Starring:
Hikaru, Tatsuo
Date: May 31, 2015
Summary:
Hikaru and Tatsuo spar, forging an unexpected bond.
"Hikaru vs. Tatsuo: An Unexpected Friendship"
Genin Training Grounds, Training Area #26, Konohagakure
It's another nice day in Konoha in one of those in between seasons where it's not too hot and it's
not too cold. It's juuuuust right. And as such it's just a good time to be in the training area and,
of course, training! That's where Tatsuo is at the moment though, making signs at a training dummy
though it's not doing much at the moment. He seems to be going through them just to practice the
combination more than actually trying to make a jutsu work at the moment.
Hikaru is making his way quickly along the forest path that leads to the training grounds,
leaping in through the trees and grinning when he sees his friend. Wait - friend? Maybe acquaintance.
Either way, since he and Tatsuo had been in the same graduating class, he'd been aching for an
opportunity to spar against him and compare their skill. Jumping down to where Tatsuo was practicing,
Hikaru runs over to him and waves. "Hey, Tatsuo! Good to see you. What are you working on?"
Tatsuo seems surprised that someone knows his name until he sees who it is. Definitely acquaintance.
Tatsuo was always more inwardly focused and didn't really hang out with any people during the
Academy. "Uh…hai…Hikaru-san, right?" He asks with a hint of uncertainty as he looks the other
boy over briefly. "I'm just…practicing some new jutsu. Haven't really got it down yet," the boy
says in a soft tone, glancing back at the training dummy sadly. "What about you?"
Hikaru raises a curious brow at the formal address, smiling slightly and shrugging a shoulder. "I
just came for some routine training. I'm still trying to get my Taijutsu skills up to par - not that
they're bad or anything.. But you know how it is. There's always someone better, and I want to fill
that gap." He smirks lightly. "And you don't need to use -san with me.. Call me Hikaru-kun! After
all, we're the same age.." He didn't want the other boy to feel like he had to be so formal with him.
If he could, he would try and be friends with him, seeing as they were peers in the world of
shinobi.
"Oh, uh…hai, Hikaru-kun," Tatsuo mutters softly before dipping his head a bit in a slight
semblence of a bow. "Uh, yeah, my taijutsu isn't that good either. I'm…trying to figure out some
of this ninjutsu right now…but it's difficult to get it right." He frowns a little as he looks
back at the dummy again, then shakes his head a bit. "I just have to keep trying." That he sounds
fairly certain of.
Hikaru grins slightly. "How bout you take a break from that and spar Taijutsu-style with me? Then
you can go back to it later. What you've gotta do is get your blood and your chakra flowing - then
you'll be able to focus better on your ninjutsu. If you want, I could even help you.. See, Ninjutsu
is my best area.." He shrugs and smiles a bit, leaving his offer out on the table. If they sparred,
at least they would both see the benefit.
"Um…yeah, sure," Tatsuo agrees with a little nod to Hikaru. "My ninjutsu isn't…common, is all.
It's making it a little harder to learn." Tatsuo's voice remains a little on the softer side, the
boy seeming much more introverted than most shinobi tend to be. He walks out a little ways to put
some distance between him and the edges of the training area, or other people. "Um, whenever you're
ready Hikaru-kun."
Hikaru nods, readying his stance and dashing towards Tatsuo, dropping in a sweeping kick to his
legs once he was in range and following up with a quick 1-2.. One swift punch to the solar plexus
and one uppercut to the chin. He had to work on his speed. If he could fit in three unblockable
attacks, then he would know he was getting better.
Judging ones self based on someone who doesn't really use taijutsu might not be entirely helpful,
however. Tatsuo is just a tad too slow each time and he ends up flat on his back by the time it's
all done, feeling a bit dazed by it all. Was his beating over yet?
Hikaru winces a bit when Tatsuo falls, thinking he might have gone a bit overboard, even if he
was proud of himself for landing all of his strikes. "Hey.. You okay?" he asks, taking a cautious
step closer. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt you bad or anything.. I'll wait til you're ready to
continue." He was an honorable fellow, after all. His parents had taught him that much.
"Uh yeah, I'm fine…" Tatsuo mumbles as he picks himself back up. "I'm sorry…I'm not very good
at taijutsu at all." Once he's back on his feet he takes a second to dust himself off before turning
back to Hikaru and giving him a small bow again, "Okay, um…I think I'm ready?" He really doesn't
sound certain ,but he'll try.
Hikaru nods, shifting into a fighting stance once more with a steady gaze at the other boy. Maybe
he wouldn't do a triple-combo this time. Or maybe he would, to push this guy and make him fight
back. He would never learn, otherwise. But what to do…? Making up his mind, Hikaru lowers his
torso to deliver a high spinning hook kick towards Tatsuo's head, following up with an elbow strike
to his ribcage, hoping for Tatsuo's sake that he would start defending himself.
Tatsuo tries to prepare himself and manages well enough, even if it ends up being close. He brings
his arm up to absorb the force of the kick before it can hit his head, then crosses his arms and
brings them down to stop the chest strike from hitting. Uncertainly, he tries to attack back,
throwing a few small punches towards Hikaru's chest.
Hikaru grins when Tatsuo begins to fight back, blocking his first punch but narrowly misjudging
the second, which lands solidly into his chest, eliciting a slight cough from the boy. "Nice one,"
he mutters with a chuckle, coming back at him with three punches of his own - jab to the abdomen,
cross to the nose, hook to the ribs.
Tatsuo is really a rather horrible shinobi isn't he? While he manages to push aside the jab to his
abdomen he doesn't expect the one to his nose and his head whips back. Automatically he makes a seal
and water shoots across, but is just off and does no more than get himself wet while still taking
the hook. He falls back again, nose starting to bleed from the hit as he's once again dazed.
Hikaru can't help but smirk when his punch to the nose hits its mark, and by the time he is
finished, Tatsuo once again seems unable to react. Except this time, he's used some sort of water
ninjutsu to try and defend himself. 'This is good,' Hikaru thought to himself, who had
subconsciously taken on the mission of breaking the boy out of his shell. There was no stopping now.
Without a breath's notice, he was once again in striking distance of Tatsuo, launching a knee up
swiftly into his diaphragm and following it with a same-legged round kick to the side of the boy's
head. 'Come on, fight back,' he urged silently in his head, trying to instigate Tastuo's real power
into showing itself.
Tatsuo blinks in surprise when he sees Hikaru coming at him again. He's barely on his feet before
he makes a handseal and Hikaru kicks a plank of wood instead the boy himself. Another motion and a
clone poofs away as it's struck, leaving the boy time to get away. He's not really paying any
attention to his bleeding nose at this point as something makes him pull out and toss a couple of
kunai at Hikaru quickly, seeming to be without much thought.
Hikaru is met with surprise at Tatuo's sudden evasionary tactics, and even more-so when he
launches kunai in his direction. Taking out his own kunai knife, he swiftly deflects the incoming
projectiles, his brows knitting in focus as he watches the other boy cautiously. Was it getting
serious, now..? Tatsuo was a safe distance from him, so he stows away his knife and contemplates his
next move. He didn't want to seriously injure Tatsuo, which might happen if he launched real
shuriken at him - but his blazing shuriken wouldn't leave any permanent damage. Weaving his hand
seals, he keeps his focus intently on the boy in front of him, summoning his chakra and spitting out
a slew of small fireballs that form into spinning blades, all honing in on Tatsuo.
Tatsuo is about as serious as he could get which is to say not very much. He doesn't have enough to
be serious about. Apparently the water is his element of choice over what is normally shadows for
the Nara, however, as he pulls a ribbon of condensed water in front of him. It deflects the
shuriken away but doesn't do much else as the water splashes down. He looks a little tired and, ya
know, the bloody nose. He wipes above his lip with a wrist, smearing the stuff before he moves in to
try and punch Hikaru in the solar plexus.
It was obvious that Tatsuo was getting tired. Hikaru easily deflected his punch, returning it
with a punch of his own to the side of Tatsuo's face, graciously avoiding his already damaged nose.
"You can do better than that," he grumbled, throwing another knee up into the boy's gut. "You're a
shinobi! We're the same age, the same rank - show me what you're made of!" Hikaru was getting
frustrated. Surely there was more to this kid than some weak Taijutsu. Obviously he was skilled at
evasion and defense - but a shinobi had to know how to do more than that. A shinobi had to be able
to fight back, not just keep themselves alive. Hikaru threw a final kick to the boy's knees, seeing
if it would make him fall. If the only way to give the boy confidence was to make him angry, then so
be it.
Tatsuo's arm comes up to push the slap away, water flowing between the knee and the boys stomach to
keep it from breaking through. The final kick is met with a kick of his own to deflect it away
before he puts his foot down and uses the momentum to bring his opposite leg swinging in a side kick
towards the other boys side. He then lashes out with a punch towards Hikaru's nose this time!
Hikaru was satisfied to see some real effort behind Tatsuo's movements now. Even though none of
his strikes landed, he was beginning to feel a sense of pride for the other boy. When Tatsuo
attacked back with an aggressive kick, Tatsuo brought his elbows in to defend his ribs, then quickly
ducked to dodge the assertive punch. Hikaru could almost smile at the transformation Tatsuo had made
over the time they'd been sparring. But it wasn't over yet. While he was down, Hikaru made a
sweeping kick at Tatsuo's feet, then did a back-hand spring to gain some distance. Tatsuo's water
defense was clearly his best tactic against anything Hikaru could throw at him. So he'd have to
choose something stronger if he wanted it to hit. Weaving his hand seals again, this time he went
for his Fireball, his most powerful technique. If this couldn't hit him, he might just call the spar
right there. Tatsuo had already proven that he could be aggressive - but what Hikaru really wanted
to see was Tatsuo use a technique he couldn't block. He wanted to see where Tatsuo's true skill lay.
But for now, he brought his fingers to his lips and focused his chakra into a searing heat which he
blew towards the other boy, billowing out into a fairly sizable fireball of intense flames that
consume the area where Tatsuo is standing.
Tatsuo changes his footing so that the sweep has no effect, absorbing the blow before jumping back.
Eyes widen when he sees the fireball heading his way and in a flash he's done the handseals and that
same volume of water shoots between himself and the fireball, blocking it's path and diffusing it.
The boy raises his hands and waves them in a surrendering motion, "I give up, I give up!" He says,
his voice a funny sounding thanks to that nose injury. "I-I don't have anything else yet, I just
started learning…I don't…" He's not sure what to say. The hand goes up to touch his nose gently
but the pain is already starting to fade, and it's no longer bleeding. Of course when he rubs at the
blood using his sleeve it just kind of smears it uselessly.
Hikaru nods, his expression slowly fading back to its normal state from one intense focus and
adrenaline that comes from a good spar. Stepping up towards Tatsuo quietly, he offers him a slight
smile and bows his head as a sign of respect. "Thank you for the match.. I apologize if I got a
little.. Over-zealous… I just really wanted to see your potential.. Which, by the way.. I think
you have a lot of." Hikaru meant what he said. They were both young, and while Tatsuo obviously
hadn't refined some of his skills, there was no doubt that once he put in sufficient training, he
could be great. Just like Hikaru hoped to be.
Tatsuo bows slightly as well before he nods to Hikaru, "Ah, hai, you are very strong Hikaru-kun.
Hopefully I can get strong as well." He chews his lower lip thoughtfully, wondering what else he
might say. "You are really good with your techniques. I hope I can learn that kind of control too.
It's not as easy as I thought it'd be."
Hikaru nods with a small smile, offering his hand to the other boy. "We have something in common…
We both aim to become strong. I say that means we can become rivals in our goals… And maybe,
even be friends…" Just like a shinobi to make friends after trying to beat someone up. But Hikaru
meant every word.
Now that really catches Tatsuo by surprise. He just kind of stands there for a second, staring at
Hikaru. It wasn't the beating or anything that threw the question off for him, it was just…not
something he'd expected. "You…want to be my friend?" He asks, like he didn't quite hear it right,
kind of zoning out and missing the extended hand.
Hikaru laughs a bit, nodding with a certain gentle warmth in his eyes. "Sure! One can never have
too many friends… Don't you think so?" Friends meant allies, people that you could trust to have
your back and who gave you a reason to fight. Every friend to Hikaru represented the entire Konoha
village and what it stood for. And that was what made friends so cherished by him.
That seemed so foreign to Tatsuo and he continued to stare at Hikaru as perhaps the most stupid
question that could leave his mind slips out. "But…why?" He seems genuinely confused by it all. He
hadn't been important in the Academy. In fact he'd been a loner. Disappearing for a couple of months
right after graduation hadn't helped either. And now…well, he really didn't know anyone.
Hikaru frowns a bit at the question. Hadn't his family or the academy taught him anything about
the importance of friendship? Maybe he needed to reword his answer. "Allies… You need allies,
there's no doubt about it. Every shinobi relies on teamwork to do missions, right? Well, friendship
is just another way of saying allies… People who have each other's backs, no matter what. Don't
you think that's important?"
"Friendship…is allies?" That seems equally as confusing to the kid. "Oh…well, I guess…allies
are good." Friendship he would've thought to be more, but then maybe that's why he didn't really
understand it. "I, uh…yeah, sure, we can be allies, it's important to have allies in any battle."
Hikaru grins and shakes his head. Tatsuo was a funny kid. In any case, he reached and grabbed his
hand with a firm squeeze, his eyes meeting the other boy's with a sincere nod. "Allies."
'Friends,' Hikaru thought, but he didn't voice it. He didn't want to confuse Tatsuo any more.
'Friends, and rivals.'
