The teenager shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked down the busy street. Katsuko was no stranger to his teammates, but the request seemed strange. Tsubasa had asked him to come over to her apartment, but refused to say why. It seemed suspicious to the Moto, but he still obliged. He looked around the street, feeling almost like he was lost. Despite knowing Tsubasa for some time now, he had never really known where she lived. Then again, he imagined she didn't know where he lived either. But he felt like she was close. The orange-haired teen took another look around before spotting several apartments down the street and realizing he was in fact on the right track.
Kinda strange she wouldn't say why she wanted me over, Katsuko thought as he approached the first apartment, the one that belonged to Tsubasa.
Wouldn't kill me I suppose. Probably wants to talk about something important. Rather casually, Katsuko leaned against the wall next to the door and leaned his arm back to rap his knuckles on it several times, clearly loud enough for anyone inside to hear.
Tsubasa hated summers.... too hot and humid around Konoha. Grumbling about her apartment without the will to do anything other than glare at the sun and drink water. As she got up to grab herself another glass, she heard a knock at the door. Slightly puzzled, she set her glass down on a random counter and walked toward the door. By this point she had completely forgotten that she had invited anyone over.... she didn't bother to care about what she was wearing. Unlocking the door and swinging it open, Tsubasa glared apatheticly toward who knocked toward the door, wearing her sweaty tank top and bike shorts. font
"Hell-....." She said stopped short by the sight of her teammate.
Upon the door opening, Katsuko stood in full view. At first, he seemed surprised that Tsubasa looked entirely unprepared for company. Then a throught crossed his mind and he grinned.
I dressed better than one of my teammates for once. With a chuckle, he closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Lookin' good, Tsubasa," he said with a light chuckle, before opening his blue eyes and looking back at her.
"You look like you forgot you invited me over." Despite the door being open, Katsuko had the sense not to simply walk in. Though he did decide to lean against the doorframe, one hand still in his pant's pockets.
Tsubasa quickly pulled the door closer to her and grumbled.
"Well.... summers kind of mess with my..." Tsubasa looked inside of her apartment and the horrid mess it was in.
"Everything... come on in. I need to grab a hoodie so... no peaking." She said as she quickly skirted away to her bedroom and picked up the closest hoodie.
"So I'm going to assume you're here for the thing I was going to surprise you with right?" She said as she threw the hoodie over her head. She calmly grabbed something from her bedside table and slipped it into her hoodie pocket.
He took a quick glance around the apartment as he walked in, taking care to shut the door behind him.
"Why do people assume I'm a pervert?" he mumbled to himself, unintentionally loud enough to be heard. Though Tsubasa made it seem like it would take her a few minutes to be presentable, she seemed much quicker than that.
"Oh. A surprise?" Katsuko retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. In his experience, surprises were mostly bad. Sometimes life threatening. So he was never a big fan of the unexpected.
"I guess I'm here for that. Please tell me you aren't going to try and kill me."Slipping out of her room, Tsubasa had a grin on her face with both hands on her main pocket. Slipping her fingers into the ringlets, she tightened her grip.
"Well I'm not going to kill you.... and your male....therefore a pervert." Tsubasa said noticing she sounded a lot like Yumi. Tsubasa's grin turned to a glare and rushed forward with each blade in hand. Making a lunge toward Katsuko, she haulted her hand before she made contact. The gleaming piece of
metal, glistened in the meak sunlight in the apartment.
"That's unfair, I've never done anything like that bef-" Katsuko stopped mid-sentence as Tsubasa lunged toward him in an attacking position. His irises immediately changed to a green color as he asserted a defensive stance, even positioning one of his feet between Tsubasa's. But before his block met either of her strikes, she stopped. Katsuko paused for a moment, before realizing that she was joking around. An awkward chuckle escaped him.
"I was pretty much asking for that, wasn't I?" he noted first, relaxing out of his combat stance and rubbing the back of his head. Then he truly noticed the weapons that Tsubasa had.
"Ah. This must be what you were talking about." They were similar to the steel knuckles he already used, and even had with him now, but each had a small blade protruding out from the bottom of the fist. A sharp twist to a familiar weapon.
Tsubasa chuckled as she loosened her grip on the weapon and hung it on her finger.
"I figured you would enjoy it. Its my handy work. Here... take a look." She said with a smirk. It was hard for her to make such a small weapon, but he needed something with a blade at this point. Blunt instruments are rather cruel.
"Come on! Play around with it!"The orange teenager reached out and took the weapon, examining it for a moment. It appeared to be in the same principle as his steel knuckles, but it looked less sturdy, which emphasized using the blade on the end. So this was a cutting weapon. After looking at it, Katsuko tried it on, finding it to fit surprisingly well.
"How did you guess the right size to make these?" he asked as he stretched and wiggled his fingers. Not exactly waiting for a response, Katsuko made a quick jab at the air, getting a feel for the weapon. He already noticed that to properly use it, he would have to aim his strikes slightly differently. The possibility of adding extra lethality to his grappling also crossed his mind.
"Seems pretty useful."
"Simple.... I guessed at the size. Also I guess I should offer you some tea or something...." She said as she stepped toward her kitchenette and grabbed her glass. Beginning to fan herself, she realized why she wasn't wearing so much before. Wishing Katsuko wasn't there, she turned her fasset to fill her glass and grabbed the kettle for tea.
"How about it?"Katsuko was still making jabs at the air when Tsubasa asked about the weapon again.
"It's certainly something new to play with. Lets me mix it up a bit," he said first, before taking the weapon off and twirling it around his fingers.
"Surprisingly light. What's it made of?" After asking the question, he realized that he was talking to somebody who knew far more about metals than he ever would and briefly hoped it wouldn't be something complex. But in that moment of distraction, the bladed weapon flew from his hands and embedded itself in a nearby wall. Hoping Tsubasa was too distracted to notice, Katsuko quickly withdrew it and held it in his hand again for another inspection.
"I kinda like it. Makes me think of new ways to kick ass."Tsubasa's shoulders dropped as she glared at him.
"You didn't even hear me did you..." She grumbled before picking up a sponge and throwing it a thim.
