Nozomi knew that for now, it was best not to spend time in the main city of Kumo for the current moment of time. Things still were probably calming down there, and it wouldn't do to be caught hanging around in Kumogakure as she wasn't sure she wouldn't end up being detained. It appeared that something big had gone down, but Nozomi didn't have the full story just yet. All she knew was that Ayakashi had already come and gone, and Sanosuke still held his office as Raikage. At the very least, she knew that something had happened to avoid any form of all out warfare between their two nations, but tempers were still on the rise, and it could prove to be troublesome for her should she show her face at all, and she'd rather not test that just yet. Something had happened, but until she was fully recovered, there wasn't much point in her even bothering to try and gather information or return back to Kirigakure at the moment. She just needed some time to collect her thoughts for the moment.

Some of her earlier discussions with Gin had gotten her thinking. Why hadn't Gin tried to do anything in the first place? Sure, she was involved with Sanosuke, but she admitted it herself, had Ayakashi asked her to, she would have broken the prisoners out herself. And knowing that Sanosuke had wronged Kirigakure, she'd made no move to stop him. And of course, she would have tried to stop Nozomi from assassinating Sanosuke regardless of Nozomi's challenge, even knowing his transgressions. Even now, Nozomi hadn't changed her mind about killing Sanosuke. It was still high on her mind, regardless of Ayakashi's own actions and withdrawal from Kumogakure. Her own loyalty was to Kaekio above all else. Her girlfriend had expressed her doubts in Sanosuke's ability to lead Kumogakure, going so far as to defect from there herself. There wasn't any indication that Sanosuke would be willing to remove himself from office, so the easiest course of action would be to remove him herself. Kaekio could then return to Kumogakure

It didn't matter though. She wasn't exactly in any position to be going into Kumo even if she wanted to. Her fight with Gin had taken a lot more out of her than she'd planned on, and it was proving difficult for her to fully recover. She'd really pushed herself in the fight, and she was still out of it. Having pushed herself as far as she did, it was still rather interesting that her body was still able to react as well as most Jounin could, so even if she were to run into a tight situation this far out from any of the shinobi that would be protecting the city, she would be confident in her abilities to fight them off should she need to, at least long enough to escape from them. It wouldn't be an issue in the slightest, she wasn't a Hunter-nin Captain for no reason, after all. Her skills were markedly higher than most individuals were, so even in a weakened state, she wasn't all too concerned about her odds against most people. Her speed was nearly unrivaled when she removed her weights, and with Flowmotion, she didn't even need to take them off, she could get up to high speeds without any problem. Her main issue was in her lack of familiarity with the area. She didn't have a home field advantage here, and any Kumo shinobi out here would probably know the layout of the land as well as she knew Kirigakure's.

That being said, she'd not seen any such Kumo-nin around, and it didn't appear that she would. She was fairly close to the border of the great nation and a neighboring smaller nation that housed the Village Hidden in the Frost, and had been actively making her way towards the border, to recuperate outside of the boundary that Kumo-nin would be allowed to operate in. She wasn't ready to return home to Kiri just yet, and couldn't stay here. If Konoha were closer, she'd make the trek there, but she didn't want to leave the area completely, so the smaller village would do just fine for her tastes. The thing that had made her stop though, was that the Hunter-nin Captain had stumbled onto some sort of campsite. She'd been following a riverbed the entire way, as she knew that it would lead her towards her destination, but it appeared she wasn't the only person who took this exact path. It was rather strange, and she knew it in an instant. Her training had taught her more than basic tracking skills, and that included an ability to know when someone had been in a place recently or not. Every indication of this camp gave off heavy signs that it was very recently used.

Sliding her mask over her face, Nozomi shifted into a more cautious stance, her right hand trailing towards the hilt of her katana, should she need to draw it with any haste. She should have hurried on from the area, but her inquisitive mind wasn't one that really let her do so in the first place. This wasn't some sort of ordinary camp area, and she knew it. Judging by some rocks near the other side of the river, someone had been doing training around here. Judging by the amount of damage done to them, it suggested someone who trained themselves in Taijutsu, or at least focused on their body more so than most normal shinobi. However, the amount of damage done was indicative of someone with a lower level of strength, rather than any beast of remarkable power. Perhaps it even amounted to some levels of Doton training. But that wasn't what drew her attention. Her training as a Hunter-nin had familiarized her with all of the other countries in order that she be able to track a target down anywhere she should need to. Unlike the ANBU, she was more equipped and meant to spend her time outside of Kirigakure. She knew for a fact, there was flora growing here that wasn't indigenous to the area, and in fact shouldn't even be able to thrive here. It was from Konoha, who's vastly different climate would allow for the growth of such things. That clued her in on two things: The shinobi who had camped here wasn't likely to be a shinobi hailing from these lands, and that very same shinobi was likely to be from the clan of Senju. A well respected clan, known throughout the lands, and one that the Hunter-nin knew plenty about.

Piecing together what information she had gathered, Nozomi came to the conclusion that whoever was here had to be some sort of low ranking shinobi from Konoha's Senju clan. The amount of training done here wasn't indicative of a higher ranked shinobi, or more damage would be present, and there wasn't much point in training this little if they were of Jounin level. It would do next to nothing, and this area was obviously lived in. The main question being, what was a Senju doing out this far into Kumo's territory? Perhaps they were some sort of missing-nin, seeking refuge out in the wilderness of a foreign country. Or perhaps Konoha had sent in their own troops to reinforce Ayakashi's? No, that didn't make much sense, officially there wasn't a war, and she hadn't heard of any mass movement of troops from Konohan forces. Beyond that, sending in lower ranked shinobi wouldn't have done all that much unless it was a bulk movement, so a team of high level specialists would have made the most sense. Judging by the wear and tear in the area, this was all from one person's doing, meaning the likelihood of them being some sort of traveller or missing-nin was much more prominent. Perhaps they were still in the area?

WC: 1327

Appearance: [since I'm just copying it from my thread with Gin, and don't want to reuse words for WC]

Spoiler:

It was very strange for Asura, he spent the night shifting, tossing and turning in his new bed, it almost seemed a little too soft for him, and a little too small, his feet were dangling off of the end of the even though it was the biggest size he could find at the time. Eventually he became so tired that it didn't matter and he just became unconscious. For Asura, the day before was quite tiring, he only intended to go out and get some drawing equipment but he ended up going house hunting until he found the one he now owns, well has a lease for. He intended to turn the bottom area into a shop, the building was desigend to be used like that, a store at the bottom and living area on the next floor, but Asura had one skill and that was plants. He was quite familiar with plants from Konoha, mainly because he lived there and he still swore allegiance to the village. It was his goal after opening this shop to spend at least a week in every other land just to study the flora so that he could implament it into not only future Jutsu but also for the plants to be sold in this very shop.

Despite the events of the past few days, he had a sense of dread hanging over him, a sense that something was wrong, he didn't know what or why, probably due to his forgetful nature. He knew that soon Lin would come and see him so that they can spar against each other, it was exciting, but Asura wasn't really prepared to do combat yet, he needed to train a bit more, after all he was only as strong as his punch. He was used to spending months training by himself in that grove, using the river that flows through as a water source for some of his techniques, creating and maintaining the flora in the area, it was a way for him to get better control over his Mokuton, which was currently the most important aspect of his training, getting it to the stage where he would only have to improve his own body. With some of the new jutsu that he had been training in that grove, he believed he would become a powerful Ninja.

Although Asura had recently decided to stay in Kumo but wanted to stay a Konoha Ninja, he thought that soon he should return home for a visit, it would surprise the family who he hadn't seen for over a year, it often became curiosity of Asura's, just how was his brother's book shop doing, it would only be answered when he finally decides to return.

The past few nights were accompanied with nightmares following by strange conversations between his other side, one of the few things that he feared. He only really feared him because of his lack of care and his anger, although Asura used as a way of combat, Vritra used it as a way of life. Asura had the strong belief that if he were to lose it, to become incredibly angry, Vritra might take hold of the body, probably providing a good fight to whoever he came across, but if that person wasn't a Ninja, Asura probably wouldn't be able to keep what little sanity he still had. But despite those worries and fears, this night, Asura slept well, almost like a log, his dreams filled with stuff he would never remember but at the same time stuff that didn't cause to awake in a cold sweat. It was different for him.

