Chillin'

[Yuushi]

"Damn, it's really hot. I hate the desert." Masamune mumbled to himself as he stared up at the sky using his hand to block the sun from his eyes. It was particularly humid today and the air was very dry. He walked around kicking sand with each step as he paced back and forth. Normally he would have been working on his puppets but he was feeling lazy today. It had been some time since he actually got a chance to use his puppets to fight. "Man, I kinda wish someone around my level would come along so I could spar or something, training is ok but it gets boring when I can't think of new tactics." He continued "Might as well amuse myself." He said dryly as he connected a chakra string to Jester, whom was on his back as usual. Masamune connected a few strings from each hand and began making his puppet dance around facing him for his amusement. "I wonder what it's like in the other shinobi villages, it must be nice to live in cooler weather instead of this burning hell hole."

This post has been edited by Yuushi on Aug 7 2008, 09:31 PM

[Atomsk]

It was much nicer in this warm, calm desert than in his wet cold hellhole of Kirigakure. The tournament had started bringing in shinobi from plenty of other places, and he wasn't allowed to compete at all. Granted, they were all chunin or higher, but he wanted to try and practice against some of them, gauge his strength and see how far he had yet to go. But no, Kage wouldn't let him. However, it was nice, being appeased by sending hi to Sunagakure. He may not know his second chakra element yet, but Suna was well known for it's wind jutsu, and sand as well. Sure, not a lot of sand in Kiri, so no need to learn them, but some wind jutsu would be enticing. Plus, if he could figure out what the hell was up with that scroll his old bodyguards had given him. It looked to be some sort of contract, though very oddly worded. He'd figure out eventually, still...

Walking through the desert, naught but a large gourd of water on his back, black and gray clothing wrapped around him, as per the traditional wear of the nin here, and a sword on his hip, he looked like an armed rag man, a ghost from Kiri folklore. But apparently these turbans and robes were what people wore in this climate, and true enough they were comfortable. Sadly though, he was wandering, knowing which way to travel, but with no landmarks unsure of for how long. Eventually, irritated and starting to break out his fan for the heat, he encountered a guy, in the middle of this barren waste, playing with a puppet. One of the legendary puppeteers of Sunagakure.

"Excuse me, I'm traveling to the village of Sunagakure, to meet with the nin there. I have an established meeting. You wouldn't happen to know the way, so as I know I am in the correct traveled direction, and how far I have left to go? I notice that you're one of the legendary puppeteers; I admire your art." He was trying to be polite and incredibly formal, something that, with such a bland exterior, he excelled at. Though he was merely a genin, he was still his clan's heir, and a representative of his village. He had to act formally. Which was fine, because he really had no personal choice in the matter.

[Yuushi]

Masamune looked at the stranger that came up and began speaking with him. It was just a boy that looked a few years younger than him, probably a genin as well though but his speech didn't seem like that of any kid he'd ever met. The boy seemed more like a droid, Masamune was big on being formal with people then again, he hardly ever talked to anyone anyway. "Thanks, I take great pride in my puppetry. And as for finding Suna it's that way about another mile." He explained as he used his puppet to point out the direction. He closely examined the kid wondering why he was here to meet Sunagakure shinobi but it didn't really matter to him, he viewed this situation as a chance to have a sparring buddy for the day. "And as for meeting Suna nin you can meet me, I'm Masamune. Think you'd like to see the art of puppetry in action? I could go for a spar." He said as he made Jester get close to the strangers leg and playfully punch it. "And just so you know, you seem a little uptight, loosen up."

[Atomsk]

Uptight? Yes, probably, but loosening up wasn't something he literally needed to do. Physically, he was as relaxed as any master warrior, and despite his young age, master was a title he may well have deserved. Flickering away with a surprising agility, Takeru dropped his gourd and an extra external layer, keeping on his robes, but letting his head-scarf off so his hair could air out. He felt a bit cooler, with the heat escaping the turban. A sparring match was nice, and though it would bring him into Suna sweaty, he cared little; he'd still be in higher spirits than any traveling through, as the heat didn't bother him (though he was unused to it), and his ability to endure the travel was that of a shinobi. Admirable.

"It would be an honor to spar with you. I am the heir of the Kusanagi Clan, and the finest genin swordsman in Kirigakure, specialist and heir of the Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu under the instruction of Master Shinmen Takezo, and my name is Kusanagi Takeru, known better as Kusanagi Yamato. I accept a challenge, though I must insist upon minimal damage. I cannot come into Suna bleeding and uphold my villages honor. Though I will gladly accept such an offer." Gladly was an odd word for him to use; if he was ever glad, his aura suppressed and absorbed his glee, masking it with more mastery than he had over the sword he placed his left hand upon. Lowering himself to his knees, he placed his arm over his sword, both hands in his lap, bowed, and rose his torso, sitting formally and waiting on his opponent, it would appear, no emotion in his eyes or face, as if a statue of a warrior come to life.

[Yuushi]

What is with this dude? Was all Masamune could think at the moment. He had never met anyone that got on their knees and bowed before a spar or a fight so this was very odd for him. Also he couldn't help but wonder why the boy that called himself Takeru was wearing a Kirigakure headband. Though he knew very little about the Kusunagi clan he had heard some of the stories about the clan and how they originate and live in Kusagakure, or so he thought. Perhaps Takeru requested a village transfer or his family in Kusa could have died and now he only has family in Kiri. Either way the reason for him wearing a Kiri headband was irrelevant at the moment. Since Takeru was still on his knees, Masamune figured he was to do the same so he got on his knees as well and bowed slightly.

"You seem a little odd to tell you the truth. I've never met any that talks like you or bows. Seems like your clan has trained you to be a bit of a stiff. Anyway, don't worry it's just a little spar so I promise you won't get too badly hurt as long as you can dodge." He told Takeru as he hopped to his feet. This seemingly friendly spar, however, was just Masamune's chance to use his puppet's and practice his secret technique, he couldn't care less if he hurt the kid but they were about the same skill level, Masamune just has more experience when it comes to fighting because he is a few years older. Masamune jumped back a few feet so there was about a five foot gap between the two fighters and he held Jester in front of him ready to fight. "Tell me when you're ready."

[Atomsk]

Takeru was there, pre-battle meditation, still respectfully facing his foe on his knees with an undrawn sword on his hip. Slowly, he opened his eyes, chakra expanded and flowing properly in his body, ready for a short spar before he made his way to the city. It was not a duel, so it was not a sword-battle; this was a fight between ninja, not samurai. This was more rare than the competitions he was used to. The boy was nimble, but also obsessive. Puppeteers also made him think of one basic idea; if you go for victory, then immobilize the puppet. But he was just here to experience, to spar; no need to take it too seriously.

Slowly, Takeru opened his eyes, the rays of the desert sun now taking their piercing effect in a vain attempt to blind him. But the rays did not blind him; his left hand moved instinctively to his side, to the sheathe, as he drew his toes back to prepare. "Ready? I always had been..." Knowing now his opponent did not understand his ritual, something he'd forgotten could be unfamiliar, surrounded by the swordsmen of the mist, or wishfuls thereof, Takeru rose off his knees, but only just barely. Quickly, elegantly, and gracefully, he lunged forward, drawing and slashing horizontally at waist-level in the same motion. It was the most basic iaidō technique, of cutting with the draw, and was excellent as a quick defense or as a swift, assassination-like offense, which a swordsman of the mist would want to know. He reminded himself of all of these facts as he struck, practiced and damned near with perfected technique, an anomaly for his age.

[Yuushi]

Keeping a sharp eye on Takeru, Masamune watched as he began to raise up off of his knees but in an instant he saw his first attack coming at him. Never before had Masamune dealt with a swordsman and for a genin this one seemed very fast and precise with his attack. Stumbling backwards he managed to avoid the sword from hitting his body but Takeru had now slashed a hole in his shirt. After quickly regaining his balance, Masamune sat Jester on his left shoulder and looked at the fellow genin. "That was fast and a little underhanded if you ask me. Striking as you're getting to your feet is a good tactic though." He complimented as he fed chakra into his puppet to open up the mouth compartment slowly so his opponent wouldn't notice. "I like using sneaky tactics as well." He said with a smile as shuriken began launching from his puppet's mouth until there was only about 5 shuriken remaining. After Jester's assault was complete Masamune leapt backwardsto put some distance between the 2 of them and waited for Takeru's next move.

[Atomsk]

Sneaky...... Yamato had never quite thought of it that way before. But if the opponent wasn't used to swordplay, that would be an understandable way to think of it, a sly move. Underhanded though, he didn't like that. But he'd just have to show him. A barrage of shuriken came from the puppets mouth, and Yamato flickered and sidestepped, deflecting a couple away at the very end of the assault. The puppet was a maneuverable weapon..... well, he could do that too. He faced his foe and pulled the sword back in what appeared to be a thrust. He'd let his foe decide which one he wanted to deal with; the blade or the wielder. As he flickered forward to close some distance, he threw his sword like a spear, sending it flying at the puppeteer and his creation.

[Yuushi]

With his opponent closer to him and a sword flying at him Masamune had a few options on how to go about with his counter. He knew since this was a mere spar bringing out his second puppet would be a little much so he decided to utilize Jester's chain weapon. The chest cavity on his puppet's body opened and immediately the chain contained within it shot forward and collided with the sword to deflecting it and causing it to volley up into the air. Understanding that the sword was Takeru's primary weapon and using it is how he is probably used to fighting, Masamune used his chakra to control the chain to go at the sword again but this time wrap around it. Once the chain was securly wrapped around the blade he drew the chain back to Jester's chest compartment and grabbed the sword. Now with Takeru's sword in hand, Masamune had eliminated his sword fighting skills for as long as he held the sword and he still had his puppet on his shoulder. "Can you still fight without this?" He asked after he had flickered a few more feet away to stay at a safe distance. He held onto the hilt firmly so the sword couldn't be yanked from his grip.

[Atomsk]

He had actually placed the sword right next to him? Well, this was unexpected, but okay, whatever the case may be. That would make the surprise all the better. "Of course I can..." Mr. 8 begged to be let out, to have some fun, but since this was a sparring match, that was way too extreme. He wasn't even supposed to attack to maim, so Mr. 8 would have to wait longer. Potentially a very long time. He decided he knew exactly how to go about making an attack, a potential finisher, and the setup was complete. He slammed his hands together, still about five feet away, then drew his right hand to focus in front of him and his left to extend to the side. In his right hand, he now focused the wind for the second strike. Pointing upwards, the sword was ready, Yamato simply said "Tachi Buyou..., indicating with his fingers simply a sideways motion, and the sword tilted all the little, not trying to remove itself from the puppeteer's grasp, but suddenly shifting to point at his face, thrusting towards it. So, to the one side was a thrusting sword, unruly save for by it's master.

It was at that moment that the sword began moving that Yamato's right hand thrust forward, a small ball of fuuton-generated chakra in the palm. "Kaze no Sen!" was all that was said before, to the opposite side of Masamune, either moving to strike the puppet or potentially the moving master, a bolt of wind, a thick arrow, shot out of Yamato's palm, flying quickly towards his foe.

[Yuushi]

As he watched Takeru begin to focus, Masamune started to get a gut feeling that he may be in a pinch of trouble, He was right. He looked at the sword when he felt it moving on it's own accord and he found the blade directed at his face. He failed to notice that Takeru was actually controlling the sword just by flicking his fingers. He had no other choice, Masamune let go of the sword and jumped off to the left and as he was free and clear from the danger the sword posed for the moment but was struck with a blast of wind. Now his abdomen was sliced up from the wind and he looked at his opposition. "Ok, you're trickier than I thought." He mumbled then quickly threw a smoke bomb onto the sand in front of his feet and soon was no longer visible to Takeru.

Masamune pulled out his summoning scroll and now Jester and Jack of Blades were by each of his sides but his opponent didn't know that. Masamune quickly used his henge no jutsu on His Jack of Blades puppet to make it take on his appearance. Once that step was completed he attached strings to his puppet the now looked like him and then connected chakra strings to Jester through his other puppet. Masamune then flickered about 15 feet behind Takeru hoping he wouldn't notice but to better disguise his movements he launched Jester's chain towards Takeru before the smoke fully cleared.

[Atomsk]

Perfect execution, even if afterwards he'd realized that he felt kinda bad for going too full out when it was only supposed to be a sparring match. So he'd have to be gentler. He flicked his finger again, and the sword shot back to his hand. Swordsman indeed, sword master soon enough; one of the only people in the whole ninja world who could boast of ever hopefully becoming a sword wizard. But no issue, a smokebomb went off coating Masamune's movements from sight.

Yamato barely had time to thing before a chain once again shot out of the smoke, but this time he was ready. He drew out his fan, extended it, and let the chain catch that. As it tightened, he snapped the fan shut, which made the chain suddenly go limp and lose it's grip. As soon as the smoke cleared, it would have appeared that Masamune was simply standing there with his puppet. No, something was wrong; why would he have dropped a bomb just to fire out his chain again? Yamato went on the defensive, bringing both arms out straight to the side. Sword to one side and fan to the other, he was ready to react to anything from all sides. The sword stayed trained on the puppet and Masamune, so to force a reaction, Yamato switched sides, to have the fan pointed towards the two figures instead, and in the exchange pivote-turn, he let lose a small hail of wind shuriken from the fan.

[Yuushi]

Everything was set in place. This may have only been a spar but this was the first real test of his Aoihigi technique. This sort of jutsu was best suited for an area surrounded by trees or buildings, anything with a place to fully conceal one's self and being out in a wide open desert was the last place Masamune could use this technique to it's full potential. He knew he would be found out, it was only a matter of time. The smoke was cleared and now his two puppets stood before the Kiri genin whom had now pulled out a fan and snapped a bit of the chain from Jester, now he'd have to fix that later. Still, even though the chain was snapped he could still use it to bind and constrict Takeru, he just needed to distract him.

Masamune pulled his chakra from the chain and just let it lay in the sand. Seeing the fan pivot to face his puppets it seemed that another wind attack was used. He controlled his look a like puppet to leap up over any incoming attack and had Jester rise into the air to. As it did, the puppet shot a few poison smoke bombs in front of Takeru, not only would this blind him but obviously poison him a little to weaken him. With him now blinded for a moment. Masamune started feeding his chakra back into the chain to control it, pulling it slowly past Takeru about 5 feet. Now, when the smoke cleared he could use the chain to bind his target.

[Atomsk]

The chain fell, and so did his blow, but as it all went down (heh, pun, "fell" and then "went down." He smiled on the inside at the inherent humor of it all.), so did a few smoke bombs. But their smoke was off color, and quickly Yamato held his breath, knowing exactly what they were, so prominent among his snake-akin clan members, especially the more devious ones. Yamato rushed to pull his arms close to himself, then a gust of wind burst out from his body, one more use of the Boufuu Kyouzuu no Jutsu. It normally would knock a heavy target, like a human body standing nearby, away from his person, disrupting them and giving him just enough time to rebound with an attack. The light smoke though, heavy as it was for smoke, blew much farther, but surrounded him and clouded his view of his foes, who were apparently trapped inside the poisonous fumes.

Yamato knew he had to move, and the best place was where his opponent should have least expected him to be; just slightly moved from where he last was, instead of the predictable safely away. It made sense, in the kind of way that just barely did. Yamato dug his sword into the ground, noticing the twitching chain, and then muttered "Oniba..." into the blade itself, which extended, sending Takeru flying into the air, above the smoke, and dug the sword deeper into the sand than he intended. At the very least, that was a plus; the chain couldn't take it, and if he really needed, he'd just make the sword retract to the hilt, out of the sand. From his viewpoint, he looked over the desert, trying to see down on his foes from about 30 feet up, balanced on the guard of his katana.

This post has been edited by Atomsk on Oct 11 2008, 03:26 PM