Shark Training (Flashback Training, Closed)

[Deleted]

Akuarungu (Aqualung)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Allows the user the capability of switching between the use of gills and lungs.
Special: Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake, Tiger
Drawback: If activated above ground, the user is capable of suffocating to death.
Description: Normally, the Hoshigaki's body is set to breath through the lungs, which takes in oxygen from the air and then allows the user to exhale. However, the Hoshigaki's body has a secondary set of breathing tools- gills. By activating this technique, the user becomes capable of switching the manner in which their brain commands the body, moving to use the gills instead of the lungs. In this manner, it is impossible for the Hoshigaki to drown as they are now using gills to breath. To cancel the technique, the user must simply perform the Tiger handseal, ending the effect and transitioning back to the use of the lungs.
Limit: Must have Same no Gishiki.

0/30



Tadashi Hoshigaki was sitting on a beach, by the coast leading to the Bay of Buddha. Today was a day for contemplation, for remembrance. Looking out over the ocean, Tadashi remembered the first time he was allowed to train as a full Hoshigaki. His father had handled the training personally…

{Flashback – Ten year old Tadashi}

Tadashi struggled against his father’s iron grip as his lungs burned for air. He’d been a full Hoshigaki for less than a week, and Takeshi decided it was now time for him to learn the basic techniques of the clan. Starting with how to breathe underwater.

Tadashi began to stop struggling, and that was when Takeshi hauled him out of the water and onto the dock. Tadashi spluttered and hawked as he tried to get air back in his lungs.

“That is what happens to normal people,” Takeshi began to instruct, not waiting for his son to recover properly. “We are Hoshigaki: we don’t drown. The first technique you must learn is Akuarungu, to harness your inner shark and breathe underwater.”

Tadashi said nothing: since his throat was slashed, he hadn’t said much. Takeshi made sure he was paying attention before continuing. “You will have to access your chakra,” he said, “And make the hand signs Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake and Tiger,” Takeshi demonstrated each one to his son, who watched with unblinking eyes. “You then channel the chakra into your neck, which will activate your gills and allow you to absorb oxygen from the water. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Tadashi said shortly, voice rough. Tadashi sat up and brought his hands together, taking a deep breath. Tapping into his chakra coil, Tadashi brought up his chakra and began sliding through the Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake and Tiger hand signs. The chakra rushed up to his neck, but nothing happened. Tadashi didn’t feel his lungs close up or his neck ache from no oxygen. Tadashi cancelled the chakra flow and frowned: this was stupid.

“Do it again,” Takeshi ordered.

Tadashi looked up and glared, before taking a deep breath and putting his hands together. Tapping into his chakra coil for a second time, Tadashi drew up the energy and formed the hand signs for the technique. The chakra flared and rushed to his neck, but again, the gills didn’t activate. Tadashi held the seal for as long as he could, but he had to cancel before he drained too much of his chakra. Tadashi, ashamed, looked up at his father, who was watching sternly.

“Do. It. Again,” Takeshi said, and Tadashi looked down before bringing his hands together. This was going to be a waste of time, Tadashi thought. Tapping into his chakra coil, Tadashi brought up the energy and let it flood through his body. Forming the Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake and Tiger hand signs, Tadashi directed the chakra to soak his gills, trying to entice them into activating. But to no avail: the gills just wouldn’t take over from his lungs. Tadashi cancelled the technique and sat defeated.

“Well, you’re clearly not going to learn on land,” Takeshi said, before leaning down and grabbing son, and with a great heave threw him into the ocean. “You don’t come back on land until you learn how to breathe underwater!” Takeshi yelled, before leaving. Clearly taking baby steps with his son wasn’t going to work.

Tadashi, after splashing around for a few seconds, floated in the ocean for a while, before trying to think of a way to learn this.

[Deleted]

??/30

Tadashi decided that the best way to train was to force himself underwater to activate the technique. Whatever was preventing him from activating his gills, it would have to let him if he was in danger of drowning. So, Tadashi took a deep breath and swam down and found a rock to cling to at the bottom of the ocean, not too far from the surface, but far enough that it wouldn’t be a good idea to start drowning.

