Could you spar a few minutes?

Taking his hand as she rose up, she laughed. “Yeah I actually was keeping up for a moment. If I’d just dodged, I might have done something, but I couldn’t block that.”

“I’ll need to look into one of those earrings,” Mara joked playfully. “And not just for their stylish looks.”

At the reveal of his Sharingan, she found herself transfixed. She had never seen such a thing, though stories of it were around. “That’s fascinating!” She felt weird examining his eyes so intensely. It was something she couldn’t do of course. The Sharingan was supposedly clan specific, a trait passed down genetically. Therefore, it wasn’t worth her focusing on. Still...it was intriguing. 

“Yes, I’m focusing on speed as well. Really, it feels like a natural step. I’m not the strongest or most durable individual. So I figured it’d be best to be too fast to hit, and hit people before they can hit me.” After a pause, she continued. “Obviously, I have a long way to go.”

“Yeah, lightning is my main ability too as I’m sure you...” Before she finished he’d made a single hand seal and vanished entirely. “...noticed”

When he whispered in her ear, she jumped, screaming at a pitch that wouldn’t have spared glass nearby. Barely avoiding falling down again, she struggled to catch her breath, partly due to her heart rate and partly due to her laughter. “You’ve gotta stop going that to me! I don’t think my heart can handle it!”

Standing up straighter, she held out a hand expectantly, as if waiting to be handed something. “Of course, I’m going to need you to tell me how to do that. I also think it’d be kind of you to at least buy me dinner. After knocking me around and messing up my whole outfit, I think it’s the least you could do.” 

She surprised herself a little with the flirty banter. The bravery didn’t last though. She blushed a little. “Just as a mentor, of course. Don’t get any ideas.”

He was certainly cute, but she wasn’t really ready for anything romantic like that. Maybe his flirty nature had thrown her off. She’d have to watch herself. She’d meet a few too many cute white haired Genin lately. However, the idea of dinner with a friend sounded nice. Especially one she knew so little about. Once he’d taught her this fancy new Body Flicker move that was.

[WC: 406 | TWC: 2000]

[I think we can be almost done, but I set up a potential CD thread. Or we could transition this one to it.]

Zyxis slightly blushed as she made fun of his earrings. Hey, there were lovely earrings! The boy wouldn't seriously care if she disliked them, they made him a better shinobi, and that was all he could ask for when it came to accessories. Practical and easy-to-use, and makes him faster.  The boy grinned at her, "Thanks, I think my Sharingan is pretty cool as well. I try not to steal anyone else's jutsu. If I did, I'd try to get their consent first. It'd be an easy way to ruin friendships, so I have to be careful."

"Don't worry," The boy would reassure her, "You'll get there." He then disappeared and reappeared behind her. She stumbled and almost fell. "Ah, I'm sorry!" Zyxis muttered hurriedly. He ha forgot that he had done that when they first met as well. He had also done that to a ton of other people as well. The boy frowned. That was a habit he would have to break. "It won't happen again."

"I don't mind teaching it to you. You make a Ram hand seal and focus chakra into your muscles, in turn making you faster. Easy peasy stuff, especially for beginners," The boy said holding up the seal, but not doing it again. The white-haired boy grinned at her offer, "Dinner? I'd love to. Don't worry; I don't mind buying."

"Only as a mentor, right," Zyxis said, before raising a sly eyebrow, "I didn't get any ideas until you mentioned it. But no worries, I'll throw those to the back of my mind. Save them for later. We can head out after you're done learning this."

He silently watched after he finished responding to her.

“Sounds like a plan,” she replied with a smile. She chuckled inwardly about his mention of saving plans for later. She may have encouraged him too much. Regardless, it was nice to have someone to hang out with. She’d been isolated for a while. Having anyone to talk to was a change up. And she was intrigued about this Sharingan. 

“Right, I should focus up,” she replied, returning her attention to the task at hand. As he had directed, she formed the Ram hand seal and directed her chakra into her limbs. The effect was nearly immediate, now that she knew how to attempt it. It was quite draining, utilizing all of her available chakra. She wouldn’t be able to utilize any other techniques while this was in effect, at least not without training. But she felt like she didn’t need anything else. Her nerves were all firing before she even finished the thought. Her speed had easily doubled. She rushed forward, then to the side, then up a tree. It was remarkable. Zyxis could probably track her mi emend, but it was a rush to feel this speed. He’d been able to outmaneuver her at base speed. It was little surprise that this technique simply made him vanish .

As the technique faded and she returned to normal speed, she found herself coming off the rush. She’d definitely need speed training. Imagine how fast she could be if she improved her basic speed. Or even her chakra reserves. She turned to face him. “That was so cool!”

“I’ll have to practice that later,” she said. Looking at the sun’s position in the sky, she decided it’d be a fine time to head back to the village. “Looks like it’s getting to be on the later side. It might not be a bad idea to head back to town. Provided you’re finished out here, of course.”


[WC: 315 | TWC: 2315]

[Want to wrap this one and start a fresh one for the CD?]

The white-haired boy only kid, he didn't mean for there to be any plans between them later. If he could spare time in his career as a shinobi, he wouldn't mind dating, but that would have to wait until he was a Chuunin for a while. "Okay, let's head out Mara. Great job learning the Body Flicker. Let's meet up tomorrow at three in the center of town, and I can show you to a good restaurant, okay?"

"See you tomorrow," He said with a wave, leaving the woods. The white-haired boy decided he would need to do some more training before he went home, the Training Grounds weren't that bad of a place.


WC: 100

TWC: 1,800

Claims:
- 18 AP
- 632 + 377 to Fuinjutsu: Breaking (D-Rank) (500/500)
- 1,000 to Chakra Anesthetic (1,000/1,000)
- 168 to Keiren Jutsu (168/1,000)

Approved unless inturpted

Mara smiled warmly at the white haired boy. "Tomorrow at three sounds great! I'll meet you in the middle of town." She turned to leave before turning her head back toward him. "Thank you for your help today. I haven't had many friends for a while. It's nice to make new ones."

After he headed off, she scooped up her supplies and headed off back toward town. The sun was setting now and it cast her return trip in a warm orange hue. Today had been a good day. And tomorrow, she'd get to spend some time doing something fun for a change. She welcomed the change. It had been too long. She just hoped she didn’t chase him away tomorrow as she’d done with so many before.

She raced up the path to the village, using her new Body Flicker training to occasionally boost her speed substantially. She made it through the village gates just as the sky began to turn purple. A deep dark purple. She looked at her drab grey cloak, suddenly struck by an idea that would consume the rest of her evening and a container of dye.

[WC: 192 | TWC: 2507.]

Claims:
+12 Stats (10 Chakra, 2 Speed)
+ 500 words toward learning Body Flicker ) 500/500 due to training discount
+  2007 words toward Raiton: Hell Stab ) 2007/3500

Approved