Here he was again, waiting to meet with the familiar face that belonged to Ciera; as of late the two of them had completed a very difficult mission destroying some mirrors, now that he thought about it that way the mission didn’t sound so hard…but his sore thighs from all the running begged to differ. Regardless of all that nonsense the man with the blue hair known as Tsurugi found himself sitting on one of the many boulders that rested at the edge of the wide river that cut across these specific training grounds. This was after all the same training grounds that had been used by the gruesome twosome not long ago to do some training. So here they were again, ready to train once more yet there was more than that for being here, and the last time the two had met on these training grounds Tsurugi had made a very outrageous request to Ciera. Basically he had asked her to aid him in his goal to overthrow the supreme authority in these lands he knew that making such a request to a ninja who was probably a loyal member of these lands was risky, but then again he could get nowhere without risk.

Those golden eyes of his remained focused on the waters flow that ran down stream away from him, watching as it split at the rocks that dotted the river bed, standing upright from his sitting position Tsurugi figured there was no harm in getting some training done right now, a warm up at least. He began to focus his chakra, knitting it in his mouth as he began to manipulate it in order to manifest his unique bloodline element the male would perform a series a hand seal holding it in order to allow him to activate the jutsu. Jerking his head back just a bit he would lean forward as he exhaled releasing from his mouth a deadly acid, the concentrated gunk that left his mouth traveled in the air across the rivers surface it had a very spread out reach to it reaching at least three feet wide. Yet its close range made it a great attack for close range, at least this is what Tsurugi took note of as he saw the gunk plummet onto the waters surface just a few feet from where he stood, on contact with the water an audible sizzling sound could be heard in his ears as he watched the specific spot of water seem to boil for a moment, the acid reacting to the cooled water.

Lowering his hands he would let them hang at his side as his eyes trailed away from the river, creeping upwards to the tree tops “What’s taking her?” he asked himself, standing there patiently waiting for her arrival.

469/750 Acid Spit

190/200:

For one Ciera Hoshigaki, there had been much to think about the speech that she was given at their last training session. It was a radical one, filled with dreams and ambitions. Support for his dream, however, was a uniquely dangerous prospect. It was high risk venture where the reward for victory was immense and the consequences of defeat were just as big. The dangers were only for herself, however. If she decided to accept his offer, then she would include her clan if victory was at hand. Though if defeat was on the card, she would say that it was only her idea; that way, the Hoshigaki clan would be off the hook of any charges that could have been brought against them. They would still be shunned, as they were when Kisame Hoshigaki’s gamble failed 300 years ago, but they would survive and eventually thrive once more.

Yet, could she trust in another’s ambition? At the moment, this man, Tsurugi, was not strong enough to bring about the change that he desired. She, herself, was not powerful enough to bring about her goal. In that sense, they were both struggling to reach the top. And she believed—confidently—that she would eventually reach her desired destination. All she needed was time. And, she believed, Tsurugi needed time as well.

Ciera had seen the man’s determination on the missions that they had taken together, through the various dangers that often threatened them. She believed that he would come through on his promise, if death didn’t seek him out first. But why did she believe it in the first place?

As the blue-skinned woman walked onto the grass of the training grounds, the same one that they had used in their prior training session, Ciera’s thoughts came to a halt.

She trusted him. Before, she had placed her trust in his decision-making when the stakes were high and their lives were on the line. He had come through on his part, and they had made it out, alive and even intact. While it might not have meant much to other, it had meant quite a bit to her. On the mission, she had—without meaning to—given him her trust, and he had returned it as well. They had watched each other backs in the most precarious of times.

Yet, at the same time, she didn’t trust him that much. She would not give out the secrets that she had accumulated nor tell him of the deeds she had committed within her clan’s compounds. The knife’s edge along flayed skin and the sweet touch of agony that came from prying the roots out of fingernails were stories that would remain hidden.

So what decision should she make? She didn’t know.

But she suspected that she would find out soon.

“Tsurugi, were you waiting long?” Ciera asked as she walked up to the familiar sight of  the man that had been the center of her thoughts for the past while now.

