Visual training was an activity that one was taught at the early stages of the academy for deep seated exercises where meditation was the medium for the exercise. Through meditation and strong visuals, one could reenact training exercise, that would normally be difficult to do in the material world, but with strong visualization. Incorporating chakra into the mediation would make the exercise more real as it is then where the chakra makes the pains from the training link to your physical body. This was so the visual training would be more real to the recipient. With himself sitting at the very top of the tower of heaven when given the opprotinty to witness his own shinobi train dillegently to stride for a common goal of getting stronger. From his room of the tower, Sanosuke could easily enter into another room and observe the fight up close. Or he could look at he monitors below him.

Either way he could see everything in the tower from this one room. It would be too boring to just watch the fights on a screen so Sanosuke would go to the ones he found interesting in person to scout. But until then, he would meditate through his training. His body floated in a midair by having his chakra not only elevate him but also control the receptives of his visual training. His body became caked in sweat as his grip on his kneecaps strengthen. The training he was visualizing was one between his depiction of the Mizukage from what he witnessed in the war against Seven Bells. It was certainly freightenly as she could have easily gotten even stronger since then. The fight itself was a losing end as it left Sanosuke with bruises, aches and the visual depiction of his death by the visual Ayakashi he conjured for the training. If worse comes to worst, he'd have to be prepared to fight the Mizukage in combat. But he now faced an obstacle of how to get back her defenses.

With the training over for now, Sanosuke plopped down on the cold marble floor of his rather empty room. It was meant for sparing purposes at the epitome and epicenter of the tower of heaven. Should there  be a challenger for him, they would be in this blank room where they would encounter Sanosuke training on his own or they would wait until he'd return to challenge him. At the moment, no one had come up to challenge him in about a year. So it was quite boresome. Wiping the blood from his mouth, Sanosuke put on his shirt and walked down to the lower ends of the tower of heaven to inspect some genin coming through the gates. It was time to see what they could do...

---

466 WC

Satoshi came through the gates beside Lin laughing. His hands were shoved into the pocket of his snow white slacks and his stride came with a devil may care lean. This was a boy who had been untouched by the weight of the world. His white shell headphones bopped in time with his steps atop the shoulders of his snow white jacket, music faintly pumping out of them.

It had been an exceptional day so far! He'd met what he hoped was a new friend, had some dango, and was no w preparing to meet her in a friendly spar. To greet her with his fists, as he'd put it. As he thought about it now, it certainly did sound a bit more aggressive than he'd intended. He'd pursed his lips at that thought. If it was the case he'd know soon. It was incredibly difficult to hide your emotions in a fight... Especially against someone who sought to feel your beat.

"More than I'm bargaining for? I hope so! Surprises are fun and what would be the point if we didn't have any fun, right?" He grinned stupidly as he turned to face her, backpeddling now so they could talk as they moved to set up for Ninja Kumite.

Satoshi had been particularly good at kumite. Perhaps it was the environment of safety that provided a subtle boost to his confidence or the predetermined arena that kept his opponent from finding too much space. Regardless, if there was one thing he excelled at, it was hand to hand combat. A close quarters fighter with a background in boxing. He'd always preferred to be up close and personal. It made it difficult for opponents to weave signs or to do anything particularly complex. No, if he could get his opponents off balance he often found they fell into a particularly sweet rhythm. It was when people started acting syncopathically.

[WC: 327]

Lin smiled as they walked through the gates into the arena. She hadn't noticed who all was there before the match. It wasn't crowded at all like she had expected, and she didn't recognize anyone there. She apparently couldn't see the Raikage from his vantage point watching the two of them.

She didn't have any problem with the fists comment, and she had soon forgotten about it. Her strategy would be to keep him as far away as possible, and with his stance, he was probably going to try to close the distance in a short amount of time. Lin nodded to the other people as they made their way to the center of a circle and she set up the rules, "No jutsu, and no going outside of the circle. Just a clean Kumite. Weapons are allowed, but aim for non-vital areas. Unless you want to use Jutsu?" She made sure that he would agree to this before starting to prepare for the fight.

WC: 281

Lin giggled and stepped back pulling out her senbon and said, "So, winner makes the team, and loser joins the team hmm? Sounds interesting. I wonder if you'll enjoy training with my sensei." She raised her left hand to block and kept her right hand behind her back with her senbon. Not to give away any of her secrets, she motioned for him to attack her. It was a poor thing to attack someone who was unprepared, and he had given her the courtesy of letting her prepare. When he moved she jumped back deftly and released the Senbon, aiming for his midriff.

His bare feet padded along the floor as he approached the lower ends of the tower of heaven. He noticed the floor's design was slightly declining, thus indicating it was gradually leading to the lower levels of the tower of heaven. Despite it being visual training, it left the Raiakge caked in sweat as though he had been training in the physical world. Materialiing a towel from his back pocket, Sanosuke wiped off the sweat off his body while walking. His chakra sensing out the individuals he would be watching. All of the other fights on the other floors were rematches he had already seen before or something that he himself could predict. This was rather refreshing from what he sensed. A small chakra pulse was needed for him to get out what exactly he needed. A kunoichi with senbon needles was about to face about to face off a young shinobi whom seem to be a taijutsu specialist. They were both genin from what their chakra signatures were giving off. But that was about all he could detect from them.

Before reaching the shinobi and thus getting into the range of perception, Sanosuke transformed into a black cat using the transformation technique. His black cat form was that with golden rings on its fur as the Raikage streaked down the halls to the open spot where the fight would occur. With a seat open, Sanouke leaped on the railing with ease and was watching from an elevated but close seat to the kumite he was going to witness. It looked rather promising.

