The White Sand Beach [PM to enter]

[hotaru]

Kokuun Bunshin no Jutsu
Rank: C
Special: Ninjutsu
Effect: Creates up to three clones out of the oily substance created by the use of Kokuun no Jutsu. they are highly flamable and wil ignite into a burst of fire with just a spark basically.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Kokuun Bunshin no Jutsu is a Ninjutsu technique that utilizes oil to create a Bunshin clone. Unlike a normal Bunshin, the Kokuun Bunshin has the ability to interact more with the environment due to it having physical substance. This allows the clone to carry out limited attacks on its target. The range of the clone is limited; however, it can not travel very far from the original body. If the Kokuun Bunshin is injured, the clone will usually revert back into its natural oily state. The Kokuun clone is also HIGHLY flammable and will ignite into a large burst of fire with barely a spark. When used in conjunction with a Kanton technique, the results can be devastating.
Limit: Water Release, Must know Kokuun no Jutsu and must have used it immediately before this

Kokuun Bunshin no Jutsu
Oil Clone

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After exiting the library that taught her the paper release, the Kusakage in disguise inhaled a deep breath of the salty air of Umi no Kuni. The smell was still foreign to the forest raised shinobi, never before experiencing the unique scent of the ocean. Still even stranger than the aroma of the ocean was the mere sight of the expansive volume of water. Coming from the landlocked country of Kusa no Kuni, the largest body of water she had ever seen was Lake Mizuho, located just outside the gates of her home village. Standing atop a sandy dune, she listened to the call of gulls and the unrelenting howl of the sea born winds as they found their way to shore. Filled with excitement, Hotaru removed her sandals and slid down the soft sandy hills and raced towards the cool embrace of the salty water. As she ran, she was taken back to the last water jutsu she learned before she departed for the exams.

Flashback

Huddled under her umbrella, Hotaru cowered away from the dark liquid that was pooling at her feet. As the downpour stopped she utilized her minor skill in the earth release to raise the area she stood on a few inches above the rest of the greenhouse, creating a small island for her to be safe from the staining liquid of the oil. Removing the scroll from her still flawless Kimono, she carefully unfurled the parchment and scanned the kanji for the next technique that dealt with oil. It was a skill familiar to most every practitioner of the ninja arts…and something that Hotaru had experience in before. Clones. Instilled with a sense of confidence, Hotaru skimmed the handseals and technique procedure. The art of cloning herself had been instilled within her since her time at the academy, and she didn’t anticipate much trouble in the mastering of this technique.

Rerolling the scroll around its wooden spool once she had memorized the handseals, she took her traditional deep breath in order to cleanse her mind and prepare for the task at hand. Lightning quick hands raced through the memorized handseals, calling on her tenketsu to release the water chakra instilled in her body since birth. After the seals had finished, she pushed her chakra out through her feet and into the sludge she had created just moments before. With the addition of the chakra, the sable liquid began to bubble and congeal in a distinct blob. Slowly but surely the mass began to rise from the depths of the puddle like a beast doomed to wander the swamps for eternity.

Higher and higher the pillar of goo rose from the oily ground of the greenhouse until sections of oil began to slide off of the forms body, revealing sections of white fabric. Though the process wasn’t pretty, the forming of an oil clone certainly was…theatrical. After a few more seconds of watching the oil birth a perfect replica of herself, she beckoned for her creation to turn to face her so she could examine her work. A few beads of oil stuck to her porcelain skin, and her raven hair appeared greasy, but it was an adequate copy of herself for a first attempt. Of course, should any part of her body come in contact with a spark or a flame, her body would be consumed in an explosive hellfire that would damage anyone standing remotely close to her. Satisfied with her work, she dispelled the chakra holding her together and she fell back into the large puddle of oil on the floor.

flashback complete

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[otakulegend]

+10

[hotaru]

Mizu No Tatsumaki
Tornado of Water

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The soft sand felt wonderful under her bare feet as she rushed to the shore of the ocean. The salty smell in the air intensified as the breath of sylph tossed her hair behind her shoulders. Excitement and immaturity had taken over the usually stoic demeanor of the teen. She was alone at the beach, she had no one to impress. No elders to appease. It was just here, the tropical plants, and the wide open sea. The fluffy sand became hard with moisture as she got to the shore and soon beads of salty water jumped from the ocean and into the air. No chakra was placed on the bottom of her feet. Running deeper into the ocean, the warm waters splashed against her skin and soon the kunoichi allowed herself to be consumed by the embrace of undine.

Floating underwater, she had some time to unwind. The water was soothing, and she stayed submerged as long as her lungs would allow. When her lungs finally screamed for air, she surfaced with a splash as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Blowing out the bit of water that had gotten into her mouth, her eyes squinted into an unpleasant mask. The water was salty. As obvious of an observation as it was, the girl had always wondered how salty the ocean really was. Kicking her feet off the sandy bottom, she floated on her back and allowed her mind to wander. After the excitement of the first and second round, Hotaru decided she needed to do a bit of training before the finals. She had started this technique before she left…but didn’t have time to finish it. “Suiton is such a bother…”

Allowing her legs to sink back to the ground, she took the time to think back on the progress she had made before she departed. Despite her increased affinity for water, she had particular trouble figuring out how to create a tornado from it. She had attempted to raise a whirlpool out of the water, but after a few attempts of that with almost no progress she abandoned the idea. She thought her handseal interpretation was correct, utilizing all three of the water signs combined with the dragon and bird for power and speed. Perhaps she should attempt to form the tornado above the surface. Pondering this thought for a while, she rolled her neck over her shoulders to relieve the pent up tension.

The water was about chest high on her average frame, and perhaps the fact she was submerged was a good thing for the progress of the technique. Forming handseals beneath the salty sea, her tenketsu buzzed and began to expel chakra through her body and into the water surrounding her body. Ripples began to permeate from her body, causing small beads of water to pick themselves out of the great expanse of ocean and into a small disc that floated in the salty air. More and more water rose from the depths and the mass floating in the air began to spin. Come on… she thought urging the misshapen blob of floating water to twist itself into a cyclone that would dance on the oceans surface. Pushing even more chakra into her creation, the shape suddenly exploded, showering the girl with a fine mist of salty spray. “Damn.”

TP gained from redistribution of Hitokiri no Doku as per allowed by Heero

[otakulegend]

+10

[Matsu]

As if drawn by instinct, the pull to find the nearest coastline would bring the massive Hoshigake to his current location. The white sands which most would have found beautiful were nowhere near as captivating as the glowing emerald waters that threatened to exit the ocean and overpower the coast. His body ached somewhat from all the running he had done the last round, or perhaps it was simply due to the fact that he longed to be in the water and his mind would create any excuse neccasary to have him do so. That was when a splash would get his attention, someone was trying to practice Suiton.

White eyes drawn to a small shapeless blob on the water, Naota would let his eyes fall over the form of a woman. "Kohaku.." he muttered softly, however he was not close enough yet to be heard. Moving swiftly towards the water now, he would grin playfully as he made sure to mask his presence as best as possible until the last moment where he would leap high into the air and land upon the waters surface making gentle ripples. "You call that Suiton?"he exclaimed in a playful tone as he eye'd her up and down with his usually razor sharp grin. He knew very little about this Kusa Shinobi other then the fact that she seemed to favor Mokuton no Jutsu.

He wasn't the best with people, perhaps his entrance had been a little rude. He would quickly rethink his words, however once stated there wasn't much he could do. "Need any help with that? Looks like you're just starting to grasp the concept." he added softly, trying to seem like a caring fellow Kusa Ninja. Was she as dangerous as he had seen in Round two all the time? Or perhaps she was merely incredibly lucky based on the field advantage? He could not be cautious enough with this one seeing as how either way she might be a power house who like most Shinobi could be alot to deal with when angered.

[hotaru]

Mizu No Tatsumaki
Tornado of Water

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Quite frustrated with the difficulty this jutsu seemed to possess, the Hanakora submerged herself in the water up to her eyes by bending her knees. Exhaling through her mouth, playful bubbles streamed up out of the water and popped suddenly as they reached the surface, tickling her nose with the fine salty mist coming from the foam of frustration. Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard far closer than she expected. “You call that Suiton?” the male taunted from behind her, most obviously trying to start a bout of playful banter with the Kusakage. Turning around while still mostly submerged, she glared through crimson optics at the being standing atop the water.

With a final burst of air, the water gurgled as the girl stood back to her full height. “Well excuse me for not being part fish. These things are a bit harder for me than for people with gills.” A small smile curled across her lips as her partner continued to speak. “"Need any help with that? Looks like you're just starting to grasp the concept." Staring into his beady white eyes, her gaze drifted down to his smile and his razor sharp teeth. Those really are…sharp. I wonder how he became a shark…was he born like that? Does he eat vegetables? He must be a really good swimmer…wait then why is he standing on the water…? After confusing herself with all of her questions, she smiled back with a comically oversized grin to mimic the pearly white jaws of her companion. “Let me give it one last try.”

Her hands began to dance beneath the surface of the water, once again stimulating the chakra nodes within her body to release the suiton chakra into her body. Exhaling the chakra through her body, the energy mingled and fused with the sea water, giving her control over the elusive element. She needed a different approach this time; she needed to start small and work her way up. Staring intently on the surface of the crystal clear liquid, she began to form a small whirlpool. Slowly at first, a small current formed that shifted the water from a stagnant position and into a clockwise rotation. As the speed increased, the surface of the sea began to dimple and more and more water was pulled into her miniature whirlpool. Now to bring it out of the water.

Directing the remaining chakra lingering in the water, she moved it around the whirlpool. Some of the energy was used to increase the speed of the vortex so it could survive above sea level and the remainder went to raising it from the deaths. A look of intense concentration overtook her face as the ripples of the twister breached the surface of the ocean. If she used too much chakra, the creation would explode as it did last time, but if she used too little, it would simply diffuse and sink back into the water. Though it wasn’t an impressive twister, the 3 foot tall whirling mass of water was technically a tornado. A content smile stretched across her face and she directed the vortex to chase after her visitor. The technique wouldn’t likely cause any damage aside from dampening his leg, but Hotaru was proud of herself none the less.

After she completed the miniature version, she posed a question. “So, what brings you here Takun?”

[/blockquote]

[otakulegend]

+10

[Matsu]

Not part fish, he mused to himself, that was something that could be subject to change. With a hearty laugh he would his smile would vanish slightly as she seemed to be looking him over like most did, a fish man was quite strange indeed. "If you'd like that could be changed, it's never too late to unlock the more feral side of ourselves.." he mused with an eerie high pitched chuckle, his voice being deep yet slightly high pitched when he laughed. "However like most people, I see that curiousity in your eyes. Did he come out of the womb like that? Was it an aquired curse?" he went on with a smirk. Many always held that question to themselves however, but he knew what they wanted to know.

One last try she requested, who was he to interfere with that? Nodding he would watch intently as she formed the seals, her hands performing the dance flawlessly, however most Kunoichi were alot more graceful with handseals then male Shinobi. The water below him would seemingly come to life with her chakra, he could tell that she was no push over due to the finely distributed amount of chakra, however what she seemed to lack was proper control over the Suiton element, seemingly trying to force it to do her bidding rather, instead of simply subtly changing it's course. Manipulating the water was not as forceful as other elements, one could not force immediate change upon it's direction.

"A kiddy pool, I remember when I was only able to accomplish that much. Put some spirit into it!" he chuckled at his own words, they were simply meant to be silly and mood lightening. However Kohaku seemed to be getting it anyway, the liquid would raise it's self from the source and twist into a tight little disruption on the surface that was not very tall in it's own right. A sweat drop would form upon his brow as he watched it, he had expected more this attempt truthfully, she had seemed to far into it's conception. "Mini-nado, that is what we'll call that one.." he spoke with another chuckle. However he had let his guard slip for a second and now his pant leg would be soaked by the technique.

