Another slow day was making its way through the Kazako clan house. Everyone who was home was busy doing their assigned chores of the day. The elders were out tending the rock garden making sure everything was correct down to the last detail. The adults were doing some cleaning tasks around the clan house to keep everything in top notch shape. And the children would be put in charge of making sure the outer appearance of the clan house was spick and span by cleaning windows, tending to the outer gardens, and picking up random trash left behind by hoodlums and other inconsiderate people. And then there was Harichimo, who had finished his bit early and was sneaking time to practice some of his usual training routine to keep himself in top shape. He had snuck off to behind the clan house where his training dummy, carved from the remains of a dead tree, stood alone. He was going at half speed to practice his striking combos so they would remain burned into his brain and he would be able to use it when he needed. He would finish by landing a five chop combo to the right side of the dummy and with the final chop leaving a small indent in the dead wood dummy. Everyday I'm getting stronger and stronger and soon I am going to have replace this dummy back here with something more stable. He smiled to himself and pound his fist into the chest of the dummy as he remembered the endless days of his youth when his father would bring him back there and teach him what he knew. Nah, there are to many good memories buried into this ancient thing. Now since I haven't got much to do around here today, maybe I should go check up on Karumo. I haven't heard from him since the mission and something seemed to have gotten to him. It wouldn't hurt to go say hello since I haven't even been inside his clan's compound. 

And with that Harichimo made his way inside the clan house. Inside he saw his brother and sister both working to clean a window on the outside. He smiled and gave them a small wave as he went down the hall containing his room. When he got to his room he used the water basin to clean the stains on his hands from the dead wood dummy. He would also splash some on his face and it through his hair to keep everything as he liked. He would start to tape up his arms and look out the window to see the elders were just finishing up their work in the rock garden. And to think they actually enjoy using their day to work on that. But that might just be the coming of old age when you enjoy the simpler things. Harichimo would finish bandaging his arms and giving them final tugs to make sure they were as he liked. He would throw the roll back into its drawer and throw on his nicer jacket before he headed out. As he exited he saw his parents both putting away their brooms as they seemed to have finish up their chores as well. "Hey mom and dad. I'm going to go out and visit Karumo for they day and maybe pick up something from the ramen shop you want anything?' His mother would respond "No that's fine dear. Your father is going to be making some of his stir fry tonight. We will be sure to save you some if you want some in the morning. Have fun Hari." He gave his parents a smile and waved goodbye as they did the same walking towards the clan house dining room and he exited the clan house making sure to wave to the other little ones still doing their part outside.


As Harichimo made his way through the village he was beginning to be more recognized. Random people would say hello to him and give him waves as he passed. The local shop owners would even ask him to give them and audience with the Tsuchikage, but Harichimo would always just keep on moving. Hmm, well maybe being the student of the Tsuchikage is finally starting to show it's downside with everyone in the village now knowing who I am. Meh, what comes with the good is always a small price. I'll take a little acknowledgment here and there any day. It makes for a much more pleasant walk around the village instead of talking to myself the whole way to the destination. He would continue his walk and pass the main administrative building when his sensei, Akira, should be working to keep everything in order. He didn't see any lights on in the room the Tsuchikage would usually be. Maybe he is off doing some errands on behalf of the village. Or just having a late start to his day either makes sense. 

Harichimo would soon reach the gate of the compound that housed the Fantomusado clan. Quite the impressive place. It probably is more impressive on the inside. So lets see if Karumo is even home this afternoon. Harichimo would knock on the gate hoping it would be enough noise for someone inside to hear. "Hello anyone home? Its Harichimo from the Kazako clan and I have come to speak with Karumo. If anyone can hear me would you be able to open the gate and let me in?" Harichimo would wait and see if anyone would come to open the gate and reveal what he was missing out on the inside of the Fantomusado compound. 

956/956

Departing the Iwa administration offices after a summons, Fukai was mentally exhausted. The work load had been getting bigger recently, which was not a bad thing. His missions were getting bigger and gaining levels in responsibility after his excellent record in the prior tasks. Stress was mounting inside. This is what I need, he told himself, making himself believe that this was his path. He was still not sure what exactly his path looked like. Bounding strides into an unknown future was an acceptable description. Instability was stressful. He had started to ask himself questions and grew uncomfortable when there was no adamant response. Who was he? An Iwakagure ninja. Who will you be? . . . It felt like he was just following his father's steps. That was the one thing that he did not want to do. Speaking of his father, the summons he had just attended was about him.

