Sunrise Soirée (Mission, Tsubaki)

mission:

Early morning dew still rested upon the grass outside of the Academy as Calin waited for his partner, as well as the students they were to be working with today, to arrive. A fine mist hung in the air, which meant it wouldn’t matter if it was dew in the grass or not. It’s still going to be fucking wet. ‘Why did we decide to live here again?..’ Calin would think in mock annoyance as he waited in a simple white workout shirt. He was tasked with showing an academy class some tough love today. He had been given a partner, which he wasn’t sure he needed for something so trivial, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to be able to split attention two ways. Besides, he might even like working with whoever they assigned to work with him and the students. His body had started to recover from the mild malnutrition he had suffered from his coma. His muscles had almost reached their peak again, at least they’d gotten to the point that he felt comfortable wearing t-shirts again. Although his reflexes were still something atrocious after what had happened. He’d get himself back up to speed soon, it was merely a matter of time. At this point the children began to come to school, in ones and twos they entered the complex and Calin waved them over to stand before him. “You’re all going to be working with me and my partner today. They’ll be here soon, but until then you and your classmates will stay here with me.” He’d say, flashing them his headband to show that he was a shinobi of the village and thus, meant no harm.

It was another day on the grind. It was daytime, which meant Tsubaki needed to pack her lunch. She did not prefer to eat out when on duty as she was skeptical of the vendor's food in the market and the cafeteria in the Academy was also questionable. Nothing beat a homecooked meal where she could balance her nutritional needs for what she was doing for that day. Today she made sure to stock her bento up with plenty of goodies as she anticipated a hard working day.

From her feet Tsubaki wore a pair of thick rubber and leather combat boots. Embedded in the soles of the boots were iron plates to protect the feet from caltrops and the toes protected by a shell of iron as well doubling as a means to increase kicking power. She wore a pair of black pants which were modified like her boots by having bands of steel woven into them along her shin providing greater protection. These pants also provided a thick plastic-rubber compound at the knees and parts of the thigh and hips granting maximum comfort when crawling and moving about difficult terrain. White bandage wrap secured a navy blue holster against her right thigh containing a single kunai for quick draw purposes. Around her waist she wore a heavy utility belt holding the bulk of her gear. Two navy blue holsters were together on her right side together containing shuriken.

Around her back side she carried her hip pouch which was suspended above her right buttock containing the rest of her ninja gear. The left of that in a slightly canted fashion was a full length Chokuto in a navy blue scabbard. It was not lacquered or polished being bought from the local smith being a functional tool rather than a pretty one. Over her body she wore a light mesh shirt which was covered by a heavy, thick long sleeve top which served as the Kirigakure specialist combat armor. It was an insulated jacket which compound material which served as electricity insulated much like the rest of the advertised gear. Rings of steel where sown into the fabric from the lower rib cage up to the chest and to her upper arm. This provided additional support while still being lightweight to the most vital areas of her body. Of course this aided the main portion of her body armor which was a standard, slate gray flak jacket over her torso provided heavy support from blunt impact and cuts. This model was the common kind with elongated shoulder pads and extensions from either side protecting her lower abdomen and back even more. Across her chest was a brown leather baldric which carried two folded fuuma shuriken held by their rings store mid back.

On both hands she wore a set of black gloves which had a pair of steel plates on the backs of them for maximum protection. Topping off the design Tsubaki wore a heavy black cloak over everything concealing more of what was described fastened securely around her neck by a knot. The hood was down to show off her elegant features and provide maximum visibility. Tsubaki stood 5'9 and weighed approximately one-hundred and forty pounds being at her peak performance. Her skin was very fair to the point of being almost pale. This was coupled by her long, silky white hair extending to her lower back and sapphire blue eyes which anybody within Kirigakure that had knowledge of her clan would know she was certainly Kaguya, and the leader nonetheless. She wore no makeup, yet her natural complexion made her remarkably beautiful.

Tsubaki passed through the halls of the academy with her pink double decker bento in hand proudly. She made sure to eat a breakfast not similar to what she packed for lunch to keep things interesting. Although she loved fish and rice she tried not to eat it with every meal. She'd open the door to the gymnasium where a few students and Calin awaited her. She would normally greet Calin in a typical manner but she had to remain professional in front of the Genin. It would be unwise to get all lovey dovey around a bunch of kids. Instead she'd silently walk over to a foldable table where she'd place her bento upon. Calin was dressed in a light athletics outfit. Fortunately what she wore could easily become just that as long as she removed a few layers. She'd work the straps on her flak jacket before removing her baldric and the leather body armor setting it next to her bento. Off came the belt following that. And just like that she was a good forty pounds lighter and much more flexible. Tsubaki performed a few basic stretches twisting her back and extending her arms to limber up lightly. "Great to see you again, Calin. What're we going to do to these kids today?"

It was only a few seconds after the first student arrived when Tsubaki herself strode into the room. He’d smile softly and nod, oh yes, he could definitely work with Tsubaki. She strode over to a nearby table and set a double decker bento box on it and took a layer or two of clothing off to get into something more light and airy for her to work out in. He’d suppress a chuckle at the sight of her large lunch. He had eaten breakfast not long before and he had a few sandwiches packed in a bag for himself at the other end of the table. It was simple fare, but he didn’t need anything fancy. Just food would do him, although he certainly wouldn’t mind any of Tsubaki’s absolutely wonderful cooking. If she offered to share anyway, he would never consider asking a lady for some of her food. Such a thought was blasphemous, not to mention lethally dangerous. He’d return her greeting “Morning Tsubaki, great to see you too. We get to play hard ball with a few students. It appears most, if not all of these aspiring shinobi are failing their courses. Word has it the instructors don’t have the guts to discipline them. So we’re here to put them through their paces and not to pull any punches.” He’d say, informing her of their mission requirements before turning back to the students. “I think I’m going to rather enjoy this day, don’t you my Queen?” He’d say with a mildly different emphasis on the word than he normally had. Anyone in the village knew that the Kaguya’s Clan Head was their ‘Queen’ he normally said it with the proper respect and courtesy involved. When he said it this time, that respect and courtesy was still there. However there was something..more to it. As if it went deeper than just him referring to her as his ‘clan head’ when he called her his ‘Queen’. He wondered if she was perceptive enough to catch it. He’d know if he got a slap later, or a smile now.

“Now then kids, are you all ready to absolutely hate your lives for next few hours? We have quite a bit of catch up to play and we’re going to run you absolutely ragged. First though, everyone get into six columns of five then follow Tsubaki’s example and stretch, watch us for examples.” He would say before he too began to stretch and limber up, his eyes scanning the kids for any who were half assing the effort. He automatically took the half of students closer to him, dividing the students in half down the middle line, giving him and Tsubaki two even groups to watch. A few grumbles could be heard, but he couldn’t see anyone in his side deciding to be lazy yet.

Calin mentioned they were going to whip these students into shape. Tsubaki was at a loss for words. Truthfully she didn't have many training methods in mind. The Kaguya's idea of training was simple sparring, basic strength training and endurance building. Those who failed against the opponent built durability from it until they were competent enough to hold their own in a fight. She was no professional instructor by any means. Fortunately Calin seemed to have planned the very basics she was good at. It seemed that's what these Genin needed in order to be proficient. Advanced methods were for advanced Shinobi. What Tsubaki knew was enough to get her as far as she was. That at least spoke for something. But of course it seemed Calin's habits never died. He referred to Tsubaki as his "Queen", which was something that irked her slightly when he said so. She was used to people calling her "Queen" within the palace as it was proper protocol and respect to do so. Outside of the palace she preferred her real name to be used in a much more casual context. She had no taste for royalty.

Her cheeks flushed a light pink as she fought her embarrassment. She stayed silent to try and keep the mission professional. But deep down she was fuming. That dork... Calin worked to entertain the crowd by speaking to the Genin as she stretched asking them to follow her lead. She finished what she was doing while Calin continued. "Just follow Calin for the rest of the stretch. Keep up the good work." She'd pass by Calin from behind as she made it seem like she was heading towards the table. While doing so she produced a small bone spike from the top of her thumb. It was merely half an inch but pointed well enough to break skin. And she would do just that. During Calin's stretches she'd deftly prick her thumb into his back. She did not aim to cause any damage or actually stab him, but yield a bit of discomfort for his insolence. "By the way, my name is Tsubaki if you need anything." She said this with some emphasis on it making her point clear as the spike was absorbed back into her body.

Tsubaki would instruct the students to continue what they were doing, following his lead since she had just finished her own stretches. Halfway through them however he’d feel a sharp prick in his back and he’d give a small yelp in surprise. He’d turn to her as she introduced herself properly and his eyebrow would twitch ‘I could make a joke about the woman stabbing the male with body parts, but that’s beneath me...and there are kids.’ he would mentally tell himself the last as if it were an afterthought. “Behold children, the one you really have to be afraid of, fear the mighty bone thumb of discipline.” He would say in mock fear and slowly inching away. This would cause a round of laughter from the kids who would continue their stretching without grumbling. ‘So far, so good.’ He’d think to himself before nodding and pointing at a student at the front. “You, what were you working on in class before today?” He’d ask simply, prompting a kid about ten to give a large gulp and stutter out. “I-I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention.” The kid would say to which Calin would nod. “Then drop and give me thirty push ups, no pauses for more than a second or two between them.” He would say, causing the kid to give him look of surprise. “B-But what if I can’t do them?” He would ask, fear evident in his voice. Calin would shrug and extend a bone from his finger. “She’s not the only one packing sharp pointy objects kid.” He would say, which prompted the boy to begin doing push ups readily.

Calin would point toward the girl next to him. “Same question.” To which her response was simply “Same answer.” He’d nod and point down at the ground. “Same punishment too, but add 30 sit ups for being a smart aleck.” He would say, to which the girl would grown and begin doing push ups next to her classmate. He’d look at the third person in the front row. “Gonna make it three for three kid?” Calin would ask with a raised eyebrow to which the student would shake his head. “No sir, we’ve been working on conditioning and kunai and shuriken practice. Our teachers said if our bodies had solid foundation we could build off of it for the rest of our lives.” To which Calin would nod. “Good advice, now hold on one moment, matter of fact, everyone watch your classmates do their punishment real carefully.” He’d say simply, prompting all of the students to look at their classmates. The first would finish, his cheeks flushed and himself out of breath a bit. “How do you feel?” Calin would ask, the second student was switching to her sit ups now. “I feel, tired, my arms are sore.” The student would say in a whiney voice. “That’s good, it means your muscles are growing.” Calin would respond, and proceed to watch the girl finish her sit ups. “Breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.” He would say idly as the girl finished and stood up, more out of breath. “Good, good. So, you were all working on conditioning then?" He’d ask simply to which he’d gain a round of nods. “Do you know what conditioning is?” He’d ask again, to which he’d get a round of shakes, indicating no. “It’s exactly what those two were just doing. Everyone, including your too, 50 push ups, and sit ups to start.” He would say simply, to which every kid, including the two that had just been punished would look at him wide eyed.

He’d fling a hand out in reply, and a small bone would fire out of the top of his finger and with a resounding crack would smash into the wall behind them at full force. The students would proceed to look at each other before dropping and beginning the exercise. He watched, pacing through the students as he corrected forms here and there, at times tapping the shoulder of a student who had gotten lazy with a bone extended from his finger as ‘encouragement.’ He gave the first two students, the one’s he’d punished a little slack and didn’t say anything when they collapsed after 45 push ups. The second student, the girl, managed to do all the sit ups though.

