[center][b]The Continuation of Sho's Training

A Collab between Red Fox and Fieryfly[/b]

Summary: 
The next day Ryoku continues with the training for the exams and has a very interesting spar with Sho which teaches him that he has been using Nintaijutsu for a while now.[/center]

[hider=Spar]
[b]" I just hope it will not rain today, or Sho will accuse me of doing it."[/b]

Ryoku said this out loud as he was waiting at the same training field that housed their previous training. The weather was very favorable and the training field dried up quicker than anticipated - should rain start to fall, it will look like it was his fault, because the village was enjoying the rays of sun. It was just great for today´s training, as he wanted to train taijutsu with Sho - together with some footwork and eye-hand coordination. Depending on the time they have, Ryoku wanted to cover the basics of Nintaijutsu with Sho as well. Taking a lesson from their previous time, Ryoku decided for a more direct approach, not a philosophical one. Hopefully, Sho will like it more. 

If Ryoku was going to suggest waiting for the rain again today then Sho was going to leave, he knew that for sure. The boy was making his way over to the trainingfields with a scrowl on his face. It was not that he disliked training, or didn't want to. He just didn't want anymore boring waiting things. Ever or something. Practically stomping he arrived at the field where Ryoku was already present. [b]"Yo."[/b] He said as greeting, which could be considered an improvement from last time if you considered that he hadn't greeted the man at all the previous day. 

Ryoku turned to the boy, giving him one of his smiles.[b]" I am glad you arrived on time, Sho. Looks like weather is in our favor for today. Yesterday, we practiced Water Release and some new techniques for you to use - knowing you, I am sure you practiced a bit after we trained. That is good, because you might need it today. Today´s training will be completely different."[/b] Ryoku then walked a bit further away from Sho, then turned to face him again.[b]" Tomorrow, we will work on your footwork, coordination of moves, adaptability to the events around you, and Nintaijutsu. But for this training, allow me to adapt the field for us."[/b] Forming the Snake seal, Ryoku molded his chakra, then placed his palms onto the ground. As he did, the ground started to rise on the training field. It went on for a couple of seconds until Ryoku was satisfied with the results. He then stood up, looking at Sho again.[b]" I created an earthen construction that is very similar to a single square building. We are standing on top of it, and it will serve as our training field. I distributed my chakra unevenly on purpose - some areas have thicker ground, meaning they will hold your weigth. Some will crumble away when stepped upon. And now, to make it a bit more difficult ... "[/b] Ryoku hurled out several sealing tags, and forming the Snake seal again, the tags became unrecognazible from the ground.[b]" ... I just masked several tags on the ground. They will undo the seals placed on them when stepped upon, releasing small volumes of water - just enough to test your concentration. Also, that will further change how solid the ground under our feet is. So ... what do you think, Sho? Can we pretend that you are not a Genin, I am not the Amekage and do some traditional shinobi sparring?"[/b] Just as he asked, he formed The Seal of Confrontation.

Now this was more like actual training! Learning stuff was cool, but you needed to use it in battle for it to become really effective. This was apparantly exactly what they were going to do. Yes, Sho had practiced. Of course he had practiced, but things like this you didn't just learn them overnight. He still had a way to go, and he knew it. But that was why he was here, wasn't it? He shot an interested look around their newly created battlefield. Unstable ground with hidden tags. [b]"Fuck yes."[/b] With a slight grin Sho took a position opposing Ryoku and watched the man make the seal. When he had trained with his father they had never made that seal. They just started and Soru would teach him something. With brute force if necessary. Ryoku didn't do that. Slightly awkward Sho made the seal. As soon as he had made it though he considered the match to be started and suddenly jumped forwards to the Amekage. Feinting to attack the man's head he landed low and attempted to hit the man's knees with his leg. 

Ryoku was expecting the move, but Sho´s speed still took him by a mild surprise. Dodging the faint aimed at his head, he then leaped up some distance to also dodge the hit aimed at his knees. While mid-air, he weaved a quick series of seals, and took a deep breath.[b]" Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"[/b] He made his attack a more large scale one in favor of strength, and he also aimed the technique so that Sho could move in several directions, depending on how he wanted to continue. 

Well that didn't work of course, but Sho did get a taste of how fast the man could move. Pretty darn fast. Outspeeding him would never work. Sho hadn't betted on that anyway. But now he was on the defense with fire coming his way, and Sho didn't like to be on the defense. He took a step back as he formed some seals as well, only to feel his foot slip away and he started to fall back. [i]Shit."[/i] Uneven floor, he had to be more careful Sho thought as he quickly fired the Wild Water Wave Technique to the fireball that came his way and composed himself. The water collided with the heath of the fire and created a small cloud of steam. Just enough for Sho to momentarily gain his footing again and shoot forwards out of the steam and hopefully into Ryoku. 

Ryoku paid very close attention to Sho´s moves, and he was surprised in a very pleasant way. Countering his fire technique with a quick water technique blocked Ryoku´s vision for a while, and a second later, Sho emerged from the smoke, aiming straight at him.[b]" Very good, a perfect move!"[/b] Ryoku then extended his hand and grabbed that of Sho, pulling him towards himself, then hurling him back towards the ground, but still holding his hand. He intended to pile dive the boy into the roof. 

Not perfect enough, Sho thought as his punch was caught and he was grabbed. He hadn't been able to land a hit and a punch was not perfect unless it hit something. Twisting his own arm painfully Sho spun around mid air to land on the ground with three limbs. He didn't wince. He was used to pain, he could handle it. No, instead of squirming around to get his arm free Sho quickly pulled sideways to force Ryoku to release his arm or have his own all twisted, before attempting to stomp Ryoku's knee with his left foot.

Ryoku was expecting this move, and kept on holding to his hand, having it twisted, and thus out of position. Landing on one feet, he spotted Sho´s leg aimed at his knee. Raising his leg a bit, he used his fistula to deflect the blow, but Sho was surprisingly strong.[b]" Very good."[/b] Letting go of Sho´s hand, Ryoku slammed his other hand into the ground with full strength in order to make it crumble under them. Leaping off from the ground again, he made the seals for his Water Slicer, but poured very little chakra into it. It was like pouring a bucket of water towards Sho.

Being on the ground didn't give Sho a very good position to dodge crumbling earth. Luckily Ryoku had let go of his hand which sho could no use to get the hell away from the crumbling earth that was dragging him down. He scrambled forwards to get on solid ground again only to find himself being met by a wall of water that splashed over him. Sho hardly blinked. He was used to getting wet as well. All Amegakure people were. Unexpected downpours happened all the time. No, this water was useful. Quickly he formed some seals and created a whip out of water that he lashed out to Ryoku. If he would catch an arm of a leg he could pull the whip and get Ryoku off balance. 

Waiting for Sho to deal with this, Ryoku was on the wait, prepared to react to Sho´s next move. What happened, however, surprised him. His own technique was turned against him, and the wave that was to throw Sho of ballance, turned into a whip. Before Ryoku could react, he felt a strong pull - Sho succeeded in getting Ryoku thrown from his balance. Unable to do anything to reat immediately, he was heading towards the ground in a way he was not really controlling.

As Ryoku came forward Sho did the same, but not off balance and totally prepared to dig his right foot deep into Ryoku's stomach. With the man ensnared and thrown of balance like this he could move more freely. To think that the whip had actually achieved his goal made Sho slightly proud. It was after all the technique he had 'aquiered' and learned all by himself. It better did it job right. 

[b]" Very good, Sho! Excellent!"[/b] Just as Sho´s foot hit Ryoku´s stomach, it instead passed through a body of water. Having used The Substitution Technique, he switched place with a Water Clone he managed to hastily create. Still, to think that Sho made a move like this was giving him a reason to be optimistic. The real Ryoku moved in from behind Sho, placing his hands on his back.[b]" Excellent move, Sho! What will you do now?"[/b]

As his foot passed through water Sho gritted his teeth. He should have seen that coming. Still the Amekage praised his moves. Sho gritted his teeth harder. He wanted those compliments, but he wanted them when he actually hit the man for real. Something that hadn't happened yet. What would he do now indeed. It was a good question. For a moment Sho stood motionless then he turned around, flipped backwards and shot a Wild Water Wave to Ryoku's face while immediately again forming the seals for the Water Whip so that he could solidify the water as it would get close to Ryoku and hopefully catch the man a second time. 

The move was an unexpected one, but that is what he wanted to see. The water took him by surprise once again, the speed with which Sho used the technique was truly praisable. Immediately, the whip formed from the water, grabbing Ryoku. He tried to escape, but this time, the grip was a lot tighter. Perhaps it was about the distance between Sho and the technique. Standing there and thinking about how to react, Ryoku watched Sho to make his next move. 

Concentrating Sho started to move forwards as he realed in the whip so that his grip didn't lessen. He needed more water. He needed to use the technique that Ryoku thought him yesterday,but it was so hard to do mid-battle. Sho's hand went to the scroll that was now present on the strap that was slung over his shoulder. He could use the water he had stored and- His foot slipped as the ground gave away and Sho landed on one knee before Ryoku. Not a good position. The only thing that could happen now was getting a punch or a kick against his rather unprotected head. 

Ryoku spotted the opportunity - Sho slipped and the whip loosened a bit. Using this, Ryoku extended his hand and grabbed Sho by his shoulder. Instead of delivering an attack, he turned the boy a bit and leaped away. Sho was now facing the sun, and with Ryoku no longer blocking him, the rays hit Sho in his face. Testing on how he could react to this, he quickly formed the seals for the Great Fireball Technique, launching it at Sho directly from the direction of the sun.

Dazed by the unexpected... lack of attack Sho was met with the full force of the sun. This was why rain was better, Sho thought as he snapped his eyes shut in a reflex and raised his arm to shield himself. Meanwhile he tried to pull out his leg out of the ground. When his worked he rolled backwards. By then the, untill then undetected, Fire Ball was almost upon him. He shot sideways, but could still feel the flames licking the skin of his right arm and hand, eating it, as it too narrowly roared past him. His right arm trembled and he clenched his hand into a fist to stop it. Fire was painful. Dully noted. Sho took a couple of breaths to regain his composition before he rushed to Ryoku again, this time approaching from the side, a handseal formed in preparation.

Sho recovered quite quickly, which was a good sign - despite being touched by a fireball, he was up again, and approaching Ryoku from the side. Spotting a seal, he anticipated a technique, and made his own in turn. Forming the seals for the Tearing Torrent, he immediately launched it at Sho. He made it a bit more narrow of a stream this time, to see if the boy could spot and use the openings to evade the technique. If that will happen, Ryoku had one last test prepared for today.

But Sho was prepared too this time. He used the same technique Ryoku had used before and created a Water Clone that took the hit for him while he moved to the side. The clone burst apart in a splash as Sho appeared besides the Amekage and started a long string of seals, hoping to finish it before his clone could really completely disappear he tried to speed up before suddenly trusting his palm forwards. The Water Prison started to form around Ryoku as Sho gathered up the water from the used clone and the technique Ryoku had used. 

Ryoku was once more taken by surprise. The Water Prison started to encase him in a layer of water not only from Sho, but from his own technique. This is what he wanted to see. Knowing that he had limited time while inside of the prison, he acted without hesitation. The Water Prison worked like a tank - and tanks could only contain a certain amount of water. Mustering all the strength to move in the body of water Sho created around him, he barely managed to touch and unseal one of his scrolls, releasing a hume agoung of water, hopefully distrupting and breaking the prison.

