Autumn Somber

The start of autumn meant cooler temperatures and earlier sunsets. It was not cold enough for Hana to not dress like a thot so she continued to opt for her casual outfit over her military wear. She wore her usual get-up, being a pair of black sandals and long black stockings which stretched just above her knees. She wore a black miniskirt with a white sports bra up top, both being fastened with a set of suspenders made of nylon. Around her skirt was her utility belt hosting a blue holster on the right and a beige pouch around her rear, both filled with a variety of tools for combat and utility. Her hands were covered with fingerless long gloves in matching color to the rest of her outfit.

Like most Kaguya her skin was deathly pale, as plenty of it was seen with her lightweight outfit alone. This was coupled with long white hair which was relatively thick compared to the long, silky strands a lot of the more feminine clan females had, which required day-to-day dedication to maintain. Hers was a bit untamed and high in both length and volume extending as far as her lower back. Her eyes were the only true difference in her appearance compared to the rest of her clan having an alluring golden hue to them.

It was possibly her favorite season as most basic white girls worshiped the aesthetic. Hana carelessly strolled through the path leading to the training area with a lollipop packed in her cheek. She enjoyed the moderate breeze and chilly air. Although it was four in the evening the sun was beginning to set. The tall rock formations that surrounded the village and dense fog made it seem darker than it actually was. But there was still plenty of light left for good visibility. The only reason she came out here was for an assignment. She was tasked with training a Genin, which was odd considering she was probably the least qualified to convey information. On top of it she had a very narrow pool of knowledge as her talents mostly stem from Taijutsu. She figured it would end up being a basic physical exercise which she could do. Hana leaned up against a tree, still a bit groggy after waking up not too long ago but she figured her drowsiness would clear off as she started moving more.

Katsumi looked at the sky, tracking the time through the time of year, the amount of light, and the position in which she could see the sun starting to lean towards the area in which it would set in the next few hours.  She was wearing her minimalistic workout outfit and with the combination of the intense workout she had conducted so far, she was sweating a good amount, causing her cocoa colored skin to be steaming and slick.  The sight of the woman literally steaming as she took gulps of breath was something to behold.  Her hands were wrapped, but the the wrappings were torn, beaten and covered in splotches of dirt and blood both.

Standing up straight, she moved over to where her backpack was and grabbed the large canteen of water she had there, and drank from it thirstily, not even noticing the platinum skin and hair that was visible from her location, as she was too interested in re-hydrating her body.  After nearly emptying the canteen, she set it down and reached into her pack, pulling out a scroll.  Taijutsu Techniques across the title.  Carefully unrolling it, she set it down on the tree stump, reading over the first technique.  Arhat Fist?  She was never really a fan of that particular style... she wanted to create her own... but if she was going to do that, she needed to understand what went into a style, and that meant learning someone else's.

Mulling this over, Katsumi stood up on her toes, reaching towards the sky, stretching out her entire body.  She was tall, standing at a couple inches shy of six foot, and her muscles were clear and defined, especially now because of the sweat and their recent use.  She needed to find a new method of working out... people didn't always like to spar with her, and that was honestly the best workout, especially when she found someone who was stronger than her that she could really push her own limits with.  Fighting with people weaker was great for helping her learn how to control her own strength properly, as she would match them to make it a good fight, but didn't do a whole lot as far as making her stronger.

Relaxing out of her stretch, she looked at the pictures of what the stance looked like, and tried to mimic it, her cyan colored eyes focused.

[1] [416]

The brown girl was there, and certainly made no effort to acknowledge Hana aside from a spare glance. She'd bite down on her lollipop with a crunch chewing on the hard candy before a swallow. Spitting the stick out of her mouth she'd announce loud enough for the girl the hear. "So you're just going to pretend I'm not here, huh?" She caught a glimpse of what the girl was trying to accomplish. General PT only got someone so far. It was good for beginners and people without much of a foundation. But as one became more experienced they would have to end up dedicating hours and hours per day to see gradual progress. When Hana training four hours a day started to see no progress was when she decided to experiment with different methods. And of course the best method was a physical spar.

"I'm your instructor today. Didn't you get the memo? Stretchy warm-up time is over. Let's get down to business." The girl was a Taijutsu specialist and clearly weaker than she was. This was expected from a Genin. However Hana was more interested in seeing how well Katsumi applied her own strengths and weaknesses to the battlefield. Before Hana was comfortable teaching Katsumi anything she wanted to make sure Katsumi was capable of critical thinking during battle and most importantly, common sense. "I'm not going to beat around the bush. We will be doing a basic Taijutsu spar. This means unarmed combat only. The good ol' fashioned fisticuffs. When you're done lollygagging, try to land your first hit on me. That'll indicate that the spar was begun and I will respond to your attempts. So make sure it's a good first try." Pushing herself off from leaning against the tree she'd take a few steps forward in a neutral standing position. Katsumi was a short ten meters from her location. It was just enough room to give the girl time to improvise.

Katsumi had been so focused on her workout that she had indeed not noticed anyone nearby, mostly because she normally worked out like this and never had anyone really bothering her unless it was her sister begging her to come home for dinner or something.  So it wasn't until the crunch was heard that Katsumi reacted, but she did so seamlessly; she was already in a combative stance, and all she did was a pivot towards the sound, ready to fight if she needed to, and listened to the pale woman make a declaration.  This was followed by Katsumi blinking a couple of times before responding.  "My bad... I didn't notice ya.  Focused, ya know?" she started initially but then listened to what the woman said next.

Instructor for the day?  She hadn't put in any sort of request for an instructor... perhaps this was an assignment or something.  Katsumi relaxed just a little bit so she didn't seem overly hostile to the woman, noting the white hair and pale skin again as it clicked together in her mind; she was probably a Kaguya.  They were potent fighters, and a Taijutsu expert's worst nightmare because they were so tough and could literally weaponize their bones.  It made punching them difficult at best, but that wasn't a big deal for the moment, but as the woman finished, saying that she wanted to spar, everything else went out the window.  Katsumi gained a smile that looked like a combination of downright predatory and a kid in a candy store.  Her bright blue eyes flashed in excitement, and she lowered back into a stance, taking a few steps away from her equipment and bags to make sure they didn't get caught up in it.

"Finally... someone who can probably whoop me!" she declared, the excitement plain in her voice.  The dark-skinned woman was going to go full out to start with just to see where she stood in comparison, but based on her instincts, anything less would be insulting.  She launched forward at full speed, starting low before rising just in front of her, putting her full momentum, weight, and strength into an open palm strike aimed at the woman's chin.  She would quickly discover that Katsumi was not your typical Genin.

[2] [815]

Hana raised an eyebrow at the girl's excuse. She didn't try to be quiet about her arrival, which was the scary part. If she was too focused to pick up a casually approaching person she worried what other details she may forget in more serious scenarios. "Mmmmhm. Focused are you?" She said sarcastically. She didn't feel like 'going off' on the girl as she had to maintain some form of professionalism. But if it were Daisuke he wouldn't hear the end of it. Hana explained the details as usual which oddly led to Katsumi's excitement. A physical spar generally wasn't looked forward to by Genin students. It was akin to a test or conditioning week in non-ninja terms. The Genin needed high accuracy moves otherwise they would be severely punished for it.

Katsumi either truly enjoyed physical spars or is sharing her first experience with a Jounin with Hana at this moment. Judging by the girl's physique she figured she had some adeptness with Taijutsu and could take a few solid punches before being subdued. After being given the green light the woman rushed Hana with a linear attack, which generally was a bad idea. An opponent who knows of your whereabouts is already expecting to move around one's linear path. It was natural to strike the blind spot of an opponent that way. Any attack in the same direction of one's run path might as well be a tackle.

Hana was not the kind of fighter to waste movement. Katsumi was focused on Hana to deliver a raising upward palm strike to the bottom of her chin. As Katsumi began to shift the momentum of her attack upwards Hana reclined as her upper body was the first out of harm's way with her opponent's palm missing its target by a few inches. But as close as she was to a successful hit she quickly lost any chance at redemption as Hana's evasion maneuver resulted in a back handspring incorporated with a counter attack. As her arms extended to touch the earth she raised her right leg viciously as it led her movement attempting to catch Katsumi's own chin in a passing strike using the tip of her hardened sandals. Completing the back handspring she'd end up perpendicular to the tree just a few meters before from where she once stood. She was only a couple meters up the surface of the tree using the chakra focus technique to keep herself rooted to the tree's trunk.

The Stuff:

The sarcasm didn’t matter, that was nothing more than adding fuel to the fire.  This fight, that was all that mattered right now, and it was obvious by her body language and expression that she was excited about it.  But she would admit before anything that she was inexperienced; the only fights she had gotten into were teaching spars and little fights, the former something where the opponent was constantly holding back, and the latter something that usually was a one sided beatdown in her favor.  This was the first time she really didn’t hold back, and she fully expected that this Jounin would be able to take on her full strength.

As for par, she avoided the linear move completely, and even did so in such a way that Katsumi had nearly hit her, avoiding any huge dodge or shift in her body weight.  This was someone extremely adept in Taijutsu, so ‘testing the waters’ was going to have to go out the window, especially when she felt the kick connect with her chin, lifting her into the air and causing her to tumble backwards, tucking in her legs and twisting so that she landed on her feet.  Katsumi was a little rattled, but the pain… the taste of blood… it was like Hana had flipped a switch within the young woman.  She didn’t just have a predatory gaze anymore, but one of genuine thrill and excitement along with it, as though she had just received the best gift in the world.  Spitting the blood to the side, she gave her a bloody smile and charged again, but quickly changed her tactic.  It was time to get into some combos.

The first appeared to be a straight strike, but a quick sidestep and a leap adjusted the angle as a hard elbow was thrust at the pale woman with her left arm, then regardless of it connecting or not, a powerful right hook towards the ribs, then a twist and strong sweeping kick aimed at the ribs again.  Every blow was aimed at the torso, where it had the most chance of connecting, using the forward momentum of her strikes to keep her in range of the woman while focusing on making contact before falling downwards, pushing off the tree to make some distance.  She didn’t know the tree sticking technique yet… she didn’t know any techniques.  All she had was her raw Taijutsu talent, her lust for a fight, and her instincts.  She was also a lot faster and stronger than most Genin, but that didn’t matter now, because she was weak compared to a Jounin.

[3] [1261]

The feeling of her foot getting caught on the girl's body let her know she got off with something as he leg forced its way through to continue her action transferring more energy into the woman's chin. It was powerful enough to make her stagger, but to her surprise Katsumi did not have a glass jaw. She was still frail in her eyes, but not useless. From her position she hawked the girl's next movement relying on her visual contact to predict the girl's next move. To Hana, Katsumi was slow. Slow to react. Slow to move. Slow to attack. Normally these weaknesses were compensated with technique. It is expected for Shinobi to be fairly mediocre on the grand scale of things until they've marinated in Jounin for quite some time. Even Hana was just beginning to unlock her full potential, but she had quite a ways to go. Learning Taijutsu technique served as shortcuts to success, mastering a single movement for hours and hours until it became muscle memory. This allowed people to execute the technique at maximum potential resulting in quicker movement and more power.

Hana could tell from the start that Katsumi lacked any technique mastery, or a style even. From what Hana has seen so far there were no movements that seemed scripted or different from the rest. She remained static in her attacks, and this left her movements subjected to being read with no drawback. Katsumi attempted a feint which was tracked the entire way. Her sidestep was registered and the lunge that followed. Hana stepped back to dodge the elbow thrust as she prepared for her counterattack. Unfortunately for Katsumi, although hooks and elbows carried a lot of power they were mostly suited for close quarters. Hana on the other hand was fully content with using her full reach. She was a tall woman, as sturdy as she was built like most of the clan's females. Standing five feet and eleven inches her reach was comparable to Katsumi's give or take. Extending her right arm out she'd aim to deliver a quick jab in the midst of Katsumi's followup hook. She aimed her knuckles utilizing a technique known as her Mach Punch to pop her right in the nose to induce a stinging pain on her face, cause bleeding, and force her eyes to water in order to take advantage of her while stunned.

Like a fury of blows she'd take a step forwards while retracting her right arm and thrusting her left arm forwards. It was a bit further back than her right arm carrying a bit more power in her movement. Following Hana's initial jab was a straight palm thrust to the soft part just below her sternum. This movement was known as her Force Palm technique. Hana initially planned to strike her centermass but there was concerns with exactly how much shock her bosom would absorb. However this spot was just as good as any having the tenacity to force the girl to lose her breathing and force her back even more. In a fit of greed Hana was confident in executing a finishing move to her three-hit combo. If by then Katsumi still suffered greatly from her barrage the Kaguya would step into Katsumi's personal space and execute an uppercut punch with her right arm raising her clenched fist directly into her abdomen. The woman would be sent away in steep arc with an intense pain in her abdomen which would develop into a painful welt rather quickly as internal bleeding as sure to come.

[4]

Spoiler:

Katsumi was now a little frustrated with the timing of this spar.  She was enjoying every second of it, for sure, but if she had come around in like... an hour?  She would have been able to use something of a style to help amplify her abilities so that she could keep up... maybe?  She didn't know enough about the various techniques she didn't know in order to make that a valid case, but it didn't matter at this moment, and damn sure didn't matter in a real fight.  You were either able to kill your opponent, or you died, and that was the end of it.  So she wouldn't be complaining and dismissed the thoughts just as quickly as they had entered her mind.  Nothing but excuses, as far as she was concerned, and she wouldn't be wasting any energy on that sort of thing.

The elbow was dodged, as expected, but just as she was coming up with her second move, being the solid strike, the dark-skinned woman was quickly and effectively countered by a strike, which launched her towards the ground.  She had barely seen it, let alone been able to react.  The punch had enough force that when in combination with gravity, she fell to the earth like a missile, cratering slightly into the ground back first, blood and spit coming from her mouth as her body did it's level best to absorb the shock.  She had managed to tighten her muscles which mitigated a little of the damage, but not nearly enough to simply stand up and attack again.  So this was a Jounin... not just that, but a Taijutsu Specialist Jounin.  Silently, while gasping for air and struggling to haul herself up, she vowed that one day she would be strong enough to go toe to toe with her... even beat her.

It took her a moment or two to stand up, pull herself out fo the ground that had caved in a bit from the impact, but she did it and then backpedaled a little bit while keeping her hands up for defense to try to create some room between them.  She needed to catch her breath, get her feet under her, and make the world stop spinning at a mile a minute.  Shaking her head, she tried to clear it, and focused her eyes on the woman who had dealt her the blow... but through it all, even though her body complained that it was in a ton of pain, she was smiling.  The smile was damn near spanning from ear to ear now, even though a few of the teeth being shown were red from blood, she was still showing them off all the same.

Now she was on the defensive though; the more time she had to breathe and get her mind right, the better she would be able to attack back if she could find an opening.  Hana was just a little too fast... but she wasn't about to give up.  It just made the fight more fun.

[4] [1781]

Hana's first counter strike went off without failure, even managing to rag doll the girl straight into the ground below. She stopped there and didn't bother with a followup, as Hana was quite certain how this fight were to end up. "Alright that's enough for now. You're getting your salad tossed and you don't know any better than to keep getting up and trying. Why is that exactly?" Hana asked a rhetorical question expecting Katsumi to know why she was unable to keep up. It was fun to beat anybody with unarmed combat but got stale rather quickly when the opponent lack the means to put up a challenging fight. It soon just became Hana practicing on a heavy bag, and the heavy bag occasionally swinging in her direction. Hana would spring off the tree's surface and somersault in the aim changing her position mid-flight to where she was facing Katsumi a few meters on the opposite side of the tree. She'd wait for Katsumi gather her wits, catch her breath, and respond to her question before carrying on with what she had planned for her training.

[5]

Katsumi heard the woman and was a mixture of relieved and disappointed.  Relieved because that meant she could recover properly, and she didn't have any super-serious injuries at the moment that couldn't be healed simply enough, meaning that there would be little to no downtime.  Disappointed because she hadn't been this excited to fight someone in a long time, and there was nothing more exciting in her mind than a proper challenge, and she certainly was feeling like this was a powerful challenge that was going to waste.  But, as disappointing as it was, the Jounin also had a point; she wouldn't stop until she couldn't move anymore, and there wasn't much for it considering that she wasn't fast or strong enough to even scratch the pale woman, let alone give her the challenge she deserved.  Didn't mean it sucked any less though.

So Katsumi tilted her head back and sighed, the smile slowly fading.  She had asked for an explanation.  "You're faster and stronger than I am," she said simply, the fact not really stinging her pride like she thought it would.  No, this was exciting, finding someone who was so talented in Taijutsu who was stronger than she was.  it gave her a goal, someone to reach towards that she wanted to beat, and someone who might just be willing to take her on as she got stronger and more proficient.  It was hard to find people who loved to fight as much as she did, or even would be willing to spar on a regular basis because of the risk of injury and such.  Wasn't that why they had regular Medical Nin that took care of light wounds like that for them?  Seemed to her that most of them were just cowards scared of a little pain.

[5] [2097]

Hana nodded agreeing with Katsumi's response. "That's correct. Taijutsu is not so much outsmarting your opponent as it is being the better specimen. You can plan all these fancy moves, but if you're too slow or weak to pull them off you'll just be wasting energy. You lack the proper moves and style to actually be a treat to anyone. Let me teach you a few." Hana didn't have a scroll to offer as she operated completely off what she knew over years and years of combat practice. Taijutsu was almost second nature to her. "Technique helps you develop muscle memory. Muscle memory allows you to react to stimuli instead of processing it and responding manually. The first system I'm going to teach you is the baseline fighting style taught among my clan. Dance of the Blossom is a balance of speed and strength, building on the principles I spoke of earlier. You want to keep your body tight when you swing. That allows you to respond quicker and push out more power. Try it." Hana said while raising a hand letting Katsumi strike it. She didn't have boxer mitts, as if they would provide any protection. So her bare hand would have to do.

[6]

[Teaching:
Dance of the Blossom | C-rank
Mach Punch | C-rank
Force Palm | C-rank
Dancing Petal | D-rank
Dancing Petal: Return | C-rank
First Seed | C-rank
Morning Glory | D-rank
Sunflower | C-rank
Birds of Paradise | B-rank

1300 WC Total]

Learning a few techniques first hand? Absolutely. Katsumi barely felt the bruises she knew were forming, stretching a moment and then listening intently. Keep her body tight when she swung? She flexed her muscled a moment, thinking about how that would operate, showing off just a little bit unintentionally as she twisted a bit, thinking about how such a movement would look and feel. She could sense through her muscles how different it was, the chakra that fueled them surging with the movement. Yes, this would be something useful, for sure... and her first real Technique she was learning. She looked towards Hana for a moment, giving her a small smile as the woman extended a hand for her to try to the technique on, and focused on it, putting everything she had into ensuring that she performed the technique perfectly.

When it came to Taijutsu, she was a natural after all, so the first strike was a success.

She twisted with the movement, keeping her muscles tightened, feeling the chakra flowing through her arm as she struck out, impacting the palm quickly and with far more power than she was normally capable of mustering. It had been a success, she felt... at least, she hoped that was the right feeling. For the first time, she wasn't entirely sure if she had done something right or wrong, and her gaze moved up to Hana's face to try to judge her expression for a moment, seeing if she had indeed been successful. This was unusual for the tall dark-skinned teen, as normally she was so confident with everything she ever committed to that she would almost ooze with bravery and stoic demeanor. This was something that she had never done before, and it was the first time she was being taught something like this, so that aspect was there, but not in its normal 1000 watt intensity.

[6]

---

Learning:
Dance of the Blossom | C-rank
Mach Punch | C-rank
Force Palm | C-rank
Dancing Petal | D-rank
Dancing Petal: Return | C-rank
First Seed | C-rank
Morning Glory | D-rank
Sunflower | C-rank
Birds of Paradise | B-rank

1300 WC required and met

From the looks of it, Katsumi had a newfound confidence. The technique she learned were about to be tested to see if the efforts were not in vain. Hana knew she had to be careful this time around as a well-placed counter attack may put the hurt on her, which was something she was not entirely used to. Most of her enemies were too weak or had insufficient weaponry to cause her any harm. This time would be different. "Alright, so you got your fancy new technique. So now we're going to spar again. This time things will be a little more real. Utilize your technique and don't hesitate. I want to see your full potential. This time I will start the bout." Hana stepped back a few paces to get a mere five meters between them. She'd stretch her upper body briefly before resuming her fighting stance. She'd give Katsumi a moment to get ready, but not too long. Given a few seconds Hana would assault her.

Two steps forward she'd throw a straight jab forward applying basic technique to yield a reaction from Katsumi. If her strike follow through without a hitch she was intend on laying down the punishment following up with a straight punch with her off-hand as her lead hand went back to a guard. This attack would be targeted at the side of the girl's face causing pressure at the jaw attempting to break it or induce a knockout. Of course given Katsumi's conditioning a dislocated jaw was debilitating but not incapacitating.

[7]

The Stuff:

Utilize the technique and don’t hesitate. That was a simple enough set of instructions to understand and comply with. Katsumi was not one for wasting energy though, and quickly began her own preparations for the impending bout. The first thing she did was during the moment that Hana gave her to prepare, and that was something that came instinctively for her; unlocking the inner well of power she had hidden inside. Something she had developed during her time at WASP, Kagome’s chakra, if Hana could feel it, would swell in magnitude. It still wasn’t on Hana’s level yet, but it was considerably more than she had before, and was indicated in two ways. First, Katsumi’s eyes would flash with light for a moment, and then hidden on her back, her tattoo that had been applied using Chakra Ink would show itself and begin to glow. It wasn’t a strong enough light that Hana would be able to notice unless she saw Kat’s back, but still present.

And then, Hana came at her. Katsumi felt the surge of chakra weave through her system, enhancing her abilities, and saw the punch coming. Knowing she would need both arms if she wanted to be able to block and counter-attack, she opted to dodge, ducking slightly and shifting towards Hana’s back. She felt the scrape of the near miss on her shoulder; it had been exceedingly close, and if she had thrown something more complicated, Katsumi might not have been able to dodge it at all. Because of her positioning, the other hand Hana had poised would need to cross the Jounin’s entire body to make contact, something she would be able to see coming, and so, Katsumi decided to try a counter-attack. It was nothing fancy, but a tight hook punch aimed at Hana’s upper abdomen, just below the ribs. Landing a hit here would knock the wind out of just about anyone, and Katsumi was showing that while she may not have had techniques before, she was not unskilled either.

[7]

Techs and Stats:

Katsumi was notably quicker in her defense and counterattack, but still inferior. The girl tried to strike Hana with a body shot which was statically blocked as Hana lowered her elbow to intercept the corresponding strike. Hana had to admit there was more "nip" in this strike than her previous attempted ones showing that a bit of form went a long way. But unfortunately all of that strength was useless to her. Katsumi was still far too slow to have any chance landing a direct attack on Hana. "Come on, use what I taught you!" Hana shouted demanding Katsumi to stop going so soft of her. Being a Kaguya she grew up with combat, and combat much rougher than what ordinary people are used to. Cracked and broken bones were common, as the Kaguya didn't need to hold back.

Their bodies were capable of self-healing and for that she was not afraid to see the full potential of her student. Hana rapidly responded to Katsumi's attack by following up with one of her own. Starting from her body she'd drop down and sweep her right leg out attempting a low lateral kick to knock Katsumi off guard. A success would have enough power to flip her over and onto the ground. But Hana had a feeling landing an attack wouldn't be so easy and kept her wits about.

The Stuff:

Katsumi could feel it.  The Chakra she had so much of, flowing through her body, fueling her muscles, extending her senses seamlessly like she had the ability all along.  It was something of a natural progression, something this fight was bringing out of her and imprinting into her body, unlocking her hidden potential that she never knew she had.  Use what she taught her?  Absolutely.  They hadn't been together long, but already Katsumi could appreciate the techniques that the platinum-haired woman had taught her.  And there was one thing that the dark-skinned woman had about her that no one else normally even thought about trying outside of those who knew how to heal themselves; she wasn't afraid to take a hit in order to land one.

The first thing was she fueled her body to increase her durability for a moment, using First Seed.  She felt her muscles tighten as the leg, meant to sweep her own, grew far stronger and literally just took the blow entirely but didn't budge, leaving Hana as a target below her for the counter move, Birds of Paradise, where she drove her right leg, which was the one that hadn't been hit upwards in an impressive set of splits as her leg was pressed against her body, before driving it down with such speed and force that it was almost completely different than when Katsumi had first started fighting.  This blow would shatter the ground if it missed, but a successful strike surely wouldn't be enough to hurt a Jounin Kaguya, who prided themselves on durability.

The Stuff:

Hana's sweep carried quite a bit of force, but Katsumi had proven to be as stubborn as an ox. Hana felt her leg connect with no resistance. She was surprised herself with how little the impact affected her. One moment she was getting her salad tossed and now she seemed unscathed by Hana's basic attacks. She was curious if this was the result of her training. After all, the technique Hana employed taught one how to better deal with damage. Despite how impacting the sweep kick was Katsumi showed little to no sign of pain. And this was bad for Hana.

It was obvious that she was stronger than her, which was a first. Hana had the physique of a dedicated Taijutsu expert. But this woman, who was younger and lesser ranked, showed signs of monstrous power that exceeded her own. It begged the question if she was genetically modified or simply a gifted individual. Regardless, the moment her leg budged and showed signs of assaulting her, she would make a tactical retreat. Hana wasn't meant to thrash and bash. She was a finesse fighter. In the cases where her opponent was stronger than her or wielded a weapon she would resort to her bone spurs. However today she was tasked with teaching the brown girl something useful. There would be no point in spending time if her if all Hana had to do was kick her ass.

Since Hana was already on the ground she had the positional advantage. While Katsumi had gravity working for her Hana had a perfect view of her opponent's underside. As Katsumi's leg lifted to prepare a downwards kick on the otherwise helpless Hana she'd use her free leg and extend it upwards from her ground position. Her left leg would target the underside of Katsumi's thigh targeting the hamstring. The timing of their attacks would be at par as Hana had to analyze Katsumi's next move before reacting while Katsumi needed to first lift her leg up before striking downwards. The result would be both stopping each other in their track. Hana ultimately lacked a bit of power on her end, and while it was not enough to completely throw off her technique her body suffered some minor strain due to it, though given her durability it was negligible.

Where Hana excelled was her planned counterattack as her right leg coiled up and extended as well following through with the straight kick again from her disadvantageous position. Using the bottom of her foot she'd strike Katsumi's forbidden zone. Hana's foot was rigged towards her crotch in an attempt to strike a soft spot and throw her off. The two kicks utilized a technique known as Lavender Dance, which was a dedicated combo attack, though Hana felt two strikes were plenty. The floor was a dangerous place to be versus someone with superior strength.

The Stuff:

Katsumi felt her attack stop cold, and normally, this would be where she would wrap her leg around the enemy's own and try to get a leg-lock where her superior strength would be all that mattered, forcing the enemy to tap out, but all of that went out the window when she saw where the platinum-haired woman's counter-attack was aimed. Katsumi prided herself on her body, the strength she had and the physique she had obtained over countless hours of training, but there was a handful of spots that she could never toughen up enough, and Hana, a fellow woman, knew one of them that Katsumi had left wide open. The moment that realization came to light, Katsumi's eyes widened and she bent back and up and away from the woman, evading the reach of her leg in a suddenly very fast back handspring, Dancing Petal.

Once she had a little bit of distance, she knew she had lost the positional advantage of being over the woman and using her strength to try to pressure her further, and couldn't help but take a moment to laugh. "Dirty... you just wanna touch my lady bits! Nah, but for real, I did NOT see that one comin' until it was almost too late. Cheeky." It was an odd one, for sure, but a compliment none the less. Katsumi was loving this spar, and waited a moment for her to get back onto her feet. Katsumi wasn't used to fighting people on the ground unless it was with specific grapples and such, and it was going to take more practice. One her feet, she could use more of the techniques that Hana had taught her, like the Mach Punch or something fun.

[9]

---

The Stuff:

Which much success she was able to ward off Katsumi from her advantageous position to a retreat. Hana seized the moment to spring back up to both feet as Katsumi continued to space apart giving a measly five meter gap between both of them. She caught the glimpse of Katsumi using a Taijutsu technique she taught in or order to move back just in time. Hana was satisfied with at least knowing the teachings would stick. "It just happened to be the biggest target I could see next to your ass." Hana said displaying her little care for professionalism between a master and their student. Katsumi resumed her stance as did Hana, her golden eyes fixing on the brown skinned girl. "After learning your technique you've become almost the same as my ability. Now this fight is just a matter of coming out on top. You will often find people similar to your combat ability. Not everybody you face will have an exploitable weakness. That's why it is your job to line up your attacks and get your opponent to expose themselves. Once you do that, you strike an opening. These fights generally last a while, so conserving stamina is key."

She gave her last bit of advice before advancing on the girl at top speed, which was admittedly faster than her own but it did not matter. They were both Taijutsu fighters. They both wanted this. Hana rushed towards Katsumi with her arm cocked back. Once within range she'd throw the first punch to the front of Katsumi's chin. Hana stayed true to her own advice benefiting off the natural performance her Taijutsu style gave her. Other technique would be unnecessary unless she would a weakness or wanted to pressure her. But at the moment she was only interested in responding to her reaction.

The Stuff:

[10]

[OOC: Sorry Colt, but I need to cash in these technique and free up a topic slot.]

Following her assault she connected a solid punch to the girl's chin. She was made of stout stuff for sure as the woman's jaw didn't collapse under her fist. Still the impact sent Katsumi back a fair distance and crashing through a tree causing additional impact damage. Although she would still be in relatively good shape she was certainly beaten up to an extent having the blood to show for it. "Lets call it quits for today. You did good. Be sure to stay in practice of what I taught you today." Following her final words she vanished from sight leaving no trace of her body behind. Hana would hastily make her way back to the village where she would report her training exercise with Katsumi.

[11]

[Total Learned:

Mach Punch: 200/200
Sky: 200/200
Uppercut: 200/200
Force Palm: 200/200
Dancing Petal: 150/150
Dancing Petal: Return: 200/200
Magnificent Dancing Petal: 250/250
Tiger Lily: 350/350
First Seed: 200/200
Morning Glory: 150/150
Sunflower: 200/200
Birds of Paradise: 250/250
Lavender Dance: 300/300
Flower Rush: 250/250
Chrysanthemum Dance: 300/300

3,529/3,400 WC]

[Exit]