Lil Rascals

Innocence waited by sitting on top of a stump at the Konoha Grand Training Grounds. She idly swung her legs as she waited for Natsuki to arrive. Across her lap was a dulled iron training sword. Mercedes insisted that she practice as often as possible with the weapon. She had proven an incredibly useless combatant for so long that she had to remind herself that it wouldn't be that way forever. Her father was not the most talented shinobi but he worked hard every day and eventually he had his breakthrough. As did he, so would she. Innocence's training sessions with Mercedes were showing some improvement in her overall skill level but she still had a long way to go.

Hopefully training with Natsuki and a few others would speed things along. The Uchiha had made it sound like he was totally incompetent so he'd be a good sparring partner. She wouldn't have to worry about feeling insecure about her own skill level if he was just as bad if not worse. She had gotten his info from the hospital and contacted him, providing a time and place for them to meet.

The member 'Innocence Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

Natsuki wasn't surprised to hear from Innocence, for the sake of training. That said, he wasn't sure if this was for her, given her self admitted hopelessness in all things not medicine, or for him, given his self admitted mediocrity. Two things could be true, I suppose.

As he approached, the sword across her lap drew his attention almost immediately. "Kenjutsu, huh? I'll be honest, I didn't have you pegged for that." In truth, however, he wasn't sure what else the young medic might get into. Regardless, Natsuki rested his wrist against the hilt of his sword.

"I don't mind sparring for a bit with these!" It was an aspect in which he didn't feel particularly powerful. Perhaps it was his affinity for earth jutsu and how, comparatively, he seem to struggle so much more with swordplay. Perhaps it was his preference for solitude. It's easier to train ninjutsu than kenjutsu on your own, of course.

The member 'Natsuki Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

"It wathn't my firtht thoithe but i thucked at hand to hand and jutht about every other weapon you could think of. I only picked kenjutthu becauthe my thithter thaid thhe would help me with it." Innocence said as she picked up the blade and stabbed the sword into the ground a few times. She jumped off the stump and held her blade with two hands. "I thee the wolf thlayer favorth a thword ath well. Thhow me what you got!" Natsuki had been very self-deprecating when she last saw him, but that could have been the injury talking. She was curious to see if his skills were truly as bad as he made himself out to be. She also wanted to know if he had been able to activate his Sharingan. Genin wasn't an uncommon age to activate the Dojutsu but there was always a handful that couldn't really activate it in a timely fashion or at all. Innocence was part of that unfortunate handful and though she wouldn't wish that level incompetence on anyone, it would be nice to have another Uchiha to commiserate about it with.

The member 'Innocence Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

"It wathn't my firtht thoithe but i thucked at hand to hand and jutht about every other weapon you could think of. I only picked kenjutthu becauthe my thithter thaid thhe would help me with it I thee the wolf thlayer favorth a thword ath well. Thhow me what you got!"

Natsuki offered a sympathetic smile. "It wasn't my first choice either." He probably wouldn't have picked up a weapon at all if it weren't for his mother. There were many, many, long days where he only picked it up to avoid catching a beating. While it felt quite natural to carry it, it always felt like a heavy burden than an extension of himself. Seeing her irreverence for the weapon was a welcome departure from the typical shinobi shenanigans, especially for one who actually had a bit of a habit of leaving his behind.

Unsheathing his sword, Natsuki took a wide stance, holding his katana laterally before his chest with both hands- a decidedly defensive posture. He kept his eyes firmly on hers as he shifted the grip, quickly flipping the blade blunt side up. If she wanted to see what he had, she'd have to come get it.

Notably, she would not see sharingan. The boy, to his knowledge, did not possess such an ability. It did, in fact, manifest one time; just one time: the day the beast fell from the sky. Since then, twinges of pain have accompanied its attempts to make itself known to the boy, but he had no control over it.

The member 'Natsuki Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

Innocence could tell that Natsuki was at least semi-practiced with the katana. He held it in the same technically accurate grip that she did. It was good enough to keep the blade from falling out of your hands (most of the time) but it wasn't anything fancy. Innocence raised her own dulled sword and slowly began to circle around him. She had a determined look on her face. She was naturally a competitive genin and though she liked Natsuki as a person, she wanted to show him that she was no slouch. Unskilled or no, she was going to do her best. She suddenly dashed forward arcing the blade upward and bringing it down. Certainly not with enough force to injure him but just enough to make physical contact. She would follow this up with a series of sword slashes, swishing the contact to and fro. Innocence's dexterity was impressive but it wasn't a product of her training with the sword. It was instead a function of her relentless practice with the scalpel. The girl had a remarkably steady hand when it came to practicing medicine and she was hoping that it translated to Kenjutsu. While it was taking quite some time, she had begun to see some progress. After all, what was a sword if not an ultra long scalpel?

The member 'Innocence Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

As the young Innocence rushed forward, Natsuki watched her with keen eyes- even without the sharingan. Of particular note was the speed at which she rushed him. So she's not fast.. It wasn't a requirement of course, but a possible avenue to exploit and, if this were real combat, he could always just run away.

That was for another time, however. Here and now, he held his ground as the first strike made contact, and the next, and the next. Natsuki's eyes flared wide open with admitted surprise. He did expect less from her, and if he just simply went through the motions, she would have eventually found an opening; she was about as dextrous as he was. She might observe his eyes, bouncing rapidly across her body, form and blade- a kind of focus that he hadn't really seen in himself before. In truth, it was more curiosity than fear or stress, this was his first real kenjutsu spar with a peer.

As the slashes came in, Natsuki took a step backward- though not in retreat. Placing his sword with care at the precise positions to block and parry the furious slashing, the boy forced her to continue her barrage while moving. It wasn't much, but it was more than most training dummies could offer.

His real goal, however, was to observe her motions and attempt to spot the pattern; but, so far, he was coming to one conclusion- she was just throwing her sword around. So, while the strikes continued and with his eyes still darting around, he would ask with some degree of uncharacteristic calm: "So what do you call this style?"

Spoiler:

The member 'Natsuki Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

Just as Natsuki's eyes flared in surprise at Innocence, she was likewise shocked with the ease by which he parried. She knew she wasn't the best in the class but she had been working hard for years after graduation to get her weapon handling skills to par. The hours spent training with Mercedes and the days she had spent performing complex procedures at the hospital had honed her dexterity to well-above average. And yet, the self-proclaimed screw up was easily blocking her strikes. Innocence pivoted to the side and continued her offensive as she analyzed him. He wasn't activating his Sharingan which meant he thought he didn't need it or he simply couldn't. It was hard to tell given the contradiction between his words and his actions. At the hospital he was a self-deprecating mess but now was unbothered with her Kenjutsu.

"It'th called 'cut them to pietheth before they cut you to pietheth thtyle'!" Innocence said as she stepped up the pace of her strikes. Sweat began to form on her brow and the fake katana grew heavy in her hands as she felt a bit of tire setting in.

The member 'Innocence Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

The sweat did not go unnoticed by his watchful black eyes. These were things he almost didn't even notice noticing, but there it was- she was growing tired and, despite her efforts as she moved to the side to try and find a new angle of attack, Natsuki's defenses remained.

"It'th called 'cut them to pietheth before they cut you to pietheth thtyle'!"

At this, Natsuki smiled. He didn't smirk, like he had in the past with her amusing antics- no, this was a smile of warmth, of nostalgia. Even as his katana continued to move into precise position, his body went into autopilot as his mind traveled back to himself as a much younger boy.

[Fade to Flashback]

He swung his sword, rapidly and haphazardly, as his mother deflected each strike with precision and one arm behind her back. His face, frustrated and dripping with sweat; his arms, shaking as they struggled to hold the heavy blade upright; his voice, breathless as he grunted in exasperation.

"So what do you call this style," his mother's unamused voice would say like she did every day.

"It's called... 'mess... them u- ouf!" He struggled to get the words out before his mother immediately moved on the offensive, ducking low and striking high as she knocked Natsuki's sword-arm well above his head. With another move, so quick that the young Uchiha could not even perceive it, she flipped her sword to the blunt side and bashed the boy's thigh. He fell to the ground, clutching the spot and howling in pain; another bruise for the collection. She placed them well, always underneath the boy's modest clothing- but he would see them. Every night, he alone would see these marks and remember each mistake he had made to earn them.

"Again." Her face was cold and unfeeling, her sharingan boring a hole through Natsuki's soul as he whimpered and wept. He struggled back to his feet and resumed a combat ready stance, unsteady as he tried to resist the tears that welled.

[Fade to Present]

And now here he was; the one that turned his sword to the blunt edge, the one with the advantage, the one to use that choice phrase... So what do you call this style...

For the briefest of instants, as the swords continued to clash, Innocence would see a brief, but unmistakable flash of red in Natsuki's eyes. "Tss-ah!" He closed them, recoiling from what he thought was another piece of detritus that made its way into his eyes at this inopportune moment. It was a brief moment, but one she could capitalize on to get a hit in.

Spoiler:

The member 'Natsuki Uchiha' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Bunny Arrival' :

Innocence saw the warmth in Natsuki's eyes. There was none of the mocking amusement that so many young shinobi showed, even herself. He genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself or at least he was at peace with their dance. Even as she was beginning to tire, she could almost see him losing interest as if his mind was elsewhere. Innocence wondered why Natsuki had been so down on his skills back at the clinic. She wasn't sure how far out the Academy he was, but if this match was any indication he had to have been formidable back then or his growth was even faster than her own. The thought gnawed at her. The insecurity she had fought all her life reared its ugly head and despite the exhaustion that was setting in, she pushed past it. The frustration gave way to adrenaline and the adrenaline to even quicker attacks.

He parried it all.

He's so good! There's no way Wolf Slayer isn't in the top 1% out of the rookies....


Either Innocence was hopelessly behind or she was sparring against a prodigy. Just when she was about to run out of gas, she saw something. A hint of red in his eyes. A shift that was vaguely familiar but he closed his eyes too quickly for her to place it. When he shut his eye for a split-second, Innocence saw an opening. A good genin might have stayed their blade. They'd have put it down to attend to their new friend. But Innocence wasn't a great genin. She was a bad one, in both senses of the word. Innocence strafed left entering into his less dominant side and swung her blade in an upward arc connecting it softly with the bottom of his chin. The dulled blade did not cut his flesh but it made a small scratch as she rested it just above his adam's apple. Innocence held it there and a wicked grin spread across her lips.

"There! How'th that!" she said between heaves. Innocence was so used to losing, she was surprised she had one this bout. She was so used to being the butt of everyone's jokes,that she did not even realize her victory was more luck and less skill. Maybe a part of her knew it, but that part was quickly silenced. She had been a loser for far longer than he. She wanted this win. No, she needed it.

The near instant that he opened his eyes back up, there was Innocence's blade.

"There! How'th that!"

Natsuki had to hand it to her. If she had believed this win to have been a fluke, the boy would have corrected her: Finding the openings in the defenses of the enemy was precisely what he would have done and, in fact, what his technique was designed to do in the first place. Besides, if someone were to get something in their eyes, it's not like they'd call a truce on the battlefield.

She was clearly keen enough to watch for this opening, but how perceptive would she remain- exhausted and overconfident. He kept his eyes fixated on Innocent's as he took a gulp, his adam's apple grazing the blade uncomfortably. "It's uh, it's pretty good," he'd chuckle with mostly feigned nervousness. The real test was whether she'd keep her attention on his face or if she noticed that, with his free hand, Natsuki was making hand seals.

Spoiler:

Innocence failed the test.

She kept the blade right where it was but gently twisted it so the even duller side of the blade rested across his skin. She didn't want to hurt him but she did want to move him into a better position. She pushed the duller edge forcing him to take a few steps back. She was so giddy in her victory that she only had eyes for Natsuki. There was indeed something strange that had happened but she was more focused on using this time to interrogate him as she might a captured enemy.

"Tho tell me Mr. Wolf Thlayer. Why haven't you activated your Thharingan yet? If your going eathy on me I have to warn you that it won't work out for you."

Innocence would take a few more steps forward which would have the effect of forcing him backward. It felt right and powerful to have your opponent completely within your grasp. Innocence intended on savoring the feeling for as long as Natsuki could bear it.

Innocence certainly seemed to be enjoying this, but perhaps not for long.

"Tho tell me Mr. Wolf Thlayer. Why haven't you activated your Thharingan yet? If your going eathy on me I have to warn you that it won't work out for you."

Natsuki allowed a sharp exhalation from his nostrils, that damnable sharingan again. "Well, if you must know," he started, holding the last seal of his first technique- but he'd launch two. In a sudden barrage of movement, the ground beneath them began to quake and a sudden pillar of rock shot from beneath one of Innocence's feet, knocking her off balance.

With a well placed strike from his own sword, over to her side as she reeled, he'd knock her blade away and rise into the air atop the skull of a dragon made of earth and stone. "I can't use the sharingan." It was the ever present source of his mother's disappointment, and a constant reminder to himself that he was the screw up of the Uchiha. With a little help from some others, however, he was beginning to realize he might not even need it.

Spoiler:

Innocence's smirk faded as she felt the ground rumbling. What the hell?! she thought as the earth directly beneath her feet was displaced, knocking her off balance and to the ground. Natsuki's quick attack along with the surprise use of Ninjutsu disarmed her. The victory she had just savored was ripped out of her mouth as if it were a rotten tooth extracted by a dentist.

"Damn it! you didn't thay we could uthe jutthu!" Innocence said. The sassy surgeon was going to complain some more but then Natsuki revealed that he couldn't actually activate his Sharingan. He was just like her in that respect then. The realization gave her pause and ceased the tirade that was forming on her lips. She looked over to the katana that had been knocked away and was presently sitting in the dust. She went over to pick it up and as she did, she spoke:

"Good. Itth wathted on you anywayth. You're really good and you didn't even need it to beat me. You're either a humble bragger or too hard on yourthelf."

[Transitioning this topic to a flashback topic for Natsuki]

"Damn it! you didn't thay we could uthe jutthu!"

Natsuki would give an honest shrug; he didn't even really consider that it'd be off limits. To quote his mother, once more, he repeated those words to Innocence: "All is fair in this shinobi world... At least I thought so." He'd flash her a genuinely look and continue. "I'm sorry."

"Good. Itth wathted on you anywayth. You're really good and you didn't even need it to beat me. You're either a humble bragger or too hard on yourthelf."

Natsuki was altogether generally surprised by this, though. Beyond the consideration of whether or not that was complimentary or out of frustration was difficult to parse. Regardless, though, this was now the second time, including his efforts with Hibiki and Kaori, that he had been complimented for his skill. Why was it, then, that the one with which he trained for years never once gave him that kind of recognition?

"I don't know... Before training with others recently, I've never heard anything but how worthless I am... Do you really think I'm 'good?'"

[Used Techniques]
Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon Upkeep - B rank - 3 CP (Earth Ninjutsu Affinity)

CP: 237/260

Innocence raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips in annoyance but she did not contradict Natsuki. Mercedes had said the same often and such thinking was popular among the Uchiha Clan. Their family had fought bloody wars of survival for centuries before the founding of the Hidden Leaf. It made sense that an "ends justified the means" philosophy was the default rule. She shook her head when he apologized.

"Don't apologize like that. It doethn't thuit your thkill level."

Innocence wasn't happy that she had lost, but she wasn't entirely surprised. She had been gloating. Even she was smart enough to see it and Natsuki while gracious was teaching her a valuable lesson. You never let your guard down in battle. Never. Victory was a dish she rarely tasted in a combat setting but it would taste even sweeter if she locked it in before sitting down to dine. Natsuki went on to say that until he started sparring with others more recently, he had never really received a compliment on his skill. She wasn't sure who he had been training with but whoever they were needed a swift boot in the behind. There were a lot of tough sensei in the village. Those who would never praise you no matter how good you were. Innocence assumed that he must have one of those Jounin overseeing his training. Now that Natsuki was getting a proper lay of the land, he'd see how far ahead of everyone else. The budding surgeon shook her head and flipped the katana. She pointed it directly at Natsuki and spoke with conviction.

I don't know what that pathetic little bite wath about Wolf Thlayer but whatever it wath it wath a really falthe impreththion. You're really good...tho unlethth you're fithhing for more complimentth let'th go again. I want to learn more from you. Thith time I'll be ready for you"

Innocence gripped her katana with both hands, bent her knees and shifted into a slightly more unorthodox form.

"Whoever told you that you were worthlethth ith a dumbathth and ith probably jealouth of your talent. They've got you tho inthecure you're thtill holding back becauthe you don't believe your capable of muth better. I'm not tho great mythelf but even I can thee that."

"Don't apologize like that. It doethn't thuit your thkill level."

Natsuki shut his mouth in surprise; Innocence always had a curt way with words, but to hear that tone say anything positive about his skill level was still something of a marvel. From atop his stone mount, Natsuki's blade suddenly felt a little lighter.

I don't know what that pathetic little bite wath about Wolf Thlayer but whatever it wath it wath a really falthe impreththion. You're really good...tho unlethth you're fithhing for more complimentth let'th go again. I want to learn more from you. Thith time I'll be ready for you"

She said she'd be ready, that she wanted to learn more, so Natsuki smirked with anticipation at her. He had only utilized this technique in training with mud clones. As he dropped his center of mass, he prepared his stance for what came next: The Mudslide Dance Style.

"Whoever told you that you were worthlethth ith a dumbathth and ith probably jealouth of your talent. They've got you tho inthecure you're thtill holding back becauthe you don't believe your capable of muth better. I'm not tho great mythelf but even I can thee that."

"Hah," his laugh echoed around them as she dug at Natsuki's mother. "Dumbass, huh? Maybe you're right- and maybe I'll tell her that some day." It would certainly not be for quite some time, but eventually. "Well, let's see how useless I may or may not be!" With that, and a roar, the stone dragon construct reared back and surged towards Innocence. It would charge directly towards her. snaking back and forth in an intimidating approach until it was barreling through her. He expected her to dodge it in some way or another, but the real trick would be dodging Natsuki as well, who would jump off of the moving dragon and slice down towards her in whichever direction she chose.

And even if she did, the stone dragon would simply turn around at her back, the young surgeon flanked.

Details:

Whoever had told him that was a she apparently. This didn't make a difference to Innocence. Whoever said it was a jerk and it was brazenly untrue as she had just found out. Innocence bent her knees and held up her training sword and narrowed her eyes as the stone dragon barreled towards her.

"Well, let's see how useless I may or may not be!"
"Let'th!"

Natsuki was going all out it seemed with the Ninjutsu. And he was a Doton user to boot. That suited her just fine. Innocence dodged and tucked into a roll to the right. She quickly recovered once clearing the beast only to see Natsuki landing down on her with a slash. Innocence raised her blade just in time to block the blow. The force of the Natsuki's strike forced her to take a knee but holding it. Innocence could hear the rumble of the dragon as it aimed to flank her and in that moment she loosed a technique of her own. However, whereas Natsuki had decided to up the ante with Ninjutsu she'd do so with Genjutsu. Innocence flooded the area with her chakra crafting an intricate illusion consisting of dozens of Earth spikes jutting up around the area. The goal was to catch Natsuki off-guard and to give her cover to dodge the stone dragon for a second time. Innocence would then slip deepter into the maze of holographic earthen spikes allowing her to re-position himself.

You're not the only one with something to prove! Innocence thought as she slipped behind a cluster of spikes. She watched from behind the haze illusion. She stabbed her katana into the ground and formed additional handseals.