"LISTEN! DO YOU WANT TEA OR NOT!?" She said before she grabbed her glass and took a sip. Though Katsuko saw the sponge coming at him, he felt no particular need to dodge it and let it bounce off his arm.
"Oh, right. Yeah, I'd like some tea, thanks." Katsuko stopped holding the weapon and put it in his pockets, something he figured would turn out to be unwise but worked for now. He also found it surprising that Tsubasa was offering tea.
Perhaps it was normal to offer and his mother wasn't just old fashioned. Thinking about it, it made him feel a bit barbaric. Regardless, he sat down on the couch and let out a sigh.
"Sorry about that." He closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened they were once again blue.
Tsubasa grumbled as she placed her kettle on the stove and turned it on before walking around and settling on the couch next to Katsuko.
"So... what's up with you today, apart from this?" She said as she took another sip of her glass. The orange haired teenager ran a hand through his hair and thought about it.
"Well..." he began, already realizing that nothing he was about to say was going to be interesting to her.
"Nothing out of the usual for me. Trained from dawn until an hour ago. Practiced my kenjutsu today and my stamina. Nothing really interesting I suppose." Katsuko just began to realize how hot it was in Tsubasa's apartment, allowing him to understand why she was dressed the way she was.
"Then I cleaned myself up, believe it or not, and walked over here."Tsubasa chuckled a bit.
"Well... I woke up like an hour ago.... I kind of REALLY lazy during the summer. I'm a winter person. Maybe I'll get some training in later today...." Tsubasa said as she leaned backward lazily, stretching out on the couch.
"Care to help me get out the door?" Her request made Katsuko raise an eyebrow, but he decided to simply shrug it off.
"If you really need it," he joked, standing up from the couch. He was half tempted to simply walk to the door and open it, as a sort of smartass response. The prospect of this pissing her off made him change his mind, and he offered a hand to help pull her off the couch.
"Ya know, waiting until it's late will only make it worse in the summer. Mornings are the best time for training if you ask me."Lazily grabbing Katsuko's arm, she lifted herself up and slipped toward the kitchenette to fetch the tea.
"I try to get up, but then I get baked alive in this room and kind of just wither. Maybe I'm hot blooded or something." She said with a slightly more masuline grumble. Picking the kettle off the stove and shutting it off, she calmly poured Katsuko a cup and brought it to him.
"I'm going to go get dressed and armored. Don't sneak in, unless you want to see a whole lot of nothing." She said patting her chest and slipping back into her room.
Katsuko gave Tsubasa a smile as he took the cup, but it disappeared when she explained she was going to change her clothes. Because of the manner of how she explained it.
"Wait... what?" he mumbled to himself, trying to process why she would say that, despite seeing the gesture she added. It took him a moment to realize it wasn't a threat but a joke, at which he felt it was too late to bother laughing. In his infinite wisdom, Katsuko took a sip of the hot tea without waiting for it to cool, and immediately regretted it. Regardless, he walked back towards the couch and stood next to it, simply holding the tea rather than burning himself with it as he waited for Tsubasa to return.
Tsubasa threw off her hoodie, tank top, and bike shorts in several seconds flat. She was good at getting out of hot sticky clothing.... getting in it however was another story. Tsubasa glared at her armor and underlay with almost distain. Slipping into her tight athletic pants, Tsubasa could already feel the heat getting to her. Luckily she had a short sleeve shirt she could wear to match it, but she could do the breat plate today. Too hot. Putting on her boots and greaves, Tsubasa began to put on her belt and various pouches. Already feeling the sweat on her legs, she came out of her room with her great sword on her shoulder.
"So... what am I going to work on today...Any suggestions?" She said as she tilted her head toward the door.
"Hmmm..." Katsuko brought a hand to his chin as he thought about it.
"You're a skilled swordsman... swordswoman? I don't know if that's actually a word. Anyways, since I trained out of my strong suit today, I suggest you do the same." A grin formed on his face, and he pointed at himself with his thumb.
"I can teach you a thing or two about taijutsu, if you're feeling up to it." He assumed that Tsubasa would already know how to fight with her fists, since kenjutsu and taijutsu had similar flow and similar training styles. But her strong suit was with the blade, and a large heavy one at that. Fighting with her fists and feet might just be out of her element. With that suggestion, Katsuko's irises turned green again and he already started toward the door, opening it and allowing Tsubasa to exit first.
Tsubasa scratched her chin in thought and nodded.
"Might as well... it's too hot for weapons today..." Tsubasa said as she tossed her sword lazily on the ground with a thump.
"Lets go before I decide to stop by the closest tea shop." She said with a grumble and slipped out the door. Brushing her bangs out of her face, Tsubasa walked slowly down the stairs and grumbled.
"So... what are you going to teach me?"Walking just behind Tsubasa, Katsuko still had a grin on his face.
"The underlying principles to the Broken Fist," he said rather simply with a chuckle.
"Though they are useful for any style, I imagine. If I took the effort to entirely teach you my family's Broken Fist, I would probably take a beating for it if I was caught. Just the basics of it are good enough to give you an advantage the next time you're in a fight without your blade." Unlike before, when they were conversing in her apartment, Katsuko now had an air of total confidence about him. Like he knew what he was saying was a fact.
"I'm sure you'll be able to get the idea behind it and use it your own way." Despite having trained all morning, he seemed excited to train again, even though it was more of helping Tsubasa train.
Tsubasa rolled her shoulder backwards repeatedly, stretching out the muscles to loosen them up. She hadn't trained for the last couple of days for obvious reasons, but she didn't feel rusty.
"Any tips before we get started? It would probably help to get me into the mindset." Starting up the hill towards the training fields, she began to crack her knuckles. She was excited to actually learn something from her teammates instead of just sparring. Kensuke and Ryo only want to spar...
"Advice..." Katsuko thought aloud, rubbing his chin.
"When it comes to reading your opponent's next move, most people watch the body language. But you can also predict attacks by watching the eyes. The eyes give away just as much as muscle movements." He closed his eyes and thought about what he said for a moment, making sure that it came out right and made sense. It was likely that Tsubasa already knew simple tricks, but there was always a chance that she didn't.
