Black & White [Training]

by **DivineHeart** Sun Jun 17, 2018 11:37 am

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"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

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Somehow, he survived the night…

It was still dark, but that did not make any difference. His vision was the same. There was a thumping ache within his head, and there was a moistness between his fingers. The aches and soreness kept him from moving as he desired. It was only second to the weight that was soaked into his clothing. His one piece training outfit and the mesh legging that was protecting his body had been pierced, soaked, and tarn asunder. He could feel it with every detail as one hand slid along his body, and the other that had touched a tree that shaded his body in darkness.

The ANBU had not noticed him, but yet they chased the assailant into the night.

The assailant? He could barely remember it all through the headaches, but yet it slowly came back to him bit-by-bit. The form was familiar if he would have heard it again with his own ears. It was not just her form, but also her skill. It was a difficult fight! One that he had not ever though he would lose, especially if it were to a drunkard. He never thought he would have been hit by a kick such as hers.

No? His fingers touched the pieces of the glass about him.

Not a kick, but yet, a bottle! He could smell the traces of sake still along his body. The last attack was the strike of a bottle across his face, shattering into many pieces. It left some scratches, but not enough to leave a scar. She seemed to be a skilled shinobi, knowing exactly what he was doing and knew that the rabbit needed his face. The rabbit, crawled from the shade of the tree, feeling only at the last moment the coolness across his face. It was then he knew the moon was out, shining its light upon him and the night protecting his form as he crawled about, trying to regain his balance as he etched closer ot the tree to pick himself up.

“Who…was she?”

A question he asked himself. The trees would give him an answer as the leaves rustled from the gentle breeze that would blow. He had fallen asleep in the middle of the day and was tired, weakened. His perception of the area was narrow with his headaches and chakra flow barely recuperating. Even with the injuries, he could stand. Usagi were blessed with strong legs, but yet he had been pained by his wounds. With him trying to collect his thoughts, he could barely tell he was in the training grounds.

Panting…thinking…he tried to calm himself.

“So ya’ still round here, cutie?” He heard this voice before. He smelled this hideous scent before ass well. “You’re pretty tough for a lil’ rabbit. I will give you that. But remember what I said?”

He did.

In some fragment of his mind, Hikari could recall the sound of the woman’s voice over the fight earlier. She was aggressive, yelling out random slurs and blurts. He swore that she was some crazy woman, until, her fighting style had put him down. The battle smashed across his head the last moment where he thought he went into a dodge, and then, like an echo, he heard the woman’s voice then like he had now.

“The Usagi ain’t got business setting up shop around here.”

She was territorial, and she also had the fighting skills to back it up. Hikari had heaved himself, reaching out his right hand to get rid of the stray hairs that had been in his face. He did not need to see her, but the rabbits had their pride for looking good in front of company, no matter how unruly they were. Only then, when he had caught his breath and his ears taken in her details, he recognized not only her voice, but her form. She was definitely the woman from the previous night, and he remembered something important that bothered him.

“But I do not understand, are you not also a rabbit?” Her could hear her heartbeat jump, yet he continued, “T-the way you moved, it was familiar, and also a bit…d-different. It was definitely Usagi O Doro, but you were drinking, and it was…off.”

“Kicked your cotton-tail, didn’t it?” An ugly truth brought a shameful silence. Even more so as the rabbit’s pain was a reminder of the lesson she just gave him. “That is the Usagi Clan’s problem: just because someone’s drunk, vulnerable to their charms, or get their fancy traditions; you think you are unbeatable. You’re an arrogant lil’ rabbit!”

Cheeks puffed, Hikari had let out a huff. With a flare of his nostrils, he had managed to straighten his posture. Whether it was pride or denial, either way, he was erect and ready to stand against the woman. “What’s this?” her hand tossed out casually in his direction and the other weaved around the strap that held a gourd to her side. It was sloshing around with the alcohol that covered her form. He felt it was almost as if she was dismissive of him! “You think you’re really better than me, lil’ rabbit? Usagi Clan arrogance at its finest! Who is your birth mother? Is it Yuka-chan? Perhaps that detestable sister of mine?”

