Ryu would find himself rising up in the early morning from his sleep. Something had woken him from a deep slumber randomly and he wasn't sure what exactly. He had felt something around him familiar but it was still all so new to him. This connection to the Coyote and him. He was new to it all but he knew there was something else now. He had only transformed the once so far but it had been life altering. He had trouble controlling his mood though. Feeling playful instead of serious and tactful. Still he would rub his face before rising from his bed. His right eye remaining closed as he moved to the kitchen sink and rinsed his face. He lived alone so he wasn't wearing anything fresh out of bed. Still he would finish waking up with a couple of splashes of cold water before grabbing a half empty beer from the night before. Downing it before taking the last mouth full. Swishing it around and spitting it into the sink. Getting rid of the dry mouth feeling. With that he took a breath again. That feeling he had, the one that woke him up, it was leaving now.

Still he figured he might as well start his day. If that sensation was leaving he couldn't catch up to it now with any ease and he was still waking up. Instead he would send out his senses. Feeling out to the bar beneath. A dozen normal people and...two shinobi level individuals? Well now that was worth investigating. He didn't expect anyone today. With that thought process he would shift over to the clean laundry basket. Pulling on some faded blue jeans with black socks and his worn out combat boots. The knee torn on his right leg. With that done he would slip on a white tank top. With that he slid on his black leather eye patch over his right eye with the Jackal symbol on it. His tribal tattoo's ran down his arms and in the center of his chest was a Jackal head. All black in color. Scars lined his arms and upper chest that were visible from a series of fights and wounds through out the years. His long black hair hanging loosely around his shoulders as he moved to his door in the apartment above the bar. His hands sliding out to the wall on either side. In a flash a kunai was tucked into his belt loop and a dagger down the back of his pants.

His door opened up as he stepped down the wooden stairs. His blue eye seeming to shine in the dim light of the bar as he left the third floor, passed the empty second of the VIP area and down to the bottom floor of the bar. It was there his blue eye would look around him. Giving off a faint glow as he took in the sights until he noted two girls sitting there. Younger than anyone else in the bar and eating breakfast. He took a step towards them as he felt some power from them before he paused. He caught a scent he recognized now. Syekeren had been there. Ryu would stop with one foot set to walk to the girls before he straightened up and looked around. The scent was fading but Syekeren could still be around. Was he toying with him? His eye shifted back towards the girls.....his scent led to that table. With a hint of his firebrandy....With that Ryu decided he wasn't playing any games.

"Everyone but you two girls. Out. Now."

There was a moment of quiet before every other patron and the bartender as well as his own people would get up without a single complaint and leave. Ryu crossed his arms as his eyes never left the girls. All of the bar emptying within a couple minutes as people finished their drinks or just took the bottles with them. The door closed behind the last one as Ryu decided if Syekeren were hiding as someone else he had to be one of them. His eye shifted to the bar where a tab sat unpaid with only the picture of Syekeren on a wanted poster before that blue eye snapped back to the girls. His lips formed a frown as he regarded them.

"Alright who are you two supposed to be?"

743

Syekren having left the bar leaving Izumi and Chou alone to tend to the soup and tea while he went off to kill the council. Izumi sipped at the tea, feeling good about the future. She was excited to begin training with Syekren, the wait was killing her. Syekren was a bit cryptic in his instructions, saying only ”Give this letter to the Jackal, he’ll look after you girls until it’s time for you to meet me again. I’ll send a letter to the Hounds Haven.” Izumi wanted to ask the man why he couldn’t just explain the contents of the letter and have them relay the message. However one look at the business like manner about him and it was clear that no questions would be answered. Izumi figures that there must be something sensitive in the letter for this Jackal’s eyes only. Izumi lifted the bowl of the soup before her and drank deeply, finishing her serving of the spicy nectar. She’d always liked the taste of rattlesnake, the Karisuma has always been with fascinated by the animals themselves and their terrifying sort of grace. Izumi sipped at the tea, and turned to Chou, ”Have you met this Jackal before? How long do you think he’ll be? Better question being, how will we know him when we see him?” Izumi rapidly fires questions to the girl, not even waiting for a response before the next one was out of her mouth. Izumi had a habit of speaking fast when she was anxious. Waiting made her anxious, she was not a patient young woman.

Izumi noticed a man coming down the stairs he had one eye, and a very dashing look about him. His eye patch and glowing eye made for quite the look. He had tattoos all over his body, and looked like someone who could handle them self, perhaps even a trained Shinobi. "Everyone but you two girls. Out. Now.", commanded the tall man, who while of a height with Syekren, was not nearly as big. The bar was silent before the house cleaned out as commanded. Everyone included the bartender and maid left, leaving Izumi and Chou alone in the bar with this dangerous looking man. He frowned at the pair, "Alright who are you two supposed to be?" Izumi smiled at the man and got a better look at him finally noticing the various Jackie based iconography on his body and fashion. Looking the man up and down and holding the letter out to him, Izumi’s eyes settling on the bridge of the mans nose. ”I never would have guessed the Jackal would be so scrawny. Syekren Uchiha left this for you. I am Izumi and lovely girl sitting next to me is Chou. Chou is Syekren’s daughter, and I am his student.” Izumi was showing her typical confidence, unintimidated by this man known only to her as the Jackal.

[494]

To say that Chou was nervous and weary was an understatement. Here she was, a little ten year old Genin from Konoha not only in a foreign land but now under the watch of someone she didn’t know and wasn’t sure if she could or should trust or not. She had stopped eating the moment Syekren had handed the note over to Izumi and had left. She understood the reasons as to why she couldn’t follow after her father and help him, but that didn’t stop her from kicking herself mentally for not being strong enough. Then again, she also knew she was only= ten – to get that strong took years of dedication and focus: she had only graduated a few months ago from the Academy.

”Think positive Chou...”, she found herself thinking as she glanced back over to Izumi – picking up easily on the fact that she seemed just as uncomfortable with this situation as she was. The more nervous that Chou became the more her little legs, too short to reach the floor from her seat, swayed back and forth. She found herself picking nervously at a loose thread of the short-sleeved gray hoodie she wore, and another on her black knee length shorts. Fidgeting just to fidget, just to have something to occupy herself with. Even her leaf headband was adjusted around her neck.


At Izumi’s rapidly fired questions she could only shake her head and shrug her shoulders: she had no more of an idea than Izumi did, which only further added to Chou’s sense of dread over this entire situation – then again, she was as anti-social as a child her age could get, so that certainly wasn’t helping because she was now completely out of her comfort zone. ”I haven’t – I’ve never been in Sunagakure before now and if he ever came to Konohagakure I wouldn’t know. I have no idea how long he’ll be. I have no idea how we’ll recognize him – I can assume though if he has such a title there is a distinct reason for it.”, she answered the quick fired questions in a soft tone of voice, glancing around curiously before focusing herself on her tea and sipping it once more.


Chou’s head lifted, her tea once more ignored as her golden yellow colored gaze focused on the man who had just come down from upstairs. There was something to be said in the way the establishment cleared out at such a simple command: no grumbling, no nasty looks, just complete obedience from everyone. Internally Chou felt like crawling into her skin – to be singled out in such a way was a horrible feeling for her – she hated attention and she hated being put on the spot. Thankfully, Izumi was there though, and Chou quickly made the decision to let her do all of the talking.


Except… that suddenly seemed like a bad idea when the first thing she did was open with an insult. Chou found herself legitimately face-palming with her left hand, wishing suddenly she could just turn invisible or ghost her way out of the bar. As it was, she was seated in the booth still next to Izumi – blocked by the other female. At least Izumi was confident about explaining everything. Chou simply lifted her right hand and gave a shy wave as she was introduced, ”Hello...”

Word Count: 595

Ryu would listen as one of them spoke up while the other was quiet. They seemed like opposite sides of the coin as he examined them both. His thoughts on the very idea that Syekeren would trust him with this of all things. He owed him though. That much was for sure. After all his true name had been cleared. Now all that was wanted was the name Jackal. His clan was no longer dishonored and he had access he didn't have before to shinobi files. Not full access but he was someone now. He had more pull for sure. So the question was what was Syekeren up to leaving two little girls with him? He noted only one of them sported a headband and hers was from konoha. His daughter eh? The man had certainly been busy. They were around the same age and yet Syekeren had been about. She was old enough to be a genin herself now so he must have done so at a younger age. He would wonder idly though, did that make her an Uchiha too? If she was, and she was far enough along at all...could she sense what was under his eye patch?

Still the loud girl would mention how scrawny he was and his eye would snap to her. Watching her with irritation. She was blunt and rude. Not many got away with that from him. He would grunt as he snatched the letter away from her. He would let it crumple in his fist for him to read in a moment. For now he would look them both over. Fragile in appearance. Especially the small quiet one. They looked like they hadn't done a day of physical training beyond the academy. Well if Syekeren was going to leave them here the least Ryu could do was improve their chances of survival. He would let out a sigh and turn around moving to the bar to pour himself a shot of fireball whiskey. Throwing it back and Letting the flavor sink in and wake him up with the slight burn. His eye shifting down to the wanted posted on the tab. He certainly wasn't subtle. Still Ryu would lift the letter before snapping the seal with his thumb. Unfolding the letter before reading the contents. Doing so out loud so the two girls could hear. His tone unamused.

"Yo, Jackal. Remember when I destroyed your records and we shared that lovely drink together? Yea, need a favour. Watch these two, and keep em safe. I have matters to attend in the village proper and would rather they not get caught in the flames. We'll be in touch soon, Syekren."

With that he would sigh and a flicker of raiton energy would slam between his fingers. Igniting the letter into a burst of flame as he turned and tossed it over his shoulder. Letting it flutter down into the bars sink and burn away. He would turn to the two girls and slide his left hand into his pocket while his right hand hung loosely at his side. Well Syekeren might just want a baby sitter but Ryu planned on being more productive than that. His head tilting as he eyed the two girls equally. Judging how to go about this. Well simple enough was judging their current level. So he would speak up calmly. His voice gruff but not violent.

"Alright well I don't see the point in just sitting around playing card games. If your going to be here your going to get strong enough to handle yourselves out there. That said I want you both out of that booth. Come at me and show me what you got. And I don't want to hear any **** excused or complaining."

1380

The man called Jackal regarded Izumi and Chou with an altogether unimpressed manner.  He grunted as he snatched the letter from her, clearly unamused by her insulting comments. Chou was quite unamused as well, choosing to rest her face in her palms. Izumi smirked, and while it probably was not the smartest course of action she couldn't help but feel amused at his response.  The man looked the pair over once more, he clearly didn't think much of them as kunoichi which was not unfair given their clear inexperience. He sighed and poured himself a shot, he probably needed it given Izumi's suspicions of contents of the letter.  The man known as Jackal finally cracked the seal on the envelope and read the words contained aloud, "Yo, Jackal. Remember when I destroyed your records and we shared that lovely drink together? Yea, need a favour. Watch these two, and keep em safe. I have matters to attend in the village proper and would rather they not get caught in the flames. We'll be in touch soon, Syekren." It seems that Syekren was not just cryptic with herself.  Electricity crackled in the man's hand as he ignited the letter and threw it over his shoulder into the bar sink.  


Jackal must really owe Syekren a huge favor if he's willing to watch a brat like Izumi while a world changing event takes place within the village.  Although, given Syekrens apparently typical lack of communication it would seem the man called Jackal didn't truly understand the gravity of the situation that was to unfold. The man had a rough voice, however he seemed less irritated now that he read the letter.  "Alright well I don't see the point in just sitting around playing card games. If you're going to be here you're going to get strong enough to handle yourselves out there. That said I want you both out of that booth. Come at me and show me what you got. And I don't want to hear any **** excuses or complaining." The man wanted to train right now in the bar it would seem, it also seemed the man wouldn't take no for answer. Izumi would really rather not waste time and energy in a fight she was most likely going to lose.  However, she had already disrespected the man once and saw little gain from doing so a second time. Izumi sighed and stood up from the booth, her eyes twinkling with power. Izumi took three steps towards the man running her left hand along the side of chair as she did so, transferring some of her chakra into it as discreetly as possible. Finally, taking the man as literally as possible when he said "show me what you got" Izumi formed the tiger seal while taking a deep breath. Izumi released the held breath and out came a fireball aimed the man's right shoulder.

[497]

125/150:

.oO(Apologies, I didn’t realize it was my post!)


Chou couldn’t help but wonder as she watched the whole situation unfold in what was her typical silence. The man seemed irritated, and as he grunted in response and snatched the letter Chou couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t just going to end up kicking them out of his bar – not exactly something she was going to have to explain to Syekren about later on, surely. As she found her mind wandering on what exactly they’d do if that outcome happened to occur she watched the stranger with curiosity as he wandered over to the bar and got himself a drink.


As the letter was finally opened and read she couldn’t help but feel more curiosity than surprise; certainly Syekren had helped him with something but she hadn’t expected it to be something like that. Yet, it still didn’t bother her – the same as anything she had found out by Syekren up until that. There was just something about him that kept her from being able to see her father in anything but a pure light – everyone had their reasons for doing things after all. So, there she sat, completely unfazed, glancing over to Izumi to judge her reaction before her golden yellow gaze flickered back to the male, watching as the letter was destroyed with a spark of raiton.


As the man spoke her slightly divided attention focused fully on him, a frown marring her face even though she uttered not a single word. He wanted to see what they were capable of – if they were going to be here they were going to get strong enough to protect themselves properly. Sounded great on paper, not so great in practice. She knew nothing about Izumi, knew nothing about fighting along side her or what the other woman would do. It left her at a disadvantage – so too did being inside where she would be denied her precious earth techniques. But, perhaps that was a lesson in and of itself – she needed to broaden her skill set to be effective, or else she was going to keep ending up in situations like this.

Even as her mind reeled over this revelation she followed Izumi out of the booth, shifting to give the female some distance. She expected to hear the older female protest or perhaps insult the Jackal again, yet she simply ran her hand along a chair before forming a hand seal and firing a fireball at the mans right shoulder.


With Izumi aiming at his right shoulder with fire she decided to do something similar with air. Forming the bird hand seal she condensed futon chakra, spitting out three spheres of air in rapid succession which moved at roughly the speed of ten meters per second. The first sphere was aimed at the Jackals left – aiming to miss him in the off chance he dodged the fireball and ended up right in the path of the sphere of air. The next was aimed at his chest, as dead center as possible. The third was likewise aimed at his chest, following the same path as the second traveled. Even though this jutsu normally only made three bullets Chou decided to burn the extra chakra, hoping to catch the man by surprise if he happened to know of the jutsu, by firing several more bullets. The fourth bullet aimed towards his head. The fifth aimed towards his right shoulder hoping to add insult to injury in a way should the fire of Izumi’s hit its mark.


All Chou could do now was to wait and see what happened – she had no idea just how well this man was going to be able to dodge, and she certainly had no intentions of causing damage to his bar…

Word Count: 685 | 1,280

Chakra and Jutsu:

Ryu would watch as the two girls would seem to come out of the seats around the table at different paces. His blue eye would maintain its glow as he tilted his head. He had realized his lack of clarity on his want to assess their physical capabilities. As such when they began to prepare jutsu he had to fight down the urge to grab them both by the face and pin them to the wall. He knew his own fault in it in that moment but his eye twitched in irritation anyway. If it wasn't for the fact that Syekeren would come tearing through his bar in a rage he would have dealt them each a blow anyway. Instead he focused his own chakra. His hands flexing as he prepared to save his bar and them from what would result from that fire at least. The wind was more controlled in comparison. He supposed he should just be happy they hadn't figured out how to combine their techniques as of yet. Still if this was their best jutsu wise he could pretty much guess their physical ability wasn't much more promising. Likely the great Anbu hadn't taken much time to train them yet, Leaving them here to his care was just a joke...

Still both their techniques would fly at him and an aura would snap over his form from within. A blue energy just faintly around him. His hands slashed out from the outside in so he crossed his arms as the fire expanded towards him and the bar. Threatening to engulf it all and the bar far too close to him. As it raced forward and his hands snapped passed each other the fire was sucked into the blow and snuffed out. A burst of energy causing it to burst out in smoke as if an explosion had occurred on impact. The wind cutting through the smoke letting it reform behind it as each time it clearly hit its target. A loud thud happening each time. Still the smoke hid him from view from a moment. It appeared as if all their attacks had smashed into him. Like their joined jutsu at such close range had caught him off guard and with all likelihood he should be hurting right that moment. No one just shrugged off burns and damaged bones like it was nothing. He hadn't made a single hand sign so he had to be wounded.

However a hand cut through the smoke as it dispersed violently. The spot on the floor before him was burned and the glow was gone but there wasn't a mark on him. Not even a black smudge. His right hand he had used to disperse the smoke rose up to his chin to turn it and a loud series of cracks could be heard as he popped his neck. Glancing to the two girls before he took a deep breath. He was clearly irrate but trying to control his temper. Instead he would look between each of them before speaking in a quiet tone. He wasn't shouting but somehow it seemed far more dangerous. "I wasn't clear before, so I am going to let this go...But I meant your physical abilities. Hand to hand combat. No jutsu. Try to use your heads and recall this is my business. Not only is it a business, its filled with flammable liquids and built with a lot of wood. Hell there is even the means to make it all upstairs which is just another explosion waiting to happen. So you want to try to kill us all again or you gonna just try and hit me?"

2002

Izumi would notice that Chou would follow Izumi's lead and stand up silently, quite typical for the girl it would seem.  Following the theme of following Izumi's lead, Chou added on to Izumi's fire ball with a follow-up wind technique that fired five projectiles at the man called Jackal, all aimed for different parts of his body.  Izumi watched eagerly as the attacks found their mark, the man called Jackal having made no attempt to avoid the attacks. Izumi was unsettled by his lack of worry; however, it confirmed her suspicion that this Jackal was a shinobi not just some thug that wanted to try out a couple of genin for bragging rights.  The fireball exploded on contact with the man causing the air around to fill with obscuring smoke, however the smoke was short lived being dispersed by the incoming wind projectiles. The wind made an odd heavy thudding sound each time one impacted with Jackal, surely it must have had some effect on him even if he was much stronger than both of them. Her assumption was shown to be misplaced when Jackals hand shot through the remaining smoke, revealing his body to be completely unmarked not even a single speck of ash on his person.  



The only change in the man called Jackal was that he was now very clearly angry. The man took a deep breath, clearly having to remind himself that he really, really owes Syekren this one. The man had a good amount of control over his clear anger however, refraining from shouting a response at the pair instead adopting a dangerous, imperious tone, "I wasn't clear before, so I am going to let this go...But I meant your physical abilities. Hand to hand combat. No jutsu. Try to use your heads and recall this is my business. Not only is it a business, its filled with flammable liquids and built with a lot of wood. Hell there is even the means to make it all upstairs which is just another explosion waiting to happen. So you want to try to kill us all again or you gonna just try and hit me?" It appears the man was somewhat justified in his anger, however Izumi couldn't help but feel innocent of blame; if the man really didn't want her to set the place on fire he should have been clearer. Izumi was however, grateful the man had stopped the fireball from sending them all to their early, fiery, graves. Izumi once again donned her petulant grin and looked at the man called Jackal in his eye, her own still sparkling with the power of the Karisuma. "I'm sorry Jackal, I had no idea you had a still upstairs, I never would have tried to blow up the alcohol behind you if I knew that. ", Izumi said in a sarcastic tone, clearly indicating that she was well aware how flammable the counter behind him was.  



