In Harm's Way -- (sup menobaka lel)

[returns and exchanges]

A bright and burning spring sun beat down upon the canopy of the green, luscious forest. Tall old oak trees and ancient elm trees dotted the landscape every ten to twenty feet, their leaves filtering the blinding sun, leaving the forest shady and cool. However, one particular section of the forest was slightly different.

The grass had all been turned up, leaving a large, circular dirt area surrounding a lone oak tree over a meter wide. The area was one of Ryouten Masaki's prefered areas to train. No grass grew here anymore from him constantly practicing his techniques and footwork.

Said jounin was located maybe ten feet away from the tree, standing perpendicular to it. His sword was sheathed and his eyes were closed; he seemed to be concentrating on something. Perhaps he was in a state of meditation, or perhaps he was trying to remember something. Who knows.

His eyes suddenly flickered open like two candles springing to life when he noticed another swordsman approaching. His brow furrowed slightly and he turned to face the ninja, not saying anything.

(OOC: Yeah, total BS I know, too sleepy to really think right now, but yarr. First move's yours, I guess.)

[Meno]

"Oi....it's been awhile Masaki...."

Takahashi Genma, one of the few two sword style users in Leaf, sauntered into the clearing, smoking a water pipe. The older man's scars were quite visible as he looked around the area.

"You've been training a shitload here, huh? It's pretty damn obvious..."

Cracking his neck slightly, Genma unsheathed his weapons, one katana and one wakizashi. He held the katana in his right hand and the smaller blade in his left, then held out the wakizashi straight at the other jounin, while holding the katana near his head, edge out.

"I'm here cause you wanted to practice. So let's do it man!"

OOC: Bah, I can't attack you when you haven't even unsheathed your sword. =P

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Ryouten's brow furrowed slightly and his eyes drifted shut. His right hand grasped the hilt of his katana, his wrist cocked slightly. His other hand grasped the scabbard that bore his weapon. A stiff wind rustled the surrounding foliage and it seemed as if the trees and bushes were whispering to eachother.

"... If you insist." He spoke. His eyes snapped open, then narrowed slightly.

Ryouten then took off, darting towards his opponent with great speed. As he swiftly approached his foe, he began to channel chakra through his hand and into the blade of his sword, Kaisuke-Ken. His blade began to shimmer and glow slightly, as a result of the chakra being poured into it, but this was concealed by its scabbard.

He would suddenly bring himself to a sudden stop when he was just out of his foe's reach, and vice versa. His forward momentum would be used to swiftly draw his katana from its sheath and slice with it in a single movement; something he practiced constantly. The catch? The slice wasn't even in range, nor was it aimed at his opponent. He swung low to the ground, carving a neat arc into the ground. As he did this, the chakra was released from his sword in the form of a gust of powerful wind. Said wind picked up all the dirt that had accumulated on the ground during the course of Ryouten's training, causing it to flare up directly at his opponent, creating a wall of dust.

Not caring to see whether or not his opponent was stunned, startled, or momentarily blinded by the dirt, he swiftly darted away from his opponent, behind a nearby tree. His goal was really only to escape his opponent's sight.

[Meno]

Genma already knew the basics of Masaki's style, which was rather clever. The two jounin had quite a lot in common, since both had created their own sword styles and both were older jounin.

Hell, these days everyone is a damn teen...

The other jounin created a dust wall to hide himself, but Genma stayed absolutely still. It was true that shinobi were all about hiding and stealth, but not swordsmen. Swordsmen had to fight out in the open, especially when it was two blade dancers facing each other in a fight. And besides, when Masaki used his jutsu, there were two things going against him.

One, he was constantly using chakra, and Genma could sense it. And two, the vibrating blade created a small, nearly unaudible sound, but it was there. Like an annoying bee or fly, and Genma could hear it. That was the real advantage. Masaki could sense chakra as well, since Genma wasn't stupid enough to fight without it, but the older man's swords didn't vibrate the same way the younger one's did.