The heart-shaped tattoo on Hikari’s cheek had stretched with another huff. His eyes misty blue eyes glared to see through her. Hikari’s ears twitched taking in every word. His doubts that she was not was Usagi was dismissed with the list of names. She was specific and knew the traditions even though they were a small little clan. “No!” he expelled the breath from his cheeks, “My mother is Chiasa Usagi, the graceful rabbit.”

There was another heartbeat. It was sudden.

The change of the young woman however started to change her form slowly. One of her muscular legs lifted a knee slightly to elevate her foot and then the other was balanced on perfectly. It seemed she was taking the traditional pose. However, this suddenly shifted as she stomped her heel onto the ground. Her hands reached outward, holding at chest level the gourd in her grasp as she had a sadistic smile upon her face. She had tossed it back taking a swig before holding it out once more. Her head tossed forth, hanging, and her form swaying.

“Chiasa-chan has brats, huh?” the woman chuckled. “Then show me what you got, kid? This time, I won’t get easy on you just because you’re the baby’s baby!” Hikari started to lift his heel readily to take his battle stance hearing this woman.

He hated when they called his mother by that name; even a total stranger!

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“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

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by **DivineHeart** Mon Jun 18, 2018 7:38 pm

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"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

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Hikari had this terrible feeling in his stomach!

It had been there since she appeared with a haughty attitude and loose movements. Even now, she was like that as he stood in his pose. Her own seemed sloppy! The woman’s upper body swirled around while her arms reached out grasping her gourd. The lips of the woman mused some sort of inaudible song mixed with banter. Even his ears, twitching, found it to be gibberish as her legs flexed in the tight clothing she wore. One relaxed, the other pivoting with the weight of her body, but switching as she leaned from one side to the next while he stood readily.

“She stood like this that last time,” the rabbit recalled such a stance when first confronting her, “M-maybe I am wrong, but something is wrong.”

A chuckle emanated through the air, replacing the rubbish that came from the woman’s mouth. The rabbit-like ears of Hikari dreaded the sound. “What’s wrong, lil’ rabbit?” her tone an amused one, “Aren’cha gonna’ lead me?” His eyes had widened giving away his shock, but nothing more. It should not have been no surprise that the young women knew the methods of his mother’s fighting style, yet, he was not sure if it was a bluff. His eyes closed, bringing him calm through a thought that relaxed his uneasy heart.

“She is family, so I should not be surprised,” he took a step as he spun on his heel, pivoting. His body spun before his other foot touched down, kicking off as he lunged in direction towards the woman. “And if she is family, then I should not hold back!” Hikari’s form shifted forth as he swept in close to the muscular woman. The height was apparent the moment he closed the range between them.

The speed was also apparent as well.

Hikari leaped into the air, spun with a powerful kick that met the air. As he felt nothing from the first strike, his rabbit-ears twitched, once again looking for the body of the woman. Only when he realized she was still close and was maneuvering, he swept with a mid-kick. The rabbit’s feet touched down, his eyes wide once again, and he gasped as he stomped the terrain. It was only when he had focused his chakra to his ears did he realized what happened but could not comprehend it.

“W-what is-”

*THUD!!!*

Instantly, he was bought down kneeling on his right knee.