"It's hard to break it down into little tips. I just have to explain things entirely."Tsubasa grumbled a bit.
"Well then... maybe you can run me through it stance by stance. That or you can treach me like the rest of our team and simply spar." Tsubasa said sarcasticly then glared at Katsuko as they walked through the entrance of the training fields.
"So.... what is stance one?" She said as she rung her fingers out to loosen them up.
Before saying anything else, Katsuko held his hand out in Tsubasa's direction with his palm facing toward her.
"Before going into stances, we need to see how well you can punch and kick. After all, that is the fundamental practice: hitting your opponent directly." He nodded toward his hand.
"So take a swing. Give me your best shot." Though he was standing perfectly straight, not bracing himself in any way, he knew that his arm would take any punch she could take unflinchingly. What he wanted to see was her form, so he could gauge how experienced she was.
Tsubasa shrugged a bit before tightening her fists and bringing them up into something like a boxing stance. Without missing a beat, Tsubasa threw a pair of light jabs with her left hand, not really meant to do any real damage, but instead to range out her next punch. With a lot of force behind it, Tsubasa pictured punching through the hand and thrust forward with the right hand. Figuring that she would try to let out a full combo on her instructor, Tsubasa twisted with the momentum of her last punch and began to raise her left leg. Pivoting on her right leg, she calmly and gracfully crossed her armored heel across the target with surprising force and speed. Bringing her heel back down to the floor and assumed the same stance she had started in. Tilting her head to the side, Tsubasa calmly blew some of her bangs that flopped into her face.
"Thoughts?"Once Tsubasa was standing upright again, Katsuko withdrew his hand and smirked.
"I don't need to teach you the basics, it would seem," Katsuko said first, shaking his head.
"But now I have a feel for the sort of style that would work best for you." Despite saying he already had an idea, Katsuko then stopped and thought for a moment.
"The ideal stance you want to be in when facing an opponent as close as we are..." Katsuko took a step forward, placing his left foot directly between both of Tsubasa's and his right foot behind him for balance. He brought his left hand up in a fist, holding it horizontal rather than vertical, while he brought his right arm to his side, but slightly extended away.
"If you can get in this position while fighting, you can dominate. This isn't best for me, but this would suit you well if forced upon you." As an example, Katsuko made a mock jab with his left fist, stopping just short of Tsubasa's ribs.
"This range would give you maximum power for your speed." With that explained, he relaxed out of the stance.
"You try it."Tsubasa hesitantly assumed the same stance as Katsuko, already feeling a bit out of her element. Attempting to make small jabs, she noted that it was a little more comfortable.
"Seems a bit... awkward, like I can't move my legs without compromising my balance. Lemme see." Tsubasa began to try to strafe around Katsuko in a circle. There wasn't much of a change, though having a 'home' position was helpful instead of simply placing her feet where ever.
"Mind if I try some combos?"
The orange-haired teen nodded.
"Here's some suggestions though." Katsuko used his left hand to point at his lower left rib cage, then his solar plexus, and finally his left temple.
"These are good places to strike with your right arm. And as for your left..." Now using his right hand, he pointed out a similar spot on his ribs, then to his neck, then his jaw.
"The stance you are in is good for legwork, but not exactly for kicks. Still provides for the opportunities though, but please don't hit me in the groin." With that little instructional bit, Katsuko smirked and chuckled, before putting his own hands up in a mock fighting stance.
A small smirk came across her face when she heard Katsuko's final instruction.
"Not good for kicks... ew?" Tsubasa's eyes narrowed as she loosened her fists a bit. Quickly closing the rang between them, Tsubasa made a singular jab with her left and then another with her right toward his right ribs and left side of the head, all while taking a step behind his left leg. Pulling her arms in to protect her ribs and head before attempting to trip Katsuko by lifting her leg up in a sharp movement behind his knee.
Her fists connected exactly where she planned they would, as Katsuko made no movements to stop them. In fact, it seemed almost that the punches hardly even moved him from the force, let alone bothered him. However, her attempt at tripping him did not go as smoothly, as his leg didn't budge in the slightest when she lifted.
"Not bad, not bad," Katsuko said, still maintaining his pose.
"I'm not sure how well this would work for you, but where trips fail you can attempt to grapple from that stance. May not work so well against an opponent like me, but many shinobi these days fail to predict you grabbing them, and if you control one of their limbs you can practically control them." With surpising speed, Katsuko curled in his leg that Tsubasa attempted to trip, catching her ankle between his heel and his leg. In this fashion, he balanced on one foot and lifted up, to bring Tsubasa off balance and allow him to grab her leg without getting out of his stance. Of course, this presented an opportunity for her to escape, as he planned, but provided a challenge in the form of only a small window of opportunity to do so.
Stumbling back a bit, Tsubasa squeaked a bit as her ankle was quickly trapped between Katsuko's leg. Thinking quickly, Tsubasa placed one of her hands below her to support her weight as she twisted around to bring her armored boot toward Katsuko's face. She supplimented the kick with her twisting momentum so she wouldn't have to exert too much energy, but hopefully it would get her free.
The kick to his face had enough force to move Katsuko this time. And since he was only standing on one leg, this made him lose his balance and begin to lean dangerously. In order to prevent himself from falling on the ground and giving Tsubasa the advantage, he had to release her leg so he could plant his other foot and remain upright. A smirk formed on his face as he wiped his chin.
"I caught some dirt from that," he joked, before getting into his fighting stance again. Only this time it was different, as he bent his knees and added a slight lean. Rather than make fists, he kept his hands open and motioned with them for Tsubasa to attack again.
"You have some skill in taijutsu already, so that means you need to be challenged to improve."Tsubasa quickly straightened herself out and moved into a slightly more comfortable version of the stance that Katsuko taught her. Cracking one of her knuckles by simply tightening her fist.
"Lets just hope I learn something else." Charging forward with a sprint, Tsubasa made a quick juke the left and right, before jumping toward Katsuko with a quick plunging punch and rolling past him. It was an attempt to at least get him out of his normal way of dealing with a threat, but not to actually cause harm.