---

WC: 1067

Satoshi rubbed his chin for a moment considering her proposition. "Well, let's give it our all this time! Let's not worry about restrictions... Well other than the vitals thing. That sounds kind of painful." He frowned ever so slightly as he spoke, conjuring the image.

Pain was a major deterrent for him. Given that, It was a bit of a strange decision perhaps, that he was fond of being a close range fighter. In melee range you were at the greatest risk for taking damage. But for him it was where he was most comfortable. When he was far away he felt like he was lost at sea. Floating mostly helplessly waiting for sharks to come take small bites of him. He frowned again, deeper this time as he thought about sharks. He shook his head then, clearing his mind of all of it's distractions. Come on Toshi! Head in the game.

"I want to feel your rhythm, all of it! Show me how talented you are senpai." He nodded, his frown now replaced with a carefree smile once more.

He observed her stance momentarily before trying to decide on his approach. His hands twitched with eagerness as he did his best to grasp an understanding of a stance he wasn't familiar with and an opponent he'd never fought. How exciting! After another moment's wait he decided there was only one course, and that was straight ahead!

And so with that set in mind he started to approach her. They were at a long range at the moment and the longer he was there, the less patient he got. As such, he took off! He rushed towards her. He was quick for someone who'd only just graduated... But to the seasoned Genin his speed was only considerable rather than fantastic.

When he got about halfway to Lin she leapt back, her hidden hand lashing out like a whip to send senbon towards him. Perhaps it was nerves, or inexperience but he panicked a bit. His pace slowed and he tried to step past them. Even though there was little subterfuge to them at all he had stuttered. The needles plinked into the wall behind him harmlessly.

Satoshi fell backward a step and onto his bottom as he wince. "Ita-". A small strand of steel poked out from his left hip. One of the senbon having found a home. He kept one eye on Lin and one eye on the needle as he tried to sort out the best way to extract it. Well, more specifically he was trying to sort out a way that it didn't hurt... He reached over to it with his right hand, took a deep breath... And then quickly yanked it out and threw it away with a pout.

[WC 798]

Lin took advantage of the momentary lapse of movement from Toshi to take out the senbon and smiled. She would make quick work of this fight if she had the chance. Making the appropriate hand-signals she conjured her shadow clones using the doppelganger technique, Bunshin no jutsu. She knew that they would not hold up to Satoshi's attacks, but it would buy her some time, and she knew that if she shuffled herself amongst them before splitting off in four different directions, he would have to make a choice between the four to attack, giving her enough time to throw in a couple more jutsu.

Completing the jutsu, she summoned the clones, each an exact replica of her, down to the scar on her right cheek. They all wore the same scarves, and each of them blew in the winds of battle that were raging across the tower of heaven. She shuffled herself around in her clones before running forward and to the right of Satoshi. One of the other clones ran to the left and forward past him, the other two split up, so that they formed a cross, each staying five feet from the edge of the ring. She made sure that the clones would not go toward him, and would try to evade his attacks, rather than absorb them. She trusted in her speed and perception, honed by her sensei in her training, would do her well. Gin would be proud of her for using such a strategy, for she was a mid-long range ninja, with little strength to rely on. She had endurance, she had speed, but when it came to physical blows, she didn't know who would come out on top, especially if he was rushing her like he did.

He hadn't taken out a sword, or anything like it so he couldn't be a Bukijutsu user, and he didn't attack her mind, so she doubted that he was a genjutsu user. No pets were on the field, which meant she had one opponent only, and he hadn't attacked her with ninjutsu out of the door. This only meant one thing, that he was a taijutsu user. She and all her clones gave an identical sigh and all said, "Can you feel the beat of four people at once?" putting up their hands and taking defensive stances. If he came at the real one, she would dodge just like a clone, but would have the other clones start to close in. It was a game of chess, she was behind him to his left, and waiting for his next move. She would have to keep him at a distance, that much was certain. He was faster, stronger, and more perceptive than a just-barely-graduated Genin, but he couldn't match her speed if she was smart.

One mistake and it would be over for her. She knew this, but felt confident in her abilities. After all, she had survived the training with Gin, one of the seven-swordsmen. It wasn't going to be too hard to survive a clash with this genin. He had headphones on, which threw her off at the beginning, but it seemed as if he was not using them to keep a tempo going in battle, since she couldn't hear any beat coming out of them. Her hearing wasn't nearly as acute as his, but she had trained that with the session  with Gin too. Rely on all your senses, you'll get yourself out of this. she nodded to herself.

WC:888

Chakra used: 5

jutsu used:

As he observed the genin preparing themselves for the spar at hand, Sanosuke couldn't help but feel a tinge of nostalgia hit him. The preparations they made before commencing the spar were as normal; a hand seal of commencement was formed before they began. To the left was the boy who was obvious the younger of the two genin, he had began moving in a rather particular pattern. Left, right, left right. There was something about his passive stance as he began to try and feel out the kunoichi's movements as she held the senbon needles in her hand. There was something off about his passing that Sanosuke was trying to get a read on. It was rather coordinated for someone whom he could assume just graduated the academy. The gleam from his headband told Sanosuke that much. All headbands that genin wore had some sort of shine to them to mark they have yet to go through extensive training or any missions to dirty up their badge of being a shinobi of kumo.

He would have to keep a close eye on the boy's movements to figure out what was so puzzling about it. It was just way too coordinated with how his movement switches on the dime, and so consistently. But the question was why was it so predictable. Normally it would have been concluded that it was due to his inexperience that his movements were so predictable. But it was too predictable if that makes any logical sense. He wondered why, as he looked over to the kunoichi eyeing the boy as though he was a prize. That look in her eye reminded him of someone but he just didn't know. One thing was for sure, that look meant the boy should be thinking on his feet.