Using his legs to hold onto the rock, Tadashi brought his hands together. His lungs were already beginning to burn, so he had to work fast. Tapping into his chakra coil, he brought up the energy and let it flow around his body, spreading through him like a warm glow. Tadashi slid through the Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake and Tiger hand signs. The chakra flared and rushed to his neck, but nothing happened again. Tadashi saturated the gills with his chakra, but they just refused to activate. Cancelling the technique, Tadashi punched the rock in frustration, bruising his knuckles and wasting precious oxygen. What the hell was wrong? Why couldn’t he do it?

Tadashi had a sudden eureka moment: he wasn’t turning off his lungs! Tadashi, before he started to drown, quickly swam up to the surface and took a few deep breaths, oxygenating his blood before heading back down. Clinging onto the rock, Tadashi focused and began to draw on his chakra again.

The energy rushed into the rest of his body, flowing around. Keeping his legs in place, Tadashi brought his hands together and slid through the Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake and Tiger hand signs. The chakra flared, and instead of sending it all to his neck this time, Tadashi directed some of it to smother his lungs, turning them off. It hurt a bit, but he felt the urge to take a breath stop completely. Now, Tadashi directed the rest of the chakra to the gills on his neck, enticing them to activate. Finally, the gills opened up, and Tadashi felt a rush of air in his body. His body stopped screaming for oxygen, and Tadashi was able to look around at the world around him now.

But here was boring. Tadashi decided to swim out, staying underwater, and see how far he could go. Now he could breathe underwater, the ocean was his playground.

Except it wasn’t: after only a few minutes, Tadashi, rather stupidly, was reviewing the technique, and let his hands move through the hand signs of the jutsu, resting on the Tiger hand sign. Suddenly, Tadashi found that he couldn’t breathe as well, and then at all. He took a big gulp of seawater in surprise, before beginning to choke and black out. Using the last of his strength (it’s funny how fast you go weak and limp once you can’t breathe) Tadashi broke the surface and took a huge gulp of air. It wasn’t enough though, and Tadashi passed out, floating on his back. The ocean began to carry him out away from land…

[Deleted]

??/30

Tadashi didn’t know how long he was unconscious, but when he woke up, he couldn’t see land, and the sun was setting. Tadashi looked around wildly, trying to find where he was. After a few moments of panicking, Tadashi calmed himself down and decided, before looking for a way back home, he would figure out what he had done wrong. He was swimming out, reviewing the technique, but it suddenly stopped when he hit the Tiger hand sign. That hand sign must cancel the technique before going back onto land. Tadashi’s father hadn’t told him THAT!

Well, there was no point in complaining. Before he resumed the technique, Tadashi took a quick look around the horizon. He couldn’t see where land was, but he remembered that the sun was behind him when he went into the water, when it was high in the sky. Now it was setting and in front of him: that meant that he needed to turn around and swim…Tadashi pointed in the direction he thought he needed to go.

Now, back underwater he went: taking a huge gulp of air, Tadashi submerged himself and began to swim in the direction he had chosen. Using the oxygen in his body pretty quickly, Tadashi tapped into his chakra coil and gathered his chakra, letting it flow around his body. Bringing his hands together, Tadashi moved through the Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake and Tiger hand signs. After finishing the hand signs, the chakra flared and rushed to his lungs and neck: now he knew what to do, Tadashi just did them at the same time now. The chakra shut off his lungs, then activated his gills.

The feeling of drawing in water through his neck to get the oxygen from it was strange. It was also strange that his chest wasn’t aching now he wasn’t breathing through his mouth. The fact Tadashi wasn’t drowning right now was cause for celebration. But not yet: he had been swimming for a while now, so he had better check where he was. Swimming towards the surface, Tadashi brought his hands together in the Tiger hand sign, cancelling the technique. The gills on Tadashi’s neck closed and his lungs roared back into life, and when Tadashi breached the surface, he took a deep breath.

Success! Tadashi had picked the right direction, and after however long of swimming, he could see his home. At the distance, he could see several people on the shoreline. They were probably looking for him: the sun was almost gone, and the world was almost black.

Tadashi decided to make them worry a little longer and went back underwater. Tapping into his chakra coil, Tadashi moved his hands through the Ox, Dragon, Monkey, Snake and Tiger hand signs and activated the technique. The chakra he had gathered rushed through his body, saturating and shutting off his lungs and activating the gills in his neck. Drawing in oxygen through his neck was much more efficient to Tadashi than breathing through his mouth. Breathing in and out through his neck as he swam back to the shoreline, Tadashi decided to swim straight down and start walking towards the surface along the ocean floor.

Before getting back to the surface, Tadashi made the Tiger hand sign just before he breached the surface, and his gills shut off and his lungs took over again, and Tadashi walked out of the ocean, ignoring everyone who rushed forward to see if he was okay.

It had been a few hours since he last ate, and he was hungry.

[Fui]

Just a note. Don't apply hand seals to training like that please.

Also plus 26 it's good but a bit fluffy at times

[Deleted]

26/30

The next day, before dawn, Tadashi went back to the shoreline, standing on the dock and looking down at the water. Tadashi took a deep breath and brought his hands together, tapping into his chakra coil. Gathering his chakra, Tadashi slid through the hand seals of the Akuarungu technique, finishing with the Tiger sign. The chakra inside him rushed towards his neck, saturating his lungs and turning off his primary breathing system. The chakra reached his neck and saturated his gills, enticing them to activate. The gills opened up, and Tadashi began to feel lightheaded as they tried to absorb oxygen from the air.

In a flash, Tadashi jumped from the dock and dove into the water. The rush of cold hit Tadashi like a train, but his gills began sucking oxygen from the water around him, feeding strength into his limbs. Tadashi pushed out into the water, thinking about the strangeness of the situation.

All Hoshigaki had a secondary breathing system so they couldn’t drown, but they had to use chakra to activate it? That made no sense to Tadashi, but he guessed that if they just had to think about activating it, a lot of them would probably choke to death on land or drown just for their mind wandering. Better to rely on chakra activating it, more reliable that way.

Tadashi continued to swim around for a while, drawing oxygen in through his gills as he looked around the ocean floor. But after a few minutes, he got a bit bored and decided to return to land. So he turned around and swam towards the surface, forming the Tiger sign to cancel the technique and turn his lungs back on. Breaking the surface of the water, Tadashi took a huge breath with his mouth before swimming back to shore. It was time for breakfast.

[Fui]

+4

[Deleted]

•

Suichuu Binkatsu (Underwater Alacrity)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: Passive
Effect: Allows the user to move underwater just as well as they would above it.
Special: Passive ability that is always active.
Drawback: N/A
Description: The Hoshigaki Clan are very much used to fighting underwater; their whole fighting style is based upon flooding the field and then forcing the opponent to fight underwater, where the user will have the advantage. Because of their constant fighting underwater, they've learned how to move and manipulate their own bodies while submerged, making them terribly difficult opponents to match when they're in their element. This ability, once learned, allows the user to fight with grace and ease underwater, to the very point that it seems like they were fighting naturally above it.
Limit: Must have Same no Gishiki.

0/30
{FLASHBACK}
After breakfast, Tadashi was taken back to the shoreline by his father, who began to lecture him again.

“A Hoshigaki’s power lies in the fact we are both of the water and land,” Takeshi said, “And we rarely fight anyone with our prowess. For total advantage, we flood the battlefield with powerful Ninjutsu or force our opponent underwater in another way.”

“How is that an advantage?” Tadashi asked, “We’re still slow in the water, our only advantage is that we don’t drown.”

“Not true,” Takeshi said, “We can overcome that weakness by training: you will spend almost every waking moment in the water until you can move as easily as you can on land. You can only come out for meals or to go to bed. Get going.” With that, Takeshi left, leaving his son staring after him. Tadashi was a little angry: being given a vague outline of what he was supposed to do and then left to do it would do that to a person.

But Tadashi wasn’t about to argue, so he activated his Akuarungu and went into the water. The water was crystal clear today, letting Tadashi force his way through the water, which seemed to want to cling to him. Tadashi hated the drag: it was fine when he was swimming, because he was forcing his way through it. But just wandering on the ocean floor? It was like trying to walk through fog while wading through mud. How was spending every spare second in the ocean going to help him? The drag was ridiculous, and he felt stupid.

But, he was told to stay in here till he could move like he was on the surface, so that’s what he would do. Tadashi thought for a second of what he could do, and saw two rocks, about a hundred metres apart from each other. It would be pretty basic, but he decided he would try running between the two rocks, and see how long it took him to make the run. Tadashi stood by the first rock and prepared himself, before starting to run, counting as he moved.

