarters. Strafe's thought process was interrupted by the lining of the swamp becoming visible. It was about to be time to take the next step in his ninja training by learning what close quarters combat is like. The duo entered the Swamp with a casual stride, knowing the place much to long to be caught in the traps of the swamp. Strafe's usual spot was only a few meters in, so it didn't take long to arrive at the small clearing. The area was scarred from the countless training sessions before, showing Strafe's dedication as a ninja. It was time to begin.

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Strafe sighed as he slid off of Momaru's back, holding his staff with a tight grip as he landed on the ground. He walked over to the middle of the opening, glancing at the sky as he got in a prepared stance. The sun reflected off the metal brilliantly, despite the mist that tried to interfere. Strafe took a few deep breathes, calming himself before he started his training. He looked focused and ready to become a better shinobi. His legs were spread at shoulders length, but the distance was vertical as his right foot was in front of the rest of his body. The staff was positioned behind his back, held by his right hand. It was time to start the first portion of a long training session. Suddenly, Strafe moved at blinding speeds, bringing the staff around his body horizontally as he swung it in front of him from right to left. He followed the staff's momentum with his own body, lifting off the ground and kicking in front of him while twisting. He landed gracefully and stood up. He moved the bo-staff in a slanted motion this time, using one side of it to strike. He didn't stop though, as he followed it up with another slanted strike using the other side of the weapon.

While this was going on, Momaru sat back quietly, smiling at how good Strafe was at this particular fighting style. It made him able to fight a distance while still being able to defend himself in close quarters. Strafe did not rest and slammed his staff on the ground vertically, vaulting over it and coming down with an axe kick. He landed in a crouched position with the staff in his left hand. He continued the kata with bringing the staff up and spinning it over his head horizontally. He stood and loosened his grip on the staff, bringing it forward through his hand. He stopped it before it escaped his grasp, emulating a stab with a sword. His body was extended forward, showing the full reach of the weapon he held. He then planted his left foot and twisted, crouching down as he did so while bring the staff around him for a leg sweep. Lastly, he stood up and bowed before wiping his brow with his hand. The smell of perspiration filled the air as he breathed heavily. He turned to look at Momaru with an expression of pride as he proved to himself that he was ready for such a weapon. Momaru only nodded to the young shinobi.

Strafe walked over to the Lion with a sigh as he reached for a bottle of water in his backpack beside Momaru. "How did I do?" He asked with a smile before taking a big gulp of water. "It went really well. Your creativity has improved and your quite fluent with it now." The fur covered mammal said as he looked to the boy with earnest eyes. "I don't think you have much trouble with someone like me." He said chuckling as he tried to lighten the mood of the upcoming spar between the two of them. Strafe just shook his head as he continued to guzzle the water from the bottle. His mind started to think of the time that Momaru and he met. It was a time of desperation for Strafe, and a time of heroics for Momaru. He could remember like yesterday how he was surrounded by what he assumed to be rouge ninja looking to send a message to Kirigakure. He would have surely died if Momaru had not stepped in and killed the majority of them within a few minutes. His power was incredible and that was for sure. Momaru had saved his butt on many occasions and now Strafe had to spar with him. It was something he just wasn't comfortable with.

"It will be fine." Momaru said immediately ready Strafe's face. "We both are powerful and skilled enough to test each other without their being any injuries." Strafe nodded to him in agreement. He just didn't want to end up hurting someone who he owed his life to. He shook the thought out of his head and finished the water in the bottle. Despite some of the sun being blocked out by the mist, it was still kind of hot. Most likely, it was because of Kirigakure's high humidity, but that was normal. Maybe Strafe just wasn't used to doing this much moving while carrying something that heavy. His new weapon definitely wasn't light by any means. He crushed the water bottle and threw it back in his bag before turning back to Momaru with a serious look. It was time to start the spar. Momaru nodded as they turned and walked to the middle of the opening. Once there, the stepped back until their was ten meters in between them. Their eyes locked one more time to give each other confidence before they started. This was going to be interesting.

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In a split second, Momaru crossed the gap and raised his mighty paw to swing down at Strafe from the right side. Strafe properly responded with blocking the swing with his staff, though he almost couldn't handle Momaru's strength. Strafe decided to go on the offense immediately and twisted the staff around his body, swinging it horizontally at the large beast with great speed. Momaru raised his left paw to meet it, blocking it for the most part. A little sting ran through the area of contact, but the lion payed it no attention as he moved his right limb high in the air and brought it down at an alarming speed. Strafe instinctively jumped back to dodge it. Retreating was far from his plan though as he planted one end of his staff into the ground, using it's strength to vault himself in the air. Once he reached the peak of the jump, he formed an axe kick and brought it down hard towards Momaru. The lion used his unique speed to swat the leg enough to send Strafe off balance. Strafe tumbled to the ground with a thud, breathing heavy as he did so.

"You ok?!" Momaru asked with a concerned voice as he nudged the staff over too him with his nose. "Yea, let's continue!" Strafe said ignoring the slight pain in his hip as he quickly got back on his feet to continue the spar. He took an odd step towards his staff, doing a one handed cartwheel and grabbing the weapon at the same time. He landed with precision and spiraled his body downwards, swing the staff outwards while doing so. He attack was aimed to hit the lion's feet and cause an opening for a follow up. The gymnastics were just a distraction. Momaru tried to dodge the attack with all four feet, but couldn't get off the ground in time to save his back left leg. The staff crashed into it, making Momaru wobble a bit. Strafe took no time to hesitate as he brought the staff vertically up his body, aiming to hit the under side of the lion's shoulder with it. Momaru's focus came back just in time to dart to the left and dodge the attack completely. He landed with grace as he looked at Strafe with pride. He was doing a great job thus far. Strafe smiled a bit as he realized how good he had done thus far, but he couldn't focus on that for long, as he had to keep the pace up to simulate a real combat experience. A real enemy would not give him such a break.

Momaru thought the same thing as he lunged forward at Strafe, bringing his claws down diagonally in an attempt to catch Strafe off guard. Strafe responded with haste as he brought his staff over his head and met the paw in the air. The strength of Momaru made the staff wobble in Strafe's hand, while Momaru's paw was starting to throb. Strafe took no time in continuing his plan as he brought the staff down horizontally and held it with both hands. He swung the right side of it at Momaru, letting the momentum carry it around his body and then attacked with the left side in a similar manner. Momaru cracked a smirk as he pushed off his front limbs and stood on his back legs to dodge the attack while hoping to use his height as a distraction or scare tactic. Strafe grabbed the staff on both sides, sliding back into a defensive stance in response. Momaru's plan had worked, or so he thought. Momaru's claws came down with a mass of momentum behind them as he swung at Strafe with one paw after the other. Strafe immediately responded with spinning the staff in his hands in front of him, hitting both paws before the could come into contact with him. Momaru grimaced at the sharp pain that ran up his front limbs, making him leap back to give himself some time to rest for a second.

Strafe knew that he had the comrade on the ropes, hoping to finish the spar with one more move. He stopped spinning the staff and slid his grasp to the bottom of the weapon. He then lunged at the beast with the staff raised behind his head. He came down with it, using the momentum and weight of the weapon to his advantage as he attempted to connect with Momaru's back. The intelligent animal realized where the attack was aimed and responded by standing on his hind legs once again. His front paws moved above his head as he sandwiched the staff in between his hands, stopping it completely. Strafe's eye became bigger as he could no longer move his staff by his own strength. Momaru only smiled at the boy before he started to speak. "I think the point has been proven. You are ready to use this in real combat." He said with a sense of pride that sounded much like that of a father's voice, or so Strafe thought. The young jounin's teeth beamed as his smiled big and relaxed his body. The lion let go of the staff and returned to all four paws. They both walked over to the bag that Strafe brought along. Strafe opened the bag and started to search through it before sighing. "I knew it would have been smarter to pack multiple bottles of water!" He exclaimed as he let the bag fall from his hands to the ground with a thud.

"You have the ability to create water." Momaru said chuckling as his tired friend was obviously not thinking clearly after such a hard work out. Strafe scratched the back of his head and laughed as he realized that his friend was correct. He lifted his head to the sky and opened his mouth, letting out a stream of water that wasn't very powerful. The water flew into the air a few meters before falling back down on the young shinobi's head, cooling him off in the process. While it wasn't what the jutsu was intended for, it certainly got the job done.

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Momaru Chakra: 50/75:

Strafe's Chakra: 290/300:

Strafe shook his head gently to get some of the water out of his hair, and turned to his comrade. "Well I consider today a success! Don't you?" He asked with high spirits. Considering what he accomplished today, he was justified in his happiness. Momaru smiled and nodded at his friend with approval. "You have done an outstanding job." He said kindly as he shook his paw to try and ease the pain. "Sorry about that. Here, let me help." He said walking over to Momaru holding his hands out. Momaru laid on the ground and flipped both of his paws over for Strafe to do some minor healing. Strafe's hands and the area around them started to glow green, signifying that the Zenchi Te no Jutsu was in use. It would take just a few seconds to heal up the minute injuries that were present, making it a task that didn't take much chakra or attention. Strafe finished on Momaru and moved his hands over to his side. He was sure that he bruised himself when he fell on it, so healing it would be smart. After a few minutes of focusing on the jutsu, it was healed and Strafe deactivated the technique.

"Better?" Strafe asked as he walked over to pick up the backpack he brought with him before throwing it over his shoulders. " Much Better!" Momaru said thankfully as he stood back up and walked over to Strafe. He looked around one more time before grabbing his staff off of the ground and planting it into the dirt. He used this familiar move to vault himself onto Momaru's back with ease, setting the bo-staff in his lap when he landed. His weight wasn't much, so the fancy way in which he climbed on him had no effect on the lion. Momaru turned to exit the Swamp and darted forward with incredible speeds. He jumped a few times to dodge small marshes before exiting the swamp with a sigh. They enjoyed the training sessions, but it was always nice to know that you had finished one and accomplished something. Exiting the swamp always reminded him of how nice that was. Momaru continued towards the village at a slower pace, seemingly walking now.

The trip back to the Residential District was not a long one and it wasn't particularly beautiful either. Strafe took that time to think on what Solstice had told him before the spar they had recently. He knew that he lacked strength back then and he couldn't always rely on Momaru for offense. He had to advantage of the skills that he was learning so that next time they sparred, he would be the superior by far. With Solstice's recent promotion to Kage and Yuudai's promotion to Clan Head, that spar seemed a long ways away though. Regardless of how unlikely the event was, Strafe was still going to be prepared regardless. Strafe was shaken out of his deep thought by the sound of Momaru speaking "What are you thinking about? You've been silent for ten minutes." He asked with curiosity as he looked over his shoulder at Strafe. "Just thinking about the future." He said with a smile as he met the beast's gaze with a look of assurance. He didn't want Momaru to have to constantly worry about it. He shouldn't have to and he won't if Strafe had anything to do with it. Within a few moments, they were back at Strafe's house and it was time for a rest for the both of them.

Learning Bukijutsu (Bojutsu) Training: 3078/3000 Completed