Fukai's father was back in town and wanted to see him. He bore no paternal bond with his father, and had no particular interest in visiting. Still, he was a senior ninja in Iwakagure and to ignore his wishes for no particular reason would reflect badly on himself. At this time in his career, he could not afford to do anything other than make a good showing if he wanted to quickly climb the ladder. Fukai's white hair springing up, its roots seemed to leech from his frazzled brain. He pushed it back and sighed. Might as well get this awkward encounter over and done with.

Fukai walked through the village towards the Fantomusodo clan compound without any particular motivation. He had been on a streak of genin missions recently, just low level tasks that involved  helping around the village. He smiled when he remembered that poor boys face light up when he handed him the chocolate bar. He grinned when he remembered the farmer couple having at the cooked boar that had previously terrorised them. Maybe he didn't mind this sort of thing after all.

His future lay out in front of him if he could just grasp it. Fukai looked at his palms, clenching them to force his resolved thoughts into his mind. Determination is what he lived by now, that is all he had. The thought made him lonely. He had not had a friend for many years now and had become quite the introvert. He had come to terms with his disastrous past long ago and had promised himself that he would rise above it, and become stronger. Even with his limited experience, he knew that tragedy was normal in the lives of many shinobi. With clenched teeth and strong strides Fukai whitewashed his mind. He wouldn't get to his future without focusing on his present.

Determination truly was all he had, and not a cent more. The missions he worked paid pittance. He lacked even a weapon, nullifying the years of training he had spent in the clans dojo. Fukai's thoughts were triggered by passing the weapons shop on the main market street in Iwa. He stopped for a second and gazed at the beautiful craftsmanship that had gone into making these weapons. He had set his sight on the mediocre staff that the shop owner kept on the shelf at the back. The shopkeeper met his gaze with a look. Come back with money, kid. It's funny how salesmen can lose interest so quickly when they realise you have nothing to pay with. 400 ryo? Fukai remembers echoing the store owner. At that the man wandered off, Fukai had the the odour of the poor. One day I will show him. One day I will come and buy his whole stock. Fukai had sneered at is wicked plan for about 5 idiot minutes.

A large sigh this time, effort with no visible goal was something that was hard to muster. He was nearing the compound, and readied himself for his encounter. His father was by no means an imposing man, it was just that their rare interactions brought up awkward feelings that he would rather deny existed. He approached the compound wall. He was about to call out a greeting when he realised there was a strange young man next to him. Fukai turned and inspected him with his deep purple eyes. He had seen this man around the village a few times, but not up close. He carried the air of a distinguished member of the village. What was he doing here at the compound? Fukai turned back to face the gate. It was none of his business. He probably had some official agenda which was not meant for him. Fukai wanted to say something to the man, but he rarely talked to people and felt only coldness from others.

[803]

Sekuro woke up feeling groggy that day, he stayed up late the night before for really no reason just reading into the criminal history of Iwagakure, learning of some of the history of the village along the way and on his clan as well, trying to connect the dots on who in the clan's past would have left and who could have been capable of joining the criminal underworld, if there even were any. It all seemed not, he would think about as he went through his morning sequence, making some hot tea this morning to help wake him up and get him focused, There's no record of anyone in this clan leaving the compound, much less the village. In a recent mission with Harichimo and Nanashi, Sekuro faced off against a couple bandits who had seen his Dojutsu before, a distinction that couldn't be mistaken. This means either whoever left did a good job of hiding himself and covering his tracks or he's still in the compound and operating under our noses. I don't like this at all He thought to himself, sipping his tea and reading some more clan transcripts, things ordered by their Dojo among some other notices, as the clan head, Sekuro was in charge of maintaining order amongst the clan and keeping records of all their dealings. The records kept around were no wear near as extensive as those of the village, in fact the clan kept only things like receipts, birth certificates, death records, and a few other I.D. things.

Since he had nothing of any clan member going ronin or causing problems and leaving, next he would match up the birth records with death records and then those still alive and in the village would be crossed off the list. It would be extensive but he decided he would get some fresh air, after spending all morning going through his notes from last night and debating involving the village police or even the village administration in his investigation, but he decided to wait, he would need more than what he had. He tied his sandals on and put on his jacket, the chilly mountain air gave him enough reason to want to stay warm. He finished his tea and a small lunch before heading out of the door, being in the side of the mountain and away from the village had it's advantages, it was quiet and the sun shone above them but would be blocked by the mountain as it passed over head.

Sekuro began his walk, dragging his feet with his hands in his pockets and watching his feet as he walked, he heard someone at the gate, the voice familiar but a little bit away to be for sure. He turned the corner at the end of the street to where he could see the gate and saw Harichimo, he hadn't made his way into the village since their mission that caused him this stress and he hadn't seen him either. And then another clan member as well, looking towards the gate, he didn't recognize him but he appeared to be the same age as Sekuro and Hari, late teens or early twenties at the worst. He began to walk towards the gate, taking his hands out of his pockets and dawning a smile, he called out to Harichimo, Harichimo! Good to see you. and he approached the two and also addressed the stranger at the gate as he opened it for his comrade and the stranger, Hello to you as well, I don't think we've been acquainted but I'm the current Fantomusodo clan leader, Sekuro. He had the same purple eyes and had to be a part of the clan, shows how little Sekuro actually knew of the rest of the clan.

As the gate opened he began to speak again, You know, I get the formalities and all but you could have easily jumped over the gate, or gone around, the compound isn't that hard to get around in. He said messing with Harichimo a little, So, what can I do for you? and he turned towards the second man as well before giving Harichimo a chance to respond, For you as well, if you need anything let me know, I'm usually around or in the village Administration building. He was glad Harichimo showed up, he wanted to take his mind off his research and investigation and he knew he would do well at keeping him distracted but he also wanted to talk to the person from his clan, he didn't get the chance to socialize within the clan much and definitely could use another friend within a clan divided by their want to stay isolated and their disapproval of a leader who was so young.

[814 words]

As Harichimo stood waiting a person a little taller than him approach the gate. A man around his age with hair white as a brand new snowfall. Wearing a scarf and what seemed like less nobler clothes than what Karumo wore. Maybe someone from his clan just out and about. And he has an Iwagakure headband so he must be some rank of shinobi. Good thing our clans are allied. I would hate to see that guy on the other end of a confrontation. Harichimo watched as the man kept walking closer and saw his eyes always observing back. Harichimo just smiled and turned to the man. "Well hello there. Would you by any chance be from the Fantomusado clan. I would like to get inside the compound and speak with Karumo if I could. And before I forget, I am Harcihimo Kazako and I am a chunin of the village. And how about yourself? I don't remember seeing you when our clans had that get together a while back."

Then Harichimo heard the voice of Karumo ring out from the inside of the compound calling to him. Then the gates would open so he could step foot inside with his new acquaintance and admire the inside of the walls. Karumo would then crack his joke with him making Harichimo chuckle a bit inside. "Yeah our clans may be allies but I think a random shinobi jumping the walls into a closed compound might cause a bit more of a stir and I don't need your clan's crazy eyes messing with my brain."


Harichimo looked around to admire and kept walking until he was in the middle of the open space of the compound before yelling out to the young clan leader. "Well I haven't seen you around for a bit and thought I would drop by to see what's going on. And maybe we can do a little training together and get our minds off of things. Heck we can even throw our big friend here into the mix. What do you say you two? I make a reflection clone and it can spar with you while me and Karumo fight hand to hand. No need for jutsus to explode or burn down half the village and cause unknown amounts of damage."


Harichimo would then walk to the nearest wall and take off his jacket. He would double check his arm bandages to make sure they were tight and ready to go. Harichimo would then take a vial from his jacket's pocket containing a few strands of hair. He would take them out and focus enough chakra into them to make a reflection clone. With the clone appearing Harichimo looked to the two would be opponents and gave a smile. "When you two are ready the first move is yours to make." Harichimo and the clone would then get into the fighting stance with their hands up in perfect unision as if in a mirror.


502/1458

Fukai felt a little awkward for the few seconds before the young man turned to talk to him. His name was Harichimo Kazako, a chuunin for the village. He spoke with confidence and with a tone of pleasant respect. Indeed, the name of Kazako was one he had heard of more than a few times. Harichimo was a bit smaller in size, but his body had clearly been trained and his posture and stance easily held his center of mass with great balance. Fukai was slow to answer, he was out of practice with interacting with other people outside of work. After a silence that was slightly too long, he decided to open his mouth to answer. At that moment, a call came from the other side of the gate.

