Another Training Session

Leander's arm was kicked, stopping to push upwards then his hands were used as a base board as the other boy pushed off. Lea straightened himself as his opponent jumped back making space. 'He's good.' Lea thought. Then his opponent lunged forward. Lea dived to the side opposite of the jab, rolling and springing back onto his feet a few feet to the side of the boy. 'He's fast too, that punch almost got me. Can't make any mistakes here. Maybe I should try my new technique? Don't want to use to much chakra tho....' Lea's mind was blazing trying to think what to do. 'Not yet' He told himself. All this thought took only a second or two. Making up his mind, Lea dashed at the boy from the side, going on the offensive again. He would come in from his opponents side. He wouldn't stop running though, charging at the boy. At the last possible second before collision Lea would drop to his knees, sliding in the sand behind his opponent. He would try to strike the back of the boys knees as he slid past, trying to surprise him an drop him to his knees as well. As soon as he was by he would spring up of his knees and spin to face his opponent. If this succeeded and his opponent fell, Lea would follow up with a strike to the boys chest, trying to knock him over further, throwing off his balance. That depended on if his first strike succeeded however.

A successful distancing from Leander had put a smile on Raijin's face. For his first spar he was doing okay! And even though it was just against an Academy Student, based on the assumption because of an absent headband, this boy was truly skilled in hand-to-hand combat! And so another attack was sent. Raijin moved in to strike the boy only to have his jab avoided by a dive to the side. "Whoa! He's good!' Once the boy completed his roll and got back to his feet he attacked Raijin from the side. To make things even more difficult, he was fast. The boy quickly spun and sent a kick at Leander. Much to his surprise it was avoided when Leander dropped to his knees to attack the back of his knee. It was easier to topple Raijin because he only had one leg supporting his weight. 'My momentum is too much for me to change up! I'm just going to have to take this one.' With that thought he was sent onto his back, but didn't stop him. As soon as the contact was made he recovered by pushing himself off the ground with his hands. He made it just in time to avoid  the strike to his chest. "That was a well planned follow-up!" Once he was onto his feet he stepped towards Leander, sending a palm thrust at his chest. It was a quick counter to Leander's chest attack and if done right may do some good.

There was no way Lea could block the thrust to his chest. The hit struck his sternum and drove the wind from his lungs. He staggered back a few steps and gasped for air. He covered his vitals and kept a close eye on his opponent for the few seconds he had trouble breathing. He recovered and again took up a defensive pose. 
"Good counter." He said with a grin to the other boy. Lea was really enjoying the spar but didn't know how many more hits like that he could take. 'Be quicker'  he told himself. He would wait for his opponent to make the next move.

The hit had done quite some damage to Leander. He had to catch his breathe before preparing himself for another attack. Instead of being a brute and continuing with a combo string he waited for Leander. It qas dishonorable to keep attacking; and an honorable person Raijin was. "Thanks a lot! I've worked hard in the academy to develop better counters like that." Finally, the boy's hard work had paid off. Anyways, when Leander was ready Raijin resumed his stance. 'I wonder what I should go with now....' Ten long seconds passed before Raijin came up with his next attack. He charged Leander as fast as he could and sent a quick jab at Leander's face. The other hand would follow up with a hook to his side.

Lea's expression would harden into a determined look as his opponent charged him. As he jabbed at Lea's face Lea would use the substitution technique, replacing himself with a medium sized rock off to the side of the training ground. From there he would start his own charge, coming at the boy from the side again. He would feint as if he was going to just keep running and slide like last time, partially bending his knees as he got close to his opponent, but this was just a ruse to try and distract him and draw his eyes downward. Lea would punch in and upper-cut style at the boys face however.

Knuckles clashed with stone as the boy punched the rock Leander used during the substitution, sending it flying. A sudden surge of pain traveled throughout the boy's hand afterwards. As much as he wanted to yell out he kept it in, fighting and ignoring the pain. Leander was spotted from Raijin's peripheral, charging in from the side again. This time the Uchiha would be ready and more alert! 'Not this time Leander!' At the sight of slightly bent knees Raijin quickly dropped onto his two hands and swept his legs with a force! Fortunately, Leander didn't drop low this time. Another fake into an attack. Leander upper-cutted the air, now having to deal with a low. 'Man, he's good with the fakes!'

Lea's legs were swept out from under him, his balance already off from his missed swing he toppled over. Lea lay on the ground panting slightly, sweat drops on his forehead. 
"I think you're just to fast for me." Lea said, closing his eyes and smiling. 
"My dad once told me knowing when to quit was as much a part of being a shinobi as anything else was. I yield, but that...that was a fun spar!" Lea rubbed his chest where the boy had been able to strike him.
"Good strike too.."

Raijin stood from his crouched position and placed his hands on top of his head. Deep inhales and exhales were heard as he panted a bit. Moving like that was a bit exhausting. "Don't worry Leander, you'll be just as fast one day. Maybe you'll be even faster actually!" Raijin smiled and then walked over to Leander, offering him a hand to pull him up onto his feet. "Wise words. The spar was truly exilerating! Thanks a lot for agreeing to spar. My name's Raijin Uchiha." Although he had won he was still going to introduce himself. Not doing so would seem rather rude. He turned around and pointed to the emblem on the back of his shirt with his thumb. "I hope to be as strong as Lord Koroshi one day!"

Lea gladly accepted the hand up. 
"Nice to meet you Raijin. Next time we spar I'll be stronger and faster, you can count on it!" Lea couldn't help but smile. Sparring was so much fun. 
"Lord Koroshi hmm? I'll race you then." Lea grinned evilly "First one to be as strong as Lord Koroshi is the winner! What do you say? Rivals?" Lea wanted to get strong, but he also wanted to see Raijin get strong as well. And he thought it would be fun to spar again along the way.

Once Raijin pulled Leander up he giggled, "Good! I believe that you'll be way stronger next time we meet Leander. I just know you'll be a powerful ninja one day. Perhaps you'll even be Kazekage." Raijin was all about positivity. He believed it helped people develop faster and have faith in themselves; that was something he liked to see. "That sounds good to me! You've got yourself a deal Leander!" Deep in his mind he knew that Leander was full potential. This one was the type to persevere in everything until he met a goal. And that's why Raijin had to accept it. 'Boy, do I sure have a lot of rivals.'