"Well it definitely wasn't too look like I just pissed myself, Kohaku. I came because I felt like a good swim, just happened to notice you is all." and with that his chakra would release splashing him into the water. "You think those two died from the needles?"

[hotaru]

Mizu No Tatsumaki
Tornado of Water

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After listening to Takun pose the same question lingering in the back of her mind, she felt a little embarrassed for being so impolite. However, she was a bit disappointed that he never actually got around to answering it. He also had offered to give the girl a “makeover” of sorts. To tell the truth, she was appalled at the idea of changing her body into such a…beastly form, though Takun did pull off shark rather well. “I’ll pass thanks.” She would reply with a smirk. She hated being watched while she trained, and his jabbing at her technique didn’t help her progress at all. Eventually though, she was able to make contact with his leg with her jutsu before it jumped back into the sea. After one final comment at the hilarity of her lack of suiton prowess, he would ask a serious question.

“You think those two died from the needles?” She took a few moments to think about it. To be honest it hadn’t crossed her mind. There were an awful lot of needles created from her clones, and she doubted that they had any defense against them while they fell through the hole in the ceiling. Hopefully the examiners would escort them to a hospital…after a long pause she would try to answer his question. “Well they must still at least be alive. The grass needles arnt really capable of causing too much serious damage…though I imagine that they will look a tad bit ridiculous for a while with all the puncture marks. I kinda feel bad for them ya know? They were from Iwagakure…which are our allies…but I doubt the same non-lethal courtesy we extended to them would be reciprocated onto us if they had the chance.”

“Let me give this another shot.” She said, changing the subject from the island to this blasted tornado of water. With a long inhale, she prepared herself for a real attempt at this jutsu. Flicking through the zodiac symbols once more, charka raced through her body and out through her skin, saturating the water around her. Keeping intense concentration, she began to swirl the water in front of her into a whirlpool. The clockwise motion of the artificial current was much quicker this time around than her previous attempt, though that must have had something to do with the scale on which it occurred. Sucking a large amount of sand into the vortex, the color changed from a deep sapphire to a dark brown.

Already demonstrating so much more destructive power than her previous miniature version, she got a bit worried that she would be sucked into the vortex as well. Taking a few steps back, she began to raise the whirlpool out of the sea. This is it. She thought, keeping her chakra focused on raising the vortex into the air. Her energy stream remained steady, and a few twisting rings of water picked themselves out of the ocean. Higher and higher the pillar of whirling water rose, stained with a dark brown color from all the sand it had accumulated. The twister reached a maximum height of 20 feet, standing on the surface of the water with only a small base. Once again she would redirect the technique in Takuns direction, however this time he would most likely need to jump out of the way to avoid harm. With a sigh of satisfaction, she taunted the shark nin before dispelling the jutsu and allowing the water to fall back into the ocean. “Not so mini this time, huh?”

[/blockquote]

[Zetsumei]

+10

[Matsu]

"Suit yourself, I offered.."

The Hoshigake would chuckle at his own expense as he shrugged his shoulders. It was obvious that she was not frightened or appalled his appearance, she just could not picture herself as what he was like many could not. The Ritual it's self was nothing to be trifled with, it was a process which involved so much strain on ones entire being that not many truly even survived the event. He was even considered strange however amongst his own, simply because he had grown board of the Suiton arts and had decided to venture into Doton and Mokuton techniques. Being well rounded marked him as strange, however it was something he'd live with due to the need for power.

Takun shrugged slowly, "I suppose you're right, Grass probably couldn't kill anyone alone. I just wondered since they were our allies," he stated with a light pause, he was registering her words. His mind was sent back to re-examine the entire scene before deciding that he would not have to worry so much. "Yeah you're right, they would have tried to kill us too. Some allies, right?" he asked with a crooked grin as he yawned. "I suppose when we get out of here we'll have to have a little chat with them, won't we?" he mused softly as he looked battle hungry. He was longing inside for a fight to the death, however he hoped that if he could make his clan proud in the process.

He would nod at her next statement, making sure to back up quite a bit having seen the effects of this jutsu. Treading water upon the surface, he would be able to "sense" the chakra within the water sort of due to his proximity and affinity with the element, however he would have little time to do much else other then dive and switch to his gills. Watching the Kunoichi form seals, the water above him would wind and twist it's way into a large funnel which would be noticeable to many over a great distance, they would all most likely panic due to the creation of such a force of nature. "Looks like she got it.." he thought to himself as he smirked up at her attempts.

Forming another series of hand seals, Takun would create a small bubble before his eyes. Filled with his chakra, the bubble it's self would contain the force to knock Kohaku backwards which he would use as a prank. Sending the bubble towards her he would chuckle inside his head as he detonated the thing next to her. Should it hit, it would contain the pushing power of an exploding tag which would be lessened in the water and only slightly propel her as much as a few kicks while swimming would. In the mean time he would surface once more, switching breathing apparatuses and grinning from ear to ear.

"I have tricks too, Kohaku-chan."

[hotaru]

Suition: Baburu Kokyuu (Bubble Breath)
Rank: "C"
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Creates hundreds of bubbles for a limited time when the user breathes, with small amounts of chakra within.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: Blocks the users sight, eventually.
Description: Once the jutsu is used, the user breathes steadily and bubbles come out. The jutsu may only last up to 12 seconds (2 posts) if the user keeps the rabbit handseal.The bubbles multiply in numbers creating a field of bubbles, opening time for another jutsu or to escape. Also in each bubble a small amount of chakra is stored to be used in conjunction with other techniques.
Limit: Water release.

Suiton: Baburu Kokyuu
Water Release: Bubble Breath

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Staring at her alley as he dove into the water to avoid being sucked into the vortex, she giggled a bit at his antics. He really was part fish. Since the tornado had served its purpose, she allowed the chakra holding it together to dissipate, allowing the water to fall back into its natural state. She waited for the hoshigake to immerge from the depths only to be struck with a sudden push from under the water. No doubt a playful retaliation by her companion, the jet of water would propel her harmlessly a few meters backwards. Suddenly the gilled assailant appeared from beneath the water with his trademark toothy grin. “Show off.” She said mockingly, thinking about what she could do to get him back for that little stunt.

Her thoughts drifted to when Takun first appeared on the beach, and how she had paid him back for his kind words of “encouragement.” She remembered reading about a technique she could use to fill the air with thousands of bubbles. Unfortunately she hadn’t memorized the hand seals at the time; she figured the technique would be useless in battle, but it was just the gag she needed now to keep this friendly competition going. Sinking back down to her nose into the salty water, she predicted the handseals needed to complete the jutsu. Bubbles were light weight and could float through the air, making “bird” a logical choice. Because bubbles didn’t have any other distinguishing properties other than whimsically floating through the air, rat and boar were assigned as default water signs.

The girls hands danced through the choreography established by her musings, once more activating the tenketsu holding her chakra within her body. The energy flowed to her mouth, building up air and water charka behind her pursed lips. Releasing the stored energy by opening her mouth under water, the sea began to bubble in front of her. More and more chakra exited her mouth, filling the water and turning it into bubbles that whimsically floated into the sky. Though hundreds of orbs were created, hardly any kept their shape past breaking the surface and the ones that managed to float into the air only stayed in existence for a few seconds. Aside from looking like an angry oversized crab attempting to scare a enemy away, she had accomplished absolutely nothing.

Glaring at Takun in retaliation for the most certain mocking she would receive, she would attempt the jutsu once again with one minor addition. She would hold the final seal as she created the bubbles. Inhaling quickly through her nose, she created another set of hand seals beneath the surface of the sea. Chakra gathered once again in her mouth and her hands froze on the final sign of the zodiac. Parting her lips, she allowed the pent up energy to merge with the water in front of her, causing the ocean to bubble once again. With the addition of holding the seal, the spheres were much stronger than before and were capable of holding together as they floated through the warm salty air of the ocean. Soon the entire area was full of bubbles, distorting her vision as she became lost within the dreamlike field. “Wow…perhaps I got a bit carried away…” she said, swatting at the horde of bubbles in an attempt to pop some so she could regain her vision.

[/blockquote]

[→ Alterity]

Learned. First training I've ever graded. =3

[Matsu]

"..."

His eye would twitch slightly at the jutsu she had produced, who had come up with such a useless Suiton technique? With a chuckle he would shake his head at Kohaku and start to cackle loudly. "What a useless Jutsu, I wonder who could come up with something so lame.." he commented plainly before laughing once more. His entire body would rock with spasms as he laughed before pulling himself out of the water and back onto it's surface once more. While everyone else was struggling upon the islands, they were out here having a day of amusement upon the ocean, it was quite interesting to think about it this way.

"You think the other teams are terrible, or perhaps their Islands were trickier then ours?" he inquired as he scratched his chin. There was no real purpose for this gesture, his skin rarely ever dried out due to his bodies makeup however he often had strange moments like these. "They've been at it alot longer then we have.." he said with a grin as he turned to look in the direction he believed the islands to be in. Of course there bubbles in his way would distort his view, so he would easily knock some out of the way with his arms. The island had definitely been a new experiance for him, one he'd never wish to replicate.

"You think they'll feel proud back in Kusagakure? First team to finish Round two, one of the top few scores in round one." he stated with a blank look as he was seemingly day dreaming. How he had always longed to be a Chuunin since his days in the academy, one step before he was allowed to try and become Jounin. If he could obtain that title, he believed he would have the respect of his father in the only way he would be able to earn it was through hard work. Becoming a Jounin signalled to him that it was perhaps the only means of proof a Ninja could aquire that showed he was dedicated.

[hotaru]

Suition: Bakurestu Mizu Ito (Exploding Water Thread)
Rank: B
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: If any, water thrown, instantly turns to a sebon-like form then on contact explodes.
Special: Handseals
Drawback: If touched by yourself you will be exploded on.
Description: Once activated water that is falling, thrown, or created by the user in some way is instantly turned into a condensed sebon needle. Chakra compressed within the senbon pushes the water outward explosively when touched. If, the sebon is touched in any way it will explode on its contact. The damage from explosion is mild but if used in great quantity then the damage to the target is more severe.
Limit: Water release, some source of water.

Suiton: Bakuretsu Mizu Ito
Water Release: Exploding Water Thread

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After a few moments, many of the bubbles floating through the air had popped, painting a rather odd scenery usually only found within fluffy dream sequences. Allowing the insults of Takun to simply glance off, she decided to pull herself out of the salty water and sit upon the surface with her partner. “Yea, I guess it is pretty lame…but you never know. It could come in handy someday.” She replied with a smile, crimson optics meeting Takun’s beady alabaster eyes. The gilled shinobi stared out to the ocean and asked a rather intresting question. "You think the other teams are terrible, or perhaps their Islands were trickier then ours?"”

She hadn’t actually thought about why she hadn’t seen any of the other competitors yet. “That’s a good question.” She responded blankly, pondering a response. “Its possible their island was trickier than ours; Our path was relatively straight forward…though we did face some rather tricky opponents. Maybe we just got lucky? After all, it didn’t take us very long to find a scroll.” Feeling the salty breeze kiss her cheek, she continued to listen to Takun’s musings. “You think they'll feel proud back in Kusagakure? First team to finish Round two, one of the top few scores in round one." This question made Hotaru smile a bit. “Oh im sure they are very proud back home. We haven’t had anyone attend the exams for quite some time…and the last time our only competitor gave up in the first round of combat. Provided we don’t die in the finals, im sure we will both make Chuunin.”

“So, why do you live in Kusagakure? Seeing as the country is landlocked, what brings a shark man into the village’s service? I would have figured to meet someone of your kind in a land with at least some boarder with the sea.” Watching a few bubbles float through the air though still listening for a reply, she wondered if there was something more she could do with the technique. The small floated orbs seemed useless, but perhaps they could serve a destructive purpose in combat. Her mind drifted through the small encyclopedia of jutsu she had to memorize in the academy in order to pass her combat proficiency exam. She vaguely recalled a jutsu that turned any water in the air into a senbon of condensed liquid that would explode on contact. Having a bit of water floating in the air in the form of bubbles, she decided to attempt to use the technique on them.

Staring intently at a bubble floating particularly close to her face, her hands slowly jumped through a few seals in her own pattern. There was no rush now that they were just talking, so she focused more on precision than speed. Once the ritual was complete, the air filled with chakra permeating from her body. The energy melded with a few bubbles passing by, and simply by moving her lips to one side of her face and tilting her head, she tried to compress the light bubble into a condensed needle of water. Though it was a…valiant attempt, the bubbles simply popped once her chakra attempted to rearrange their structure. Though she wasn’t at all surprised, she sighed in disappointment. Perhaps those bubbles were worthless after all.

[/blockquote]

[Zetsumei]

+10

[hotaru]

Suiton: Bakuretsu Mizu Ito
Water Release: Exploding Water Thread

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Still awaiting an answer from the Hoshigake, the Hanakora would resume her quest to turn bubbles into needles of water. Watching a few more orbs drift on the sea breeze, she mentally reviewed the handseal formation she had designed. She had only used the first symbols that came to her mind, so perhaps she needed to rethink her strategy. Come to think of it, she couldn’t even remember the combination she had applied the first time through her state of half attentiveness to her companion. Starting from scratch, she would do as her self proclaimed existential childhood teacher had instructed for these times. “Begin at the beginning.”

With a momentary scowl at the memory of her nemesis from her youth, she thought of what the first seal should be. Thinking through all the zodiac and their meanings, she settled on the rat. The first water sign of the year, the rat was a well celebrated symbol of protection and maternity. (The fact that anyone would welcome a rat as a protector was beyond the comprehension of the kunoichi.) The rat also was said to represent industriousness and systematic discipline, something that the kunoichi was in need of when dealing with many different targets for the same jutsu. After targeting the bubbles, she would need to transform them into senbon. She inferred that this would take 2 seals to achieve.

The first would be the monkey. Though its affinity was with the wind element, her academy instructors had taught her that the monkey was an inventor which she would utilize to transmute the bubbles into the needles. The second part of the transformation needed stability, or she would have a repeat performance of her previous attempt. The bubbles would simply pop and fall back into the ocean in a fine mist. In order to fortify the fragile orbs, the ox sign was assigned in the third slot in order to keep the droplets solid. Now that she had formed the weapons, she needed to propel them forward. The graceful rabbit would be fourth in line, providing speed and accuracy to the suiton jutsu. The next part of the technique was the most important as the damage was caused from the explosion of the impromptu weapons.

This section of the jutsu could, again, be broken into two sections. The first was the senbon themselves. She needed for them to keep solid and sharp as they flew through the air. The tiger was a logical choice for this task as the ferocious feline represented power and daring. The final seal would cause the water to detonate; causing damage to anything the needles were so fortunate to make contact with. After a bit of thought, she would place the noble dragon in the finale spot. The fiery and passionate nature of the mythical reptile would provide the final punch needed to detonate the senbon, inflicting maximum damage. Shaking herself out of her day dream, attention was once again turned to her partner to see if he had decided to answer her question.

[/blockquote]

[otakulegend]

+10

[Matsu]

"If you could find a practical use for that in combat and survive, I'd give you all the Ryo in my pocket." exclaimed the Naota as he shook his head. A long time ago he had been shown that there were some techniques out there that were made simply because they could be, no real practical use. This bubble technique was amusing as a whole, however that was about it. "I just wouldn't count on that one if I were you." he stated with a chuckle as he shrugged his shoulders some. The warmth of the son was quite bothersome today, perhaps because he was not a fan to begin with.