The fight started with the kunoichi throwing a hand of senbon needles. Sanosuke eyes darted quickly to the boy in order to see how he would handle the situation. His inexperience dampered his skill as the charge he initiated faltered at the sight of the attack. Rule #1 of a fight, do not be intimidated by what the oppponent does. A half second of indecision can cost you your life. One needle struck true as the boy cringed in pay while retreating. The blow wouldn't have happened should he had paid attention and had steps to deal with someone with weapons.

Now the boy was at a disadvantage. Sanosuke let out a low sigh, he wondered how he'd get himself out of this situation. The girl proceeded in weaving hand seals to let out her next attack of her barrage. The bunshin jutsu, that was a classic technique as 4 other replicas of the girl were created. He seriously doubted this was the kage bunshin jutsu as she herself was a genin and that technique was far too advance for her knowledge. How she sent the clones out was what tipped the transformed kage off. The only person who could have used clones like that must have been taught by a certain silver haired kunoichi that slept on the other side of his bed.

Sanosuke shook his head as he was getting used to the fact that Gin was spreading her influence on his shinobi. Hopefully none of them copied her lifestyle choices as that would be a disaster having another copy of the woman in his village. If this girl was taught by Gin, then the boy was rather in trouble. The girl has not only more experience as a genin than the boy but also profited from private lessons from a commendable shinobi. The odds were stacked in his favor indeed. Sanosuke's tail swayed left and right as his eyes feasted upon what the boy will do next. This was a rather uphill battle unless the boy did something change the flow of battle.

---

WC: 1720

Lin hadn't rushed him... And a part of him was disappointed. It hadn't been a bit. He wasn't setting a clever trap or anything... Satoshi might not have even been capable of such a grand obfuscation. He wasn't a particularly stupid boy... But he was eager. He was high energy and he liked to keep things moving. A lot of times planning involved waiting... And waiting was boring... And if there was one thing Toshi hated... It was boredom.

He rolled backwards gingerly, bracing on one foot and a calf in order to keep his eyes on Lin. What occurred next made him wish that maybe he hadn't. Lin was still there. But now she was accompanied by three more of herself. Satoshi frowned as he got to his feet then. He looked over at the senbon he'd discarded, a bit of blood coated the end which had perforated him and he used that to inspire him to action. He certainly didn't want to get pierced again!

"Well... Uh. Technically..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I can... Yeah." He nodded stupidly, taking her question at face value before setting off towards her.

Satoshi was unique in a number of ways but perhaps most importantly, he was a member of the Kotone clan. The Kotone clan was of little infamy, but those who knew of them, knew their background lay in sonic resonance. Specifically, for young upstarts like Satoshi, his body generated a natural resonance that was beyond the pitch perception of the human ear. There were only rumors about what stronger members of the clan could do, for it's representative who was front and center he was capable of a sixth sense unique to his blood line.

Onkyō no Tsuiseki , or the Pursuit of Sound. A passive ability inherent to the Kotone bloodline allowed Satoshi to literally feel the world around him. The unique pitch that was generated by his bloodline constantly resonated invisibly about him, acting as a local sonar field. This, was what he meant by feeling someone's beat. It gave him a special insight to the world around him. While it didn't modify him physically, it did grant him extra input if she got within his zone of detection.

He pursed his lips for just a second... Lin appeared to be a long range fighter... Or perhaps she was goading him into thinking that... Ugh, this was complicated. He shook his head then. There was only one way to be sure... And that way was to stay his course. Satoshi nodded to himself once before he turned his attention to the many Lins. Four in total... And if his impression about her being a long range fighter was right, then surely she'd be the one furthest from him right?

With that notion in mind, Satoshi reassumed his stance, and charged. He'd sort out who was who by simply picking one. Of course... Whenever each of them took any action at all his attention swayed... He seemed extremely curious as to what they'd do. Satoshi had always had a problem keeping his attention focused for any length of time... Even if that length was only a few seconds. And now, with four Lin's it would be even harder... His attention deficiency would certainly come into play here.

[WC: 1371]

Pursuit of Sound:

Lin, with her and all of her four clones in position, started to move rhythmically to the right, circling the shinobi in the middle of the ring. She was very careful to keep the rhythm, the footfalls, even the cadence of the clones to mimic her movements perfectly. It was like shuffling the clones to begin, throwing off the opponents perception. While the clones couldn't be hit, they were as quick and if she payed attention, would be able to dodge any blow that he threw at her. Or that was at least the plan. Bloodlust and patience shone in her eyes as she watched him unblinkingly, moving in circles around him, making sure to keep all three clones equidistant from him and in sight. When he attacked, whether it be her or her clones she would make the clones close in on him.

Perhaps she could fool him into thinking that they were more substantial than they were if he went after them. This would give her time to launch a jutsu at him from a range. She didn't want to hurt the poor genin, but she did want to win at all costs. She wouldn't hear the end of it if she lost to him from Gin. Footfall after footfall would echo from the stones beneath her feet and the feet of her clones. Just substantial enough to make their own noises, just substantial enough to move like her, but the farce would be over if one of them were struck. Because he hadn't moved towards them while she was surrounding him, she assumed that he didn't know which one was her and was making his decision.

A shark never moved before it was ready, and neither did Lin. She had drawn blood in the first round and now the sharks would circle until the fish, in a panic would attack one. She wouldn't have to expend much energy if he picked poorly. He had a one in four chance of picking the right one. But she liked those odds far better than fighting him one on one. Just being able to see his abilities in action was a thrill, and as she watched him, never blinking, her eyes placid pools of liquid electricity, she wondered if he would be able to discern her from the others. She had worked to perfect this technique in the academy and had used it in battle once before. That was no guarantee that he would fall for the farce though. She knew better than to underestimate her opponent, especially since he had yet to make a real move of his own. She would wait patiently, a fish drawn to the scent of blood, until it was feeding time. The movement kept her from growing rigid and kept her perception and reaction time at their peak without draining her stamina. She could walk indefinitely, and she had all the time in the world.

