“How long has it been?” Bokuden thought to himself as he stood upon to top of the incomplete tower, gazing out into the distance. Sword in hand, he felt a gust of cool wind tug upon the tail of his coat as he stood unwaveringly atop the Tower of Heaven. “Five long years,” he said solemnly, thinking back to the last time he had been there. Well, “there” was probably not all that accurate of a statement. In his absence construction on the tower had continued, making the location he was standing at almost recognizable to him. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it really, the almost cruel irony. A symbol of progress and prosperity in the village that served only as a reminder of his own failures and the past that he could never seem to move forward from.  It was as if the whole world was moving forward while he remained trapped in his own memories.

Even still, the solitude that standing atop the tower afforded him did provide some measure of comfort. Locations like these were more precious to him than any. It was only here, high above the village, far from the prying eyes of the world that Bokuden felt at piece. Perhaps it was the years of meditation that made him find such a measure of peace in the absence of others, or maybe just the tranquility of a location that, at least for a moment in time, seemed to exist outside of the world, free of all of its problems. There he would stand for a short while, his eyes closed and his mind clear. From seemingly the top of the world Bokuden would relax his body, allowing it to sway ever so slightly along with the gusts of wind being whipped up at that altitude.

Taking one last deep breathe before exhaling forcefully Bokuden would step back from the edge of the tower, foregoing his view in order to accomplish what he had originally set out to do, train. It had always been the case, but even more so as Bokuden grew older and his powers grew, he preferred training in isolation and far from potential interruptions. While the Tower of Heaven was a well known enough location in Kumogakure for it to be a popular tourist attraction, most of the training that was once done atop the tower had come to a crawl as construction on the tower had picked up once again and it became more of an inconvenience to train at the top. At least from the information he had gathered, Bokuden knew that visits to the top of the tower were conducted far less frequently than they once were, almost to the point of them becoming something of a rarity.  This alone made it worth Bokuden returning to the Tower for the first time in years, just to see for himself if it would make a satisfactory training location. Fortunately for him what he heard about the location was true and he found himself alone atop the partially constructed tower. “Now… where to begin?” he mused to himself as he sifted through his mind, “Suiton?”

---

Training: 528

There were few places Ren could go where she could feel as comfortable as she did when he trained at her house.  She had learned how to excel while training on her own while she was at the academy, partially because of her desire to succeed, but mostly because of the tenets her father had taught her before his death.  And there were few places more isolated, or more breathtaking than on top of the Tower of Heaven.  This was where she would come when she needed a break for her normal routine, when she wanted to feel the rush from looking over the edge of the tower or the bite of the cool air on her cheeks.

Each step the horned genin took raised a tiny cloud of dust that was left behind from the construction, and she smiled as she tried to step in the footprints of the construction workers who were constantly using these stairs.  As Ren approached the top of the tower the dust started to clear, and she cool feel the bite of the cold air sinking into her skin.

As she emerged on the top level the blue haired girl ran quickly to edge of the tower and peered down at the ground.  The instant rush she felt from the height of the tower always gave her the energy she needed to train even after demanding trek to the top.

Turning around to move to the center of the construction, Ren laid eyes on a silver haired man she had never seen before.  He was holding an impressive looking sword and was dressed in an a heavy blue coat the likes of which Ren had never seen before.  Immediately she felt herself blush, and wondered if he had noticed her arrival.

“Sorry sir, normally no one else comes up here,” Ren started, already feeling the awkwardness of the situation.  “I can leave if you’d like.” She turned to head back down the tower, causing her Kumogakure headband wrapped around her arm to glint in the sunlight and her hair to blow across her face.

Training Ninjutsu C->B: 350/2000

Before Bokuden could even begin his training footsteps could be heard, one after another, as they made their way up to the top of the tower. Almost purely out of instinct he winced and glared over in that direction from the corner of his eye, his right hand creeping up the length of his weapon and resting at the ready on the tsuka of his sword. This kind of reaction was, of course, likely to be unnecessary. Anyone who would so readily make their presence known, not even bothering to muffle their footsteps, was highly unlikely to be a threat to him. It was a reflex however, a byproduct of years spent on the job as a shinobi and one that was likely to simply disappear anytime soon.

Bokuden did relax a bit after the image of his uninvited guest came into his view, emerging from the stairwell that led up to his location. He removed his hand from his weapon and lowered his sword to his side as a girl sprang forth from the tower, wasting no time in running over to the edge of the structure and peering down over the ledge. The girl was young, likely in her teenage years with mid length blue hair that was worn back in a ponytail. Her attire was quite simplistic as well, consisting of just a shirt and pant combination which almost mirrored the color of her hair. Overall her appearance seemed quite harmless, more akin to a civilian or tourist coming to visit the Tower of Heaven as an attraction rather than as a training ground. Well, harmless except for the distinct set of ram-like horns that protruded from her head.

After the initial excitement she seemed to display upon her arrival atop the Tower the girl turned back towards the center, allowing Bokuden to come into her view. Her face soon became painted a soft shade of rouge as she blushed upon the realization that she had not been alone. “Sorry sir, normally no one else comes up here,” she began, apologizing before anyone even had the chance to fault her for anything, “I can leave if you’d like.” Bokuden raised an eyebrow at the girl’s words, curious as to why anyone would be so quick to be apologetic and change their plans over something so minor. Once she spoke her last sentence however, she began walking back towards the tower’s stairwell, apparently ready to leave before Bokuden even had a chance to speak.

“That won’t be necessary,” Bokuden said after a short sigh, “This is a public location and you have just as much right to be here as I do. And there is no need to be so formal with me miss, I’m nobody important. Please, continue on with whatever you had planned to do. You won’t be a bother to me. I insist.” Bokuden forced as reassuring a smile as he could muster and offered it to his nameless guest, hoping to prevent leaving her lasting impression of him as the man that ruined her day.

---

Training: 1046

“That won’t be necessary,” the stranger stopped ren as she moved to the stairs, “this is a public location and you have just as much right to be here as I do. And there is no need to be so formal with me miss, I’m nobody important. Please, continue on with whatever you had planned to do. You won’t be a bother to me. I insist.”

“Alright, thanks,” Ren said cautiously while working her way toward a section of the rooftop that would give her sufficient room for her training.  The young shinobi wasn’t trying to be suspicious of the silver haired man, but this was the first time she had run into anyone on the top of the tower.  And to top that off she was embarrassed that she hadn’t noticed him right away. What kind of shinobi did that make her?

Once she made her way to an appropriate spot Ren glanced nervously over at the mysterious man one more time.  It was hard not to notice the sword he wore, or the way his hand had rested on it when she had first seen him.  She wondered what had brought the silver haired man up here.  Was he here to train like she was?  The expensive clothing he wore made her question that possibility.  Was he here to survey the progress of the construction?  That also wasn’t likely with the sword he wore on his hip.

Her father had taught her not pry into the matters of strangers, but for a minute Ren considered asking the man why he was up here.  After a minute of trying to work up the courage to ask the man why he was up here Ren finally gave up, and prepared to focus on practicing her jutsus.

Pressing her hands together and taking in a deep breath of the crisp air, Ren focused internally letting chakra flow from her horns which served as her phylactery and through her body.  After a minute the blue haired girl focused the chakra, and created five simple doppelgangers of herself.  It was a really simple technique, but it was the perfect way for Ren to start her trainings as it was more difficult for her to manipulate chakra than most shinobi as she had practically no chakra in her body.

Immediately afterwards she let more chakra flow from her horns and held her right hand to her mouth.  Looking up at the sky she breathed chakra infused air into her hand and then threw a swirling ball of air into the sky.  Quickly she repeated this process two more times.  Each ball traveled a bit more slowly and was smaller than the one before it, as Ren’s control of the chakra flow from her horns wavered slightly between each repetition.

Sighing, Ren focused inwardly again and tried to focus on perfect control of her chakra as she let it ebb from her horns.  For a moment she was entirely at peace, and had completely forgotten about the stranger on the rooftop with her.

120/150:

Training: 858/2000

“There are more efficient ways to train your jutsu, you know?” Bokuden said to the girl, more of an observation than an inquiry as he took notice of her jutsu use, “You are not going to master any ninjutsu simply by repeating them in training. There is more to mastering jutsu than simply knowing how to perform them. One must also know how to use the jutsu and for that to occur the jutsu must be used in such a way that mimics practical use.  I’m afraid that no measure of chakra control nor solitary practice will help you once you are out in the field. Using a jutsu just to use it will provide limited aid once it comes time to use that technique in the heat of battle. If you wish to train jutsu that are meant to be used against other shinobi in combat then there is no substitute for using them against an actual opponent. A lovely young lady like yourself should have no problem finding partner of around your skill level. You’d probably even be able to talk some of these boys into standing in one place to use as target practice if you really wanted. Why do you choose to train alone, if I may ask?”

Bokuden did his best to offer a friendly expression to the girl, hoping to dispel some of the awkwardness that had existed between them previously. It would just be easier that way considering Bokuden would have to wait to train his jutsu until after she left anyway. From what he could surmise about her current level of skill it would be far too dangerous to actually consider using those jutsu against her, but maybe if he guided her along a bit things would speed up. “I apologize, miss,” he said as let out an amused huff and shook his head slightly, “I don’t mean to pry into matters that don’t concern me, but it looked like you could use some help with your ninjutsu training. But of course this is just the advice of a stranger, feel free to disregard it. Do whatever works for you.”

An almost nostalgic smile formed on Bokuden’s lips as his eyes shifted in the direction of the ground rather than at the nameless girl. It didn’t take him long to realize that the real reason he had uncharacteristically gone out of his way to give advice to this girl had nothing to do with his training, but was really because of the girl’s apparent age. She was still a teenager, that much he could surmise from her face, although he obviously couldn’t guess an exact age with any certainty. His best estimate would probably fall into the 14-17 range. If he was right then that would put her in the same age range as Bokuden’s sister.  “It’s been over five years since I’ve seen her as well,” Bokuden reminded himself as he tightened his grip around his sword handle before looking back up to the horned girl before him, “She’s probably already grown just like this girl is.” He then let out a sigh as he turned and would begin walking towards the opposite end of the tower after speaking once more, “Pardon my intrusion. I’ll let you get back to your training now.”

---

Training: 1612

“No it’s alright,” Ren tried to catch him before he walked too far away. Her eyes looked up and down the man inquisitively.  She didn’t know why this silver haired man had stopped her to give her advice, but she knew what he was saying was the truth.  She had always trained practicing jutsu’s alone, and she still had difficulty in using some of the stronger ones at times.  The blue haired girl knew that if she faltered the way she had just then in the heat of a battle that it could result in her injury or death.  The problem had been no one in the academy had ever wanted to train with her, they were all too busy making fun of her horns, or calling her a know it all.

The horned girl didn’t know if the stranger was offering her help or not, but maybe this was a case where she could get some real practice.  Sighing she looked into the man’s blue eyes, and explained her situation to him, hoping this would be an opportunity for her to grow as a shinobi.

“I’m just used to training alone, most people my age don’t really want to practice with me.  I don’t know how much time you’ve spent around teenagers lately, but I think you can imagine most of them don’t treat kids with a set of horns and blue hair all that well.  And then I haven’t been assigned to a squad yet, so until then it’s just me practicing alone.  It’s better to repeat a jutsu over and over again, than sit at home waiting for something to happen.”

Training: 1132/2000

“No, it’s alright. I’m just used to training alone, most people my age don’t really want to practice with me.  I don’t know how much time you’ve spent around teenagers lately, but I think you can imagine most of them don’t treat kids with a set of horns and blue hair all that well.  And then I haven’t been assigned to a squad yet, so until then it’s just me practicing alone.  It’s better to repeat a jutsu over and over again, than sit at home waiting for something to happen.”

Bokuden raised an eyebrow as the horned girl spoke, telling him of her difficulty in finding a person to actually train with and her mistreatment at the hands of her peers. “Her horns and hair, huh?” he thought to himself as a wave of sympathy flooded through him, memories of his academy days and the teasing he received for his white hair all coming back as he listened to the girl speak. Of course, there came a point where Bokuden more or less forced the teasing to stop by thrashing every one of his little classmates that was foolish enough to dare and make fun of him. That however, was not an immediate option and there was a time that Bokuden was all too familiar with the cruelty of children. He was surprised that this girl had allowed it to persist this long however, she was already more than old enough to be able to stand up for herself.

Either way, Bokuden’s heart strings had been pulled on enough and although it was out of character for him, he decided that given the situation he was almost obligated to offer his assistance in her training. “Your horns?” Bokuden inquired as he began to respond to the girl, “Why would they treat you badly because of your horns? I think they’re charming.” He smiled at the girl, hoping to comfort her as she shared with him what he considered to be very personal information. “I’m sorry that you have yet to be assigned a squad. Lady Reika has been quite busy of late and has been recovering a bit more slowly from the kage summit than she would have liked. She is trying to push herself to get back to work, but the village doctors are insisting she rest. In her stead the work has kind of just been divided amongst different places and unfortunately some things get lost in the mess,” he explained walking back in the girl’s direction before tugging at a length of his hair, “I can’t pretend I know what it’s like to have horns, but I am familiar with what it is like to be teased because of your hair. If you could imagine, a child with the hair color of an old man leaves himself open to quite a few jokes as well. That being said, it seems as though my village has done you a disservice. I can’t undo how you were treated by your peers, nor can I assign you a squad, but I can help you find what you need. If you’d have me, I’d like to offer you my assistance in your training.”

---

Training: 2163

“Your horns?” the silver haired man asked her, “Why would they treat you badly because of your horns? I think they’re charming.”  In an instant any opinion she had had of the stranger changed as she felt her cheeks grow a soft shade of red.  Her father was the only person who had ever complimented her horns, and making the comment that much more meaningful to her.

“I’m sorry that you have yet to be assigned a squad.” he continued, “Lady Reika has been quite busy of late…”

”He knows the Raikage that well, who is this man? Ren wondered as he continued.  

“I can’t pretend I know what it’s like to have horns, but I am familiar with what it is like to be teased because of your hair. If you could imagine, a child with the hair color of an old man leaves himself open to quite a few jokes as well. That being said, it seems as though my village has done you a disservice. I can’t undo how you were treated by your peers, nor can I assign you a squad, but I can help you find what you need. If you’d have me, I’d like to offer you my assistance in your training.”

It was enough for the young shinobi, whoever this man was she earnestly believed everything he had meant.  There was no reason for him to lie to her, and he seemed so genuine.  Immediately she regretted the distrust she had placed in the stranger off the bat, but she knew it was now in the past.

“That would mean so much to me,” her voice was bubbling with exhilaration and excitement, “thank you!”  Immediately she bowed her head in a show of respect and gratefulness, “my name is Akumasureiyā, Ren.”

Training: 1432/2000

“Bokuden. Nice to meet you Miss Ren,” replied to the horned girl, purposefully leaving out his clan name as he nodded his head in return to her bow, “But as I said before, there is no need to be so formal. I’m nobody important. Just consider this a casual training session with one of your peers and don’t be afraid to let loose. Train how you would fight. If you limit yourself in your training you will only limit yourself when the time comes for you to put your training to the test.” Bokuden would then reach over to Ren’s head with his right hand and ruffle her blue hair gently, hoping that the mild display of affection would help her settle in. “You don’t have to worry about hurting me,” Bokuden said with a slight smile perched upon his lips, “I can take anything that you can throw my way. I promise.”

Bokuden brushed Ren’s azure hair back into place a bit before removing his hand from her head and taking a step back, placing his right arm akimbo to his hip. “You’re a fuuton user, correct?” Bokuden inquired, somewhat of a pointless question since she obviously had previously used a futon jutsu, but he felt it might be a better way to get her to speak, “Unfortunately I am not a futon user myself, so I’m probably not the right person to instruct you on how to use them correctly. I am however decently experienced with ninjutsu in general, so hopefully I’ll be able to help at least a little bit.” Bokuden threw a smile her way before turning and performing a quick visual scan of the surrounding area before leaping back to put some distance between he and Ren.

“Alright, Ren,” he said with a smirk as he assumed a defensive stance, his legs staggered and balancing himself on the balls of his feet, “Don’t expect me to just let you get your way just because you have a pretty face. Show me what you have achieved through your training. If you can impress me I might even help you train again.” He spoke teasingly as he aimed to prompt Ren into taking an aggressive approach with his playful taunts.

---

Training katon D>C: 2545

Ren smiled as Bokuden ruffled her hair, the obvious display of affection clearly achieving its goal.  She had taken notice as to how the elder shinobi had failed to mention his clan name, but she knew too well the desire to hide such pieces of information and didn’t think twice about it.  And as he grinned and told Ren he could take anything she threw at him, she didn’t doubt his sincerity.

As Bokuden then brushed Ren’s hair back into place he confirmed with her that she was a fuuton user, and that he was not.  Still that did not diminish the young girl’s excitement, she welcomed new approaches and styles as she knew she still had a great deal to learn.

When Bokuden jumped back she was already formulating a plan in her head.  She had to assume due to his age and his relationship with the Raikage tha Bokuden was a high level shinobi.  As of right now she her her best approach to impress the man and practice her skills was to surprise him.  If she used low level techniques maybe she could catch him off guard with some of the benefits her demonic contract gave her.

As the older shinobi finished his last thought Ren felt another surge of excitement, and her desire to impress the silver haired man grew exponentially.  Suddenly she felt foolish for having left her scythe at home, knowing the weapon was her strongest asset and was likely the easiest way to impress Bokuden.

Still Ren controlled her features and thoughts, as it was now now time for action.  She immediately jumped at the older man, hoping the quickness of her attack would give her a slight advantage.  Staying just out of what she believed to be the range of his sword she held up her hands and let chakra flow from her horns into her palms and released it in a blast of electricity.

100/150:

Training: 1755/2000

As Bokuden fell back to his distant position and attempted to bait Ren into attacking him it appeared as though the horned girl was already formulating a plan in her head, her eyes locked intently at her silver haired opponent and her brow furrowing ever so slightly. “Oh, so she has a plan, does she?” Bokuden mused to himself as he stood up straight, seemingly making himself vulnerable to an attack from the standing position, “This should be interesting. How long has it been since I have been involved in a fight in which neither intended on harming the other? Well, I can only speak for myself on that end. For all I know this girl wants to kill me and she is going to have to if she intends on putting a scratch on me this entire match.” Raising his arm just out in front of him, palm facing skyward, Bokuden motioned with his fingers for Ren to come.

A few brief moments of contemplation passed as Bokuden awaited Ren’s opening move, curious as to what kind of plan she had formulated with the time he allotted her. There of course was also always the possibility that she had not planned anything in that time and was merely hesitating to make the first move out of fear or self-doubt. He truly hoped that this was not the case as neither of those were qualities that Bokuden could work with when trying to train her. There was nothing wrong with being afraid or to question one’s self at times, but if she were to let it paralyze her in the safety of a training session then her career as a shinobi would be a short lived one. If she was indeed planning her moves ahead of time in her mind however, that was a quality that Bokuden would place high value in as a tactical fighter himself. What happened next would weigh heavily on Bokuden’s opinion of Ren as a shinobi, whether she be a coward or a strategist. All of his questions about her would be answered soon enough, all that was left to do was wait for that first move.

Suddenly, the azure haired kunoichi dashed forward, closing the gap between them that Bokuden had just created. He pondered for a moment whether or not he should try to counter, but ultimately decided against it, preferring to let Ren showcase the full extent of her abilities. As she drew closer Bokuden sensed a small amount of ration chakra being molded in… her horns? “Strange,” Bokuden thought to himself, “The horns were out of the ordinary, but I didn’t think they served a purpose like chakra molding.” Regardless, Bokuden could tell that there was a ration jutsu heading his way. It wasn’t just any jutsu either, it was Wave of Inspiration. The right side of Bokuden’s lips tugged upwards in amusement at the prospect of one of his own jutsu being used against him and stood firm in his position. Choosing not to dodge or counter the jutsu, he merely raised his arms to his sides as if welcoming Ren with a hug and puffed his chest out slightly as the jutsu collided with the Kumogakure flak jacket that he wore beneath his coat, causing the ration to dissipate on contact.

Bokuden unbuttoned his singed black coat, pulling the right side away from his chest to purposefully reveal the vest that he had been wearing the whole time. He would then remove his coat entirely, tossing it off to the side and revealing his far more combat suited attire that was previously hidden beneath his outerwear.

---

Training Katon D>C: 3159

Ren frowned in frustration at the failure of the attack, it had in no way done what she had wanted it to.  She had hoped she could either land the attack, even though she had known that was unlikely, or forced Bokuden to move so that she could try to attack him while he was moving.  She hadn't expected the white haired man to be wearing armor underneath his outerwear, this just heightened her interest as to who exactly Bokuden was.

Ren knew she needed another plan, and her frown turned into a scowl as her mind kept mulling over ideas that involved her having a weapon.  Why had she left her scythe at home, her father had taught her always to bring it with her while she was training.

After a minute her eyes finally came to rest on the sword Bokuden carried at his side.  He hadn’t drawn it yet, and she suspected he wouldn’t in the rest of the fight.  No experienced swordsman would let her get their hands on their weapon, and she suspected Bokuden was more than an experienced swordsman.  But maybe if she could catch him by surprise, after all she still hadn't shown him any of the gifts her demonic contract afforded her.  And it was a better plan than any of the others she had.

Molding chakra in her mouth Ren breathed it out in a puff toward the ground.  Dust and debris rose in a cloud around her partially obscuring her from Bokuden.  Then she held her hands into a hand sign and formed five incorporeal clones around her once more, and she made sure they were grouped in a cluster to minimize the chance Bokuden could tell which one of her was the real one.  Then she quickly ran at him again, the real Ren in the middle of group of clones. When she approached him, she aimed a quick jab at his sword arm as the clones ran past him.

85/150:

Bokuden shrugged his shoulders as he slid his thumb under the shoulder pad of his Kumogakure vest, adjusting the armor as he prepared to begin this spar in earnest. His gaze shifted off to the side as he peered over to the singed pile of cloth that was his discarded coat. It was an unfortunate what had happened to his coat, but that was just a consequence of training while fully clothed. It wasn’t even like the coat was irreplaceable, but it would be a bit inconvenient. He sighed a bit as he lamented the loss of one of his favorite pieces, but the disappointment went as quickly as it came, instead choosing to direct his focus back to the task at hand. This girl Ren, although as far as Bokuden was concerned was still a child, was his opponent for this training session and one that seemingly had intent to cause harm behind her attacks. “Good,” Bokuden mused to himself as he recalled the prospect of an enemy coming at him with true intent. It was a quality he admired in the blue haired girl, one that he found encouraging given her age and relative inexperience, and one that he himself tried to instill in his former students.

What Bokuden found less impressive however, was the immediate hesitation that followed her failed initial strike. The displeasure and frustration in her attack was evident on her face as she glared his way, not behavior that nurtured the growth of a skilled shinobi as far as Bokuden was concerned. Emotions, facial expressions, and body language served as nothing more than clues that might better aid an opponent in deciphering one’s battle strategy. The fact that she showed such blatant irritation with the fact that a jutsu of just that level didn’t phase him more or less telegraphed to Bokuden that the ceiling of her current power level was not far beyond that. If he were to hazard a guess he would likely peg her as a genin by the way she reacted and her overall movements. He followed her eyes as the peered down in Bokuden’s direction. She was staring down at… his sword? Could she have been worried about him using it against her? A fair concern, but one that was largely unnecessary. Bokuden had no intention of drawing his weapon or doing anything that would injure the girl. That was the only explanation he could think of for her fixated gaze. She obviously didn’t think that she was going to be able to use it, that would just be silly.

Then, almost as suddenly as her last maneuver, Ren inhaled deeply before exhaling a powerful gust down at the ground below her feet. “Ah, Fuuton: Nagare,” Bokuden mused to himself as he raised his arm to shield his eyes from the cloud of dust and debris that had just kicked up, effectively blocking Ren out of his line of sight. This of course would not affect Bokuden in the slightest. His kekkei genkai did not require a person to be in his sights to locate them; as long as they were alive and kicking their body would still give off an electrical signal and he would still be able to find them. And so he waited as the dust began to settle and six Ren’s erupted from the cloud, all charging straight at Bokuden. Once again it was easy for him to differentiate between the real Ren and the clones because only the original possessed an electrical signal. Not that he would even had to have relied on his Current Perception to do it. There was one grave mistake that most people made when trying to use the basic clone jutsu taught at the academy; they forgot that the clones has no physical presence and therefore are unable to interact with the physical environment in any way, shape, or form. This meant that the moment that the cluster of clones emerged from the dust cloud along with Ren Bokuden’s sharp eyes could easily pick out the fact that only a single one of the girls that came forth left any kind of dust trail as they darted forward out of the cloud.

Easily able to identify the real Ren’s location and the status of the other copies as incorporeal and therefore not a threat, Bokuden decided he would wait and see what she had planned rather than just outmaneuver her before anything happened. As the group of Ren copies along with the original closed in on Bokuden’s location he simply waited for the real Ren to make her move. Seeing as how she was trying to deceive him in order to get in close, he could only assume she would be trying to launch a surprise attack at close range, which are, coincidentally, far less effective when your opponent knows they are coming. Suddenly, instead of aiming a punch or some other close combat strike at Bokuden as he allowed her to close the gap between them, Ren lunged out and downward as if reaching for his sword. “No,” Bokuden said as he quickly turned his body to the side and pulled up his weapon, removing it from her reach and allowing her to run right past him, “You should know better than to try and take a swordsman’s blade from him.” He followed that statement up with a soft whack on the top of her head with the sheathed weapon and placed his right hand akimbo to his hip.

---

Training: 4090

“No,” Bokuden’a voice rang out as he easily side stepped her attack. “You should know better than to try and take a swordsman’s blade from him.” As she felt the the strike on her head her cheeks burned red with a combination of embarrassment and and rising anger.  This man was out of her league, she wouldn’t even stand a chance against him in a real fight, and she was weaponless.  All of her years of training with various different blades and scythes out the window, and she felt like despite her best effort she was just flailing around trying to impress a man she simply wouldn't be able to impress.

Still Ren was not the type to give up that easily.  If there was something she noted from the last exchange with Bokuden it was how observant he was of her actions.  If she could make herself seem frustrated enough, maybe she could catch him off guard.  She knew it seemed unlikely, but being unarmed and her opponent being armed left her without many options.

Still facing away from Bokuden, Ren took a quick few steps past the man, while raising her hand to her head to rub it. She felt little pain from the whack partially due to Bokuden’s skill, and partially due to her unusually resilient body.

“I know, I just didn’t know what else to do,” she forced the frustration she felt into her voice.  Then she slid her hand down her head, and held it just in front of her face, feigning to be checking for blood.  “I’m just not particularly skilled with ninjutsu, and I’m not used to training without a weapon,” her voice came out in a trained whine that she had used on her dad when she felt like he wasn't being fair.

Then, as quickly as she could manage she pulled chakra from her horns and molded it in her mouth again.  Breathing the chakra infused air into her hand she formed three balls of spiraling air.

Then in an instant she spun and launched the orbs at Bokuden.  As she waited to see how he would respond, she crouched into a ready position waiting to see if he’d leave an opening for her.

60/150:

Training: 2491

Bokuden pulled his sword back to his side after whacking Ren on the head and stood in silence awaiting the young girl’s answer. There was a distinct period of silence as the blue haired kunoichi stood with her back facing Bokuden, seemingly unwilling to turn and face him. “What’s this now?” he thought to himself  as he grew anxious while waiting for his horned opponent’s response, “I couldn’t have actually hurt her, could I? That tap with the sword wasn’t even hard enough to leave a bruise. Don’t tell me I hurt her feelings… this is why I avoid dealing with children…”

Before another thought could cross Bokuden’s mind Ren took a few steps forward, the whole time keeping her back turned to him and not saying a word. She reached up with her hand and rubbed the spot he had struck with his sheathed weapon as if to soothe the pain, causing Bokuden to roll his eyes at the thought of that being enough to stop her in her tracks. “I know, I just didn’t know what else to do,” Ren said suddenly in a frustrated whine as she lowered her hand to her face as if she were checking for blood, “I’m just not particularly skilled with ninjutsu, and I’m not used to training without a weapon.”

There it was. All of the sudden a feeling of guilt began to wash over him as he watched the frustrated and pained figure of Ren turned away from him, hiding her face. “Hey, don’t be like that. It’s alright,” Bokuden began as he walked towards her, prepared to place a comforting hand upon her head, “I was just teasing you. I didn’t mean to upset you like this.” Then, much to Bokuden’s surprise, Ren would immediately turn around, blowing rotating spheres of fuuton into her hands and throwing them at Bokuden from practically point blank range. With no time to think of a way to counter attack Bokuden immediately fell back to his last resort means of escape: the old substitution jutsu. Truth be told Bokuden didn’t like using the jutsu, and the fact that he would have to use it this soon against an opponent that was so clearly below his skill level irked him slightly. At the same time however, he was amused by the girl’s cunning. Despite his annoyance with the tactic he could not deny that it was an effective one. If it’s stupid but it works, then it isn’t stupid.

As the balls of wind collided with his body, Ren would see him poof into a puff of smoke, having been switched with the singed coat he had tossed few feet to the side just moments ago. As soon as the switch was complete he would dash at full speed, directly in front of Ren, and pull his secondary weapon from his hip. “Clever. You are a weapons user, correct?” he asked rhetorically as he extended the old katana outwards, offering it to the girl, “Show me what the training you are used to looks like.”

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Training Katon D>C: 4500/4500
Training: 119

Chakra: 345/350:

Even though Bokuden had dodged her attack Ren knew her attack had been a success.  The faster man had been forced to use substitution jutsu to escape, and that was enough to bolter her confidence.  Her eyes had locked on the silver haired man’s new position quickly after he changed places with his jacket, but as he started to run at her she lost track of him.  His speed was significantly beyond hers, and as she sensed he would reach her she winced ever so slightly preparing for an attack.

But as her eyes found his again, he had stopped just short of her and his hands pulled another sword from his hip. “Clever. You are a weapons user, correct?” Ren nodded her response silently as he extended the weapon towards her. “Show me what the training you are used to looks like.”

For a split second she was stunned, but she knew this was Bokuden’s way of judging her abilities.  Also, he had been so kind up to her up until this point she could tell he just wanted to help her become stronger, not judge her.  Smiling she reached out her right hand and pulled the katana from its sheath.

Grasping the weapon in both hands Ren tightened her grip on the tsuka and her eyes glanced over the weapon.  While the blade was unfamiliar the weight of the steel in her palms comforted the young girl.  She was reminded of the long sessions with her father and the warmth and encouragement he had always given her.  Looking up toward Bokuden, she couldn’t help but notice the characteristics her father shared with her new teacher.

Determined to impress Bokden, she uttered a quick “thank you, I will,” before holding the weapon in front of her in a classic ready position.  After a deep breath and locking eyes once more with Bokuden to ensure he was prepared Ren raised the katana over her shoulder and lunged toward Bokuden, bringing the katana down toward him in a fluid motion.

OOC: Sorry for the delay, been a crazy few days, I'm back though

Training: 3049

The azure haired girl stood silently for a moment as Bokuden offered her his weapon, almost unsure of how to respond to the sudden gesture. Then with a smile Ren would look up at Bokuden and use her right hand to unsheathe the weapon that he had presented to her. As she took the weapon in hand she proceeded to grip the handle tightly with both hands and begun looking over the worn blade she had just been given, examining it closely before use. It wasn’t difficult to see that the horned girl was more comfortable with a weapon in hand, not unusual for a bukijutsu user, which she claimed to be. Once she had finished getting a sense of the sword’s weight and the feel of the weapon Ren looked back at Bokuden with a look of confidence and defiance that her face had lacked before. “Thank you, I will,” she said confidently as she took a basic kendo stance, the end of her blade pointed towards Bokuden before she made her move. After locking eyes with Bokuden once more and taking a deep breath Ren would bring the weapon over her shoulder and charge Bokuden head on, performing a basic diagonal slash aimed at Bokuden as she closed in.

In response Bokuden dropped back a step with his left foot before pulling his chokuto up in front of his body, in preparation for the incoming attack. Following the long, sweeping motion of Ren’s slash as she approached Bokuden unsheathed his sword ever so slightly, leaving no more than an inch or two of the blade exposed, and used the edge to block the strike. He would then immediately slam the weapon shut, wedging the edge of Ren’s sword between his sheath and tsuba, before swinging around to the opposite side, dragging her along with the sword and sending her stumbling over in that direction. After releasing her off in the other direction he would sheathe his weapon properly and lower if down to his left side, holding the weapon right under the hand guard.

“Not bad, Ren-chan,” Bokuden would say, offering her a smile when she regained her footing and looked back at him, “It’s not really my style as far as kenjutsu goes, but your form is good. However, you do telegraph your movements somewhat. I saw that attack coming a mile away and because of that I was able to counter it without much effort.” Bokuden would take another step back with his left foot and bend his knees a bit, tucking his sword into his side as he assumed a drawing stance. He narrowed his eyes at Ren as he cradled his right thumb around the tsuka of his sword, allowing the rest of his fingers to hover loosely over the handle. “Now then,” he began, “I want you to try to hit me again, but this time you are not to think of it as training. If I’m to assess your true capabilities I need to see what you are capable of in real combat. Your next attack is to be made with the intent of ending my life right here atop this tower, nothing less. Understood?”

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Training: 659