As she closed in, Katsuko's smirk vanished as he prepared for business. He was able to follow her quick movements, and when she charged forward with her strike he sidestepped and pivoted in time with her motion. This let her punch fly past him, while he was still able to keep his eyes on her as she moved. But before she could recover from her punch, Katsuko planted his left foot and kicked off, allowing him to catch up with her. With his right arm already pulled back, he kept his hand in an open palm position and slammed it forward. Of course he significantly reduced his power, as he didn't want to send her flying with the attack, but he kept enough force to leave an impression. But he specifically aimed it at her forehead, a blow that would do well to making any foe lose their balance and become dizzy temporarily.
Tsubasa didn't see the quick open palmed strike coming and took it as she turned to face him again, getting knocked back a bit dazzed. Attempting to bring her arms up again to make a defensive stance, Tsubasa dizzily raised them with a few obvious hole in her defense. She had screwed up, but she probably should have expected as much. She wasn't using her weapons with the advantages of disarming and blunt power. Loosening her fists, she figured it was about time she switched up her strategy. Waiting for Katsuko to strike first, Tsubasa got had got an idea.
Katsuko smirked a bit as he saw Tsubasa get her arms back up after his strike. He didn't hit her too hard that she lost her sense.
"There is a guaranteed trick to allow you a chance when fighting an opponent that is more skilled than you," Katsuko said. Though, as evidenced by his grin, he didn't intend to tell her what that trick is just yet. Instead he curled his hands into fists, changing into a more offensive stance. He made a quick dash forward, but rather than use that momentum for an attack he stopped just outside Tsubasa's reach and launched himself with a spin, sending a kick toward her chest to knock her over.
Tsubasa's eyes widened as she saw him dash toward her and even more surprised when he threw a kick toward her chest. Without flinching, Tsubasa simply mimiced her instructor and sidestepped the attack and attempted to caught him by.... something. Still dazzed, Tsubasa's hands ended up Katsuko's shoulder and his belt line. Quickly hip tossing him to the side, Tsubasa assumed a more structured defensive stance and prepared for what could possibly come next.
"Well that was cheeky...." She said under her breath.
Despite her daze, she managed to avoid the attack and even through Katsuko to a safe distance. Even though her hand positioning was interesting to say the least. As Katsuko landed on his feet, he immediately spun around and launched forward again. This time, rather than give Tsubasa a common attack like a punch or a kick, he made an attempt to tackle her. He knew that she was used to dealing with adversaries specializing in taijutsu, but wanted to throw her something different to deal with. He said it before, but it was true that not many shinobi used grappling tactics. So it was time to see what she would do to avoid a full body tackle. And if she couldn't, he figured he would have to coach her on how to escape.
Tsubasa didn't expect an immediate attempt to tackle her after their last little bout. Being quickly grabbed around the waist by Katsuko, Tsubasa did what little she could to prevent being dominated. Bringing her knees up in between herself and Katsuko, she prepard to quickly kick him off. Now on her back, Tsubasa worked her legs between herself and Katsuko to break free and kick him away.
She was a quick thinker. He hardly had her on the ground before she had a plan to break free.
"You waste no time," he joked, letting her kick him back. Rather fluidly, he landed on his feet and resumed his fighting stance, almost as if he had jumped off her himself. However, he paused a moment to allow her to get back into a fighting stance herself.
"The ultimate goal of taijutsu is to defeat your opponent using your own body as a weapon," Katsuko began explaining.
"It isn't as simple as just making a punch or two, though that does work often enough. Unlike pure kenjutsu, pure taijutsu allows your entire body to be a weapon." Katsuko slowly began to change stance, standing lower to the ground and keeping his arms out and horizontal.
"And there are infinite ways to do that. You just have to find what works best for you." Now he was letting Tsubasa take the offensive again.
Tsubasa calmly somersaulted herself up in a graceful manner, before assuming her newest stance.
"I guess I'll keep that in mind..." Tsubasa said as she began to think about what she was going to do next. She began to think about what she she had learned from Katsuko so far and remembered what his first tip was. Looking up toward Katsuko's eyes, Tsubasa's brow furrowed and tried to practise the idea while keeping the rest of her face as neutral as possible. With a bit of a hum, Tsubasa relaxed her right hand and began to take a couple of careful steps toward Katsuko. As she got closer, she began to lower her own body to mimic the stance's general feel. With a small smirk, Tsubasa thrust her right arm forward to make it seem as though she was going for a more powerful jab, but the fist quickly slid past his face as her elbow attempted to connect with his temple. Without another thought, Tsubasa brought her right knee up to connect with his ribcage. In her final attempt to gain the upper hand, Tsubasa attempted to grab him by his shoulder to pull him over her knee.
Katsuko saw her punch coming in, and naturally tilted his head to the side to let it pass. But the elbow jab that followed was unexpected and connected, with enough force to make him stumble slightly. Despite being hit, a grin formed on his face. Even as Tsubasa followed through and planted her knee into his ribs, even pulling on his shoulder to add extra force to it, he had that grin. While her knee was still connected to his side, he wrapped his arm around her leg.
"That right there," he said, looking back at Tsubasa.
"That is what taijutsu is all about." Rather than torture her with attacks in her compromised position, Katsuko yanked up and released her leg, in such a fashion as to force her into a backflip while also giving himself some breathing space again.
"That is how you fight with your body."Tsubasa couldn't help but not backflip to regain her balance as she was released from Katsuko's suedo grip. She chuckled.
"I had a pretty good teacher and I still think I could use some work." She said as she brushed her bangs out of her face.
"Maybe we can work on defense. I want to try something out. Also.... maybe you could try with my new weapon. It's a disarm strategy." She said as she got into her new adopted stance, though her hands were now open excepting a few half curled fingers.
"A disarm strategy, eh?" Katsuko repeated, reaching into his pockets and withdrawing the blades Tsubasa gave him. Rather casually, without leaving his stance, he put them on and flexed his fingers a bit.
"I'm curious what you plan to do." After wiggling his fingers for a moment, he suddenly formed them into fists and made a quick dash forward, sending a fast jab right past Tsubasa's side, so as to cut her arm with the blade. Not a very deep cut, he figured, but if she wanted to practice disarming he wasn't going to hold much back. A token of respect, in a way.
