Feeling out the competition (Spar, IO, Kether)

After Kether's Kunai hit the ground, it took Hayate a few seconds to process it and come down from being in battle.  He first stood up straight, exiting his combat stance.   He flipped the kunai around and put them both in his left hand, relaxing the rest of his body.  And the expressionless face didn't turn into any particular expression behind the halfmask, but underneath that white hood he wore, there was a softening of the features.

He limply shook his right hand a few times, as if warding off a cramp or pinched nerve.  "Thats some knee you've got yourself." Hayate remarked.  He then brought his hands together for the reconciliation seal as well.

"Best of luck"  He echo'd, and watched the black robed man leave, Hayate himself lingering for a bit.  Soon they'd be out on missions, maybe alone, maybe with new partners, maybe with each other.  It was a transition he wanted, a transition he'd been working toward for a long time, but it didn't stop him taking this moment to think back on the time spent getting to this point. 

Hayate's eyes wandered across the scuffed dirt, the discarded ninja tools, and the branch he used for substitution jutsu.  His mind went over each move, every blow and counter.  Then his mind filled in the training area before him with images of him and his classmates- learning surface walking over there, falling down half way up the wall.  By this tree, learning the proper technique to make the shuriken spin enough to curve the path.   Over at the far end, repetitions one after the other of the proper kunai slash, until it was as natural as breathing.  And back where he stood, that first practice session with the boy.. with the man he just sparred with, doing the transformation jutsu and resting under the tree.

Softly, under his breath: "We're ready".


wc 315 TWC 2001



Exit

Claiming 10 stats
Claiming 1000wc toward Sword mastery
Claiming 500 word count to complete Rope Escape Technique (http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t33104-rope-escape-technique)
claiming 500w Puppet Art: Ventriloquism (http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t23875-puppet-art-ventriloquism)

Offering up 1 wc to the shinobi who came before