sunshineverse | [closed] We'll be raising our hands

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[closed] We'll be raising our hands

Who: Neji and Yamyam
When: July 15th?
Where: Training field somewhere
Notes: Another branch is added to the growing trunk.

Three months since he'd passed the ANBU exam of sorts and began his training as a new recruit, and now he was to meet the shinobi that would become his mentor in Konoha's shadowed ranks. If not for the fact that he knew Izumo's code name to be Mouse, he might have it would be him. The Chuunin did assist him as a new recruit, after all. But in some respects, he was relieved. Izumo was a good man, but he lacked drive and focus and if he was brutally honest, Neji wasn't sure there was all that much to learn from him.

His mentor's code name was Lynx. A promising moniker and an even more promising reputation. The man was an ANBU Captain with a flawless mission record and also happened to be Konoha's coveted Mokuton user. He'd never met him personally, but Neji listened to gossip around HQ despite evidence to the contrary. Details were vague on more than that, but in any case, the Jounin found himself honored to have merited such a prestigious shinobi as his new mentor.

It occurred to him that after today there would be three people he referred to with such a title. Veined eyes swept the field for a chakra signature then faded, and Neji allowed himself a wry smile. The end result of such varying influences would sure be a promising culmination of skills far beyond his own singular style. Settling down in the middle of the training field, Neji breathed and expanded his awareness even while his eyes closed.

There was time, and he could wait.

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The morning had started badly, to say the least. Yamato had woken, bleary eyed and bemused, to surroundings he almost didn't recognise and proceeded to mentally curse running into Kakashi the day before. That in of itself had spelled trouble, but when the sake arrived he had protested only a little before accepting his fate; apparently still incapable of saying no to the silver haired Shinobi, even after the years apart.

Being summoned to meet with Neji had both wilted and improved his mood in equal amounts, but did little to ease the headache that had strung up with standing or lessen the sour after taste of last nights sake. Still, Yamato had gathered himself and made good time travelling to the outskirts of their assigned meeting place; the journey through the surrounding tree's, going a long way to improve his overall mood.

He slowed to a walk as he crossed the boundary, feeling almost completely back to his normal self, if a little sun shy as the afternoon peaked.

Yamato spied the young Hyuuga, poised dead centre and raised a hand in casual greeting as he approached.

"Neji-san, I presume?"

White eyes opened in response to the approach of chakra. Neji eased into a standing position and nodded. Polite, he mused, and decided Lynx was relatively unassuming in appearance, aside from a slight strangeness of his eyes. That and the man's headband style was a little dated.

"I'm afraid Hokage-sama didn't give me your official name," he returned in greeting. Which was to say he knew his ANBU delegation, but wouldn't repeat it in the open when neither of them were geared up. "But I appreciate the time you're taking to work with me. I'll endeavor not to waste it."

Yamato assessed Neji in a glance, allowing the strategist in him free reign as he took in pale eyes and traditional dress. Byakugan, blind spot non-existent, surprise attack not an option. Dressed for ease of movement, avoid close combat, advantage at long to mid range perhaps? It was not lost on him that it still sounded awfully like Lord Danzo, even after all this time.

The thoughts flitted by as he offered a hand to shake.
"You can call me Yamato, though don't be surprised if anyone refers to me differently for the time being." The comment was coupled with a genuine, if a little cryptic, smile before he continued.

"Not a problem! I hear you've worked hard to make it this far. If you continue to do so, then there won't be any fear of that."

Neji blinked mild surprise at the offered hand, then stepped in to return the gesture in a brief clasp of hands. Yamato was either thoughtlessly trusting or very confident, but the Hyuuga was far from offended. It was rare that a person was either and consciously invited contact from someone that could blow out their tenketsu without a second thought.

"Of course, Yamato-san. You have quite the reputation." One that didn't include the man's surprising friendliness, but there could be reasons for that.

With the pleasantries out of the way, Neji stepped back again to maintain a polite distance.

"What would have us do today?"

Yamato waved a hand at the comment, huffing a laugh despite himself.
"Ah! For such a secretive organisation, agents are incredible gossips."

He dropped his hands, clasping them behind his back and levelling an amused look at Neji.
"But talk is cheap. I think getting to know each others fighting styles would be the best way to start things off, wouldn't you say?"

Though he looked relaxed, Yamato was primed for a match, excitement running through him at witnessing the Hyuuga style up close and all thoughts of headache and hangover forgotten.

Neji huffed his own amusement and shifted his weight. A subtle movement, but one that would allow him to react to most anything in a timely fashion. He was at a slight disadvantage here, but he's used to that by now. Hyuuga's trademark white eyes and fighting style have doubtlessly given the other man a good idea of what to expect while Neji knew next to nothing about Yamato's style. Mokuton wasn't even supposed to exist anymore, so he had no idea of what to expect.

But Swan had more than a few tricks up his sleeve to even the playing field, so to speak.

"I agree," he said, settling into his trademark stance and Byakugan slowly coming active. "I wouldn't advise thinking you know everything about combating a Hyuuga."

Yamato dropped his hands to his sides and took a measured step back, weight even between his feet.

