markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .043

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[ Action, Voice ] .043

[All right, enough of this. It's Spring and she still loves Spring (only her third Spring ever!) and Katara has decided she is going to enjoy it. No school today, so in the late morning to mid afternoon, if you are by the paths along the river you will see one (1) Katara, with a basket and her knife, taking cuttings of wildflowers. She's careful not to take too much from any one tree or bush, and she's clearly enjoying herself.]

[General Voice]
I think my favorite part about Spring is the flowers. We just didn't have anything like this where I grew up. Although in the summers I'd go on a hunt for Mouse Ears. [She pauses, remembering the last time she'd done that...] Or at least I did when I was a kid. I even found one once!

But for all you people who grew up with flowers like this - what was it like, in your Springs? Did you have any fun flower traditions?

[And after the wildflowers have been turned into bouquets, it's time to go visiting! If she hasn't seen you or heard from you in a while, and she knows where you live, your house/apartment is Fair Game.

There are, however, a few people she needs to speak with about a few specific things, so it's time for some courtesy filters! These are not very strong and mostly to prevent your journals from spam]

[Filtered to Shikamaru]
Hey - you up for a spar later?

[Filtered to Nami]
...are those mikans still up for grabs?

[Filtered to Trafalgar Law]
...would you mind if I stopped by?

[Filtered to Zoro]
...hey. I haven't seen you, and I think we should talk.

[Hmm. That was everyone she needed to talk to, right? Hopefully that was it. If it wasn't, she hopes she'll bump into people during the day. Like Sokka - an idea has occurred to her which needs discussing.]

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[He twists his body in the other direction, turning back and covering his eyes with his arm as the bomb goes off in the air. It all happened in an instant, so he's not as fast as he was hoping, but he did save himself from the worst of it.

He winces loudly, rubbing at his eyes with one hand, face stern as he catches up with what his brain has already figured out.

Flash bomb. She used a flash bomb.]

Edited 2011-05-11 05:52 (UTC)

[And this would be the part where Katara shows her well-hidden ruthless streak, because despite the relief she feels when she sees he's guarded himself, it pales compared to the knowledge - he caught on quickly, won't be down for long, better make this fast-

-And she moves in a fast circle, kicking out with one foot, which draws the water surrounding him up in a fast jet to - if it connects - knock him even further off balance and keep him down - and by the time she's facing him again she's already streamed out all the remaining water in one canteen to crash over him and hold-]

[His eyes are still closed, which means he's relying on his ears now, which mean he hears it.

There's a thin whistle, cutting of air; she's moving so she's bending - water, the water around him-

He flips himself backwards to avoid the jet of water, bringing to mind the layout of the trench that he memorized. His feet push against the wall and he pushes himself forward and across the trench, angling towards the left at about the same time she would have her water streaming out of her canteen. You thought he was fast before? He's moving like he's fighting under ninja now.

Shikamaru tucks himself into a roll as he hits the ground - she'll have time to adjust the stream of her water to get him, but he's not going to sit still for it.

He's also laughing.]

[If his speed makes him hard to track, the sound of his laughter is easier to follow - why is he laughing, what's so funny? - her lips tug into a frown of concentration as she changes the pattern of her attack to one long line extending over him and then closing in from both sides.]

What's so funny?

[And in the back of her mind, she's thinking: He adjusted too quickly, he's navigating that with his eyes closed, how is he doing that, doesn't really seemed surprised at all -- why is he laughing?]

Heheheh... nothing. [He pushes himself to his feet, opening his flak jacket in a quick movement as he does. His hands are out and apart and fingers spread, like he's feeling for something.] Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for someone to do that, though?

[Times like these he wishes he had ears like Kiba's - would make it less of a strain. Even so he hears the water coming and jumps away again, adjusting his footing when he doesn't land quite as solidly as he was expecting - gopher hole. Ha.

He keeps his hands out and steadies himself, his shadow rising with them and separating into materialized threads. There's fifteen or so of them, thinner than those of his Shadow Sewing technique.

That's because this isn't Shadow Sewing. This is Shadow Endgame.]

Edited 2011-05-11 07:24 (UTC)

[Sorry, were you talking? Because Katara's finding it hard to care about what you're saying when she sees the incredibly-creepy-looking and doom-inducing sight of all those shadows writhing up around him.

