Machi sighed as she moved through the training grounds. There was little for her here, she felt that her life was going slowly, but that didn’t mean it was stagnant. She only had to find a way to keep going, to push herself forward, and to prove that she was worth her salt. She had no idea how she would serve the village better, but she did know that she would go about and make sure that the village was safe. As she arrived in the training grounds she unrolled her scroll and summoned up her scythe. The least that she could do while she was here, was get some training done. Rolling up the scroll and snatching up her scythe in a quick flurry of motion. She quickly began to spin the polearm twirling it, so it sliced through the air the soft whooshing sounds it created as it did so a testament to how sharp the blade was.

She spun a few more times in a special series of spins and circles. Crouching down she spun the blade over her head in a wide arc. Springing back up to her feet she spun the blade around herself, then spun herself. With one last horizontal slash in front of her she came to a stand still looking out at the forest in front of her. Flexing her hands, she looked down at them shuddering and feeling her bones moving inside of her skin. She wanted to be able to do something with her powers, but there was little and less she could do right now. She had to work on that, but she knew little and less of her clan’s jutsu. Her father told her that she would only learn the Jutsu of the clan if she was smart enough to figure it out. If she wasn’t then she would know nothing, and that would be that.

She stood there thinking and looked down at her hands trying to figure out some kind of jutsu that she could do now, but nothing was coming to her. She could feel her bones move under her skin and she wanted to try, but didn’t know how. She would investigate her home when she got back there. So, absorbed in her self-study she wouldn’t notice any fellow shinobi who approached her.

WC: 395

Nozomi watched over the training grounds, her eyes following multiple different training sessions as she sat on the top of a large column near the center of the Training Grounds. She usually spent a lot of off time here, as she got to watch a lot of the younger students start to train up a lot. Partially, it was for her own bit of fun, getting to see which would be the strong ones for her to fight in the future, as well as stock piling information, but it was also partly so she could do some talent scouting for the Hunter-nin in the future.

As a Hunter-nin Captain herself, and because she wasn't known to be one, she always needed to keep a look out for those that were exceptionally skilled, or had a large potential in the future. Luckily, as Nozomi, she was known to spend quite a considerable amount of time in the training grounds, so it wasn't even suspicious that she always looking around. Nozomi did offer to train up people all the time and give some pointers here and there. She was one of the most fight hungry people around, and arguably one of the best teachers Kiri had.

What caught her eye this time wasn't that a fighter was particularly talented, but it was her choice in weaponry actually. It was very rare that Nozomi saw anyone utilizing a Scythe. Sero, sure he could probably use one, and Syn absolutely had, considering she got her scythe from him when she killed him, but she couldn't honestly say she remembered anyone else using a scythe before. Even she didn't like to use hers, and she was fully able to.

Leaping down off the pillar, Nozomi dropped to the ground with all the grace of a cat, loosening her muscles and joints to help her absorb some of the impact. Not that she needed to do that, but it wouldn't do to have her joints messed up by always dropping all rigid. It might not matter now, but in 10, 20 years, her joints would thank her. Standing up straight almost immediately, as if the drop was nothing for her, she walked in the direction of the scythe wielding girl, eager to see her up close, and see what sort of skills she had.

Watching her for a moment as the girl's form appeared in her line of sight, Nozomi spoke up. "So, I get that you have grace and can swing it with moderate speed, but what sort of combat do you actually use your scythe for? How do you get past the fact that you have a single blade on your weapon, and it is pointed towards you. Sure, you can use it as a pick, but most of the weapon is more or less non lethal. Know the answer?" she probed. Nozomi herself knew, but she was a weapons master. And dressed as she was, it was probably more or less obvious.

Nozomi was simply dressed in her Jounin gear, a plain black jumpsuit, and her flak jacket, her tanto over her shoulder, and two of her katanas at her left hip. Some scrolls lined her belt, betraying that she had other weaponry she could summon at her disposal, but the quality of her blades were much greater than the quality of the scythe the Kaguya wielded, to the point anyone could see she took her knowledge of weaponry seriously, utilizing only top of the line weapons. Her headband was pulled snug on her forehead, and she looked almost dead even in height with the other girl, although a little thinner, due mostly to her own harsh training regimen. Nozomi was the tiniest bit smaller, but probably only something that Nozomi herself could notice.

But it wasn't a test of Nozomi's knowledge that was the reason for her being here. Nozomi wanted to see if the girl in front of her could answer that.

