Get Ready (Private)

While Midori worried about upsetting her new friend, Riku hadn't even thought of the possibility of conflict between them over the taller woman's input. The green-haired woman was honest with her and never cruel about it, the short woman was almost certain Midori was incapable of being mean.

Crawling into Midori's clothes was easy, but feeling the tall woman shiver inside of her was something Riku hadn't really thought about this before she started getting into Midori's pants in a literal sense. Riku's face turned a bit pink, but she didn't comment. They had more important things to tend to.

"Sure."

Riku stretched with Midori, but was only able to cover the transformed ninja's torso and hips, stopping at the tops of her friend's thighs. She contracted and used chakra to stick to the green-haired woman just as Midori took off.

Riku's face, which had remained solid buried itself in Midori's neck and thick tendrils looped around her collar before forming arms. Riku's body continued to flattened against Midori's skin until it was a thin layer, as if the tall ninja had been sweating. She covered a bit more of the green-haired woman's body now, stretching to Midori's knees. Riku peeked over her shoulder, amazed at the speed they moved with. It was difficult to keep up with, but with concentration, the blue-haired woman could make out their surroundings as everything whizzed by. The feeling of Midori's chakra was apparent at such close contact, buzzing against Riku's senses.

She let out a laugh, purely delighted by their new technique.

Training:

[26]

Midori was glad Riku had been pretty accepting of the criticism of her idea, as it had been a logical critique, but she still worried that she was going to mess up the friendship she had with her. She enjoyed Riku’s company greatly and knew she wasn’t very good with social situations, so she always second guessed herself when it came to anything that could possible ruffle any feathers. If anything, Riku seemed to be more disturbed by the idea of being drank than anything, to which Midori simply nodded before they continued to the idea of wearing Riku like armor.

Learning a technique to channel Chakra into Riku to disrupt Genjutsu would be an amazing idea… they would be both immune to the techniques that Satori held over both of them so strongly. It was honestly Midori’s biggest weakness, and considering Riku’s damn near invulnerability to damage, it was probably her biggest weakness too outside of sheer force. Sure, Satori was capable of that, but not if Midori was literally attached. Standing up, she waited for Riku to absorb onto her skin, holding as still as she could.

What she hadn’t anticipated, or rather, had forgotten about, was how damn sensitive she was beneath her clothes. She wore special clothing to reduce friction in those areas, but Riku was beneath them, so as they were slowly covered and such she trembled for a moment until things were finally set in place. They would have to practice that part of it if they wanted to be able to use it in combat. After a moment, she took a breath and settled, turning to look at the head that had formed on her shoulder and nodded. “Going to run… make sure you can hang on and pinch me if it gets to be too much.” She had absorbed enough Nature Chakra now to transform again, and did so, looking towards the ocean and launching like a missile over the surface.

(B Rank Speed)

[26]

Midori was fast, but Riku's ability to cling with chakra kept her fastened to the taller woman. When the clone appeared, the short woman grinned. "Got it."

She formed a couple hand seals before spitting small, fast paced streams of water at the clone, creating a barrage that would be difficult to dodge completely. It was a technique Riku had been working on since learning the Water Bullet Technique. By spitting smaller projectiles, she could launch them faster than normal, competing with Midori's speed. Her head turned, twisting at unnatural angles with the help of Soft Body Manipulation to make the barrage of water bullets more widespread.

Aiming while moving was difficult, but doing so when she wasn't controlling the movements was even trickier. She could feel Midori's movements within her, allowing her to predict when the green-haired woman would move and which way once Riku began to understand the feeling of Midori's muscles.

Technique Training:

[27]

Once they were settled she was off, but it wasn’t as simple as a straight shot; she turned her foot sideways, launching suddenly at a 90 degree angle to the left and kicking up a spray of water away from then, ensuring that if she needed to bank a turn quickly that Riku could hold on. For the watery woman it was probably a wicked roller coaster, but if they couldn’t use it in real combat, there was no point in it at all. They would have to practice using this, disconnecting, grabbing, all of it to the point where it was muscle memory… but for the moment, she needed a target.

Midori suddenly changed direction, charging back towards land where her shadow clone was ready and waiting, having packed up their scrolls and such and put them away. “See if you can hit her while we move,” she said as the Shadow Clone vanished, taking off away from them and zig-zagging patterns across the land to try to make it a harder target. Midori gave chase to the clone, imagining it was Satori, although this was a bit difficult; she couldn’t match that bastard’s speed, but this would be a good practice run.

Giving chase, she knew that she should catch up quickly, but the Shadow Clone had a good head start on them, and this was about giving Riku some practice with her techniques. What would she opt for though? It was going to be interesting to watch what happened next.

[27]

Riku twisted her neck at odd angles to maintain her aim at the Shadow Clone and spit bullets at it. Her aim improved the longer they chased after the clone as the short woman learned to compensate for Midori's movements. Her attention was on the exercise to the point that she didn't even notice the way she was poking out from the taller woman's cleavage. Riku shrank back into Midori's generous cushioning when the clone kicked towards her face, but Midori was able to block it.

She surged outwards and spat more bullets directly into the clone's face, dispelling it. Riku rotated to face Midori and grinned, arms resting loosely around her shoulders. "I think we're onto something here."

[28]

Training:

The shadow clone continued to haul ass as fast as it could, but even then knicks here and there where she wasn’t quite fast enough or agile enough began to show. She did manage to avoid any solid hits though, which was good because as a Shadow Clone, it would have caused her to disperse completely. Bobbing, weaving, tucking and rolling, the clone did her absolute level best to make sure that if Riku wanted to land a solid strike, she was going to have to work for it. Midori herself, in turn was doing her level best to make sure that Riku had the ability to aim properly, keeping herself steady while chasing the clone down.

Now, transformed and in this state, she could catch the clone, but that wasn’t the point of the training. Besides, she was enjoying letting Riku try out her new technique; this was obviously a lot different than a typical water bullet. She wanted to ask more, but instead she was focusing on her footwork, the difference in her weight and inertia as they made turns here and there, how to shift her body so that Riku had the best grip and angles. Nevermind that it looked like a woman’s head was sticking out of her cleavage.

Catching up to the clone, she could see the copy whirl, trying to defend itself as Midori got within point blank range where she could reach out and grab her if she wanted to. Riku would have a clear shot here, and Midori put her hand up to block the kick that had been aimed for Riku’s head. Two heads really were better than one.

[28]

Riku nuzzled Midori in response to the head bump on reflex, having gotten used to Satori's forehead nuzzles as greetings. Her nose crinkled in thought while she considered the green-haired woman's words.

"Well, there are a couple techniques that can do that… I've seen my uncle use them." Then, it occurred to the blue-haired ninja that she had neglected to give Midori any details about her family life. The taller genin had only been to her house once or twice and seen Tsughi playing with her younger sisters at the Ryuutei compound.

"I met my father's brother," she added quietly. "Kishi-oji… he was a skilled ninja before he retired. Sometimes he trains me." Her throat tightened a bit. "Anyway, this one should do the trick."

Riku swiveled again so she was facing away from Midori and her hands blurred together in seals.

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!" Not unlike a high pressure hose, Riku spat out a condensed stream of water, aiming for a tree. The water battered the tree, the wood cracking under the pressure and causing bits of bark to fall away. Riku narrowed her eyes and tightened her lips to increase the pressure. The water blasted straight through the tree and the poor thing toppled.

Moments after, the stream weakened until water poured from her mouth more like vomit than anything else. Riku coughed a few times and the water finally stopped. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"Ugh… that turns my stomach."

Some people might have meant that they wanted a break. Riku on the other hand wanted to do it again. She performed the technique again and turned her head so that the resulting stream cut through two more trees. The smaller woman gagged a bit after.

"A little better…" Riku said, panting.

[29]

Training:

Midori looked down and nodded at the woman as she dispelled the clone and then turned to look at her, impressed with the technique she had developed and thrilled at how it had worked in combination with her own maneuvers. She was in agreement that they were ‘onto something’ and gave her a smile, obviously pleased with the progress they had made as well… but this wasn’t enough to defeat Satori.

“Good for suppression and speed… we need something strong too. Something that can cut through like a stream through stone.” She had seen what a current of water could do to a stone over time, and was hoping to inspire Riku to be able to develop something along those lines, something that would make him pause even with his regenerative capabilities. Something that, while she was certain Satori was almost incapable of fear, would make him hesitate and give them a chance to continue to coordinate.

Still, the technique she just displayed was pretty amazing, and it deserved a friendly head-bump, as she couldn’t exactly give her a fist bump at the moment. Moving over to where there was a good number of stones lifted out of the ground, she focused for a moment as her transformation ended; she still intended to keep Riku mounted on her as things went though. “Try once holding still. Then we can work on your ‘on the move’ accuracy.” It was simple in theory; crawl, walk, run.

[29]

“Thanks Mi-chan,” Riku said, smiling a bit. She wiped her mouth with a sleeve. Her breathing had gotten heavier and her grip on the taller woman had weakened. “I think I need to stop for now…” she slipped off of Midori’s body and pooled on the ground around her sister’s feet.

“I’m getting low on chakra, I think,” the half-puddle woman said, rolling over and solidifying. She blinked and frowned, her head spinning. Her dazed eyes struggled to focus on Midori’s blurring form. She had gotten carried away during this session, far too excited about the prospect of working on new techniques to track how much energy she spent.

“Might need some food….” She spent a bit more chakra to extend her arm and grab a water bottle from where she and Midori had been sitting earlier and began to chug it.

[30]

The comment regarding Riku’s uncle brought a brow to raise in curiosity, as neither of the women really had a lot to say regarding their history and family. Midori’s own was riddled with pain, so it wasn’t like she was going to be the one to broach the subject, but this was the first time Riku had really done so either. Based on the way she mentioned things, there was definitely some baggage sitting there they would need to discuss if she was wanting to get off her chest. Riku had become a pretty stalwart confidant, going both ways, in the past year or so, and that was fine by her. It was nice to have someone to talk to aside only Satori.

Midori watched with interest as she practiced her new technique, impressed with its capabilities, but she too saw room for improvement. The fact that it made her nauseous was another problem… but as she started flashing the hand seals again from her now drenched shirt, Midori began to move. Not at full speed, but Riku needed to be able to hit a target while she was mobile, so when the second one successfully hit a couple of trees, she came to a stop. She thought she should probably figure out a way to keep Riku herself from drowning from her own technique, but that was simply a side-note. Riku was smart, she was probably already working on a solution.

“Well done.” Midori didn’t compliment often, but even she had to admit the potential with this.

[30]

After chugging all of her water, Riku reached for a rice ball and pushed it into her face. Her head liquefied enough to absorb the rice and pass it down to where her stomach should be before solidifying again, depositing the food directly into her stomach. “That’s pretty tasty, Mi-chan. Thank you.”

She grabbed another rice ball and began to eat that one the traditional way, biting and chewing. The blue-haired genin didn’t say much until she had polished off her second rice ball.

“I can die happy now,” Riku mumbled, eyes half shut. “I think I’m gonna take a nap now.” The small woman rolled onto her side and started to curl up. She felt absolutely drained. Sure, this wasn’t an appropriate place to rest, but it was unlikely anyone would actually bother her. Whenever she regained consciousness, the short genin would be able to get up and stagger to the nearest bed. Would that be her house or Satori’s? Satori’s bed sounded nice right about now. Then again, if she went to Midori’s house, she could use their bath and take advantage of their heated water and intricate plumbing.

A groan emanated from the young woman on the ground as she rolled once more to face Midori. “Ne, Mi-chan, can we take a bath?” Riku tugged on Midori’s sleeve gently to get her attention. “Miyu made such a lovely bath with warm water and you don’t even need buckets….” she mumbled tiredly.

[31]

[//Thread Exit]

Midori waited a little bit for Riku to get out of her pants and shirt and back onto the ground before moving again, stepping towards her pack and digging within as she stated she needed some food.  Midori knew that this might be the case, and she was certain that Riku wanted to continue but they were going for a marathon, not a sprint.  They would have to pace themselves if they wanted to be able to make it until mid-afternoon.  Pulling out a handful of rice-balls all wrapped in waxed paper she returned to where Riku was and set them between them.

“It’s not much…” she said simply, shrugging, but Riku knew that Midori was an amazing cook, so something even as simple as rice-balls wasn’t something that would be less than perfect.  As much as the daughter of the Bloody Mist Berserker was seen as a monster, an abomination to Ninja, she was also one of the quietest, gentlest people you could meet so long as you weren’t fighting her.  But most people didn’t dare to get close enough to find out, which made the connection she had with Riku all the more treasured.

Midori had waited until Riku had eaten the first one… or perhaps, absorbed would be a better word? But regardless, until she commented on the taste before she started eating herself, as per her normal ritual when giving someone some food that she had cooked, giving the blue haired teen a nod before diving in herself. Midori wasn’t a Ryuutei by blood, so she didn’t destroy the sheer amount of food that they normally did, but she could still put away a fair portion. By the time that Riku had finished her second, she had eaten four and was content for now.

Looking over at the comment about dying happy, she noticed the way the watery girl’s eyes were half shut. As though she had planned it, as Riku began to roll to her side and curl up, Midori not only had made the girl literally fall into her arms, lifting her up easily, but also had made a Shadow Clone that quickly began to pick up their things and gather them up. The shadow clone then took off, making for Midori’s house with the instructions already set to prepare the bath for Riku.

Holding Riku to her chest, the green haired teen then began to gently walk towards her home, carrying the comparatively small woman with ease and ensuring her footfalls were as smooth as possible so the blue haired girl could rest during the trip. “Of course, Blue Moon.” It was the only reply needed, and like everything, if she said she would do something, it was as good as already done.

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[31]

THREAD EXIT