He can control all them individually - there's way too many to disburse with just one burst, I do that I just make some of them longer - try two with a frontal rush? No, he's too fast. - block off the source? I don't have enough water and he knows the terrain well enough with his eyes closed - run?

He'll catch me.

He won't be expecting it. I've never run from him before.

Maybe I'll think of something on the way.

An abrupt motion, pushing both hands down - and the water around him begins to rise in a natural mist as Katara abruptly turns tail and books it towards the treeline. One hand reaches for another flashbomb as she goes.]

[...really he only had so many so he could defend himself from all angles, but whatever. Since she's running, they start to merge back together until there's only five of them. Less taxing for him.

Hm, this would be the part where seeing would be nice. From the sound of her footsteps he knows she's moving, but no matter of knowing the terrain can help him with that one.

His vision should be about recovered, though. So he opens his eyes, blinking out the spots-

To find mist. Dammit.

Well all right then, he'll just step out of that, cautious due to his still blurry vision.]

[Katara, meanwhile, had run three steps and dropped her second flashbomb over her shoulder. Whether or not it went off while he was in the mist or as he stepped outside it wasn't the point - the point was ensuring she could get away.

She slipped another hand into her belt, palmed a third one, and when she reached the edge of the trench was willing to risk a glance over her shoulder - less shadows, still some mist, and he's not moving very quickly and she realizes he was looking for her.

And she wishes she had the ability to hide in the dirt, or to make clones, or mirages - but she doesn't, so now she has a split second to decide on what she'll do...

Attack or keep running? She can't fight him from a distance, he's too fast. Five of those shadow arms... she'll stand a better chance than fifteen, but who knows what he's going to decide to do with them next?

Regardless, she wants to get a little further away from the trench and the now-longer (thank you SO MUCH for your help, setting sun, really) shadows of the trees, and abruptly veers left.]

Edited 2011-05-11 08:18 (UTC)

[After the second flash bomb goes off (before he'd opened his eyes, thankfully), he feels his shadows shrink again. He tisks, annoyed, but manages to build them up again not long after.

Seeing where her figure is going - it's the fuzzy blue shape - he has three shadow tendrils pull out kunai with what looks like explosive notes on them from his holster, throwing them ahead of her path in intervals. It'd be wiser to veer away from them than it would to block or try to go past them. She can try again after they've hit the ground, after all.

Yes indeed, thank you, sun. It makes what he's about to do so much easier.]

[Really? Because Katara doesn't feel like veering. She's more curious to find out if those explosive tags will go off if they're encased in ice, and now seems as good as any time to find out.

She manages to nail the two which were set to land closest towards her before they hit the ground, and doesn't bother with the third as she's uncertain if she just essentially blew herself up and has to get a watershield ready.]

[Since they're charged with chakra instead of fire? They do. Just consider yourself lucky that they weren't as high-powered as the ones he used earlier in the spar. From the distance he kept them from her, they probably wouldn't have even been a problem. As it is, there is enough force in the blast to shatter that ice, so yes, water shield will be necessary.

In the time it takes for her to react to that, however, he's got Kage Mane going again, shadow twisting across the ground in plain view, trying to twist to connect to hers.]

[Well, that didn't work. But you don't know until you try - she shields herself from the blasts, continuing to move forward and around those hazards as best she can...

Shadow.

She holds the shield with one hand and reaches for a flash bomb with another...]

[He seems to recognize it - his posture straightens and his shadow speeds forward, trying to capture hers before she can use it.

Really, he's hoping she will.]

[There's something wrong here. She can't quite put her finger on it, but the fact that she can see this attack coming - the last time it had been this straightforward, he'd been a clone and hiding in a trench.

Where is the trap?

But she doesn't really have time to figure it out as his shadow springs forward all the more quickly, and she launches the flash bomb towards him, hoping to break his shadow at the source while she veers abruptly towards the trench.]

[The flash bomb goes off, his shadow repelled far from hers.

And yet, she won't get very far - no more than a step or two before she'll be frozen in place even though from her line of sight, no shadow is connecting them. But he feels the tight tug of it all the same, and let's out a breath of air, pleased.]

Kage Mane no Jutsu... success.

Edited 2011-05-12 07:18 (UTC)

What -

[But she's well and truly caught, and her heart begins to pound a staccato of fear. And she wants to scream at him to 'Let go right now!' before the helplessness chokes her and the sense of remembered violation makes her sick--

And then she meets his gaze. "I decide when to use it, and I have absolute control over it when I do. You can't be scared of it without being scared of me.