If you were watching, it would look like the most ridiculous thing you had ever seen. Tadashi couldn’t move faster than a crawl, and looked so strange as his arms flailed as his legs sort of…moved slowly through the water. Tadashi wasn’t so much running as just walking strangely. The drag from the water was so ridiculous that his muscles began to burn before he had even made it half way. Tadashi kept pushing, even when it felt like his muscles were tearing themselves apart. After what felt like forever, Tadashi reached the other rock and if he was using his lungs, he would have fallen down gasping at the effort. As it were, Tadashi began to float because he couldn’t bother keeping himself on the ocean floor right now.

Tadashi had lost count of how long it took after about five hundred Hi no Kuni’s (OOC: I couldn’t think of anything else that had the same syllable count as Mississippi), but he wasn’t about to give up. After letting his body float through the current for a while, he decided to swim back to the rock and try again. Putting his hands out in front of him and pushing himself forward, legs kicking conservatively as he propelled himself through the water. This was much easier to do than running through the ocean. But Tadashi still felt the drag, and nothing had changed. Not that he had expected it to, but it would’ve been nice to see some progress made in a day.

But that wasn’t to be. Tadashi returned to the rock and began to run again, muscles burning as he flailed madly through the water, not graceful or deadly at all. It took the same amount of time as before, only this time Tadashi was able to keep count past five hundred. That gave the gruff Hoshigaki a small sense of achievement as he forced his way through the water, reaching the second rock in seven hundred and fifty Hi no Kuni’s. Still exhausted, Tadashi took this chance to float back up to the surface, not letting his lungs pass up out of the water. From the angle of the sun, he had been in the ocean long enough for his father to have gone back to the Shark Priest building.

That was nowhere near the armoury, so Tadashi’s brain decided to encourage him to go and grab the giant sword he had found before his ritual. Waverider…Tadashi had a different idea about his training.

[Deleted]

??/30
After sneaking into the armoury and retrieving the giant greatsword he had found, Tadashi was back in the water, holding the giant blade in both hands. It was a ridiculously large weapon, but it was perfect for what Tadashi was going to do. Hoshigaki were supposed to dominate in the water as on the land, and on land Tadashi was a naturally gifted swordsman. Nowhere near the levels of his father who had routinely beaten him no matter how hard Tadashi fought. But that wasn’t important at the moment.

Tadashi put his body in a ready stance, and began to train. First he threw all his strength into a vertical strike, bringing Waverider down into the sand, kicking up a huge cloud of sand. Tadashi’s muscles still burnt from his running training, but he persevered. Twisting in the water and shifting his grip, Tadashi pulled Waverider from the ground and spun it in a 360 degrees motion horizontal strike, something the weapon’s weight wouldn’t let him do properly on land. The blade cut through the water like butter, helping Tadashi get used to moving underwater. As the young Hoshigaki moved through various moves underwater, he barely noticed that the water began to have less of a hold on him.

Before, Tadashi was barely able to run a hundred metres in any decent time and looked rather ungainly doing so. Now, after only what seemed like a few minutes but could have been any amount of time, Tadashi looked less uncoordinated and more like he was at home. He wasn’t a hundred percent there yet, but he was getting there. Tadashi kept swinging the sword through the water, using its momentum to help him get used to moving underwater.

Eventually, Tadashi began to grow tired and decided to check on how much time had passed. Holding the sword close to him, Tadashi swam through the water. Even swimming now was much less difficult to do. Tadashi breached the surface, looking up at the sun. It was almost lunch time, so he decided to swim out a bit further from the shoreline, to give himself some more practice and eat up some time so he could go and eat. He would have to stash Waverider somewhere so his father didn’t see it. Going back underwater, Tadashi turned around and began to swim back to shore, clasping Waverider tightly in one hand and using the other hand to help propel him through the water.

It was almost unnecessary to do so, as the water was fast beginning to lose its grip on the young Hoshigaki. It was a strange feeling: Tadashi could still feel the drag as he swam, but it was as if it wasn’t there for him much anymore. It felt good: a few more hours of training to satisfy his father and then he would be able to move on. Still kicking with his legs, Tadashi kept propelling himself forward, less like a block of cement moving through the ocean and more like a plank of wood. Tadashi wasn’t up to moving through the water like a knife yet, but it wouldn’t be long now. He could feel the difference to his attempts now and his attempts this morning. As Tadashi swam through the ocean, he began to wonder what he was going to have for lunch…

But while Tadashi’s thoughts were on lunch, something else thought Tadashi was its lunch. A giant tentacle reached out like lightning and snagged Tadashi, dragging him down as he cried out, dropping Waverider as he was dragged to the depths by whatever monstrosity had decided Tadashi was on today’s menu.

[Deleted]

??/30

Tadashi, after recovering from his surprise, turned and to his astonishment, was being accosted by a giant squid. What the hell was a giant squid doing this far away from the dark depths of the open ocean? Didn’t matter, Tadashi had to escape now! The tentacle had only wrapped itself around his leg, so bending down, Tadashi bit hard into the squid’s appendage, making it scream in pain and let him go. Tadashi immediately began to swim away, before seeing Waverider falling through the ocean and onto the sandy floor below. Tadashi would be killed if he lost that weapon, so instead of fleeing, Tadashi did the stupid thing and did a sharp turn and swam down.

Adrenaline pumping through his body, the water’s drag was no longer an issue to Tadashi. The young Hoshigaki was able to move through the water almost as fast as on land now, and it showed when the tentacles of the squid, now pissed off beyond measure came after him. Tadashi had to stop going after Waverider to dodge the tentacle attack, swimming like a dolphin as he dodged almost elegantly out of the way. Not a dolphin, a shark, and Tadashi was a great white shark: he was top predator here, not some two-bit hunk of calamari. Tadashi felt his blood lust rise as he faced the squid, not noticing that the crafty thing had him surrounded with tentacles. But he noticed just in time, and began bouncing between tentacles like one might bounce between tree branches. Using the momentum he built up, Tadashi shot like a bullet from one tentacle to the bottom of the ocean, right next to Waverider.

Grabbing the weapon, Tadashi readied himself for the next attack, but now he’d proven himself elusive prey, the squid was being wary. Tadashi didn’t want wary: he wanted a fight, and NOW! Kicking off of the ground, Tadashi shot towards the squid as fast as an arrow, Waverider in a position for a powerful slash. The squid responded by catching Tadashi with its tentacles and dragging and flinging him backwards. Tadashi spun for a while before he righted himself, shaking his head in dizziness.

The squid attacked again, tentacles rushing the young Hoshigaki. But he was ready this time: kicking off of the ground, Tadashi used all his strength to cut through one of the tentacles. Blood poured into the ocean as the squid screamed with pain, but the sound was like music to Tadashi. Tadashi’s body was now like a knife in the water: he was much faster than he was this morning and now he had an opponent to prove himself against.

The squid attacked again, but this time Tadashi just danced through the water as he dodged the tentacle strikes, before landing on one and running up the length of the tentacle. No more mad flailing and awkwardness for this Hoshigaki. Tadashi was now as elegant and deadly as he felt on land, and the run was well over a hundred metres. What had taken him 750 Hi no Kuni’s now took him half that for over twice the distance as Tadashi readied himself for a death blow against the creature.

The squid assaulted him again, but Tadashi jumped up and swam between the tentacles, landing on one and positioning himself, aiming the point of Waverider at the squid’s now open beak. Kicking himself off of the tentacle, Tadashi moved at lightning speed and spun and dodged through the squid’s last attempt at catching him. Tadashi pierced right through the squid’s body, killing it as its blood flooded into the ocean in billowing dark clouds.

Tadashi watched as the creature began to float away, light going out of its large eyes. Tadashi didn’t feel sorry for it at all: it was his prey today. Seized with an idea, Tadashi swam up to the creature fast before it got away and, after planting Waverider into its carcass, Tadashi grabbed two of the tentacles of the creature and began to pull it along to shore. Staying underwater, Tadashi felt the weight of the creature and began to struggle, but thanks to his acclimatisation, the water held no more challenge for him. The weight of the creature was the only thing holding Tadashi back as he kicked through the water, body gliding through the currents of the ocean.

Tadashi reached shore after an hour, and his father was waiting for him. Tadashi guessed someone had seen him take Waverider, but Tadashi didn’t care. He swam as much as he could before he had to deactivate his gills and drag the squid’s carcass out of the ocean and onto the beach.

“What the hell is that?” Takeshi demanded of his son. Tadashi looked his father dead in the eye as he pulled Waverider from the corpse of the squid, struggling more now that he was out of the water.

“Lunch,” Tadashi said, handing his father the sword.

[N A T S U M I]

+23; not a bad set of posts. Keep up the good work!
23|30

[Deleted]

23/30
“You killed a giant squid…for lunch?” Takeshi asked, taking Waverider from his son.

“It attacked me while I was training,” Tadashi said. “I don’t know where it came from.” Tadashi went off for his real lunch while his father took Waverider back to the armoury. After a huge lunch and some rest, Tadashi went back to the water. Now he could move underneath it, he just wanted to be underwater as much as possible. Tadashi ran at full speed along the pier, before leaping up and jumping before spinning his body and diving into the water. Quickly activating his Akuarungu, Tadashi swam out and straight, sliding through the water like a blade.

This was an amazing feeling, Tadashi thought. The water itself couldn’t hold him. Tadashi, after a while of just swimming, saw the two rocks he used earlier in his training. Grinning like the shark he was, Tadashi swam down and landed on the ocean floor, kicking up dust. Jumping up and down, Tadashi prepared, and then ran. The water tried to hold him back, but now Tadashi’s body was fully acclimatised to the water now, and what was once the hardest thing about moving underwater was now the easiest. It took maybe ten or fifteen Hi no Kuni’s to make the distance, unlike the hundreds of seconds it took him this morning.

Tadashi kept running, laughing loudly as he did. The water still tried to cling to him, but to no avail. Tadashi jumped and spun, leaving behind a wake of bubbles as he moved. It was a great feeling, and Tadashi began to swim again, moving through the water like an arrow. If Tadashi could dance, he would literally dance through the water. The best thing was that if he wasn’t moving, the water’s grip could hold him, and let him float or sink if he wanted. But the second he started to move, it was like the water wasn’t there anymore. Just Tadashi, moving and jumping around like he was five years old again.

Tadashi kept swimming through the water, spinning like a corkscrew and laughing manically as he did so. He kept dancing through the water, and this time no giant squid interrupted him. Tadashi kept moving, feeling no drag over his body as me moved. It was the best feeling ever, but it was time to finish up for the day.

“Not so fast,” a voice said, and Tadashi turned to see five other Hoshigaki children. He recognised them as part of Ichiro’s old gang, before Tadashi had killed him. They were all armed with knives, and their gills flared. This was going to be fun.

Tadashi didn’t wait for them to attack: he moved like lightning and charged them, flipping over their heads and punching one in the neck and grabbed his arm, disarming him and taking his knife. These guys had only just received the ritual, and while they had the Akuarungu, they hadn’t spent the time to develop their underwater alacrity, which meant that Tadashi had every advantage. Moving like a shark, Tadashi danced around the attackers, slashing through them. They all cried out in pain and tried to fight back, but even with numbers, Tadashi was the superior of them in every way.

Once he was finished, they were all covered in little cuts, blood billowing out into the ocean. Tadashi left them to clean their wounds, swimming up like an arrow to the surface. Maybe it was time to practice something else.

[She of the Mighty Bow-Gun]

+7 Learned.

[Deleted]

• Wield Oversized Weapon
Rank: "C"
Skill: Taijutsu/Supplementary
Effect: The user can use larger than normal weapons with ease.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The user can treat any weapon as if it were 1 size category smaller than normal and one category "lighter" for the purpose of determining the amount of effort it takes to wield. For instance, a user with this technique could wield a Great Sword as a 1-handed weapon, or they could wield a large great sword as a 2-handed weapon. The weapon still deals its normal amount of damage.
Limit: Must take from Universal Taijutsu.

0/30

{Flashback – 13 Year Old Tadashi}

Tadashi’s father had taken Tadashi away from the ocean, deep into the forest. They eventually made it to a clearing, where another Hoshigaki was holding Waverider.

“This isn’t part of your normal training,” Takeshi said, “This is something new.” Tadashi stayed silent, looking at his father, who decided to continue talking. “So far, you’ve managed to kill a great white shark, a giant squid and…how many of those swordfish did you kill?”

“Seven,” Tadashi said, “And they were very aggressive.”

“The only thing that’s been the same in all those situations is that sword,” Takeshi said, indicating Waverider. “So, you’re going to train with it. You’re going to stay here until you can wield the weapon with one hand.”

“Is there a point to that?” Tadashi asked. Takeshi didn’t respond: he and the other Hoshigaki left, leaving Tadashi alone with Waverider stabbed into the ground. May as well get training then. Tadashi grabbed Waverider with two hands and hefted it. Tadashi’s strength was greater than the average Hoshigaki and that made using the giant sword easier. But it was still heavy, and using it with one hand was going to be hard. But, that was what he was brought here to do, so that’s what he was going to do.

Holding Waverider straight up, Tadashi balanced it, then took one hand away from it. Immediately, the blade began to wobble as Tadashi struggled to keep it balanced with only one hand. His arm began to tremble, and he decided to start swinging. Shifting his grip, Tadashi brought the massive blade down, and it impacted the ground, hard. Tadashi made the attempt to lift it up with only one hand, but the effort was too much. Tadashi’s arm gave up and the sword fell to the ground.

Rubbing his arm and rolling his shoulder, Tadashi looked at the sword. His illusory shark self called it Waverider, and he had no idea why he would know that. It didn’t matter: Tadashi reached down and grabbed the handle, lifting it up. The end of the blade stayed on the ground, but Tadashi didn’t give up that easily. Using his fearsome strength, Tadashi spun and used momentum to bring the weapon up off the ground and slash through the air. Planting himself on the ground, Tadashi brought the weapon back and rested it on his shoulder.

Waverider was still heavy, but it’s not just about strength: technique mattered. Tadashi centred himself and began to move. Using his shark strength, Tadashi hefted the blade and brought it down again, hitting the ground. This time, crouching down, Tadashi shifted grip and brought Waverider out of the ground, then he shifted grip again and slashed around in a full arc, spinning in place. Once that was done, Tadashi brought the weapon back onto his shoulder. That was exhausting: Tadashi dropped the blade and sat down on the ground.

This was going to be a long training session.

[Fui]

+8

[Deleted]

8/30

Tadashi was ready to improve, but he had an issue with the size of the weapon. At thirteen, he was just too short to use the weapon on land. In the ocean, it wasn’t a problem, especially since he could float. But on land, his height became a problem, and meant he had to improvise. His moves were limited, but he knew what he could do. That wasn’t an issue either.

Tadashi, holding Waverider on his shoulder, prepared himself. Tadashi braced and swung Waverider forward, stopping the movement when the blade was straight in front of him. The blade trembled as Tadashi fought to keep it there. Shifting his grip, Tadashi then twisted his body 180 degrees and brought the blade down in an arc, stopping short of hitting the ground. The effort made Tadashi’s arm burn, but he wasn’t about to stop now. Pulling his arm back, Tadashi pushed through and stabbed forward. After the stab, Tadashi swung the sword sideways to the left, and then to the right, and then put it back into a downward slash, but the effort was too much and Tadashi dropped the sword.

Tadashi took a second to rest, holding his arm. His muscles were burning, but he felt good. Progress was being made. After a while of resting, Tadashi picked up the sword again, swinging the blade around so that it landed on his shoulder. Then he began again, running through different katas that his father taught him, only applying them to a giant weapon was difficult: he wasn’t tall enough to pull off any uppercut slashes with the weapon, so he had to improvise with certain strikes.

After a little while, Tadashi felt the weight of the weapon change as his arm got used to swinging the weapon around. Instead of struggling to move, every strike became a little more fluid. Every swing began to have more power. Eventually, Tadashi found himself close enough to the tree line that he made a big 360 degree arc and slashed through the trunks of three trees, before the blade got embedded in the fourth.

After yanking the blade out of the fourth tree, Tadashi took an extended break. Waverider was still incredibly heavy, even if he was getting used to the weight. A few hours was enough to get used to the weight, but not enough to be skilled with it.
But he would get his chance: while Tadashi was unfocused, a hundred dark shapes surrounded him. When Tadashi finally noticed, they all drew swords.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tadashi said, grabbing Waverider and adopting a stance.

[She of the Mighty Bow-Gun]

+8

You are edging it, sooooo close but maybe about another pars and you have solid 10's coming your way~

Loving the training.

[Deleted]

16/30

The first of the shapes charged, five of them in all. All swung in the same way, a downward strike, making it easy for Tadashi to block, but the strength of his attackers and his sore arm made it a struggle in futility, so Tadashi improvised. Sliding around, Tadashi moved to the other side of the handle and let the pressure go, making his attackers stumble. Using his incredible shark strength, Tadashi was able to spin again and drive Waverider’s tip into the chest of one of his attackers. The attacker groaned, and then exploded into water.

Water clones: all the attackers were clones. That made life easier for Tadashi, because now all he needed to do was nick the clones and they would be destroyed. Tadashi held the blade out, and the other clones regrouped. Tadashi’s arm trembled with the effort, be he forced his body to hold it up. It took more effort than it should, but Tadashi wasn’t about to die to a bunch of clones because his body couldn’t hack it.

The clones rushed him again, and engaged Tadashi in a fierce duel. Four to one, Tadashi’s only saving grace was the length of Waverider. The length made it easy to block the opposing strikes, but it wasn’t going to save him from an extended conflict. This needed to end before the other clones decided to attack. A hundred clones, and he’d only killed one. After tanking a few hits, Tadashi struck with a roar. Waverider danced as his moved his arm like a snake, slashing and spinning his way through the other four clones, their watery bodies disintegrating. That left ninety five clones to kill.

But the effort was too much for a thirteen year old, no matter how tough he was. Tadashi’s arm gave out and he dropped Waverider, holding his shoulder and groaning in pain.

“Can’t keep it up, Hoshigaki?” almost a hundred voices taunted, “We’re going to end you.”

“I will cut my way through ALL OF YOU TO FIND THE REAL ONE!” Tadashi yelled, switching to his left arm and bringing Waverider to bear. Ten more clones leapt from the trees, but Tadashi was angry now, and that made him dangerous. He wasn’t dextrous with his left arm, but he was strong with it, just as much as his right arm. The ten clones didn’t make an attack, because Tadashi slashed through the air and cut all of them in half. The clones exploded, and Tadashi’s face was dark. Eighty to go now. He needed his right arm to recover, so he rested Waverider on his left shoulder, keeping his grip lax.

Now this was becoming fun.

[Celaena Kamyuja]

Plus Ten

[Deleted]

26/30

The clones began to rush him one at a time, and Tadashi began to slash through them at speed, gaining momentum and finesse with his left arm as he cut through the clones. Water exploded everywhere, and Tadashi eventually had cut through thirty clones in a few minutes. The clones kept coming, so Tadashi had to keep his speed up. Tadashi kept blocking attack after attack as he cut through the clones, but now he was getting cut and started bleeding. This fight needed to end, and end quickly.

Tadashi moved like lighting, blocking attacks with Waverider, but his arm was trembling with the effort, and his right arm still hurt from the effort earlier. Too many clones, not enough breaks; Tadashi was exhausted. But he kept powering through, swinging Waverider with one arm like it was nothing now, even with the effort to keep fighting. The clones exploded left and right as he cut through them, Waverider dancing as if it was a feather on the wind. A heavy, steel feather, but a feather nonetheless.
Eventually, the clones were cut down, leaving one black-clad swordsman advancing on Tadashi, who was panting and holding Waverider with most of the blade resting on the ground.

“This was way too easy,” the swordsman said, “I should have asked for more money.”

Tadashi didn’t care who this guy was, but he wasn’t about to allow himself to be killed. So, mustering the very last of his strength, the young Hoshigaki began running forward, Waverider dragging on the ground. With a roar, Tadashi brought the blade up and stabbed forward. The swordsman blocked with his own katana, throwing Tadashi to the side. Tadashi responded and twisted, letting go of the sword with his left arm and catching it in his right hand. Tadashi went on the offensive, attacking with ferocity as he swung Waverider with renewed vigour. The swordsman blocked and parried easily as he with his smaller, faster weapon, but Tadashi’s attacks with his one handed wielding kept him on the defensive.

Whenever the swordsman found an opening and exploited it, Tadashi simply swapped arms and kept the attack going. Waverider and Tadashi were one, and with every swing Tadashi found himself closer to victory. Tadashi’s final attack was a four pronged move: he attacked with a sideways slash with his left arm, which was blocked. Switching to his right arm, he slashed the opposite direction, then spun and delivered a crushing blow with an overhead strike. When the swordsman blocked it, Tadashi brought the sword back and, with the last of his strength in his right arm, stabbed like lightning. The swordsman couldn’t defend in time, and found Waverider stabbed through his chest, pinning him up as the blade had passed through the ground.

Tadashi collapsed, the effort from the fight and the training from earlier hitting him all at once. He’d get up in a minute, honest.

[Father 'Suke]

+4 learned