Mure stood next to the river. His shirt and mask removed as he practiced his breathing. Along his body every four inches up and every four inches across was a grid pattern of pinky sized holes. All the way up to under his chin. Slowly he exhaled a breath. A thin white mist against the morning cold. His dull yellow eyes watched as it seemed to fade away to nothing. However for now he would sit cross legged in his shorts in the cold water. His bugs shifted much earlier out of the lower half of his body for the time being. He was doing this as part of his martial arts training. To ignore the element of cold and allow the harshness to toughen him. Still he was not a master yet and he had to grit his teeth to keep them from chattering. Still he focused his breathing and folded his hands just above the water and began his meditation in earnest. He had been given a letter of approval for his training request but he had gotten here early for some warm ups of his own. Still his mind wandered as to who his martial arts Sensei would be. It forced him to take longer to clear his mind. He needed to focus on feeling each muscle and its flexibility. He started with his right arm, Lifting it and moving it in fluid motions in the form of chinese martial arts. He then moved on to his left arm to contemplate the slower movements but equal flexibility. This was a decent improvement from when he had begun training himself.

Slowly he rose from the water and moved to the bank. he could feel the sand between his toes as cold as it was as he moved over by his clothes and gas mask in the grass. He gave those a passing glance before continuing to his training spot. It was an old Uchiha training ground so it was in poor repair but it held some use to it still. The work out material still stood strong. His yellow eyes seemed so dull as they looked over the area. The punching poles...A spot to do pull ups. The punching bag. Weighted arm pullies and leg pullies. He examined it all with a passive shrug before he himself began to stretch. His legs where important to stretch to avoid cramping. After that was done he bent backwards to stretch out his back with a popping noise. He didn't have much for abs but it was clear he was not unused to training. He was thin but a slim muscle build. As he bent backwards he lifted onto his hands. Holding a hand stand for a moment before lowering his feet to the ground on the opposite side they hard started on. His body now felt flexible and stretched. So he would begin training his body until the sensei got there.

Silently he bent down over his coat and reached into the coat pocket. Pulling out an ipod and head phones. He placed the head phones in and turned on the Pandora station listening to wings of a butterfly come onto his head set. He wrapped the cord around his wrist and tucked the ipod into his right fist as he began his jog. The training grounds as a big field. A little bigger then a hundred yards by ten yards in span. He did not mind though as he began to run. The chill of the morning making each practiced breath into a thin mist of vapors behind him. Sweat matted his back after several laps around the track. His mind however began to drift back to the person that would be arriving to train him. Would they be scared of him? would the holes on his body bother them? He certainly hoped the person in question would be understanding to say the least. Still he doubted he would adore them as he adored his master of the blade. Such was his adoration for the man that he grinned slyly. Oh yes the poor man thought he was just another boy wanting training. Yet he would find the identity behind that mask. The man would be his.

Finally after six laps he allowed himself to stop and drink from his flask of water. Turning off the Ipod and tossing it down onto his coat. His body was wet with the sheen of sweat. Which the bugs seemed to poke out and collect like drinking water of their own. Before retreating back into the depths of the holes. He did not mind in the slightest. However it was time to continue his body training until his trainer got there. He dropped down onto the grass in push up position using his finger tips instead of his palms. Slowly lowering himself and then raising himself. This put more strain on the muscles by doing it slowly. But he was not done with it until he had done thirty reps. With the slow pace it was fare more for a warm up then many would think. Next was sit ups. He pushed himself hard with his palms on the ground to flip rapidly onto his back. It was from his back that he would sit up and turn both ways before laying back. He would do this slowly as well until he had done thirty reps. Next was the pull ups. He moved over to the bar with his right hand reaching up to tug on it. It didn't seem to budge even if the rust seemed to stick to his palm. Either way the equipment seemed sturdy enough. He planted his feet and bent at the knee's before launching upwards. He was only five foot four so he had to jump a little higher then the ones the gear was apparently meant for. Still both hands grabbed hold of the bar and he squared himself. Before doing 30 slow reps of pull ups where he would pull himself up, shift from side to side and then let himself down. Before he was finished with his warm up and washed his hands preparing to wait for his sensei.