Asura awoke in the morning, giving off a large yawn as a lifted himself off the small bed, placing his feet down on the cold wooden floor, it was strange indeed, it had been a year since he had woken up like this. He got up and stretched his arms out, cracking his neck lightly before slowly making his way to the bathroom to have a look in the mirror. After about half an hour, the seven-foot-tall Ninja, Asura, had showered and gotten dressed in clean clothes, he wore black jeans with a black kimono over it, he still wore the same black boots he's had for months. The sleeves of the kimono were removed and over the kimono he wore a white coat that reached down to just above his ankles, the coat was also sleeveless and on the back of the coat was his clan's symbol in black. On his hands he wore black fingerless gloves that reached halfway up his forearm, it was made from thin fabric but he liked the look of it. He returned to the mirror and combed his hair so that his ghostly white hair hanged off and appeared to be just over his head. He kimono he wore left a gap that showed off most of his smooth chest that had a black tattoo of the Senju clan's symbol.

He made his way to the kitchen where he picked up an apple and took a chunk out of it before laying it back on the counter and preparing some food and drink for his trip back to his old training location. He packed plenty of food and put the bag over his shoulder, the bag itself looked really small compared to him, but it was easy to carry and he only ever used to for supplies. Asura made his way to the front door of the store, turning off the lights as he made his way out before finally getting out the door and locking it. He started his journey to the gate, lightly humming a tune in his head lightly, the song Frame of Mind. It only took a few minutes but once he was past the gates he broke into a jog. The grove he trained in was about half an hour away by running.

As Asura slowly approached the grove, he stopped jogging and started walking normally again, keeping the tune playing in his head, seemingly absent minded, however he snapped out of it at the snap of a twig under his boot. Asura noticed someone by the river, someone quite a bit shorter but they were still in the grove, and Asura couldn't make out who that was. He quickly moved and hid behind a tree as quietly as he could, peering from behind the tree to see if he could try and get a sense of who was there. Asura checked his belt quickly to make sure his Konoha headband was still there, intact, it was, and that good, whoever this person was, Asura hoped that they would recognise the symbol. He moved from tree to tree, looking around the side before finally noticing that the person was wearing a mask and what looked like some kind of armour, it didn't look like it was from Konoha, but by this point he figured he was noticed, so he stepped out from behind the tree and slowly walked into an opening. "Hey there." He spoke carefully, with a hand up to wave, "Didn't expect to find someone in this grove." He said with a little bit of nervous laughter. He quickly followed it with his name, "I go by Asura." He didn't really mind if he were to be attacked, he found find some way to react and defend himself.

*Snap* Behind her, Nozomi could hear the snapping of a branch. Movement of someone trying to be stealthy, but her training was much greater than that of this person's. Her stealth, her own movements, much more graceful. This man was a hulking mass, large and ungraceful. At the very least, it let her know that this was the one that she'd thought had frequented the area, and confirmed her suspicions. This man was not anything she couldn't handle. Her hand relaxed, moving away from the hilt of the Katana. Even if he were dangerous and attacked without provocation, he wasn't someone that she needed to use her full strength to take down. If he were going to do so, he'd have taken her out stealthily and with better tactics. He didn't really come off as a large threat to the Jounin level kunoichi.

Bending to a knee, Nozomi palmed one of the flowers in front of her, examining the petals on it. Smiling to herself, Nozomi thought about her time during the Chuunin Exams. Her first matchup had placed her against another Senju, Yokochima. Things were much simpler back then, before she'd gathered any sort of notoriety. Now she was one of the Hunter-nin Captains of Kirigakure, and very strong. She'd torn apart the Senju she fought, having little reason to hold back, not knowing how dangerous she could really be. As a result, the boy had died, a rather unfortunate turn of events, not something she'd meant to do. But now, she'd refined her abilities, and even though she was much deadlier, she had a much greater control of her abilities. No longer did she need to tear through her chakra to take someone down. She didn't have to worry as much about long prolonged fights. She wasn't like this man trying to hide himself.

