Jutsu Being Trained:

"Miss Marquetta, the students are ready to begin.", came the elders voice in her ear.

With a groan she massaged her temples, trying to ignore the impending headache that always seemed to pick up when the elders were about. They were great, honestly.. but they tended to be an annoyance. Especially when she was in a mood like she was, and didn't want to deal with them. "Alright, give the signal for them to begin.", she said finally, loud enough to be heard over the small crowd that had filled the 'stands'.

She turned her ice blue gaze to the small little, and rather ragged, arena that sat in the middle of all of the slightly raised seating. The seating wasn't much, just rocks molded and shaped into stands, with a single opening at the east end that went into the little cave one would have to enter through to gain access to the training area. Well, except for Marquetta's spot; being she was clan head there was a bit more comfort on her spot, large cushions, which she was currently lounging on; seated with her back resting against the back cushion, left leg out straight with her foot resting on the seat in front of her, and her right leg bent at the knee, arms up on the back cushion, which still left enough room for three other people to easily be seated there. 'I could take a nap... yeah, maybe I'll wait for them to start and doze off. No one will notice, they'll all be too busy watching the friggin' violence while waiting to see if someone gets broken.', she thought to herself.

She kept watch in the arena; giving another groan as she watched the newest crop of kids (all looking to be under the age of ten), walk out into the arena. Each one of them strutted out, like they were each expecting to win. Marquetta snorted and shook her head. They'd be lucky if even a single winner was left standing. She had seen this turn ugly before, and expected as much this time around.

The five students spread out; one in the center and four on the outer edges. The four students on the outer edges gave a bow, but the one in the middle was currently preparing to shit himself or something in the sudden all too real fear he was beginning to experience.

'The center's never a nice place to be... you're likely to be attacked on all sides just for the pure fact that you're the easiest target.', Mar thought to herself, taking pause from staring at the impending violence to glance around, wondering if Arashi was going to show or not. She had given simple enough directions, but maybe he was busy or something...

"BEGIN!", came the elders voice next to her, shouted.

Marquetta flinched, resisting the urge to reach out and smack the man for shouting like that near her ear. But, she didn't think on it long as the first sound of the ground being ripped up and sent flying - into the barrier wall that protected those seated lower - and not at the lucky student as aimed at.

Word Count: 535 / 1,500

[Training Beastly Destruction - A]

Ahh. Sleep. After the earlier encounter with Marquetta, Arashi went straight home, and jumped in his bed. It was a good hour or so of napping before Arashi decided to wake up, after all, he did promise that girl he'd go see the training with her. He was definitely quite interested seeing, if he remembered right, "Some new kids kicking boulders at each other." Sound about fun. He got up, and looked at what he was wearing. A long black shirt with a red T-Shirt on top of it. He wore some white pants with a couple of red samples, but in the end decided he'll change them, to normal pants. They were entirely black. Of course, he wore his special red sandals he could almost never been seen without. Hmm... She is pretty. I don't want to go there to see everybody all classy and me like... Yeah... So, Arashi did what no Nekomotze had ever done before; He -wait for it- Calmed his hair. Even after about five minutes of torture, not much difference could be seen. But yeah, good enough for him. He went out of the door, taking an apple along the way. Sweetness.

He closed and locked the door behind him, and took way. Uhm... West. Cave. Marq invited me. Right. Arashi jumped on his building, and continued swiftly jumping from one building to other until he was past the village gate. A drop of sweat poured down his forehead, unlike the morning it was now quite hot. He landed on the ground just outside of the gates and observed the monstrosity in front of him. The mountain was quite tall, and pretty wide as well. There were many cliffs, and it was mostly made of rock; not really much soil at all. It was spreading more to the north-west than west really, as the area to the west was mostly the unsafe desert-like area. Alright, here goes nothing. He though, as he concentrated some chakra in his feet to be able to walk upside the mountain without any danger of falling. First thing he looked for was any sign of a path; it's doubtful that they would climb the cliffs every day just to get to the training area. There were a couple of paths carved alongside the mountain, but none of them lead to any caves. He threw away the apple he finished by now, and concentrated some more on finding the cave. In a couple of minutes, he noticed... Two caves.

Ara rushed to one of them, the closer on to him, but was fairly disappointed when he tried exploring it and finding out that it's only about five meters long. 'Kay, it has to be the other one. Or I'm screwed. He ran to it, it was no more than two hundred meters away from him. He walked inside of the cave, which after a minute or so walking in the dark started looking more like a... Tunnel? The ground was flat, Arashi didn't have to watch his step anymore. By making the Half-Tiger sign, he was able to concentrate some amount of Katon chakra in his hand, providing a bit light for himself; just enough to see a meter or so around himself. I'm really getting good at this Chakra Flow thing... After about some twenty minutes of undisturbed walking in the silent darkness; without taking any turns at all, even if there were some; he saw some "light at the end of the tunnel." I hope I'm here... He stopped wasting his chakra on the pale light, and rushed towards the light. He was a bit dazed by the light there, but adjusted fairly quickly. It was a pretty bug room, and reminded him of an... Arena? A fighting ring? Something like that. There were seating only a bit higher thank the level of the arena, carved into stone. Some people was filling them, but there was enough place for fairly more. In the middle stood five children, all next to each other. Just as Arashi appeared, a loud voice yelled.
"BEGIN!"
the loud voice echoed through the room, Arashi turned around to see; Marquetta. And some dude beside her, and elder of some sorts? It seemed that he was the one shouting. She was positioned on some cushions, with a bit more comfort than anybody else was allowed to have. Arashi rushed to her, speaking.
"Hi, I'm here. Sorry if I'm late, though."

Wordcount: 787/2000

.oO( Zen, feel free to jump in whenever. I'm going to post just to get it going, though~)


Marquetta turned her gaze to Arashi as he rushed over, giving a wave of her hand when the Elders went to move in front of her. "Eh, knock it off... I know him. In fact.. why don't you go down and drag the unconscious kid out of the arena before he gets killed?", she said, looking to the small group of Elder's and then giving a nod in her head in the direction of the arena; which did indeed have an unconscious boy lying in the center of it, having been attacked all at once by his peers. Poor kid never stood a chance.

She waited for the Elders to leave before straightening herself up a little bit and patting the cushion beside her. "You're not late.. and don't mind them. I'm assuming they feel if anyone's going to kill me it's their right.." She chuckled darkly. "We just started, but I'm already bored... thinking about kicking them all out of the arena and showing them how it's done."

She turned her ice blue gaze back onto the arena, watching another kid get struck by large chunk of ripped up earth. She winced slightly and shook her head. "The Elders are slacking in teaching them..." She glanced to Arashi, a slender white eyebrow raising in curiosity. "Did you find the place alright?"

Word Count: 222
Total: 757 / 1,500

Before Marq could even respond, the elder next to her already got between Ara and Marq. She handled it quite nicely, by speaking.
"Eh, knock it off... I know him. In fact.. why don't you go down and drag the unconscious kid out of the arena before he gets killed?"
The elder went away to do so, and Arashi laughed with Marq as well. Only then he looked at the arena; it was true, one kid was already lying on the floor unconscious. He and a couple of chunks of ground next to him, and some pretty heavy bruises. Or so Ara could see from his current position. Marq kept speaking, with Ara paying attention. She patted the coushion next to her, probably as a sign for Arashi to sit down. What he did. It was mighty soft, Ara slipped right into it.
"You're not late.. and don't mind them. I'm assuming they feel if anyone's going to kill me it's their right.."
Marq chuckled, and Ara laughed a bit as well.
"We just started, but I'm already bored... thinking about kicking them all out of the arena and showing them how it's done."
"Yeah, could be a good idea... I see that it isn't pretty."
Arashi carefully observed as chunks of earth started flying around, occasionally hitting some kids. Seeing them fight like this... Ara was almost sick. It was quite very brutal.
"The Elders are slacking in teaching them... Did you find the place alright?"
"Yeah, I couldn't choose in which cave to enter but in the end I chose the right one."
Arashi looked at Marq looking at him; and accidentally glanced at her blue eyes. Oh shit not again... Slowly but surely, Ara blushed. Even he could feel it. He quickly turned back to the arena, trying to be as discreet as possible. Another kid got hit; right in the stomach. It looked like a really heavy hit, and painful as well... Arashi gulped, before speaking again.
"So, after they're done and the winner gets a shot at you... Could maybe I get a shot at you? If you feel like it."
Arashi didn't know what he was saying; the words were flying from his mouth on their own. He wanted to say that he didn't mean to say that, but now; those words didn't want to leave the tip of his tongue! He understood that it was too late, so he just waited for Marq's answer with a droplet of sweat pouring down his right cheek.

Wordcount: 1243/2000

Marquetta grinned slightly and nodded. "Well, be lucky it wasn't how it used to be back in the day... there used to be about ten false caves. Several of them were filled with traps and such; deadly ones." She shook her head slightly, chuckling. "I made them close them off.. I don't want to end up having anyone breathing down my neck because people keep wandering in the wrong caves and getting themselves injured or killed."

She turned her ice blue gaze once more onto the arena, flinching again as another kid was knocked unconscious; this time with a blow to the head. This wasn't getting any better... everyone who stepped in the middle didn't know how to protect themselves from all sides. Didn't know how to guess what their opponent was going to do. They were like cattle just waiting to be slaughtered. She couldn't let this continue.

She glanced back to Arashi, contemplating his words for a moment with a grin. "Well.. I think that can be arranged.. but I should warn you, despite my title of clan head, I'm still a lowly little genin...", she grinned playfully and winked.

She slipped her gaze back to the arena, standing with a groan of disappointment. She had been comfortable after all, and sitting next to a cute guy to boot... so, she looked a little less than happy as the elders looked her way at her sudden standing movement. "We stop this, now. You put before me children who are unrefined, under trained, and weak.. and you expect them to be able to battle?" She shook her head, with an angered sigh. "I'll show them how it's done..."

With those words she turned sideways, moving herself to the makeshift stairs and down them, heading to the arena itself. This.. this was gonna get good. The elders all looked less than pleased with her, and she was damn sure she would hear about it, but they could screw off for all she cared. She wasn't about to let these kids get severely injured or worse because of stupidity.

Reaching the arena she gave a nod to the kid who had been newly positioned in the center to move to the edge with the others. Three left.. out of five, and so quickly.. what a shame. "Alright, lets see what you three can do, shall we? Don't hold back... and pay attention. If you do what I do then you're less likely going to get hit."

Silence filled the stands from the Yanagi's that filled them, every eye on her and the small group in the arena. She threw a glance to the elder acting as referee who took the hint and shouted "BEGIN".

Marquetta slowly turned, ice blue gaze taking in the little students, waiting for one of them to show the slightest hint of movement. Given that none of them had... she grinned. "Alright then.. lets stir things up.. I'll make you have no choice but to attack me."

With that said her hand moved over the earth, palm down, but not touching. Her arm held out straight as she closed her fingers and pulled her hand back. A large chunk of ground, about the size of a basket ball, ripped up suspended before her. She turned her form sharply, extending her leg, and sending the bottom of her foot smashing into it. The large chunk of earth flew across the arena, missing one of the students ear by a hair. Marquetta lowered her foot to the ground again from her kick, grinning still. "So.. either attack me.. or the next one won't miss you like that one did..."

It was apparent she had purposely missed the kid, but it was enough to get one of them to attempt the same jutsu she had just pulled on her. She turned her form as one by one they began to launch rocks, far smaller than what she had just pulled out of the ground, and each one was either punched or kicked away from her. One, two, three... all of 'em attacked her once, watching as she deflected or blocked each bit of earth they sent flying her way. "This... is how you're supposed to protect yourselves."

Word Count: 707
Total Count: 1,464 / 1,500

Jutsu and Chakra Used:

[OOC: Sorreh for doing... Well... Nothing. x.x ]

Arashi listened closely to Marq describing how there used to be far more caves; all filled with lethal traps. Ara gulped, and was glad that Marquetta made them close them off. She was one heck of a leader. She later said that she was still a genin, so Arashi shouldn't expect anything much, or that's how Arashi understood. She playfully winked before looking back at the ring. Only three kids remained, and they were a bit beaten up as well. God this's brutal... That was probably what Marquetta was thinking herself, as she stood up and spoke that they needed to stop this madness. She walked up to the middle of the arena, and told them to team up on her. The elder shouted once more, but the kids didn't seem to react. In an instant Marquetta held out her arm to the ground, and ripped a chunk of ground out. It wasn't really big, but far greater than any kids were throwing earlier. She kicked it towards on of the kids, with great speed; and missed by a hair. To Arashi it looked like she missed on purpose; which she probably did. That showed the kids that she meant business; they started ripping chunks of earth themselves, and punching and kicking them at Marquetta who skillfully blocked them. Arashi watched all of it with great interest and attention, wondering what'll happen else; and would she really injure any of those kids?

Wordcount: 1489/2000

It took a few minutes to get the kids comfortable with actually attempting to strike her, their movements were hesitant at best. But, soon enough, they got more comfortable with the idea, and the attacks began to come faster. Marquetta blocked or dodged each and every rock hit her way. After she had done so a good six or so times she figured it was time to ramp it up, to show them that they could turn their own skills into something more defensive.

She held her hand up, causing the group to pause. "I want you all to try something.", she said, as she backed up to have all three in her sights at the same time. "I want all three of you to attack me on the count of three, got it?"

She waited for the group to all nod, that spark of fear showing in their young eyes again at the idea. But, Marquetta knew this was important, and needed to be done. "One.. two.. three!"

The three kids that were remaining followed the same process as before, ripping up a chunk of rock to each punch or kick directly at Marquetta. All ready and willing to aim to strike her. Marquetta concentrated harder this time, put more of her focus into the earth at her feet. Once more she held her hand down over the ground, palm down, just as the kids were doing the same thing. She followed the same flick up of her wrist as before, only slower this time. A slight strain appearing on her face. The chunk this time was far larger than before, easily the side of all three of the pieces of earth that the three students pulled up. She paused long enough to allow the students to launch their own at her before she unleashed the large chunk she had ripped up; by kicking it directly to their three combined attacks.

Her large chunk of earth smashed into theirs, and the whole group shattered, sending small chunks flying in all directions of the actual battle field. Marquetta held her arm up, blocking the ones that went flying towards her face, and not caring about the rest that hit her body, besides... she'd suffered worse.

Uncovering her face she looked to the kids again, noticing their "wicked cool" remarks and grins. She gave a nod and then nodded with her head towards the exit. "I'd say that's enough for the day... think about it, practice it, this way the next time I see you all here you can last longer... And, teach those two that got knocked out, kay? We're all in the same clan here.. we need to help each other."

She watched the kids file out of the little stadium of sorts, and watched as the onlookers began to do the same. She turned her ice blue gaze to Arashi, grinning. "Enjoy the show?"

Word Count: 486
Total Count For C Rank: 1,950 / 1,500
Total Count For B Rank: 450 / 2,000

Marq continued dodging all their attacks with ease, or blocking any that came her way. After a while she hend out her hand, probably as a sign to stop. She then spoke to the kids, asked them to all strike her at the same time in the count of three. She started counting down, and when she reached the count of three they all started ripping chunks of earth. Marq seemed to be having some more trouble this time, she looked quite strained. But Ara instantly figured why when she took out the chunk of earth, now fairly bigger than before. They all launched their chunks, which collided around the center of the arena. They smashed into many many peaces, which flew over the battlefield. A couple even flew all the was to Arashi. Marq stood up from her stance, and sent the kids out before she turned towards Ara, who was still surprised by the coolness.
"Enjoy the show?"
"Yeah, it was awesome! I have to say, the way those rocks were flying... Brutal."
Arashi smiled, while looking at Marq.
"You know... I wonder how that rock would do against my fist."
He stood up, and casually made his way to the arena. I hope she didn't get exhausted with those kids...

Wordcount: 1718/2000

She raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she heard his words. Then watching him walk down to the arena a grin spread across her face, slightly wicked looking in its nature. She took a glance around, noticing that even the elders had decided to bail. Joy. She didn't want to deal with them being nosy any way. Not that they'd dare disobey her in front of an outsider of the clan; which was exactly why they probably bailed after she gave her word. Yay, anarchy! 'Now's not the time to get distracted, Mar..', she mentally scolded herself; snapping back to focus on Arashi again.

"Well, if you really want to try I'm more then willing to oblige." Her hand moved over the ground again, just resting in the air with her fingertips pointed downward. Slowly she raised her fingertips skyward, pulling her hand back. Unlike the last time the strain didn't show; as it wasn't as hard to pull up a large chunk this time. The same sized chunk she had used to break the three attacks that had been aimed her way by those kids ripped up from the already broken ground, suspending itself in midair. "Heads up!", she said before her body turned, leg extending as her foot smashed into the suspended chunk of earth, kicking it quickly towards Arashi.

Word Count: 223
Total Count for B Rank: 673 / 2,000

[Now training Katon C -> B]

"Well, if you really want to try I'm more then willing to oblige."
Ara walked to around the middle of the arena, before looking around himself, to get a better glimpse of the arena and all the small details. There were a couple of quite big cracks in the wall; enough for Ara to fit in. Nothing else really mattered; the room was pretty simple and with each part being almost identical; with the exception of the cushions where Marq and Ara were seated before. Just then, Marq shouted something.
"Heads up!"
Heads up? What does that mean..? Arashi wondered for a split moment; before turning back around. To face... A chunk of ground flying at his face. How lovely. The rock was flying towards his face with great speed; but nothing he couldn't handle. Though; this was a girl. If he was to dodge, he should at least... Show off a bit. Activating Ancient Instincts to smoothen up the things a bit, Ara made his move. With the now enhanced reflexes and speed, he leaned back, by just about 90°. It was a manouver he could do without the help of his clan technique, but he wanted to be sure. As soon as the chunk flew just inches in front of Ara's face, he leaned back forth; as he was before. He couldn't stay in that backward position for longer than a moment; the gravity would get to him. Unless he stuck his feet to the ground with chakra... Yup, that's what he'd probably do. But still; this looked pretty badass as well, or so Ara thought. He was surprised, as he only took a glance for a moment. And judging the size of that chunk... It was possibly even a bit larger then the one she launched at the three smaller ones. And she picked it up pretty fast.
"You're getting faster. Launch another one; and I'll show you what I can do."
Arashi hoped that she would launch one even bigger than the ones she did just now; he needed some kind of a challenge. Those like this... He could smash them easily. But if she pulled up a bigger one, or a rock one; Arashi would have to put some strain in it.

Wordcount: 2000/2000, 121/2000

205/215:

She watched his matrix like dodge as she placed her foot back on the ground and she took her stance again. A chuckle escaped her, as a playful glint appeared in her eyes. Oh yeah, she was definitely having some fun; nothing she loved more than training.. well, almost nothing. The fact that he dodged like that amused her, made her want to see it again, too.

She heard his words an an eyebrow rose again. 'He wants me to try and hit him.. again?!' She couldn't help but laugh and shrug. "If that's really what you want..." She was going to be happy to oblige again, no questions asked. She was, however, going to ramp it up some more. She needed a larger chunk, something worthy of actually using to train. "Lets see what you do with this.."

She stretched her arm out again, holding it parallel from the ground; fingers pointed towards the ground just like last time. This time as she began to pull up with her hand the strain appeared again, as did a look of great concentration. She held her breath for a moment as her fingers slowly closed as her hand moved upwards. A grunt escaped her as the ground shook slightly now. Then the chunk ripped free, a lot larger than the last one; about the size of her from about her waist line and down. It suspended in the air as the strain left her; but she didn't hesitate despite the strain it had caused. Her body turned as it had before, leg striking out and the bottom of her foot smashing into the large boulder. She sent it flying straight for Arashi as a small bead of sweat slowly made its way from the hairline of her forehead and worked its way down the side of her face, where it dripped from her chin. 'This is definitely better than being stuck training with my own clan. I wonder what he'll do to this one..', came her mental musing as she watched, her body moving back into its relaxed but ready stance once more.


Word Count: 354
Total Count for B Rank: 1,027 / 2,000

"Lets see what you do with this.."
Marq repeated her routine; holding out her hand just in front of the ground, then squeezing her fist and trying to pick up as big of a chunk as she can. She looked strained, to Arashi it even appeared that she failed once before successfully picking up a huge chunk; around 80 centimeters in diameter, probably even larger. A real bloody boulder. Arashi made his stance; holding out his right leg just a bit in front of his left one, and turning both feet towards the inside. He bent his knees a bit, and it was it; the Sanchin Dachi as it would be called in Karate. He also held his left arm in front of himself, and his right just below the shoulder; he would strike the boulder with it. Marquetta kicked the massive chunk at Ara, who concentrated heavily. Everything slowly faded away... Everything except the chunk and his fist, that is. By concentrating all of his strength into one punch, he was able to shatter the chunk into numerous pieces that flew around the room. Arashi's punch was incredibly fast and strong; it would definitely tear any wall with ease. of course, there is a risk factor as well; there is a lot of pressure on the fist and the joint, and it would be quite possible to break a hand. Luckily, Ara had his spiked gauntlets knuckles thingy, it protected him good enough.

He went out of his stance into a normal standing position, before speaking.
"Impressive. Now, whatcha think about this?"
As Arashi said that, he concentrated a vast amount of chakra in his entire body; from head to toe. Most of it went to his feet. He launched himself towards Marq with his now incredible speed, stopping motion just behind her. Arashi's natural speed would probably be enough to move faster than Marq could see, but this move wasn't made for fighting genins. With it, Arashi could escape pretty much anybody's eyes. Some chakra was left in his hair, it starting weaving itself and curling up. It looked... Exactly like it was burning. Ara loved this, it really looked cool. When he appeared behind her, he would speak.
"Poof. Let's see how you do with close combat."
His words were meant to give Marq enough time to figure out Ara's position and to prepare herself for the thing that was about to happen. Arashi leaped in the air by a foot or so, and performed a spinning 360° kick at Marq's head. It wasn't fast or anything; nor very strong. She'd have a decent chance of blocking it, but if she failed she'd probably get knocked on the floor.

Wordcount: 594/2000

170/215:

'Did he just disappear?', was the first thought to pop out of her head. She couldn't see him, but no.. her clan ability was definitely picking up on his movements; and he was fast as hell. And behind her.. as both her clan ability and her ears informed her as she heard him begin to speak. She was definitely going to have to ditch wearing shoes more often, bare feet for the win!

She turned sharply as she heard him speak from behind her, her stance remaining widened and prepared. Good thing too, since he had a kick aimed at her. There were two things she could do; duck and avoid the attack, or try and counter it somehow. Not that she really had time to think it over, given it was about to attack her. So, instinct played out before any sort of mental debates.

Her arms came up in front of her, the right in front of the left while her stance widened to take the impact of what she was attempting to do. The idea was simple enough; or at least she thought so. She positioned herself so that she could grab his leg as it swung at her, while the other arm kept the other braced in position so that the recoil didn't smack her in the face. The idea was to grab his leg, and if successful to push back in an attempt to knock him off balance. Only the next few seconds would tell if she was successful or not.

Word Count: 257
Total Count for B Rank: 1,284 / 2,000

Marquetta somehow managed to turn around, and block Ara's kick with her left arm. She fortified the block with the right hand, and pushed back; probably in an attempt to push Ara off balance or to create an opening. Obvious, but it was a good move. If Ara wasn't who he really was; it might've just worked. Heheh... What about if I raise the challenge by a bit? Ara grinned, before making his move. He would now perform another 360° spin kick; but in the opposite direction, and with the other leg. The fact that Marq was holding his right leg or whatever didn't bother him much; he could still spin without restriction. The kick was a diagonal one; coming from the bottom right to reaching it's peak in the top left; just somewhere inside or just below Marq's head. Arashi would hit with the bottom of his foot, with just enough force to launch Marq straight at the cave-room's ceiling. The kick wasn't Ara's full power, but was still on a whole other level than the one before. While Marq should be able to see Ara's movements clearly there was very very little she could do before the foot reached her chin, and sent her flying in the air; probably hitting the ceiling with the head. Still, not much damage would be done, as Ara was fairly gentle. She was a lady, after all.

Wordcount: 833/2000

165/215:

There was next to nothing Mar could do; not that she had the time to do anything at all. This kick was on a far higher level than the last one, and as it connected with her chin she flew up and backwards, heading towards the cave like ceiling. Thankfully, she didn't hit it however, as it was a bit on the rocky side of things. She hit the ground hard, sliding backwards several feet, causing several more tears through the back of her white shirt. Not that she could bring herself to care.

She jumped back to her feet as soon as she quick moving, grinning despite the pain in her chin. She extended her arm, palm down towards the ground like she had in the past. She pulled upward with her hands, closing her fingers as she did so much like she had before. But, once again the strain was gone; as soon as she used a jutsu once even at a new level, it tended to come like second nature the following times. She ripped up the same large chunk as last time, large enough to cover from her waist down. It hovered in the air for a moment before she extended her leg, and struck it with the bottom of her foot, launching it right at Arashi as hard and fast as she was capable of doing. Having just seen what he pulled she knew she was going to have to ramp this up a bit.

This was starting to get fun, and the only thought that came into her head was that she hoped the elders of her clan didn't come back too soon to stop this... in fact, she momentarily played with the idea of what she'd do if they did come back; perhaps kick a rock at their face like she had Arashi's.

Word Count: 310
Total Count for B Rank: 1,594 / 2,000

Marquetta somehow managed to quickly get back after the kick that, sadly, didn't made her hit her head. Or, well, maybe it wasn't a bad thing... Because of some strange inverted reason, Ara... Didn't seem to want to hurt her. She pulled one more of those giant hulk chunks, but easier and faster this time; and kicked it at Ara with what was probably all her might. It was moving quite quick. Hmm... Smash or dodge? Dodge or smash? Or... Counter? A smile popped up on Ara's face, as he prepared himself for the worst.

He would launch himself forward; straight at the chunk, with his arms stretched far and wide; like he was to give somebody a warm hug. When the impact was made, Ara stuck his feet to the ground by using chakra, to avoid the chunk pushing him, which it still did. He was only pushed by a foot or so, before using his now enhanced strength to toss the chunk n the air by a meter or so. He could do it even without his clan technique, but now it was done almost effortlessly. Nice. He leaped in the air, following the chunk. In the air he turned by 360° in front of himself, and extended his foot when he was around half way through. With this fast but elegant maneuver he kicked the rock with ferocious (still not his maximum) strength; straight at Marquetta. His kick was a bit too strong, or so it seemed; as a great amount of the chunk crumbled and disintegrated; but what was left was launched straight at Marq. The chunk was only about fifty centimeters in diameter, but would still pack quite a punch given it's speed. I gave her more than enough time to prepare a counter. Now let's see what she does... Arashi landed back at the exact same spot where he leaped in the air from, and touched his cheek with his hand. It... Hurt. He had a bit of a bruise from when he "tried hugging the boulder of earth".

Wordcount: 1192/2000

160/215:

She had watched closely, having been waiting to see what he was going to do with the boulder she had kicked his way. An eyebrow had even risen as she watched him hug the boulder... This, was getting interesting. Her grin spread wider as she watched him use a modified version of the same move she had just used on him.

She could dodge the boulder headed her way or she could counter it; or she could pull some trick out of her ass and pray it worked. Third option sounded like the most fun, so that's the one she was going for. She knew better than to use her feet for this, so she figured she would use her fist. She waited until just the opportune moment, cocking back her right fist just in time and sending it straight forward, straight towards the boulder. Her fist smashed into it, movement slamming into movement. Only, she had slightly harder than the boulder was traveling, which sent it flying off at an odd angle and into a nearby wall where it smashed into pieces.

If it wasn't for the adrenaline rush she would've been more aware of her ripped up, blood covered knuckles, but for the moment she couldn't care to notice; and it was better than the broken wrist she could have been sporting right now, though it would be a surprise if she didn't walk away with a sprain in her wrist after that move. Of course, that adrenaline wasn't going to last long. "Hehe..."

She could feel the adrenaline rush fading; and along with it she began to tire. Already her breathing had increased, her stance no longer as straight as it once was when they had begun. She may have been strong, but she wasn't strong enough to last as long as Arashi probably could, and she knew it. Of course.. she was also stubborn as a mule when it came to fighting, and didn't like to bow out until she was too far gone to think straight. Even now, as she began to move her fingers, still having not noticed the blood dripping from her knuckles to the rock strewn ground below, and began to feel the pain that pulsed in her wrist and knuckles, she still didn't say anything about it. In her head it was going to have to be Arashi that pulled the stops... or her to get so exhausted she could no longer move.

Word Count: 412
Total Count for B Rank: 2,006 / 2,000

Marquetta decided to hold her ground, or so it would seem at least. She punched the chunk with what looked like all her might; repelling it to the other side of the room, against a wall. She seemed a bit strained; her hand was also bleeding. She didn't seem to care, though; or she hasn't even noticed yet. Either way, it was a living proof that she's not just tough, but tougher than most tough people are. She was... Tough tough? She's tough. (toughception)

Arashi looked at her, and was sure that she'd become one heck of a shinobi as time passes. He wasn't really sure what to do next, she should train something as well... I should work on my speed I think... And also, making my Fire Affinity better wouldn't be a bad idea... He decided to speak, but just before there was one more thing he did. He concentrated a vast amount of Katon chakra in his palm, which he turned so it was pointing at the ceiling. A small flame erupted from it, and it kept getting a bit bigger until it was around twenty centimeters tall. It used to take me a lot longer to make this... I'm getting better. But still not good enough. Then, he spoke.
"Alright, I think that'd be enough of me for a while. I have an idea though... Why don't you keep tossing dem boulders at me, and I'll try to dodge them all!
He looked at his hand, with the flame still moving around.
"We both probably know it's unlikely for me to get hit by them though, so I'll spice things up a bit. This flame... If it gets extinguished; I lose."
This would level the playing field by a lot; as Ara had to constantly focus and concentrate on the flame for it not to wither, and about dodging her attacks as well... It should be a challenge. Ara took his stance, and awaited the first attack.

Wordcount: 1546/2000

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She rose a eyebrow, grinning at the fiery mass he made. She was getting tired, but since all he wanted her to do was keep attacking him... well, she didn't exactly need to use her clan jutsu for that. In fact, there were more than enough loose boulders lying around that she could pick up and kick at him without too much of a problem... she'd also be able to attack him faster like that. "Alright.. if that's what you really want.", she said softly, that playful gleam filling her ice blue eyes again.

She crouched down, wrapping her arms around the boulder, and momentarily ignoring the sharp pain that shot up in her hand and into her arm. Without much problem she lifted the boulder up into the air, throwing it above her head as her form followed upwards. She spun, mid air, and shot her leg out again, kicking the rock straight for Arashi as her foot impacted the large mass of earth. She landed in a crouch nearby the next boulder she was going to send his way next.

[OOC: I see you stopped WC-ing, and we both reached ours. You wanna slowly start ending this or another 1000-2000 session?]

"Alright.. if that's what you really want."
She smiled at Ara, and crouched. She now wrapped her arms around a boulder in front of her feet, and picked it up without much trouble. She threw it in the air, leaped behind it and spun in the air; before extending her foot and kicking the boulder straight at Arashi with untamed speed and strength. She's definitely getting better at this... This one was a real boulder; made from rock, not just a general chunk of soil. It would hit a lot, lot harder, and be far harder to block or counter. Though, Ara wasn't interested in either of those things; he had to dodge, and keep the flame up and running, which takes a lot of attention and concentration, heavily restricting his speed and complexity of the maneuvers he could perform.

Arashi wasn't really the one to analyze much, but to become jounin one must be at least jounin leveled in every single aspect of the shinobi world; analyzation being one of them. No matter how much Ara disliked it, he had to practise it and frankly was quite good at it. He didn't like to use it much, but some things were obvious. If he would dodge to the right, the wind of the boulder would likely reduce his flame to nothing due to it being fairly weak; and the boulder massive and fast. If he moved to the left, it would be alright. But if he kept moving to the left and to the left, he'd be cornered in no more than 3-4 attacks, which isn't good. He could try jumping on the boulders, but he couldn't jump heigh nor fast or once again the tiny-winy flame would disappear, and he would lose. Even if it maybe didn't appear so, this was quite a challenge for Arashi... So he did one of the better things he could. He moved out of the harm's reach, to the left of the pillar. He tried to go as far away as possible due to the wind being quite strong, and his flame so weak... When the boulder passed him, he was around a meter to the left of it. Ara observed as the boulder crashed in the wall, and made quite a hole/crater thingy... He took his stance once again, and awaited the impact while looking after the flame. A droplet of sweat poured down his face.

Wordcount: 1985/2000

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.oO( We can start to end it. Poor Mar's about worn out anyway~)

Marquetta watched him dodge the boulder and just shook her head. She was tired, exhausted if she was honest with herself. Even the pain in her arm was beginning to take its toll despite the bleeding having slowed to a near stop.

She moved over to the other boulder she had looked at, the one she had chosen to throw next. She reached down, picking it up with a grunt by bear hugging it. She launched it up into the air much like she had the last time. She spun around, gaining momentum one final time, sending her foot out. She sent the bottom of her foot smashing into the boulder, kicking it straight towards Arashi once more.

With a grunt she collapsed backwards, landing on the rugged ground on her ass. She rubbed at her injured arm with a grunt. "I'm.. done...", she said softly, but loud enough to be heard. Sweat was pouring down her forehead, into her eyes, causing her to blink several times over again. 'He's really good at this... just the sort of person I need to train with more often to better myself...', she thought to herself, while watching Arashi closely.

Marquetta picked up the other boulder, the one just in front of her legs, and once again tossed it in the air. She followed it like before, spinning in the air and shooting out her leg with what was probably all her force. The boulder flew at Arashi with great speed, just like before, maybe even a bit faster. If Arashi wasn't to move, the boulder would crash straight in his face, chest and stomach area; probably crashing him into the wall behind him and reducing him to red much and shattered bone fragments. That is, if he wasn't to move. Quite impressive for a genin. Though, not moving wasn't in Arashi's interest.

Arashi performed another dodge; he turned horizontally by 180°, and leaped in the air towards the flying boulder; just a bit upwards. He covered the flame with his other hand, and watched his chakra carefully, hoping and trying his best for it not to perish. The boulder flew centimeters beneath the airborne Arashi, and just before it passed him Arashi performed a 270° vertical flip; he was staring straight at the back of the boulder; still just a foot or so in front of his face. Then he spun around, and shot out his leg crashing into the boulder; firing it in the wall at even greater force and speed than Marquetta did moments ago. He would land face turned to the wall that now had quite a crater in it, with the boulder being reduced to flying fragments. He was a bit exhausted; his breathing was heavier as well, with some sweat on his face. The entire maneuver would look like a blur to Marquetta, except the final kick. He looked to his hand, still breathing heavily. Crap! The flame's gone! He spun around on his heels, towards also heavily exhausted Marq. She spoke.
"I'm.. done..."
"Yeah, me too..."
He looked at the palm of his hand, and closed his eyes, calming the flow of his chakra... Redirecting it into the palm of his hand again... And poof! A flame bursted from his palm just like before, but it was surely at least a couple of feet tall this time. Even Arashi was surprised by the size of it, but he stopped it in a split second. He smiled at his newest achievement, and spoke.
"This was fun, maybe we could do it again sometimes. See ya' around!"
Arashi turned around and walked a couple of steps waving his hand, before going full speed out of the cave; with astonishing speed. This was a good day, I really feel like my ability to control Fire has increased.

Wordcount: 2451/2000

---Arashi Left The Thread---