Fang or Fist [Private]

The library was a place that many didn’t expect a child like Satori to be, thinking the boy just another meathead that only trained his body, especially due to the rumors associated with the Ryuutei. However, this was anything but the truth, as Satori craved knowledge and understanding. It was one of the key reasons that he had moved to the Academy despite his family usually never bothering.

He wanted to combine the knowledge of the Academy with that of his clan, in order to maximize both and create new styles and jutsu. It was due to this line of thought that Satori found himself entering the Library, the large boy wore a heavy hoodie over a pair of simple black shorts and sandals, hands tucked into its pockets as wild black hair fell about behind him in waves and curls. The tips of his fangs peeked out from his lips as he glanced around, large crimson, feline eyes examining every detail carefully.

Sniffing the air briefly to identify any chakra nearby, before straightening and meandering toward the center of the library to begin examining signs. He was after information on Taijutsu styles that he could compare to his own clans fighting style and begin integrating different aspects of both into it. As he glanced through the isles, however, he would blink as he spotted a shorter boy that he recognized looking over the spines of some of the books as well.

They weren’t in the same class, but he’d passed him enough to know his name at least. No reason not to be friendly while they were looking for the same thing, the silence was fine as well, but it was always interesting seeing if someone was a potentially useful ally for the future.

“Nakamura-san, right?” he inquired, voice quiet but not a whisper, enough not to disturb others but still hold a peaceful conversation. Moving into the aisle he would offer the boy a slight smile, long fangs flashing, before his crimson gaze traveled over the titles of the other books slowly in thought.

“I’m Satori Ryuutei, nice to meet you officially,” he explained this as his long arm reached upward, tracing the spine of a book that looked promising as he waited for the other young boy to respond.

One of his favorite things about libraries was that he was able to easily do as much quiet peaceful reading as he wanted. Even though this was the one that his father worked at, he was still able to read in relative peace here. Akemi’s father didn’t like bothering his son unless it was absolutely necessary and it was rarely ever that, mostly just if it was time to close the library.

He’d picked out several different books that he was planning on reading through the day, most of them on initial and advanced chakra control, but also one on taijutsu and one on ninjutsu. Already he’d made it through the book on beginner chakra control; after all it never hurt to go back to the basics on a theoretical level. Still, he was hoping fairly soon that he would be able to practice some of this theory in training.

He was probably about halfway through the book on advanced chakra control when he suddenly heard someone call him. Akemi blinked and looked up as suddenly another boy moved into the same aisle, and flashed him canines that seemed longer than normal. Akemi smiled a little bit, thankful that he’d decided to be quiet enough to hold a conversation in the library, someone in control of themselves. He gave his name as Satori Ryuutei. Akemi had heard of the Ryuutei family and was thankful that he was getting to meet a member of the illustrious family. The two weren’t in the same class at the academy, he knew that much, and wondered just a bit why the young man had come to speak to him. Still there was no need to be rude based on his lack of information.

“Ah! Ryuutei-san! It is nice to meet you officially as well.” He gave the boy a gentle smile and then a bit of a curious gaze. “I’m a little surprised to see you in the library Ryuutei-san, what brings you here? Is there a specific book you’re looking for? I might be able to help!”

Satori allowed his grin to lessen, but remain at the corners of his lips as he rested his hands on his hips. He was a friendly enough kid, though he seemed a bit confused. Satori supposed that was normal to a degree, shrugging he would incline his head slightly in greeting and respect before straightening fully. He was surprised to see him here, and it made him laugh softly under his breath, careful not to disturb others within the walls.

“Not all Ryuutei are meatheads,” he explained simply, his smile calm, signifying he wasn’t insulted by the words at all. Instead, he simply blinked at the offer, tilting his head and looking upward slowly.

“I don’t usually have anything in mind, I try to read everything, but I guess in this case something based on elemental affinities would be good. The Academy doesn’t really teach us anything based on them, and I need to start working on them before I graduate.” He didn’t seem perturbed by the fact generally that was a genin or chunin level exercise to mold elemental natures with chakra. In Satori’s opinion, there was no such thing as “too soon”, to start on practicing anything.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, he would examine the books in the boys' pile curiously, arching a brow at the one based on advanced chakra control. “Hmm, those look interesting too,” he pondered, leaning forward. He’d been contemplating Taijutsu styles as well, of course, but they were something he could find on his own. Still, it could be intriguing to read up on them, presented with different choices he held his chin in thought, debating silently.

To pass the time of thought he glanced back up to Akemi’s eyes and grinned slightly. “Studying up on Taijutsu style?” He inquired curiously, resting his hands lightly on his hips, perhaps the boys' studies could be beneficial to him as well. He was as fickle as usual it seemed, any knowledge was good knowledge really.

He watched as Satori’s grin faded somewhat, though it still played at the edges of his lips. Something of a laugh escaped the other boy's lips and as he spoke Akemi’s smile dropped in an apologetic grimace. ‘Stupid Akemi…’ he chided himself. ‘Look at what you did now!’

“I'm sorry, Ryuutei-san! I didn't mean anything about your clan. I just don't see you here that often, was all I meant.” He gave a rather weak smile but still hoped Satori didn't hold it against him. After all he was one of the first people that had actually talked to Akemi while he was in the library studying. Having another person to bounce off of always helped at least a little bit.

“Oh! Elemental affinities is a wonderfully fun subject! The melding of chakra is often a bit difficult, but once you master it, firing off powerful attacks is usually child’s play!” He smiled. “They don’t teach us enough in that academy, do they?” He chuckled a bit. “This book is actually pretty good. It gives a quite a deal of information on controlling one’s chakra. I’m only about halfway through it, but if you’d like to borrow it and read it yourself, go ahead!” He extended the book for the young man to take. “And yes! I’m studying up on some taijutsu styles so that I can be ready! Like you said they don’t exactly teach us enough at the academy, not even for my taste. So I’ve been doing some...early reading.” He held up an index finger. “One second. I'll get some books on elemental affinity.”

He raced around the corner and came back with three books in his hands. “Ok, these are my favorites and personally the most helpful. The first is Elemental Affinity and Chakra Molding, easy enough to understand. Then there's Natural Affinity: A Theory, might be a little boring but has some important points. And finally, my personal favorite, Elements and You. It gives a fairly comprehensive explanation of elemental affinity and using your chakra to form useful techniques with it!” He smiled again. “Any other books I can get for ya?”

Satori waved off the boys apology, whether he had meant it that way or not, it didn’t really matter. “It doesn’t matter, either way, it’s true after all that many of my clan just worry about fighting,” Satori was too self-confident to worry about such things too much, though as Mizukage he’d definitely need to help improve the image of his clan. Still, that was a bit away, and as he tucked his hands lightly into his pockets he nodded a bit as Akemi seemed to be well versed in elemental knowledge. A refreshing change, since sadly, Riku who was his other go-to for such information didn’t really care about Ninjutsu or elements yet. Focused entirely on Genjutsu and her poisons, as well as some medical knowledge.

Blinking as he offered him the book, he raised a hand in refusal with a laugh, “I don’t need to take yours, I’m sure there are other options, right?” As if on cue, the boy launched up to go find the other books. Satori blinked at the obvious energy the boy had, chuckling and stepping forward curiously to examine the stack of books that he’d been reading more closely, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, though there was a single book on Genjutsu as well.

An all-rounder then? He could respect that, it’s what he would be if his clan was able to actually utilize Genjutsu, his mothers were all skilled jack of all trades, it was in their blood to help cover for the males weaknesses after all. Stretching, Satori would lean against the wall as he waited for the boy to re-appear, and ask if he could do anything else for him as if he was the librarians assistant instead of just a fellow reader.

Shaking his head, he would accept the books curiously, trailing a fingertip along the spine of the first curiously before looking back at the boy. “Thanks,” he stated simply, earnestly appreciating it. The boy didn’t have to go out of his way to help him, after all. Glancing upward he contemplated a way to help pay the boy back before he would fall into the seat across from him with a grin.

“How about we trade some ideas and theories? You’re reading on Taijutsu, and that’s a specialty of mine alongside Bukijutsu,” as he explained this, he would set the stack of books to the side neatly as he rested his chin in his palm idly, long claws tapping against the side of his face in thought. “Besides, it’s always more effective bouncing ideas off of another person instead of a book or piece of paper, right?” With a grin, he would lean back a bit and wait for the boy's approval, thinking up what ways he could offer to help him.

He was decidedly happy that Satori hadn’t gotten angry at his remarks as Akemi knew that sometimes he could say things that annoyed people. It only got better as the boy suggested other options and for a moment, he considered dashing back to grab the other Advanced Chakra Control book, but thought better of it. Yet it was what Satori suggested next that really set Akemi bouncing: someone to bounce ideas off of!! Other than his mother whenever she was in, Akemi didn’t have anyone to do this with! It was certainly a wonderful thing to him and it made him giddy just thinking about it.

“Absolutely, Ryuutei-san!” he said giving the other boy a big smile. “I don’t have many people with which to discuss such things with and would greatly appreciate any and all insight that you can give! And of course, I’ll offer my own insight into the ninjutsus that I’ve studied!” He beamed, before twiddling his index fingers. “I tend to stay cooped up here after class doing nothing but reading so I don’t tend to talk to a lot of people outside of classes. I’ve still got a lot of studying and practical application training to do, especially with Bukijutsu! I’m ok with that, but I’ve been studying Taijutsu so that I can get really good with that. Probably my second weakest subject besides Genjutsu, that is.” He stopped and took a breath before saying, “Sorry, I’m just really excited!”

Suddenly he stopped for a moment. “Say, Ryuutei-san? Instead of immediately jumping into the different jutsus, could we just talk for a minute? I don’t know much about you or anyone else cuz of my eccentricity. I just want to know, why do you want to be a shinobi? What is your dream in all of this?” Certainly a risky move, but he desired to know the boy’s motivations. “And I’m not asking you this and offering nothing in return! I’ll tell you about why I do it, or heck we can even train some of the techniques we discuss out on the training grounds! I go there a lot too!” And he smiled, watching Satori hopeful. Even if the other boy found it a bore, Akemi knew that there was always the possibility of being put onto a team together when they reached the level of genin, and he wanted to know at least a bit about potential teammates before something like that happened.