WC: 675

Machi stood up slowly and looked to see that there was someone approaching her. Machi could see that this person was a Jounin, and wore a flak jacket. What brought her eyes to the woman faster were the tanto and the two katana. It seemed that this Jounin was also a weapon specialist and this made Machi take extra notice and give the woman her undivided attention. Machi herself was dressed in her short-sleeved martial artist robe that was her usual get up. Her gloved hands despite being fingerless tightened around her scythe as she saw this was a worthy opponent. The obi she wore was tied tightly and kept in place. Over it, she wore a ribbon that helped to keep the Oobi tight, but it also held the sheaths and small pouches for her ninja tools. Attached to her obi and the ribbon was the scroll that was normally used to store her scythe. Her pink hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was dressed ready for what she was doing. All in all, she was dressed as a shinobi was supposed to be.

When she asked the questions Machi looked down at her scythe. She then looked back to the Jounin nodding her head slowly “Most of the weapon may be non-lethal, but that does not mean it can’t wound or injure. Despite a weapon’s non-lethality does not make it a worthless weapon. The Blade itself is more than you would think.” She held up the scythe and ran her hand along the flat of the metal head “I am in the process of sharpening all the sides of this metal head, as you can see the part of the blade that does not face me is coming along to be sharp as well. I only require more time.” Twirling the scythe, she showed the pointed end of the staff “This is a sharp point that never needs to face me, and will serve as a capable stabbing weapon as well.”

With the weapon standing up in place again she smiled widely “However, one must always be ready to attack the enemy where they are.” Repositioning her weapon, she was holding it with the head of the weapon facing the ground, but the blade was pointing upwards and if she were to swing it like this it would be a wide arc that could cleave her foe “This is my preferred way of using my scythe for my first strike.” She kept her weapon like this looking over the Jounin in place and tilted her head “Did I answer your question properly Sensei? Is there something else you require of me or would you have me answer more questions?” Looking around and tilting her head she asked “Is there a particular reason that you are stopping and asking me questions sensei? I don’t quite understand what I have done wrong, or what I have done to seem so interesting to you.” Her voice was a little cold, and brisk in her mannerisms yet, not disrespectful.

WC: 516 / 911

Nozomi listened quietly and attentively as the girl in front of her responded to her question with fairly good accuracy. She had been right, the girl knew her stuff, and also sought to exploit the weaknesses of the scythe by increasing the amount of edges that the blade itself had. If a scythe was sharp on the inside and the outer edge, it would be much more versatile, and a pommel spike was also incredibly useful in its own right. There was no denying that Machi knew her stuff, and Nozomi was moderately impressed with the genin.

"Oh no, no. You haven't done anything wrong. Actually, that's why I came over in the first place. I don't really often see people using scythes, and for the most part, people who do don't even understand in the slightest how to use them properly. They pick them up because they look cool, but don't know how to properly swing, or utilize the weapon to its fullest." Nozomi responded quickly, not wishing to upset Machi at all. "Really, you're pretty competent with that weapon, and I just wanted to see how much you really knew about it. I like the pommel spike idea, it makes it able to be used like a spear partially, sacrificing some of the mobility of a spear for the scythe blade, but still, thrusting ability is nice if needed. The double sided blade as well is a nice touch and improvement on basic design."

Pulling out a scroll, Nozomi opened it up, summoning her own scythe, a triple bladed one that used to belong to Syn. It had a metal cable cord attached to it, and looked a tiny bit different, as hers had much different functionalities, but the base weapon's skills still translated over. "Part of the benefit of scythes is, like axes, the horizontal distance between the pole and the tip of the blade. Guarding against it with a sword as you would a sword strike is useless, as the blade can extend past the sword guard. The tip and curved part of the blade allow it to slip past a guard that even moderately defends, and it's game over. The pole itself allows you to have something between you and an opponent's blade, while the inside blade of the scythe allows you to extend an attack past an opponent, and then pull back to strike from behind." she said, demonstrating what she was saying on an invisible facsimile of an opponent.

"Of course, the lack of scythe wielders means most are uncomfortable fighting against scythe users. That gives an advantage to you, of course, as you know your weapon, and are used to fighting the more common weapons. Which, you probably already knew, considering you seem to know your stuff already." Spinning the scythe and letting the butt of it plant into the ground, Nozomi leaned on the now diagonal weapon, using the top of it as a chin rest, her body's weight supported by the leaning weapon.

