Starring:
Date: September 16, 2014
Summary:
Eremi begins training Renai in taijutsu.
"Tai Lesson #1: Speed and Power"
Black Sands Beach, Land of Water
Black-Sands Beach [Land of Water]
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Here lies a long, thin breakwater isle of volcanic black sands, surprisingly soft to the feet despite their fiery birth and the pounding since that has formed the beach. While barely 30 feet wide, the strip is well over 200 long- And is studded with spires of wind-polished obsidian, including the chissel-chipped, flat 'stumps' of stone where obelisks have been drawn forth from this beautiful creation of nature.
While little plant-life lives upon the few inches of sand that cover the volcanic glass and rock that make up the stable substrate, the garbage and refuse of birds can be seen everywhere- And their nests can be found nestled in the shadows of rocks. A single, larger 'hill' of solid rock reaches perhaps two feet above the generally fairly level isle, and upon inspection, a hole is seen in the side of it, leading into a black-glass tunnel lit by phosphorescent moss.
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Contents:
Exits:
North-East - (NE) [Chill River]
North-West - (NW) [Coastal Road]
Down - (D) [Obsidian Tunnel]
South - (S) [Rock-Strewn Beach]
Evening was setting in which meant that Renai's preferred sandy shore was cooling down for the day. The black stuff tended to get really hot just lying there absorbing heat all day. She's cleaned up a section from bird droppings and litter to be more peaceful and scared the stupid creature off. One day, she'll determine what draws them out here and find a way to end it.
The girl is currently in the dryer sand farther from the water's edge. Her limbs are moving in a rather aggressive kata, a Kirigakure style. It's full of sharp movements and closed fist gestures, meant for efficiency and lethality. Until she trips or something on a rock, which Renai is prone to do. That sort of ruins the image. But regardless, her form has been improving and she does it as almost a sort of meditation now to help her mind sort out her thoughts from the day.
Idly, she wanders where Eremi disappeared to during the day. With all she's having to do with the threat of the Silence as of late, she just tends to lose track.
The day had been rather…entertaining for Eremi for when he woke up this morning and first stepped foot out into the docks he had felt the presence of eyes watching his every movements. It was something that was starting to grow rather tiresome while the man tried to simply remain inconspicuous within Kirigakure and lead a somewhat peaceful existence. Though with the amount of mistrust the Mizukage was throwing him his way, perhaps it was time to give the Okumo something to actually worry about. Though that would be a task for another day.
Today though, he did decide to give the Kirigakure ANBU a run for their money. Literally. Choosing to kill two birds with one stone, Eremi took off running away from Kirigakure and led the ANBU on quite the high speed chase around the village while simply doing some exercises he hasn't done himself in a while. It actually took longer than expected as morning quickly turning into high noon which was followed by the evening sun.
Eventually though, after having enough fun of his own, Eremi would go out in search of Renai until finding her amongst the black sands. Shocker. It seemed to be her favorite place. For a while he'd watch the girl before finding an opportune moment to interrupt as he approached. "Evening, Renai. Keeping yourself busy I see."
Renai pauses in her motions when she hears Eremi's voice. She blinks and turns about, lowering her arms. The girl paces over to him through the sand, her lips breaking into a smile. "Eremi, there you are!" She places her hands on her hips, taking up a casual stance as she looks him over, judging his level of intoxication. It /is/ evening after all. "Where have you been all day?" She lifts a brow and looks him over with a frown. "I looked everywhere after lunch and couldn't find you anywhere and then people kept asking me where you were going. And I was like, 'What do you mean? Where is he /going/?'" She huffs. Despite her irritation, she is in a good mood for the most part though and it shows.
Seeing the green haired girl smiling at him, Eremi couldn't help but return the smile. "Here I am." Taking his own stance while a single hand rested upon the three gourds at his side and the other was tucked into a pocket. His eyes remaining focused on Renai, not bothering to look away and check his surroundings even if he was sure the ANBU were still behind him. Not easy to shake off. "Oh, I just went for a run is all. Needed to stretch my legs a bit and loosen some of the stiffness. I think Meruin might be calling me soon to take on his 'test'." He'd sigh at the thought of needing to prove himself to someone he has no respect for. Not wanting to get flustered though, he'd shake his head slowly to at the idea of it all. "What has your day consisted of? Besides looking for me.."
Her expression grows serious at the mention of the test. Renai had been hoping that after their trial with the Silence, Meruin might forgo that little bit. She sighs gently and listens as he changes the subject. "Weeeeelll~.. I taught two beginning classes today, had a ninjutsu session, did research at the library, ran missives between the camps.." She presses a finger to her lips. "And I met up with a friend this morning when I went out hunting. Aaaaand.. I tried to clean up the beach some.. But these stupid birds." She kicks sand toward a nest that's a bit away, expressing her anger at the creature.
Her eyes focus on him as she goes back to thinking about the fight with Meruin though. "You'll be okay, yes?"
Eremi's eyes widened at the list of activities Renai started prattling off. It was much more than he had anticipated the girl to offer. "Wow." He was a little speechless, "You sure know how to keep yourself busy." He chuckled a bit, starting to think what he had accomplished for the day was somewhat, lackluster. When Renai starts to show anger however, towards birds nesting on the beach he tilts his head slightly, wondering if her emotions might be misplaced. "Well you certainly can't get rid of birds. No matter how hard you try. Before the great villages were formed, a lot of this was their home and they know nothing else. They might be equally miffed at you about littering what was once theirs." Something he'd offer, but it definitely wasn't something to curb her anger, maybe give her something to think about. "Eh?" Shifting his weight in his stance, "I'm always ok…Will you be ok?" If things in this test did go bad, Eremi would be gone and who would Renai live with at that point?
Renai folds her arms over her chest as he talks about the birds and this being their home. He does have a point, but it only seems to frustrate her more. Why can't they be clean then? She shrugs a shoulder and turns away from the birds, giving them the shoulder so she can continue studying Eremi. "Well, yeah, I'm a survivor. I just don't want you to get hurt. I didn't save your life for it to just be thrown away.." Her words trail off a bit and she looks away. "I don't want you to have to go either. You're a good person and if you joined Kirigakure.." Her shoulders lift in a shrug again as if she doesn't know how to put her feelings into words. "Maybe you could change things here. I know you don't like villages though. I'm just thinking out loud." She forces a grin at him, trying to lighten the mood she just dropped.
"And I don't plan on throwing my life away either. I didn't come this far to do it so simply." Though as Eremi thought about it, he was in this unfortunate position because of the girl. He was finding himself in more and more positions like this. It was tiring to say the least and yet, he couldn't help but find himself day after day still following her about to whatever misadventure she's led him to. "It's fine to think out loud, don't ever feel like you need to hide something for me…" He'd take in a deep breath, allowing himself some time to think, "As for joining Kirigakure, I just can't see that happening. The hold Meruin has on his subordinates, the way they act compared to how I'm used to them before his reign. It's like they're brainwashed." He'd shake his head, "It's not something I could change. Though maybe, once you're running this place, I might consider joining."
She muses over his words, her mood relaxing and her grin becoming more genuine. She didn't expect him to be all, 'Sign me up!' And that bit about people being brainwashed. She gets a look on her face. There are 'things' she suspects. Ways people act that makes her think people /are/ brainwashed, or at least have a seal controlling their thoughts.
Renai moves, clenching her fists and turning to face him. "Well, then while you're here, help me become strong. I can't become Mizukage if I keep getting beat up."
A broad smile would overtake Eremi's face at the girls last words, "Maybe you could. I spent most of my shinobi career getting beat up and it didn't turn out too badly for me. Well, except for leaving the village of course, but that's an unrelated issue." Chuckling once again, but it didn't last long. "Well, how can I help?" He'd turn about, taking a few steps away from Renai, using this as a reason to 'look over his shoulder' and check the surroundings. Still be watched he was sure, but at least there weren't others gathered about. The suns light was leaving, so while most was preparing to call it a day, here the two of them were, about to train in one form or another.