Tsubasa watched as Katsuko approached, keeping her eyes on his trying to follow to her latest lesson. As Katsuko came in with his blade, she quickly raised her arm to avoid the slash, as she moved the other to bring a strong punch into Katsuko's ribcage. Bringing her other arm down over Katsuko's arm, she quickly twisted her arm around it to imobilize the armed appendage. Just as quickly as she grabbed the arm, Tsubasa delivered another swift punch to Katsuko's solar-plexus, trying to knock the breath out of him. In the final move, Tsubasa grabbed the back of Katsuko's neck to toss him forward, hopefully putting him on his back. Releasing the arm as he went down, Tsubasa knew she could break it if she continued her grip.
Her dodge was fluid and had nice form. Katsuko couldn't help but think that kenjutsu and taijutsu really do go hand-in-hand. But that thought was interrupted as she began her counter-attack. The punches did little to him, but in an effort to maintain an act that he was more similar to those Tsubasa might fight in the future he still recoiled from the blows. Particularly the one to his solar plexus, as that did do a bit of damage to him. But as she attempted to throw Katsuko, she let go of his captured arm. And a devilish grin immediately formed on his face. As he began to fall, his newly released arm snapped back around and caught Tsubasa by hers. As he fell, he kept a hold of her arm, but used his other hand to land on the ground. Standing on one hand with his legs in the air, Katsuko held that position for a brief second, still holding Tsubasa's arm.
"That was impressive. An attack like that would leave an average opponent on the ground gasping for air," he complimented. But the moment passed and Katsuko let his legs fall.
Using the momentum of spinning back onto his feet, he threw Tsubasa like a skipping stone, aiming it so she would land on her back several meters away.
"This suggests to me that you've taken the time to actually practice your taijutsu out of the Academy. I can tell when I fight someone who only learned enough taijutsu to graduate." Now back on his own two feet, Katsuko stretched his arms. He was enjoying this. In fact, Tsubasa was making him put out effort and he could feel the summer heat pounding on him much harder than before. He wanted to take his shirt off, but remembered a past argument he had and decided to simply suffer it.
"If you want, I can take the time to teach you a bit more. You have the technique down, more or less, but the little things can make the difference. Perhaps..." He began thinking about it.
"You can probably use those jet techniques of yours to make yourself really deadly with taijutsu. Add a little power to your strikes..."Tsubasa was surprised by the quick counter toss Katsuko implemented and hit the ground hard. With the breath knocked out of her, she was surprised, Katsuko could simply recover and continue talking like nothing had happened. He must have practiced this a lot more that she had originally thought. Cough a bit, she dusted herself off and got up slowly with a pant. The heat was killing her. Then Katsuko brought up the idea of implementing her Burst Technique into some taijutsu combos. It was possible, however seeing as she didn't wear armor on her arms she couldn't augment her punches.
"I'd would... but it would only work with my kicks, unless I want to get third degree burns all over my arms. Hell if I'm not careful I could lose the arm." She said wiping the sweat from her brow and flicking her bangs behind her ear.
"I think I have one or two good burst kicks left in me." She chuckled as she straightened herself out.
"Then remember that the next time you're in a fight and make 'em count," Katsuko suggested with a grin. Now that Tsubasa was on her feet again, Katsuko stretched his arms out again, before sweeping them wide in a slow fashion while also moving his left foot forward. He was asserting a different fighting stance.
"Another thing about taijutsu. Just like with kenjutsu, you want to use variety. Mix things up as often as possible. This can put you out of your most comfortable style, but if you can still do it then you can catch your opponent with a few surprises. Simply mastering one style gives the vulnerability that comes with no variety." Katsuko took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he had a smirk on his face.
"Want to continue training?" he asked with a chuckle, almost like he was teasing Tsubasa or perhaps goading her into continuing.
Tsubasa could help but smirk back as she heard the word variety. She did want to show this off, though she was no where ready to use it in real combat. He was right about Tsubasa learning about taijutsu outside of the academy. Pheonix's have interesting little secrets.
"One last bout..." Tsubasa said as she took a deep breath, bringing her hands up her body in her usual meditative way. Just as calmly as she took the breath she soon moved her extended hands away from each other and took a half step forward, making her stance wide. Stretching her arms out to either side, Tsubasa assumed the first and only form she had learned from her teacher. It felt a little awkward and flashy, but she guessed she liked flashy. Waiting for Katsuko to make the first move she locked her eyes with his.
The standoff lasted a few seconds, where a grin formed on Katsuko's face. Using his astonishing speed, Katsuko dashed forward. However, once he was about halfway to his opponent, he began a zig-zag pattern as he approached. With his speed, this made it a bit difficult to predict which angle he would come from. But by the time he reached an effective range, he was attacking Tsubasa from her left. His palm was pointed toward her, as he was performing another open palm style. The teenager sent a quick attack toward her, but halfway through his strike he pulled his arm back in a feint and sent his other arm in, aiming to hit Tsubasa in the chest or ribs. Considering her lack of protection there, it didn't particularly matter which he hit so long as her lung was near the impact point.
Tsubasa quickly attempted to adapt to Katsuko's strike coming from the left and began to attempt to spin around the attack, only to be faked out and take a direct strike to the center of her back. It was obvious that Katsuko had more experience in his alternate style. Slightly happier that she took the strike to her back instead of her chest, Tsubasa tried to shrug it of and continue to move around him. After the brief pause she took after the impact of the blow, Tsubasa rolled off the fist and backed off a bit before charging toward him, sliding toward him, until she was just infront of him and quickly lifting herself up to make a quick jab and hard jab to his rib and with the other hand trying to grapple him again.
Despite the fact he held back his strength when he hit her, he was surprised at how quickly she recovered. A smirk formed on his face.
There is a reason she is the team leader, he thought to himself as Tsubasa spun around and charged. Katsuko got his arm up in time, catching her jab in his own hand. As she tried to grapple with him again, he spoke up.
"I said before the ultimate goal of taijutsu is to strike your opponent directly using your own body as a weapon," he began.