WC: 525
TWC: 1200

Hearing that she wasn’t in trouble at all made Machi relax almost immediately the slight tension that she held slowly released from her body. She looked to Nozomi. Hearing that Machi was now labeled by a Jonin as competent with her weapon. This made her preen a bit under the scruples of her superior. Machi smiled and gently ran her hand along the head of her scythe nodding in approval “Yes, hindrancesome hinderances to the use of the spear-like head on the bottom. However, this only means that in turn, I can use the scythe head to attack those who would try to sneak up behind me with a more lethal blow than with a simple spear butt shaft.” She twirled the scythe around to gently jab in the air only to thrust her scythe behind her demonstrating the movement she was talking about.

Upon seeing the beauty of the scythe that was summoned up by Nozomi, Machi trembled with excitement her eyes filling with wonder and lust. She thought the scythe was beautiful and wonderous. She wanted a weapon that was as beautiful as the one that was before her. Licking her lips slowly in her admiration of the weapon she refocused her attention on what the Jonin was saying. Listening intently to the facts that were being taught to her, and the skills that were also being taught to her. She needed to commit these things to memory and she would make sure that she would use these lessons in the future. This was indeed a very correct way of thinking and use for the scythe, one that Machi was surprised that she had not already thought of. Still, watching Nozomi go through the motions on a facsimile opponent Machi was drawn to the fact that she executed the moves with so fluid and precise movements. She knew instantly that she had a very long, long way to go before she would ever be as good as the woman who was standing here before her.

Machi smiled as she nodded her head in approval “Yes that is very true. Very few people I have encountered are able to easily combat Scythes. Even other weapon masters do not seem to have a very solid idea of how to defend and counter the weapon. As for fighting with common weapons, I found that the easiest way to know how the scythe will fair against other weapons is to know how they work. I have found that learning to use swords was a better second choice due to the large number of sword users in our world. All of these things lend me aid to be a weapon master.” She smiled and tilted her head slowly “From the sounds of it you are also a weapon master shinobi. Well, I am honored that you would take such an interest in me, but I do have one question sensei.”

Standing a bit straighter she smiled gripping her scythe a little tighter “Who are you?” she asked balancing on the balls of her heat.


WC:515 / 1,426

Well well, it appeared that Machi was actually an incredibly find as far as potential went. She already knew that learning a style would allow her to better fight against it, not just allow her to fight using it. That was something she usually liked to remind people who couldn't seem to fight their own styles. Unorthodox weapons were great because people didn't know how to fight them, but coupling that with knowledge of a weapon style as well, it let someone be much more effective at taking out an opponent.

The question came that Nozomi had been expecting, as it was one she was frequently asked. "Ah, that. My name is Nozomi, I'm a high ranking Jounin in Kiri, and soon almost everyone will know my name. Once my joining of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist is put through, it'll be pretty publicly known information. A lot of people know who I am anyhow, cause I spend a lot of time here training people." she said, grinning at the other girl. "So, I suppose you could say that I have a lot of blade experience, sure. I'm more of a taijutsu expert though, which Captain Osada can't claim."

It was true, Nozomi was one of the single most dangerous and knowledgeable melee fighters in the known world, let alone Kirigakure. And as far as a weapons master was concerned, it was a highly sought after title to become recognized as one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and for her Taijutsu to be even above her Bukijutsu skills, it said enough.

"I recommend that if you ever want to advance your skills even further, join either the ANBU or the Hunter-nin Corp when you get the opportunity. I'm sure by the time you've ranked up, you'd be an excellent candidate. And you'll learn many different skills that are important to allow you to be even more effective."

WC: 340
TWC: 1540

Hearing the sensei introduce herself Machi seemed to relax slightly and was interested that this jonin of high rank would take interest in her. Perhaps she saw something in Machi that she couldn’t see yet, but then again Machi saw a lot in herself and she could easily believe that her greatness was finally being recognized in the proper fashion. She couldn’t help but preen even more under the woman’s observation, and attention, being that she was so high up and Machi wasn’t. Hearing that this woman was joining the seven swordsmen of the mist Machi’s brow raised slightly. The title was one that Machi herself coveted and knew that she wanted. Her clan was comprised of people who could’ve qualified should they have specialized in Bukijutsu. Instead, most of her clan were Taijutsu masters and ninjutsu specialists. Only a handful of people in her clan would be qualified to even say the specialized in a type of Bukijutsu, let alone claim a spot in the seven swordsmen.