---

WC: 511/1500 Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique

Almost as if she had been waiting for him to grow impatient, the familiar voice that belonged to Ciera would ring into his ears right after he had asked his question out loud; turning his head in the direction of the girl that had spoken to him, his golden orbs would settle upon the familiar features of the blue skinned girl. “Not at all” he said to her in his usual flat tone, very monotone of him, either way he was somewhat glad to see her despite his lack of expressing it; Ciera had been someone he had stepped into knee deep shit with before yet somehow the two of them had managed to claw their way out. Although they had worked on a few missions together, they were enough to tell Tsurugi that she was someone he could trust but also someone with exceptional skill as a ninja; these two reasons being the driving force behind his suggesting they team up for his plan to commit treason. Seeing her here today, gave the blue haired man hope, perhaps she would say yes? Perhaps after this training was over he would find himself with a new companion to share his plans with.

Either way this was not the right time for them to discuss this, he did not wish to place any undue pressure on the girl kicking off the surface of the boulder on which he stood he would seemingly glide over to solid ground, once he landed there he would take his eyes from Ciera for a moment to inspect their surroundings. The place was suitable for their training as always, it would be a good day today the two of them showing off their newfound skills, Tsurugi would opt to not bring up the subject they had discussed last time at the end of their training he would instead gear their focus towards training. Besides he believed that the more time the two of them spent together the stronger their bond could grow, hence giving him a better chance to convince Ciera to join him; with his thoughts concluding he would return those golden orbs to the blue skinned girl that was literally almost at eye contact so it was simple to gaze into her emerald eyes. “We should begin training now, instead of a straight forward fight why don’t we just try to do this…one of us attempts to hit the other, and the other just tries to dodge. It will help us with accuracy, and also help us learn to read the enemy pattern” he explained as he walked off a few feet of distance between them now.

Turning as he faced her he would spread his arms apart, “…besides, I don’t want to ruin another of your beautiful kimonos again” he said to the girl with a soft chuckle referring to their last spar where his futon jutsu burned away the fabric of her kimono. Waiting, he was obviously going to be the target, while Ciera would be the gun blasting away at him.



750/750 Acid Spit

189/750 Acid Palm

“I have plenty of kimonos,” Ciera said casually, brushing off his concern. She had no need or concern about money in general; her clan was a prestigious for a reason, and with such prestige came wealth. Even for those in the clan that weren’t ninjas or fighters, their natural ability allowed them to live a relatively easy life. Since the islands were situated off the coast, there was plenty of need for divers. Whether it was just for simple fishing, scouting, or scavenging the treasures from shipwrecks, there were always plenty of jobs that brought in more than enough money.

As such, she grew up in a relative wealth. The clan didn’t typically believe in extravagance so there was always plenty of money left over to share amongst each other. That was why, even though she was wearing a beautiful kimono, it was easily replaceable. All she had to really do was to ask for another. While she couldn’t get away with the more asking for less useful items, clothes were something that was deemed necessary, especially ones that upheld the pride of the clan. After all, they couldn’t just go around wearing rags and still consider themselves of superior.

“So a training session with just dodging? I suppose we could do that,” Ciera said, taking a look around. Besides the river that crossed through the training field, there was not enough water all around to make things a bit more unpredictable. Water attacks originating from simply the river limited the scope to simply that spot. That was no good for this training exercise. “If you want to learn how to predict, we need to have it be a bit more unpredictable since I mostly have just suiton techniques. I am going to change the battlefield.”

Ciera moved her fingers, forming the various seals necessary. Boar. Dog. Ram. Clapping her hands together, her chakra flowed outward.

“Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique.”

There was a small rumble before a geyser of water erupted upwards behind her. Like a fountain, it continuously sprayed water upwards in an unending tide. The ground gradually became moist and then flooded with water, creating a thin layer of water just above the grass.

“Now, this is more like it,” Ciera said, before pointing her index finger at Tsurugi. “Gentlemen goes first. Take the first shot.”

---

Chakra 200/220. +1 power (clan):

WC: 904/1500 Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique

“Heh” was all he said to her response about the kimonos the woman had plenty of spunk that much was for sure, it would seem she wanted to even out the playing field? Regardless of her reason for this, he had to admit he agreed with her maybe changing things up would add that hint of unpredictability they could both use for training. The man would watch with calm eye as the woman performed her jutsu, the geyser of water that tore open the very earth behind her would begin to rain all around them, creating essentially a much larger body of water all around them. Looking down he took notice of the water reaching up ankle height, this was of no surprise to him that she was able to pull off such a jutsu, seeing this only further increased his want for this woman; she was a strong ninja that would only grow stronger, why waste each other as enemies when they could be allies? Raising his golden orbs from the water that now soaked his boots he stared at Ciera for a moment, having heard her request he would nod his head at her the time for words was over.


The sound of water splashing broke the silence between them as he charged straight for her his eyes remained fixed on her feminine figure knowing full well that he planned to do once he was within reach. He could feel it, the keen sting of the high concentration of acid gathering at his palms once it was there it would be compressed by his chakra causing it to coat the hand with a barely visible thin layer of mist, that was in reality a highly concentrated acid that could cause serious burns. Tsurugi had entered the appropriate range for his attack, once he was there he stomped down hard then raised his hand causing his right deltoids to flex as the arm rose up to chest level, with his muscle extended his palm fired! Releasing the compressed mist towards the girl, the thin mist soon became a controlled blast of pressurized acid that would burn at her flesh if it made contact with her. It measured two feet in height, and two feet wide not the greatest measurement, but this is why it was a close ranged attack, being now within four feet of where Ciera stood, he was confident his attack would reach her.


Even so, he was expecting her to dodge it, she had surprised him many times over after all especially during their first training session together.

621/750 Acid Palm

180/200:

The water was being replenished as fast as it was getting depleted. There was no basin to collect the water, and honestly, there was no need for any. The naturally-made curves and grooves of the ground collected enough water to make small pools of them, enough to support the battle area. After a little bit more, she would turn off the jutsu; after all, there was no more need to waste jutsu on widening the water-slogged area even further.

The water level had risen to their ankles, and it was because of that that she knew Tsurugi was on the move. Each footstep he made caused a splash, signaling his approach with its increasing volume. Normally, she would have known based on just the ripples on the water, having spent so much time in and around water, but this was moving water, its source being directly behind her and flowing outwards, past her. As such, most of the physical signs were removed or distorted enough that it wasn’t useful.

Still, he could have made it harder than just charging straight at her. The things that Tsurugi didn’t account for were several factors, all of which weakened his charge.

First, he was moving against the flow of the water. The natural resistance that came with that was obvious and apparent, as his movement speed was slower than usual. Running on top of the water would have helped, but water walking was something reserved for those with a much stronger grasp on chakra control.

Of course, running in the same direction as the water was much easier. Which was exactly what she did. As Tsurugi made his run, Ciera ran straight at him, to greet his charge. Whether this startled him or not didn’t make a difference, though it would have been nice if he had gotten scared and tripped into the water. Yet, as they met in the middle, Tsurugi made his move.

Second, the man should have been aware of all the changes on the battlefield. With so much water flowing onto the grass and dirt, it was impossible for them to not soak up the water to their maximum capacity, making them slushy and unstable. With each step they took, it was on uneven ground that could break away into mud at a moment’s notice. Ciera was careful to adjust her steps and actions accordingly, to stabilize herself as she ran.

The moment that Tsurugi committed to his jutsu, he reached out his palm and at the same time, put more pressure down on the ground to make sure that he had proper grounding, as if he were trying to put more power into a punch. It was a natural instinct, but bad in this case. By instinctively putting more pressure down, that particular foot would sink further than it should have, throwing off his aim to that side and possibly tripping him up.

That made it particularly easy for Ciera to simply sidestep the man and run past him. She would run a dozen feet before turning around and sticking out her tongue at him.

Chakra 185/220. +1 power (clan), maintaining waterfall basin:

---

WC: 1427/1500 Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique

So it would seem his straightforward approach was a total bust, the girl was smart she took advantage of the fact that he was standing on unstable ground making it easy for her to avoid the attack, he had to admit he was rather surprised with her reflexes despite him being so close in range she was able to avoid the attack with relative ease. He was already expecting a counter attack, but instead found her to run past him completely without so much as a shove once he had regained his footing he would turn staring at the girl as she stuck her tongue out at him; was she really taunting him? The golden eyed man only stared for a moment, then began to move away from Ciera as opposed to towards her he instead began to perform a set of familiar hand seals that the girl would surely recognize in an instant. When he was done his chakra would release from his body in a steady flow, taking advantage of the surrounding water that Ciera herself had brought about. Not long after the activation of the jutsu did the mist start to settle shrouding the battlefield, and obscuring all persons as well as objects with its white blanket that would cast a curtain over the eyes of the girl as well as Tsurugi.

Despite their being from the mist village, and used to this; it was still difficult to navigate through the mist without having to put in any sort of effort. Taking advantage of the mist he would now begin to move instead of stepping which would make noise, he was sliding his feet across the sleek ground that was heavily moistened, and wet with the water his companion had summoned forth. Golden eyes remained opened, but his ears also were on high alert trying to find any sign of Ciera in the mist, it was a blind mans game now if either of them attacked it would be a heavy gamble, because if they missed they would have given away their position. Continuing his movement to the far left, Tsurugi was actually circling around the girl without even knowing it, but thanks to the air of the msit neither would Ciera be able to notice this one detail. Yet for now Tsurugi stopped moving staying perfectly still as his senses remained sharp, and alert; he was hoping the girl would make her move, give away her position as a result giving him the opportunity to catch her with a counter attack.

750/750 Acid Palm

296/1000 Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu

170/200:

It looked like Ciera was going to keep the Waterfall Basin Technique active after all. She really had to discuss the training afterwards and teach him what he was doing wrong. A mist? Really? How was he supposed to find her now? By the sound of her feet splashing?

She almost scoffed at the notion, but that sound would have given her away. For one such as her, who had worked as a fisherman diver, it was a bit like child’s play. She did not lift her feet above the water level. No, she shuffled forward, her feet making relatively small increments as to not make a sound.

Not only that, but she didn’t need to listen to the sound of splashing to know where he was at. Rather, she felt out his location. How? She was currently downstream from the current produced by the geyser of water from her Waterfall Basin Technique. When she had run past him earlier, she had cemented her position. As such, she felt the disturbances in the water from upstream. While it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where, it was child’s play however to know which direction he was at. After all, all of the water was flowing mostly undisturbed except for the water that flow behind his feet.

As he moved, so too would there be ripples that would flow downstream and give away his position. Indeed, it was precarious and dangerous position to put himself in. One that she would take advantage of quite soon. It was no small matter to say that she would be taking full advantage of this.

Her years as a fisherman diver were proving to be more useful than she had expected. While working at that job, it was natural to stay underwater for a long period of time and move without making too much noises or ripples in the water. Those kinds of things were the type that would scare away fishes, especially the rarer ones that were all the rage in certain restaurants throughout the country.

As she moved, silently while leaving evidence of her passing, she waited for Tsurugi to make his move.

Chakra 170/220. +1 power (clan), maintaining waterfall basin:

---

WC: 1500/1500 Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique
WC: 289/1000 Gale Palm

So she wasn’t going to make a move? Well then guess he would have to go ahead, and make his own move the man would begin to perform the necessary seals when he did so his chakra would be gathered at his throat, opening his mouth just a bit he exhaled slowly as another mist was summoned forth from within him. He was unaware of Ciera’s plan to purposely show herself to him, all he was doing was following her the moves that the girl was making obvious; now he could not pinpoint her but the gas being released from his mouth had a reach of over thirty feet from where he stood. So it would creep around the area, spreading, and hiding with the mist making it even more difficult to detect, unless Ciera caught on to the smell that the gas gave off though it was subtle so he had his doubts. Either way with the gas now fully released he was quick to perform his next jutsu, performing a series of seals he would release this next jutsu instantly, from his mouth a wild burst of flames would explode outwards surely giving away his position in the mist. The bright flash of the orange hot flames lighting up if for a moment where he stood, however that was not what she would have to worry about, like metal attracted to a magnet; the flames he released would cling to the gas he had released into the mist, the gas reacted by exploding into a massive fireball of raging fury that covered the distance of thirty feet in front of Tsurugi. Which is where he suspected Ciera to be within the general direction at least.


The male would watch with his golden eyes as the mist wa slit up in a giant flash of hellish flames that threatened to grab hold of anyone trapped within their fiery reach, resulting in burns that would burn through the first layer of flesh creating a nasty second degree burn. With his arm raised up just over his face he concealed his face from the intense heat that was blown out from the massive fireball that he had created, yet this technique may or may not have hit Ciera, but it also dispersed the mist. With its considerable force the fireball would force the mist to spread apart disturbing its settled state causing gaps in the once thick white blanket, these gaps helping both ninja in being to better spot one another. Once the fireball had subsided, Tsurugi would stand there watching, and waiting wondering what was to come next.