"But sometimes... you don't have to hit your opponent." Katsuko lifted up with the hand that had Tsubasa's fist, to throw her off balance. While still holding onto her, he brought his other hand in at a dangerously fast speed, aiming to hit her midsection with an open palm strike.
Just before he reached her, his arm suddenly jerked to a halt. However, the force of his strike continued to push the air between his hand and Tsubasa, pummeling her directly in her abdomen. Despite the impact being enough to send her backwards, Katsuko held onto her hand to keep her there. Though, in this position he could brutalize her, he wanted to see if she could come up with a quick counter. To add pressure, Katsuko brought his arm back again and prepared an identical strike to the one he just made, though a bit slower as he had to pull his arm back first.
Tsubasa took the blow to the abdomen hard, buckling over the arm a bit after it came in. With a squeak turned to a garble, Tsubasa's breath was knocked out of her. As she looked up toward Katsuko, she noticed he was preparing for a second attack and simply reacted. Bringing her knee up to kick him directly in the center of his mass, Tsubasa built a bit of chakra in her leg, but decided not to release it when it made contact. Tightening the muscles in her arm, Tsubasa quickly reversed Katsuko's grip on her, putting his arm in a stress position behind him. Still fatigued by the punch to her chest, she quickly tried to stomp in the back of one of his knees. It would at least be a start to knocking him down a notch.
Her counter was reflexive, which is something both good and bad. It was certainly good in this situation, as it was faster than his second strike, preventing him from hitting her again. What he didn't exactly see coming was Tsubasa getting behind him and taking his arm hostage. He knew he could break out of this position with brute strength alone, but he figured very few people would ever be able to do that so he let her have this one. The kick to the back of his knee was expected, and he lost his balance in that leg, forcing him to lurch forward and land on his knees.
"That was some quick thinking," he said aloud. He raised his free hand slightly, so the back of his palm was facing Tsubasa.
"But I still have my other hand. You should probably incapacitate that as well, if you're planning what I think you're planning."Tsubasa grumbled a bit, glaring at the palm before releasing the arm and taking a few steps back.
"Note to self, don't you styles that you don't fully understand. I need to ask Fushichō to show me the rest of the forms. It's more for active meditation. I guessed as to how it actually worked." She chuckled ringing out her hands. After cracking one of her knuckles, her eyes widened as she looked up at Katsuko. She had never actually told her team about her teacher. She hoped he wouldn't ask further, lest she sound like a raving loon.
After letting him go, Katsuko stood back up to full height and stretched his freed arm.
"You'll never understand a style until you practice it too many times," Katsuko said, with his back still to Tsubasa. He didn't particularly mind her comment, assuming that she named the person who taught her taijutsu.
"So far you aren't doing bad. Certainly better than I expected... no offence by that." At this point he finally turned around to face his teammate.
"At this point, I would have to actually teach you instead of just giving you a few lessons. That is, only if you want to see real progress. You're beyond the point that little tips will make a big difference."Tsubasa quickly put on her best poker face and smiled.
"I don't see why not. As long as it isn't too taxing. This heat beginning to make me sweat through my leggings." She said as she awkwardly shifted her weight and rolled both of her shoulders back.
"So... where do we begin this time?"Katsuko thought about it for a second.
"This time, we begin with the stance." Before moving into a position, Katsuko rather quickly and casually removed his black shirt and threw it on the ground. Without explaining why, he then began to relax into a different stance than before. He had his left hand forward with an open palm while keeping himself perpendicular to Tsubasa, holding his right arm horizontal for balance.
"This stance is much better for kicks than the one I showed you before. You keep your secondary hand like so..." He wiggled his left hand.
"And use it to establish counters. Your right arm will be mostly for balance, but if opportunities present themselves you can provide a powerful punch. The versatility comes from the footwork and the kicks here, so this stance requires a fast style and balance."Tsubasa slowly began to mimic Katsuko's stance as he entered it. At first she was a little wobbly as the stance was a bit wider than she would have liked. Finally getting the balance right with her arms, she looked up to Katsuko.
"This look right to you?" She said making small balance adjustments with her footwork and arms.
The orange-haired teen relaxed out of his stance and approached Tsubasa, first moving her forward arm a little higher.
"That's about right," he said, taking a step back.
"You can get some powerful kicks coming out of this stance. And, in fact, you can combine this with kenjutsu. So long as your lower body and balance are the same as they are now, you can also wield your sword. That could make for a good offense. Try a few kicks to warm up." Katsuko took yet another step back and brought his arms up, so he could block any attacks she sent toward his face.
Not sure where to begin, Tsubasa simply guessed and went with what was most comfortable. Sliding her right leg around for a predictable trip, Tsubasa attempted to keep her balance as she pivoted on her front leg. About half way through the trip, Tsubasa planted both of her hands down on the ground, moving her waist and legs with the small bit of momentum built. Flinging her left leg up and out to follow above her other leg, Tsubasa could feel that this could possibly hurt, Katsuko. Now with all of her weight on her arms, she quickly flung her legs in Katsuko's direction before letting them both hit the ground to the right of her. Pushing up off the ground with her hands, she quickly assumed the same stance to the right of her last position.
The trip attempt was somewhat surprising, but Katsuko had already accounted for the possibility. Her foot did little to make his leg budge, but when she bent over and placed her hands on the ground, Katsuko smirked. She was figuring out how to get the most out of the stance. Instinctively, he leaned back far enough to let her attack pass by harmlessly, but he noted that a kick like that would have enough force to put someone on the ground. And since she was flipping the entire time, that would allow her to resume attacking immediately. An observation of his that he hoped she noticed as well.
"You wasted no time," Katsuko joked, before putting his arms up again.
"It's a bit more risky, but in your stance you can jump up rather easily, to dodge low strikes and counter-attack at the same time." That was his warning, as Katsuko then made a surprise leg sweep of his own in an attempt to trip her up.
Tsubasa smirked a bit when Katsuko praised her, but was pretty surprised by his counter sweep. Luckily, her distancing and stance allowed her to simply lift her left leg and avoid the sweep. Figuring she needed to do a bit more, she quickly placed the leg back down and lifted the other, attempting to make a simple forward kick with her right leg. It wasn't a distinctly powerful kick and she suspect that Katsuko could recover in time for her to avoid the strike. Others would probably have to pull a muscle to avoid the plated heel to the center of their chest. To show off a bit, se continued to hold the leg there for a few seconds, still smirking a bit. She was happy that she was learning something less 'abstract.'
"I am getting the feeling I'm getting the hang of this. Watch out and I may just surpass you." She chuckled knowing that couldn't happen.
The incoming kick presented a slight problem. He could handle it the way he did before by catching it, but Tsubasa was already aware of how to get out of that hold. Katsuko couldn't think fast enough on how to challenge her and simply dodged backwards with a light hop, narrowly avoiding the kick. If he hesitated a split-second longer he would've felt the blow personally.
"It's a long way to the top so you might as well start now," Katsuko retorted with a smirk, showing off his usual cockiness.
"But you are getting the hang of it. I'm curious how your style would be different if you had brought your sword along, but that's a different thing entirely. This is under the... pretense that you are fighting without a blade to defend yourself." Katsuko made a brief dash forward, bringing his right leg up in a sweeping kick toward Tsubasa's jaw, making sure not to pack too much power into it.
Tsubasa felt rather exposed when Katsuko made his next attempt at a kick toward her head. Thinking quickly, she switched to the stance she had learned earlier that day and quickly caught the leg by the ankle and upper thigh. Figuring she would prevent the chance of a continued barrage, she pushed forward in an attempt force him to the ground or at least away. Ringing her left hand out due to the sinking pain of the impact, Tsubasa smirked.
"You know how I feel about heavy things today...."
"Not bad..." Katsuko muttered after Tsubasa caught his leg. When she pushed back, he naturally lost his balance and began to stumble, barely managing to stay standing. After hopping on his foot for a moment, he put his other foot back on the ground and returned to a fighting stance.
"You just performed a great example of what I said earlier about variety. Switching stances and mixing styles. Always remember the only restraints you have on what your body can do are only in your head." He flashed her a grin, before standing on one leg with his other leg curled in front of him. Something similar to a Crane stance.
"At the same time, you want to read your opponent so any switch-ups they do aren't a big surprise."Tsubasa chuckled a bit and looked at him skeptically.
"Really? You sure?" She said as he looked at him assuming the more defensive stance. She figured she would counter him if he tried anything. The grin changed into a smirk. Rather quickly, Katsuko hopped up and spun around, bringing his leg out in a spinning kick as he did so. However, his distance from Tsubasa proved to be much too far for his kick to connect with her. Directly. Much like he had done before with a punch, he put enough power into his kick to blast the air at Tsubasa, directing it toward her chest to knock her over.
Tsubasa's brow furrowed as the kick swung in front of her, but then was extremely surprised by the large burst of air that hit her square in the chest. Knocked down onto her back, Tsubasa made a squeak combined with a garble before landing. With a small groan, Tsubasa looked up at Katsuko with a glare.
"You would..." She said before coughing a bit.
As Katsuko slowly placed his kicking foot back on the ground, he took a deep breath.
"You shouldn't let your opponent get you with the same trick twice," Katsuko said, though his voice was serious like one would speak to a student.
"Adaptability is a requirement if you are to fight someone so close. Ninjutsu has a lot of variety, but for the most part each technique has little variation. But every style of taijutsu can be changed on a whim to fit the needs of the moment. You should challenge yourself to figure out a way around everything you've ever been hit by so you never get hit a second time." He felt a bit mean for giving Tsubasa a basic lecture, but it was true. Then again, that particular style of attack is difficult to work around in a pure taijutsu environment.
Tsubasa stretched herself on the ground, baking under the hot sun. She couldn't take the heat anymore.
"Yeah... I guess I could have seen that one coming... though I say it's cheating..." She said the last bit under her breath. With another loud groan, Tsubasa stretched out even more.
"I can't do it anymore! It's too hot!" She said closing her eyes, attempting to normalize her breathing after the training session. Maybe she was getting too lazy....
Katsuko chuckled a bit with Tsubasa's outburst.
"Then I think it's time to call it a day," he said. Though he adequetely pretended the heat didn't bother him, it was evidenced by his lack of a shirt that it was slowly getting to him. He took a few steps forward before stopping next to Tsubasa, holding a hand out for her to grab and get to her feet.
"If you collapse out here in the sun, I'm gonna leave you." His little taunt was matched by the friendly smile on his face, proving that it was only a friendly joke.
Tsubasa lazily grabbed the hand before with a bit of a pout on her face.
"I'm gonna get some ice cream..." She said as she slowly stomped her way off the training field. She needed something to cool down and she didn't much care if it was a mess or not.
"Come on, Katsuko. Put your shirt on and lets get something cool. I don't want to be left in the streets by my teammate."
"But..." Katsuko began to argue back, but decided it wasn't worth the effort and begrudgingly picked up his shirt from the ground and put it on. He noticed immediately the dirt that was now on it, and felt a bit silly. But already he could feel the heat coming back.
"Wish granted." He chuckled awkwardly, before tugging on the collar of his shirt to get a temporary breeze.
"And you know what? I think think getting something cold is a great idea too. My own training plus helping you is a bit exhausting."Tsubasa quickly glared back at Katsuko.
"You trying to say something? I felt I was an excellent student." She teased.
"I may get a water along with the ice cream. Pour it down my back so I can don't feel like I'm boiling alive anymore. Maybe I should design some summer armor or something. This is getting ridiculous." She said she glared up at the sun.
As the two walked, Katsuko placed his hands behind his head with his elbows out, almost like he was holding his head up.
"Call me crazy..." he began, looking ahead.
"But maybe you could just go without armor in the heat?" With that, he looked at Tsubasa with a cheeky grin, knowing full well that would irritate her. He already considered the fact she meant for actual combat, but couldn't resist making the joke.
Tsubasa scoffed.
"Pft! And what! Where normal woman cloths? Are you insane?" She said as her eyes slowly followed a cloths shop she had visited with Yumi earlier that spring. She should probably leave that little bit out of this conversation.
"I'm Tsubasa Kokoro! I must wear my wonderful boots!" She said with her head up, confidently.
"And what are you after Katsuko? Haven't you seen enough of my skin for a day. Hell you already know what's going on here." She said refering to their little mishap in the hot spring.
She reacted pretty much exactly as he expected, causing Katsuko to chuckle. But then, rather suddenly, Tsubasa began to villainize Katsuko.
"I'm not to blame for that," he responded first with a light chuckle.
"And I haven't seen any skin today either. I'm after nothing." He shook his head and chuckled again.
"But if you're going to keep wearing those boots of yours, be careful about a heat stroke. That's all I'm saying. Wearing normal clothes won't kill you. Clothes shouldn't be a problem..." After saying those words, he realized the possibility for a comeback, but knew it was too late to save. Rather, he just let out a sigh and brought his eyes forward to see where he was walking.
Tsubasa calmly nudged him and smirked.
"Because your the shining example of that.... I'll keep your wardrobe choice in mind next time I go to get groceries. No shirt and shorts! Hell I may even go for sandals!" She said sticking her tongue out at him.
"But you see, Tsubasa..." Katsuko began, closing his eyes and forming a grin. He stuck his left arm out, before flexing his muscles dramatically.
"I make it work. If I didn't have such a body, my personality would scare all the girls away." He opened his eyes again and chuckled at his joke, though he felt like it was perhaps actually somewhat true.
"And that's a slight exaggeration. I've never gone grocery shopping like that."
"Slow down there lady killer. Few more of those and I may feel faint." She said sarcastically before coming to the small ice cream cart. Fanning herself a bit stepped into line which was primarily occupied by small children and their parents. With a sigh, Tsubasa calmly waited in the slowly moving line.
Katsuko shot Tsubasa a glare, before letting out a sigh.
"I should've seen that one coming from far away," he said aloud, before deciding he deserved it and just chuckling. Once the two were by the ice cream cart, Katsuko began to feel a bit silly. They were the only young adults in the line, something that others noticed as well.
"Ain't this looking swell," Katsuko joked to himself, before looking one of the parents in the eyes. He was half tempted to defend himself for being there, but figured making a scene would only make him look even more stupid.
Tsubasa simply sighed as she noticed Katsuko not enjoy the 'attention.' It didn't other her too much considering she was a sight whenever she went out. Even when she was wearing normal cloths picked out by Yumi, she stood out like a sore thumb. Tall girls with bright hair don't get to hide in crowds.... unless its a night club. Finally at the front of the line, Tsubasa ordered two cone and two waters and quickly paid the man. She didn't bother socializing, since little kids could be impatient. Flipping around and handing a cone to Katsuko, she sheepishly smiled and signaled him to follow.
"Not used to people staring?" She said before taking a lip of her cone.
Katsuko took the cone quietly and without even looking, as he was still looking around at the people around them.
"Not that..." Katsuko said first, sounding somewhat distracted. Once he looked back at Tsubasa, his voice was normal.
"I'm not used to being judged as immature." He held onto the ice cream, but didn't indulge himself quite yet.
"In fact, people staring is usually something good. But that just felt weird." With that confession, he shook his head and chuckled a bit. He could already tell that Tsubasa didn't care and that he should follow her lead.
Tsubasa shrugged lightly and in her usual fashion replied.
"Meh! They aren't worth your time if they are going to judge you on a bit of ice cream. It's hot. Fuck 'em." She said before handing him the water as well.
"So... what's next for you. I think I'm going to return to my flat and try to cool down. Probably shower before that." She calmly took another lick from her cone.
"What am I going to do...?" Katsuko repeated, asking himself in the same manner.
"I need to feed my cat. Then fix the walls around the Estate. Somewhere I'll find the time to shower. Eat. A lot." He chuckled with his last words.
"And depending on how much energy I've got by then, I might just push myself some more. Still have plenty of daylight, after all." Now Katsuko started to enjoy his ice cream, finding the temperature of the tasty treat much more favorable than the weather provided.
"Well don't push yourself too much. We may have a mission pretty soon. It feels like we are about due for something, mudane or otherwise." Tsubasa quickly began to lick away at the cone, trying to get through it so she could start pouring the water over her. She still felt like she was baking...
Katsuko looked over at Tsubasa with an eyebrow raised.
"Pushing myself too much is the secret," he said rather simply, before licking his ice cream again.
"One day I will be on a mission that is the exact opposite of mundane and the hours I've put in will make the difference." A grin formed on his face as he thought about it, but it vanished quickly enough.
"Besides... you're sounding like my mom when you talk like that." This brought on another bout of chuckling, before Katsuko looked away from Tsubasa to look at the sky.
Tsubasa calmly continued to lick her ice cream before following Katsuko's gaze to see what he was looking at. Slowly bringing her head up, Tsubasa commented.
"Am I missing something?" She said with a bit of a chuckle. Katsuko grinned before looking back at her.
"Not really. Just remembered something I have to do." His grin turned into a genuine smile, and he began to relax a bit.
"Thanks for the ice cream. Any longer and I would've had to take the shirt off again."
"And we all know we don't want to see that. I guess it's about time I slipped back into my cave. Try out your earth style jutsu with those knives when you get the chance, ok?" She said as she began to step backwards away from him. First, Katsuko had to scoff at her words. He was half tempted to argue with her about that statement, but her suggestion about the new knives was far more interesting to him.
"Believe me, I'll put these things to the test." After realizing that he just implied he would be attempting to destroy them, he decided to make an ammendment.
"That is I'll try them out." He chuckled a bit, before turning away from Tsubasa.
"Don't die from the heat in that apartment."Tsubasa chuckled a bit.
"You know me! Hot blooded an all. And if you can manage to break them then you've earned yourself another pair. Simply means I didn't do a good enough job." She said with a smirk before turning around and waving lazily with the water bottle still in her hand.
"Later!"Katsuko waved with the back of his hand, as he was still facing away from her.
"See ya." Now, with his ice cream finished, he was able to enjoy the bottle of water. Which he immediately and unceremoniously poured over himself. Not particuarly caring about the looks he got for doing so, he let out a sigh of relief as he began to walk across the village.