Right.]

Edited 2011-05-12 07:51 (UTC)

[And then she closes her eyes, frowning in concentration. Two minutes, he said. She's going to use them.

She listens to the beating of her heart and concentrates hard enough that she can feel - or imagines she can feel - the blood in her body flowing out by its own rhythm, to its own pace.

Experimentally, Katara inhales and finds to further ease her fears that she can control her own breathing. Okay, good. Two more deep breaths... and then she tries turning her head.

Blocked.]

[Shikamaru watches with some interest. He hasn't forgotten their discussion after their last fight ended, and despite what she said then... well. Sometimes it's easier to say things than do them.

Something obviously still scares her about it. She knew what was coming when they agreed to the terms of this spar. Two minutes of immobilization - unless one of them surrenders. She wouldn't have thrown in that condition if she still wasn't uncomfortable with it.

So he was fully expecting for her to give up. She's surprised him though, and he watches her expressions carefully now.]

I can let you look, if you want.

[He doesn't need to feel that through his shadow - can't, because the hold is strong enough right now that it offers no resistance even if she was trying to make one - to guess that would be something she'd want to do.]

[She opens up her eyes and glares at him to show him her opinion of him 'letting' her do anything, thanks very much. She's not interested in sight-seeing, she's interested in figuring this out and trying to break his hold. He said a two minute limit unless someone could break out of it. That means that people had to be able to break it. But what could she do if she couldn't move?]

...sure.

[But she shuts her eyes again, because she wants to concentrate on the feeling of 'being moved' or of 'moving with his permission' to see if there's any sort of key to it. She hasn't given up yet.]

[He raises an eyebrow - because seriously, that's the opposite of looking, Katara - but pays it little mind. She's probably concentrating on breaking out of the hold, or something similar.

So he tightens the bind enough that she'll mimic his actions. She won't be able to see it if he just moves her head, so he shifts his right foot about an inch as he turns his body, than his head to look behind him. Katara's body will do the same, and the motions will be fluid. Though if she's strongly resisting, her limbs will feel a little more rigid.

When he's done, she'll be the facing away from him, in the opposite direction. If she opens her eyes, she'll see his shadow there - stretch long across the ground and seemingly attached to nothing.]

[It's a very strange feeling, and one that almost causes a moment of panic -- she thinks she's going to be sick, can't believe she let herself agree to this. And suddenly there's a very good reason for her to keep her eyes closed and it has nothing to do with concentration and everything to do with keeping in hot tears.

All right. Focus. You can do this.

It's smoother than bloodbending. Definitely external. Caused by his shadow.

So if there's an external force pushing down on you, what can you do except resist it. And Katara begins to pour all of her will and all of her strength into simply moving the fingers of her left hand.]

Edited 2011-05-13 05:22 (UTC)

[Ah, he feels that. Active resistance is a sharper tug at his concentration than just trying to move, even if it's not with her whole body.

He already put a lot of chakra into his earlier attacks, so his hold isn't as strong as it would be fresh off the bat. Even so, he can hold it easily for now. It'll take just over a minute before she'll be able to budge.]

[She has no idea if this is working or not, but it's tiring just to try so she's choosing to believe that it's doing something.

If she can just move her hand the few inches to the supply of flashbombs along her belt, all she'd need to do is flip one on and let it drop to break this.

Come on... come on]

[Definitely not getting that far, even when she does move. Since she hasn't said anything, Shikamaru loosens the bind just enough so that he can move freely again without moving her around, then turns himself back so that he can see her again. It's less draining this way.

Tch. She's not even looking. Or if she did before, she had nothing to say. But all right then. Less talking makes it easier for him right now, anyways. He can keep his focus on the jutsu.

The minute mark rolls by. While she's still trying to move, at this point she might feel the faintest of twitches in her fingers, though the joints will remain fixed.]

Edited 2011-05-13 05:56 (UTC)

[Constant strain isn't getting her anywhere but exhausted and with at least the slight encouragement of movement-]

Are you doing that?

[A wild untamable hope flares up in her, shoving back the creeping feeling of a fear that freezes. If it's not him, it can be beaten back.

...and there's something freeing about talking, too. This is a spar, one she knew she had precious little chance of winning and that tastes sour, but Shikamaru's her friend, she has nothing to prove here, and she can talk to him.]

Edited 2011-05-13 06:22 (UTC)

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