Turning as she stood back up, Nozomi faced the man as he stepped out from hiding, seeming to know that she'd caught onto his movements and knew he wasn't alone. If looks were everything, Nozomi might have been impressed. Indeed, he was rather tall, almost 2 feet taller than herself. In fact, he was almost as tall as Wolfgang, but that man she'd yet to see anyone  taller than. Even still, 7 feet was incredibly impressive. He would certainly have a significant advantage against someone of matching physical abilities. Unfortunately for him, if it came to a real fight against someone of substantial skills, his natural height advantage would fall short. Nozomi herself could easily disable someone of his size, there was just much more to hit. She smiled to herself, but it didn't matter, her mask covered up the action. Perhaps she could actually have some fun here, at least a little bit.

The man introduced himself rather readily, which showed some form of promise. He was named Asura, not a name that Nozomi recognized. That made enough sense, he more than likely wasn't a Missing-nin of any sort. He could have just turned around when he noticed someone in the grove, and he didn't. That wasn't how a Missing-nin operated, they wouldn't stay around if they were being actively hunted. Besides, even if he was, it wasn't worth the bounty at the moment, she couldn't really afford the hassle of going to Konoha. She had only really intended on leaving the immediate vicinity until she was recovered enough to actually pull off an assassination attempt. Either way, this Asura person could prove to be a small bit of entertainment. And this served as a good time to get to know a Konoha shinobi. She hadn't been in much contact with them as of late.

"Asura, of the Senju clan I take it?" her voice radiated from the mask, the modulator changing it and sounding more synthetic than real. "These flowers are quite magnificent, but they don't seem to belong in this region. Tell me, Konoha-nin, what brings you to these parts?" she asked, letting the flower she'd picked fall to the ground at her feet. She put her hand to her face and pulled the mask down, letting it hang around her neck like her forehead protector. Her eyes pierced into his, studying the man with her smile still on her face. "I'm Nozomi, quite a well known name by some, semi-finalist of the Chuunin exams before last? I'm a Jounin of Kirigakure now. Looks like we're both quite far from home, aren't we?" She would have been quite well known, after all, her sensei was Gin Kuroka. she was one of the most well known shinobi in the world.

WC: 771
TWC: 2098

Asura seemed a little shocked at first that this person was able to know that he was a Senju, but then he quickly figured that it would be easy to do so considering that he had a tattoo of the Senju symbol on his chest and the symbol on the back of his coat, he couldn't remember why he essentially advertised it on himself, or why he used Mokuton an excessive amount. He studied the person closely, looking at the mask, it seemed to change their voice, making it into the synthetic sound he could hear, unless that was what the person actually sounded like. It seemed that the mask would be an excellent addition to a Ninja's equipment, after all it would be able to hide their identity very well.

He was snapped out of his train of thought when the person had started asking about the flowers he had grown here; they were a mere by product of him practicing his Mokuton jutsu. The flowers were from Konoha, brought to life here through Asura, it was part of what led him to deciding to open a shop to sell flowers. He knew that if he were to attack, he'd not do much, he'd probably just be a mere annoyance, he wasn't going to attack, there was no point in it. Watching as she pulled the mask off, Asura was surprised, and yet he swore he could remember the person's face from somewhere, but where.

Asura waited for her to finish, she was Nozomi, a Jounin, today was getting stranger and stranger for Asura. He gave a light bow, attempting to show respect to her, "It is a pleasure to meet you Nozomi." He spoke softly as he rose back up, "Yes, I am a Senju, well, my last name is Senju too. I recognise you from somewhere, but I can't really remember, hmmm..." Asura thought for a few moments, "Ah, yes, I remember seeing you when I was coming into Kumo over a year and a half ago, just before the last Chunnin Exams. Other than that, I've not actually heard of you before." He gave off a light nervous laugh, "So what are you doing here? I'm only here, or as you put it far from home, because I came here to be in the Chunnin Exams, but I decided to back out in the last minute, instead I trained, as you can see." Asura gestured to the rocks and the plants, "However recently I have decided to move into the village so that I can open up a shop there. I have no allegiance to Kumo, I will always serve Konoha."