"Hmm, I suppose so. The opponents though didn't even really seem to be as tricky as these other islands sound." he mused to himself mostly as he thought about it. Even with interference they had still come out on top faster then the others, he could only begin to imagine what sort of traps and hell they must be facing over there. "Maybe if we're lucky the islands will do our work for us, then we can just breeze on through whats rest hopefully." he spoke with an amused grin at the idea. He knew it would be alot harder then that, he had a feeling there were at least three people here that were well beyond what he would ever imagine.

She was inquiring about his personal life once again, however he would oblige her simply out of the need for something to do. "I suppose it's because we owe someone a favor if you will. Long ago there was this man who could use flowers as a weapon. Well my father was ambushed and out flanked and this guy comes out of nowhere and fights them off, aiding my father in the battle." he started out scratching his head. "At the time I was just a young pup cowering in the wagon, however before that we were wanderers, travelling from place to place." Takun paused for a moment to collect himself. "In honor of that, we decided we'd form a sect of Hoshigake in Kusa and put our might to use in service of that Shinobi, but we never saw him again."

[hotaru]

Suiton: Bakuretsu Mizu Ito
Water Release: Exploding Water Thread

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By now many of the bubbles had popped and the landscape had returned to that of a normal tropical island. “Is that a bet, Takun?” She replied playfully, one eyebrow cocked into the air at the prospect of a challenge. “I’ll hold you to that wager you know.” Dipping her hand into the warm ocean waters, she sent a harmless splash towards her companion, egging the boy on to accept the bet. She would find a use for those bubbles eventually. The suns harsh rays beat down on the alabaster beach, and Hotaru had decided she had had enough of sitting atop the placid water of the ocean. Releasing the flow of energy to her lower body, she slowly sunk into the waters beneath her.

Allowing her body to become fully submerged for a moment, she reappeared in time to hear Takun’s concerns with the other islands. Responding with a smile, Hotaru said “I wouldn’t worry too much over it. After all, luck has a lot to do with being a shinobi. We probably wouldn’t have gotten off that island without a fair amount of it ourselves. As for the rest of them, who knows what kind of opponents we’ll face in the coming round. All we can do is prepare, and get lucky with our match ups.” A small voice echoed in the back of her head. Maybe she was being too diplomatic. How many teenage girls thought about these situations so objectively? Like it or not, being Kusakage had changed her, and she had a hard time disguising her job despite having changed her appearance so dramatically.

The boy had finally decided to divulge a synopsis of his past to the kunoichi who was listening with open ears. His father had apparently been ambushed by some bandits and someone who was described as a Hanakora had saved his life. As payment for his services, the Hoshigake family settled and served for the village hidden in the grass. Feeling a bit proud that a Hanakora had saved such a strong warrior as a Hoshigake, she simply smiled as he finished his story. With a sigh, she was determined to finish this technique. With a cheeky stare towards her partner, she submerged herself in the water and bent down in order to propel herself upwards. Pushing off of the sandy bottom, she leaped into the air with her hands above her head in order to throw as much water possible into the air.

As soon as she breached the surface of the ocean, her hands formed seals defined in her previous daydream. Suiton chakra leaked through her tenketsu and fused with the water lingering in the air. Through a whispered tone, she called the name of the technique. “Suiton, Bakuretsu Mizu Ito.” On her verbal command, the droplets in the air began to quiver as they struggled to meet the demands set forth by the handseals. Perhaps if she would have had more time, the water would have had time to form into the needles she desired, however, gravity worked against her. The droplets fell back into the sea below, some fully formed into the needle shape, others remained untouched by her chakra, while the rest were somewhere in-between. With a quiet shrug, she stared back at her partner to ask another question.

“So Takun. Have you checked out the hotel yet? I only had a chance to indulge in the spa before we were summoned for our written exam. I wonder if it’s any good.

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