The gate opened to another male about the same age as himself. He greeted Harichimo and turned to Fukai and introduced himself.  I'm the current Fantomusodo clan leader, Sekuro. Fukai was completely taken aback. This shaggy haired man is my clan leader? He had heard that he was young, but he hadn't imagined him to be so.. normal. He seemed like just another member of the village that had come out to meet his friend. Fukai wondered why he had a preconception of anything else in the first place. His clothes certainly fit the title. The two started to banter with each other. They were clearly quite close, and Fukai couldn't help being a little envious of their friendship. Anyway, he had something to do. ...we can even throw our big friend here into the mix. What do you say you two? Fukai hesitated and realised he had been in their conversation for a while now. He needed to go find his dad like he was told to, but he would rather stay here with these two. They were offering him an easy escape that was too good to pass up. Hah well, I guess I will join you two then. Fukai's face broke into a small smile. Their welcome extended like a warm wave that was slowly defrosting him.

Harichimo took off his jacket and readied himself for something. Fukai was very curious about these two, especially their techniques. If he was going to spar with them then he would make sure to make a good impression. He saw Harichimo focus and a clone appear. So he would be fighting this clone thing? The other two were getting prepared. When you two are ready the first move is yours to make. The other two faced each other and began, Karumo throwing out a comment at his opponent before engaging. Fukai took a quick guilty scan of the village and then turned to the Hari-clone. Fukai tied up his scarf and wiggled his joints around. He felt light and supple. Well here goes He grinned as he lunged for the clone. A right hook aimed at the clones head while the left arm was up guarding his face. It was a half power punch, he was not sure about the clone or about how hard out the others expected him to go. The clone easily blocked the punch with its forearm and grabbed Fukai's arm, and pulling him forwards, off balance and he stumbled and fell onto his left arm. Okay, time to get serious. Fukai wasn't one to get embarrased, but he wanted to make sure that his two new acquaintances would respect him. Fukai picked himself up. Glanced at the other two, then went again.

[594] /1397

So, Harichimo had come to spar with him, it would be a fine enough distraction for the time being. He prepared a clone, and wanted to keep this strictly hand to hand combat, really just no jutsu so that the town and compound wouldn't get burned down. Well that would restrict things, as Hari got into his ready position Sekuro would walk near the wall as well and speak softly, Hmmm no jutsu then, you must have heard about my fight where I burned up the field at the university. If there are no jutsu it's going to be difficult to keep up with your Taijutsu skill, but you probably know that already. Sekuro took off his jacket, he was moving slowly, building a bit of tension before their fight, he placed a bit of chakra into it for s substitution as he took it off, as a back up in case Harichimo went all out and sends him flying through a wall or something. The other man took off after the clone, and their fight began. The arena that was chosen by Harichimo was smart, it was fairly open with a few trees around used as decoration, they were big but not big enough to hide behind or stand upon. The clone and the other man began their fight, it seemed like they would head towards the buildings and away from the clearing. As long as they didn't use any jutsu they should be fine, nothing would really get broken in that case, if he was strong enough to break any walls or break the street by simple physical contact then he would easily dispatch of the clone.

Sekuro laid his jacket on the wall slowly and turned towards Hari, staying straight and letting his purple eyes try to pierce through his stance. It was time to see what kind of moves Harichimo had in mind and wanted to test out, having the substitution would nice in case Sekuro gets in too hairy a situation. Sekuro decided to approach Harichimo, dragging his feet to buy time, thinking about whether he should make the first move or not, with his skill in Taijutsu it would probably not be wise to attack him head on since he would probably be proficient at countering his moves. But he also felt that if he attacked first he could gain control of the pace of the fight. He would also be ready to draw his kunai should Harichimo do the same or it get intense enough for that, but using his sword would be a little much for a simple spar like this.

Once he would get about 8 meters away from Harichimo he would begin running towards him, hoping to get an early shot in he would jump and spin in the air, going for a spinning back-kick towards Harichimo's head with his right leg, hoping to connect, he would continue through with a series of jabs, and kicks to keep him on the defensive until a better opening would appear. He wondered how much of a speed or strength difference there would be between the two, and as he jumped to begin his combination of kicks and punches he hoped Harichimo would take it easy on him to start.

[552 words, 1366 words total]

145/150 chakra:

Harichimo watched as the taller man took a swing at the clone, making it clear on where the strike was going letting Harichimo make the clone easily grab at the young man's arm and give him a small tug moving him off balance. Quickly the shinobi regained his balance and seemed to tense up a bit more. "Don't get to rustled there. This here is a reflection clone. Capable of doing medium level taijustu techniques that I know but is only as strong as genin with training. You are the much bigger opponent so speed will be on the clones side but a couple of your strikes should just make it pop if you work at it. Let's see how you look when you are defending. Prepare yourself." Harichimo made the clone take a more aggressive stance and take a simple chop strike aimed at the man's chest. Harichimo would have the clone bring his other hand back ready to deliver a second chop for a combo hit. If the younger man was able to keep up, it would be a simple combo to dodge and let him get some strikes in and give him a little boost of confidence. But it was all up to how observant he was going to be. If this guy can show the same drive as Karumo then maybe there is more to this clan that a fancy eye technique and give us more reason to keep this alliance between our two clans for years to come.


Then there was Karumo taking his time making his way over slowly and probably formulating some sort of plan on how to tackle this challenge. Then without warning Karumo exploded into a flurry of strikes. Starting with a spinning kick which Harichimo was able to block by bringing his arm up absorbing the shock and causing a bit of a sting with there being very little difference between the two. Almost being equal but Harichimo could feel he had a slight edge, but that wasn't an excuse to not give it his best in a fist fight against a slightly weaker opponent. Then a trade of jabs took place some he was able to block but all would just be there to whittle down his defenses as the kicks would come in. Harichimo could feel a few jabs landing on his chest and shoulders giving him small jolts and a few kicks that he couldn't tense his leg in preparation for. Karumo definitely has been keeping up with training this will certainly be a test for someone of our skills. But trading punches with a taijutsu expert is pretty much calling for a quick strike. Let's see how he handles it when I make him fight at my speed. Harichimo would begin to get into the rhythm and begin to block the strikes matching speed with Karumo.

"I appreciate your two's willingness to take on this little challenge. Taking on a Taijutsu user without using jutsus in a straight up fight would easily spell defeat for anyone. But there won't be any digging of secret techniques from me so don't be afraid to give it all you got." Harichimo would pick up the pace in the strikes and give Karumo a run for his money. When Harichimo felt he had the timing in his favor he would reach for an arm of Karumo and drag it forward to make him off balance in order to deliver a chop to the chest of his opponent. Not hard enough to break bone but hard enough to give him a wake up call. 

613/2071

The clone struck him down again. If this was a representative of Harichimo's skill, then he was impressed. Fukai hauled himself back up. The young man who had made the clone seemed to sense his struggle. "Don't get too rustled there.. Fukai was told about how the clone will win the speed match up but Fukai had the reach. This is true, it is the same concept as in bukijutsu. A shorter sword will be able to be swung faster and with more control, but a longer sword will be able to out range a smaller one. Fukai had been extensively trained in bukijutsu since he was very young but admittedly had very little knowledge or experience at simple hand to hand combat. Although he felt a little naked without a weapon, he saw now that all the basic concepts could be transferred to taijutsu. Power, speed, balance, pace, reach. These things had been drummed into his mind at an instinctual level.

..Prepare yourself. He was sending in the clone to attack. Fukai assumed a stance with one leg slightly back, like a diagonal straddle that would spread his weight but also give him enough room to explosively twitch his legs if he needed to dodge. He wasn't quite sure what to do with his arms so he brought his dominant right arm up to his face as a guard and extended his left almost completely so that he may utilise his long armed advantage, kind of like how one would extend their weapon out in front of them, towards the opponent. He stood about two metres out from the clone, a comfortable distance. Harichimo sent in the clone with a quick chop. Fukai was initially surprised at the speed of acceleration the clone had, but his outstretched left arm gave him enough time to push away the strike with an open hand. Fukai couldn't see the clones other hand but he could anticipate the second hit that was coming. The genin could see the small tell tale signs in the body position of the clone. The fact is, that it is impossible to hide or fake out an intended action completely as any movement with the amount of force needed to do damage requires preparation by the body, like a wind up of the muscles.

The second strike came through as predicted. It was much more powerful than the first, but due to Fukai's reflexes he was able to rotate his body, shifting his right side forward, thrusting his right arm up against the clones left chop. The chop was deflected by the movement so that it wasn't blocked, but rather bounced off the forearm defence at a shallow angle. With the clones weight behind the failed attack, its entire front was exposed. The purple eyed man raised his left arm and jabbed the clone in the face, using the clones momentum to increase the force of impact. Fukai stepped forward as the clone stepped back, keeping up the tempo, setting the pace. Now that he understood that he could apply his knowledge of bukijutsu fighting to taijutsu, he felt a surge of confidence in his actions. He managed to get in a few more hits on the clones torso, continually advancing on him.

Then the Hari-clone regained its footing and with a few decisive movements, pushed Fukai off his advance. Then the clone changed up his style, using a more complex combination of actions that swung the tempo back into its favour. It wasn't long before the large male was back on the floor, eating dirt again. Its skill and speed were still much higher than Fukai's, but at least he had a chance. He got up again, feeling the bruising from the hits and the falls. This wouldn't stop The young man, as far as he was concerned,  there was only one out come of this fight. He tried again and again, each time he would be knocked back or sent sprawling. I need more speed. Fukai concentrated on this, thinking about what that meant. He needed to move faster. The purple eyed genin backed up to about twenty metres, focussing on his opponent. Speed. He accelerated towards the clone. FASTER. The single minded concentration ignited Fukai's chakra. When he reached 5 metres from his opponent, Fukai suddenly accelerated again, tripling his speed. With a flash, the mans fist impacted into the surprised clone, the momentum lifting it up into the air where it dissipated.

Fukai grinned, he was pleased with himself. He turned to the other two Did ya see that? He had been so immersed in his own duel that he had not realised that Harichimo and Karumo were in the middle of their own fight. He looked down at his hands and body. He had accumulated a fair amount of bruising and a bit of torn skin in his excitement, although he did not feel any pain due to the adrenalin coursing through him. Fukai didn't mind this sort of damage, it would quickly heal and if anything, it was the proof of training well done. It would become a pain when he eventually had to go home and wash out his wounds, but it would be forgotten in the shadow of a good meal. Fukai sat down in the shade against one of the clan buildings and watched the fight between the other two with great interest.

[927] /2324

Chakra used 145/150:

Fukai's fight continued, Sekuro payed hardly attention to it after Hari made his comment about it being a reflection clone. The clone and Fukai immediately went back to trading blows, and Sekuro focused his attention to Hari for their fight to begin. Harichimo blocked his first kick, it was expected, and followed by a series of combinations that Harichimo would also block, he had an edge in speed and strength but it was closeable, he would just have to find an opening to strike in. A few of the lighter strikes would land, but they would have hardly any affect on him. Their warm up was going well, but he could feel Harichimo getting his timing down, counters were faster and with more strength, he would have to do something fast. It was when they seperated from each other for a moment when Harichimo called out to him telling him not to hold back, but Sekuro knew for a fact that even at his best, Harichimo would still be able to beat him out in a simple fight.

Sekuro looked to him before they continued, Hmmm, well you did say no using jutsu that would burn down the village, if I wanted to I could've done something to take the advantage of the momentum already. And as for secret techniques, well that'll depend on how the fight continues. More strikes back and forth and the intensity increasing, a kick here and countered by a hook there. The two were doing well, but Harichimo was doing well, landing a few hits that would cause some bruising. Suddenly Fukai called out, Sekuro didn't hear what he had said but it distracted him and Harichimo was able to throw him off balance. That was a mistake, there's no way this ends well A hit right to Sekuro's chest, he would pause for a moment, his mouth would open up with the blow of the hit, he wondered if Harichimo knew that he couldn't feel hits like that.

He kept his ruse for the duration of their pause, then suddenly his head shot up with a menacing smirk on his face, he looked right into Harichimo's eyes as his head shot up, It was a good try and he grabbed Harichimo's arm and used his Dojutsu to cast the Phantom's Curse of Torpidity on Harichimo, lowering his speed down to Sekuro's level. Then using his hand that had grabbed Harichimo's shoulder he lept up, vaulting on his shoulder so that he was now above him with his body extended like a stick. As he vaulted over crossing vertical, he released his right arm that was holding Harichimo's shoulder and spun around. As he came down he curled up letting his leg's come down to kick Harichimo in the back and send him flying into the ground. He was preparing to put a lot of power into his kick so that he could send him flying with force, using his downward motion, the extra force from spinning, and his full strength in his legs into the kick. Sekuro hoped that Harichimo could block it and at least soften the impact but if he should land it, it would do enough damage to all but secure the fight in his favor.

[559 words, 1925 words total]

135/150 chakra:

Harichimo felt his fist make contact with Karumo's chest and everythign feel still for a second. Harichimo looked to his oppponent to make sure his half strength strike hadn't totally blown out his lungs. It was to prove deadly as Karumo grabbed his arm and Harichimo would get his first experience of his ally's eye powers. He made contact with the eyes and felt a stinging in the back of his head making his squint as it felt like little needles stabbing in his head. Harichimo grabbed his head to try and get some cognizance back. As he tried to gather himself back he felt a hand grab and push off of his shoulder. I need to try and get some sort of defense or else this may be it. Harichimo kept a hand on his fore head while his other covered his neck as he focused to call his chakra for a split second. With a burst of will his body became covered in a paper layer of chakra in his Iron Guard Technique. This should be enough to hold off and make my own counter. He felt his opponent make contact with the technique on his back and with one eye open looking back to his opponent, Harichimo would attempt to land a single standing kick aimed dead center of the chest with his full strength to try and bring the battle to a close.  