Calin was a mad who didn't learn as he played off Tsubaki's jab as a joke for the children. She'd roll her eyes and let it fall off her shoulder. Tsubaki stood besides the other Kaguya with her hands on her hips listening to him interrogate the boy. Her asked what the kid learned the other day which was responded with some stuttering and a confession. She enjoyed class lectures as much as the next guy but she understood the importance of listening to a lecture. Shinobi work was no joke. People would end up relying on you for their safety at one point. Failure to even know what you learned the day before was a bad sign. It was exactly why these Genin were here now under their care. They would work hard and either be weeded out by a forceful resign or tough it through and pick up the pace next time.

She studied Calin's method. It was important to learn a variety of training methods from different instructors. He preferred to use fear and the threat of punishment to get the kid's mindset right. Tsubaki would normally spar her trainee with little restraint. It was the classic Kaguya training method. Unfortunately her goal wasn't to beat them to a pulp. If she fight every Genin in the room they'd leave all battered up resulting in a very high turnover rate.

Calin put the kids to work and in part even got Tsubaki motivated. Her heart was beating inside her chest just watching the other people do their exercises. It was like watching a battle as the kids competed against each other and for their own sake lest they get punished by Calin. Tsubaki dropped to her face keeping her body fixed up with her palms and toes against the floor. She'd pump out her push ups with the Genin. The main difference was the lack of effort Tsubaki showed. Certainly she felt it in her muscles after going twenty deep. Tsubaki wasn't known for her physical strength, but her willpower from her stamina allowed her to keep going without any physical signs of effort. "Easy peasy. If I can do it there's no reason you can't." Tsubaki was build much like the Genin, though she was reluctant to share her weight. It was one of those things a woman would never tell publicly.

Calin would continue to wander by the students, walking up and down the rows to make sure everyone was maintaining good form as he lectured. “Form is important, if you have bad form you won’t get the most out of an exercise. Everyone wants to become strong right?” He’d ask, to which he’d get a chorus of "Yes sir" from the students as they continued. They slowly began to finish one by one. “Those who finish are to stand up and stretch, try to push your flexibility. Don’t let yourself be idle.” He would say as he continued to move up and down the rows. Eventually he switched up his pattern and caught a student resting on his knee, thinking he could rest right up until Calin strode nearby again. The older genin simply stood there and watched him, waiting until the student noticed. Eventually, the other students finished and the kid simply stood up to act as if he were done before turning and freezing at Calin. “Don’t worry, I’ll wait..” He’d say simply, raising an eyebrow at the kid. “Y-Yes sir.” The ten or eleven year old would say before beginning his push ups. “The rest of you start running around the gym, find a pace you can maintain and push yourselves. Remember, breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Keep going and don’t stop, anyone who stops will get to go back to push ups and sit ups and then run all over again.” He would say, causing students to pale before they began to run around the gym.

Of course in all reality, Calin had no intention of doing such a thing. He couldn’t tell them if they stopped they could rest for a few minutes though. They’d only do a few laps that way. This way they went as hard as they really could before being unable to take anymore. When that happened, they’d get to rest for about five minutes before they got split up into partners in order to practice their taijutsu. After they got some solid practice in that, they would move on to ranged weapon training. The boy in front of him would continue to perform his push ups, Calin keeping count as he did so before he stopped and switched to sit ups, moving through them as quickly as he could. When he done Calin nodded and motioned for him to run around the gym with the rest. The boy would nod and join the others, Calin himself bringing up the rear to keep an eye out for the students. “In through your nose, out through your mouth. Remember, this isn’t a race, the goal is to find a rhythm you can maintain and then do so for as long as possible. Then push yourself later on." He would say, continuing the lecturing as he maintained an easy speed behind everyone, ensuring that everyone tried their hardest.

Tsubaki finished her set of push ups first, as one would naturally expect from a clan member who centralized around physical abilities and a Chuunin nonetheless. There were some Genin who finished not too far behind her, though they were completely bushed by the time they were while Tsubaki's breathing was just fine. She'd spring up on both feet letting the Genin finish their exercise and take their short recovery. She wished she could empathized with their stress but Tsubaki had been training physically since she was five years old. Her memories of training were buried with countless days of consistent routine that she could not pull up any explicit memory of struggle. She was just naturally "good" at exercising. It was like a routine to her. Automatic like breathing. Tsubaki would practice at least twice a day assuming she wasn't flooded with Kaguya District duties or she wasn't occupying herself with a mission. It was almost like her mind went into autopilot when it came to exercising and before she knew it, she was done.

Calin organized the students to take some laps in which Tsubaki just helped spectate with Calin making sure there weren't any slackers in the bunch. The pace in which they jogged was too slow her it to have any meaningful impact on her endurance. She'd leave the jogging for the slacker Genin instead. Not soon after they were separated into Taijutsu group. The Genin would practice with each other and to Tsubaki's standards she forcefully cringed at their lack of finesse. The moment Calin was free she'd approach him. "Hey Calin, I don't think they're getting the meaning of Taijutsu practice. Maybe we can lay out a demonstration for them? Like a Taijutsu spar?"

The students would be teamed up for taijutsu practice and inwardly the Kaguya clan member cringed as he watched what was basically playground brawling occur. He sighed deeply and began to consider what to do. Until Tsubaki came up and suggested they spar in order to give the students an idea of what was expected in a taijutsu spar. Calin would give it some thought before nodding. "I'dve rather gotten up to my full strength again before trying to trade blows with you Tsubaki-chan, but it might be best to get right into it. We'll have to slow it down though so the students can even see us moving." He'd say, slipping into an affectionate suffix for her on accident. It was easy for him to slip when he was thinking about other things. He'd finally nod in full agreement with the idea. "Yeah, I can fully agree with a spar, I need to work hard if I'm going to be able to keep up with you."[/b] He'd say, not actually realizing the accidental double entendre he'd put on the phrase.

[b]"Alright kids, you guys need to see an example of a taijutsu spar between practitioners. I want all of you to line up, make sure everyone can see. However, I don't want anyone standing around. Run in place, do jumping jacks, dance, I don't care. The point is to keep your heartbeat up while you watch us spar so you have an idea of what you're doing." He'd say, prompting the kids to groan and move into an orderly group before they began to do various exercises that would keep them moving, but allow them to watch. He'd turn to Tsubaki, and give her a wry grin. "Try to go easy on me." He'd say before moving to stand about five meters away, dropping into the stance for the Dance of The Blossoms.

Tsubaki stayed silent as Calin too the lead. It was quite obvious he was the leader of the entire training exercise. She was fine with that. In fact she preferred Calin as a leader more than her despite her leadership with the clan. It was a fair match up, at least as fair as it got. Tsubaki stripped her heavier armor leaving what she wore as regular on-duty clothes. She couldn't expect to take off her boots as fighting in socks was weird and impractical. Her pants were essential otherwise she'd be left in her panties which was a very high privilege. Her thick, ringmail top was also essential. She did wear a light mesh shirt beneath that, but that'd leave a little too much to see giving room for imagination.

Nonetheless Calin agreed to the spar. She smirked with a bit of satisfaction knowing she finally got to test his mettle, though him mentioning his freshness out of the hospital was a bit dampening on her spirits. She didn't want to make it seem like she was picking on his weakness. But she had long desired to spar him since she first met him during orientation. Alkaid had the pleasure of taking the first lick out of him and seemingly decimated him. Over the course of two years she expected him to improve. Given his coma status she expected some skills to diminish, but he should be in decent shape at the very least. Picking up the Blossom stance as well she was ready for combat.

She wanted to test what he was capable of first. "Ready!" The five meter distance was closed in a brief second as she dashed across the gap and cocked back her right arm. She made her attack telegraphed to give Calin more time to think of a counter and perceive it better. Within striking range she'd throw the punch aimed to strike him on the chin.

She'd start them off with a direct charge with an extremely telegraphed attack aimed at his chin. He'd raise an eyebrow in confusion for a brief moment before he slid his foot forward toward hers, aiming to kick her off balance. He'd also shift his head to the side to avoid the blow and move to grab her punching fist with his left hand, holding it by the wrist in a hard grip if he managed to do so. Should he succeed in kicking her off balance with his foot he'd pull, hard, while thrusting his elbow straight at her stomach, going for a blow that would rob her of her breath with his stronger blows and allow him to get an upper hand.

Especially since he wouldn't let go of her should he be able to grasp her wrist. It would be where he wanted her to be, breathless, and in his grasp. While he could imagine other ways they could make that possible later, at this moment it was in the context of combat. Should his elbow blow land, he'd pull her hard against his elbow while raising it up and pushing her up with it. This, should it work, would force even more of her breath out of her and put her into the air with his hand grasping hard on her wrist. Where he would pull, hard, moving to slam her past his body and onto the mat with a resounding thunk, hopefully not on her feet somehow.

Calin attempted to knock her off balance with a subtle counter to her charge. By extending is leg forward from across the surface of the floor he'd aim to set her footing off. It was a minimalist move that was too amateur to full her. She ran properly lifting her feet up all the way without dragging them. If anything she'd end up trampling his foot or leg which would spell bad news for Calin. Fortunately she was much more merciful and wanted to give an actual Taijutsu demonstration instead of literally steam rolling the boy. She'd use her telegraphed punch as a feint; Tsubaki didn't follow through with the punch like she intended to. As Calin turned to preemptively evade her punch she'd hop into the air just a few inches off the ground to avoid his leg sweep attempt and throw her momentum into her next dedicated attack.

She aimed for her knee to lunge into the side of the boy's ribs. She wasn't exactly heavy but she had a lot of speed and some decent muscle behind her attack. It would be enough to stagger the boy if she succeeded in her attack. She took advantage of Calin's leg sweep attempt and dodge attempt, which ultimately left him in an awkward position. To recovery from that and dodge would almost be a far cry, but she was aware that Calin was an advanced clan member although it may not radiate from him like it did with her. As the clan leader and respected Chuunin in Kirigakure she had enough fame for herself to the point where people were aware of her fighting style and approach to combat. Calin was an underdog on the other hand without much going for him. But that did not mean he was any less of a valuable fighter.

Proper footwork would be the undoing of his attempt to trip her up, however it would appear her punch would be a feint regardless. Her real attack would give him a much juicier opening though. For while it was a gamble to try to trip up her footing, it would still leave him with a solid center of balance, especially since he didn't have her own weight to contend with. So when she hopped off the ground for her true attack, he was at a perfectly reasonable place to counter her. Which simply included a kick up with the leg he'd tried to trip her up with. The kick would be hard and fast, putting every bit of his power into the blow as it came up from directly below the woman. Who'd have to give up her assault, which he wasn't certain would do any real damage to him anyway, to avoid his blow.

Her hop would only take her a few inches off the ground, but she could easily step off his kick, and use it as a vault. Doing so would put her at a marked disadvantage though, for it would put her directly into the air, and take away her ability to dodge effectively. Of course, this was assuming she did this, she could dodge or deter the strike in some other way.

Of course, while he was kicking up, he'd throw an open palm toward the incoming knee strike to attempt to solidly catch it, hopefully stopping it cold and allowing him to get her into a grapple, which is where he would truly shine in this fight.

Calin changed his method of attack from his planned counter to try and intercept Tsubaki who was in mid-flight with a dedicated knee flying towards his ribs. Fortunately for her, Calin moved at what seemed like a slower pace than what she is normally capable of tracking. It was almost like he was pulling his punches despite going his full strength. This allowed her to react to things that would seem impossible to the average eye. This meant picking up his rising kick attempt and having enough time to react. Tsubaki would extend her free foot that was not involved in the lunge. She'd have the sole of her boot make contact with his shin. He was powerful enough to support her weight which worked perfect in her favor. He was not too strong to where she was catapulted away and not too weak to where she ended up fallen on top of him. It was just right.

Tsubaki made contact with his leg in perfect balance before springing off his leg extending her other leg. The Kaguya Queen would attempt to perform a backwards somersault kick using the tip of her boot as her point of contact. They were steel toed shoes meaning within the leather was a solid steel cap used to protect the user's feet from striking or heavy objects being dropping onto them. To Tsubaki it was a means to amplify her Taijutsu. She would compensate her lack of strength by using equipment to enhance her damage output. If she succeeded she would continue her somersault back and land on both feet a couple meters back flawlessly resuming the Blossom stance.

It would appear Tsubaki had caught onto his kick attempt, and she would counter by stepping off his leg, using it as a support to maintain an attack and while she discontinued her strike toward his ribs she would instead move into a somersault kick, aiming the tip of her boot to be the point of impact. Now, Calin obviously wanted nothing to do with taking a steel toed boot somersault kick anywhere on his body. Even with his physical resistance to pain. So he would need to do something about this threat before it could actually harm him. Moving at his max possible speed, he'd move to catch the leg of her kick as it came up, catching it in an underhand grip. With his other hand, his right hand to be precise, he'd reach for her arm, attempting to utilize it to help him balance her in his grip.

At this point, he'd move to swing her over his head and across the mat, throwing her away from him and toward a nearby wall, potentially impacting the surface if she wasn't careful. If this succeeded he'd have her against a wall, literally, and he'd move in as fast as he could and aim a heavy kick, pivoting on his foot to give it more power, aimed at her torso.

Calin tried his best to intercept Tsubaki's kick utilizing both hands in an effort to not take a direct kick to the chin. Tsubaki had no regrets with her action. Normally she would risk breaking someone's chin, but of course Kaguya bone was special. They were not limited to pull punches in practice fights. The injuries sustained were mere flesh wounds, being bruises and welts. Because their bones didn't break easy they weren't out of commission for months. Even if a bone did break it was a minor inconvenience at most. They would regrow and repair at a moment's notice not doing anything in the heat of battle. Still, the concussive force was not find to deal with and Calin would certainly feel the bruise at the bottom of his chin the follow day if he did not act now.

Both hands moved to catch her foot-- one from below and the other from up top to effectively clamp it in place. Calin was operating at peak performance though he was only half capable of what Tsubaki was. Her eyes picked up his moving hands and she got the clear impression he was going to snag her leg at the ankles. In the end she was still faster than him. Tsubaki reclined and took her other foot off of Calin's leg. Instead of retracting her leg she would instead extend it outwards to kick Calin's collar bone at point blank range. She'd use the soles of her boot which was also reinforced with steel plates, though the damage would not be as concentrated as a toe kick. It still packed a mean punch. Tsubaki planned to use this to break herself from his grasp. Her kick would help her push away from Calin while she yanked her other leg from Calin's grasp in an attempt to break free.

Success, he had her in the hold, one hand grasping her ankle, the other, holding onto her arm. His kicking foot would impact that mat with a resounding 'twack' the power in the move enough to cause the sound to resonate throughout the gym. His center of balance was solid, and he had the woman firmly in both hands. However as he put his foot down she'd take her foot off of his leg in order to aim a flat kick at his collar bone in an attempt to get away. This would cause him to abandon the notion of throwing her and instead he'd pull her closer to him, intent to limit the amount of power she would throw into the kick. Instead of letting her go though, he'd take the kick to the collar bone, the strength in the blow not enough to cause anything more than a bit of pain. It would take multiple kicks in order to damage his bones without the use of Kaguya techniques to augment them. He'd continue to pull her to him though, this would cause a constant pressure from her foot, but also prevent her from pulling it back to kick again.

Should this come to pass, Calin would proceed to to slam her toward the ground, rather than a wall. The impact of the ground would cause more pain where her foot was connected, but it would put her on the ground beneath him, where was his absolutely ideal environment for a fight between them at this time. A place where she can't effectively use her speed, but he can effectively use his greater strength.

Tsubaki would feel a great tug of power as Calin pulled her as close as he could. He ensnared leg was pulled up against his chest. Although this limited her movement she was still very flexible. She was capable of bringing her own right knee to her chin if she needed to drop heavier kicks to the man's collar bone. She had solid coordination, endurance, and physical strength to continue to hold her body in her current position almost indefinitely. Tsubaki was a smart fighter when it came to close quarters. She knew Calin fairly well. In a battle of brawn it would be a losing battle on her end. Calin had the strength advantage and both roughly shared the same durability given their training in the clan district. She needed to stick to her guns. That, being her maneuverability and speed when it came to sprawling.

Tsubaki would bend both of her knees to get closer to Calin. The moment she got within grapple range she'd extend her arms out and sit up so both of them were facing each other. Of course given her slight elevation Calin would be greeted with a face full of her bosom. Perhaps it could serve as a distraction or even rob him of oxygen to aide her in her choke hold. Tsubaki's right arm would sling under Calin's neck as her other hand would clasp her wrist applying additional pressure to Calin's neck. In the brief application he would feel incredible pressure around his neck and unable to breathe. If he continued to follow through with his intended body slam Tsubaki would keep her choke hold. The pain was very minor. She figured if Calin tried to lift her again and repeat the body slam he would only further exert himself quickening the choking process of him losing blood flow to his head.

As he grasped both of her ankles she would begin to bend forward, her arms outstretched to keep her balance centered. He wasn’t certain what she intended to do but there were quite a few rude things she could do to him with her arms free and his gripping her ankles. Things that Calin didn’t want her to do, especially with his neck and face free and clear for her to assault. Given that this was a spar for children, she probably wouldn’t be going for his eyes. Which mostly left his throat as a target. Tsubaki might not be the strongest fighter in the world, but she more than made up for it with technique. Calin however, was no slouch either, even if his was a bit more of a brawler style than hers. For this reason, he wouldn’t let her finish her attempt to close that distance. The moment she reached the apex of her movement, but before she closed her arm around his neck, he’d throw her legs to his left, full force.

The sudden shift in balance and momentum, should theoretically screw her technique utterly. However, the male Kaguya wouldn’t stop there. Now that his hands were free, his feet on the ground, and her still more or less in front of him, he’d press an attack. Reach outward, he’d move to catch the wrist of her hand with one hand, while moving to grab her throat with the other. Should this succeed, he’d lift her higher, putting his hips into the motion, over his head, and onto the ground behind him, moving to shift her so she landed on her back, hard, but on her back. Of course during this motion he’d have to get go of her wrist, but the moment she impacted he’d move to press his knee into the center of her chest, solid, but not hard. He didn’t truly want to hurt her in a spar after all.

(Gotta farm dat Exp)

Everything worked flawlessly, the toss, the throw, and the knee jab. The male Kaguya would not be looking down at Tsubaki's eyes, his knee firmly pressed against her chest, the of his lower leg pressing down to prevent her from getting a firm movement. His other foot was solidly on the ground. His hands would be ready to move at a moments notice to avoid any counter attacks. This however, was his domain. Had she hesitated? Given him the shot? Given him pity due to his hesitance at the start? He didn't know. He didn't think she was the type to do so, however as a clan head she did have to be aware of how to manipulate her people in order to bring out the best in them. Even if Calin would feel insulted by such an action. If he won something, he wanted to have done so via his own merits. Sadly however, he might never know if he had landed that because of a mistake on her part, an accidental freezing up that he took advantage of. Or if it was because she had given him the strike by choice. The lie for it was too easy to maintain after all.

"Yield?" He'd ask, his cobalt eyes showing none of the uncertainty within his thoughts. Was it alright for him to win? When it came to being a gentleman this was a total grey area. On one hand, a gentleman would allow her to win, give her the victory. But on the other, a gentleman would respect her enough to give it their all, and win or lose be damned. He decided to play it by ear and hopes to god he was right.