Izumi hadn't progressed much in her training since leaving the academy, reaching the physical ability of the average genin but never really excelling in any one thing. The Karisuma continued her gaze into the man's eyes before taking a fighting stance and approaching the man carefully on his right side, hoping that Chou would again follow her lead and flank the man with her. Using smart tactics was probably their only chance, even if it was a slim one. The man was taller than her so she made sure to not let her guard down as she approached his reach being longer than hers. Once in range to do so, Izumi would through a kick with her right leg towards the man's knee, hoping to buckle him with her first blow, although the Karisuma put on a confident façade she was not exactly looking forward to fighting the man before her.

[654]

Ryu would watch her carefully with his blue eye. He knew she was making an awful lot of eye contact but he wasn't interested in a little girl. Her Karisuma technique barely made here eyes distracting at that level. It wasn't enough to bridge the gap. Still his blue eye would seem to glow with restrained power as he took a breath at her tone. Her sarcasm was enough to irritate him plenty. She was looking to push buttons and he knew it. She likely felt safe with Syekeren as he protector. What she was overlooking was that she wasn't with the man at the moment. He would take what Syekeren had to say later to consideration. For now these two were his and one of them had a mouth on her. The other was too shy to seem to be into the training but this one. She wanted Ryu to get mad. She wanted to taunt him and in doing so gain what? It didn't matter though. She was a punk and he was used to that. People puffing up their chests and being the big bads. He would scoff usually but this one, her playing dumb was getting on his nerves. It didn't matter though. He was going to cause her some mild pain.

She moved slowly to his side and he waited. His eye shifting between the two. It was a good method with him only having the one eye. However it appeared the shy one wasn't moving. Izumi was going to attack him on her own. He smiled at that. While training both of them would have been beneficial to both this would be enough of a learning curve for both of them. After all if he was only going to teach them anything it would be the basics of fighting. Hand to hand combat was important when trying to preserve chakra. Otherwise it was just a battle with people tossing lightning and fire at each other like...well children. If they wanted to get in close enough to make a good solid hit they needed to be prepared for close range combat. His ears continued to listen to the other girl across the room but his head tilted as he watched Izumi. That glowing blue eye solely on her. The rest of his body was still loose and relaxed and he didn't bother to adopt a fighting stance. If anything he almost looked a little drunk.

Still she would edge into his reach and he would still not make a move. His reach was a good eight or more inches than hers. If he wanted to strike her before she could she was much too slow to get within his reach. Not even waiting for an opportunity. It was all so innocent and direct. She would finally make her move with a low kick aiming for his knee. Well at least she was aiming for something to limit his movements. Still in return Ryu would simply step towards her and into it. Instead of where she intended her thigh would hit his knee instead stopping the blow and causing more damage to her leg than to his knee. However he wasn't done. His hand opposite her would snap down to grip her ankle tightly if she didn't manage to escape. If he managed to get a firm hold of her he would yank hard enough to pull her entire body weight like a flail and spin her passed him to smash through the stools and into the bar itself. With enough force to decimate the stools. With that done he would speak.

"Never attack as expected. Even if your opponent is appearing to be weaker assume that a feint is still your friend. By doing the unexpected you can gain the advantage in a fight. Beyond that, taking your time approaching an opponent slowly is a good way to get hit. It isn't possible to get within my reach if I don't let you without taking damage at that speed. You have to wait for an opening or create one and then get in close where you have the advantage. So long as your outside of my inner space my reach will decimate you."

2722

The man who went by Jackal, followed her around the room with his singular blue eye, tracking her movements. It was clear that she had irritated him, however whether or not this would have the intended effect of making him reckless remained to be seen. It also seemed that Chou had decided that the best action was inaction. While slightly irritated at her lack of action it was quite frankly, understandable. The Karisuma continued her hopeless advance, alone and feeling completely discouraged. The man appeared to be drunk, however it was unlikely that it would make a difference given the mans clear age and experience advantage, his scars and eye patch evidence of the fact. When Izumi finally arrived and threw her kick, the man checked it sending pain shooting through her thigh were his knee made contact with her. The man wasn't done with her beating however, grabbing her by the ankle and tossing her hard into to the stools and bar behind the Jackal. She crashed through the stools, splintering them to pieces. Some of the splinters painfully dug into her body, Izumi would let out a soft whimper of pain before rising, her eyes no longer sparkling given that all she was managing to do was hurt her eyes. The young woman however maintained eye contact, resolved to not break in front of this man. She would take her beating with dignity, not like it was the first time either, Taijutsu had always been her weakest discipline, in fact close quarters combat in general was Izumi's enemy. The tall, skinny man continued to eye her contemptuosly.

"Never attack as expected. Even if your opponent is appearing to be weaker assume that a feint is still your friend. By doing the unexpected you can gain the advantage in a fight. Beyond that, taking your time approaching an opponent slowly is a good way to get hit. It isn't possible to get within my reach if I don't let you without taking damage at that speed. You have to wait for an opening or create one and then get in close where you have the advantage. So long as your outside of my inner space my reach will decimate you." The man apparently wasn't only looking to kick her ass, but actually give her some advice as well. Izumi was caught a bit off guard, and in fact felt a bit bad for how much of a brat she had been. While Chou's assistance would definitely had been welcome, at the same time Izumi is thankful that she won't have to explain any injuries she would have sustained to Syekren. Izumi's petulant expression had been replaced by one of focus and determination, she spoke to the man who went by Jackal in a much less sarcastic tone, ”Yes, Senpai.” The young woman's newfound respect apparent. Izumi after all, had been upset at her lack of training up to this point and was realizing the ridiculousness of her prior attitude. This man wasn't just some thug, if he had been, he most likely would be on fire currently. No, this man was clearly trained as a Shinobi, one that is much stronger and more experienced than her. Closing her eyes for a second to come up with a plan, Izumi decided that her best hope was to fight dirty. The Karisuma teen grabbed a handful of the wood parts to her side and as she rose threw them towards the man's face. Not hesitating to see if this would create an opening, the young woman attempted to close into the pocket. Once inside her reach she would throw a quick open palm jab towards his nose not intending to make contact with it, but simply obscure  his view so that the hook she through after might connect with his liver. Hopefully her tricks were enough to create an opening, if not she was probably in for another painful lesson.

[670]

Ryu would watch as she slowly got up from the injury she had sustained. It was mostly superficial damage. Some splinters and bruising here and there. He had refrained from actually causing any fractures. Her leg likely hurt a lot though. Her own strength poured into that kick only to be reversed. She likely would have a limp until it was healed. She was showing some more respect now though. With a thin smile he considered a thought. The masses always said you shouldn't beat children but damn if it didn't put in a lesson. Not that he was beating them for being kids. They were soldiers. As young as they were they were wearing a headband and could use jutsu. In a battle to the death they would be considered combatants. He wouldn't think of them as anything less. They may have a while to mature fully but they had the potential of being something greater. Still his gaze shifted to the other. Still stationary where she stood. As if lacking the certainty to fight even with her ally damaged on the ground. He supposed knowing your limits was fine. Though her ally was probably screwed because of it. Not that they both wouldn't be. He wondered if it was wisdom or fear that drove her.

Still he would look back at a sudden hint of motion in the corner of his eye. Chunks of wood and splinters flying at his face. He had thought her down for the moment but instead she was coming at him again. His arm rose to swipe the wood out of the air only to clear his view in time to see her coming with a palm to his nose. His head shifted to the side but not entirely fast enough. Two of her fingers scraped along the side of his face. Catching his eye patch and ripping it off on accident. She continued with a second strike attempt but something was different in the air suddenly. He was faster now. His hand shot down from its swipe to catch her by her wrist and twist it back. Keeping her from hitting his liver. The air in the room was darker as the lights flickered slightly. If she looked up there was his shining blue eye and in the other one a one tomoe sharingan staring at her. With no mercy in his gaze as if the eye were changing him.

The bone in her wrist would strain a moment painfully if she didn't substitute out before he regained control from the unexpected release of the sharingan. His hand would release her immediately and shoot up to cover the eye as he would grit his teeth. He had felt its pull into darkness and it was so unexpected for just a second he had fallen into it. He could control it but he hadn't expected that. She had done well to follow instructions and show willpower but in return he had almost broken her wrist for it. His hand over his eye he would look to the both of them. Searching for a reaction before grunting begrudgingly. "Finish your breakfast. Don't bother me upstairs unless someone is bleeding or dying. I need to meditate." With that he swirled around and turned away from them. Walking up the stairs. The feel of oppression leaving with him. At some point it was obvious he had obtained a dangerous power. Still he moved to the door to his apartment and paused. Glancing back at them before opening the door, slipping within. Slamming it behind him. Only his eye patch remained.

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Exit thread

Strength B ~> B-1, 700
B-1 ~> B-2, 800
B-2 ~> B-3, 900

Endurance B ~> B-1, 700

233 words left over

To her surprise, Izumi's combination nearly worked until something completely unexpected happened. Izumi's eyes widened as her hand grazed the mans face and removed his eye patch, revealing the secret hidden beneath. The Sharingan, it seemed that Izumi had some sort of strange pull of fate pulling her to that eye. Earlier that day she had seen Syekren's own Sharingan eyes, their terrible power inspiring within her both fear and wonder. The man's expression seemed to change and his movements became quite fast, catching her punch by her wrist. It seems her already bruising thigh had slowed her step and in combination with the man's improved reflexes and speed it was not even close. The man grabbed her roughly by the wrist and as pain began shoot through it, Izumi finally used the last trick she had up her sleeve: the replacement technique. Instead of the young woman's wrist the Jackal instead held on his chairs. Izumi clutched at her wrist for a moment before looking up at him again, the pain subsiding but the mans intention clear. He would have broken her wrist has she not swapped places with the chair, Izumi couldn't help but feel that she couldn't really blame the man. In fact, more than anything she appreciated the man's lack of restraint, after all a real enemy wouldn't have hesitated to snap her wrist. Izumi's hands would glow green, and begin to treat her thigh. She would be doing a lot of walking in the near future and wouldn't want to do so with a massive bruise.

The man's reply was twofold, a grunt followed by his rough voice commanding the two girls to stay put and do nothing but eat their breakfast. He did not want to be disturbed evidently, having nursed her relatively minor injury on her thigh, she took his advice and began to finish her breakfast. As she ate she had noticed that the man had forgotten his eye patch, Izumi couldn't help but shake a feeling that he was unsettled by his own reaction. Perhaps the man was more than just his rough exterior put on, she folded his eye patch and placed it on the counter. Removing her pen she wrote a note apologizes for trying to burn down his bar, as well as leaving ryo paying for her portion of the meal. She would continue to rest until the inevitable sounds battle would start that night. Izumi contemplated what she was to expect tonight, the man had wanted her to join him in the desert after the events. A thought occurred to her and she returned to her note and added at the end, "P.S. Mind the chaos tonight, Syekren plans to kill the council," she figured someone ought to be direct with him, she wouldn't want him not to know what was going on.

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[Exit]

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[492 | Total Words: 2807]

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