240/2311

Techniques used: Chakra 185/200:

( OOC: Sorry could be longer but real life issues not making me think straight at the moment)

As Fukai walked over to the shady spot, he saw Harichimo land a clean blow on Karumo's chest. The silver haired genin winced as Karumo recoiled from the shock of the hit, looking like he was in pain. Just as Fukai thought that their match was about to come to an end, Karumo's head spun to look his opponent deep in the eyes. Harichimo had dropped his guard in concern for his friend and Karumo had tricked him. Fukai wasn't sure about this, he wasn't fond of tricks and preferred a straight forward clean fight to ones utilsing trickery. Just then the clan head's hand shot out and grabbed hid opponents arm. In the center of Karumo's purple eye, a vertical black line formed. Fukai knew this was the first release of his clans dojutsu 'meifu no mei'. He had yet to awaken it himself but had seen it many times in years passed. These techniques were usually only used upon enemies as the effects of it lead to an unfair advantage. The dojutsu techniques messed with the targets brain and could slow or weaken his movements. The spiky haired male pulled on his friends arm and leapt up onto his shoulder. He then somersaulted and kicked his opponents back. Hari seemed to just tense up and absorb the blow. Fukai was confused about how that tremendous blow had been nullified. Hari returned with a slow but sure kick that would hit Karumo right in the middle of his body as he fell. Fukai could see that he was in trouble as he would no longer be able to maneuver around the kick as he was in midair, that was unless he had yet another trick up his sleeve.

He sat in the shade, breathing deeply to recover from his brawl. It had grown intense there at the end. He had immersed himself in the training deeply compared to his usual solo training. Maybe his new company had inspired him to go all out. The genin watched his two new acquaintances continue to duke it out. Fukai smiled. His clan head seemed to have gotten competitive in this simple spar. It was true, however that someone skilled in ninjutsu or other specialties would have a disadvantage in a simple hand to hand contest. As the fight progressed, it showed that Harichimo was well versed in these sort of duels and even looked like he was going a little easy on Karumo. Fukai knew for sure that we wouldn't like to stand across from Harichimo in an all out wrestling match, even in his slowed state. This being sad, his opponent was no slacker and had managed to stay in the game with cunning and resourcefulness. Fukai himself was enjoying this little escapade a great deal.

[472] /2796

Sekuro made eye contact his eyes had begun to seal part of his brain, reducing the amount of signals that would be able to exit his brain and reducing his speed slightly, it might not be by much but it would be enough t bring him back down to his level. And his vault worked well too, he had taken a high intensity route against Harichimo, probably not the best idea for a teammate but he was going to push him for a brief moment and see if he couldn't lock up a win here. As he vaulted overhead and brought his body end legs down for a punishing blow he noticed Harichimo hadn't even tried to move out of the way, had his Dojutsu caused that much mental damage to stop him in his tracks? Sekuro came down with his kick, it was stopped nearly instantly, all the force was absorbed by his back. He made absolutely no progress, and Sekuro's body collapsed downward, he began to fall now, caught off guard by his opponents abilities, he knew beating a taijutsu expert with taijutsu wouldn't work. He began to try to recover his balance and positioning, but Harichimo had already begun a counter, standing and bringing his leg up to Sekuro's chest, it would be a direct hit, and send him flying backwards, he would land at the base of a tree, if he could feel pain he knew that kick would've hurt, probably some heavy bruising on his chest at the least, it seemed Harichimo caught his attempt to step up the intensity and returned it back to him as well. But with that hit, Sekuro would end up calling it, he didn't want either of them in the hospital with anything serious from a simple sparring match.

Sitting at the base of the tree now, he waited for Harichimo's attention, he stretched out his neck and shoulders while he sat and began to laugh at the base of the tree, first quietly like chuckling to himself then out loud for all of them to hear, he lost track of where Fukai was at the time, but he knew he had taken a seat around them somewhere. He waved his arm at Harichimo while he finished his laughing, "That's it for me, I'm done for today. I knew taking you on with just my fists would be tough, I didn't think you'd have any tricks up your sleeves once I lowered your speed but it seems like you've got me beat in taijutsu for sure. But, I'm glad you came by today, I appreciate the distraction you've given me for the time being. He stood to his feet, he looked for Fukai as well now, he wanted to address them both. Well, I'm done for today, gonna go get cleaned up and eat, you both are more than welcome to join me, but I wanted to say, if y'all ever need anything or want another sparring match, I live right up there. Sekuro pointed to an apartment building a few ledges up, he lived right there, it was a small house, but barely larger than an apartment, he just wanted to point them to the place they could probably find him most often.