Asura had heard nothing from Konoha or about Konoha since he arrived in the Land of Lightning, he tended to be forgetful when it came to finding the news. Asura looked down a little, "I've not heard anything from the village, how is Sousetsu, the Hokage?" He asked before looking up and looked around at the flora.

Nozomi listened to Asura quietly as he answered her own questions. He was decidedly polite, and didn't give much hassle. Apparently he'd been around in Kumo since the Chuunin Exams, a fact that had surprised her heavily. She wasn't quite sure why someone would decide to stick around so long with no reason. After all, she'd stuck around for quite a while, but she was spending more time with Kaekio. That was what had set off the chain reaction of events that had led to her own return, this time as an enemy of the village she'd be assaulting. Even were they not enemies, she certainly wasn't going to be the most welcome of people.

A bit of what he said actually interested her in quite a degree. This man had backed out of the Chuunin Exams to train himself up? That seemed rather interesting, as one of the best ways to train would have been to actively participate, at least in her own experience. Granted, she'd appraised his abilities as beyond that of an average Genin, so perhaps his training had actually been rather effective. That being said, he could definitely stand to improve a bit. Against someone like her going all out, he likely wouldn't last much more than a few moments. A fleetingly short amount of time could wipe him away. That moment decided that she was going to extend an offer to him for a friendly spar so she could give him some pointers. After all, she was a Taijutsu utilizer of no small skill.

An eyebrow raised at his final question. "Sousetsu? Oh my, you've been out of contact for a while, haven't you? I would have thought that quite an eventful thing that people would have informed you of by now. Most of the Kage have actually gone through some change in command lately. Sousetsu the Hokage, Akira the Tsuchikage, and Suzume the Kazekage have all been replaced, leaving only Sanosuke the Raikage and Ayakashi the Mizukage as continual kage. Sousetsu was replaced by Kenta Inuzuka, who was actually a former Hokage as it was. Akira replaced himself with Karumo Sekuro, who is a competent Tsuchikage, and Akira has revealed himself to be a missing-nin from Konoha, one of the Hyuuga clan by the name of Tsuyo. As of yet Sunagakure's own elder council is the one that really controls Sunakagure, as any hint of a leader isn't particularly found there." she said, giving him some information about the situations as it stood.

As she waited for him to process that information, Nozomi gestured to the man in front of her. In a way of answering his question as to what she was doing here, without actually answering, Nozomi gave more vague information, which was fitting of a Jounin anyhow. For all he knew, she was on a sensitive mission. "Kirigakure and Konoha still prove to be allied countries, in fact we have a Kiri-Kono exchange program for our shinobi and kunoichi, where Konoha-nin can train and be teamed with people in Kiri, and vice versa, so if you'd like, I could measure your progress and perhaps even include some personal training for you if that's okay. I'm not going to be in the area long, I'm heading through to the Land of Frost, so if you'd like it, it would have to be within this meeting unless you seek me out in the future."

WC: 573
TWC: 2671

Asura looked down a little, he was stunned, he had been out of contact with most people and he had no idea of the recent developments, event that Sousetsu had been ousted. It wasn't that bad, Sousetsu was a bit restrictive, making sure to keep tabs on everything, keeping everyone he could in the village from leaving, while Kenta was a bit more relaxed with the rules from what he could remember. The news about Akira was also new, to think that Sanosuke and Ayakashi were the only two still around, he knew who Sanosuke was because he was the Raikage, the leader of this village, but he had only heard of Ayakashi before, she sounded more like a legendary warrior from what Asura had read. And to think that the head of Iwagukure had actually been a Konoha Ninja from the Hyuuga Clan that had defected years ago.

It was good to hear that the two villages kept the alliance strong, Asura had no family in Kirigakure but he always had plans to eventually visit there, more so now that he owns a shop that sells flowers of all kinds. The exchange program was new to him, but it sounded like it was a great way to build stronger bonds with the land of water. Having new places to train is always great, its why Asura spent so much time training in Kumo, it was different to Konoha in so many ways. Asura's eyes shot up when Nozomi offered to measure his progress, some training would be good it was why he came out here in the first place, and he hadn't been in combat with someone else for years. This was a chance for Asura to brush up and use some of his more experimental jutsu, to test how it would be against someone stronger then himself rather than against a rock.

