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[i]Afternoon // Land of Lightning[/i][/right]


Koharu wondered if her teammates understood that her clan had come from a different country. Of course they'd heard about it, the whole village had, but they couldn't possibly know that she'd forgotten about her homeland and had researched it in an attempt to regain long lost memories. Probably not, but thar was attributed to Koharu being quiet and limiting her words about her homeland to the bare essentials. Natsuko, on their first day as a team, had asked about it. All Koharu remembered beyond the hazy face of her father and the snow and ice was the heat of the castle as it burned around them. She had a few scars, small ones along her legs and her ankles from the firs licking at exposed skin. But these walls called forth other memories that she wanted to uncover. As she walked through the stone corridors, she kept one hand pressed to the stone wall and occasionally she'd mark their path with a thin layer of frost that stood out from the muddy yellow-brown of the stone walls. 

The sound of bare feet hitting the stone floor and the end of her sheathed katana occasionally hitting the stones were the only sounds she made. The small girl had her hands laced together behind her back, posture straight. She'd parted from Natsuko and Kazuhiko briefly. The hint of sunlight splashing against stones caught her eye and she could hear the others talking behind her. The corridor ended in a library of sorts but it was out of order. Every other room they'd come across so far was been tidy, as if the monks that once called his place home had cleaned up before walking out and never returning. Koharu's small hand came to rest on the hilt of her katana and her eyes narrowed as she looked around the room. There were a few windows, spaced far apart and high up on the walls to let in the light and breeze. The girl had barely registered that Kazuhiko had stopped beside her, and only when she spoke did she turn to face him.  [color=8882be]"Kazu-"[/color] She was cut off by the thunk of the shelf and the sound of a voice. 

When the pale man stepped out of the hidden room, her eyes zeroed in on his hair. It was as white as hers and it put her on edge. White wasn't a hair color she had seen often. Her mother, sister and Uncle all had hair as dark as the night. Her cousins had light brown hair and black hair. The sound of Natsuko's voice and rapidly approaching footsteps made her snap out of her daze. Everything happened quickly after that. While she did care for Natsuko, considering the girl one of her only friends (Kazuhiko was another she considered her friend) there were times thar she had the urge to just grab the girl by the shoulders so she could shake her silly. This just so happened to be one of those times. 

As Kazuhiko withdrew kunai from his pouch, she drew her sword and settled into a familiar stance. The Wakahisa clan had their origins as a samurai family within Yukigakure although the emercence of a kekkei genkai within some of the clan members had allowed them more flexibility. They were able to combine ninjutsu with their pre-existing kenjutsu to become a formidable force. They had protected the Land of Snow and the Daimyo for generations until their betrayal. The survivors retained their skills and traditions as they fled. 

With her status as a legitimate clan heir, Koharu was trained personally by her Uncle Osamu in the traditional kenjutsu techniques of her clan. She had to carry on the traditions. It was something that she loved. Stepping into the familiar kata and going through the motions gave her a sort if self-awareness that she didn't think she'd have otherwise. But at this stage in her life, Koharu still relied heavily on her ninjutsu to make up for her lack of raw strength and height. She was small for her age, easily being mistaken for an academy student still. It irritated the girl that the men clad in black didn't have any technique. They were all raw power and blind chopping. 

[color=8882be]"Oi if you bastards are going to have swords, actually learn how to use them!"[/color] To say she was pissed was an understatement. Koharu had spent all of her life watching the adults of her clan performing their katas and using their swords. She knew what good swordsmanship was, and this wasn't it.

Koharu fell into a block as her opponent came at her with a wildly swinging sword. He was stronger than she was and her arms shook from the effort of keeping his blade away from her body. He laughed at her, calling her a little girl. It wasn't until he insulted her skills with her sword - having the balls to say that she sucked at not getting a swing in - that she gave an uncharacteristic growl. She lept away, using her speed to aid her where her strength and height failed her. With the small amount of distance between them, her opponent came at her with an overhead strike. Koharu blocked again, this time going with the block. She kept her right foot forward and used her left to propel her once she redirected his sword down towards the floor.

Koharu fell into the next step of the kata by slashing at his face. She missed as he moved to the side but she kept pushing forward and moving into the next step. This time she managed to cut him from his right shoulder to his solar plexus. The man stumbled, mond reeling from the adrenaline that blocked out the pain and the way his clothes began to soak through. It wasn't a deep cut, but it bought her enough time to use her jutsu. A tiny palm to the ground caused ice to race outward, capturing feet and the scrolls they'd discarded to the ground. 

Only now she could see what was going on with her teammates. The pale man with the scroll was standing there with a smug look on his face. Clearly he expected his men to win. They were only genin after all. She snared one of the men on black with her ice and it was around then that the man in white seemed to grow bored and he simply just started to walk out of the room. Koharu made a split second decision and she only hoped to hell that it would work. Natsuko was the closest to the retreating man and all it took as a bit more chakra to extend her ice to under her teammate. [color=8882be]"Fly, Susu, fly!"[/color] She yelled before making the ice baloon below Natsuko's feet rapidly. The sudden force was enough to propel the other genin forward and towards the man in white. She only hoped that Natsuko would be unharmed. 


[hider=Kata]
[hider=So-Giri]
In the eleventh seitei gata the swordsman walks forward as he encounters one or more opponents in front.

The swordsman draws the sword in a block (uke nagashi) while sliding a bit to the back.
The swordsman then cuts the opponents left temple to right chin (yoko man) and slides forward keeping the right leg in front (okuri ashi).
The swordsman cuts the right shoulder to solar plexus and slides forward keeping the right leg in front.
The swordsman cuts the opponents left underarm to the center of abdomen and slides forward keeping the right leg in front.
The swordsman cuts horizontally from the opponents left waist line to the opponents right waist line and slides forward keeping the right leg in front.
The swordsman finishes with an overhead cut to the front.
The swordsman shakes the blood of the blade to the side (yoko chiburi) and sheathes the sword (noto).
[/hider]

[/hider]


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[i]Afternoon // Land of Lightning[/i][/right]

The sounds of fighting and of yelling woke him up. At first his sleepy mind assumed that Koharu and Kazuhiko were sparring. It wasn't uncommon for those two to test each other but when he realized that one of the yelling voices was [i]Koharu[/i], he realized that there was a problem. The girl never yelled, ever. He'd been her sensei for a year and the only time she'd raised her voice was...well, never. He couldn't make out what was being said or who she was yelling at but he only hoped that it wasn't one of her teammates. He rushed down the halls, trying to follow the sounds but the echoing made it difficult to pinpoint theit exact location.

[@Typical]