And with that Sekuro said his goodbyes and took leave of the pair, headed home to clean up and make sure nothing had broken from that kick. He would clean up and go grab some food, head into town and once he was done, grab some more scrolls and books from the archives and administration building and continue his research. He waved to the pair as he walked off towards his place, he still had a lot to do to get better, but he enjoyed his spar with Harichimo, next time he would have to take on Fukai and see what he was made of, besides, he was a clan member after all, and he needed more allies and soon.

[682 words, 2607 words total]
[Exit Thread]

Training:

Harichimo watched as his counter attack landed flat on the chest of Karumo, sending him flying into the base of the near by tree. Harichimo could feel the pain in his head slowly subsiding and letting him turn back to normal. So that is the power of his clans eye. Messing with my brain to gain an advantage physically. Quite the threat in a one on one fight. Definitely not something to be disregarded so easily. I would hate to see what the full power of that eye is capable of. Harcihimo took a deep breath as the pain fully went away from his mind and he walked over to help his friend up from the tree. Hoping his strike didn't leave him to bruised. "It was a nice surprise to see how crafty and durable you are. Next time I will be sure to watch out for it. And you Fukai, you seem to handle yourself well for a genin. There is much potential in your future and I can't wait to see what comes out of it."



When Karumo was back and standing straight up he invited the two in to eat and welcoming them any time. "That sounds good but I should probably be heading home it was good seeing both of you. And Fukai if you ever need some medical attention my clan runs a small clinic out of our clan house. Don't be a stranger and feel free to stop by whenever. And with that I say good bye to the both of you and wish you both a good evening" Harichimo waved goodbye to the two as he grabbed his jacket and exited the compound and made his way back towards the clan house.

He got home a couple minutes later after taking a couple short cuts through some back alleys. He could smell his father's cooking drifting in the wind as smoke rolled from the chimney. He entered the clan house to see everyone was either relaxing in their rooms or sitting down to eat. Harichimo didn't feel to hungry so he went to his room. When he got there he threw off his jacket onto his bed and undid his arm bandages. Barely a scratch on them. Could be used for another day. He thought to himself as he rolled them back up and left them on his night stand. He walked over to his mirror and double checked his eyes to make sure no damage to them was done through the technique and there appeared to be nothing wrong at the moment. Pretty soon Karumo will be at my level and we can start making more advances towards the better of the village. Harichimo plopped himself onto his bed and began to drift away to sleep and recover from the day. 

Exit Thread

475/2786

Training:

Fukai watched, thrilled by the conclusion of the fight. Harichimo's kick managed to squarely hit Karumo on the chest. That's gotta be it. Both of them had showed skill in this fight in different ways. Hari had used a well practiced and defined taijutsu style that took advantage of his superior strength and speed and Karumo had managed to keep toe to toe for at least a little while using his wileyness. Fukai had found it entertaining just watching and seeing their skills and he made a promise to himself that one day he would fight them both and win. Even though they were both quite a bit stronger than him, the gap wasn't so huge that he couldn't catch up. Well thanks for letting me join in. I'd better go about my delayed business now. Fukai smiled and then watched the two of his new friends walk off.

It was strange, he had been quite the secluded one in the past years, but something in the two young men had encouraged him to step up and socialise. And as for his clan head, he had made a good first impression. Sure, they had not been in contact for long but Fukai had a keen sense for people. And there was something he felt like he needed to speak to Karumo about. Hey wait up for a second. He ran to catch up to the clan head. I just want to say, you seem like a good guy. If you are really going to reform this place then you can count on me. The Fantomusodo clan had grown a little messy during the years that Iwa had been controlled by criminals. They had been strong, but even the strong started to turn when drinking from tainted water. Fukai knew that any reform attempted would be met with large resistance. The criminally connected families stood to lose their investments if Karumo did what he pleased. I have lived in this country for a while now, I know it's ugly side. You'll need to gather people like me, walking alone will be death and there is strength in numbers. The silver haired man realised that he probably knew this already, friends like Hari would be useful in times to come. With that last statement he departed. Fukai's stomach started rumbling in anticipation. After meeting the new clan head, he now felt like it was possible to do something for his people.

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[exit]
~ thread complete ~

Training: