Sand and Ice: Genin Conditioning [Haku x Rai]

[raiwatanabe]

How she talked Yuki into it, Rai had no idea. She doubted, however, it was her persuasive abilities. She knew her skills in suggestion and manipulation were far below average for the academy. Perhaps this Yuki character was looking to use her for information, or... something else.

If that were the case, well, she probably wouldn't stand a chance. It was unnerving, being out here in the oasis with this boy alone. Gaara had had his fair share of amusement and left long ago. Now it was just Yuki, and her.

Setting the backpack and rebreather aside, she wondered how many questions Yuki would ask. Worse still, would he use a genjutsu? She could use a release technique, but the problem always came down to knowing what was an illusion, and what was reality.

Taking a breath, she tried to calm herself, knowing her right hand was twitching. She knew these were all valid threats, but she couldn't show fear to this boy. She absolutely could not allow him to find a weakness to exploit. Restraining her right hand with her left, she clenched her teeth for a moment, staring blankly at the rebreather, trying to avoid eye contact.

She suddenly had the feeling she was being quite stupid, and didn't know how to get out of it.

[Haku]

Haku stirred from his unintended sleep and tensed as he opened his eyes. It was hot and this was not his normal sleeping place beside his master. Where he was then and where was Zabuza?! Was he captured or safe? He had a moment of panic fearing that his master had left him somewhere for failing him. His heart beat franticly in his chest as he sat bolt upright and was greeted by a sight that was like no other in his dazed state. A girl was standing in the sun shine and looking at him though trying not to meet his eyes for some strange reason. He focused on her trying to get his bearing straight. She was standing on sand. There was yellow brown sand all around too save for the green bits like the tree he was lying under. There was water near him and it was muddied for lack of a better word. Had he fought someone here? It came back to him then and hit him like a ton of bricks. He was in the wind country and he had promised to help the girl improve herself. That was just before he passed out from overdoing himself in the desert heat. Now it was later and she was waiting.

He glanced around for the red haired boy but didn’t find him. That worried him somewhat he’d rather the boy stick around if only so that Haku could be sure the authorities weren’t being called on him. How long was he out any way? He could be sure but it now at least noon if not later and it was morning when they ended. He smiled at the girl hoping she hadn’t seen his outburst and flushed a little. Had he been fully aware of her he would never have shown that side of himself. He would not have let his guard down that much. It was unseemly and he was trying to set a good example. “Hi.” He smiled reassuringly at her. He knew his reaction was extreme but he had been badly frightened. “Sorry I forgot where I was at the moment…I’m better now.” He had gotten too used to being relatively safe while with Zabuza the big man deterred most attackers and they quickly dispatched the rest. Normally he would have never allowed himself to sleep with some he didn’t know in the vicinity. He stretched to get the kinks out from sleeping to long on the ground. His hair and clothes were disheveled and he carefully worked to straiten them as he spoke. His nimble fingers rubbed at his ankles that were still a little sore. Gaara had given him a work out that’s for sure... He wanted to see if the girl could do just as well. “Show me what you can do and we’ll go from there. I won’t go easy on you.” He said hoarsely in all serousness.

[raiwatanabe]

The hunter-nin seemed to stir out of a nightmare, but recovered quickly. Thankfully, Rai thought, he didn't seem to notice. Returning to her gear, Watanabe secured the backpack to a tree, typing the straps together in a simple square not. If this hunter-nin had the desire to run off with her gear, he would at least need to cut through the straps before getting away.

She thought again about the foolishness of being out here, kilometers from the village with an unknown hunter-nin, but shook the thoughts from her mind. She would be okay. She would get through it.

Apparently, he wanted to get right to work. Taking a breath, Rai considered her equipment. If he wanted to test her combat abilities, it was fairly obvious which she would take. Grasping the ninjato's handle and sheath, she drew the weapon, taking a forward stance. Holding the blade at an angle in her right hand, she gripped the sheath in her left in an icepick grip, using it as a baton for added defense.

She held perfectly still, watching the boy. She had seen what he was capable of, and could not think of an immediate way to approach. Then, slowly, a plan formed in her head. Moving closer, she thought back over the substitution technique. Just how many could she pull off before she got close enough to do some damage?

It would be an interesting test, she considered, advancing smoothly towards him, sword out.

[Haku]

Haku saw the girl charging him with her sword out. It became evidant that the girl had miss understood his request. He had wanted to see what he could fighting like a ninja not a swordsman. Swords were useful tools but would do any good if you didn't work other attacks into your battle plan. He smiled to himself and then disappeared from his sitting positon he moved at a fast pace around and behind her. He used his hand to grab her wrist and stop her motion. "Wrong." He whispered the repermand in her ear and proceeded to explain why.

"If this had been a real fight you have been dead or in trouble. whats to stop your opponant from sending a fireball at your head or using some simmer method of decaptating you. only fool rush in my dear. watch and wait, set traps and protect your team. Loss your team can mean your life and your mission both are equally important. So in a sense your teams collective life is your life. You can't have one without the other. " Haku stomped to the ground and watch the ripple splash some water. He proceed to run thru the hand seals that would sent up for Thousand ice needles. It was time to test the girl in actual practice."The exerice is dodging, miss. Get it right or become a pin cuchion. Your life is in your own hands now. Use the sword if you must but if i find you are relying to heavily on it i will have to ask you to reliquish it." The needles ringed them round with no avenue of escape. Well that wasn't strictly true he knew he could excape this trap but felt his own skills wouldn't hurt from this work out. Haku let go of the girls wrist so that she wouldn't be hampered. " i would suggest the use of jutsu as well but don't stop dodging."

[raiwatanabe]

Before she could even do anything, the hunter-nin was already barking at her, criticizing her. Glaring at the boy, she had to admit, he had made some valid points. With all of the ninjutsu techniques available, and the fact shinobi specialized in them almost completely compared to other methods, she would have to find a way to remain physically out of the path of any immediate harm. But, how would that make any sense from what the samurai and other military forces of the surrounding nations touted, taking the offense with higher mobility faster in comparison to their enemies?

As the boy continued, mentioning how he would use his senbon, Watanabe froze. She had seen him use his abilities against Gaara, and knew her own limitations in comparison to other established clan offspring were far below the standard. If she had to defend against his techniques, there would only be so much she could do until she would fail.

Then there was the shame of failure. Of course her mother and grandfather would hold nothing against her. The fact her father made it as far as he did without any previous family involved in the trade was remarkable in and of itself. However, she would personally feel displeased with her abilities if she could not carry through with her intentions.

Taking a deep breath, she thought back to the lecture she had received from a chuunin about reliance on bladed weapons. Rai knew she had to overcome that, and find a means to use her natural features to defeat most of the upcoming threats. Then again, most of her upcoming threats were not going to be weird little hunter nin boys wearing dresses specializing in two chakra natures, with an affinity for needles.

Taking slow, calming breaths, as she had been told would prove helpful (though not really believing it), Rai put the ninjato away. Feeling over her equipment, she found the fuuma shuriken, the kunai, and more importantly, the senbon she personally carried. Along with the makibishi and the smoke grenades, she conceived a rather rushed, but doable plan.

If the senbon the boy would use were above shin level, she could probably manage it. Still, she'd never think of facing her fears in such a haphazard manner again.

Nodding slightly to the boy, she took one step back, and signaled she was ready.

[Haku]

"Good girl, for putting that sword away. It wouldn't have been much use against projectile weapons. You would likely be hit while trying to block and that does no good at all. Can you tell me what might stop a object throw at you?" He watched her as she backed away and took a ready stance. He too got into a ready at stance and took out some metal senbon. "I can see that you favor both bladed weapons and explosives. Have you thought of combination the two in some manner?" He wondered what type of fighter she was. She was charging him earlier so maybe she was a slashing or hacking type. He would have to find out so that he might help her get the right sort of weapon. He would point her in the right direction as soon as he knew what that was.

"Do you want speed of foot or strength of hand when wielding a sword, ultimately? If its speed I would suggest a light weight to medium sword to start out with possibly a saber type for slashing quickly and speeding away just as fast. It’s this type that most ninja's use if they choose wield a sword though some can switch between them.” He paused to think for a moment and said as an after thought. “Maybe you would like that more. For sheer strength I’d suggest a heavy sword broad sword which would be used more like a meat cleaver using power and heavy swings to deal out damage. It somewhat lacks the speed and delicate grace of the lighter swords but if you are determined you can make up for this lack." He had his own preferences when it came to swords. Haku knew how to wield one well he just preferred not too most of the time. He knew that the two types he was taking about. Zabuza preferred as he well knew the strength that went along with his sword. Haku could lift Zabuza’s sword but lacked the muscle to be anything but clumsy with it. He preferred speed and knew a light sword would be for him. If he cared to try he could probably form one out of ice and fight with it.

The air around him cooled a couple degrees as he willed the ice shards to stay in place. An icy blue aura extended a few inches from his body then dissipated. If there was enough moisture in the air snow would eventually result. That was if he caused the temperature to drop around him enough. Haku didn’t really feel the cold he caused nor to a certain extent the natural cold but heat bothered him.

[raiwatanabe]

She listened to Yuki's questions, and thought over them quietly. "The sword is... it's a personal matter. I'd rather not get rid of it." She considered for a moment the various options the hunter-nin covered, but could not yet put her finger on one she truly liked. The ninjato seemed to work for her, for now at least. She didn't know what else to say about that.

Besides, she was still working her plan out in detail. Taking another series of calming breaths, Rai clenched her fists, and took a back stance, doing her best to observe every visible detail of the boy. "Well, we can figure that out after we finish this, or I'll be dead, and it won't matter."

Feeling for the smoke grenades, she clenched down on the detonators, waiting for Yuki's move.