"I wouldn't dream of underestimating an opponent, Neji-san. Least of all one that can, quite literally, see through me."

A shadow of a smile still twisted his mouth, but the rest of his demeanour had shifted with the seriousness of his intent. Naturally cautious, Yamato wasn't about to assume his brief reading of Neji's file would give him an advantage and instead mapped out how he was going to do that himself.

"Three strikes to the back, no more no less. Sudden death on a stalemate."

The smile dropped and the command of an ANBU captain entered his voice "Begin!"

Lips quirked in an almost-smile, and pale eyes took in the chakra circulating through his opponent's system. Calm, even and unmoving, he kept a careful watch on its activity. Jutsu could be predicted to an extent based on chakra flow.

"Understood." Neji sketched out a rough plan for the spar ahead based on these new rules, threw out what wouldn't work, and what might in the small space of time before the Captain spoke again.

He flew forward in a movement that was widely predictable, because there was one thing a Hyuuga wasn't afraid of, and that was close combat. Even with all his newest tricks, taijutsu remained his greatest strength and if he could engage Yamato, there was a good chance he'd land the first blow.

Yamato stood his ground - a risky move all told, but he wanted to gauge Neji's speed and threw up his forearms to block the attack. There was a force there that he hadn't quite expected, forcing him back and he dropped into a sweeping kick, testing reactions and attempting to put a little distance between them.

Neji expected the man to leap out of range, and found himself surprised Yamato only stood his ground. He slammed into him, smirked as the man slunk down for a sweeping kick because two of his teammates were very fond of that particular technique. He launched himself into a leaping roll over the outstretched limb and came up for a strike aimed at Yamato's shoulderblade.

Edited 2014-09-02 01:31 (UTC)

The strike to his shoulder sent him forward and Yamato used his hands to catch himself; palms flat the the ground, chakra boosted him up and over and landing on his feet before he span to face Neji again.

"First blood to you!" He was surprisingly cheerful for someone who had just given ground, but the words had barely left his lips before Yamato laced his hands, palms pressed together and the ground under Neji's feet began to crumble.

Neji didn't have more than a moment to spare for pride, because Yamato seemed to realize close combat wasn't going to get him anywhere. Which he was sure the man had figured from the start, lending that victory a hollow feeling. But following the flickering tenketsu he'd struck, veined eyes revealed chakra surging through Yamato's system and targeting the ground underneath him.

The earth churned and challenged him to keep his balance, and Neji jumped away to solid ground the moment he gained even the slightest foothold. He landed harder than he intended, but the damage was done, and there was fair bit of distance between himself and his opponent. This time he knew Yamato wouldn't let him get close so easily, but he'd still try.

Running forward, Neji kept his eyes on Yamato's chakra, wary of obstacles and prepared to weave through and utilize every ounce of his flexibility in order to close the distance.

Yamato watched, directing the path of crumbling dirt, impressed by the speed of Neji's recovery and already forming signs to match it.

He couldn't keep this fight long distance; the need for strikes kept that aspect fair, but he knew his Taijutsu would not be at the level needed to outstrip the young Jounin, so a smarter approach was needed.

Yamato widened his stance and focused. With an ominous rumble, dragon headed pillars erupted from the ground between them, alternating in distance and speed in an attempt to fend Neji off from his head on attack.

His eyes told him the attack was a large one moments before a dozen wooden heads burst from the earth, snaking around and shooting straight at him in turns. His focus instantly became keeping track of the heads, taking in their projected paths moments before they moved and changing course to match.

Without pause, he flipped over the first head to reach him, ran along its shifting wooden spine until another two tried to ambush him from either direction. Jumping up, he let them crash together, vaulted over them to land back on the ground as the others veered upward. He gained ground, but not for long. Shadows painted the threat from above- they were many and he was one.

Neji wove into what could only be called a dance, Hyuuga's defensive manuevering that changed in flow and direction at a moment's notice. Weaving in and out of tendrils, circling around winding heads and doing everything to utilize Jyuuken's highest principle. A style made for combating multiple opponents, to weave between attacks and control the flow of combat, to use an opponent's momentum against him or his allies.

Because he didn't have any wind ninjutsu to sever them, and his blades were no match for the thick wooden pillars. Even Kaiten seemed like a flimsy defense in front of these monsters. No, he needed to break them down as much as possible and get to their creator at the first possible opening.

Yamato couldn't help the excitement and wonder that bubbled up through him at watching the other Shinobi move. He's studied the Hyuuga style as a member of Root, but seeing it first hand and personally directing the flow of combat was another thing entirely.

He tracked Neji's moves carefully, challenged every angle, each direction, worked pincer movements and figure of eights, waiting for exactly the moment he wanted.

Counting on Neji to dodge the threat above him, Yamato forced three of the four attacking pillars to land wide. They struck the ground to the left and right; the third hitting directly in front of the Hyuuga, in an attempt to funnel him backwards and into the path of a rapidly forming Mokuton figure.

Palm outstretched, the wooden figure formed into Yamato himself; poised to strike at Neji's exposed shoulder.