Asura spoke with smile, "It would be great to get some training, although I wouldn't be much of a match against you." He put his bag down next to a tree and adjusted his gloves a little. "If you might not be here for a while longer, it would be best to do it now." Asura stood still for a moment before performing the Snake hand seal, "Moku Bunshin no Jutsu", two people made from wood seemed to grow out of his back before splitting off and jumping to the side, the two started to gain colour and looked exactly like Asura did. Asura moved himself into a different position with the two clones copying, he put his left foot forward and his left hand up, his thumb point up and his first two fingers hanging in the air, the others pressed against the palm of his hand. His right hand had formed into a fist and he moved his elbow back so his arm was flesh with his right side as it was prepared to punch. Asura smiled and gave off a light laugh, the two clones remaining silent.

Jutsu Used:

Nozomi nodded as Asura eagerly accepted her offer for the sparring, glad that she could actually find some bit of fun here. Fighting people while at a detriment was a good way to make sure that she was still operating at the top of her game. After all, it wouldn't do to get too rusty and rely solely on her weights being removed and utilizing one of her Taijutsu dances to alter her skills. She had to keep her skills sharp with the weights on in base form, so that she was ready for any sort of situation. And a Chuunin level opponent was the optimal person to practice against, especially as he surprised her by utilizing a wood clone jutsu. Her eyebrow raised slightly in intrigue as she shrugged and went into her basic stance, one hand outstretched with palm presented, and the other arm bent, lifted slightly from her side, palm presented forward. Asura might recognize the stance as that of the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist, but obviously Nozomi couldn't utilize the same style the way that Hyuuga's could. Normally, she'd have the Himitsu clan's Petal Dance jutsu active with this stance, but she didn't want to tear Asura to shreds, so she wouldn't bother with it.

She looked at the 3 Asura's in front of her, actually eager for the fight to start. He did seem to understand she was in a rush, and took her up on the offer, so he was probably just as eager to test himself as she was. She observed their stance, a classic taijutsu style that suggested he'd trained rather in a striking style. From the looks of things, just judging by his appearance, Nozomi would wager to guess he was a strength focused fighter rather than a speed striker like herself, but that couldn't be confirmed until she saw him actually attack, as looks certainly could be deceiving. Naturally speaking though, she was inclined to believe that she was right, as strength would power through weaker faster opponents on average. That was fine, she was facing 3 opponents who were at a disadvantage against her, so this would actually be rather fun. Hopefully the clones could withstand some decent hits before dissipating.

For now, she'd stay back, waiting for Asura to make the first move, keeping her eyes on him. The weights wouldn't be too bad for her to use, keeping her around completely average Jounin level, which was still enough to wreck most Chuunin level opponents. His skill and strategy in combat would determine how long he was able to last against her, but she was definitely going to fight on the defensive for now. If she went offensive, the clones wouldn't last long enough for her to even get any enjoyment out of the fight. She needed the multiple opponents to enjoy herself at all. Depending on how he fought, she'd be able to train him efficiently. Especially since he had his clones, they would all absorb the knowledge individually, and then certainly accelerate the learning process quite well. "Begin!"

WC: 512
TWC: 3183

Chakra: 290/290

Stats-
Strength: B-3 [-1 Himitsu Drawback]
Speed: A [+2 Taijutsu, -2 Ankle Weights]
Endurance: A
Perception: A-1 [+1 Ace Eye]
Reaction Time: B-3 [+1 Reflexes, -2 Wrist Weights]

Asura's eyes followed Nozomi's movements closely, he'd never seen that stance before, it was a change for him, but he had a plan for unexpected events like this. He could remember back when he was training against his cousin, someone who frequently changed up stances. Although typically he used defensive and offensive stances, never hybrids, so Asura was never too sure with them. Over time he had developed a way of fighting that would almost always grant him dominance over the combat, of was a mixture of hybrid and offensive combat, it was better to do it with clones appose to doing by your own. He used to use it on his cousin before he went missing, he trained it on his brother too, never truly mastering the idea of it. It would great if the technique were to work, especially on a stronger opponent, in preparation, Asura's clone's clenched their fists and Asura himself left his somewhat clenched.

Asura looked around a little before he initiated the plan, it was always planned out in the back of his head in case a situation like this where he'd be allowed to attack first. The two clones on either side of his launched themselves forward towards Nozomi, fist first, hoping to land a punch on her, a moment after they launched forward, Asura himself launched forward, moving his hands forward and opening them, lowering himself a little to try and tackle Nozomi to the ground where he aimed to start throwing punches that he hoped would land. The attack was a classic martial arts technique, useful against almost anyone, except for those with an iron-clad defence and those who were typically prepared for those sorts of attacks. Part of him expected her to take out the clones right away, to Asura they were more of a way of distracting the enemy and a way of placing a few extra hits, perhaps a way of bringing forth extra Jutsu, however he never really used them before this sparring match, it was also quite useful for completing multiple tasks at once, or at least Asura thought so.

Nozomi's eyes focused on the three fighters in front of her. She wanted to wait as long as possible to take out the clones, to see how long she could really go on the defensive against multiple opponents when she was unable to utilize her stances or remove her weights with any sort of effectiveness. That would be harder to do than simply removing the clones from the field, as it required her to hold back quite a deal, but she was confident she could. The main issue was figuring out which of the two were clones, and which was the real one. Her gaze fell upon the three, looking for any small differences. When she made clones, she tended to switch her actions with that of a clone, to make it appear as if one of them were really her, and she mixed in amongst the clones, but she knew that wasn't standard protocol. Most usual shinobi utilized clones in a supplementary way, making them attack first, and keeping themselves out of harm's way, or using them as distractions. It took a small glance for her to decide he was the middle man, the clones on either side of himself, purely by his fists. His weren't clenched as tight, meaning he was planning a different sort of attack, but the clones were fully ready for punching like normal. Of course, she could be wrong, but it was safe for her to attack the middle without much worryof dissipating any of the clones.

They launched forward towards Nozomi, and she moved with a speed that surpassed their own, weights and all. She wasn't really disappointed, as the three of them together would be hard to outmaneuver for too long, but she was confident at their rate of speed that she could end the fight at any point she wished to, as long as they weren't holding back significantly. Her hands moved, the fists coming towards her, and she caught the punches in her free hands, tensing her body and partially leaping backwards as the middle one came in for a tackle. The leap wasn't really designed to go over him quickly, but to place his face level with her foot, which she lashed out with, using the force of the kick to push herself back. A direct hit would send him back, reeling. Since she was still more than likely holding on to the clones, her jump would help her pull them into eachother, more to disorient them than to actually injure them, and she'd let go to allow her full springboard to happen, landing a few meters back from her starting position. If she failed to kick him, she would simply use the clones and sandwich him between them, still using her jump to fuel the process.

WC: 468
TWC: 3651

Born-Ill: 1/8
Chakra: 290/290

Stats-
Strength: B-3 [-1 Himitsu Drawback]
Speed: A [+2 Taijutsu, -2 Ankle Weights]
Endurance: A
Perception: A-1 [+1 Ace Eye]
Reaction Time: B-3 [+1 Reflexes, -2 Wrist Weights]

OOC: Sorry, need to collect my WC so I can leave Kumo soon

*A while later*
Nozomi had actually managed to have quite a bit of fun with their spar. Asura may be weaker than she was, but given time, there was every possibility that he'd one day get as strong as she was. But for now, she'd wasted enough time here as it were, and needed to be moving on. After dropping a few pointers on his fighting style, offering some tips for improvement, and giving her best analysis, she took her leave from the area. Hopefully she'd see Asura one day again, and they could have an actual fight.

-EXIT THREAD-
WC: 98
TWC: 3749
2449
Training:

Speed: A-2 -> A-3 [1300/1300] Ryo: 300
Perception: A -> A-2 [2150/2150] Ryo 525

Total WC: 3450/3749= remaining 299, Ryo:825