Sho had expected quite a few things when attempting to pull the technique off. One he hadn't expected was that his own jutsu would backfire on him because of whatever it was that Ryoku did. The water pressure became way too high and the prison collapsed sending wave and wave of water over Sho who was literally washed a couple of meters away by it. Sputting he tried to regain his breath while laying flat on the ground, his arms and legs spread apart. Well, that didn't work as he had planned [i]at all[/i]. That more like... sucked, Sho thought as he didn't move. 

Now, the time was right for the final test Ryoku wanted to perform today. Forming a lengthy series consisting of forty-two seals, he molded a large amount of chakra and started to gather every drop of water he could. Soon after, an enormous water dragon was forming over Sho. Ryoku did not order it to attack, it just loomed over Sho. This was the last thing he wanted to find out.

Opening his eyes Sho was met with the face of a water dragon. He took an intake of breath and his eyes shot around. If that thing was going to crash down on him... well that was just a bad thing. And he had currently no way of blocking it. Whatever water jutsu he could preform, this was quite a bit more water then he could take in and reform to be used by himself. So he did the only thing he could think of. He shot up straight and lunged towards Ryoku, figuring that the man wouldn't let the water dragon come down on himself.

This is exactly what he wanted to see. The guts to never give up. The dragon started to move towards Sho, threatening to hit both the boy and the Amekage. But mid travel, Ryoku let the technique to dispers and the huge mass of water was now concealing his movements, as he made his way towards the ground. There, he raied his head and observed what will happen next. It was time to end this and move on to the next topic - the basics of Nintaijutsu. 

For the second time Sho was drowned in water and crashed into the ground. As the attack subsided he coughed up some liquid and spew it on the ground before hefting himself up on his arms and looking up to Ryoku. He was so not done, he just had to gather is breath and then- Sho coughed more and more water dripped on the ground. He wiped his mouth and dragged some of his hair out of his face before getting up after a slight struggle. [b]"I... I didn't lose yet."[/b] He said with some effort. 

[b]" Nobody said that. And while the fact is that you did not lose yet is true, you should realize that there is a point where you have to stop. Look upon the past few minutes. You managed to catch me off balance several times. You managed to use my own moves against me, you managed to trap me into a Water Prison. And when overwhelmed by my Water Dragon, you lunged at me. That is all I wanted to see. You are the victor here, Sho. You fought very well ... excelently, I would say. You even got ahead of me on the second topic as you performed some of it ... Nintaijutsu."[/b]

Sho clenched his fists. There was a point when he was going to stop. it was when he had beaten everyone. Not now. He wanted to snap at the man and tell him that it wasn't good enough yet, but didn't get far with Ryoku just cheerfully continuing about how well he did. Sho straightened a bit and frownled slgithly. Maybe indeed he didn't do so badly. He didn't exactly lose. But he didn't win either and that bothered him even though Ryoku proclaimed him the victor. [b]"What about nintaijutsu?"[/b] He asked. 

[b]" Nintaijutsu is something you already performed. You added ninjutsu elements to your taijutsu and as you saw, they surprised a Kage ranking enemy. Do the same in your exams, and I think you will be able to surprise any of the opponents. But, my advice is to make Nintaijutsu to be your ace in your sleeve. The combination you pulled with the whip will be a guaranteed sucess. Rememer everything you learned, Sho. And I am sure you will do just fine in the exams. That covers all I wanted to train with you. If you have any questions, ask away. If no ... then excuse me, but my duties await me."[/b]

Sho frowned as he thought about what Ryoku said. He had clearly indeed been using nintaijutsu. And that without really realizing it himself. Now realizing actually made him feel pretty cool. He nodded along with the words of the Amekage and finally shook his head. [b]"No questions."[/b] He said grinning slightly. It had been a pretty good fight for a non victory. 

Maybe, maybe he had imporoved after all. [/hider]