[Haku]

Haku frowned at the thought that she would be killed by him. He wouldn't let that happen but she didn't know that he supposed. "I wont let you die miss for i have no orders to kill you." Haku stated this fact simply. He puased and spoke with a hard edge to it. His eyes were hard as the ice. "Now if i had such orders nothing in this world would save you."

haku narrowed his eyes at her. she had not anwered any of his questions and that annoyed him deeply. When he helped someone out he atleast expected to be answered if he asked a question. He turned away from and walked off. Haku maintained the tight control that kept the needles hovering as he jumped away up and out. "I am leaving you soon miss." He had dicide that he had wasted enough time playing around in suna with poeple who had nothing to do with what he was sent for. He had also decided she wasn't worth it to even trying to help." you ingored my first question and i don't like that very much. the answer is other projectiles. Use ranged to fight or block ranged targets. it works you should try it some time." He walked onto the water and watched her progess. He noted that she was fiddling with something.

He watched in amusement as smoke filled the area. It covered the pool where he was currently standing and the A smoke bomb... interesting. lets see what she fallows it up with. Haku closed his eyes and just listened for his prey. he had some Steel senbon in his hand ready deflect the girl if nesscary. he could track the girl by her sounds alone if he chose it.with his back turned he used a and sign and sent the needles in slowly flying at the girl.

Haku waited for her strike five senbon in each hand. He hoped she would either attack him or have some fallow up for the smoke bombs. "the bad thing about those bombs is some ninja dont need to see to fight. Be wary when using them against an unknown." He wondered if the girl only had one trick up her sleeve or many.

[raiwatanabe]

Rai mentally kicked herself, not thinking about that aspect. Of course there were shinobi that could track without sight. Then again, she would just have to hope Yuki would be distracted by a few faints to the point she could escape his senbon.

Crawling on her belly over the sand, she started forming the seals for a clone, whispering the incantation as quietly as possible. Then, as she let the figure take a ready stance, she began her crawl out of the target area. She could only hope she had the chakra reserves to pull a quick substitution if the situation arose.

Waiting for the senbon to start flying, she reached for the makibishi, and began to deposit them over the ground, trying to limit the noise. Casting them out in front of her, Yuki would be unable to move in closer without injury.

Now it was just a matter of waiting.

[Haku]

Haku had stopped the actual sparring match so that he could help Rai with liltte things. He had not told her that yet as he wanted to see what her moves would be if she still thought he was going to attack her. He opened his eyes when he heard the sound of something hitting the sand. Rai had changed the battle field apperently. He saw tiny silver spikes littering the ground. They didn't bother him as He was still standing on the water in the center of the pool. He had not moved and put up his hand as if to say time out.

" That would work if i actually needed to get close to attack you and some do, but others are ranged fighters like my self. those things wouldnt work on in the normal manner on a ranged fighter. also i have the speed to run around them. Be Creative in your use of them; tie them to a rope or chain and make them a projectile. That if unothodrox would be quite a sight to see. Doing or being unexpected is a very large asset in our world my dear." He was refering to the makibishi, the little spikes reuseful if you were trying to escape but had less use in an actual battle unless creatively done. Haku put an extra emphisis on the word that. " do these explode or some thing too? if they did it would be even better. The spikes by them selves are not much of a fight tool as a tool for flight but if they were poisened or had exploding tips they could be very effective. A down side to that is you have to be careful of them yourself. If you paired them with a ranged weapon and either used it to drive your oppentant onto them or conversly used them to get them just where you wanted them for an attack or genjutsu. "

"Good choice. now tell me why you chose to do that." It was not a request, Haku wanted to know what her motives behind the action were.He beconed her forward to the edge of the pool. "Good bye." The water around him froze and he sank into the ice. A thin ice mirror appeared on the far side of the tree. Haku stayed very quiet withen it.

[raiwatanabe]

Yuki was asking her a question, but with both the clone and herself in the field, she was unaware if she was spotted or not. Thinking for a second, the only thing she could do was somehow reposition herself where she could not be detected. Trying to throw her voice, the smoke still shielding some of the clone's figure, she answered "You said I should wait in the shadows, avoiding direct combat."

Before she could continue, however, the hunter-nin had merged with an ice mirror. Rai cringed. She had seen this technique before, in the battle between this boy and Gaara. This was beyond her ability... or was it?

Ice, while still sharp and easy for this boy to form, was still brittle. Water, she considered, also had the advantage of better transferring shock waves. A slight, mischievous grin crept over the girl's face as she donned the rebreather mask. Flipping the goggles down over eyes, she made a silent crawl to the edge of the water, slipping into it slowly.

Even in the heat of the desert, the water was miserably cold, sending a shocking pain through every centimeter of her body as she descended. Hypothermia could easily set in, even in the harshest sun, the girl knew. She would have to finish this quickly. Reaching into her backpack, she withdrew two explosive tags, thankfully quite waterproof.

Placing one near the shore, rigging a spool of wire behind her as a detonator, Watanabe swam further out. Looking up, she could just barely see the glint of the mirror. She had hoped the boy's perception was limited to the surface area of the ice, which was her only possibility of making this technique work.

Delicately, as quietly as possible, she reached up, placing an explosive tag below the mirror.