{Training Taijutsu C-B 1037/1800}

Ukiyo casually leaped through the trees of Konoha's dense forest, weaving in and out of branches as she spun and flipped. Each time she landed on a branch she would leap off it, a lot of the time not even moving forward towards the river. Instead she would jump up to a higher branch, grab hold, and swing herself on top of it. All of this, only to continue the spin 360 and drop back over the edge of the other side, still holding on. As she traveled, Ukiyo stopped frequently to observe the wildlife; both plants and animals alike. She slowly rubbed leaves, bark, flowers, fruit, everything she could get her hands on, with her fingers. She smiled blissfully in the warm summer sun, a light breeze rustling the plants around her. With her eyes closed, Ukiyo would detect every fine detail of the plants: their contours, their moisture, roughness, oils, everything. She relished the opportunity to study them, feeling closer and closer to her family with each passing second. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. She turned her attention to some bark, which she scraped lightly with her finger nail and smelled before feeling. You seem quite healthy. And your skin is so fine! What's your secret? She giggled as she rested her cheek against the bark, feeling around the trunk with her hands. Everywhere she touched was extremely rough and dry, as she expected. However Ukiyo didn't let this fool her; she knew that the bark was rich with moisture and covered with a fine dust. She pressed her fingers against it, sweeping up some of the treasured substance, then placed it on her tongue. It was extremely bitter and somewhat unpleasant, but Ukiyo appreciated it for its rich nutrients and the intimate nature of its creation. She stood up, still smiling, and yawned. Ukiyo stretched her arms out wide and brought her toes to their tips as her legs extended, the gentle breeze caressing her outstretched body.

As she continued her way to the river, Ukiyo contemplated the nature of her visit. Aburame Mure, eh? I must say I'm excited to meet an Aburame; their relationships with insects is uncanny. I only wish I could have such an intimate connection with those beautiful creatures. The insect friends I have are pleasant enough, but we lack true communication and our time together always seems short lived. I wonder how he interacts with them? I bet they're friends, best friends. No, more like a family. Like he's their guardian...just like I am to you. Ukiyo brushed her hands along leaves and branches as she leaped through the woods. She was quickly approaching the edge of the forest and would have to leave the cover of trees soon, which saddened her. Don't worry; I'll be back shortly, I promise. And when I get back, we'll spend the rest of the day together, promise! This wasn't much of a promise, seeing as she spent almost all of her time in these woods. She came to the edge of the woodlands, where the trees thinned out until there was nothing but field. The field quickly met with the Naka River, which was wide with quite strong currents.

Ukiyo stood on one of the few trees remaining, and look out near the bank. There, she saw a young man exercising on various equipment set up near the bank. He was about her height, though there was something very off about him. Holes covered his body every few inches, which Ukiyo could only assume was due to the insects residing inside his body. Interesting. Verrry interesting. She hopped down from the tree and began approaching the training grounds, noticing a fan symbol on a post outside it. Tsk, Uchiha. She said with resentment. Ukiyo passed the post and proceeded into the training area, where she approached the young man who she presumed to be Mure. Oy! Aburame Mure? She was smiling widely, excited to meet the young man and excited to train with him as well. He contacted her about practicing Taijutsu, which was a bit of a disappointment because she wanted to see his bugs up close. Perhaps a few will slip out. She thought to herself hopefully. Ukiyo stood before the young man in her usual white clothing, though it was mostly brown by now due to the dirt. Her skin, too, was filthy, and her hair greasy and a mess. She didn't seem to notice this, however (being as it was her usual state), as she waved to the boy. I'm Ukiyo. She began to close her eyes as her smile grew, a habit of hers she picked up from living in the woods. In the wild, animals show trust for one another by closing their eyes, naturally showing they don't expect the other to attack. Ukiyo waited for his response, bursting with excitement but containing it as best she could.

832

His dull yellow eyes seemed to browse over the work out area. It was nearing the appointed time for his Sensei to arrive. When he had requested this it was because he had hoped to be trained by the best. And was told he would be trained as he wished. So he knew whoever was coming was insanely strong. Much like the ANBU captain that was training him. He wondered if they where both so strong if they knew each other. Of course he had no idea of the Anbu captains true identity. Or he would know they where both the Kage's personal guards. If he knew that then he would know how truly honored he was to even be speaking with them yet alone being trained to be better by them. Of course this was just a precursor of things to come. He intended to defeat any who opposed the Kage and one day be able to even challenge the Sannin. The Senju however worried him. Much like himself they took nature as their weapon and guard. However where he took the insect population they took the habitat itself. With such an adjusting habitat he would have to plan things out a lot differently. His fist clenched as he looked down at it cursing himself for his own doubt. It was foolish to doubt in such a way. After all he was daring enough to train in the old Uchiha lands. He had heard how the Uchiha had effected history and didn't trust them for shit. Yet here he stood on the grounds where they had begun. Where history had taken its turn by allowing such predators to grow en masse. How many habitats had been burned away or torn down just because an Uchiha wanted revenge on the world?

"Selfish"

It was then that he sensed he wasn't alone. Excitement flooded into him as he turned just as someone called out to him. His Sensei must have arrived. Still his eyes widened and he stood there blinking. A girl about the same height as himself was approaching. And she seemed so tiny. But he had no thoughts of judgement against her physical looks as for the moment the sun seemed to glint off her eyes. Even though she was very dirty she had a natural beauty too her that made it hard to believe she had ever experienced a battle. How could one attack such a beautiful being? Her very smile chased away his dark thoughts about the Uchiha as she introduced herself. A wave of her hand was enough to slightly snap him out of his reverence of her even as her smile grew ever larger. Even with her eyes closed her beauty seemed innocent and natural. This was the Senju who had come to train him. He was rather shocked by the appearance of the Jounin. He had imagined them all to be terrifyingly strong on first glance. But she defied all logic to such. No part of her was even slightly intimidating. As a matter of fact she was incredibly friendly and social. He wondered if he would of met her had he actually attended the academy instead of just taking the graduation exams after his own self study. This train of thoughts left him standing there with his mouth hanging open for a couple of second. He had a tendency to get lost in his thoughts. Still he snapped back to attention and a blush crept into his pale cheeks as he remembered she was here on his request and he was being rude. Quickly he bowed his head in a respectful manner.

"Ah! Yes I ..I am Aburame Mure...you...you may refer to me as you see fit Ukiyo-Sama."

He said a little ashamed of himself as he straightened after a moment. The taijutsu training was about to begin and he was curious as to her fighting style. But first he needed to take care of one thing first. He smiled back to her before he spoke once more. His voice was soft with out the mask distorting it.

"Before we begin Sensei I must first attend to my friends. Under normal circumstances they would attack anything after me. So I will excuse them to play in the neighboring habitat."

He smiled and took two steps back. Slowly he raised his arms and closed his eyes focusing his thoughts. For a moment nothing happened but then his head fell back as if relaxing and the beetles of every color and assortment flew from the holes on his body. it didn't look painful in the slightest as they seemed to spread out from him like a colorful set of giant wings. He lowered his head as finally a rather bright colored one climbed out of his palm. Bigger then the others, The queen. He spoke to it as if in a lovers whisper.

"Keep the others out of trouble and play well."

Before he lifted his hand and she flew away. The rest of his flock seemed to stream after her like children after their mother. A loud buzzing noise slowly fading away. He watched them a moment with a pleased smile as they disappeared into the nearby forest but still within his range. He then turned to his master and clasped his right fist into his left open palm and bowed his head.

"I am ready to learn if you will teach me."


(Training Taijutsu C-B 1948/1800 complete.)

Ukiyo waited for the young man's response, wondering if perhaps she approached the wrong person. It seemed unlikely, given the boy's body and the fact that no one else was around. Ukiyo didn't let this thought bother her though, she simply smiled as she waited for his response, keeping her eyes closed. At the sound of his voice, Mure seemed a little surprised to see her, yet pleased. As he spoke, Ukiyo opened her eyes and saw him bow. She awkwardly chuckled a little bit as he addressed her, Sama? No one's refereed to me that way before. Just Ukiyo, please. She scratched her head, rustling her hair and making it even messier, and laughed some more. The young man's actions flattered her: blushing, bowing, "Sama". Ukiyo thought it was rather cute. She smiled warmly at him, making the Hare hand seal proceeded by the Monkey. As her hands slid into place, she held them in front of her stomach and bowed to him in return. Her hair drifted down in front of her face as she bowed, making Ukiyo giggle at it. She lifted her head back up with some force, throwing her hair back out of her face.

"Before we begin Sensei I must first attend to my friends. Under normal circumstances they would attack anything after me. So I will excuse them to play in the neighboring habitat."

Ukiyo's eyes perked up as she tilted her head. Oh? Are these his insects? She watched in anticipation, excited to see the Aburame clan's ability with her own eyes. Mure turned around, lifted his arms out in front of him, and then slowly tilted his head back. Suddenly a magnificent swarm of insects of every imaginable color began flooding out of him. Ukiyo's eyes widened dramatically and her smile dropped open. She watched as the spectacle took place before her; a rainbow of insects filling the summer air. They seemed to ride the breeze, flying perpendicular to it in order to offset its effects with their own flight. Mag...magnificent. Ukiyo always admired bugs, but she's never seen them like this before. They were so coordinated; gathered en mass despite the diversity, and all flawlessly following a shared instinct it seemed. As the queen revealed herself, Ukiyo observed Mure speak to it in whispers. She was much larger than the others, and it seemed as if the swarm itself was waiting for her lead. As she was given her orders, the queen took off into nearby woodlands, the rest of the swarm following her lead. Mure turned around and informed Ukiyo,

"I am ready to learn if you will teach me."