WC: 1395

Things were getting interesting now. It really was a showdown between the boy and the kunoichi. She definitely had a similar blood lust to the Kuroka Sanosuke knew very well. To people not prepared to face it, it can distract them for a split second. And that is the moment when Gin-well should he say her newest student- will pounce and go for the finishing blow. Her blood lust spoke volumes that she was going to end it with this blow should the opportunity present itself. At the moment she positioned her clones to start circling around the boy as he finally pulled out the senbon needle and started to situate himself. The rhythm she took in unison with her clones was following a pattern. It was memorizing if one couldn't pick up on the movements. But he could hear her footsteps in a pattern, the clones didn't make any sounds as she walked. But the real kunoichi actually did make the sounds.

During his own training as a genin, Sanosuke realized that his vision could deceive him. And it was better to not rely on them for verification, and instead his other senses. In fact until he was a chuunin he trained in kenjutsu by using only his sense of hearing. The clones are only visual, they carry no scent nor sounds.  If the boy could figure this out then he should be fine. Sudden the boy did something that had him fight back a chuckle. He heard a rather particular sound wave coming from the boy's body. What was making that sound? Sanosuke didn't know but something told him that the boy was going to pick on that very fast. She won't expect you to attack first since she's underestimating you, use that moment of shock to your advantage. Just strike before she knows what hit her, knock her off her balance and strike kid. You can do this.....

---

WC: 2578/1000
Raiton: Kokōsoku training completed --->1578 remaining WC

1578/1000
Fūton: Rasen Fuusen training completed--->578 remaining WC

As Satoshi charged Lin... Or rather, Lins spread out around him, encircling him. If he had been a more patient man, perhaps he would have stalled himself out, as he did to avoid the senbon. If he was a more clever boy, perhaps he would have stopped in the center of her circle and pondered which one was the right one. Suss out the reality that those who weren't the natural Lin would have no audible footsteps or cast no shadow.

Satoshi was none of these things. If he was anything... It was lucky. Not in the classic sense. Satoshi wasn't the sort of guy who could flip a coin four times and have it come up heads each time, well, not anymore than anyone else. No, Satoshi was situationally lucky. It wasn't uncommon for him to find himself in a situation that he could sort his way out of through sheer guts and effort. Perhaps it was because the world in which he currently lived was gentle as compared to the real world outside.

This was a perfect example of that situation. The passive ability granted to him by his bloodline, his pursuit of sound technique, was what allowed him to rush right into the mob of clones. Further, while Satoshi had some real problems fighting multiple opponents at once, it was specifically on account of feeling -so- much from the world around him. He had difficulty focusing on the sensory input he'd receive from so many different bodies... So many different rhythms to sync up to. But here... There was a single rhythm.

Clones didn't have a beat. They didn't have hearts. They didn't breathe. And further... They didn't have physical bodies. Bodies that would register in his resonance field! Hold that thought though. Satoshi wasn't wise enough to have known this from the start. He hadn't considered this from the very start... No, his plan was fueled by impatience and high energy!

He charged with intent. With any clone within ten meters not even registering in his mind he was able to easily keep from getting distracted and zone in on his opponent!

As he closed in on her, he brought his hands together in eagerness. The grin was apparent on his face. Just when he got within melee range, he threw his hands backwards, rather than forwards and declared "Fūton: Nagare!"

Satoshi's lips pursed into a whistle like shape as he exhaled a powerful concentrated gale! This, of course wasn't the intended purpose of the technique... It was meant to be a mobility tool. A way to catch someone by surprise with a sudden shift in momentum. But in this instance, he intended to suddenly shift Lin's momentum, rather... Her balance. The technique was powerful enough that if used up close would cause a small stagger in his opponent. With his momentum traveling forward, it only stopped him in place.

His right arm sailed forward then, a gleam of steel in his right hand as it turned out he hadn't been throwing his arms back in order to draw force... He'd slipped his right hand under his jacket and had come forward with a plain jane Kunai. The ninja tool was directed right at Lin's throat...And while she didn't know it... He absolutely would not go through with stabbing her. He would freeze his momentum at the last moment, if it got that far, in order to draw a yield.

He'd seen Lin throw some senbon...But at this juncture, Satoshi had no idea how fast or skilled she was... For all he knew, he was just like his fellow students had been at the academy... And when it came to raw physical ability, especially in taijutsu, they had all been far inferior. And little to Satoshi's knowledge... Things in this situation, things were quite the opposite.

[WC: 2038]
[Chakra Used: 5]

Jutsu Used:

As soon as Toshi started to come at her, her clones moved in towards him in a pincer tactic. Lin wasn't so much caught off guard as she was annoyed that he hadn't gone for her clones. At least she was moving in a defensive pattern to begin with. While her clones moved forward she jumped back a bit, bringing her closer to the edge of the arena. She hadn't counted on him rushing her from the get go, but she had planned for it if he did. She would just have to dodge his attacks.

As soon as he did his Futon: Nagare, she pushed herself into the way of the jutsu, she was 3 meters away from the edge of the ring and she needed the extra distance that it would provide her time for her own jutsu. She hoped that it would push her back far enough to take her out of his kunai's range. The jutsu hit her in the chest and indeed it knocked her back two meters, with her grinding the toes of her sandals into the floor to keep her from being pushed out of the ring.

Right, it was time to end this farce, she put her hands together in a weave of handsigns and announced, "Raiton: Kangekiha! If the jutsu hit, and she hoped that it would with the three of her clones finally within range to grab at him, then the jutsu would push him back a further meter like it did her previous sparring partner. They would not actually make contact, but would provide as a distraction at least. That, along with the first degree burns that would cover a palm-sized area of his body would deter him from attacking her head on again. That was the plan at least.

She held out her palm and aimed right below his sternum. A wave of electricity streaked at 10m/s towards the youth, her clones moving in to make it so that he was not able to move to the left or right. Or that was the plan at least. Directly after using the jutsu, she dashed to the right, hoping to keep the distance that she had gained from taking the hit from his jutsu and hopefully her own. She couldn't take a hit from him in close range, and he had kunai, not senbon. It was her game to keep him at a distance. She was right about him being a close-range ninja, and the kunai coming out of his sleeve was proof of it. It was a good thing that he had used the jutsu at her to throw her off balance, otherwise she wouldn't have gained the distance that she so sorely needed. It was pure luck that he had used the jutsu that he did at that time, and it was only due to the experience she had dodging kunai with Gin that gave her the speed and reaction time to take full advantage of the situation.

Lin was faster by far than Toshi, and her reaction time was what she had to rely on. She knew that a close-range battle would end in disaster now. That might be something that she could work on later, if she won this fight against Satoshi. She mentally logged it for a later conversation with Toshi after this fight, focusing on him and his movements. Remember your training with Gin. Focus on his movements and nothing else. Otherwise you'll get hit like in practice. She thought to herself as she dashed to the right as fast as she could, 9m/s. Her scarf billowed behind her, clearly marking her as the original, but the farce was over anyhow. Now was the time for action. if she could make her clones move in between their positions, she could use the distraction to create an opening. Maintaining her speed would be impossible, but she only needed another opening to finish the fight.

WC: 2075

jutsu used:

Sanosuke's transformed ruby eyes watched the battle unfold before him. The spar was getting heated for the boy bellow but at least he was thinking smart. His instincts were correct in assuming the boy was able to pick out the correct kunoichi from the clones of the girl. From what Sanosuke could pick up, the way the boy was able to distinguish between the girl was a matter of sound waves to bounce off the clones and the kunoichi. Only the real kunoichi would have sound waves be reflected back at him to be heard. The only way Sanosuke figured this out was he felt the sound waves themselves reach him, and of course felt them bounce back. So the boy must have known that there was an audience.

Despite the sudden developments, the girl was rather composed. That was surprising to say the least since she was rather convinced that she had the upper hand using the clone technique to distract the boy. But she took the hit and rolled with it instead of panicking. Sanosuke saw how the boy moved into the attack this time with more conviction in his footsteps. The girl was preparing an attack while using her clones in conjunction with it. Static electricity filled the air as there was a glint of focus in them. It looked like she was still headstrong on finishing the spar with one blow. She had guts, but that will take her so far.

Regardless she was in a much better situation than the boy as the clones were advancing on him so there was no way for him to escape the confines of the technique. The boy was inexperienced and this may be overwhelming to process. The clones advancing and the raiton technique she's prepared to fire, it may be enough to cause the boy to deter slightly like he did earlier in the spar. The boy had to calm himself down and not be distracted by his surroundings.

The clones weren't able to intercept him at all since they had no physical form to them to stop him. They were simple distractions that the boy must realize or else they will cause his charge to deter. He had the right idea in charging, the fact that she wants to use this space to fight at a distance must mean that she has little to no physical combat ability. Sanosuke could have gathered that much considering how frail her body was compared to a girl her age. She was dedicated in keeping the fight at a distance to launch more jutsu. At all cost the boy must get in close to land one solid blow, and the fight was his.

Unfortunately the blast was close enough that there was no real way to dodge the technique entirely but with the boy's trained body he should be able to keep going without being knocked back from the blast. At most the wave would clip him if he acted fast enough to position himself out of the helm of the wave. Seeing how focused the girl was on the boy with the kunai, something must be done to divide her attention. Perhaps throwing it at her to force her to dodge then follow her movements where she dodge to cut her off and land his blow. The pivotal concept for this plan to work is he must be headstrong about his take down and can't lose speed whatsoever.

He can win hand to hand, Sanosuke was sure of it. It was all a matter of how he'd get there to close the gap that the black cat transformed kage wondered...

His technique had landed, the Jutsu had pushed her further back towards the edge of the ring. Wonderful! Unfortunately he wasn't able to close the gap, but he had sussed out which Lin was the real one. He had followed his instincts and not his brain. And once again, it had paid off. He was surrounded by clones, but he couldn't feel them. They might as well not even be there.

Lin called out a technique, just as Satoshi and weaved a handsign. It was Raiton, good! Raiton was particularly weak against his Futon techniques. It would be easy to counter as long as he focused. He braced himself, continuing his charge as she threw her hand out! Now was the time to act! If he could just concentrate and slip past, she'd have nowhere to run. Her back was to the edge of the ring, and as fast as she was, as long as he controlled the space it wouldn't matter. She could dodge all she like, but if she couldn't hit him... She'd tire eventually and he'd be able to force a victory!

Easy! Just like that! So it was time to focus and -"Neko?" Satoshi said outloud suddenly with his lips pursed in confusion. His eyes slid over towards the feline which had finally been picked up by his Pursuit of Sound field. It was a curious black cat with bright red eyes... How interesting! He wasn't sure he'd ever seen a cat like that before.

The world suddenly exploded in sound! The loud crackle and pop of a surge of electricity making contact with him! The attack struck him clear in the sternum where Lin had intended, not only undefended but directly on target! "ITAI!" He yelled out in a somewhat pathetic display as his charge faltered and he was forced backwards by the sheer force of the wave.

He made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat... Dumb! Don't pay attention to a cat when you're in a fight! Smoke rose from his body and his hair was standing on end from the static of the electricity. The wave had burrowed a hole through his T-shirt, just barely missing his Jacket... Which was rather lucky... He really liked this jacket!

The burn stung whenever he moved his left arm... With any luck it'd help him focus and keep from paying greater attention to wandering animals than to his opponent! Speaking of... She was trying to escape! She had begun to run... And now was the time for him to test his theory about being able to keep her contained.

An important part of boxing... And of fighting in general, was control of space. Circling the opponent and moving side to side rather than forwards and backwards to control space. The idea, especially for a close range fighter like himself, was to cut down the amount of space they had at their disposal. Lin had already backed herself within 3 meters of the rings edge. His technique had pushed her back within 1. And while he'd been pushed back, that hadn't given Lin anymore backwards space.

Further, she was running parallel to the edge... She couldn't retreat backwards unless she circled around him... And he was certain that he could contain her with clever utilization of their fight space. In a foot race she'd crush him. But in this instance, as she ran in a single direction, he could bi-sect the remaining space to trap her in a corner. A nightmarish situation to be in against a melee combatant.

Satoshi's right arm lashed out, his grip on his kunai being released, letting it fly in Lin's path. If she kept running, she'd run herself right into it. Meanwhile, Satoshi took off as well. Except he didn't run exactly parallel to her. He ran in a diagonal line in order to put the majority of the ring to his back, and position Lin towards a corner. Technically it would lengthen the space between them, but in reality it would limit her future options.

She attempted to have her clones run some level of interference, but their ruse had already been played. Further, they didn't even register in the mind's eye of his sixth sense. Even if she hid herself visibly between a veritable army of clones, unless they had a physical mass, he'd always be able to feel her wherever she went... Of course as long it was within his range.

"I won't let you escape! I'm starting to sync up with your beat. I hope you're ready to listen to mine!" He pointed at her, his legs continuing to circle outward, regardless of the direction she moved, in order to keep her back to the boundary of the ring which would mean disqualification. He then resumed his fighting stance. Fists up, prepared to fight. His body swaying in a rhythm and his feet moving continually... Even though he was wincing as he did it... Stupid pain!

[WC: 2927]

Lin knew that even though he threw the kunai, she could hear it, that if she stopped now that she would be as good as out of the ring. She was far too close to it for comfort. She commanded the clones to silently jeer at him when she was struck in the left shoulder blade by the kunai. It didn't dig deep, but it stung enough to make her gasp. She had tolerated such wounds from Gin in her training before, but it still wasn't a pleasant sensation having steel embedded in her shoulder.

Looking up from the ground, she found herself running out of space. She stopped 1m short of the other edge of the arena and grumbled something to herself. She had let him box her in, and if he used that futon jutsu it was probably over if it hit her. She would have to rely on her speed and reaction time if it came down to it. Looking at Toshi, not 11 meters away from where she was, she hatched a plan. He could dodge one or two projectiles, she knew, but he wasn't nearly as fast as to dodge ten. She would just need to see if there was anything nearby that she could use.

Panting, she had reached the edge of the arena. She knew that she was going to be disqualified if she was pushed out, and he had that futon technique that could do just that. Looking around her she studied her surroundings in an instant and knew what to do. If he had the upper-hand in close combat, might as well throw as much as she could at him. She knew of a technique that allowed for her to take the rubble that lay around them from countless battles and turn it to her advantage. Weaving the hand signs: Dragon, rat, horse, tiger and pointing to ten pieces of rubble around her while shouting "Ninpo: Kawara Shuriken!"

The rubble levitated simultaneously and started to harden, shaping itself into shuriken of the same size and hardness that Toshi had thrown at her. The creaking of rock and steel rang out throughout the arena as they formed and then streaked at him. She was aiming for his joints, mostly, and knowing where they were, the shoulders and hips seemed the best place to aim for, since they were the biggest parts of him. four to each side and two directly in the middle of where he was bouncing should give her enough of a spread to hit him with at least some of the projectiles. She had expended some of her chakra, but was far from out of the match yet. She could keep this up as long as he was willing to, if she got the hit in. If she didn't it was probably certain ring-out for her. Unless her speed was what saved her, like last time. Throwing herself at his jutsu wouldn't work this time though. Everything counted on this one jutsu. She had to make it count.

WC: 2594

Jutsu used:

Chakra remaining: 120.

Astonishment was the only word Sanosuke could use to describe his expression that the boy decided now of all times to notice that he was watching him. What's more is that he looked away from the eminent threat in front of him to make eye contact with the henged cat's elevated position. Sanosuke couldn't believe he would get distracted so easily. Only an inexperienced genin would allow his focus to be shifted so easily from the task at hand. And for that he paid for it. A sigh escaped his lips as it was obvious now that he should reveal his presence to the fighters.

Hoping down the his elevated seat that was an upper railing, Sanosuke landed down gracefully to the ground; coincidentally being on the sidelines of the ring that the two genin were in. None of that matter as he had his eyes still on the fight. His sudden appearance should mean nothing to the genin if they are serious about winning. Sanosuke could see the boy getting up and now moving with more invigoration. So the boy himself wishes to end it now as well. There was a shine in his eyes as he moved more lively. It was like a dance, the movements were predictable. Then the thought hit him. The boy's fighting style was basic off music and rhythm. It was like a song moving swiftly through each resonate of the lyrics by his movements. Very particular.

The girl took an injury from the boy's earlier charge. The kunai was in the girl's shoulder as pain from the attack must have rippled through her body as a medic. Of course she could have adjusted her body so nothing vital was hit, but due to her frail body the pain should be more crippling than usual. That pain should slow her movements down a bit as she tries to get accustomed to the pain. The perfect handicap needed to level the playing field. The boy's body faced burns from the static but his body was stronger due to taijutsu training. It would seem that they are both about even. The final blow will decide it and the boy is making the first move to finish it.

Sanosuke could feel the girl panic as she realized that if nothing is done she would lose. Her cool composure was blown before her as she was losing her demeanor that she was attempting to get back. The kunoichi made for a defensive maneuver that was a hail mary to keep the boy from getting any closer. Rocks and rubble were suddenly sharpening themselves to sharpen projectiles that were ready to be launched at the boy. If he can get past the barrage he could finally slip in one clean strike.

"Boy! Do not falter! You have her beat in your head. Now shatter her rhythm!" Sanosuke's voice boomed from the room so he would make sure he heard him. He should charge head in without letting anything distract him. Sanosuke could hear other tools with him, perhaps senbon needles? He would need to use those to help him penetrate her defenses. There were 10 in total projectiles being launched at the boy. He could perhaps dodge 3 of them since the girl's aim might be off due to the pain of her wound; 7 more. He could possibly block 4 of them roughly; 3 more that he would be hit by. It was better than getting hit with all 10 of them. With the wall passed by it would be now the moment to throw the projectiles at her to force her either out of the stadium or right in the perfect position to get struck by the boy.

It was time to see if he would land his attack...

Satoshi winced as his kunai sank into Lin's shoulder. He hadn't meant to actually hit her with it. That was almost too cruel... It was the risk she'd decided to take to prevent her momentum from being stopped. Ironically, she stopped not too much further out, discovering that she'd cornered herself. Or rather, that Satoshi had corralled her.

Satoshi watched as Lin began to weave hand signs. He didn't know what she was up to... But she knew that it was taking her a lot of time to prepare. Further, she'd placed herself just out of his range... At least as far as his Pursuit of Sound was concerned... Fine. He could see her just fine as it was... And if she wanted to try to close on him, she'd have to break his thresh hold.

He then heard a shout from behind him. He shook his head, clearing his mind of the hesitation he was experiencing. Whoever that was, was right. He didn't know really why he'd paused... He'd set the stage for his grand finale. Lin wasn't waiting for him to attack anymore... Perhaps she acknowledged his ability. Saw him as a threat.

He'd waited a bit too long to pursue perfection. He watched in brief astonishment as materials from throughout the room began to rise and shape themselves as dangerous, makeshift projectiles. Weak of constitution as they may be, he knew he didn't have anyway to break them. And just like that, they jettisoned towards him.

Time slowed to a crawl... They had been crafted between he and Lin, within his field... He could feel each and every one of them...As well as their trajectory. He had an additional bit of insight as to their path as well as how fast they were. He couldn't dodge them all... Heck, he probably couldn't really block them either. He'd thrown his Kunai... He knew his aim wasn't true enough to deter their course any. Their spread was massive... But he'd made up his mind.

He had a trump card... Something he'd been working on. Something only he could do. He was sure it would surprise her... Further, she was in the perfect position! This was what he'd planned for... Now was time to execute. If she thought his beat couldn't reach her from so far away... She was about to find out just how wrong she was.

Satoshi inhaled deeply and leapt with all his might to the left, back towards the center of the ring. His body sailed, outstretched, desperate. And far too slow... He'd barely cleared two of the projectiles!

"Fūton: Nagare!" Satoshi exhaled, once again generating that powerful gust of wind! This time he used it for it's initial intent. To provide an additional burst of speed! Like a balloon with the air suddenly let out of it, the youth shot another few meters outwards. Three meathy thumps could be heard as a line of makeshift shurikens chewed their way down his right leg, despite his attempts to clear them. If Satoshi felt them make impact through the adrenaline, he didn't show it.

He brought his right hand forward, grasping his wrist as a brace with his left hand. He stared at her intently. She was fast... But he doubted she was faster than sound.

He was in the clear now. He focused on Lin, put her in his mind's eye and locked her in his crosshair. He doubted she'd expect what was about to happen to her! His thumb pressed tightly into the first knuckle of his right hand's middle finger. "Fuwa!" The tension caused by the opposing pressure of his fingers pressing together was relieved in a sudden snap that left his index finger pointed at Lin with his thumb up... Almost like a gun. "Zofuku Ju!".

Toshi landed hard on his left shoulder, he bounced once from the additional propulsion from his Wind Release technique and rolled to a stop facing Lin, eager to observe how his trump card had effected her. ...What he saw was... Disappointing to say the least. His technique appeared to little more than a jazzy snap... However he intended to mold his chakra, it had failed. But the snap was pretty impressive! Perhaps a bit louder than it deserved to be?

He put his arms up stupidly in a show of surrender... The leg that had been struck by the shuriken had begun to bleed through his pants, which was particularly easy to make out due to their white color. He wasn't exactly in any condition to stand on it. The match was over as he couldn't rightly continue, especially not in a friendly capacity... Besides... His adrenaline was starting to wear down and everything was starting to hurt!

"Heh heh I uh... meant to do that... Looks like you win." He rolled over onto his back to look towards her and nurse his wounded leg. Oh man... Ow!

[WC: 3791]
[Chakra Used: 5]

With elation, Lin saw the kunai embed themselves in his leg. She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at the kunai hitting their mark. She knew that the duel would soon be over if he didn't end it then. With a start, she jumped forward right as he snapped and shouted: "Futon Nagare!" She hoped that he would not hit her with it,s ending her careening out of the ring. He was too far away, she hoped, and so she jumped forward. When she heard the snap she thought that the duel was over, but not in her favor.

Surprised, she flinched as he pointed at her and nothing came out of his finger-tip. More than surprised she saw Satoshi flop to the ground with Kunais sticking out of his leg. She had meant to stop him, and that much had happened. It wouldn't be anything that she couldn't heal, and she wasn't too worried. When he put his hands into the air and said it looks like you win, she rushed over to him. She hadn't even acknowledged Sanosuke standing there. She wanted to make sure that the boy, Satoshi, was fine and that he left unharmed. Knowing that she had made him surrender, she smirked on her way there, but that smirk faded with worry as she approached.