736/1000 Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu

155/200:

It wasn’t hard to tell something was coming. It wasn’t subtle like the splashing of feet or quiet like the ripples in the water that was moving downstream. Instead, what assaulted her ears was the sound of an explosion, followed closely by the mist blown onto her face and past her. Yeah, it was actually hard not to notice that something bad was coming.

As the warm winds rushed towards her, clearing away the cover that the mist provided, she knew that it was far too late to run. The mist had covered the advance of the fire, and while the sound of the explosion certainly tipped her off, it took far too long for her brain to connect the dots between the sound and what it actually was. That delay, partly because she was inexperienced and relied on visual aid, was a costly one.

There was simply no time to evade or dodge it. She had no idea what kind of jutsu it was. All she knew was that it was coming for her.

There was not even enough time to go through a series of hand seals even if she had the concentration to go through with it.

There was only time for one technique.

Clapping her hands together, Ciera concentrated on focusing her chakra. It was, however, only for a moment before she brought her hands apart and thrust them outwards, towards where the explosion was coming from. From the palms of her hands, a powerful wind burst out of them, flowing forward to greet the fire in open combat.

Chakra 155/220:

---

WC: 554/1000 Gale Palm

His fiery hell storm would clash with something instead of making contact with the girl as he had hoped he found himself watching as the fire rose upward swirling with another element, it did not take long for Tsurugi to figure out that Ciera had used a wind style jutsu. The resulting reaction was well, it was a hellish fire tornado that swirled in the middle of the battlefield letting out an intense heat that spread out in all directions, luckily thanks to Cieras over abundance of water she had created, the fire had no grounds to spread on. Raising a hand up to cover his face from the intense heat once more, the male with the blue head of hair would watch as the flaiming tornado would begin to slowly fade. It was not until the hellish firestorm had faded away that he lowered his arm, allowing his face to finally be exposed to the environment, this time a much cooler wind hitting him as opposed to the intense heat from before. He would not help but smirk at what had just happened, if it had not been for the water around them, and the increased moisture in the atmosphere maybe that could have turned out alot worse; instead of the area just being overwhelmed by the fiery spectacle it could have turned into a more out of control situation.

With that though he could focus on the battle at hand his eyes would come to settle on the girl once more, performing the tiger seal Tsurugi would allow his chakra to release form his body causing the pools of water around him to bubble as his chakra molded it into creating two clones of Tsurugi. Not long after did the two copies emerge from the water, standing on either side of the golden eyed mal, lowering his hand the male would moved forward at the steady pace with the two clones following close behind him, the mist he had created had been completely disrupted and blown away, rendering its effects non existant. He would aim to overwhelm the girl this time around, as he moved forward at the faster speed now he was moving at a steady pace but his clones were moving at a much faster speed. Being more careful with their steps overall, the trio was trying not to mess this up once the two clones where close to Ciera they would dash at her aiming to try to grab hold of the girl Tsurugi however had stopped his charge.

Taking advantage of this distraction that would hopefully work Tsurugi would perform another set of hand seals, manipulating his chakra in his throat he would release a high velocity blast of water that was actually sticky to the touch, and thick substance wise. He was aiming to use his clones as a distraction, so Ciera would not see the liquid substance coming her way, aiming to soak her body in the glue like liquid that would limit her movement for quite some time if it hit. Overall Tsurugi found himself at about five feet from Ciera, and his clones were just a little closer landing in at about three feet from her position, with the liquid covering the distance fast aiming to smash into the girl, and entangle her.

1000/1000 Water Release:Water Clone Jutsu

289/1000 Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field

125/200:

Ciera recognized that cloning jutsu. She was practicing that too, after all. In fact, it was one of the many techniques that she was currently looking into or practicing outright. Her biggest mistake in the last practice spar was that she did not have enough variety of techniques in order to counter the acidic gas that Tsurugi tended to release. The consequence of that was more than just a ruined kimono. It was also to her pride as a Hoshigaki. While it was not a very visible aspect, unlike many of her clan members, it was still something that she was raised with. It was no easy to suppress, even when the loss was logical.

For that very reason, she had looked into a variety of jutsu’s that could help turn the tides against the Boil user. Wind, in particular, was effective to disperse the acidic mists that he had thrown, only needing a few moments to summon the wind since some of those techniques did not require any kind of hand seal at all. Merely, it required concentrating and manifesting her chakra into wind. That was good for those moments when there was no time to make the seals for a proper jutsu, which was just proven moments ago with the violent clash of fire and wind that caused the tornado to take place on the training field.

Maybe the training was getting a bit too heavy handed. They were testing out many different techniques, though instead of being a simple game of aiming and dodging, it was starting to turn into a real spar. It started out simple enough, but things had gone farther with the hidden mist technique and now, a straight-out charge with some water clones. He was expecting her to simply dodge in melee combat?

Forget that. It was one of her weakest points at the moment. She knew that she needed to improve on her close range skills as it would leave her vulnerable, but the fact of the matter was that she didn’t really have anything to supplement it with. Taijutsu and Bukijutsu were out of the question at the moment, though it was definitely something to consider when she finally reaches jounin rank. However, for the time being, her close range skills were pitiful at best. She was an amateur; sure, she could throw a punch. However, that punch would probably be clumsy and lacking the necessary power to truly hurt.

Luckily, Tsurugi wasn’t that much better than her at it. If he was, then she would have gotten her butt handed to her on a platter. Though, even now, his amateurish brawling skills were still better than hers, and she knew this full well. That was why she had spent some time learning some techniques that could keep her opponent away or at least build some space between them. And that was just what she needed at the moment.

It looked like this might turn into a spar anyways, despite their previous agreement. Well, it wasn’t her fault. He was the one who broke it first by trying to charge into melee range instead of simply just shooting something out. Maybe it was part of his Katon elemental nature? He had always been sort of aloof, but maybe—deep, deep down—he was actually passionate?

Ciera almost snorted. Well, he was ambitious, so she supposed that it was kind of true.

Still, less talk, more business.

Her hands and fingers rearranged themselves to form the awkward seals that made up the jutsu, sequencing them one after the other as she poured chakra into the technique. Her mouth filled with water, and she spewed it towards her feet. As the gallons of water poured out in an unending tide, she sent chakra to her feet so she could stand on the water as layer after layer of water began to build up. Higher and higher, the water rose, first exceeding one story and then two. By the time that she ended the technique, she was standing on top of a pillar of that was three stories high, towering over Tsurugi who she could see below.

She smiled and waved.

“Enjoy!” Ciera back-flipped off of the pillar of water as it began to fall forward, turning into a tidal wave that would crash towards Tsurugi and his clone.  

As she stood behind the falling wave of water, she decided not to pursue a follow-up action. Normally, she would have went into the seals of the gunshot technique, holding on the last hand seal. This was so she could call on the jutsu at any moment and use the resulting water bullets on her enemy if they managed to surface from the wave or even dodge it somehow. Each water bullet was fast and deadly, a true marksman’s weapon.

However, this was simply a training session so it wasn’t necessary to go that far. Besides, she wanted to see if Tsurugi could get out of it. After all, while it wasn’t deadly, it was a hard technique to counter. If she had some close range skills, she would have rode the waves and attacked Tsurugi while he was being carried away by the water, or even attack him while he was escaping it. After all, the tidal wave was a good enough transport that would have certainly added both speed and power to any punch or slice that she did.

Maybe a lariat while riding a tidal wave would be fun. It certainly wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.

Chakra 130/220. +1 power (clan):

---

WC: 1000/1000 Gale Palm
WC: 491/1500 Exploding Water Colliding Wave

What happened next was, well it was unexpected before his stream of sticky liquid managed to make contact with the girl he would watch as the girl was elevated up high by what seemed like a pillar of water, needless to say Tsurugi's plan had failed. Lowering his arms to his side his golden orbs would watch in silence, following Ciera as she continued to elevate herself higher into the sky by this pillar of water she had created. He would slide a foot back as if ready to run, his mind at the moment racing trying to find a solution, a way out of this! Yet for many reasons it would come up blank, one of these reasons being that he lacked the appropriate jutsu to pull off any sort of reasonable defense. In the end he would only smirk, closing his eyes knowing full well that he was going to feel the full force of this attack. When the girl jumped off, it was as if she had pulled the trigger he watched as the tower moved in a single burst towards him, the speed of the damn wave was insane all Tsurugi could do was keep his body nimble, soften his joints, and well take in a huge mouthfull of air.

He wached as his clones were practically oblitirated by the wave that ran them both over, and soon enough found itself hitting him the man could do next to nothing except for trying to maintain his body as relaxed as possible. Besides the solid impact that he felt from the water crashing into him, which nearly forced him to exhale all his air he was also being tossed around wildly inside of the waters current. The golden eyed man's body thrashed around in all angles, being tossed aorund like a rag doll he was letting the water take him to where it wanted hoping that before long this wild ride would end soon, and it did; not the way he had hoped though. The impact was so strong that his eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open letting the water rush into his lungs, he had been slammed into a tree the solid impact nearly snapping his spine but his body resilient enough to endure; yet the pain was still there. Lucky for him the force of the wave was subsiding just enough to allow him to drop to the ground, the water had settled just enough to allow him to lay there.

His nose barely out of the water Tsurugi was able to take in a deep inhhale of oxygen, but when he exhaled he forced him to turn over allowing a mouthfull of water to spill from his open mouth, once his lungs were cleared he barely managed to use the tree as a means to lean his body weight on so he would stand upright. Tsurugi took in painfull breaths through his open mouth, trying to settle his body, and trying to ignore the pain from the bruises he surely had all over. He was far from done, but for some reason his body refused to respond to his actions it was as if he was stunned; maybe from the shock delivered by the crashing wave that had just ran him over. Golden eyes stared at Ciera, raising a hand to signal he was still alive he managed to force out the following words, "Not...done!" he would again take in a series of deep breaths that elevated his strong chest with every inhale.

882/1000 Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field

Ciera had to admit that Tsurugi was certainly a stubborn man. After her wave had fallen, she had watched the man get washed away like a rag doll, bouncing here and there. By the time that it was over, he was lying on his back, bruised and exhausted. Yet the words that came out of his mouth almost made her want to chuckle. It was so silly.

In the condition he was in, there was no way that he could really do any more. In fact, if this had been a real fight, he would have already been dead, shot through the chest by a water bullet from her mouth. She had to admit that he was getting better, though. The mist and the explosion had certainly been deadly obstacles, but if he had better prepared it, it could have been far more dangerous.

She walked over to the downed body of her training partner, ignoring the fact that her shoes were getting muddy stepping the over-soaked dirt. When she finally reached him, she crouched down with her hands on her knees and stared at him. He was a soaked mess.

“Let’s take a break,” Ciera said simply with a finality that brooked no room for arguments. She was going to put her foot down on this issue. Well, not literally, that would just make her shoes even dirtier with mud. No, she was simply going to give him a glare for any arguments against her statement.

Oh, and she was probably going to give him a smack with her fist. Not a hard one; it would just be light enough to stop him from forming seals. She was not adverse to doing it repeatedly if her partner was so inclined to keep being stubborn.

---


WC: 790/1500 Exploding Water Colliding Wave

Fortunately for him he was starting to catch his breath, so his heavy breathing had slowed down to a more normal pace watching through the corner of his eyes as his partner walked over, his eyes remained fixed on her feminine figure wondering what she planned to do; to his surprise, nothing. When the girl would kneel down next to him he listened to her suggestion, although tempted to argue there was something about her tone that actually made him think twice about doing such. Able to move now, even if just a bit he managed to sit up on the floor thankfully using the tree as support for him to lean on, sitting there he stared at Ciera for a moment giving not a smile nor any sort of pleasantry that showed him being too happy about the situation. Like a child, he was a bit of a sore loser after all "We should stop sitting around now..." he said after just a few minutes of their so called break, waiting not for her to say anything he starting climbing up to his feet again using the tree for support. Once he was upright he leaned, with hands at his side looking at her, "I don't need you to watch over me like some child Ciera. Let's continue training, its why we came here" he said to her trying to show her that he was better by moving around a bit more.

Not to mention that the males pride was deeply offended by the action, he had no need for this fish woman's pity, she should have continued the fight, and put him down for the count, instead she showed mercy, and offers him a smile? The man could only internally sigh, had he made a mistake in choosing her to aid him in his plans? Or maybe he was so blinded by his own hunger for power that he was failing to see the bigger picture here? Whatever it was, Tsurugi wasted no time giving it thought he merely stood ready to continue their spar, and ready to continue to take advantage of the opportunity to grow stronger.

1000/1000 Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field

243/???

“Someone has to watch over you. You certainly don’t watch over yourself,” Ciera said as she got up to her feet, patting down her kimono to smooth out the wrinkles. Though, that action was more from habit than anything else since there was no real need to even out her clothes during a training session; it would only get wrinkled again when the sparring begins.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a practice session where one of us shoots while the other dodges?” Ciera asked. “I thought this was supposed to be about practicing to predict the enemy. You broke that by trying to engage in melee combat, so I had to fight back. You already know that it is not that easy for me to fight in close quarter combat.”

She thought back to the practice in general. Actually, was there any real practice of that? Sure, it started simply enough with one technique—that one with the acidic mist coming from his hand—but after that, the hidden mist technique was used which obscured her sight. She supposed that was fine, to help rely on other senses, but then he used the explosion which was definitely not shooting and dodging. She still didn’t know what jutsu that was.

And of course, the end with the water clones.

“I can understand that acid mist you used, but the hidden mist and the explosion? That certainly wasn’t in the plan. Then the clones just made it a full-out spar. If you really wanted a spar, you should have just said so in the beginning.” Ciera looked at Tsurugi, who still seemed to be injured from the spar. It was probably better to distract him for now so he could rest just a little bit more before his stubbornness got him into more sparring. “Let’s discuss the practice that we just did first before we get into any more sparring or practicing.”

Okay, what was the first thing she wanted to talk about. Oh, right…

“When you first attacked me, you didn’t notice that the water was actually pushing against you, making your feet slower than the rest of your body. It slowed you down and you could have easily tripped. You should walked on top of the water instead to fully use your mobility.” She smiled at the memory. “When you thrust your hand, you put more pressure on one leg to support it, but the water was making the ground muddy and unstable so that really didn’t help you. The water walking would have solved that, of course.”

She tapped a finger on her chin.

“There was also a lot more you could have done in that hidden mist. I was actually relying on the ripples in the downstream current created by my waterfall basin jutsu to figure out your location. I found your direction, but I was waiting for you to move. That explosion surprised me. What did you do there?”

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WC: 1290/1500 Exploding Water Colliding Wave

Well he had to admit she wasn't wrong, he had told her that this would be a session where they would take advantage to improve each others reflexes, but it turned sour really quickly resulting in what he was starting to see as excessive force being used by his partner. Standing there he remained quiet like a child being lectured on everything he did wrong, he listened as Ciera pointed out all the fine points of their training, mainly his mistakes at least it seemed that way. Normally he would take offense to this, but he knew deep down that the girl was right his forward charges were mistakes, and his tactics did not keep to the routine they were supposed to have followed, waiting for her to finish he would remain silent the entire time.

Catching her question at the end he looked up at her, a smirk on his features "It's a tactic I am testing out..." he said with a pause as his mind flash backed to the moment where he was using the misty fire dance combined with the white veil of the hidden mist technique, reaching up to rub his chin a bit he would think about how to explain it. Once his mind was set, he would speak again breaking the silence between them; "The Misty Fire Dance jutsu, is the release of an invisible gas that is difficult to spot with the eyes unless through the use of an eye assisting technique. The only way you can spot it is through scent. Using the mist I bank on completely concealing the smoke, even if they catch the smell, with the mist hindering their eyes the enemy wont really know where to move. Using that moment of hesitation I couple the Misty Fire dance, with another jutsu that is katon based ignited the lingering gas into...well you saw it, the hellish fireball" he would stop his explanation by rolling his neck, and clearing his throat. "Clearly...the tactic still needs work" he said with a nod more to himself than anything, "So...are we done chit chatting?" he asked Ciera moving his arms around a bit more, and flexing his fingers, waiting to see what she says.

Ciera would have sighed if she was sure that it wouldn’t set off her training partner. He was a still an unknown factor, but from what she had seen, he was more than a bit volatile. It wouldn’t do to start another fight, even one in practice, so soon after the harsh bruises he had just received. Maybe she had overdid it a bit, but he was the one who instigated that.

Still, continuing at this point was not a good idea. He wasn’t in the condition to put up a good fight; he was only in a position where more wounds would just worsen his declining condition. That would probably be the worst situation to be in, as it would just be her dragging or carrying him back to the village. Or it could even be worse than that. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the duster-wearing ninja was growing on her.

“I think we should end this for today.” Ciera turned to look at the sun. It wasn’t even evening yet. “We can continue this another day.”

She would help the man up and help him walk back to the village by lending her shoulder. It would be better than him slowly limping back to the village in the condition that he was in.

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WC: 1515/1500 Exploding Water Colliding Wave