Ukiyo folded her arms and grinned, Alright, but first I have to warn you; if you don't go all out you will have no chance of touching me. She paused for a moment, looking Mure dead in the eyes in an attempt to convey her sincerity. Now then, let's begin. Ukiyo began to take a step forward, as if going to walk up to Mure slowly. Before her foot even touched the ground, however, she vanished. Ukiyo stood behind Mure, her arms still folded. She lifted one hand across her face, swiping some of the hair from her bangs out of her eyes, then whipped the same hand back with incredible speed and poked Mure in the shoulder. It would be enough for his shoulder to be pushed forward and he would probably need to catch himself, but otherwise completely harmless. Ukiyo then quickly crouched into a common stance of hers; her right leg stretched out to the side with her left leg bent beneath her. Her hands were now at her sides as she spoke. Down here. Ukiyo giggled, stopping for a moment to give the young man a chance to strike back. It doesn't look like I'll have to take my weights off. In fact, I will probably need to slow down much more in order for him to keep up. Perhaps he should have kept his bugs; the handicap would have been more than appropriate.

1525

Spoiler:

Here it was. The moment of combat training. The person in front of him was smaller so perhaps they relied entirely on speed? If that was the case he would try and follow their movements with his eyes and judge where she was going to be. In combat the person who chooses to perceive the movements and use as little movement as possible usually was able to counter and defend. Once within reach the speed would be countered greatly if forcing the opponent into an awkward angle. Once within that awkward angle it was important to strike fast and at an unexpected spot to throw them off balance and then follow up with a series of combo's. This Ukiyo though. He knew very little about her fighting ability and had to discern for himself if this technique would even be possible. After all he himself was fast but chances where she didn't get to her spot over nothing. If she was truly a speed type then he might be in some serious trouble. Still he took a deep breath to steady himself.  His brain had overcome many a different scenario countless times. He had studied on his own up until now and even gained the approval of the Hokage to grow stronger and be diligent with his training. His pale yellow eyes seemed to gain a little more focus as he watched her. She was going to be like chasing a devil. This much he was sure about. He only wished he had more time to study her. If he had he might already have an idea of how to counter but for now he would have to observe. To find her beat and match it as best he could. Interrupt it and then strike hard. He was now confident in himself as he shifted his stance into  a defensive stance. If he was to observe then he needed to defend. He raised his right palm up facing her just below his chin but held out in front of him and his left hand slightly to the left of his right  and below. That hand was also an open palm. His feet spread into a well balanced stance with his feet shoulder length apart and bent at the knee's with his feet facing slightly outward. He watched her with those yellow eyes now as if he himself thought he was fully prepared.

"Alright, but first I have to warn you; if you don't go all out you will have no chance of touching me. "

Her gaze was suddenly serious and something about it could be defined as fierce. It faltered his confidence for a moment as he shifted his shoulders back. As if her gaze alone could strike him. It was unnerving how easily she could break his confidence with just a gaze. His posture was still good though even as he focused to keep his hands from trembling. He swallowed as he watched her a moment. His ears seemed to be filled with the deafening thud of his heart beat. He was just a chunnin up against one of the strongest people in Konoha. he would dare to say the top 5 or at the very least high up in the top ten. And where was he but a lowly member? maybe in the top fifty? Had he made a mistake and chosen something to far out of his reach? No, The only thing out of his reach was what he believed was there.  That's what this training was all about. Becoming the best out of them all. If he could do this then he could push himself to new heights.  Slowly he stilled his breathing. He had been laboring for breath already just under the power of that gaze. He slowed his breathing and calmed his mind. He was finding his center where he could be confident in his skills once more. Here in the void there was no fear. He could feel the fire in his mind as he slowly focused each doubt and thought into it feeling the void come over him. There was no need for fear. She was not here to kill him and he had no reason to think she would. He was filled with potential waiting to be released. His body stopped shaking as his yellow gaze seemed to calm. The sweat on his body now felt cold as he watched her. He had found the void now and would try and counter anything she could throw at him.

"Now then. Let's begin."

She said calmly and he let out a breath preparing for an onslaught. His fear gone. her movement seemed so slow as she went to take a step forward and he braced himself trying to judge which direction the attack would come from. Watching her shoulder movements and thighs to see what she intended. However she had not entered into any traditional fighting stance as of yet. This was not good. If he could of figured out her fighting style he could at least plan how to shift his body for a different pattern of attacks. His eyes drifted to her falling foot wondering if she intended to use kicks. But then suddenly the foot was gone. His eyes shifted from the narrow gaze of his target to the open training grounds. She had not just moved. She had disappeared entirely. It was impossible! He could follow the movements of a Sannin with his skill if just barely. How could she be so fast? He had no chance to even follow here with his eyes as she was simply gone. The sudden scent of woman's hair was what snapped him out of his thoughts. But it was too late. A heavy poke slammed into his shoulder hard enough to spin him around. He twisted using the force of the poke to turn his body as his left hand swung at neck level with her height behind him. His eyes looking to see if he would even come close. Only to be surprised to hit nothing but air.

"Down here." Was followed by a giggle as she just sat there. Not only was she behind him but she had found out how to get within his awkward angle where it was hard for him to defend from. However he was in mid spin so he lifted his right leg and shifted his left boot for a full round house to her if he could manage it. His balance was slightly thrown off though as he could not logically explain how she was so fast. It was impossible for there to be such distance between them. He was throwing everything he had into this kick but some how he doubted that she was even bothered by the speed of it. Like it was in slow motion to her. Damn why had he done such an open move? he had a plan to get within her awkward angles and here he was swinging with a wide enough kick that he could dodge it. He should of thought it out better he chastised himself as if he already knew it wouldn't connect. As if he was already sure of his defeat.

(Taijutsu training B-A 1208/2400 word count)

Ukiyo noticed a hand just above her head to the left as she calmly set one of her hands down on the back of Mure's ankle. She didn't rap around it, instead, she rested her fingers against it as she placed another seed on him. However Mure's foot was suddenly in motion, Ukiyo's fingers barely grazing it. As Ukiyo looked up again, she saw him turning around his shoulder. Impressive kick. His foot was whipping around an arch; using the leverage from the ground along with his momentum already to launch a near-perfect counter in his position. It's too bad there was the flaw of time; that brief moment it takes for him to deliver the kick and his back is exposed. Mure. I hope this shows you to combine your Ninjutsu with your Taijutsu. Your bugs would be a magnificent cover for that turn. Just like my Mokuton is perfect for... Mure's foot was coming in directly towards her shoulder. Ukiyo began breathing in as she the cells in her legs began rapidly fusing with the ground below. As more and more was absorbed, Ukiyo distributed herself among the underground root network below their feet. Ukiyo bent her arm down and lowered her body too by ducking. Normally this wouldn't do anything, but with the extra space by moving through the ground, Ukiyo was able to duck mere inches below the kick. Then, as fast as she ducked, Ukiyo lifted herself out of the ground as she leaped up. Ukiyo stopped breathing in. She snatched Mure by his left ankle as it passed over head, then let go of him immediately as she jumped passed him. This would cause Mure to go up a bit in the air while flipping. Ukiyo continued up into the air and then put her arms up overhead as she fell gracefully to the ground. As she landed, Ukiyo breathed out. She caught herself as if a flower falling upon the ground; a slight compression from impact, then her arms falling as if petals around her. Ukiyo stood up slowly and looked over her shoulder to see if Mure landed or not. Whether he did not or not, Ukiyo would yell out cheerfully whilst grinning,

People often forget they only have two legs. "Staying on your feet" is a constant battle with gravity, and even the smallest influence can turn the tides. Ukiyo thought of her grab on his ankle before. Knot the root, she thought to herself and laughed. Ukiyo then remembered what she tried showing him before. She turned around and began walking up to him. Ukiyo wasn't one to be subtle,

Another thing. Why did you leave your bugs behind? Taijutsu doesn't have to be just Taijutsu, you know? Mine would be useless without my jutsu. Ukiyo said as she closed her eyes, tilted her head, and extended all the fingers on one of her hands. Suddenly, small flowers sprouted from the back of each of Mure's ankles along with his right shoulder. His right ankle had an adult daisy, moderate in size but with very plush petals and an extraordinarily bright yellow center. His left had a daisy as well, but with the colors reversed. The petals were a very bold, yellow and the center was as white as white can be. It seemed almost blank; like the center was empty. The one on Mure's right shoulder had an extremely short stem and a very large flower, with blue and purple petals and an orange-red center. The petals were thin and wide, yet layered immensely, making them almost seem like brushes. Ukiyo kept her eyes closed and stopped less than 5 meters from Mure. She grinned and crouched down, resting her forearms on her knees.

Whenever you're ready.

2175/2000 for jutsu

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