Captain Osada however, that was a name that Machi did know. He was the number 1 sword in the Seven Swordsmen, and he was the captain of an elite squad as well. Machi always hoped that one day she could meet him and spar with him, or perhaps even fight him to the death. Most Kaguya were happy to fight stronger opponents to the death, even if that meant they would die as well, Machi was no exception to this rule. She was distracted from her thoughts by the recommendation and her smile finally appeared on her face as she thought long and hard about this. She nodded her head quickly “I would be delighted to join the Hunter-nin Corp. It would give me a chance to fight many powerful opponents, and it would allow me to protect the village even better.” She had a look of hunger in her eyes and an eager smile growing on her face as she thought about being in the Hunter-nin Corp. She didn’t think that she could join the hunter-nin corp ever. Yet, hearing that Nozomi thought she could join gave Machi something to look forward too.

Presently, she asked, “Well, if you aren’t busy right now Sensei, would you mind helping me train today?”

WC: 391/1,817

Nozomi smiled. "There's no need to call me Sensei. Nozomi is just fine. I like to remain informal. In that point, I ask you your name, you've found me in an interesting situation where you know mine before I know yours." It was true, she had forgotten to ask Machi her name first, and just freely gave her own name. Which wasn't bad if you didn't consider the fact that Nozomi was a Hunter-nin Captain with ANBU training. Information about someone was vital and shouldn't be given freely if it isn't necessary.

Now, they were in Kirigakure, and Nozomi was well known, so it wasn't as big an issue, but it was always good to have some sort of equivalent information about someone.

Spinning her scythe, Nozomi felt the weight distribution on it and smiled, before she placed the weapon onto the ground, deciding not to use it. She had experience against other scythe wielders, but wanted to train the girl against a more normal weapon set. Pulling out one of the katanas on her hip, Nozomi held the weapon in a basic stance, point towards Machi, both hands on the hilt, arms slightly extended in front of her. Her left leg was slightly in front of her right, most of her weight put onto her right heel.

"But I'll train you, sure. I need a good warm up anyhow to keep myself from getting rusty. I'll try my best not to break your weapon. Begin whenever you like." She said, grinning slyly. Her own blade was far superior, and with her strength it would be pretty easy to break the scythe Machi was using. Holding back was pretty easy though, and she might sacrifice some speed and power, but Machi probably wasn't advanced enough that Nozomi would need to use it all anyhow.

Nozomi would be interested to see how Machi would go about fighting someone she knew was vastly superior to her, what sort of tactics she would employ, and what sort of a fighter she was. It was possible for someone to get the better of a vastly superior and more experienced fighter, if you knew what you were doing, and Nozomi always held out hope that she would encounter someone with the ability and talent to do just such a thing. She was always looking for people better than her to advance herself with. It was hard to get better at a certain point, as fewer people pushed her to try her best and get better, so she had kind of plateaued lately.

It was doubtful that this genin would provide the push she needed, but she would suffice to stop a slide backwards and regression due to rusty techniques and sloppiness being developed.

WC: 475
TWC: 2015

Hearing Nozomi ask for her name Machi seemed to snap to attention. She realized that she had been rude. Shaking her head slowly she cleared her throat “Oh, please forgive me Nozomi. I didn’t realize how rude I was being, but clearly I was being rude.” She bowed low, but did not take her eyes off of Nozomi “I am Machi, Machi Kaguya, and it is my great honor to meet you Nozomi.” She said before she straightened up and began to spin her scythe slowly in her excitement.

Machi smiled widely and tipped her head in her gratitude “I am honored. Really, I am, now we can really step things up.” She spun her scythe around to grip it in what was for her, traditional fashion. Nodding her head with a soft smile she said “I would be grateful if you didn’t break my scythe. Still, please try not to hold back all that much.” She well knew that Nozomi was better than her, but she wasn’t thinking it was all that much. She would give as good as she got, and there would be no reason for Nozomi to complain about the amount of skill that Machi showed today.

Thinking long and hard about this she couldn’t simply attack with her scythe as she would want to. Yet, she didn’t have many other plans that she could come up with on the fly. So, she settled, for a slightly orthodox if unplanned for approach. Rushing forward she flashed her hand to the sheath which held her Senbon. Putting her hand inside of the sheath she drew out three of her Senbon throwing them ahead of her in a small 45-degree cone as she headed forward. She hoped that this would cause a reaction of defensive action, evasion, or something that would cause Nozomi to take her eyes off of Machi.

No matter the reaction Machi would close in on Nozomi and attack with a horizontal slash left to right, she follows it right up by flipping her scythe in her grasp and swinging her scythe in a right to left rising diagonal slash that would surely be painful should it land. Still, Machi knew better than to completely commit herself to any single attack. She knew that her opponent was skilled in these matters and she would not allow herself to make such a rookie mistake. Should Nozomi try to attack her in the process then Machi would leap backwards spinning her scythe in front of her in order to create a shield and give her some space so she could get herself together.

WC: 442 / 2,259

Machi. The girl's name was Machi, a Kaguya. Nozomi smiled in response, having taken inspiration with some of her jutsu from her clan. Obviously, she couldn't make bones like they could, but Nozomi's clan was famous for their ability to create solid chakra constructs, and as Taijutsu users, making a spike or sword of petals, or armor was very similar to the way the Kaguya made bones off of their bodies.

Regardless, it was time for the spar to start, now that they had formally introduced themselves. Machi was the one to kick things off, moving to draw some senbon. Nozomi made no effort to stop her from doing so, waiting to act based on Machi's actions rather than her own usual instincts. She removed one of her hands from the hilt of her katana, still pointing it at Machi, but her free hand dropped to the empty scabbard that belonged to her blade. The senbon flew through the air, but Nozomi swiped through the air with ease, catching the ends of the senbon and knocking them off course, the needles passing by her but not stopping their movement. She didn't have to move to dodge them, having calculated the trajectory.

Machi then lurched forward, delivering a powerful horizontal swipe towards Nozomi, who jumped backwards, the swipe missing her by a hair. Machi flipped the scythe around to deliver a strike back the other way, gaining the ground that Nozomi had cleared with her jump in order to land a strike on her. Nozomi moved forward, her katana moving down towards the shaft of the scythe, to shove it down to the ground. She wasn't trying to slice through it, but was using enough force to cancel out the swipe and knock it backwards.

Additionally, she pulled out the empty scabbard on her belt, using it as a blunt weapon to bludgeon at Machi before she could retreat. The lacquered bamboo sheathe whistled through the air to connect with Machi's shoulder, Nozomi more eager to see what she would do. There was little hope for the girl to actually land a strike on her in the slightest. Even with the unorthodox weapon she used, Nozomi was too fast and nimble, too strong to power through, and knew the weapon more intimately.

WC: 388
TWC: 2403

Machi was not entirely surprised by seeing that her Senbon were so easily deflected, but it was slightly sad that her tactic was so easily deflected. She didn’t really expect much better to happen, but she was hoping that some kind of movement would have happened to give her a better opening to attack. Still, she would not allow herself to slow down or second guess herself now. The slash that she delivered was enough to drive Nozomi back, and she was happy to see that. Her next attack however was going to be countered with the katana that Nozomi had.

As the sword hit and Nozomi tried to send the blade backwards Machi was quick enough to adapt to the blow and allow it to reverse her blade. Quickly adjusting her grip, she allowed the blade to arc in the opposite direction that she had been traveling, but it was the back of the blade that was coming at Nozomi now. While this side of the blade was not deadly, and not as sharp as the actual blade, but it did have a spike, and it was still capable of delivering a serious blow although it would be a blunt attack rather than a slicing attack. The blow was coming towards Nozomi however in a direction where her saya would be able to intercept, but unless she did so right away then both of their blows would land on each other’s shoulders.

It was only at this point that Machi actually noticed that she was under a threat from the Saya. She didn’t have much of a choice now, she was committed to the attack, and they both would be hit if Nozomi let her Saya continue the attack. Machi’s eyes flashed to the blade however, and she readied her knees in order to leap away as fast as she was capable of to keep herself away from the blade attack. Yet, she knew that she was slower, than Nozomi, still, she would make the best effort.

WC: 342 / 2,601

Nozomi watched as her counter was used by the Kaguya to propel her next attack. She had to admit, the girl was relatively skilled, more so than what she would have expected from any but the most experienced genin. Very few opponents opted to chain their attacks together, or to let a strike from their opponent fuel their next attack, so as to create a never ending flow of attacks mixed with a perfect defense. If she was up against someone that was on equal footing as she was, Nozomi had no doubt that she would have won. Against someone slightly better than her, she would probably have scored a hit for a hit.

The difference between the Kaguya and Nozomi, however, was much greater than the girl could hope to bridge by skill alone. In a display of speed far beyond what she was able to comprehend, Nozomi sped up the attack with her Saya, slamming it into Machi's shoulder, with plenty of time for her to move in the reverse direction and counter the shoulder strike from the blunt end of the scythe. The two weapons intercepted with inches to spare on Nozomi, a clear display of speed meant more to prove a point to Machi.

Holding the weapon away from her effortlessly, Nozomi commented. "That attack was well executed Machi. Don't underestimate an opponent though, you left yourself open. Taking a hit for a hit is fine, but keep in mind a gap of skill and ability. Someone faster than you can and will take the strike and still be able to block. Maybe not as thoroughly as I did, but I'd have had much more time and opportunity to do other things had I simply stepped to the side and continued my attack, prolonging the time it took for your strike to reach me, while extending the amount of time I have to mess you up. Never let an opponent inside your guard unless you know you can take what they're dishing out."

A quick mid spar lesson was in order, Nozomi wanting to make sure she knew what had happened immediately and could fix it from there, rather than waiting longer. "To be honest, as far as your form goes, I don't think there's much I can help you improve. Really, you just need to work on your speed and strength a bit, but that'll come with time, practice, and experience."

From there, Nozomi would continue the spar with the Kaguya, making sure to increase the pacing of her tempo, as well as the sharpness of her strikes, although she would only ever strike the girl with her sheathe, never the blade of her weapon, only using it to parry the scythe away. Her training was modified in such a way that Machi would have to continue to push herself to her highest degree of functionality in order to keep up. By keeping her at such an extreme, Machi would be forced to acclimate to a new level of speed, and she would improve from there. It was effective training that she'd received as a genin, and had taught as a chuunin since.

However, despite her best efforts, the Kaguya would never seem to touch Nozomi. Eventually, Nozomi would call it quits, notably without even any difficulty in breathing, as she could have kept up that pace indefinitely, but she knew Machi couldn't. "You did well today, and I'd love to train you some more in the future. Let me give you some advice. If you want to truly strive, join the ANBU or Hunter-nin when you are at a level that you can do that. Someone with as much potential as you have right now will go far. But for now, focus on yourself. Unfortunately, for now, I have to go get my squad ready for the Chuunin Exams." From there, Nozomi would make her exit, disappearing with the Body Flicker technique, leaving Machi alone once again.

WC: 666
TWC: 3069

-Exit Thread-

OOC: I would have loved to continue this thread a little longer, but I am actively trying to close out some threads. I would appreciate it if you could get your closing post twc to 3k, so I can get a social out of this. Message me if you'd like to thread again in the future.

Machi thought that she had a strong chance to land her blow, but her reality was brought right back into focus by the sheer explosive speed that Nozomi was able to react with. The saya slammed home, and the weapon was stopped. She almost couldn’t believe it but being that she was a warrior she knew well that Nozomi was that much more skilled than her and she really couldn’t fault the better shinobi. She tugged her weapon free from Nozomi’s hand as the other shinobi started to talk and instead took herself back several paces in order to look at the woman in the eyes to show that she was indeed being respectful and listening to what was being told to her. Hearing that she had gaps in her defenses and put herself in danger made her worry, but she would have to deal with that in its own time, and on her own. Still, she was complimented here and she took that for all it was worth along with the wisdom she was being given.

Her form was great according to Nozomi, but she needed to increase her speed, and other various factors that were only going to get better with time. The rest of the sparring match was terrible, at least as far as Machi’s own thoughts about her skills were concerned. She hadn’t encountered or faced someone who was so much stronger than her, and clearly more skilled than her. She did her absolute best in order to keep up with the Jounin that was so much more skilled than her, but she was hopelessly outmatched. Still, she did not give up and gave as good as she was able.

When the match came to an end Machi was sweating freely, and she was clearly exhausted. She held her feet until Nozomi was gone and then she dropped to her knees panting and trying to catch her breath. Looking around to see she was alone she slowly unfurled her scroll sealing away her scythe back inside of it, and then collected her Senbon from the ground which took her a good time to find. With all of her belongings back she clenched her fists her eyes burning with passion and determination “I will become a Hunter-nin, I will become a weapon master. I have to get stronger, I will get stronger.” She vowed to herself and the absent Nozomi. With the training done she headed home trying to keep a sprinting pace stretching as she moved to keep her muscles from tensing up.

-Exit Thread-
WC: 433/3,034
Stat Training
Strength: E to D -750w
Speed: E to D -750w
Endurance: E to D -750w
Reaction Time: E to D -750w
Word count Total: 3,034 – 3,000 = 34 words Remaining

Training:

Katon: B->A [2523/5000] Total [4k/5k]

Unused WC: 611