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Post by Maelstrom of The Llamas on Sept 19, 2012 16:36:59 GMT -5
Did you ever see one of those professional chefs who could make the most foul of plants into something absolutely delicious, but couldn't make something like a grilled cheese sandwich to save their lives? That was almost how Rokudou felt right now. He had already learned the Forest of Rock technique, which was essentially a larger version of this technique, with some different movements. Even though it wasn't actually that bad of a problem, he still felt a bit stupid for it.
He had three large rocks laid out in front of him, each one sitting there, taunting him like a running animal, that he couldn't seem to lay his hands on. Trying again, he channeled his chakra into the earth, as he did for so many techniques, and let it build up underneath the left rock. He let the chakra burst up from the ground, causing a pole about the width of a fist shoot up underneath the rock, taking it about five feet into the air, before snapping under the weight of it. Rokudou growled in frustration, as his Earth techniques failed again. His control over them had gotten worse, with all the physical conditioning he'd been doing.
Something twinged in the back of his mind. He realized it was the exact same thing as at least two other techniques he knew, and it just needed to be stronger, forcefully. Shaking his head, he began to focus more chakra into the ground around him, grimacing a bit. He used one of the poles to launch himself into the air, which was a seriously odd sensation to experience. And for the first time, the rock came up with him, as well. He twisted his body mid-air, and managed to touch the rock quickly, before they both came back to earth, less gracefully than he'd have liked.
Rokudou had no clue how to move himself once he was in the air. It wasn't something a dancer like him as used to considering, aerial combat. It was a sincerely odd thought, since he pretty much relied on the ground to move himself about. He paused a second, thinking he'd heard something behind him.
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Post by Jedo on Sept 19, 2012 16:52:52 GMT -5
(10/20)
Hidin stopped cloaking his chakra as Rokudou landed. He flicked a small pebble off the boulder he had been laying on, watching Rokudou for the last few minutes. "Nice try Rokudou-kun. Remember the smallest details make or break your attempt. Logistics are everything." Mikoto peeked out of his cloak, parroting her father. Let's see if he has it in him to succeed. He just needed to remember to relax. To let gravity and his chakra do the work. "Go with the flow my young friend."
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Post by Maelstrom of The Llamas on Sept 19, 2012 17:22:47 GMT -5
Rokudou sighed a little bit, embarrassed that two prodigies like the Mizukage and his daughter had seen his failed attempt at a simple technique like that. "Thank you, Mizukage-sama..." He let the words glide off his tongue as smoothly as possible. He didn't want to be disrespectful. "I appreciate the advice." He scratched the side of his head, a slight itch in his hair from the sweat. He'd need to wash his hair again. The amount of money he was spending on shampoo and conditioner was getting kind of ridiculous, but it was the price of hair like his. Putting his ponytail out of his mind, he looked at the rocks in front of him.
'Logistics are everything...' He repeated the phrase over and over in his head, considering his options. He hadn't been close enough to the rock to make a decent attack, or even to grab it out of the air and start working a combo on it. 'Angles.' The word darted through his cranium, bouncing around a few times, letting him smile. 'Got it.' His chakra went into the ground again, becoming more routine with every attempt at the technique. He launched himself into the air with a pole first, leaping off of it at the top of its range, and waited to arrive at the top of his jump before pushing a pole out of the ground underneath the middle rock, but on an angle, causing the rock to fly towards him, as opposed to going straight up.
Now he was using the force of his fall to add to his maneuvers, as well as bringing the target towards him. He grabbed the rock from out of the air, tossing it back down to earth, where another pole pushed out of the ground and flung the rock back up to the sky. He'd misjudged this one, sending it about five feet away from him. Hidin had said to go with the flow. Rokudou considered his options, as he was coming back down to earth. His eyes lit up again, another idea appearing out of the blue.
He let another rod come up to meet his foot, keeping him at decent height, before a long pole of earth shot up beside him, actually coming out of the earth, as he hoped it would. 'Glad that worked...' He caught the flying pole out of the air, spinning it out with a flick of his wrist, to smack the flying rock down towards the ground. He hadn't thought past this part, to be entirely honest. The rock landed in the dirt with a dull thump, with Rokudou teetering at the top of a seven-foot pole. Feeling a bit ridiculous staying up there, he dropped the pole he was holding onto the ground, before jumping down after it. He'd created a bit of a mess, with some earthen rods just making their way out of the ground at random. He looked menacingly at the other two rocks, as if to say "that could happen to you", feeling like he'd almost accomplished something. He still wasn't sure how to move about in the air, feeling a bit like a fish out of water, but it still wasn't that bad.
Remembering the Mizukage was watching, he turned for a look of approval or denial, somewhat nervous as to what it would be.
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Post by Jedo on Sept 19, 2012 17:36:11 GMT -5
(15/20)
Hidin lighlty clapped as he relaxed further. "Close, much closer. But remember always think outside the box. But don't overthink, you'll often miss the point." He noticed his daughter eating candy she had pulled from somewhere despite her lack of pockets. How does she do that? He pondered, before turning his attention back to Rocudou. "Have you ever heard of the chacra fist? If not then ignore me. but if you have think on it."
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Post by Maelstrom of The Llamas on Sept 19, 2012 18:06:33 GMT -5
Rokudou smiled a tiny bit, appreciating the honesty. He was getting somewhere, it seemed, and that was good. He rubbed his hands together, exhaling and preparing himself for the next round. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle something like the deficiency he suffered from. Frowning, he stepped a few paces towards the rocks, before using the same technique the throw them up into the air at equal height. Seconds after, he'd lifted himself up to where his head was at the same height as the rocks. He moved as if to slap the bottom of one of the rocks, which were falling down beside each other, now. He surged his chakra into the palm touching the rock, allowing a blast of concussive force to fire it a few meters higher into the air. The pillar of rock that would usually follow to throw an enemy into the air didn't come to hit the rock, but a little higher than where he was standing at the time.
Disconnecting the rod he was standing on from the earth beneath him, he used his foot to push it in such a way that it flipped in mid-air, going up past Rokudou and smacking the second rock out of his way. He quickly made his way onto the pillar that had come up as part of his Blast Arm Earth Palm technique, grabbing hold of the rod out of instinct. Not knowing what to do with it as the first rock came crashing down to earth, he thought a second. '...don't overthink...' the man had said. So he stopped it, and used the pole to jab the rock back up into the air again, before calling down to the Antari in response "I haven't heard of it, no, sir," he called, before motioning for a new pole to come out of the ground where the second rock was about to land, and strike it in a way that it would come back up to him.
He hit the second stone harder than he had anticipated, causing it to soar back up to Rokudou with unprecedented speed and force. It nearly smashed him in the side of the head, but he dodged, causing him to fall off his perch. On the way back down, he created two new poles, one which stayed in the ground, and one to fly up in the air. He grabbed the stationary pole with one hand, spinning his body so that he could put his foot on it, and stand. The second pole flew up into the air, meeting the overshot rock, and knocked it in such a way that it (accidentally) ran into the first rock, and as they collided, they both smashed into small chunks, raining down on Rokudou, which he had mixed feelings about. While he was definitely pleased he'd broken the rocks in such a cinematic way, he was vaguely irritated about not meaning to, and the fact that little miniature boulders were now pelting him, as a final taunt from the same animal. He raised his arm to shield his face, grimacing as they smacked into his bare arm. He hopped off of the pole once they were done falling, making sure not to land on a rock, so as to not twist his ankle.
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Post by Jedo on Sept 19, 2012 18:19:46 GMT -5
(20/20 Learned)
Hidin rose to his feet, applauding. "You pretty much have the move down. You just need to polish it a bit." He turned and his mouth dropped as he saw Mikoto waving around a Victory sign larger than heself. Perplexed hr turned back to Rokudou. "I don't know where she keeps pulling these things from. Now over tea your grandmother hinted you wanted to see me."
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Post by Maelstrom of The Llamas on Sept 19, 2012 18:31:25 GMT -5
Rokudou couldn't help but laugh at the adorable little child waving the ridiculous sign around. He himself hadn't seen her procure it, so he wasn't sure either. He stepped out of his little pile of rocks and poles, dusting himself off, and adjusting his vest. "Thank you, sir, I appreciate the help." Rokudou looked at the sky, wondering how to put his request.
He put his hands behind his back, squeezing one with the other, taking and letting out a good, solid breath. "I did want to speak to you, Mizukage-sama," he said, trying to steady his voice. Despite his confidence, it was still a hefty request. "I didn't have many friends when I was little, and I'm not going to complain about that. I was a weird kid, and the children in the academy weren't sure what to make of me. But once I graduated to Genin, there was one boy you might remember, Ryuujin, that I would work with all the time, out on missions and training. He was from Kumogakure, if you can't place the name."
He took a pause for breath, feeling like he was taking too long conveying the message. "And he always was far stronger than me, almost like he did all the work for me. And I was fine with him being powerful, it was just how he was. But in the Kyoufou Islands, during the rebellion, we were in a battle, and he took a blade through his gut to save me from getting speared." Rokudou realized that he probably shouldn't have been talking about this beside such a young child, before thinking that she knew all about this, having lived through the war and growing up as Hidin's child.
"So I promised myself that I would be powerful, like Ryuujin. So that I'd never have to be defended like that again, so that I could save people." He tried to force a smile, though he struggled with the subject matter. "And, basically, I don't feel like I'm getting there fast enough. And I know I'm not a Genin anymore, not that I had a teacher then either, but I was wondering... His voice trailed off into the distance at that point, and he winced. "I was wondering if you would teach me, sir."
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Post by Jedo on Sept 19, 2012 18:46:13 GMT -5
Hidin nodded solomnly, sadly stroking his beloved cousin's sword. "I know what it's like to lose those close to you. But you need more than words to convince me." Hidin tosssed his hat to the side, as Mikoto ran to cover. He streched his limbs as he regarded Rokudou. "I'll tell you the same thing I was told by your grandmother. Impress me, make me want to teach you. I care not for your power, what jutsu you can or cannot do. All that matters is your spirit, your heart. So me how bright your spirit burns." Hidin calmly picked up a piece of rubble from Rokudou's earlier training and crushed it in his fist with a small effort of strength. He stood tall as the dust whipped through the air around him. "Or I'll crush you. Just like the rock. Begin"
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Post by Maelstrom of The Llamas on Sept 19, 2012 19:01:51 GMT -5
Rokudou heard what man said, and it rung true. He smiled a bright grin, as if it had been hiding somewhere for years, waiting to come back and shine. "Let's party," he said, taking an index of his body, his chakra levels, and what he had on him. He was ready.
He leaped forwards, taking note of the surrounding environment. There weren't many things around them. There was an occasional tree, which wasn't of much use to him, and the ground was firm. The ground was at a halfway point between being dusty and grassy, at the point where things were barely alive, dying at best. His child had managed to find one of the few trees in the area, and hide behind that, which meant he had to keep away from that area. As he got close to the Mizukage, he ducked down into a partial crouch, leaning over on his right hand, kicking at the Kage's stomach with his left leg. Anticipating that the man's superior fighting ability would easily dispatch his basic attack, Rokudou prepared to use a Replacement technique, allowing the Kage to strike the one rock he'd left intact.
If the Kage was struck by his attack, he would follow up by using both his hands to hold himself on the ground, using his other leg to sweep the man off his feet. In the probably case that his attack was thwarted in a harmful way, Rokudou would use his replacement technique to appear behind the man, before using Blast Arm Earth Palm directly behind his head, hopefully shocking his ears, and then using the following rising earthen pole to strike the Kage in the groin, hoping to disable him early on.
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Post by Jedo on Sept 20, 2012 10:27:17 GMT -5
Hidin turned his body, the kick hittting nothing but air. He let his motion carry through, his arm wripping out as he completed his turn. The force of thr blow shattered the rock as Rokudou substituded away. Hidin listened carefully, using the small debris around him as a warning system, his hand going to requiem's hilt. Hearing a pebble displaced behind him, he turned, drawing his katana as rokudou tried to attack. Requim's pure white blade arched out in a blur toward Rokudou's torso, Hidin using only a fraction of his normal speed.
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Post by Maelstrom of The Llamas on Sept 20, 2012 10:43:57 GMT -5
The Mizukage smashed the rock to bits, in a brutal display of raw strength, as Rokudou had expected. He appeared behind his Lord, preparing to use one of his clan's sound techniques. However, before he could move his arm to strike at the Kage, he'd already turned and begun to slash at the boy's torso. 'Change of plans, expect delays.' He switched his strategies, saving his clan technique for later, quickly throwing himself at the ground, before making a few simple hand seals, and falling down into the earth, using the Inner Decapitation technique he'd learned in the Stone Village, many years ago.
Once he was in the ground, he realized he had only seconds before Hidin surely dug him out of there, and he couldn't allow such a quick defeat. Using another old technique of his, he sent a disc of chakra up above his head (which was odd, since he was used to sending the chakra through his feet, down to the earth, instead of being underground), to where Hidin was standing, activating the technique, with the hopes that Hidin would be thrown into the air, where he might be more manageable.
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[M:-350]
