Enarr

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Yeah, but it's before my last for Daisuke. Get to it! :)

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Daisuke Hanamoto
When their new sensei arrived, Daisuke gave a slight laugh, forcing it through his teeth. The guy probably just doesn't want to put in the work for two students. Honestly, I wouldn't either. A singular apprentice may be able to soak up a lot more experience. As the conditions crossed his mind, Daisuke built onto his theory of the educator's alleged laziness. Five Minutes? If he wanted skill he'd say two. He probably either is too impatient or just wants a show. Smirking, he thought to himself, If he wants a show, he's gonna get one. I am the perfect guy for the job. Fortunately he'd been scoping out the competition, because she struck before any indication of a start was given.

"Someone's excited!" Daisuke performed a backflip as Ruri's shuriken left her hand, instantly putting distance between the two of them and passing beneath her underhanded attack. Note to self: Never trust Ruri with my stuff. Daisuke finished his tumble with a three-point stance, the tips of both feet and his left hand. With his right, he drew his own shuriken, tossing it seemingly carelessly, but in reality a thin string connected to Daisuke's hand gave him all the control he'd need. He stood up and outstretched his hand, leading the star-shaped blade back toward Ruri.

"There's one thing I hate more than a brat with a hot temper! Oh wait--no there isn't! Daisuke eyed her kunai, a paper bomb coated it. He'd just have to be sure to run her out of steam. All while he'd keep his cool. The less effort he seemed to put in and more suckerpunches, the better he'd look. In all honesty, the teasing wasn't for the sensei to like him, it was for fun. But, playing with a girl's emotions was a time-tested way to keep her off-balance. "I swear, I don't have a clue what Kanijiro sees in you!"

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Hillan said
Whoa there, hold up buddy. Haha. You still in the RP or should I write out your characters till you come back?

Sorry for the hold up man. I'm in for sure. But I just don't want to be a handicap, so if I do seem to go missing, I won't be bothered by a little bunnying. Thanks though, bro.

Edit: Posted. Bon appetit.

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

I'm here. Internet use is somewhat restricted, though, so please feel free to puppet my characters as necessary

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Hey, I'll be back in a month. Sorry for the inconvenience, see ya. Happy RPing. Will be back and read the new NPC sheet.

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

I can't get on cuz my dad blocked Skype on our router, and for now the Skype on browsers requires a plug in that I don't have the hardware to use. [Insert sad face here]

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Minoru Maki
Snap! A target hanging on the side of a spiraling, skyward column suddenly had an arrow sticking through it.

From fifty yards away, Minoru was pleased to see his placement. His skills were steadily getting sharper, both in craftsmanship and accuracy. Before he'd be off to meet up with his new sensei and teammate, he was sticking to his regular program of early morning shooting on his handcrafted range. Not letting the small victory get to his head, he slipped a second arrow in place and fired. Without seeing the result, he launched another. Then two more. Three at a time. Again. And he was finished.

Skipping across a tiled roof, he built up speed before taking a charging leap over the space between the closest building. With his legs swinging beside him, he cleared the parapet and tumbled into a continued run. Hanging his bow over his back, he climbed an uneven stone wall, which led to the column holding his target. Tugging on a lever, he set a pulley system in motion that lowered the target like a curtain.

"Hmm.. been better." Under close inspection, he saw that most of his secondary shots narrowly missed their marks. Which wasn't that bad, on a live enemy they still would've left a nasty injury, but for the purposes of morning training it was... merely satisfactory. Ah well, better get going. Before he'd started his training, his mother told him where to meet with his sensei and teammate. Collecting his arrows, he took a stone out of his pocket to sharpen them before returning them to his quiver. Hanging his target once more, he set off to go see what life held in store.

---

Daisuke Hanamoto
Left, right, duck, swipe, left, swipe, stab! Daisuke was hard at work, doing combat against a bwooden training dummy rigged to spin. It tested reflexes, resolve, and, more than anything else, patience. No matter how many times he managed to stab it, it would never be defeated, therefore he figured it was perfect for keeping himself sharp. His white hair, sweat saturated, stuck to his forehead, a large tuft flapping over the center of his skull as he evaded.

But looking at a clock shocked him, he had places to be! Taking a final stab, he pulled his kunai from the dummy and pocketed it, throwing his bloodied practice shirt to the floor before running to take a shower and clean up. Having done his hair to his satisfaction, he grabbed a yellow jacket and a pair of oak toned pants before snatching his gear and running off. His feet carried him like a ball rolling down a hill.

Minutes later, he arrived at a monument, seeing one person in particular, Ruri's servant. That could be only mean one thing: She's here too. Silently cursing himself, he walked over near the servant before turning his attention away from him and to the girl she was sure accompanied him. "... Hello, Ruri. Haven't seen you for a while." Brat. He hadn't actually been in contact with her for a short while now, but he readily acknowledged that all good things must come to an end.

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Sorry. Nightrunner has been bumming (third person for the win). I'll get on that.

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Ruri is the very antithesis of Daisuke. This arrangement, it looks interesting. Plus, I love Gaara Xavi.

Naruto: Bastion Of The Granite Guard

Kanajiro Hanamoto & Daisuke Hanamoto

“Genius battle!”
[B]Hanamoto Estate
The Day of The Funeral

Kanajiro panted as he jumped back from Daisuke's latest answer to the attacks Kanajiro launched at him, sliding back across the reed mats that had been laid out in the training hall of the Hanamoto estate. Kanajiro stared at Daisuke, before standing straight up again, a moment to catch his breath perhaps, or to catch Daisuke offguard. "You got stronger Daisuke.” he said, recognising the power that Daisuke had as a genius of defense. But one had to admit that they had both gotten stronger, as they had been pushing eachother more and more the past two weeks, training almost every day, even though there was never a real winner. Needless to say, the way the Hanamoto clan trained and especially the clan-head and his cousin, they both needed medical attention almost every day as well.

As such, right now Kanajiro's right eyebrow was bleeding, a stream of blood slowly trickling down past his eyes over his cheek, dripping blood on the floor. And his knee was badly hurting too due to a kick he had received during an attack on Daisukes defense. Kanajiro's seemingly cocky expression turned into a grin, and then a laugh. Anyone that knew Kanajiro longer than a day would've known that saying such cocky things in such a manner wasn't like him at all and was clearly a joke. But meanwhile Kanajiro started forming seals again, starting up his Fiery Fist technique. Slowly his fists started getting engulfed in flames, until they were done charging and Kanajiro flicked his wrists to fully start up the technique. Unlike Daisukes weaker and more harmful version, Kanajiro's Fiery Fists did not actually harm his own hands. He let out a fierce “RAAAAAAAAAAGH!” as he dashed forwards, sprinting the whole five meters towards Daisuke, jumping the last inch and cocking his arm back before sending it out to Daisukes head with a powerful strike -- it wasn't a type of strike you could just glance off and ignore.

"Yoowwwa!" Daisuke howled as he felt the flames lurch at his face, licking the sweat on his forehead. Unfortunately, he'd been a little late ducking, but not fatally so. The burn continued to sting as Daisuke bent backwards as fast as he could, narrowly avoiding the full impact of his cousin's fist, though the strike did drive his knuckles across his forehead and through his white hair. Ultimately, following the duck, Daisuke dropped to the ground on his back, his skull dribbling off the reed mat they were fighting on as he grunted before forcing himself to move, before a follow up could be made. Seeing his cousin's arm still outstretched over him, not fully drawn back yet, Daisuke rolled his feet into the air, aiming for an upward kick based right below Kanijiro's jaw.

On the way up, he felt his lega trembling, already burnt today and freshly lacerated from their previous sessions. The last few days they'd been at it even harder than usual. After all, the Granite Guard wasn't a place for the soft. If the pair grew harder every time they squared off, they would be diamonds. No doubt. A mixture of blood and sweat saturated the uniform Daisuke was in. He wore the same outfit every practice session to remind himself how long his journey had already been. It seemed certain that it wasn't going to get easier.

Kanajiro noticed that his cousin went down, apparently not from the hit as Kanajiro clearly felt he hadn't connected his attack. But then again the attack was meant to mimick the Hyuga style of non-contact taijutsu while maintaining the brutal force that characterized the Hanamoto's. It seemed that Daisuke, even with his defensive style, still utilized this brutally effective style too. Kanajiro was about to send his other fist down when he noticed the foot kicking up. Rather than take the full hit he opted to arch over and cancel the Fiery Fist technique. Because he arched forward even more, he got kicked in the chest rather hard, enough to knock the air out of him forcing him to take another deep breath. But rather than allow Daisuke to retract his foot to kick again, Kanajiro quickly stepped back, regained his footing and attempted to grab the foot after which he would quickly cock his arm back and then send his open palm to Daisukes kneecap -- a very painful attack that would render the fight over if it connected and would give the first win in weeks to Kanajiro. But he knew full well that Daisuke wasn't done yet.

It was rather obvious the boys were very evenly matched, and they had come to be seen as brothers more than cousins -- the only thing that seperated them was the fact that Kanajiro was a head family member and Daisuke merely a branch member. There wasn't much Kanajiro could do about it since the only way to get rid of that was to earn the honor. While Daisuke was strong, he wasn't quite ready to be uplifted from a branch member to a head family member, as much as Kanajiro wanted to grant him this. It didn't help that Daisuke was a year older yet would have to abide by the graces and whims of a younger clan head.

Kanajiro decided that he didn't want to end the fight just yet, despite the fact that he had worked Daisuke into a corner where his defences would not work as well -- they were in close, close combat -- and instead grabbed his knee at the last moment, sparing his kneecap. He swung around and pivoted on his heels, swinging the boy around by his leg and tossing him away, before jumping in the air after him. By the time Daisuke would land he'd be able to see Kanajiro crushing down onto him with a fist aimed at his body center -- the solar plexus.

Seeing no need to thank Kanijiro for his mercy, Daisuke kept hard at work. Expecting a finishing blow to be in wait whenever he'd land, he manually changed his course. He was thrown with his back facing the ground, so he extended his arms away from his feet before kicking upward, while keeping his back straightened. The result was a lightning fast backflip that resulted in him catching solid footing faster than he would've landed. In an instant, he shook the sweat off his forehead while making a trio of handseals: Tiger, Ram, & Dragon. His fingers flowed like water down a twisting stream.

Already winded and feeling he'd about reached his limit for the time being, Daisuke decided it was time to end the battle, even if it meant he'd lose this time. He drew his right hand back before feeling it ignite. "Gah--" With great haste, he snapped his arm back, whipping his hand at his cousin's incoming face. If at all possible, he preferred to grab onto the cheek of an oncoming enemy, but his cousin was no mere enemy. Having a burn on his forehead, he wasn't very concerned about being hurt by his own fire, which was already excruciating. He just didn't want to melt his closest family member's face, his own little mercy.

Kanajiro landed on the ground where Daisuke was supposed to go -- yet he wasn't there. He let out an amused “Hmph.” as he was impressed by Daisukes ability to see and feel what Kanajiro was going to do even though he was being beat on, something that a shinobi definetely needed. He was definetely thinking a step ahead, something Kanajiro himself hadn't yet imprinted in his personality but Daisuke had. But rather than jump back to start his own jutsu, Kanajiro utilized the time Daisuke used to make seals -- which wasn' t very long as Daisuke was quite efficient and fast with his seals -- to step even closer and sent his hand upwards, between the two boys' bodies, then outwards towards the incoming fiery punch.

He grabbed Daisuke's arm which was being used for the fire technique stopping the hand a centimeter away from his face. “Don't hold back, dear cousin.” He grinned and threw back his free arm, then pushing it forward as hard as he could, his hand opened, and a palm aimed for Daisukes face. But rather than finish the palm strike, he simultaneously applied force to Daisukes hand, forcing him to move the burning hand closer to his own face with some rapid movements, as if he was going to burn himself. But regardless of Daisukes response -- surrender, fight back or defend -- Kanajiro would stop both of his 'attacks' a centimeter away from Daisukes face and jump back. “The fight is over.” he'd declare, before putting his hands on his knees and leaning forward, panting heavily after this training session. Granted, this wasn't their first sparring fight today -- they had been sparring practically all day, only interrupted by the funeral.

Daisuke's flaming hand was left, dramatically suspended, right in front of his face. As quickly as it ignited, it was extinguished, a corona of smoke signaling its disappearance. "Indeed, it is. You've done very well, Kanijiro." Taking his free hand, he caressed his burns, with an agonized grimace decorating his face. It always seemed that he would regret performing his version of the move, but that was never actually the case. At this point he was somewhat used to his burns, as initially shocking as it always is. He bowed and gave a dignified grin to his cousin and clan head. "I'd be lying if I said you didn't make me sweat." Picking a bottle of ointment up from the floor near the edge of the mats, he opened a bottle of ointment, drizzling a bit on his hand and patting his forehead before tossing it to his Kanijiro. "Let's grab a bite."