It wasn't working as well as he'd hoped, because the wooden pillars weren't human and couldn't be lured into a false sense of security. And Yamato was a spectator, watching and involved from an outside perspective. The dragons moved at his behest; snaking, unpredictable creatures unlike anything he'd previously combated, and the most he could do was circle and avoid as his eyes revealed their trajectories.

Twin pillars slammed into the earth beside him, and he fell a step back as a third blocked him from moving forward. He frowned, eyes screaming at him to turn, but did so a few moments too late. The hit to his shoulder connected and Neji hissed as he took in the cloned figure. He was lucky the strike hadn't been aimed at his blindspot and instantly slammed his palm toward its chest in an attempt to dispel it.

The clone shattered into splinters under the force of Neji's palm and Yamato smirked over his clasped hands. One for one.

Keeping the young Jounin moving and his attention divided, seemed to be a viable tactic for the moment and he was keen to capitalise on it. Leaving the majority of the pillars in their impact sights, added blind spots and obstacles around their battlefield and Yamato quietly hoped it would be enough, even as he commanded two to move.

One snaked round from Neji's right, hissing along the grass with blunt wooden maw wide and another shot from the tangle of pillars to his left, weaving closer with alarming speed.

A third loomed from above, directly behind the Hyuuga's back; mokuton clone swiftly forming between it's ears and preparing to swoop down with the rest.

Neji grit his teeth, trapped by the pillar in front with three others moving in swiftly. There was only one option left to him, and he would have to put his faith in it- faith and a lot of chakra.

He spun, throwing out roughly three times the amount of chakra he normally put into Kaiten just to keep the bulk of the pillars from smashing through. He still 'felt' their impact, wooden constructs splintering against his defense, losing momentum and slowing him down faster than he'd like. But he succeeded in creating an opening for himself, springing back through a series of backflips as his rotation came to a close.

His hands slammed together and twin halves of earth rose up to enclose him in a domed structure. He breathed, Byakugan eyes piercing through his new defense at Yamato on the far end of the field and a respectable distance from those pillars- at least for now. He wasn't sure how long the dome would hold up under pressure, but it gave him an edge of unpredictability.

Fingers twisted through a few more seals, and he slammed them to the ground, watching his chakra surge through the ground and come up behind Yamato in the form of dulled spikes shooting for the man's back.

Yamato forced the brunt of the pillars against Neji's defence, but it held soundly and he rallied the one left intact to pursue..
At least he would have, had the ground rumbling ominously at his back not ticked him off to the next attack and unable to maintain the jutsu and move, favoured a roll forward over his continued attack.
The dragon head halted it's strike against Neji and Yamato rolled to his feet, away from the spike's at his back and surged towards the tangle of mokuton shapes between them.

He needed to close the gap again and conserve his energy; a head on approach had mixed results but perhaps he could use what was left of the pillars to his advantage.

Vaulting up onto one of the buried dragon heads, Yamato chased the curve of it's spine, gaining ground and blurred through several signs.

Chakra split away into the base of the pillar under his feet, while the remainder carried on forward as he slid the rest of the spine to the ground, landing in a crouch with palms flat to the dirt.
As soon as his hands hands hit solid ground, Yamato forced chakra through the cracks and root pathways between them; the dirt turned dark with moisture and water churned towards the foundation of Neji's earth defence, intent on disrupting it immediately.

Neji cursed as he watched Yamato avoid the spikes aimed at his back, having hoped for his second point on that attack simply because taking him by surprise like that wouldn't work again. On the upside, Yamato stopped his pillar assault, and he watched his opponent rush at him, hands flying through seals faster than he could process them.

Chakra surged through the earth, darkening the soil and Neji cursed again because for the second time in a combat situation, he had no applicable use for mud. Granted he was working on a technique to take advantage of it, but he'd only just started to practice and it was far from effective.

The assault of water instantly weakened his defense, and Neji loosed the technique before the earthen structure collapsed in a wave of mud with him inside. Water rushed past his knees, soaking pants and shoes in the remains of the attack.

His hands twisted into seals, making use of the water around him, and rushed at Yamato with twin water whips in hand.

The whips he had not expected and Yamato fell back between the bases of the two pillars at his back to limit their battlefield once again.
A single seal later and he brandished a wooden replica of his standard issue katana, poised and ready for Neji's assault. He'd battled Mist-nin with similar styles, but coupled with the jounin's other abilities, he had few other options than to defend.

A small part of him dedicated to observation found silent satisfaction in the way Yamato perceived the oncoming threat and switched tactics, playing defensive again. But that was fine, his fighting style was fluid and easily changed between offensive and defensive.

Short-range weapon he noted, and lashed out at Yamato's arms and legs from mid-range, hoping to snare him and create an opening.

Yamato dodged the first few strikes; ducking and weaving and just barely avoiding the tangle of water aimed at his limbs.

He was pacing backwards, attempting to lead Neji back between the pillars and create a blind spot or opening he could use to respond, but found himself thoroughly on the defensive and even a little cut off via his own tactic.

Feinting to the right but dodging left, Yamato darted close, avoiding one whip, but not the other and lashed out with his katana to disrupt the water coil that had wrapped his left leg in a bid to escape.

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[closed] We'll be raising our hands

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