Ripple of Embers (Takara) (M)

The late afternoon sun was slowly making its way down toward the horizon as Valen moved through the crowds of the Heavenly Emporiums festival. He wore the same kimono he had worn each day thus far only washed of course. It was made of black silk with a satiny finish along the hem and ends of the sleeves. The red sash was simple enough and on the back the Kirigakure symbol was emblazoned upon it in black satin, allowing it to stand out against the black silk as a shine. He wore simple sandals and his hair was left as it was, which was spiked and vertical. Underneath the kimono he of course wore a pair of simple boxers and he moved through the crowd, carefully avoiding running into anyone as he moved. With his height, being at a much shorter than average 5’1 he had a certain edge when it came to avoiding people in such crowds as he was easily able to move and avoid people without taking too much space.

Upon his hip, tucked within his sash was his ever present katana, a weapon of suitable quality for the moment and it was stored safely within the sheath. Valen didn’t know what he was going to do this evening. He was simply out to be out but interesting things had occurred thus far when he had done so, so perhaps this would be no different. As he moved through the crowd his red eyed gaze would scan the crowd as he began to consider his options for things to do. He could train more, an idea which was usually high on his list of things to do. He could go find someone else to spar but he had done that quite a lot recently and not many of the usual goers to the training grounds would face him anymore. Something about him enjoying it too much and being a dirty fighter. That did not particularly bother Valen much though. If they were not willing to do what it took to win then that was their problem, not his.

[1]

It had already been a long day. Between traveling and avoiding the large crowds at the Heavenly Emporium whenever possible, Takara was rather drained from the day's events, and simply wanted to find out where the hotel was that she had been assigned and get some rest. She had been tasked with going to the Emporium in order to understand and talk with those from outside of Kirigakure, a way of diversifying her social skills and an attempt to make her open up more, but she doubted they would be successful in that endeavor. She had done nothing but the most basic of missions for years, flying under the radar despite her talents and only doing enough to get what she needed done… but apparently the powers that be did not think that was enough. ‘A waste of talent’ as it were. She didn’t bother trying to reason with them or understanding their mentality. The problem was that she was lost, and thanks to the festival, finding a map had proven problematic, or even someone who was willing to take time away from the festivities to provide directions.

Then there was also the problem that she was gaining too much attention based on her apparel. She had chosen to wear a red two-piece outfit that did little to hide her curvature only because it was a festival and she wanted to blend in, but apparently it was having the reverse effect, drawing more gazes in her direction. Annoyed, she began to search for someone, anyone, who might be able to provide assistance, and it was after a few moments she caught someone in a black kimono wearing the Kirigakure symbol. Weaving through the crowd was a bit more difficult being six foot tall, but she managed to get close while also working her way towards the outside of the crowds so it would be easier to talk. Tapping the shorter person… far shorter, actually, on the shoulder, she spoke only loud enough to be heard over the background noise. “Excuse me… could I ask for a moment of your time, Sir?” she said politely, her headband holding her mess of hair behind her face from the top of her head.

[1]

Feeling a tap upon his shoulder, Valen would turn toward the individual who tapped him and look up to see a woman standing behind him. Turning toward her brought his head in line with her chest, granted that was not intentional and he raised his eyes to look into hers when he realized how tall she was. Red eyes met those of blue as he made eye contact and listened to her words. Blinking up at her after she spoke he would nod his head before looking around for a suitable location. Finding an alley not far he pointed toward it. Now, alley’s in the Emporium were not like alley’s in most places. There was no trash and debris and disgusting combinations of fluids and liquids upon the ground. They did not smell horrible and you weren’t likely to be waylaid by an insidious individual looking to take advantage of you within them.

Instead they were clean, and simple shortcuts to the next street over. Nothing more, and nothing less. They were too narrow for stalls but since so many people were enjoying the festival and therefore out in the streets and amongst the stalls the alleyway was actually quite barren of people. That little factoid would allow them to have a conversation at a reasonable volume without shouting. So once he pointed her toward it he would move toward the location and move within the alley, his manner seemingly rather bored. Should she follow he would turn toward her when they got into the alley and finally really take in her appearance. She had wavy, thick brown hair, dark skin with a flawless complexion and bright blue eyes that contrasted his own red ones. She stood about a foot taller than him, give or take an inch or so, and lithe muscle could be seen on her as she obviously took care of herself. She wore a red two piece outfit and her headband was being used as a hair band to keep her hair in check. Once he had taken in her appearance he would meet her eyes once more. His own not particularly hinting at anything in particular.[color=#666699] “Yes? How may I assist you?”[color] He would ask, his eyes having noted the Kirigakure symbol upon her headband.

[2]

Takara followed the young man without question once the gesture was made, silently very thankful that he was trying to find somewhere a little more quiet and a little less public. Simply because they were ninja from the same village didn’t mean that they wanted to talk aloud about anything and everything right then and there, and a little discretion went a long way. If someone were targeting her, for instance, voicing her lodging arrangements could give them a way of targeting her and knowing where she was going if they so chose to. A lot of people would call that paranoid, but she knew the difference; she didn’t think, statistically, that the odds were stacked in that direction, and knew for the most part she was very safe here, but it didn’t mean that a person couldn’t take a few extra precautions when it was simple enough to do so. Once they had gotten to the alley, and the man’s appraisal of Takara completed, thankfully without lingering in any particular area, he addressed her.

“I am Takara Kaiyo, a Kirigakure Genin. I am looking for a building labeled ‘The Midnight Sun’. It is my assigned lodging for this event. Could you help me find it, please?” She tilted her head down in a slight bow of politeness, but kept her eyes on the young man before her… a simple enough precaution. She had no reason to trust this shorter young man, who she now noted looked a bit older than his height suggested, but she too didn’t have a reason to distrust him. She still kept a close eye on his mannerisms, body language, and other biometrics that could tell her more about him without him saying a word, but time would tell what would come of that. For now, she was hoping all was well and he could help her find the place she was to sleep tonight, and very specifically didn’t specify how he was to assist her, whether that be simply pointing her in the right direction all the way to possibly showing her where it was personally.

[2]

She would tell him what she needed assistance with and he would blink at her in mild surprise. She needed her help finding her Inn? That was certainly simple enough and would not take particularly long to do. Especially considering what Inn it was. The Midnight Sun happened to be the very same Inn he was residing in. Although he thought he had gotten the last room, hadn’t he? That was what he had been told when he booked the room anyway and that meant there shouldn’t have been any more late arrivals. Tilting his head at her a bit in his usual gesture of curiosity he would speak. “What room number?” He would ask, his red eyes never leaving from her blue. His mannerisms would not particularly change. He would seem curious, and almost bored of all things around him. Although he would be aware of his surroundings as well. One of the reasons he had picked the alley was that it cut off avenues of approach severely.

In the back of his mind he was considering what to do after this was handled and he was coming down to an idea. There was a largeish lake on a training ground not too terribly far from their location. As well as their Inn for that matter and he would probably go there to practice kata while standing on the water. Figuring that the exercise in chakra control would do him well. Still that would have to come after this Takara woman was handled. He would probably lead her back to the Inn anyway. It was not far out of his way and that would be the fastest way to get the job done in his opinion. Besides, the only other Kirigakure shinobi he knew was Blitz, Takano, Sayuri, Sero, and Haruko, adding another to the list would not hurt and it would, what was the word a Chuunin had used once? Increase ‘camaraderie’? Whatever the hell that meant.

[3]

The question posed to her in reply to the query was one that rose a fair bit of suspicion at first, but when combined with the fact that his mannerisms hadn’t changed and he seemed outright bored was something that made her think that perhaps he didn’t have any sort of malicious intent, and this was an instance of keeping herself in check from being outright paranoid. She still had her back to a wall and was enough distance away from him that if he proved to be a threat, she should have at least a moment or two to react. Hypothetically speaking, anyway. She knew that there were those that could move so fast that there wasn’t a chance in hell, and considering his size and muscle definition (from what she could see) he could easily be one of those types. Still, his question required a reply, and she would give it in the same tone she had before. “My room has yet to be assigned, but it was reserved by the staff in Kirigakure. I was told they would keep a room open to fill the reservation.” And that was that.

It didn’t even warrant consideration that the hotel might double book things to compensate for last minute cancelations or anything like that, and her inexperience with traveling and festivals as a whole made it to where it wasn’t something she would think to compensate for. She was doing the right thing in her mind by going to the Inn and checking in first, and then starting to perform the tasks assigned to her and… what was the word the Jounin who assigned this mission had used. ‘Mingle’, if her nigh eidetic memory served her correctly. There were very few things that she couldn’t recall, but there were things that she simply didn’t think of at the moment, such as asking for a map of Heavenly Emporium before leaving Kirigakure. That would have avoided this entire scenario all together.

[3]

Nodding at her answer he would speak. “Interesting, we’re at the same hotel you see.” He would say before motioning her to follow me. With that he would begin to move through the crowd toward The Midnight Sun. It was a few blocks down the street from them down a side street. Which were larger than an alley. It would be interesting to note for her that he was walking them in the direction she likely would have had to have come from to tap him on the shoulder without him seeing. Meaning that she would have passed it, even if she had not known it was on one of the side streets she was walking past when she did it. Still Valen would guide her there without comment or jest or jibe. He moved through the crowd at a solid pace compared to most. His size came in handy in that regard as he could easily weave through the crowd on the way to his destination.

Of course that might make it difficult for Takara to keep up with him in a crowd and that was something he had not considered when he began to move. Still what was important was that she kept him in visual sight and the kirigakure symbol upon the back of his kimono would theoretically make that incredibly easy. Regardless it would not take him long to reach The Midnight Sun and once there he would turn toward where he thought she was to ensure she had followed him. His red eyes meeting her blue ones again if she had. Then he would motion for her to follow him again and he would walk in. At this point he might as well make sure that she managed to get checked in right? There couldn’t possibly be anything wrong like them having the same room because the hotel double booked, right?

[4]

Ah, now the comment made perfect sense regarding the room, as them being in the same hotel was quite coincidental indeed. Takara had to be careful about weaving through the crowd, slipping by others and ducking under arms, but was able to keep up fairly well most of the way through until almost the end. Looking up, she could see the Inn plain as day and silently cursed herself for not using the primary roads; as per usual, she was trying to avoid using any of the overly crowded streets and that was the reason that she had missed it the first time. By the time she would have been in view of the hotel, she had already seen and acquired the help of her fellow nin… who she now realized she didn’t know the name of yet. That would have to be rectified shortly… but there was suddenly a new and more pressing problem that stepped in front of her.

Two large, and obviously inebriated individuals stepped in front of her, between the pair, and made it a point to block her way, causing her to pause and those sharp blue eyes to look at them almost level. Being her height, there weren’t a ton of people that were taller than her, but there was a fair number of mostly males that were close, and she made her annoyance known by pressing her lips into a thin line and her eyes growing sharp. She took in a breath to tell them to get out of the way, but before she could, they spoke first. [b]“Hey there… you lookin’ mighty fine. Why dontcha come hang with a couple real men instead of some kid? We’ll play nice…”[/color] Takara took a half second to process exactly what she wanted to do about this scenario. Force them aside physically? She wasn’t the strongest, but she could probably handle two drunks.

But she was wearing her headband, and getting into a fight here could be disastrous if it upset the Heavenly Emporium in any way as a neutral territory. She could try to play it off, but she didn’t really trust her poker face; she had always been a horrible liar. “Excuse me… I have somewhere I need to be,” she stated with a direct and slightly commanding tone, hoping they would be kind enough even drunk to see she had to go and let her pass. Instead, however, the two men seemed to grow angry, and their tone turned more into a challenge. [b]“You talkin’ to me like that? Now I gotta show you whose boss--”[/color]

[4]

When he turned around to check to see that Takara was behind him he would come face to back with two large men who seemed to have trouble staying on their feet. Of course now that they were mostly out of the crowd he could hear them speaking quite clearly and they appeared to be interested in his temporary companion. That seemed perfectly reasonable to Valen and if she wanted to spend time with the two men that was entirely her decision and he would leave. However when he noticed she looked uncomfortable with such attention he would tilt his head in confusion. Were they not to her liking? She clearly met their standards, and his too for that matter. However she seemed to not be interested and when she told him to move that she had somewhere to be they would become angered.

Now, Valen had told her that he would take her to her hotel, they were here, but he had intended to see her checked in. These two idiots were holding that goal up and if they weren’t going to move then they would simply have to be moved now wouldn’t they? Stepping closer, he would recognize the build of one of them as one of his sparring partners at the training grounds here. One of the ones who refused to practice with him anymore before he ‘fought dirty’. Tilting his head to the side he would draw his sword, his red eyes watching the back of that one in particular as his weapon became engulfed in fire. The heat of the flame was easily able to be felt upon their backs and Takara’s front and he would speak, the two men going silent as Valen addressed the one he knew. “If you thought I fought dirty when I spar, imagine me when I’m annoyed at two people holding us up.” He would say quietly, the fire of the blade causing people in the main street to stop and look. Many thought he was a street performer of some kind, but some saw the context of the situation and silently looked on, ready to witness what occurred to report to the authorities if necessary.

Should they leave, he would extinguish the fire before nodding for her to follow him inside of the hotel. Then he would lead her within and up to the front desk where he would let her conduct her business and listen with an attentive ear for anything interesting. His sword would be safely tucked away into its sheath again and the onlookers would move on, clearly accepting that no violence would be taking place outside of the training grounds this time.

[5]

The light was the first thing that the pair noticed, and curious, they both turned to see the small young man holding a sword that was on fire. One of them recognized him, from the looks of it, but the moment that their attention was turned, Takara was on the move, sweeping sideways and past them, ensuring that she was out of quick arm’s reach and then standing beside her temporary escort. “I don’t think we want violence in a place so public. It will sour the festival.” Normally, she wouldn’t really like the idea of someone stepping up to bat for her and making it to where she didn’t really have a choice in how a situation was handled, but she would make an exception this time. It wasn’t like they were in Kirigakure where she could have dealt with them without repercussions.

Assuming he let her, she put a hand on the black-haired ally’s sword-shoulder, she gave him a gentle squeeze and attempted to gently push him back into the right direction. She needed to get them moving away from the possible brawl that would break out, and considering that they might have more allies in the wings that they would have to deal with, she would rather not make this a political incident if she could. One of the men looked like that wasn’t going to be enough to stop him from making an advance, but the other, the one who recognized the shorter man, put a hand up to stop him. He looked stone-cold sober now, realizing the threat that had been made was a real one and not wanting to find out the depths in which it would be revealed. Turning his ignorant friend around, they moved back into the crowds.

Takara had a sneaking suspicion that would not be the last they saw of them.

Finally, now that the fight had been avoided, she let go of Valen. “I appreciate the gesture. Let’s get inside.” She then turned and lead the way into the Inn, approaching the front desk, who already seemed frazzled. Made sense, considering that the festival was going on that places like this would be seriously overworked. “Pardon. Takara Kaiyo, checking in. I should have a reservation made by Kirigakure.” The person began to rapidly flip through a series of cards, then pulled one out, but as they read it, realized something and had a look of dread, then quickly checked the roster. They looked up and realized that Valen was also standing there, and blinked twice. [b]“Well, isn’t that a coincidence. This young gentleman was assigned to the room that was in reserve. We have been so busy that we have been forced to double-book. Mr. Minamoto is the one you would have to share a room with if you use this reservation, Ma’am.”[/color]

Takara’s eyes narrowed. She believed in many things, but coincidence wasn’t one of them. She ran through it in her mind; there wouldn’t be anywhere else available that she could redeem this, and it seemed like Fate was shoving her and ‘Mr. Minamoto’ together forcibly. Should she fight it? Give in and just sleep on the floor? She had relied on being alone to have a safe space to reset, and now that was no longer an option. Frustrated, she had an itch to go train, but this needed to be handled first and foremost. Turning towards the dark-haired nin, she drew in a breath and sighed. “It cannot be helped. I’ll take the floor so long as you are alright with it.”

[5]

The one he recognized pulled the other man away after Takara made her way around them to stand near Valen with the distraction his flaming sword provided. It was a pretty good distraction. After all, who the fuck didn’t notice a flaming sword of all things? Still, Valen was just a little disappointed that they did not take up the gauntlet. A two on one spar might have been fun and he mentally told himself to make sure he did one soon so he could see for himself if it was or not. Still Takara had a point, this was a public venue and people tended to not like fire spreading around them in the streets. When they left Takara would comment that she appreciated the gesture. However that would just leave Valen to blink at her in confusion. The fuck was a ‘gesture’?

Moving into the hotel with her they would get to the desk and she would begin to start the check in process. Valen would listen idly as the lady behind the desk went through notecards before coming to one and looking at her, and then him nervously. Valen did not know what a ‘coincidence’ was but he did understand that she was assigned to his room as well. He didn’t care either way in that regard, he had managed to reserve the room upon his arrival to the Emporium but only just and if someone else had also been assigned to it that did not matter to him. He was gone almost all hours of the day anyway, generally only returning to shower and sleep. Which was the point of a hotel room he supposed so she would probably be doing the same thing.

The room of course only had one bed, it was a large one granted, but still only one. The diminutive swordsman would have no real issue with that however. Not understanding things such as ‘boundaries’ and such. So when Takara looked to him and said that she would take the floor he tilted his head to the side in confusion before speaking. “Don’t be silly, there’s a perfectly good bed.” He would say simply, moving down the hall to the stairs to the third floor, where their room was. He would lead her to it and let her unpack. Reaching their room, 327, he would open it and enter, letting her in. Inside was a large bed, and a bathroom with a really good shower in it. A TV sitting on a dresser, and a chair of course. There was floor space for someone to sleep on if they wanted but he couldn’t imagine why. The bed would fit two people easily. His own stuff was a bag settled on the chair. Stepping aside to let her enter he would begin to speak. “I’m going to go to the training ground, there’s one nearby with a large pool and I want to practice my kata while water walking. You’re welcome to join me if you wish, there’s a map of the emporium in the nightstand next to the bed. Want me to wait for you?” He would ask, his expression curious.

[6]

The blink of confusion regarding her comment made her wonder for a moment, but she quickly stowed that curiosity in favor of simply getting some things done that were slightly more pressing. Then his continued confusion when he offered the bed itself, and while he didn’t explicitly say that he would be joining her in it, he also didn’t offer the floor himself, and she began to deduce that it might not have been something intentional, but out of ignorance. Either that, or he was just plain stupid. Ignorance she could handle, because then the lack of information could be corrected; she could teach him things. Stupidity, on the other hand, was not, as it was the inability to learn. She would need to determine which of these her new friend was, and she contemplated how to do so on the walk towards their shared room.

Upon entering, she quickly took in the possible exits, durability of the door, and did a quick check through the room to ensure it was secure and there wasn’t anything suspicious to worry about. It wasn’t something she needed to do, but if this was to be her ‘safe’ space where she could let her guard down, it paid to be careful. Once she had finished her checks, she put her bag on the floor next to the chair and then turned and regarded her companion who had asked her a question. “I think some training would be great right now. I could stand to blow off some steam and it was a long trip.” She didn’t bother with her Kunai or pouches, not really bothering with them for a moment; she had no intention of training in weapons she had little talent in for her first bit of training that was more or less meant to limber her up and help her relax and get some decent sleep.

Moving back to the door, she offered him a slight nod of thanks. “I don’t believe I have heard your first name yet. It is considered polite to introduce yourself when someone else does the same for you.” She had introduced herself earlier, but this was more than just a reminder in manners, but a probe to see where he stood in regards to overall intelligence and experience with social graces.

[6]

When they entered she did the same thing he had done when he had first entered. As any shinobi would do when they enter a room for the first time and that would be to take in the environment and note any possible exits and escape routes. Even he could see that and he was not the most astute of observers. Still when she was done she placed her bag down and accepted his offer of joining him for training. Nodding to her he would begin to move toward the door and she would mention that she didn’t know his name yet. Thinking back he would realize that she was indeed correct. He had failed to introduce himself when they first began to speak and he grimaced at himself for forgetting. He had been doing better about social interactions but sometimes he just flat out dropped the ball, then kicked it.

“I’m Valen, Valen Minamoto, Genin of Kirigakure.” He would say, formally introducing himself before making his way out of the door and turning to ensure the door was closed and locked behind them. He had his key on him just in case and even then, they could always break in through the window if they really needed to. He had memorized which window it was from the outside with little trouble. “If you wish to spar, we can do so. It might be more fun than simply doing stretches and katas.” He would say, with an almost bored air about him. Like he was suppressing his emotions almost. He wasn’t, he was just naturally bored most of the time. However many thought he was intentionally doing it to piss them off.

[7]

Valen Minamoto, and a proper title to go along with it. So he did know how to do it, but perhaps had simply forgotten. Important information moving forward, and it was nice that there wasn’t an air of arrogance or anything of that nature about it, and perhaps she could teach him better. She didn’t get the impression that the young man was unwilling to learn, as he had taken the note about his oversight in formal greetings in stride and without complaint or excuses. Yes, that was something that she could work with indeed. Then he brought up the idea of a spar, and she pondered that for a moment, considering things. She knew he used fire, she knew that he preferred the sword… his build likely made him strong and quick, while using jutsu to compliment that style rather than a true offensive or defensive force like what she used it for.

“That is a strong possibility, but I would need to see the training grounds first. Not every location is capable of handling my jutsu and being usable afterwards.” This was not a brag nor a veiled threat, but a simple and indisputable fact. She had mastered a variety of water jutsu that were higher level than what she should even have access to, but she naturally wouldn’t start there. She had to see what his capabilities were; the upside of not training in much other than what she was naturally talented with meant that she had more time to focus on her body and mind, and she was far stronger and sharper than most genin, but that was not something that Takara liked to rely on completely. It was a whole principle, and a good spar was a good way to identify weaknesses and try to compensate for them in the next spar. “Please lead the way, Valen.” For the first time since they met, he got the barest hints of a smile from the dark skinned woman beside him.

[7]

Nodding his head at her response to his spar invitation he would begin to lead the way. He had seen ninjutsu users capable of changing their entire environment before. Hell Sero had blasted him from the arena they were sparring in with a large scale water ninjutsu when they had first met. So he was used to seeing such things. Although she had given no indication of what element she preferred. He could not use the knowledge that she was from Kirigakure as a basis before he too was a Kirigakure shinobi and he did not in fact utilize the water element in any way, shape, or form. Still based on her statement he could assume she used either Water or Earth release to change the terrain. Still only time would tell. She would smile at him as she told him to lead the way but it was barely noticeable and even then he didn’t really act like he cared. Mostly because he didn’t, people could smile or not smile all they wished in his eyes.

With him leading the way they would find themselves back downstairs and leaving the hotel. Then he would walk about ten feet or so to the left of the entrance and begin to run up the wall. It would be quicker to avoid the crowd and besides after what had happened when they were coming to the hotel the shorter genin wasn’t taking chances when it came to getting slowed down by drunken idiots. He would have rather just left through the window but he had gotten a politely worded request not to do that without coming through the lobby first as knowing whether or not their guests were in the building as a whole or not mattered to the staff for some reason. He wasn’t sure why. Either way it was a simple enough request to meet and should Takara follow him they would reach the top of the building in little enough time and he would begin to roof jump toward the training grounds. It wouldn’t take long but as he moved he would turn toward her, his red eyes curious. “Why didn’t you take care of those two yourself earlier? Any Kirigakure genin should’ve been able to with no issue.” He would ask, his words had no judgement in them, simple curiosity instead.

[8]

Takara was quick to pick up the pace and keep up with Valen, walking up the wall without hesitation, following him and seeing the logic of using that route instantly, also while keeping track of their distance and direction to ensure that she did not get lost again. It was quite possible that one of them would be carrying the other one back to the hotel if they trained hard enough, because the dark-skinned woman knew no other setting than 110% when it came to self improvement. It was why she was as strong as she was, but she knew her potential was much higher than what she had currently. As they moved quietly from rooftop to rooftop, he posted a question that caused her to blink and turn on her ‘teaching’ mode almost seamlessly.

“Any sense of battles are forbidden in the Heavenly Emporium outside of the training grounds. Engaging in actual combat could put myself and the village in a political bind that would need immediate attention. Not only that, but there was absolutely no telling if it was bait for that exact reason or if they had a much stronger individual waiting in the wings for just such an opportunity. I could have handled them, but it was in the best interest for myself, you, and Kirigakure to ensure things remained peaceful. But rest assured, if I find them out here, I will make them regret getting in my way.” Everything was said with a perfectly even and level tone, right down to her threat towards them, and was said in such a way that was more informative than it was derived from emotion. She hoped that in this way that Valen would understand the implications and wouldn’t outright try to get into a fight in the streets again.

[8]

She would follow him as they moved toward the training ground and when he asked his question of her she would respond with a much longer answer than he would have expected. Still in the end what it seemed to boil down to was that it was to avoid a ‘political incident’. Whatever that meant, at the end of the day all that mattered was that the drunks had been harassing stopping their progress. It didn’t matter to him in any way how they were stopped from doing so. Of course Valen himself still didn’t understand anything on the front of ‘harassment’ so he could only think of one so many dimensions of the problem. Still the encounter had not turned violent and even if it had there had been witnesses on scene to corroborate how it had started. So Kirigakure should have been fine unless he missed his guess.

Still all he would respond with was a simple “I see.” As they traveled and before long they would arrive at the training grounds. It was large with a clearing and a large pool within it. The pool was deep enough to swim comfortably even for people of higher stature than Valen and there was still plenty of flat ground to stand firmly upon if one wanted a more solid surface. A ring of trees lined the outer edge of the grounds and prevented the civilian dignitaries and populace from seeing the training ground unless they specifically wanted to for whatever reason. Be it a desire to see shinobi train, or simple boredom. The training grounds itself were empty, with most people at the festival itself and enjoying themselves. However Valen tended to get uncomfortable in overly large crowds and besides he wanted to get stronger to find better fights as quickly as he could manage. The shorter individual would kick off his shoes and kimono near a tree to prevent them from getting wet and then move over to the pool, walking out onto the surface. Dozens of vicious brand marks upon his back were now visible along with a pair of fang marks upon the front of his form near the base of his neck upon the shoulder. Moving out to the water he would draw his sword and quietly begin to perform his kata’s in order to begin practicing them.

[9]

Takara was always one to err on the side of caution. It was one reason that despite having a chance, twice, to participate in the Chuunin Exams, she opted to not to; she would much rather be overprepared than underprepared, and that meant working out to the point that she would be uncontested in that arena. Considering the studies she had done on previous exams, that was a high bar, so she would have to be extra sure not to do anything else to jeopardize that buffer of safety she was creating before volunteering for the exam. There was a strong chance, she learned, that if she was strong enough, she could even simply skip the exams all together, but Takara hoped that she wouldn’t go down that route. What was the point in building up strength if she didn’t know where she stood in the midst of her peers?

Which brought her to the point she was at now; this young man was a peer, a fellow Genin. Win or lose, she would gain some valuable information regarding where she stood, how far she had to go, and all the rest of it. She would use that as a basis for her training going forward, and see what she needed to focus more on in order to improve. They arrived, and Takara took a moment to scan and memorize the grounds to the best of her ability, then moved towards a nearby boulder that should be out of the way and tuck her stuff onto it, preparing herself for the training of what was to come, then turned and examined her opponent, eyes darting over the various scars on him and trying to come up with a reason for them. The mark through them… the specific patterns… she knew from her medical reading that she had been doing that they were from burns… except for the one that didn’t have a line through it. That looked more like a bite than anything else.

They were specific, intentional, and he was unperturbed by them, but Takara wasn’t going to ask those questions right now… that could wait. For the moment, she shed her outer coat and skirt down to her swimming suit, not seemingly bothered by her own appearance in his presence at all. She had no reason to; he hadn’t expressed any specific interest in her thus far, and this would be yet another small test to see where he was at in regards to his mental state. Walking out onto the water, she limbered up a little bit, showing off a bit more athleticism than before as well as an astounding amount of flexibility… but it only took moments before she counted the paces to Valen and settled into a stance; it was open handed, her hands out to her sides slightly and elbows bent, almost in a crouch but not quite. Her eyes grew sharp, cold and calculated as she prepared for the match to start.

“You first… I’m not as weak as most Genin so I need to gauge your level.” It wasn’t cockiness at all; there had been accidents where she used too much force and hurt others, one of the reasons she was looking into medicine. She didn’t like hurting her allies.

[9]

As he began to practice his kata's he was see her strip down to a swimsuit herself. His red eyes surveyed her although not with any degree of lechery. He was simply noting her physique and getting an idea of the kind of fighter she might be. Her penchant toward blue made him think she was a water user. Especially given that she had been wearing a swimsuit beneath her clothing. Although that was of course flawed logic. Still regardless once his observation was over he focused back onto his kata until she stepped out onto the water of the manmade lake and began to stretch, letting herself get prepared for a spar. He would continue his kata until she moved toward him and stopped. She took an open handed stance, hands out and forward, elbows bent. Her knees were bent too, ready to spring into action at a moments notice and her eyes gained a coldness to them that told him she was ready. He would still wait for the cue though. He was not quite that rude.

When she told him to go first because she wasn't 'as weak as most genin' so she needed to gauge his level it would be during another part of his kata where his weapon was dipped low, blade pointed down. Without missing a beat he dipped the tip of the blade into the water and swiped it out, flicking water at her at just about eye level. As the liquid left the tip of his blade though the entire thing would become engulfed in flames. The girl was two meters away from him and he moved forward, giving a simple downward slash as his weapon radiated heat from it due to the fire that increased the range of the blade by a full meter off of the tip. This technique was one he had wanted to test and this seemed as good a time as any in order to do so. The fire from the weapon was extremely hot. Much hotter than the flames he had showcased to the drunks they had encountered earlier.

The swing was again, simple and downward, both hands upon the hilt in a basic strike that novices practiced for generations. The speed and power behind it though were most certainly not basic. Falling into a more aggressive style of sword technique gave his striking speed a snakelike quickness and the weapon would flash down. Aimed so that the searing tip of the now two meter long weapon would not incinerate her, but simply cause a long, shallow, but searing, cut upon her shoulder and down to her hip. Of course he didn't really think things through so it never occurred to him that if that strike connected he would essentially strip her of the top part of her swimsuit but it was a spar. Shit happened and things burned away. The sword style he was practicing now was one he had felt come naturally to him. It was an aggressive style focusing on speed and quickness of striking that felt like it was made for his style of fighting.

[10]

Stuff:

It was very refreshing as she removed her outer clothing to see a lack of lust in the eyes of her to-be sparring partner.  It was one of the reasons that she primarily trained alone or with girls who didn’t have any interest in other girls; it was difficult at best for them not to be distracted.  Part of her understood that; it was a normal human trait, but because of the way her techniques and fighting style worked, she often wound up completely soaked, and her normal clothing, while very water-resistant, grew very heavy when wet and constricted her movement a fair amount.  She noted his pronounced musculature, reach, length of his blade, and any other vital information; selfishly, her mind noted that he was relatively handsome despite all his scars, but she shoved that to the corner of her mind.  He was treating her with a strong amount of respect, and she would in turn take it seriously and treat him the same.

She tracked his blade as best she could wither her peripheral vision while keeping her eyes on her opponent himself as his blade dipped low and into the water just a bit.  When it suddenly flicked upwards, she predicted what was happening more than tracked the blade and let the water come without blinking; most people would have flinched as something came at their eyes or even in the general area, but this was Takara’s element, and as such, she was used to the water hitting her eyes to a considerable degree, but knew too it would distort her vision and make his next move hard to dodge.  So, instead, Takara began to move just as the blade was up high, noting that they were about even when it came to speed, but it was not side-to-side or backwards like her stance suggested; that was merely a feint to trick her opponent into thinking that she planned to fight on a two-dimensional plane.

She released the chakra she had been using to stay afloat and pointed her toes downwards, slipping downwards into the water and, if she had calculated properly, below where he would wind up when he finished his swing.  The speed of his sword-swing was not something she would be able to dodge normally, and the only reason she had gotten out of the way in time was that she had started moving almost instantly as he began to cross the distance.  Now was her chance to counter-attack, and she did so without hesitation.  Opening her mouth and letting the water flood it, she then performed a Jutsu without a single hand-seal; Exploding Water Colliding Wave.  This was a high-level technique that would cause an eruption of water directly at Valen’s feet, but this also was not something that would cause him a lot of harm; most of the time it was used horizontally, hoping that the power of the technique would not just smash them initially with a wall of water, but also making them impact the nearby terrain that they would inevitably collide with.  If successful, it would hit him and launch him into the air, and she would surface to catch her breath.  If unsuccessful, it would at least disrupt the water enough that he might fall in completely and give her a chance to make more space. She had held back just a bit, limiting the power of the technique to only fifty feet instead of 250, so it shouldn't cause him to be too injured, if at all.

Techniques and Stats:

As his blade went up Takara would go down, into the water of course, and her lithe form would begin to disappear beneath the water as his blade began to rise up and as he began to strike down like a striking snake, his blade alight with orange fire, he would begin to move forward from his original position. The reason for this would be quite simple in that one did not dodge and then not counter attack yourself. He himself wanted to get away from the position he had been in in order to give him the best chance to avoid whatever technique she might use to try to strike him. Of course he would be expecting one quite as large as the one she would use. He would however already be in movement to avoid it. Which is the reason he avoided her jutsu as well, the fifty foot, fifteen meter wide blast of water erupted from the location below the surface that she had dove too. However the distance between him and her had been a bit farther than one might expect and as such he was able to clear the edge of the jutsu before the blast went upward into the sky.

The weakness of being able to move in three dimensions after all, is ensuring you're careful about your location in the third. As such the disruption of the waves behind him did not disturb his chakra from his water walking and he would begin to move toward the shore of the lake. Making for dry ground that he could put beneath him. He needed to remove her ability to attack from below if he could and taking the fight to land was the easiest way to do that. As he moved he would disperse the fire of his blade, deciding that conserving as much chakra as he could would be his best chance at that precise moment. As a clear ninjutsu user she would probably use more chakra than him naturally anyway but the more advantage he could gain the better off he would be. He would keep his senses open for follow up attack as he moved toward the shore at his personal best speed of C++. The edge of the lake would be 20 meters away from his new position and he moved toward it at his personal best in order to ensure he could fight effectively. He would move in his preferred style in order to ensure he had an edge in speed and coordination over an opponent. Should he reach the ground he would move onto it about fifteen meters before turning back toward her. Although he would keep his senses open for incoming attacks such as waves of water ninjutsu as well as other such threats.

[11]

Stuff:

Missed? Damnit… she had miscalculated. But he was running as she watched from underwater before surfacing, getting off the lake. Smart… his combat senses were on point; she had the advantage here, and he had almost no way to retaliate at the moment. She came to the surface, but not completely, only to just where her nose was above the water, her eyes watching him and calculating. He didn’t seem to have any intent on rushing back out to attack her, but he too didn’t seem to have any ranged ability of his own in which to cross the gap. She could try to hit him with another Exploding Water Colliding Wave, but that would likely be a waste of chakra. Instead, she decided that this was a good opportunity to train a technique she hadn’t yet, something that she had only read about before, and would give her a low-risk opportunity to continue the fight without losing her strategic advantage.

Under the waves, her legs gently kicking to keep her afloat, she emerged only slightly so that her entire head was above the water, her thick hair afloat like an octopus on top of the calming waves. Forming the Tiger Seal, she focused on making a clone not just appear but actually come into being; a genuine Shadow Clone. She had never used the technique before but knew that if she used it properly, it was vastly superior to the Water Clone technique and could be a useful means in which to continue the fight. She felt a massive drain on her chakra reserves as the clone came into being, and almost immediately knew that she had performed it right. According to the texts, she had to give the clone half her chakra in order to enable it to be able to fight… but that meant it could use techniques as well. In a puff of smoke, standing on top of the water, was a direct copy of Takara, which was already moving, running towards the shore and Valen, already seeming to prepare another Jutsu as her cheeks swelled. It would take a moment for the clone to reach him, and she fully expected him to try to counter her, but that wasn’t the point.

Takara was watching his every movement, looking for the slightest chance for her to exploit an opening or notice a flaw in his style that would give her the edge. The competitive side of Takara had emerged the moment that she realized she was very much facing an opponent that was on her level, if not a bit stronger than she herself was. It was too late now, and she would finish what she started, win or lose, but she would be damned if she didn’t give it all she had to win.

---

Techniques and Stats:

He would watch as she brought herself to the surface. His red eyes meeting her blue ones from a distance. His sword held in one hand as she kept herself afloat and came up with a strategy. He was perfectly content to wait here for her to come to him or to try to attack him again from where he could easily dodge. However a thought occurred to him. See, the position of his opponent was actually quite precarious. He just did not think she realized just how viciously her preferred stomping ground, IE, the water, could be used against her. Moving forward a bit, he would come to ten meters from the edge of the water before stopping, moving at his best speed to get there. As he moved he would begin to perform seven seals. It would be about halfway through his seals that her shadow clone would come into being standing atop the water. When he landed on the final seal, snake, he would hold it. Before taking in a deep breath and breathing out as the clone was running across the water toward him. The clone would be halfway to the lake shore before his breath was expelled and a torrent of fire, moving out toward the other side of the lake would erupt from his lips. The Great Fireball Technique, augmented by the Jutus Amplification Technique.

The flamethrower version of the technique that he had used generally could stretch up to 100m long and 25 meters wide. Now, because of the Amplification technique the stream was 150 meters long and 37 wide. The flames would flow across the surface of the water at B class speed and power. The technique rushing toward the clone at an effective speed of B+ due to the clones own running speed working against it. The stream would of course be on course to strike Takara too unless she dove down. At which point he would simply continue to expel the fire, turning his head to keep the danger of the stream real no matter where she came up. See the problem with preferring to fight from underwater, is that eventually, one had to come up for air. Of course should the clone change course to avoid his flamethrower he would turn toward it first, working the ensure the threat was gone.

[12]

stuff:

It was a very good thing she had the clone starting to knead her chakra beforehand as she watched him run to meet her but perform hand-seals that she recognized. Takara had absolutely no skill with any other element, but that was fine; that didn’t mean she didn’t recognize one based on the hand-seals, or at least a couple that it could be that had the same seals, but based on the fact that he had used fire so far, she had a fair idea what was coming. As such, the clone performed Water Formation Wall, a powerful defensive technique to completely nullify the veritable flamethrower that he spat out at her and the original, intercepting it completely. It was powerful flames, but thanks to her own element being what naturally put out fire, she had the advantage.

Slowly, the original Takara began to drift in their direction, like a patient shark slowly working towards dangerous but distracted prey. She couldn’t get too close; he was just too fast… but she wanted to make sure not to miss a single detail of what happened with her clone so that she could ensure she caught any flaw that was noticed. If she had read correctly, she also was going to receive whatever experience the clone had when it dispersed, but she wanted both points of view for the best possible analysis.

Once the fire attack ceased, the clone would resume its advance by charging through her own dispersing defensive technique, making the best speed directly for Valen, although it was slightly off-center from the original Takara to allow her to have a line of sight to the target. She would try her hand at a little bit of Taijutsu; the clone would attempt to get in very close, her cheeks once more puffing up with chakra at close range. The real goal was to attempt to disarm him; if she could get that sword away from him she might be able to change the tide of this fight, unless he happened to be very skilled with Taijutsu as well, but then her ability to stay at range would really shine, hopefully.

---

Techniques and Stats:

As the flames began to escape his lips a wall of water would form between him and the intended target. Unseen by the clone or by the real Takara Valen's eyebrow would twitch in annoyance. He really needed a way to answer water somehow it would seem. Regardless, he would continue to flames for a time before letting them die out. He could maintain that jutsu and probably run Takara's clone low on chakra. However he himself would eventually run out too and he didn't have more than both her clone and the woman herself since he had used Focused Amplification as well as a few other jutsu. Eventually he would let the flames die and watch as the water wall was dispersed as well. Then the clone would do something Valen did not expect. It would start to run toward him to get into close range. Blinking red eyes at the doppelganger he would prepare a sword slash with Kendo, a style that would let him swing a bit faster than before and wait for the clone to get close enough before swinging the blade straight down. Now see, the intent would be to hit the clone dead center and disperse it before looking for the original.

How he misjudged the slight difference in the speed of his swing. And instead when the blade came down, as she came forward. The blade would be just out of range of the clone face. Miss it's neck, barely nick the center of it's chest and effectively create a razor thin line down the center of it's form that would barely bleed, much less manage to disperse it. Of course this would also occur while the clone was running dead at him and the impact would be quite annoying.

[13]

stuff: