Nokino's Training #2: This Fire

As it was now pretty common for classes and students alike, as well as with other ninja from the village, Nokino was once again training at the Advanced Facility, both increasing her skills and jutsu list but also teaching to anyone who would be willing to follow her drive, and learn too. She welcomed everyone, and like any official training, she sent out notifications to the rest of the village to see if anyone else was interested. 

Herself was training in the meantime, slashing and weaving handsigns with one hand, using the destructive powers of both wind and fire, meddling them together in sparks and smokes of all shapes and colors, twirling around her as her sword moved dashingly fast, creating firecrackers efect under each hit. 

Nokino also tried and learn a new way to fight alongside her summons, ninneko of Sora-Ku. As part of her training routine, she summonned forth 3 cats, named Puki, Naki and Toki. As the three cats arrived, all dressed into different colored Kimonos, Nokino started to fight dummies into the yard with them, some of them staying on her shoulder, others attacking in melee with claws and fangs, while the third one casted ninjutsu from afar.

As Yukio entered the Advanced Training Facility once again, he heard the sounds of serious training coming from one of the training yards within. With his curiosity peaked, he stuck his head in to see who it was that was training so vigorously. That it was Nokino-sensei was not shocking. He knew she normally trained around this time, but she was really going at it. And from the looks of things, she appeared to have some familiars or perhaps summons, they looked like cats. Not wanting to shock his sensei and team mate, Yukio called out as he walked into the training area. "Yo, Nokino-sensei! How are you doing?" The young Senju smiled and waved towards the older kunoichi as he approached. "I feel like it's been forever since we've seen each other, not since that mission that we...well, you know." Yukio smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Hey, are you waiting for anyone else? Wanna get a quick spar in? I've gotten a ton stronger! I want to show you a special seal I got from Tenshi at TenSeals too, I think you'll like it!" Yukio's trademark grin quickly returned to his face as the awkward moment passed. "I promise I can acquit myself better than last time!" Yukio struck a confident pose, and for all the seriousness that comes with being a shinobi for the Village Hidden in the Leaves, he was, for a brief moment, just a young adult who wanted nothing more to brag and make his sensei proud of him.

---

WC: 260 | TWC: 260

“ HAAA! “ Tenko yelled as she swung her Tessen causing a large gust of wind to kick up in the direction of her swing. The wind wall knocked several ninja tools out of the sky that were thrown towards her by another ninja who agreed to be her training partner, about a dozen or so kunai and shuriken clattered into the ground in the time it took for Tenko to return to a neutral stance.

“ Ok that’s enough Tenko, I’m exhausted. “ the ninja said landing dead centre of the grounded ninja tools “ I got to clean these up anyways so take a break or something. “ he said between gasps of breath. Tenko raised an eyebrow “ Huh? But we’ve barely done anything. I wasn’t even warmed up. “ she huffed with an annoyed tone  “ Tch… fine “ She folded her fan with a loud snap of metal then walked away with it under her arm.

“ None of these guys last long enough to do real training, he was the third in as many days. So annoying. “ she said to herself as she wandered around the facility eventually wandering into the yard area where she spotted someone familiar.

“ Sensei? “ she said again to herself before strolling over to her academy teacher “ It is you Sensei, are you doing some training as well? I’m trying to do that as well but most of the guys here get tired before I can even get warmed up. “ she explained while planting the spine of her fan into the ground.

“ So, need a partner? “

[WC: 255]
[TWC: 255]

After landing a large chop of her Katana Red Flash, chopping in half a training dummy, Nokino sensed a presence closing in on her, a familiar one. Suprised but not so much, it was Yukio, her partner of team, and former student. As he was excited to see his sensei, it being such a long time since their missions together, Nokino too was excited, and tried to hide it, leaving but a small huffled smile appear across her stern face. Nonetheless, it was good to see him. As he asked if she was looking for a training partner, Nokino simply nodded, her smile growing as she wanted to fight and train.

''hehe you think you're ready to take me on again? I saw you train, and followed your progress kiddo! You doin' good, I think you could stand a chance, on a bad day of mine. So lets g-'' said Nokino in a taunting way to her team mate and partner, before being interupted by another of her former student arriving in the training field. 

As she approached, Tenko asked Nokino-sensei too if she wanted to train with her, interupting the conversation as if she didnt saw yukio at all. 

''God damn, I seem to be popular amongst kiddos, uh? 'Aight, 'aight, i'll train with both of ya. And then a lil' exercise afterwards, 'aight? Need to learn the true way of the shinobi after all, ahahaAHAHAHAH!'' said Nokino in a sighing tone, before laughing and taking a large puff of smoke out of her mouth as she smoked her cigarette. 

Almost immediately, the 3 cats surounding Nokino started to laugh at her comment, mocking a bit their summoner as she called herself popular. 

''AHAHAHA dont brush you own fur too much Noki! hehe''

''Famous? That must make us superstars hehe''

''heheh Teach those kids a lesson Noki! Oh that the one you rasengan'ed to the grass, hehe?''

said the 3 Ninnekos, mocking and having fun, taking a small break in training.

''Oy oy oy laugh all you want. I am kinda famous here, well with students and youn' ones at least! So kiddos, what you wanna learn?'' said Nokino, taking a pause before talking again, looking at yukio, then at the slim blonde cat wearing a red kimono, then back at yukio, her eyes squinting and a grin appearing into her face. ''Yeah thats him ahaha. But im sure he is more able now that he learned valuable lessons.''

Yukio was forming his response to Nokino when the two were interrupted by another, a young woman with sandy blonde hair and wielding a large fan as if it weighed nothing. The newcomer seemed to want to spar, if her tone was anything to go by. 'Huh, another one of Nokino-sensei's students? Must have been a class after mine. She's been very busy with all of the work the Academy has her doing.' Yukio thought to himself as he observed the blonde. He formulated a quick plan in his head as she spoke, wanting to see just what kind of mettle the new class of Genin had been made from. Yukio was the only survivor of his class of graduates, the rest of them fading into obscurity as they quit the shinobi life.

"Hey, Nokino-sensei, who's this runt, huh? This the kind of shinobi they let graduate from the Academy now?" The Senju looked down at the young woman, being that he was seven inches taller than she was and outmassed her quite a bit. Yukio looked back toward Nokino and shot her a wink with his left eye, hidden from view of Tenko, so Nokino-sensei would hopefully go along with what he had to say. "Nobody's got enough stamina to keep up with you, eh? I could certainly be of service, if you'd like." He shifted to look fully toward Tenko, who had ignored him when she approached the two. "Although, I gotta say, you don't look like much, short stuff." Yukio winced internally. He didn't actually enjoy acting in this type of manner and Nokino would surely notice something was off, but he wanted to see how the other Genin would react. And hey, maybe he'd get a half-way decent spar out it? Ever since Tenshi, Yukio found himself spoiling for fights more and more.

Over his heart, the Curse Mark seal burned, itching to be used.

---

WC: 319 | TWC: 579

Tenko simply stood with a still dull expression on her face as Nokino and her trio of summoned cats cheerfully chatted away, she didn’t even notice Yukio was there until he said something, calling her a runt which was kind of fair considering she is much smaller than he is but still pretty rude he also implied that Tenko might not be of the right calibre to be a shinobi by insinuating the academy’s graduation standards had slipped. He offered to spar with her commenting on the fact Tednko had mentioned that no one had the stamina to keep up with her but then he had to ruin that goodwill by sarcastically implying that she didn’t have much about her and doubled down on his earlier runt comment by calling her short-stuff.

Tenko looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, she didn’t say anything instead after looking into his eyes for a moment she looked up at the sky, specifically at where the sun was. She took a small step back and pulled her planted fan around to her front and tilted it in a way that the lacquered black wood of the fan's spine catches the sun’s light and bounced it back towards Yukio’s eyes.

“ You don’t look like much yourself string bean, I’ve seen children with larger muscles. I’d be afraid I would blow you away with a small gust. “ she finally spoke completely dismissing Yukio with a shooing motion with her hand. She turned back to Nokino “ One of your cats mentioned Rasengan? That’s something I would like to learn at some point, more importantly, I’d like to learn the fire element and I believe you are skilled in that element Sensei. “

[WC: 286]
[TWC: 341]