The pants had been stained, most likely beyond repair and there was a nasty first degree burn on his chest. She made some handsigns as she approached and said, "Kihon: Kaishu-ho" while her hands started to glow a teal-color. She assumed that Toshi would recognize the color, since he had been treated by a medical ninja before. He had said that he had headaches, so after removing the kunai from him and healing his visible wounds first, she asked him, "Do you have any other pains besides these?" She would move her hands over his head before addressing the man, Sanosuke. She didn't realize who it was, because she hadn't looked at him until she was done with Satoshi.

"Raikage-sama. You honor us with your presence." She stated, questioning with the statement as much as making it clear that they were honored. She didn't say much afterwards, wondering if she was overly cruel to Satoshi, "Perhaps a rematch tomorrow, Toshi?" She asked him. She was still overly concerned.

Jutsu used::

Chakra used: 10 to heal his wounds completely.

WC: 3000

A surprising ending to the battle between the genin resulted in the boy instead of relying on his ninja tools to find him a way out, used something that looked like an experimental technique he had been working on. It was rather risky to say the least that his hopes rested on a technique like that. But of course Sanosuke couldn't help but see himself when he was a genin fighting against odds that were stacked and using a hail mary to determine the flow of battle. Failure and him and a love/hate relationship with each other in the terms of experimental techniques. So seeing the genin do so left a smirk on his lips. He was going to see the boy become a great shinobi. He just needed to rough out the patches with him. But alas the technique was his undoing as it left him in a spot where he had lost.

The boy was also humble with his defeat as well. This was where the two differed; Sanosuke when he was younger wouldn't have given up a spar until he was knocked unconscious, the words defeat meant nothing to his ears. The boy's fighting spirit needed to be lit and he was going to see to that. A boy that moves with the sound to control his movements. Interesting indeed. Before the two noticed him, Sanosuke took a deep breath and vanished in a burst of speed back to the administration as the kunoichi was healing the boy's leg. By the time the girl was done, there would be no trace of the black cat. It was time for the Raikage to go some of his own research..
(thread exit)

Satoshi flinched as each Kunai was plucked out. He also might have squeaked a little bit. He wasn't much a fan of pain. In the academy they weren't really allowed to use ninja tools. Sure, they practiced with them. Target practice and the like. But never on each other. There was just too much risk of someone being simultaneously too strong and too unskilled to prevent themselves from permanently injuring their opponent. In fact... Even though he was trying not to think about it, he acknowledged that this was the first time he'd been stabbed. Well, this and the needle from earlier. That too had been in his leg. What did Lin have against him walking?

By the time he was done thinking about his wounds they seemed to be all but healed up. "Uh... I guess I don't have pain anywhere else. Well, nowhere out of the ordinary at least!" He nodded slowly offering her a smile that was meant more to comfort her than him. His head was throbbing but there was very little Lin could do about that. It was just the nature of his unique physiology. When he got home he'd have some coffee... There was nothing Kazue-Obachan's coffee couldn't fix... Well, except insomnia.

"Hmm? Raikage-Sama? Is that what the cat was?" He asked out loud, somewhat to Lin but mostly to the universe. He wasn't sure if Lin had seen the cat, but he knew he had. He'd felt him within his detection field as well... So he knew it was real. "Oh man! To think he almost saw my super secret trump card technique." He squinted his eyes and pursed his lips like a squirrel trying to hide his nuts for the winter. "I need to be more careful!" He slowly climbed up onto his feet, shaking out his leg to see if it still worked.

It did! And with only some residual soreness. The sort of thing you expected from strained muscles and the like. The sort of pain you get from a strenuous run as opposed to a set of lacerations. "Hey! That's pretty amazing Lin! I'm impressed!" He then started to look around. "But I don't see the Raikage anywhere. Are you sure he was here?" He asked suspiciously before turning to address her next question. "Sure thing! If I leave every spar feeling this good I'll be cleared to travel in no time! Then we can get to seeing the world, right? Let's do it!" He grinned stupidly while giving her a thumbs up.

"For now though" He rubbed the back of his head. "I think I'm gonna get home before it gets too late for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow Lin! Thanks again!" His head was throbbing and while his wounds were healed, his muscles ached something fierce... That... And he needed some alone time to figure out why his technique hadn't worked... He thought he'd gotten it down perfectly... But come to think of it... He'd never -really- fired it.

[WC: 4345]
[WC Spendings]
[2k WC for Ninjutsu -> B]
[2k WC for Doton -> B]
[345 WC remaining to the abyss]

[Exit Thread.]

"Great. Let's train tomorrow morning at least. We'll set up different rules. I think there is a mission that has us sparring." She nodded and clasped his hand. It was a good thing that he was such a good sport, she knew that if she had lost she would have been a bit more bitter about it. She tilted her head, "You'll have to show me your super-secret technique sometime else I suppose." Giggling she tilted her head to show that he was being silly, and that she was really over the fight. She had gone from cold-blooded fighter to innocent idealist in less than a second flat when she was done healing him. It was almost like a switch that she turned on and off. When she got angry she was capable of destruction, but normally she was a bubbly character.

"I could have sworn he was here." She looked around confused. She had recognized his voice, but she hadn't actually seen him. Shrugging, it must have been an inner voice that was rooting for Toshi, making him seem stronger than he was. Oh well, she was wrong sometimes.

WC: 3205 |Exit Thread|
Using WC for:
1000:

Spoiler:

1000 for:

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu:

1000 for:

Reflection Clone Jutsu: