Starring:
Date: Unknown (log received February 17, 2011)
Summary:
A look into a rather unique sensei and student relationship, Itami tries not to kill Imota yet again as he manages to put here chaotic schedule into order. And in a rather different display of good work production, Imota convinces Itami to give him his annual Genin Assessment, knocking out her training, and work as a Councilman all in one fantastic scene!
"Paper Work and Nature Transformation"
Ayaash Battle Cove [Land of Wind]
*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*/
The Ayaash Battle Cove is a very desolate place. To the south lies the grassy plains of the Land of wind, a massive expanse almost as far as the eye can see, with distant mountains. To the east and north, the desert. Death and only death lies in that direction. To the west is the opening to a large cave, how deep is impossible to tell.
The Cove itself is a place of much trials. There is a path that goes around a deep pit in the ground, and that pit is surrounded by large plateaus and rock faces. The pit itself is barely visible, but it is wide, and deep, and houses all sorts of hidden dangers.
*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*//*/
A desolate place indeed. One which had been abandoned of any life at all, Ayaash Battle Cove had been nothing but a deep pit in the ground that seemed to go for miles in both depth, and distance. But the lifelessness is what brings the quiet, and solitude, due it being empty of dangers, or anything that could possibly be endangered. These reasons alone fit perfectly with why Imota was here. No unwanted interruptions, and nothing that could possibly be at risk of being exposed to his errors in the formation of jutsu. He would seem to be fluid in his sealing, The Sasaki seeming to go through hand seals without hindrance as the earth about him, would shape. His chakra was being burned at an accelerated rate, which for him made the simplest technique, even ones that he had known how to perform, seem much harder to execute, particularly the shaping of rock and stone.
Itami came dropping down from one of the overhangs in this area. This place was one large bowl of cliffs with sand scattered here and there. Luckily, she dropped down on an isolated spot of sand or else her legs would have been feeling some serious shock into the morning. She too, was testing herself here. Taking her body to limits by using the area push herself to some challenging goals. Doing everything by strength alone is a lot more difficult than she imagined, especially holding her own weight. This does reveal to her that she relies too much on jutsu and needs to keep herself conditioned.
The sound of movement was heard, despite the shaping of earth around him. It seemed that someone else could not help but to visit this place as well. Imota would form a dispersal seal, and turn around, not even bothering the view the earth's resifting back to its normal state. He was too curious as to who had been arriving, and his curiosity would be rewarded. "Itami-no-kimi.", though said in his normal tone, echoed across the wasteland, even to where Itami was present now. He would look to the woman's movement, and try to analyze it. He would be unsuccessful in determining what was happening.
Itami was breathing heavily and she hadn't even done that much. She's gotten completely soft and this news is upsetting. Upon her name being called she lofted a brow and looked in the direction the voice was in or where it was more prevalent. "…Imota?" She inquired. "Where are you at?" She inquires and continues to look around. "You know, it's difficult to find you when you're hidden by all these rocks, you know." She states.
Apparently, due to Imota's lack of stature, Itami seemed to have trouble seeing him amongst the smaller rock of the cove. After his name was called, Imota soon appears to walk up from behind her, tapping Itami’s leg and saying, "Sasaki Imota, reporting.", and then come to stand before the woman. Had he been behind her the entire time? Anyway, with Imota finally arriving, he would have his own questions but they only seemed to follow one comment. "This nin was not making a conscious effort to hide, Itami-no-kimi. This nin apologizes.", would be said before a deep bow. "Your heavy breathing as well as profuse sweating are indicative of exertion, Itami-no-kimi."
Itami turned around and frowned. "…I think you take some kind of enjoyment out of doing that to me." She hums. She's noticed that he never seems to approach her from the front. Nevertheless, the surprise 'attacks' are effective. "That's only what you want me to think." She points at him in a mock accusing manner, but maybe it might have been serious. She's really grown curious, lately. "Anyhow, yes, I have been working out a bit. It appears that I've gone soft. I need to change that. So, I've been out here for a short time…" She pauses and shakes her head.
"This nin.. has often seemed prone to habit these days, according to Kichiro-san. Speculation lends itself to the idea of this nin's training regiment of being able approaching from behind, becoming habitual in other circumstances." Often indeed, Imota would do things that were very strategic, almost out of sheer habit. While it may work on the field, it would often make very weird situations in his life outside of being a ninja. When Itami would say what she had been doing, Imota would nod, and say, "It would be inaccurate to say one has gone 'soft', Itami-no-kimi. However, if this is Itami-no-kimi's way of saying she has neglected training, then this nin understands. Perhaps this Sasaki may help remedy the matter at hand."
Imota would hand seal, and soon, with his hands, would appear a scheduling book. It had been the same he used in his part time occupation as Itami’s personal assistant. He looked to it for a moment, seeming to think, before soon scribbling, and erasing would be done in a blaze, pages turning in quick succession. Imota would then show the book to Itami, and say, "A slight addendum, has been made which will allow adequate time for training, in between the various meetings, assignments, and other needs for which Itami-no-kimi must attend to." Itami would be able to see the changes worked fine, allowing an hour, some times two, for her to train, uninterrupted. Unfortunately, Imota's schedule allowed her only /one/ rest day every two weeks. Another change included the removal of her vacation days for the next four months.
"May this nin also suggest an idea that may eliminate some work to perform? It is only a suggestion that this nin’s training now be included into today‘s plan. Or, perhaps it may be reasonable to include Itami no Kimi’s own Practical Assessment of this nin‘s attributes instead. Itami-no-kimi has been neglecting to conduct such for the past month and the paper work is due today."
Itami saw the scheduling book and with that she already began to turn around to try and flee the scene. However, it appears that Imota has made an addendum to her schedule, as he always has to, and shows it to her. She closes her eyes and turns around to look at it and hum softly. From there, she took the book in hand and began to flip through all the pages of appointments that have been postponed or should have expired. Either these people are ridiculously patient or she's having her chain yanked. The book was fairly heavy. That's a lot of appointments. She secretly wonders what would happen if she burned the book, but the thought was quickly dismissed.
That is, until she saw she only had one rest day out of a two week period. Flipping the book open she shouted, "What!?" Holding the book out to him and pointing to the break time. "What kind of break is this!?" She frowns. "Every two weeks? That is /exhausting/." Now she has reason to burn the book. "I'll neglect this book off the face of the planet." She grumbles as her hands begin to heat up and smoke rises from the book where her prints are securely grasping it. "But fine." She tosses the book to the ground. "We can train."
Looking to the woman, Itami ‘s reaction was as Imota had predicted. The Genin knew just how his sensei had faired when it came to work and had an idea of how she could be able to effectively train. He planned it out quite well, only because of factoring in what Itami /wouldn‘t/ want to do. However, Itami, as usual, hadn't understood what he had tried to do in eliminating most of her free time. Imota inclined his head to look to the councilwoman, his blank expression devoid of any really reaction to her threatening burns the book. Besides, he had better to say . "The riddance of such a book will neither hinder Lady Itami’s progress, nor help it. This nin has already memorized most of the planning, and can simply rewrite another book. Also.. the 'exhausting' Itami-no-Kimi points out, is correct. However, to build the body up, one needs to push one's boundaries, without much rest."
The Sasaki boy's talking ended when Itami agreed to train. He bowed to Itami and said, "Affirmative.", before his own chakra began to surge through his own system. "Keep in mind to observe and record this nin's abilities as per the assessment, Itami-no-kimi. Form 1475 will need to be completed before the end of the day."
Itami groaned softly and lifted her hand to her head to rub it. She didn't feel like memorizing anything. Grumble, grumble. "Can I use this training as an excuse to knock the memory out of your mind?" She inquires. "To knock the schedule out of your book. To punch the training out of your regiment." She pauses and takes her stance. "I'll try to keep them in mind. Depends on how it goes. I'm not so sure I look forward to being jutsu'd across this place. You have first move." She states.
Had Imota liked torturing poor Itami like this? With the way he was always so plain, prompt, and rather efficient, Imota had never shown a evidence of a true angle as to why he operates this way. One could assume training, or perhaps a need to be impressive. However, Imota rarely reacted to compliments or adoration. He just did as told, being assertive, and well planning. As he listens to Itami’s words, with little to no reaction, the Sasaki only found himself saying, "This training may prove beneficial indeed, for the relief of frustration which seems to be emanating from Itami-no-kimi‘s threats." When he was told he had the first move, Imota took it without hesitation. He planned to start out right after Itami agreed to the plan, deciding to angle shuriken to ricochet from three different directions, each having a rather crude, and unpredictable flight path.
Two shuriken crossed paths, pinging off of each other before hitting boulders at the south and northwest. Meanwhile, another, the final, had been thrown pass Itami, only to seem to make a return path after hitting a boulder behind her.
Itami looked at the shuriken bouncing off the walls of the surrounding area and dodged them each with a certain finesse about her. Even if they were aimed to trick, she still managed to avoid the attacks. She didn't give any sign of approval, but she did keep a record of the initial attack.
Going on the offensive herself, she ran towards Imota with her hand drawn back to prepare for a strike. It's when she draws close enough that she thrusts it forward lengthwise in an attempt to jab him with the tips of her fingers, delivering a sharp jolt of pain. She'd follow that up with a kick to send him into the air and go aerial herself in order to try and knock him back down to the ground if she was able to get that far into the combo.
While the shuriken did seem to have been limited in terms of speed, they were worth the effort in many ways. Itami was not the only one keeping record. Imota was also observing and analyzing every move she made. So far, her rate of speed, though she hadn‘t shown her full range of movement, was proving to be well above Chuunin level. This was expected. However, Itami's rather speedy attack, was not completely prepared for. The surprise made even Imota’s react with a wide eyes. Blinking, only see Itami before him when eyes opened, proved to be a bit much for the Sasaki. Tension was enough to promote extremely fast sealing from a single hand. Wind flowed from around Imota with torrential speed and force, deciding to blow away Itami's hand, and everything else that was aimed for Sasaki, carrying her off slightly. Even the power of her next kick would seem to smack dead into a whirlwind barrier that surrounded Imota in an instant. Itami's sense of detail would probably be able to see only a single seal had been needed for the second defense.
While all of this had been going on, Imota, emotionless, had no words to say. He decided to have a /big/ change in approach speak for him instead. The Sasaki genin showed just how cautious he could be the moment a hand flickered, revealing a scroll. With a single seal, his modified large shuriken, sporting six prongs, and a glint of a unique metal, would appear in his hand. That had not been the end to his preparation. Itami had been a Jounin for a reason, and this made for a lot of ability to compensate for. Therefore, following his own breathe in almost more beautiful harmony, a hard breeze and even large amounts of soil that formed above and below the Sasaki nin sought to follow the ebb and flow of every inhalation, and exhalation. Before long, the environment about the boy, felt need to heed to a beckon and call. Both elements of Earth and Wind now swirled about him.
He makes no utterance, as he launches the large shuriken with a heavy heave of both hands, only to make a seal. When the seal was made, the shuriken, would split into two, another appearing from beneath its pattern of flight. At the same time, Imota himself, merely faded from existence, seeming leaving the shuriken alone on the battle field. Where had he gone? Not sure, but whether any of the two shuriken had hit, one, would past Itami, only to then fly into a poof smoke behind her. When the Councilwoman turned her head, the real Imota, would be seen attacking. "Wind Release.. Windmill Shuriken." would be said as the boy continued his now backward momentum in mid-air. From there, a wind laced shuriken, is launched, surrounded by both a large whirlwind, and flying with enough speed to cut clean through the Jounin!
Itami attempted to fight against the wind to get her strike in, but she was unable to and ended up blown backwards, stumbling until she regained her footing. Resettling back into her stance, she studies Imota, taking note of the large shuriken that's just summoned. She's familiar with this, but she wonders what he's going to do with it. Since she's battled him last, she doesn't know of any other moves he may have gained with it.
She stands still, eyes focused until the shuriken is thrown. Yet, it is ‘broken’ into two. She now has to watch these as they come for her, but that means that she can't keep track of Imota who has taken this chance to disappear. She raised an earth barrier to block the initial shuriken, but it managed to slice through and cut her. She sustained a scar to her shoulder, but it wouldn't compare to the shuriken that was coming from behind. She tried to dive in order to avoid the attack altogether, but it too gave her a scar. Something else to take note of. Trickery. She hummed softly. She could deal with that.
Rotating her arms around a bit to get her used to the pain of the scars she sustained, she stood back and smirked. This was getting interesting. Facing him again, she inhaled deeply and fired out bullets of fire followed by bolts to make for an array of fireballs of various sizes meant to pelt the opponent in different ways.
Imota was not a straight forward fighter.. His particular expertise and outlook on strategy had now allowed for such methods. He certainly didn’t consider trickery or even the use of hiding and deception to be beneath his standard. If he had, most likely, Imota would not be the ninjutsuist he was now. The strategy alone is made obvious even by the long distance techniques the boy always used. However, as intuitive and sneaky as Imota seemed to be, he was still young. His ability, though quite defined, even more so, at a level close to genius, was constantly being molded. In other words, Imota wasn't quite there yet. Mistakes were made in his attack. He was not able to stop his backward flight, caused by the recoil of the thrown Windmill Shuriken technique. In other words, being airborne, made Imota vulnerable.
The lack of ground, as well as the height of he was now at in the air, was detrimental to the success of his Earth Release technique. The dome's integrity proved unstable and weak in comparison to the brute force of fire blasts, and be charred through with explosive results. Melted rock, sparks and small explosions, sent the smaller Sasaki nin downward, and into the ground. Slightly burned, and panting, Imota's feet and hands would touch ground with a skid. The boy's four-point stance was enough to bring him to a halt, just in time for the smaller bolt of fire to be seen and prepared for. No hand seals proceeded Imota's upward flight. Only whirlwinds, which blasted from his palms violently, and a gust of speed went before a quick upward jettison, far into the air. There, Imota sailed, almost disappearing in the bright light of the sun.
But where Imota disappeared, soon became where he would attack from.
His large shuriken, descended in a downward path, curving, and homing in on the older woman's position. Whether it hit or not, the shuriken, were manipulated by wire, and made to make another pass, just to make sure. This plan, regardless of whether a second pass allowed injury, was three fold. For what Itami hadn't known, was that the wire was not only for control, but to entrap as well. A hard yank, tightened the wire's grasp, hopefully leaving Itami hog-tied.
This was a decent battle. Itami was seeing that Imota has been improving and it definitely showed. Back attacks, frontal, tactics…she nodded in approval as she defended against his oncoming attacks with a smile on her face. She'd hand seal and send a barrier of wind up to deflect the wind sharp and then seal once more to cast an armor of earth about her body. With that, the shuriken would stick to the armor and she could dive out of it leaving a shell to be constricted by the string and ultimately broken apart.
Hopping back out of the hole, she inhaled deeply and placed her hands together in seals before finishing and placing her fingers up to her lips to fire off a lesser form of a ball of fire towards Imota. When she finished that attack, she followed it up with earth bullets, first sealing and smacking her hand against the ground to surround her hand in earth and lift it to shoot bullets off towards him.
As much as Imota had seen Itami‘s skill, the boy could never grasp upon one outlook at the Council woman’s abilities with ninjutsu. She had a wider spread experience than he thought at times, and with every exhibition, that knowledge proved to be more expanded. Even now Imota was seeing hand seals that he recognized. The Wind Barrier technique he used only minutes ago was also known by Itami. That was not all that Imota took into account. In many ways, this defense served as a warning. Along with her much heavy usage of Earth Release techniques, Itami had been just as deadly with her Wind Release. He knew this only from his own possession of a few jutsu she created. If ever the Macroburst Technique had been used, the tide‘s turn would be in an instant. As Itami stopped dead, protecting against, and diving out of the way of his attacks, Imota had no reaction beyond the planning of his own strategy.
Those frontal, rear, and other tactical assaults and techniques were only a few of the strategies Imota had. The Sasaki had been capable of much more, and with the training going on as long as it had, he had yet still the chakra he needed to press the attack. It was within moments of Itami's plague of fire and stone, that Imota had been ready with a shielding defense. He had learned well from his mistake earlier, and for now, he remained grounded so that the earth and soil around him could mold into a perfect dome. The encompassing structure allowed the fireball of Itami to just disperse upon impact, melt the outer surface but never completely penetrating to the safety inside. When Itami launched earth bullets at that same shielding, the dome would break apart rather easily with every shot, only to reveal that Imota, was no longer there.
But where had he gone? Well, remember… Imota does not usually take the chance of an up-close assault unless he really has to, correct? This was one of the moments. Soon after Itami would discover that Imota was not in the dome, she'd probably feel hands grabbing at her feet. If successful, Imota would have pulled her into the ground with a hard yank. If that was not enough, he would have other plans. He would surface, and follow up this trapping, with a large column of earth, that would move from under Itami. With a hard impact, the same column would continue to carry her in the air.
Itami was seeing that the majority of the attacks being used against her were hidden strikes. Humming softly at this, she tries to calculate Imota's next move. If he's hidden, then that means…"I see…" She didn't know the Tremor Sense Technique, but she had a good idea of where he might be coming from. She shifted the earth beneath her feet, but it didn't appear to work and she was grabbed and subsequently pulled into the ground.
From there a stone column would strike her from below while she was attempting to gain her footing. It was difficult as the majority of her weight was held up by her neck alone which made it painful. Not as painful as being struck by a stone column from below. She winced and yelled all the way up into the air, body curved by being sent into the air by the column and being pressed down by gravity. Two pronged attack. Very good. Once it stopped and she was flown up into the air, she'd fall back down on the ground and slam into the sand, sending sand into the air only for it to come back down. "Ugh…." She pulled herself up from the ground. She was going to have to recover from that one. As a result, she dusted herself off and focused her chakra.
The Sasaki genin needed not to look on at what Itami's ordeal had been. It was a calculated plan as usual, for which he had already foreseen the outcome. The only way he would know the plan had not worked, was due to a variety of things that could have went wrong. That variety, was small in this case. The impact of Itami on the ground, would be felt by Imota's own Tremor Sense technique. The grunt would be heard, and due to his own sensitivity to chakra, the sudden rise in Itami's own recovery, would be felt. Apparently, the woman had plenty to spare, for it was enough to cause Imota's head to turn. He could see it even as Itami recovered. She had a Jounin's toughness, and though she would complain, as was her way, the Watanabe Councilwoman, was still quite health.
He would look from a still crouched stance, never quite moving to his full height from the ground he emerged from. An empty expression would simply peer at her, wondering where the woman's preparation woman preparation would take this assessment. Meanwhile the aura of wind and earth around him, would seem to become more active, the wind he pulled into himself becoming more torrential, even whirling around him. Even the earth would seem to grow tentacles, and seem to reach up and about him. Otherwise.. silence, would be a mainstay, in this very desolate place.
Itami, now that she was at the ready, shifted her stance into something more stable and solid to carry out her own. After running through some hand seals, she jumped up from the ground and slammed back down to send a column of earth of her own. One to be used from behind Imota. If successful, it would send him towards her where she'd finish off with vault strike to attack.
This was a great battle. One she hasn't had in a long time. She might even admit that she's craving it a bit as things go on. She wonders how far she can take all of this, but for now that's something to be considered later.
This assessment had indeed held a bit of excitement. Too bad that it had not been mutually felt between Itami and Imota. Then again, perhaps it may have, but in very different forms. Itami, had been seeming to enjoy the thrill of battle. Imota had noticed a smile, perhaps even a laugh at certain points. Though in away, such seemed irrational to him, Imota favored this over the Jounin's earlier frustration.
On the other hand, Imota's form of excitement had not come so much as to be called fun for him. He had been feeling only the natural effects of exertions, as Itami had earlier from her own exercise. His body began to sweat. His heart rate was at a peak. His chakra level was began to lower, and his muscle were over tensed. Along with the adrenaline that seemed to course through his arteries and veins, this indeed made for a neat bit of invigoration, but only biologically.
In contrast, his personality, and thinking, were as cool and collected as one at rest. He could still plan, and think, and as long as he had this, his ability to perform would not be halted.
This time, Itami's attack, had been larger, and a lot more serious than any she had performed so far. Imota could tell from the violent shaking of earth, which would wash beneath the ground under his own feet, and never end, even as it would seem to reverse and come from behind him. An attack this large? And from behind him? This was indeed eye-widening. Enough so, where even Imota would fumble, and fail as he would turn. However, his concentration would kick in, just as he would seem to identify the threat. He'd push his jutsu with the utterance of its name.
"Path of Wind: Trajectory Redirection.", would be spoken calmly.
Wind, would channel in five paths, as the column… No… The really large form of earth, shaped like a portion of a mason's mallet, had been pressing toward him. The force of impact between that earth jutsu, and that of Imota's own countering, would be cataclysmic. Imota's hand seals would be maintained through out, five channels of wind, three from above him, and one from his left and right sides, pushing into rock and stalling it for an eternity of 6 seconds. The Earth Hammer, would seem to stop only a foot away from the boy, leaving him out of harms way and at the same moment, having burned of a large amount of chakra. He'd stagger, his arms and shoulder slumping, as he would take a deep breath. His muscles and his hands would be plenty sore.
And just when it call seemed to calm, in come Itami's kick!!! The kick would crash right into the Sasaki nin's abdomen, bending him in half and sending him flying, and flailing through out the air. Imota's body would land limply, arms and legs, and even his neck seeming to be broken from the fall, contorted inhumanly.
"This nin, is fatigue. I concede.", before suddenly, the Sasaki nin would… explode? Yes!! As he lay there the boy would seem to become transparent, before bursting, sending out a torrential blast of air, and wind. A clone technique. Soon Imota would step from behind Itami, panting, and saying, "This nin reiterates his concession."
Itami didn't think she landed a hit on Imota. Not after all that energy he put into evading the attack that came from behind. She smirked, however at being able to kick his clone into the air and smack it back down to the ground only to burst into wind before her. She then looked behind her, as she should have expected, and said, "Understood." With that, she ended this battle and flopped on the ground, her breathing slightly heavy.
"Alrighty!" She chimes and pauses to catch her breath. "This was an interesting battle. I enjoyed it very much." She nods. "You did well. You utilized your environment to your advantage and used just about everything you had. Your attacks weren't head on and were well thought out. Utilizing deception to try and gain the upper hand on the enemy." She explains. "Even if it meant coming from the earth itself." She smiles. "So, I give you a passing grade."
Even Imota had to sweat drop, when Itami would instantly seemed to flop to the ground after having accepted his quitting of the assessment. She was overdramatic as usual. However, Imota had indeed expended much energy in throwing almost everything he had at the woman. This probably meant Itami had to put forth an effort just to avoid it all. The Sasaki Genin would come to a kneel beside her, his own breathing heavy, though calming. Hearing her critique, Imota would simply except all with a nod. He had no real outward happiness to show, and from the look of his demeanor, it had seemed he had expected to pass. But had he been aiming /only/ to pass? That would remain a mystery.
Either way, more handseals would be made by himself, after another scroll would be removed from his pouch. Within moments, a file cabinet, small, would appear in front of the two. Imota would go into the top portion, only to remove Form 1475: Genin Monthly Assessment. He'd also pull out another large stack of forms, many of them pass due. "Your work from today is pass due, Councilman Watanabe."
"…" Is what comes out of Itami initially. What the heck was that!? "Why are you carrying around a file cabinet!?" She inquired while looking at the thing. "I don't even have a pen to write with!" She states and takes the form in hand while looking over the form. When she holds down the form from her face, she looks at the stack of paperwork that was set on the ground and her jaw nearly dropped.
Rising up from the ground with renewed energy she used Macroburst to scatter the papers all over the desert and kick up a cloud of sand to aid in her escape. She wouldn't go anywhere, opting to hide beneath the sand and sit still. When all the dust cleared, she'd be gone…supposedly.
And Imota? Well, when the dust would scatter, and all the paper work as well, would simply seem to just stand there, seeming rather clueless, and lacking any reaction. However, the moment the woman had thrown her tantrum and disappeared, Imota, would seem to smile. Wait? Smile?? What in the world? But why??? What so of doom could this facial expression mean? Well, one statement from the boy would seem to confirm something rather peculiar. "Itami-no-kimi… A woman who is known never to /read/ the paperwork before she signs.", would be uttered, as Imota would look to all the scattered paper that had been around. Itami hadn't noticed it but, all the sheets of paper that she scattered, had been blank. His small chuckle, as awkward as it was would say much more. Looks like Imota /did/ take enjoyment out of watching his sensei squirm.
