We Fight For the Society (Bayushi)

Once they had gotten settled Honiko would lead Bayushi to a deserted part of the barren Isle. The terrain was rugged and hard to traverse for someone as not physically skilled as her. This was especially true for Bayushi who was a fresh genin by her estimation. The duo would reach a clearing surrounded by several large black stone pillars. It appeared to be a makeshift training ground of sorts with dummies and various implement. Bayushi would notice a pile of burnt training dummies in the corner and if she made this obvious Honiko would smirk. She didn't care to train here personally but her busy schedule occasionally forced her to make do. The Dragon Sage was wearing her typical combat gear although this iteration of her leather armour was black rather than burgundy. Once they were centered in the training field, Honiko placed her hands on the hips and turned to face the Nature-Nin.

"Kumogakure obviously saw fit not to give you any serious training. Why do you think I should?"

Honiko led Bayushi on a trek that made it within itself an obstacle. The terrain was terrible, and it was an effort to get to any location without climbing over rocks and other obstructions. Then upon getting over them, Bayu and Honiko came upon a clearing with a bunch of black pillars. Giving the place an ominous feel. There were burnt training dummies in a corner that Bayu could see from the corner of his eye. He turned towards them, guessing that Honiko had trained her herself before. Bayu only had the clothing left to him from his trip from the village. He had no money, no weapons, or anything that was left behind in the village. Probably destroyed or in an evidence room now.

"Kumogakure obviously saw fit not to give you any serious training. Why do you think I should?" Honiko asked with her hands on her hips.

Raijin was caught off guard by the question. But he answered confidently, "The people of my village were paranoid of what unlocking my abilities would bring. They feared the power that came from my clan would overtake me. I believe you can help me quell beast inside me that they couldn't. They were cowards."

A rare smile crossed Honiko's lips as Bayushi gave a cogent and well considered response. Either he was quick on his feet or he had wondered the same himself for some time. Whatever the reason he had given the right answer and had confirmed a few suspicions that Honiko had. The pale woman walked towards Bayushi and summoned a kunai into her hand. She slashed his forehead in a quick motion, likely to be far faster than he was capable of reacting to. The move was not lethal but it would draw a fair bit of his blood. The blood ran down the weapon and she raised it to her lips, stuck the tip of the weapon in her mouth and tasted the crimson fluid. She savored the flavor and ingested it before nodding her head in confirmation of her theory.

As I suspected...

"You have the blood of the Nature Clan in you. I'm not surprised because this is providence. Nozomi has an artifact of the Sage inside her body and you have the blood of the world flowing through your veins. The natural energy that saturates this planet was given life by the Sage of Six Paths. It was meant to be beautiful, a glorious angel to guide humanity but it was corrupted by man's inherently evil nature. The result is the nature clan as the world knows it today but under my training you will restore your people's birthright as angels and guardians of the Sage's teachings"

Honiko stepped a few paced away from Bayushi and looked him in the eye.

"You are correct. They were cowards but they were right to fear you. They didn't know your true purpose and how to help you achieve it. I know why you are here and how to help you fulfill your destiny. Are you ready to accept my instruction?"

It happened in a flash. As a smile played across Honiko's lips from Bayushi's response, she walked towards Bayushi and he froze. Then she whipped a Kunai so fast from seemingly out of nowhere and cut his forehead. It stung a little as some blood came from it on to her Kunai and some down his face. He flinched slightly but let the blood sit for second before he wiped it with his sleeve. Honiko tasted his blood, and understand seemed to dawn on her face. She began to explain to him the true path of the Cursed Ones. That they weren't considered as such before. They had been angels and guardians of the Sage teachings.

She also agreed with his resolve, and that Kumo was indeed weak to shy him away from his true powers. Honiko then asked did he accept her instructions. Bayushi nodded adding, "I forfeited my life as I knew it. I'm ready."

Bayushi was totally devoted to her. This was good. He'd be subject to a battery of tests the likes of which he had never experienced before. If he wavered or showed a lack of conviction then he'd be useless to her. She needed soldiers and so far Bayushi had shown one of the most important traits in a soldier: loyalty. She could train him and grant him power but she could not instill the degree of loyalty and dedication necessary for his success. Now that he had shown it he was ready to begin his training. Honiko flipped the kunai into a reverse grip and gestured with her free hand to a gourd filled with various weapons to choose from. Whatever weapon Bayushi felt comfortable using he'd probably find in the container.

"Select a weapon from that gourd and attack me. I want to see what your made of."

His answer was more than enough for Honiko. She flipped the Kunai in a reverse positon in her hand. Then she directed Bayushi to a gourd filled with weapons. He nodded and walked over to the gourd to take a pick. He saw a few different weapons, but he would go with the weapon he saw more frequent in his days in Kumo. He reached over and pulled out a Katana. The iron weapon was heavy in his hands and but he held it upright in front of himself. Raijin put two hands on the hilt and assumed what he thought was a fighting position.

It was a terrible form but he had enough wits about him to get the hang of it. He waited for Honiko to start the exercise. "I'm familiar with the Katana. It was one of the few skills Kumogakure favored."

Raijin helf the sword high and charged forward hastily. When he was only a few feet away he jumped up slightly and swung the sword down aiming towards Honikos chest with his attack.

Bayushi selected a katana. It was a wise choice given his background but she was curious if he had the skill to wield it. She saw his form and noted that while it wasn't atrocious he probably had a long way to go before he would pose a serious threat to anyone using the weapon. He raced towards her and attempted a hasty slash. Honiko side-stepped the attacked and racked the kunai across his arm giving him a deep cut. She took a step back and looked at him with a blank expression. Honiko was beginning to realize that while Nozomi and Bayushi were both fairly weak, the Kiri-Nin was leagues beyond him. This meant she would need to be much tougher on him if he was to improve. Honiko gestured for him to come again. She didn't even acknowledge the nasty cut she had attempted to inflict on him but she knew that he'd probably be hesitant to make such a forward attack again.

The pain was stinging from the deep cut that slashed across shoulder. Blood began to seep out of the cut already. This was already one of the learning points with his new sensei. She was unforgiving. The Kumo ninja were to soft for the nature of his power, but Honiko was going to break that mold. He stumbled backwards and resumed his sword stance albeit more cautious this time. She made him suffer for running in so carefree and forgetting his opponent was immensely dangerous.

He held his stance for a second gauging the two meter distance put between them from his stumbling. He held a seal up to his head, using the Body flicker technique he dashed forward so that he was beside Honiko. Stopping on a the dime, he held his sword up and slashed diagonally twice both ways so that it'd make an X shape. Then he stabbed towards her abdomen.


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Body Flicker (D>C) -5 = 35/40

Honiko watched as Bayushi staggered back from the successful strike. She had drawn blood to show that he was serious and that she expected him to approach any fight or spar with caution. This was especially true when squaring off against someone that was far stronger than him. Honiko twirled the kunai again and maintained the same grip as before as she put more distance between herself and Bayushi. She allowed him to close the gap and rapidly parried his slashes with enough strength to numb his hands on contact. She side-stepped the jab to her abdomen and cut the side of his face with greater force than before drawing a fountain of blood from his cheek. The pain was probably be immense and might cause him to quit. She wanted to test his pain tolerance and ability to fight while withstanding significant damage. Honiko would not let him give up though and if he proved to be in too much pain to continue the spar she would use Mystical Palm to heal him and continue the fight. He had gotten off easy in the Valley. He had joined her without so much as proving his worth and she had allowed it only because he knew he had no worth to prove. That would change though. He would earn his right to fight alongside the Society and he'd earn it with blood and battle scars.

"Tch"

Another attempt to land a blow was foiled yet again when Honiko weaved flawlessly through his attacks. Each of her parries enough to shake Katana in his hands that he could feel to the bone. Such strength was new for him, it felt like he was hitting a steel wall. His attempt at aiming at her abdomen fell short as she swiftly side-stepped him. Flailing by as he hit nothing, she strike quickly and the kunai bit deep into his face. He skipped on his feet and stumbled forward after being cut. Blood also began to pour from his face. There was shock at first, but then the bite of iron began to cause pain in both his arm and his face now. The pain was intense, and he could feel himself already feeling the burn of even a small skirmish with his sensei.

But...he could not quit. His Senjutsu chakra was still dormant inside of him and he could not mold it quite yet. He would bare learning how to be a ninja his own way with the intense guidance of Honiko. Perhaps she could show him how she tamed a dragon, and how she defeated all those powerful ninja by herself. He held on to the Katana with both hands, vigilant in his stand against the Dragon Sage. He tried to ignore the strength ebbing away out of his arm, as it bled still.

He took a deep breath than ran forward again this time aiming to for one thing. Raijin pulled his blade back to swing it upwards but it was only a feint as he kicked towards her gut instead. But he knew that she would dismantle that attempt, so he would swing his sword in a wide sweep motion aiming at her chest if she were to block his kick.

Honiko could see the pain in his eyes. She relished it. Not because she enjoyed inflicting pain on him per se but because she was playing a critical role in his development. Raijin would only know his true power when he pushed himself to the absolute limit. That meant enduring and fighting through extreme pain against an indomitable foe. The fact that he was hurting yet persevering was a good sign but she would not allow him to toot his own horn yet. The will to survive meant nothing if you were not strong enough to enforce it against your opponents. Honiko was not fooled by his feint and blocked his kick with one hand while deflecting his katana attack with the one holding the knife. She used her superior strength to push him back a few paces and nodded.

"Good" she encouraged. "Improvise. Adapt. Endure."

Honiko motioned for him to come again. They were not done quite yet.

Honiko was meticulous with her ease of deflecting his attacks. He had fought others above his rank before but they were going easy on him. With a quick stroke he could be dead if his new master was even half trying. Her last deflect sounded with a metallic clash, and he was pushed back yet again. Her defense was impregnable, he remembered it took considerable effort to even cause her harm during her attack on Kumogakure. She made mentions that he was doing good, and also told him to adapt and to endure.

He nodded with the teachings from his sensei, but the strength was ebbing out of him. That last charge took a lot out of him as his wounds were stinging past his testosterone. However there was no let up on his soul or body. There wasn't anything he could do but fight on. Raijin scowled and jumped back in front of her, swinging his blade towards her legs. Then he would swing diagonally three times from left to right and then from right to left.

Honiko would watch Raijin's form carefully as he aimed several swipes at his body. The Dragon Sage dodged them with ease while noting that his strength was fading him. She could see that he was rapidly losing steam and she would make a point of continuing to dodge his attacks until he was completely exhausted. She did not go on the offensive as she mad made her point earlier. If he had any more energy she would let him burn it off before asking bluntly: "How large is your ninjutsu arsenal? What elements do you possess?"

As the bout continued his master made no effort to weave through his attacks. His showing his tired arms etched all over his face. Raijin was panting, struggling to keep up with someone basically elusive like a snake. Could this be the power he had seen when he first saw her. No, she looked different then. Part of her being a Dragon Sage. She's just kicking my ass at base strength. Of course, he was a scrub basically. That would change sooner than later. Caught his footing and steeled himself as Honiko moved away from his attacks and creating space away from his attempts. He moved like a snail, and he knew it.

Then she asked him if he knew of any elements. At an early age he had shown a great affinity for the lightning element, he had yet learn any from the Kumo ninja. He would have to figure out their jutsus one day should he ever return. "I possess the Lightning element Honiko-sama. I have yet to learn any techniques ." He replied back to her.

Lightning was a versatile element. A useful one that could carry him far. She did not possess it herself but she could nonetheless help him master it in a variety of different ways. The inkling of a plan began to settle in her mind as she threw the tomahawk into the dirt and walk over to him. The spar was over, she didn't say as much but she trusted he had the wits to know when he was beat. She appreciated that he was willing to fight to his limit's capacity but she also knew that he had a long way to go before he was truly ready to receive all the gifts a power he had coming to him as a Blessed One. Honiko would use Mystical Palm to heal his injuries. She passed the wave of green chakra around the places she had slashed mending the damage and restoring his body to normal condition.

"Physicality is only one part of the equation Raijin. If you wish to become stronger you must also be spiritually fit. Come and pray with me."

Honiko would turn away and lead Raijin to an different area of the Isles. An open area with a stone floor and several prayer mats facing towards the sea. They'd end their day praying before returning to their quarters. Honiko sat on one of the mats in the lotus position and curled her hands together the way the Sages old did. She sat perfectly still implying that Raijin should do the same. She'd sit this way for a solid hour before rising again and leaving. It would be their first prayer session and in time she would expect them to sit for longer and longer periods. This was all in preparation for the gifts that they were bound to receive in service of the Society's mission. With the training and prayer session finished, she'd direct him to his quarters and leave to attend to more pressing affairs.

Exit.

Honiko nodded after his answer. She dropped her stance and began to walk over to Raijin. His larges widen with fear, and...another feeling. There was warm chakra emitting from her hands, almost green in color. She waved her hands around the wounds she caused. They began to heal as if it were by magic. Raijin's eyes widened with surprise at her technique. He was also blushing but because of his dark skin it was hard to tell.

Shut up Rai. He said to himself. It was a random thought but besides her deadly demeanor, he was actually quite taken with her. After healing him she replied, "Physicality is only one part of the equation Raijin. If you wish to become stronger you must also be spiritually fit. Come and pray with me."

Pray? To what Gods does Honiko pray to. I have a hard time believing she would bow her head to anyone. Sure enough Honiko led him down the path to the temple they visited earlier. She mentioned for him to sit down cross legged. And to meditate. He said nothing and followed suit. At first it was strange, he didn't know how to pray yet, so he sat there and let his mind rest. After an hour he said nothing until Honiko got up and left without saying a word. Always mysterious.

(Exit)