So, Genma did something he considered to be rather sensible. He closed his eyes, letting the dust move over him, and just waited. Genma disliked making the first move, since that always seemed to move him into a trap. Better to prepare himself and wait for the opponent to attack first.

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(OOC: Just a note. Ryouten's sword isn't vibrating right now -- he has to actively focus on it for it to do so. Otherwise his normal techniques would probably be overpowering if they constantly had that damage add going on. One at a time, y'know.)

Ryouten really only wanted a bit of insurance to make sure he wouldn't be caught with his pants down, metaphorically speaking. With his free hand, he quickly formed the seals needed for Bunshin no Jutsu. A faint hissing noise was heard as chakra was released, followed by several dry popping noises as four copies of Ryouten appeared in front of him.

The four copies of Ryouten swiftly darted into sight, attempting to surround the older jounin. If they were successful in surrounding him, they would proceed to circle him at a fairly decent clip while the real Ryouten watched, observing his opponent.

[Meno]

Bunshin definitely, but was one real? Genma didn't think so, for the simple reason that if he had done the same thing, he wouldn't go out on his own. Genma would send out bunshin first, to size up the opponent. Still, it helped to be careful. He watched as the four Masaki circled him continuously. Genma really hated making the first move. He lived for the counter attack, and so, again, that's what he decided to do.

"Come on...this ain't much of a fight if all you do is turn in circles...."

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Ryouten noted that Genma was very hesitant to attack throughout most of the fight thus far and judged that he was either very perceptive or a defensive fighter. Either way, it didn't matter. Ryouten already knew what he would do. Peeking out slightly from behind his tree, he eyed his opponent with malignant intent. Ryouten then swiftly formed the crests to his only real genjutsu, double vision, with his free hand. If successful, Genma would now see eight copies of Ryouten wavering in and out in front of him. That, combined with the fact that they were running circles around him would hopefully nauseate Genma or make him dizzy, which is exactly what Ryouten wanted.

Regardless of what effect the genjutsu had, Ryouten would step out from behind the tree now, making himself visible.

[Meno]

Ah, finally, it happened. The first move had been made, and Genma believed he had the strategy of the other swordsman down, although he wasn't absolutely positive about it. Ryouten would first distract Genma, using the bunshin and the genjutsu, then probably attack Genma when he was thoroughly confused. Well, the only problem with that plan was that Genma had already decided from the beginning that sight was a hinderance in this fight. He would have to rely on his other senses to fight effectively, not just use sight.

So, Genma closed his eyes, trying to ignore the rising nausea of having the double vision. He could feel the vomit rising up through his throat, but he forced it back down, and instead mentally calculated how far away the bunshin were. He leaped forward with his wakizashi, placing it directly into the circular path of the bunshin, edge out so that when the bunshin ran into the blade, they would hit the sharp edge of the weapon. Momentum carried one bunshin forward straight onto the wakizashi, instantly disappearing in a puff of smoke. The next bunshin was headed straight for the blade as well....

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Ryouten smirked. This is what he had been waiting for. As the next Bunshin collided with Genma's sword and disappeared with a puff of smoke, Ryouten swiftly ran up the tree he had been standing adjacent to using his Kinobori no Jutsu (at least I think that's what it is in Japanese). Leaning off the side of the tree, fastened to it with his chakra, he swiftly removed a handful of shuriken from his vest pocket and prepared to wing them at Genma. This was the first part of his strategy.

He still wasn't done with his bunshin clones. On que, he signalled the two remaining ones to cease circling and attack head on. Their footsteps on the ground and their battle cries would do well to drown out what little noise the four shurikens Ryouten sent whistling towards Genma would make. Of course, the Bunshin clones could do no damage, but that was not their purpose. It was the shurikens that Ryouten wanted to hit. Two shuriken sailed for the side of Genma's right thigh, one toward the side of his right upper arm, and the final one headed for his calf.

[Meno]

You know what, I lied. I don't have time for this spar. So sorry. I'll PM you if I have time to continue it.

[returns and exchanges]

Eh.. okidoke.