Satori listened curiously as the boy admitted that he didn’t have many people to discuss things with, causing him to tilt his head slowly. Didn’t they have an entire academy to bounce ideas off of, or the boys family perhaps? It was hard to say, perhaps he didn’t want to ask? But he didn’t seem the shy type. Well, either way, he had no issue with offering his opinion on things. Leaning back as he rested his chin in his palm, he would listen as the boy explained that he stayed in the library and studied most of the time.

However, what he was studying was Taijutsu and Bukijutsu, everything really, but that was an issue. “If you do nothing but read then you won’t be able to do it though,” he pondered idly, drummings his fingertips against the top of the table in thought, his claws tips causing soft clinks with each contact made. Before he could continue that line of thought he was slowed, his hand lowering as the boy called him by his surname, and inquired about talking for a moment.

As he explained that he was a bit “eccentric”, he wondered about that. He supposed in a way being a bookworm could be considered that, but Satori just saw it as a desire to earnestly seek out knowledge, and that was something to be respected in a shinobi. Still, as he was asked such a question, Satori simply grinned-- it was no secret what his goals were. He had made it blatantly clear why he pushed himself so hard, why he destroyed his body and did everything in his power to learn.

“I’m going to be Mizukage,” he stated, blunt and calm as ever. He knew that the reaction would likely be laughter or agreement and then simply moving on, that was fine. He had met a few that believed in him as well, and that was fine too. Satori was above all of it, he didn’t care about “proving himself”, or “proving them wrong”. What he was doing, what he was going to become, was not based on anyone's wishes but his own. He wanted to be Mizukage to protect his family, his village, his land. He didn’t care about how much he had to do in order to achieve that goal because the bottom line was that he was going to do it.

As he stated this, Satori would tilt his head a bit. “What about you? There must be a reason you’re always studying, right? What are you going to do?” There was a key difference in the way that they worded their questions, though they were close to the same, they weren’t. Satori asked what the boy was “going to do”, but Akemi had asked him “what was his dream”. Dreams were not something that Satori believed in, only goals.

Satori’s words rang true, and it was one of the things that always annoyed Akemi the most. He did spend a lot of his time reading and because of that he didn’t have many people to practice with and it was because of this that he felt like his practical studies were suffering. He watched, listening as Satori’s claw-like fingers scratched on the table in between them. What would this kid have to offer him? Akemi shut the book on Advanced Chakra Control to pay attention, just to see what they could offer each other.

It was his next words, the admission that he was going to be the next Mizukage, that gave Akemi some pause. It was a bold claim to be certain, but it would certainly explain what the boy was doing here. Becoming the Mizukage would take quite a lot of learning different jutsus, different taijutsu techniques… The whole shebang really. From most others Akemi would’ve laughed such a thing off, but from Satori he couldn’t help but believe him. If anyone had the drive and ambition to do so then it was Satori.

But his next question didn’t come in the form of ‘what’ he wanted to do, but what he was going to do. It was clear that he expected an answer something like what Satori had given him. He had to think on that, after all it wasn’t like he wanted to be the Mizukage. He didn’t want that kind of responsibility. Running a whole village wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

“Well,” he said. “I, uh, suppose I want to be the best shinobi. Learn all the jutsu that there are to learn and invent some of my own. Nin, buki, tai, and gen… I want to be the ultimate shinobi for the Kirigakure.” Then he remembered the way Satori had said his. “No, I’m going to be the best shinobi. I am going to learn all of the jutsu that I can and protect the Kirigakure from danger. Whatever comes my way, I’ll have a way to beat it and win the day. That’s what I’m going to be.” He tightened his fist. He would do it. There was no one to stand in his way. “Thank you, Satori-san. So are there any jutsu that you want to talk about? Any that you’ve been having trouble with, cuz I might be able to help!”

Satori grinned at the boy's admission, nodding a bit, clearly happy that he’d understood and would instead lean back as he contemplated the boy's question. “I’m trying to learn to properly utilize earth elements, so I can read up on that now with these,” he tapped a fingertip against the top of the table before a grin spread his lips. “So instead of books for you, how about we go out and practice properly?” That appeared to be the boy's weakness, and there was no reason to allow it to remain such.

Instead, he would place his hands on the table and haul himself back to his feet as he grasped the books under his arm, waiting for the boy first before turning. A quick stop to check the books out and he was off once more, heading along the hallways as he slowed his pace to help the shorter boy keep up with him. Traveling the halls was easy, and as they neared the exit of the Academy building and headed outside, Satori sniffed the air once as a measurement to see if anyone was nearby, before glancing to the left and raising a hand immediately.

“Sensei!” The call echoed across the ground, to where one of the teachers were watching over the few spars and training sessions going on to ensure no one got hurt, the man’s gaze shifted toward the two boys with a slowly arched brow and moved toward them.

“What is it, Ryuutei?” he inquired simply, causing the boy to grin a bit. “We’re going to spar, so keep an eye on us alright? He wants to practice some Taijutsu.” Slowly, the teachers gaze slid down toward Akemi as he frowned a bit, “Are you sure? This kid isn’t exactly the best training partner. Only Lula will spar with him outright, and she’s even worse than he is on records.” Satori said nothing as he tucked his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, the books still under one arm. Certainly, if the boy didn’t want to then he wouldn’t make him, but he didn’t seem the type.