She watches his actions, pushing the thoughts of being followed out of her mind. It's something she tries not to let darken her day, but she's rather sure she's being monitored too just because of her association with him. "Well, I need help with Taijutsu. I'm good at all things chakra-related, but I had a slow start with physical combat. I just.. was somewhat clumsy growing up, you see. So I didn't get as far as everyone else in the clan." She laughs lightly. "Before they kicked me out though, they wanted me to start training more in it than anything else. Doihara-sensei even made a puppet for it that I could break but wouldn't fall apart. I'm sure he could train me, but he isn't a master of it like you."
Turning about Eremi would face Renai before rolling his eyes and shaking his head, "I'm far from a master, but thank you." In truth he had accomplished much for being a pure taijutsuist, but there was still so much left to master. "A puppeteer in Kiri? Interesting…" He knew there was an alliance between Sunagakure and Kirigakure, but to find out that they're actually allowing clans to join another village seemed a bit odd. Were the alliance to fail, Kirigakure comes out the winner in the end having one of the clans, if not more, secrets. This sounded just as dangerous as anything the Silence might be doing…"Well, what would you like to know…Are you still just as clumsy or have you balanced out since then? When I was going through training, I practiced with weights. It made me get beat up that much more, but in terms of a race, I'd say slow and steady definitely wins."
She frowns at words about a puppeteer, idly wondering if she shouldn't have said anything about his abilities. Well, she did tell him before. Whatever. Doesn't matter.
"I think I'm better, Eremi-sensei. I don't fall over every time I try to punch someone these days." Renai nods in the affirmative. "I still need a lot of practice though. And weights sounds like a good idea. I didn't want to start with those until I knew I could do the movements correctly. One wrong slip up with weights and I could break an arm fairly easily. I would much rather /other/ people hurt me if I'm going to be hurt, I think."
RP: Eremi joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: It is now Eremi's turn.
RP: Renai joins the roleplay.
COMBAT: Eremi finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
Eremi nodded, but frowned shortly after, "Let's try to avoid that though. There's no reason for your own shinobi to be hurting you more than when you are out on a mission. Especially with the need for everyone to be in top shape for when the Silence come to steal your secrets." A hand would idly grab at the smaller of the three gourds attached to his side and bring it to his lips before taking a long, slow drink. Pulling the gourd away from his mouth, "Well, attack me with what you know, and I'll offer my advice. Better than attacking a controlled puppet or a tree, at least."
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with PHYSICAL with a roll of: 26
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with PHYSICAL with a roll of: 14
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with POWER-PHYSICAL with a roll of: 23
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Eremi's turn.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against PHYSICAL(26) attack from Renai with a STUMBLING-MONKEY…36
COMBAT: Eremi wins the roll.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against PHYSICAL(14) attack from Renai with a STUMBLING-MONKEY…29
COMBAT: Eremi wins the roll.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against POWER-PHYSICAL(23) attack from Renai with a STUMBLING-MONKEY…38
COMBAT: Eremi wins the roll.
As the alcohol filled his belly, it didn't take long before it started to take its effect. Though only slightly, it was still enough to help as the girl came at him with several strikes that were he to stay where he was and attempt to block or simply dodge, there was a chance that one or two of the attacks might have hit. However, as she came at him, he was already stumbling away in one direction only to move back towards her. His movements being unpredictable only making it that much more difficult for Renai's hits to land. "You know, your attacks aren't bad. Much the same if not slightly better than when I was your age. And while it's smart to use your legs to build power before landing a blow, you sacrifice accuracy. It's a risk to use if you miss for you've only managed to exert yourself that much more. It's good to try and find a balance between both. Speed and power combined."
COMBAT: Eremi finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
Renai pauses for a moment after his attacks and watches him stumble. She doesn't exactly know what to think. She isn't offended, not at all. She knows he could probably break her in half, even as drunk as he is. It's just well.. funny. And she's trying very hard not to giggle.
At his words, Renai nods. "Balance speed and power. Got it." She briefly rethinks her motions and attacks him again. This time, she's more clinical about it, attempting to focus more on her accuracy than the amount of force, balancing as he says. Her fingers twitch though. She's quite literally standing on her element, what's supposed to be her strength. It's tempting to not use it.
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with PHYSICAL with a roll of: 21
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with PHYSICAL with a roll of: 22
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with PHYSICAL with a roll of: 18
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Eremi's turn.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against PHYSICAL(21) attack from Renai with a DODGE…34
COMBAT: Eremi wins the roll.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against PHYSICAL(22) attack from Renai with a DODGE…30
COMBAT: Eremi wins the roll.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against PHYSICAL(18) attack from Renai with a DODGE…37
COMBAT: Eremi wins the roll.
This time when Renai attacks, her strikes are more consistent. Still needing practice, but the application was decent enough. Eremi shifted from the blows however, not wanting to be hit. Even from tiny fists, a bruise is a bruise and nothing he wants to have to deal with if tomorrow is the day he has to face Meruin. Quickly, the boy would leap backwards and once his feet touch the sand, he pushes off and leaps towards the girl with a succession of kicks that come close to hitting, but miss nonetheless.
COMBAT: Eremi attacks target 1 with LEAF-WHIRLWIND with a roll of: 38
COMBAT: Eremi finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
RPCOMBAT: Renai defends against with a EVASION…21
When Eremi comes at her, she back up a few steps. The girl blinks as his attacks come so close to hitting her, but don't. If he had pushed that much harder, she would be hurt. The genin regains her balance and looks to him with lifted eyebrows. She has so far to go to ever match him in strength.
She rushes him again, but with a different tactic this time. The ground beneath Eremi would suddenly swell in a wave, attempting to trip him and she would simultaneously attempt to land a kick in his midsection. This is what he told her not to do, sort of, but she wants to see how mixing styles will go. Being versatile is probably her only claim to fame at the moment.
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with SAND-TRIP with a roll of: 16
COMBAT: Renai attacks Eremi with POWER-PHYSICAL with a roll of: 20
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Eremi's turn.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against SAND-TRIP(16) attack from Renai with a TENSE…9
COMBAT: Eremi loses the roll and sustains 0 damage.
COMBAT: Eremi defends against POWER-PHYSICAL(20) attack from Renai with a TENSE…10
COMBAT: Eremi loses the roll and sustains 319 damage.
It wasn't long after landing from his attack that the sand shifted and caused Eremi to lose his balance. It was an uneasy feeling similar to being drunk, but he wasn't in control and made it difficult to regain his balance as Renai followed up with a kick to his midsection. The damage was minimal, but was enough to hunch him over. Stumbling backwards, he'd clutch his stomach as he straightened up. "Cheap, but smart. Though I thought you wanted to learn Taijutsu techniques, not how to get an upper hand on your opponent. Combining the various styles you know is incredibly useful, just make sure you train them all equally."
COMBAT: Eremi finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Renai's turn.
Renai does seem a bit triumphant having gotten a hit in on him, but she knows he gave it to her. If he had been more alert, that never would have happened. "I will, Eremi. And.. uh.. sorry. It's hard to resist, you know." Her cheeks flush though they might be hard to see in this dimming light. She reaches up to run her fingers over her braid and looks at him, wondering he wants her to continue. If not, she has learned something valuable for sure. Kirigakure styles have a tendency to focus on power to do as much damage as possible. That's not an option for her. She has to balance, like he said.
COMBAT: Renai finishes her turn.
COMBAT: It is now Eremi's turn.
Eremi inhaled quickly, rubbing his stomach a bit and then smiled in the end, "It's fine. I've dealt with worse." He'd walk up to the girl and rest a hand on her head, (not a pat)"Never feel like you need to apologize for doing what you think was right. Your life is your own to live and not something for anyone else to control." He'd pause, "Unless that's how you want to live your life of course." Since spending time with Renai, the 'orphaned' child, he couldn't help himself and wonder each day at the role models she looked up to and where it would take her.
When he rests a hand on her head, she blinks and blushes further. At his words, she would nod, ducking her head away. "Understood. And no, I don't want to live my life by someone else's rules." That simple desire has caused so many issues for her. People challenge her over it because they think she isn't loyal. Renai is. Her priority list is just in a different order than what's expected. "Mind you, I don't want to live it in fear either." She tilts her head at that and smiles. "It'll all work out one day. C'mon. Are you hungry? I'm starving. I killed a huge rabbit this morning. I'll cook it for us." She would wait for him to follow her and then start heading back to their living space, the sunset on their backs.
