Am I the only one who rolled their eyes when Choji was praised? He was as annoying as Naruto at times...
Not super long but I did a battle/spar scene which is hard for me but I think I did amazingly well! Like seriously this might be my best spar writing period... I deserve a raise.
Should Mio get her own POV?
Random question, what do you think about Fanfic authors getting a for donations? I saw someone else get one on their Fanfiction page so I got curious as to what the consensus to that was...
Focusing her chakra into her muscles, Naomi made a single handsign and looked skyward. Pushing forward, she watched as the world blurred into nothing before all stopped and she almost stumbled, nearly twenty feet away. "Wow, so that was the shushin?" She giggle, shaking her head. Then regretted it immediately as her head swam, the fluid in her ears almost screaming at her, very confused as to why she wasn't moving when it still was. " Ow,.. I ache everywhere, that's exhausting. How do they use it in combat?"
Waiting for her head to come back to normal, Naomi continued to walk, with Her beloved cat in hand. Eventually the world resettled and she was able to hurry up, moving into a dead sprint as she made her way to Training Ground Thirteen. She knew where it was, having a pretty good memory of the various training grounds from when their classes were given a tour of them when they reached their second year of the academy. It would take her about fifteen minutes to get there by walk and about five minutes to get there by sprinting at her top speed. She was pretty sure she could go faster with her chakra but she wasn't about to test her luck, until her chakra control improved she did not want to risk putting any chakra in her muscles beyond the shushin or Substitution.
She was right, and reached the Training Field in exactly five minutes, a happy smile crossed her face before she started to pant ever so slightly. She hated this part of her body, it was the one thing she could never manage to elevate high enough for her liking.
'Hopefully I'll get faster. I am fast in short bursts but in running I lack the stamina to really capitalize on my speed. Makes for short taijutsu matches, I am glad they don't test our stamina in the academy as a graduating factor. I may be better then Sasuke in terms of taijutsu skill but he'd kill me if he could hold me off for more then a few minutes. I get winded way to fast.'
Seeing the field was empty, knowing it would likely be for a few hours since Aoba never gave them a time, she decided to start her training immediately. From within her vest, she pulled out a small piece of paper with her new routine on it. She had crafted it the night before while reading one of the many books she borrowed from the Library. It had been difficult to swallow her pride, but she really had been too hateful towards jogging and other endurance exercises to have gained the skills she needed from it and so neglected her training in that field ever so slightly. She had to restructure her training to better that...
And that meant starting by jogging for thrice as long as before, a solid forty five minutes around the training field... but first she put her kitty down. "I know you can understand me. Stay her and be a good girl while I start working out. Please?"
Mio just yawned at her before twirling in place for a few turns and plopping her fluffy butt on the ground, a loud purr oozing out of her as she started to nap, leaving her mistress to go about her miserable work.
"This is just going to be so much fun..."
''
From a distance, Aoba watched Naomi begin her training. He could see the reticence in her expression, sensing it with his latent abilities from working in IT for so long. It was clear she loathed whatever she was doing, but do it she did and with great methodical energy. He wondered what it was specifically she loathed so much to have such an expression on her face...
'She looks different, she changed her clothes.' The girl had been wearing a civilan's Kimono before, with grey and white stripes on it but now she was dressed in a grey vest and what looked like ANBU pants. She looked like a Chunin only with a grey vest instead of a green one. 'Talk about dressing for the job you want... '
Hoping down a little closer to get a better look, he was stopped when Mio turned to him and gave him a glare. He swore he could feel it, feel the intense power behind it so much like an Inuzuka dogs mental prowess. She was definitely more advanced then a typical cat, and good choice to become a Nekonin he imagined. Offering her a smile, he tried to reassure her with his scent and expression. He blinked at her slowly, knowing that it was the cat equivalent of an I love you. Slowly she blinked back at him, a sign of trust.
He felt relieved.
'Thank you, Miss Mio, for giving me your trust.' He wanted, needed her to like him. She was going to be under his supervision and care during missions and the like, it was best they had some working relationship and it was better to start it now.
Settling in the tree just above Mio, he continued to watch her mistress as she continued her workout. She was there early, earlier then he would have assumed, it was only was only five past six by the time she arrived. She didn't seem tired, leaving him to believe she was accustomed to training this early. It was a good sign that maybe she would actually managed to overcome her status as a member of a dead team. Her independent training would help ensure that she wasn't left behind like so many before her.
Training with Hana would help her become capable with Mio and maybe make her an adequate healer if Hana was able to teach her the mystical palms or other such techniques but it's true purpose was to make Mio trainable. It was to teach Mio how to respond to words and commands, to teach her to tap into her chakra and ignore her urges to hide when in danger or conserve her energy so she would be battle ready. It would give her the tools but Naomi would still have to make her own attacks, jutsus, commands and techniques to make Mio fully useable in battle. Until then Mio was an unknown variable for Naomi and time away from her own training.
No, in truth Naomi was essentially on her own when it came to developing her own skills. She had to become great without much help, no matter how hard it was. Seeing her drive was relieving and made him realize that maybe she could accomplish this on her own.
"""
It took three hours, for Ami and Yura to show up. Naomi had managed to finish her entire work out, all of her new Taijutsu Katas, a round of substitution tag with smaller and smaller objects and had been just about to start practicing with her new claws when her new teammates finally arrived. She cursed them a little inside, annoyed that she was getting interrupted while still in the zone. Unfortunately, Aoba Sensei took that as an opportunity to leap down from a tree, signaling for them to hurry over to him. So, her individual training was over and would have to wait until they were done for the day.
"Alright girls, today we are going to just spar and go over each of your weaknesses and strengths. Naomi can go last since she has been training for several hours and should get some rest so I can get an accurate description of her skills. Ami you can go first. The rest of you can go watch from over there in the trees for safety, I want you to evaluate her abilities and give an honest opinion on what you see. As for you Ami, come at me with the intent to kill!"
Naomi heard the girl's gulp even as she walk away, leaping up into a tree with Mio and Yura following her lead. They hadn't turned around for more then a few seconds before Ami shot forward.
"Partial Expansion Jutsu!" She said, calling out before sending a massive fist outward towards their sensei. The man flipped to the side, using the girl's arm as a spring board. She stopped, turning on heel to back hand him, only for him to leap over her fist easily.
"That's an advanced move for one so young, you must have a lot of chakra and a great deal of control to use that move. Most kids in your clan at your age can only do the Human Boulder technique." He smirked at her. "Still won't be enough though, still a valiant effort."
Ami actually growled at him, pulling her arm up she slammed it on the ground, only to throw her self forward and threw out a large kick. "Partial Expansion Technique!" Her foot shot like a rocket, blasting into their sensei with so much force he couldn't dodge it and actually had to block it. He was sent flying back, skidding against the ground.
"Ow, that actually hurt a lot. You've got power and a hell of a lot of talent for you age. You used your enhanced limb for reach and to pull yourself forward instead of just attacking, that shows signs of intelligence and tactics. You adapted that move for more then just hitting me, that is something to be proud of."
For a moment Ami actually smiled, and she was beautiful. "Thank you!" And then she threw herself into a roll, calling out. "Human Boulder jutsu!" Her entire torso expanded into a ball and her limbs shot into her body. Like a the Boulder her jutsu was named after she shot after their sensei at incredible speeds that far exceeded Naomi's top speed.
Naomi had only one thought as she watched the girl.
'That's impressive, she actually got a hit on me, a freaking special jonin. I didn't expect much, I guess I am just as guilty as only counting the clan kids as important... She really is amazing. I definitely got the jackpot for a teammate. Is Yura this good too?'
''''
Aoba would admit it, he was enjoying himself. The girl before him was a very talented Kunoichi who used her limited reservoir of jutsu perfectly. 'Tactically she is making wise moves, preserving her chakra and only expanding at the last moment to get the max hit and make it that much harder to dodge her.' His thoughts stalled as he threw himself over her round form, the wind generated from her rotation skimmed against his hair making it stand even more on end then usual. He barely managed to land and flip away before she actually threw herself back mid rotation! 'Damn it, how many kids have been ignored that are this talented? Is it because their girls, or is it because they are of lesser branches or was it bad luck? She is Chunin level in terms of tactics if nothing else, her clan techniques are just shy of Chunin level but only barely and from a lack of personal speed and experience I'd bet. She is very good.'
"Lets see your raw Taijutsu, without any of your jutsu."
The girl, perhaps ignoring him, threw her entire spiraling body into the air, before exploding into a cloud of smoke. "YAHHHHH!" From within that cloud came Ami, lashing out with a drop kick that would at least bruise him, chakra enhanced durability or not. He could almost feel it's strength as he threw himself to the side in an effort to dodge it. The ground rupturing in impact made it clear he was right, the sight of a small crater made him grateful she hadn't hit him with that. Her kick earlier had been bad enough, he knew he'd be bruised from that later.
Without hesitating, Ami threw herself to the side, rising with an uppercut he just dodged. A kick came next, then another punch, a powerful knee, all dodged easily. It was then that Aoba saw the girl's weakness.
"Alright, that's enough." She stopped, mid strike, just shy of his chest, looking up at him with a confused look.
"Huh?"
"I saw enough. I have your assessment. Girls, come over here and listen up." The moment the other girls appeared he started on his assessment. "Okay, listen up. Ami, your tactics are easily Chunin level. You have great control over your clan techniques, far above many I have seen for your age, even if you are reliant on them a bit too much. Your speed in using them, especially that Boulder Jutsu, is insane. However without it you a very slow, which makes sense given your size and reliance on your very intense strength. Your form, with the Akamichi Taijtusu style, is perfect. Seriously I only saw you overstretch twice but that is common for young Akamichi what with your limbs constantly growing. Seriously you are getting serious praise to Choza, whoever trained you did a damn good job."
The girl turned deep red, turning away. "I'm an orphan... I trained myself, mostly... and I said yesterday that I like training my speed. It's hard when everything your clan does is strength based and used caloric intake for jutsu. Being inheritantly chubby reduces your speed."
'Another self trained kid and she's this good... what is Hiruzen thinking putting her on a dead team. She could be a Jonin in like three years max, seriously she has a ton of potential. I might be looking at the only future S Rank Akamichi there is.' Perhaps an exaggeration on his part but he was impressed.
"Listen, I want you to get some weights and start working a circuit to work on your speed. Your stamina is fair but I would work on that too, your style is intense and draining so I would always put some energy in that. Naomi can help with your speed, I was watching her train earlier and her raw agility is easily chunin level." He watched as Ami flushed some more, before turning to the beautiful Naomi. He figured that maybe she liked the girl, something he would only mildly try and stop. Romance between team members wasn't uncommon. "I will be teaching you all a chakra control exercise today, it will help you with controlling your chakra output even more then you already can. Seriously though that you can do the Partial expansion jutsu already is seriously good. Most your age still need the pills to do that. Can you do the Super expansion jutsu?"
"No, I can't, it takes too much chakra. I don't know how much I have in total but Choza said it takes more then six times as much to do the Super expansion due to the greater start up chakra, and what is needed to maintain it."
Turning to the other girls, he asked. " What did you girls think, did I miss anything?"
Yura, being from a Taijutsu focused clan, nodded. "She only used her clan jutsu. Some ranged techniques wouldn't be remiss, nor would some weaponry..."
He blinked, stunned to hear a Hyuuga of all people suggesting someone use more then their clan jutsu. Still he figured she was right. "I can't disagree... Naomi, anything?"
Naomi frowned. "Her kicks weren't as straight as they could be, I would suggest working on that so you can get the full force of your kicks. I can help her with that too, I use a lot of leg for my taijutsu style."
"Another good point, I can't believe I didn't notice that... but I was trying not to get my butt kicked so, I think I can be forgiven." He smirked at Ami, making her giggle a little. Tipping his head to his other students. "Alright, Yura your next. The rest of you, go up to the trees."
The girl gulped but readied herself, falling into her own stance. She was ready.
''
"You were really good Ami, seriously." With some shame, Naomi turned to the other girl. "I wish we were friends in the academy, I would have had a rival and a great sparring partner." She really felt bad, she had ignored everyone in her pursuits in focusing on the clan heirs to the point she missed out on what could have been a great sparring partner. She really had let herself be so blind... it was so hypocritical it disgusted her.
Ami, the prettiest girl on their team, blushed. "We can be friends now then, can't we? I can't wait to see your fight, your taijtusu scores were the best in the class! I bet your way better then I am."
"Not by as much as you think, you were insane. That one kick with that super jutsu of yours, that was beautiful. Seriously you could have cracked his ribs if he wasn't a jonin."
"It's my killer move, I made it for one hit kills. Too many of my family jutsu use fancy bigger jutsu that waste so much chakra. I wanted to make a simpler move that wouldn't waste my chakra. I made my whole style like that, last minute expansions I wasn't losing chakra and speed. You saw how slow I could be with those limbs. Our slow speeds cost many of us our lives or careers."
Her eyes wide, Naomi couldn't hide her stunned expression. "I never considered that... but if your clans are so well know, they must be easier to fight if you study your history and clans... your styles can work against you."
"Yeah, that's actually what made the Senju and Uchiha so dangerous, their styles were more about versatility and that gave them a serious edge."
"I'll make sure I keep that in mind for when I make my own clan... now let's watch Yura, I want to see what she can do. I have a feeling she is going to really impress like you did."
She didn't ignore Ami's blush, just kept it in the back of her mind for later as they turned to watch their other teammate. How strong was Yura, if she had no Byakugan... what could she really do with her clan jutsu?
What could she do at all?
Chapter end, tell me me you think in the reviews.
This was a very, very fun chapter and one I am so proud of.
Up next is Yura vs Aoba, then Naomi vs Aoba, then Naomi training with Hana... look forward to that.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.