Sure, he didn’t seem to have the hardened focus that Lula had, but most people didn’t. That didn’t make him any less potent, he was sure he’d step up to the plate, and they’d both grow quite a bit due to it. Satori needed more combat experience against people, as it was the only ever fought against wolves and similar creatures, and though that was useful to a degree, it wouldn’t help him near as much in battles against other shinobi.

When Satori grinned at him, Akemi couldn’t help but grin back, and he smiled wider as he discussed instead going out to practice. Practical application! This was exactly what he’d been missing and it made him smile that it was Satori-san that had suggested it instead of Akemi himself. He watched as Satori got to his feet and followed right behind him, as the boy approached the librarian’s desk.

“Oh! Going out Akemi-san?” his father asked as he followed behind Satori. “Not planning on spending all day in the library today?” The man snickered a bit as Akemi blushed, waiting on his new friend’s books to be checked out.

“Correct, oto-san. I’m going to go train taijutsu with Satori-san.” Akemi gestured to the other boy and his father nodded, waving as they left. With his shorter legs he had to run a bit faster to keep up with Satori but was happy to be doing some training with someone other than a member of his family for once. They wound through the hallways to the exit of the Academy and moved onto the training grounds. He was practically bouncing with excitement as they entered, and he only got more excited as Satori called for one of the instructors so that he could watch them and make sure that they didn’t get hurt. The man looked at Akemi with an arched brow and asked if he was certain.

Nodding, Akemi replied, “I’ve done some sparring with my mother and she isn’t exactly one to hold back either. So I’m quite certain that I want to spar. I would greatly appreciate it if you could make notes and give any feedback that you note.” Then he looked over at the other boy. “You as well, Satori-san. While we’re fighting, make specific points that you think I should improve on, I’ll be doing the same for you, after all.”

The teacher looked at Akemi warily. He, like many other instructors, was fully aware that Akemi was not one normally sparring with another student at the grounds and was normally in the library. Akemi himself couldn’t deny that his taijutsu skills had suffered while his mother was away. This would be the perfect opportunity to start getting back into the swing of things. He was quite certain that Satori would prove victorious here, but he would still give it his all. He spread his feet shoulder length apart, knees bent and his right leg pulled behind his left one hands out in front of him.

“I’m ready to go whenever you are, Satori-san!”

A grin spread over Satori’s face as Akemi would agree without hesitation, and even in the face of the teachers concern didn’t waver. Watching as the boy shifted himself into a standard self defense stance, he would grin a bit before releasing a slow breath as his mind flickered to the past. Of his father smashing his face into the dirt or kicking him through a tree and demanding the child get back up. Against Lula, it had been similar but different, her unorthodox style fed into his own and was a bit of a bad match up.

On the other hand, this boy was an unknown, an unusual opportunity that he had no intention of letting slip by. Releasing a slow breath as the teacher raised a hand into the air, the call sounded. “Make the sign of confrontation!” Without hesitation, he lifted his hand and raised two fingers, making the sign, and as soon as the boy did the same and the teachers hand went down-- Satori was moving. However it wasn’t like the movements of a human. Instead the boy had already launched himself forward, landing on his palms and launching himself again off his arms, the movement let him remove his sandals the moment he landed, now bare-foot, he flew directly at the other boy.

The moment the fight had been officially announced, Satori was in the air and sailing toward Akemi feet-first, the claws adorning his toes extended like deadly razors, but that wasn’t the goal of the attack. Instead, it was clear from the angle of his feet that the boy was aiming for a sudden aerial attack that held all of his weight and momentum behind it, focusing all that power directly into his heels aiming to slam into the boy's chest. If he blocked he’d likely not end up having a good time, but that choice came down to the boy.

His stance was good, but his body was facing was slightly off, and more than that a self-defense stance was no good in a real fight. Shinobi were warriors, killers, hunters, fighters. They didn’t use self-defense, they used killing arts, something that Satori had already done many times now. His eyes shown with an unnatural light, and as he flew through the air his feline pupils narrowed to slits, like a predator with its sights narrowed on its prey. How long would the boy last? Or would he surprise him, and actually push his limits? Satori couldn’t wait to find out.

Akemi had never practiced Taijutsu against anyone but his mother before, and as such he wasn’t entirely certain how exactly this boy would fight. He was curious exactly what kind of movements this kid was going to go through in order to get at him, and such was why he’d started with his feint. He had worked hard, but he knew a few things about his opponent, one of the most important. The instructor told them to make the sign of confrontation and he, as did Satori, held up his hand and raised two fingers.

The moment that he did so, however, the other boy wasted no time, charging straight at him like an animal. Landing on his palms, Satori launched himself forward with his arms, sandals dropping to the ground. His senses began kicking into high gear, gathering the visual information, quickly showing that Satori’s feet ended in claws, though it didn’t seem that slicing Akemi was his intention. No, he was going to slam his heels into Akemi’s chest! The force of such an impact would cause quite a bit of damage… he’d have to avoid that, but how? He didn’t have the time to wait. He had to plan now.

Thankfully, Satori had fallen for his feint of a defensive stance. His mother had long since taught him the importance of deception, especially in combat, and Satori had gone charging headlong into it. Sure he was still badly rusty, his crappy stance was evident of that, but it had been enough to reel in this Ryuutei. He claimed not to be a meathead, and that much was certain, but he was certainly quick to jump to the fight.

Like I thought, he’s jumping straight to the attack. He’s going to try and hit my chest. He waited and waited, then suddenly he rolled out of the way just under the boy’s attack, pivoting at the end of the roll, and throwing out a leg, to kick at Satori’s legs and throw him off balance. Akemi wasn’t weak, and he was going to prove that now.

The boy was slower than him, but not enough to make a huge difference, still, even the slightest advantage could easily grant someone victory. However, the difference appeared to be in experience, as the boy ducked and immidiately shifted into assuming he was going to land on his feet and stop his attack. But the Ryuutei did not fight this way, if there was an opening they attacked it, if there was weakness they abused it, if a fool ducked and immidiately assumed that just because he had dodged the initial set-up kick he had time to counter attack at a place he hadn’t even arrived at yet, they would abuse it.

Time seemed to flow in slow motion as the boys body ducked, and rolled in an attempt to escape while throwing out a leg. Satori, however, didn’t stop. His initial kick missed but it had done what its goal was-- to force the boy into either jumping to a side or going under. He had chosen under, thinking that just because Satori’s back was facing the ground that he could get away scot-free.

If Ryuutei relied on their eyes, that was possible, but in battle more than anything, a Ryuutei relied on their nose and ears. He could smell his chakra, his scent moving, and hear the motions-- like a cat as the boy ducked, Satori was moving at the same time as if timing his movements to be exactly at the same pace as the boys, his reaction speed clearly more feline than human as he yanked his body to the side to spin himself mid-air. Shifting himself so that as the boy passed under him, he was suddenly facing downward at him in a spin, and with that spin came a powerful right hook carrying all of his weight, aimed directly at the boys exposed the head.

Meanwhile in the same motion, instead of continuing to fly past as he attacked, Satori’s other hand had lashed out, claws extending to grab the boys shoulder. The boy was on one leg, and off-balance and Satori intended to capitalize on it. Even the punch was designed so that it was a distraction, one that could deal tremendous damage if it was ignored, but a distraction nonetheless for Satori to grab the boy and use the momentum that he had formed to yank him off his one leg (and possibly hands), dragging him along with him.

No matter how it played out, Satori’s eyes never blinked, his ears sharp and ready. Would the boy somehow avoid the punch, or lessen its impact to stop Satori from grabbing him and dragging him into extremely close quarters as well as yanking him clear off his feet? Stop the grab outright so Satori was forced to continue on his path, creating distance and take the direct blow to the head? Or would he catch the boy completely off guard and smash his head in, and then take him for a trip?

Satori couldn’t wait to find out, a wide grin playing on his lips. It was true, the boy wasn’t a meathead. It was also true, that he was quick to attack, but nothing he did wasn’t calculated. He knew the risks of every action, every movement, he had fought to the death too many times not too, after all.

Satori was just beyond anyone in their age class that Akemi had ever come into contact with, he’d realized that from the moment they’d begun fighting. His practically animalistic fighting style, was certainly fascinating; his leaping, jumping, dashing and striking… He was certainly interesting and Akemi was enjoying this little sparring session with Satori. But at the same time he began realizing that Satori knew a great deal about taijutsu, more so than he’d assumed. His agile, cat-like fighting style was a surprise certainly and something that Akemi would have to see more of in order to try and duplicate it.

Yet as Satori’s fist came flying at him, Akemi’s mind raced to try and form a strategy, but there really wasn’t one to be found. So he had to act with what little he had to go on.

Akemi pushed himself up on both hands, while his left leg, which had been mid kick, suddenly came down at an angle, crashing into Satori’s fist, intercepting it. Pain launched right through his shin and up his calf, but he couldn’t stop there. The moment his leg had impacted with Satori’s fist, Akemi’s pushed off the ground with his hands launching himself straight at Satori bringing a fist straight at the other boy’s chest, pivoting in such a way that he could follow it up with a shoulder into the stomach, if his punch failed.

He was beginning to see that Satori was too much for him, but he wouldn’t stop. To give up due to a difference in power was foolish, he might be able to outthink this opponent, though even that was something of an uphill battle. Satori wasn’t an idiot, he wasn’t what many people, Akemi’s own stupid parents included, always said about the Ryuutei. They weren’t all idiots, that much he was quite certain of; Satori had proved that he could think several steps ahead of Akemi, at least in terms of taijutsu. Next time they got together in a similar setting, he and Satori would definitely have to go over normal ninjutsu, and perhaps even a bit of bukijutsu.

Satori's lips curled into a wide grin as the other boy fell into his trap, instead of resisting being grabbed, or trying to keep a distance, he blocked the punch he'd dished out with his leg. The block had been decent, but it was completely off-balance. The point of a block was to re-direct the incoming force downward or upward in order to minimize damage, in other words, parry it. The boy had outright taken the hit and that injured his leg in the process, which was an understandable risk.

But the mistake had been not using that force to launch himself away and create distance. Instead, Akemi had tried to lash out at him back, allowing Satori's initial goal to be achieved as the force of them colliding added that much more power to Akemi's fist. The issue, of course, being that Satori had a grip on the boy's leg, and shoulder now from his previous movements that Akemi hadn't even tried to stop. A single hard yank at both limbs twisted the incoming blow off-course, causing it to simply graze his side.

Meanwhile, the larger issue was clear as Satori now had two major gripping locations on the boy, and as they crashed to the earth it made it easy to smash Akemi's shoulder, back, and if he wasn't careful how he landed-- his head, into the ground. Even as they were falling, Satori didn't slow down for a moment as his long limbs were put to use, granting him distance while still holding Akemi.

Smoothly without any issue, the boy switched from his animalistic style to grappling. Large hands yanking the boy's leg and pushing his shoulder down, twisting right after impact. Using the moment that the boy would have to put up some sort of guard to protect his head as an opening to spin the boy to facing the earth instead. Maintaining his grip as he prepared to begin gripping the boy down into the earth, the next step would seal the round if Akemi wasn't careful.

Crap. That was the one word that passed through his head as Satori suddenly grasped Akemi’s shoulder and leg. That was worse. He should’ve taken the opportunity to get farther away, instead he’d tried to jump to the attack. Akemi’s mother had told him to always think, and to plan ahead before jumping into an assault like the one he’d planned. Satori-san had been more than prepared for his attack and worse still that Satori-san had had a counterattack more than planned.

He was literally caught in a tight grip and there was little that he could do to escape it. He’d have to think and think quickly, within a little bit of time he would be spending quite the recovery time in an infirmary. But the question quickly became what could he do?!

Akemi was being driven further and further towards the ground, and he had almost no ways to turn this situation around. Hopefully the nearby instructor would keep them both from crashing into the ground. Work around the problem. You can think your way out of just about anything. What did he have on hand? His hands, that was about it and then, of course, his brain. Yet, he’d miscalculated at basically every angle…

Here he couldn’t afford to screw up, there were only a few moves he could logically make and all of them had their own possibilities of failure. One of them was worse and brought some degree of danger to Satori himself as well. But as the two of them raced back towards the ground he realized that not wanting to put Satori in danger, not wanting to have that killing instinct, that was what had put him in this situation.

Realizing he only had one recourse, to keep his head, shoulder and back from being smashed downwards, he did the only thing that he logically could think of. Waiting until they were practically on the ground itself, he suddenly reached back to grab hold of Satori’s hair and pull his head forward while suddenly bracing his body against Satori’s and forcing himself forward. With their momentum he would push the other boy down so that he would be breaking their fall instead. Either way it was going to end badly for one of them.

Akemi seemed to realize he was in trouble, though his reaction was interesting. Instead of simply using his free arms to attack a vital spot, or inflict pain to force him to release him, the boy was simply trying to beat him in a battle of grappling. A grin split his lips, it was stupid, but he had to give it to the guy-- he had balls. Still, it wouldn’t change the outcome, and as Akemi grabbed at him around his neck, Satori kept his grip on the boy's shoulder firm-- bracing his limb and forcing it so that quite simply, the much smaller boy wouldn’t be able to properly get a hold around his head or neck.

He grabbed his hair and seemed to think something as simple as that pain could halt him. But Satori had grown up taking far more pain then a bit of hair-yanking, and without comment he utterly ignored it, focusing entirely on his counter. The result was that Akemi held on to his upper body while being slammed into the ground. The force would jolt Satori’s neck, certainly, but nothing compared to the impact of having your entire upper body and head into the earth from being airborne.

Of course, as the impact smashed Akemi into the ground there would be a clear difference-- the ground around them having been turned to sand, cushioning the blow immensely. Satori barely felt a thing, and Akemi would definitely have taken damage but nothing like previously that would have cursed the boys head. Their sensei calmly stood to the side, holding the snake seal with a sigh.

“Satori wins the first round. Separate, if you intend to continue, to perform the seal once more and begin. If you’re done, then make the seal of reconciling.” He didn’t expect Akemi to want to go again, not after seeing what Satori was willing to do in a fight, but he still made the offer. Satori slowly straightened, releasing the boy as he grinned down at him because unlike his teacher he didn’t think that the boy was going to give up so easily.

He offered Akemi his hand, claws drawing back into his fingertips. “Best out of five?” he asked simply, his other hand resting on his hip. The boy had lasted longer than anyone else had against him, besides Lula, but they hadn’t really been sparing in the same way. He was certain if they continued like this, Akemi could quickly manage to hold his own far more effectively in a battle against him, and as such, against others as well.

They came down and Akemi immediately knew that he’d made several errors in judgement. The first thing that he’d failed to take note of was the fact that his opponent was far more calculating than he’d give him credit for. Such was the problem of underestimating his opponent, and as Satori brought him pile driving into the ground, he was suddenly incredibly ashamed. His mother had taught him better than that, how often had he underestimated her? Only to get smashed into the ground? How many times had she hit him with a water jutsu?! The point was that by this point he should have known better than to underestimate an opponent.

Thankfully, as he was being suddenly brought down to meet the rock below him, it was suddenly changed to sand. He felt a sharp bit of pain shoot up through his neck as he slammed down in, but he’d managed to keep his upper body and head from taking such a horrible brunt of damage. For a few seconds his neck felt bad, and he heard the instructor shout out that Satori had won the round. Frustration bubbled up inside of him while he listened to the instructor tell him to separate if they wanted to go again. But he could hear some hint of worry from the professor, saying to make the sign of reconciling, if they were done. No. The steely determination in his eyes would tell Satori long before Akemi raised his two fingers into the air. Akemi gave a smile, one that said we need to keep going.

“You know, Satori-san, I’ve never experienced such overpowering strength and technique before. Yet there’s going to be a lot we have to do, and so this fight is definitely going to help out, and more importantly, make us both more skilled!” He squared his stance, this time feeling a bit more prepared for Satori’s wild fighting style and gave a wide smile. He still needed more work, and there was only one way to get it, and Satori was probably the best springboard that he’d be able to find. It was what he liked about the guy.

The teacher blinked several times in a mixture of confusion and admiration for the boy's decision. Certainly, even Satori grinned as the boy not only got back up but made the sign of confrontation once again. Satori mimicked the movement before he would lower his body closer to the ground-- and instead of doing something as predictable as shifting back into that animalistic style, Satori raised both his hands up in a casual fighter's stance. His legs remained slightly spread, his fists slightly open to allow movement.

Shaking his head in bemusement, the teacher raised his hand before lowering it downward, “Begin!” Unlike before, Satori didn’t just launch at the boy. His style had completely changed, as he would instead remain exactly where he was, feline eyes casually examining the boy while he waited for Akemi to make the first move. He had to admit, he liked the boy, he had fire in his eyes and a desire to push himself beyond anything the others in their age range really had. To top it off they both seemed to have decent chemistry.

But, if Akemi thought Satori was stupid enough to use the exact same style twice in a row he was dead wrong, versatility to one's style meant that one couldn’t be pinned down. It made movements harder to recognize, and read. Satori had battled against his father for hours on end in the past, and that had come with its benefits as far as learning and understanding how to fight in the long term. His father had beaten him into the ground time and time again, simply by slightly changing how he handled the fight without a single jutsu used.

Of course, neither he nor Akemi were going to be using jutsu anyway, but the meaning was still there and clear. Keep yourself fluid, never fall into habits, carefully control the way you do battle to ensure you’re as difficult to predict as possible while maintaining efficiency in your movements and attacks. Satori had every intention of following that code as closely as possible.

Akemi was consistently fascinated by those in his age group, as most were usually only focused on what they could learn in the academy. Few of them wanted to excel, to exceed and push themselves further beyond what they were learning already. That was what he liked about Satori; much like Akemi himself, Satori had a powerful drive to be better. They both had different goals, to be sure, and while their roads would diverge later on, they were starting at the same place. Better still he was improving, slowly perhaps, but he was improving.

The moment that he heard the teacher shout for them to commence, he suddenly raced at Satori, while the other boy stayed still. Both had had the same idea, change up your fighting style, don't be predictable. His mother had long ago told him that if an adversary is too hard to fight one way then do something else, find that chink in the armor and puncture it. This was even more important considering that they both wanted to be ninja and any opposing ninja could be as observant. Constantly fighting the same way was foolish.

It made him smile when he realized that he and Satori were now taking the opposite combat styles of last time. He'd switched to a charging offense while Satori wasn't moving from his spot. Yet Akemi had made one important observation: he wasn't relying solely on sight, and that would make this fight a bit more difficult. Still Akemi’d have to persevere.

He leapt into the air and came down at Satori with a spinning kick aimed at the boy's side. Then, with the same momentum, brought his fist across to the other boy's face. He didn't want to end this quick and knew that this wasn't going to do it; still though with this he'd show that he had learned something. Round two had begun.

Satori watched, like a cat he waited patiently for the boy to lunge at him as his gaze remained calm, analyzing every move carefully until the boy suddenly leaped up with a spinning kick aimed at his side, his shoulder moving as well signifying the secondary blow. Satori did the simplest thing, and his body moved as the boy jumped, placing himself just out of range of the incoming sweeping kick, and therefore well out of the range of the right hook.

It wasn’t that the boy was that much slower than him, but his movements were predictable, straightforward. The initial kick had been a feint, but due to the difference in range between a kick and punch, and the lack of mobility while in the air, it didn’t matter. The feint was useless, he hadn’t even needed to analyze it much to avoid it completely, but what truly mattered was that as he dodged, the momentum of Akemi’s kick was rotating him. He’d poured all his momentum into those strikes, and that force would carry him in a spin mid-air.

Satori would capitalize on that, and as Akemi's right fist and leg missed him, causing the boy to rapidly begin spinning to the left in mid-air, Satori immediately released a powerful knee with his own left leg up to smash into the boys now exposed back as the boy was going right, while keeping his own right side prepared to guard, counter, or block should the boy try to lash out as he spun. Along with the kick, he was prepared and lashed out with his leg immediately after.

The effect was clear, there was no way for the boy to even see the knee coming properly, let alone the fact that should the knee somehow be escaped or blocked, the leg was going to directly extend afterward to catch the boy with a powerful blow using his shin instead. A proper feint, some would consider this mocking an opponent, and the teacher sighed-- but Satori knew Akemi wouldn’t take it that way. He wasn’t mocking his opponent, he was showing him what he’d done wrong, teaching him, so he could do better next time.

Worst case he was going to damage the boys lower back, a contrast to the previous move that had finished their last round damaging the boys upper-back. Even now, he was slowly picking apart at Akemi’s form, the more damage the boy took the more he would struggle to move properly, and damage, especially to the back, tended to hinder all forms of movement. Perhaps the earlier blow from the judo-slam would even hinder the boy's ability to avoid or counter the knee, even more, only time would tell in those sparse moments as blows were exchanged.

Once again Akemi had been too eager, and even as he spun, he saw Satori move just out of the way. He couldn't see the knee, but he knew that something would be coming. Satori had planned this all out too well, had waited him out… Once again Akemi cursed himself, as the knee slammed into his lowerback and pain erupted into him and shot up.

Watch more carefully. Be more calm. Smarter not harder.

He landed and the pain went through him causing him to shake, but no he had to persevere further. Every blow he took was another place to be more aware. He knew that Satori was picking him apart, but he was seeing places where his defenses were lacking, where improvement was needed. Akemi had split seconds to decide how to respond, and so he did the one thing he knew to do best.

Hands suddenly raised, though loose to guard his head, he sidestepped closer to Satori, to dodge any further hit with the other boy's leg. He gave a small kick to the boy's left leg something of a feint, before bringing out a quick left punch, not a hook, but a testing jab.

He was far more analytical, smile vanishing from his face in this movement. Akemi was watching Satori’s body in its entirety, waiting to see how it moved but didn't sacrifice offense in the same moment. He had been doing this wrong the whole time, in a way Akemi was beginning to realize that he needed to be close to attack but prepared to move out of the way. There was no stopping Satori, buthe could test his adversaries movements. He hoped that Satori would keep up with this, the picking him apart, so that he could learn more. Ironically Akemi was also trying to learn Satori’s fighting style, if they were ever on missions together this knowledge would be invaluable.

Akemi was learning, and though the initial knee had landed he’d managed to avoid the incoming kick. A slight smile formed on Satori’s lips as the boy quickly countered, releasing a quick kick and jab in order to gauge him, Satori however simply remained exactly where he was and used his palms to idly raise in order to brush the movements aside while remaining close to his own core. He was studying him now, trying to dissect Satori’s movements, and that was something far more useful then what he’d been doing previously.

He was a quick learner-- good. Relaxing his movements, Satori would idly remain where he stood, waiting patiently as the boy threw his jabs. Not backpedaling, but nor dodging, simply remaining grounded in place while he waited for the blows as each time he carefully deflected the blow without taking the brunt of it. He wanted to analyze him now, but Satori had no intention of just letting him do so, in order to analyze and examine movements he needed Satori to actually do something.

But is Satori never did, remaining calm and relaxed, then it was a pointless endeavor. Whether the boy threw testing jabs or kicks, each time Satori would simply lift a limb and carefully deflect the blow with minimal movement, focusing on slowly frustrating Akemi. He wanted him to keep going, to try and find a hole, an opening, anything to take advantage of as he carefully continued to block using his left hand and leg each time. Keeping his right limbs close to his chest, it was an old trick, and he wondered if the other boy knew it.

Akemi’s light blows were easily being deflected, as he had believed they would be. That was when he began to notice that Akemi was only utilizing his left side and was keeping his right extremities close to his core. His mother did the same thing sometimes when he sparred with her.

The testing jabs were over, though, and he threw a more powerful punch to Satori’s right side, one that would require more a bit more blocking. Then, not skipping a beat, he took a hopping step to get in close and used his knee to kick into the boy's left side, trying to take advantage of the further close space. This whole time he was doing his best to keep his own form closed up and keep up his assault.

Akemi had stopped making the wide, obvious moves that had caused the damage he was currently experiencing. He had gone now to a focused assault and was still trying to keep his own defenses up. Further analysis was needed and he'd have to continue poking at Satori. Hopefully stronger attacks would force more of a reveal.

Satori watched, carefully biding his time, and then the bait was taken. The “secret” wasn’t that one side was better at defending, or anything like that. The secret was that an opponent automatically assumed that when you favored one side, there was a reason, and that meant the opposing side was a weak point in your defenses. In short, it was a way to lie to your opponent, carefully over time in order to lure them into a trap. Akemi had done exactly that, attacking his “offensive” side, likely thinking that he was weak there in this stance.

He was not, he had been waiting for it. The moment the boy's initial blow flew out, a powerful blow to Satori’s right side, he switched up everything. His hand that had been raising to guard suddenly lashed out over the incoming punch, Akemi’s fist went right underneath Satori’s arm and past his side, beneath the pit of his arm. In the same instant, Satori’s own fist was aimed to smash directly into the side of Akemi’s head and send him crashing into the ground.

His left side that had been “offensive” had switched at the last moment to defense just as his right had switched to offense, curling and using his forearm to block the kick and deflect it’s forced upward in order to shift Akemi’s balance and throw his leg far higher into the air than the boy intended. Trying to tilt his body, better allowing his fist to smash into the boys head.

But his combination wasn’t done, and whether the fist landed or not, Satori’s hand remained on the boy's leg and pushed upward while his foot yanked toward him. The movement was minimal, on its own it wouldn’t do more than stumble the boy, but combined with Satori’s hand shoving his other leg upward, the combination was far more effective to completely sweep the boys only anchor-- his foot that was supporting his entire body, out from under him.

Aiming to once more bring the boy to the ground, if the punch hit, it was almost guaranteed in his mind-- but if it missed at the most it would greatly throw the boy off and grant Satori the opportunity he was after, his fingers tightening, digging into the meat of his calve as he prepared for the next series of steps based on how Akemi reacted.