The rabbit’s ears twitched profusely! He tried to get a grasp of the terrain and the female figure once more. Her body was slightly elevated as her weight was shifted between her elbow that held up her head and posture, her leg crossed over the other, and her foot pushing her up while her free hand tossed back another swig of her drink. She let out a bellow belch and a swampy sigh of her breath. “Like I said, Usagi Clan arrogance at its finest! Bravo lil’ Bunny!” The woman would thrust the gourd of alcohol upward before taking another swig,

“She did not just dodge,” the rabbit recalled the first kick as if he seen it with good eyes that were not blind, “I am sure! She had tossed forward and just…fell! Then to trip me, she rolled on the ground. I could have sworn she was just being aloof, but it felt like she was countering my style.” Hikari was shaken! It was not clear that she planned it, but Hikari was not one to ignore the possibility. His ears twitching, telling him that he was fighting a drunkard who was getting lucky, but his instincts knew better.

“If she is really a Usagi, she could have delivered a powerful kick to me like this.” he picked himself up from his kneeling position. His expression shifting as he became angry. He had not felt this since he saw his father.

“A-are you…” tortured he forced himself to ask, “Are you not taking me serious?”

The sound of the woman guzzling some of her drink caused the rabbit to wince as if he was ignored. “Of course not, baby brat! I’m giving it all I got!” She tilted the drink slightly to her lips as she rolled her eyes. “sort of.”

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“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

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by **DivineHeart** Tue Jun 19, 2018 10:34 am

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"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

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Sort of?

It felt like a lie and if the rabbit knew anything after pouring drinks to so many figures who spun stories and danced around the details, he knew the tics and cues for a lie. This woman however did not seem to care or not: about the fight nor her character. Hikari’s ears had identified her form, screaming to him that she was off guard and vulnerable. However, his battle instincts and the little exchange between him said so much more. His stance returned as he lifted his heel readily, hands out as if he was to receive another, and-

“Trying to lead to the very end, eh bunny boy?” Hikari caught his breath hearing the woman break her silence. A chuckle followed after further throwing him off balance as he relaxed his posture. “Hey! That’s a good one! Bunny boy…or Baby Brat? Maybe I will decide after another drink!” She casually tossed the gourd back as the woman swept her legs outward and stood up. Her back bent as if she could fall back, but her balance was incredible! Her core kept her on her feet and Hikari could only notice with every guzzle she had taken.

“Y-you’re not a Usagi,” she swallowed and slowly let the bottle fall from her lips, “A-at least not…anymore…how I see it.” The woman’s swerving stance had returned as Hikari said this. Her arms hung limply, a sigh escaped her lips, and her body had whipped around as she spun on her heel. The pivoting weight sending her around in a circle as she channeled her sweeping motion into a ballet-like spin. With one kick, she had sent herself rocketing toward Hikari’s position leaving him speechless as his ears twitched rapidly.

“This is mother’s!” he had to recover quickly!

Hikari had spun with an equally matched motion and rhythm. It was only when she had gotten close did he channel that speed into power. He spun rapidly before whipping out his right leg in a tenacious counter towards the woman’s advance, certain that he would strike her. It was inevitable…even as she had made one sweeping move, turning her back to the rabbit while weaving hand-signs. A pulsating feeling erupting from the woman’s body as she had lightly lowered her head to miss the kick, but yet her body still aimed to crash into the body.

“What?!”

CRASH!!!

The collision sent the rabbit reeling as he was knocked to the ground. Even more so, the woman had fallen on top of him, laying her back against his stomach as he was pinned to the ground. One of his hands was pinned, the other struggled to move the woman, but yet he could not get her frame to budge an inch. It was not that she was larger or his current strength: it was something more. “Why does she weigh a ton?” his ears twitching as if they were relaying a memory instead of his current predicament.

“Added Weight Rock Technique, bunny boy!” the woman let out a laugh as she laid atop of him, reaching out her arm as she grasped her gourd with one hand while the other reached for the grass. “It’s your own damn fault. Don’t misjudge your opponent, even if its family that you try to hold up to your standards.”

Part of him was listening, but the other part was trying to escape this situation. Not only had she managed to pin him down, but inflicted some pain. The rabbit’s body felt like it had been stamped by a massive human body of steel. Whatever the technique was, the rabbit had tried to endure and free himself. Though, it all seemed to be to no avail: her technique was unusual and he was only mystified by her behavior further. “I can’t stand you, Usagi!” the rabbit winced under the weight of the woman and her words, “If its something you ain’t acceptin’, you shun it out completely. A buncha hypocrites expecting villages to give you the red carpet treatment because of vanity, yet you play by no one’s rules by your own. Well…at least that’s how you act now.”

Hikari had stopped struggling. He could not fight against the woman’s physique or logic. Although she was getting lighter, indicating her jutsu was wearing off, she seemed to be equally heavy with her words. “I-I do not understand,” Xenneth struggled as his ears twitched desperately trying to grasp the woman’s voice. It was unfamiliar to him. Clearly, however, she had a grasp of his heritage and style of fighting signature to his own mother. Authentically curious now, his lips instinctively beckoned to ask what his mind was trying to grasp:

“W-who…who are you?”

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“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

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by **DivineHeart** Wed Jun 20, 2018 11:39 pm

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"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

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His body ached, but that would not stop him from getting answers.

Hikari had stood as his ears would twitch to alert him of the woman standing distant from him. Although he could not see her, he felt her staring at him as her still frame made her seem like an erect watch tower. It was only when that he had taken a full stance, his frustration had overcome him. “Well-“ he stopped. Her previous words hit him harder than her body slam to correct his manners. “I-I mean…I-I would like to know who you are, mother.”

The woman had a snide grin escape between her lips. “That’s better,” she teased, “But don’t call me that. You’re right, I’m not a Usagi. At least, not by name.” The woman’s steps were slow and sluggish. With each stamp, she would circle Hikari’s form, and he was aware of every move and the scent of sake that was in the air. The gourd was half-full now, and perhaps it would give some casual conversation.

“Sorry, I certainly did not mean to be mean to you,” Hikari said with a smile and a voice that almost made him sing. "Your moves were just elegant. I just could not admi-“

“For the love of whatever-effin’-God-that-stuck-me-here-with you, kid” The woman rolled her neck as she spat towards Hikari’s direction, “How effed up are you? If you know I am Usagi, then dontcha’ think I would notice those cliché lines and sweet talk? Who do you think taught your mom everything she knows? Not that slut, Umi!” the gourd swished the alcohol arm with a whip of her arm, “Not Hitome, Hideka, or Hiromi! If you keep testin’ me, I’m going to sit on your face, increase my weight again, and then you’ll have the awkward, pleasure of actually dying a sweet death between the only woman who actually gave you the time of day to get between her thighs.”

The rabbit heard not a skip of her heart beat saying this.

Apparently, she meant every word and that had frozen the violet haired boy with fear. This woman was truly a Usagi, and she seemed to go through great lengths of convincing him. He had the aching body from her attacks to prove it like a fingerprint. “I am Yami Uchiha,” she barked as she pointed the finer that was once curled around the small gourd, “I married, and I separated from the family. Happy? Now…what are you?”

There was something about the rhythm of her heart off as she introduced herself, but Hikari ignored it. He knew she was serious about the thigh thing, and that was what mattered more. “I am Hikari Usagi.” he breathed through the aches. Though he could not help but to hear a tiresome sigh of the woman. It was almost as if she was never satisfied. She walked in that same sluggish manner towards the nearby log on the training field, seating herself, and regaining her posture as she seemed to almost fall over.

“I did not ask ‘who’ you are kid. I already know you are Chiasa’s brat…but ‘what’ you are.” Her arm rested on her knee while she once again let out a tired breath. The alcohol no doubt was probably burning her throat. “You are a boy, obviously. I could tell that much while I was kicking your butt. Then you givin’ me those cheesy lines from your clan tell me you lived with the Usagi, which is…impossible.” The woman seemed to actually have a change of tone. Her head shifted upward to look to his direction.

“Has…the Usagi Clan changed how it feels about having boys?”

Hikari wished he had a better answer to give, but he did not. The pleasure of meeting his father had given him so much more perspective. Think about it, his pain seemed secondary, because his emotions were more twisted and pained at that moment more than anything. “I-If you mean about how they stay in the clan, N-no,” he replied, “My mother and father had an agreement with the clan to allow me to stay. The clan benefits from me staying and working as a representative.”

“Ha!” The woman’s laughter split the air as some of the liquid spilled from her container, “Glorified business girls! That’s all they are now! Glad I became a shinobi.” The woman lifted the gourd to her lips. Her heart made that same disturbing rhythm that came from her last lines. It was either she was lying or she was not saying everything. Either way, the rabbit had a feeling he knew how to get answers, and this one he could not simply allow to slide by.

“When you say ‘now,’ about them being business women,” Hikar asked stepping forth, “What do you mean by that? You make it seem as if something was…different.”

This time was different.

She did not drink from the gourd in her palm. There was no smart comment or passive sarcasm. There was not disgust or even amusement in her voice. There was only a stark silence, and then her body moving to stand up. The drunken stupor seemed to almost vanish completely as she turned to face Hikari. “Well then, I can show you better than I can tell you,” her tone was smug.

“I will show you how to be a proper rabbit, kid.”

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“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

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by **DivineHeart** Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:48 pm

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"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

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The kunoichi made good on her word. With every kick Hikari would throw, it was met with air. The woman’s body would sweep and pivot in the most unholy and flexible of ways. Dances became lunacy, and lunacy would become irrefutable technique as the woman dodge every movement. It was finally as Hikari would make a spinning roundhouse kick, the Usagi Clan’s signature sweeping kick, that the woman would counter by flexing her back after dropping to her knees, bending and reaching her hands back before springing her body. Her legs flew upward, overhead, aiming to strike Hikari’s twisting body while he was mid-air.

*THUD!!!*

The sound of his body hit the ground as he slid. His body laying over in a heave as he pushed himself up. His body was more ravaged than before as he stood up slowly, but to no avail. Almost immediately he had collapsed onto his knees, worn out and tired. The woman had moved off her hands that were pushing her body up from a flip. She gracefully landed on her feet as she would blow a sigh from her breath, turning around, and looking upon the Hikari who seemed defeated. She took her time, stamping and walking towards him with her hands reaching to a satchel behind her. A few items were taken as she would let a sigh of breath escape her lungs.

“Your technique is crap in both fighting and flirting!” she bellowed.

“I-It’s a little different than what I am use to-” he beckoned.

“And you make too many excuses!” she interrupted.

In the end, he submitted.

Hikari sat there as the woman took her time treating his wounds with what she had: ointment and some bandages. The rabbit would wince here and there, but he was used to this. Many times over, the rabbits would use whatever potent liquors were around to treat wounds and some fire to cauterize. It was a survival technique among many that they used away from the villages. His ears could interpret his surroundings, even the woman’s movements as she seemed to be cautious. He wondered why, but he seldom to ask as he had a feeling eh would not a get an answer from the woman. He could only let his ears twitch, listening to her breathing and his eyes looked to her in admiration even though they could not perceive her form.

“Y-you are truly a Usagi,” he jumped feeling as if a piercing glare was on him. “I-I am not denying you, I-It is just odd. W-why would you be removed from the clan simply because you were married? If grandmother made an exception for me, then cert-“

“Because I became a shinobi, too.” A small gasp escaped between Hikari’s lips hearing the interruption. “And if we are talking about mom, you know she would only tolerate so much from her children, including if the others complained.” He was right, and at that moment, he felt he understood the stranger so well. He remembered when he desired to date when he became fourteen and curious. The clan had seemed to become an inferno around him that raged with quips and criticism. Even grandmother would give him a talk that day about him not “understanding love” and “His emotions would deceive him.” Being around this woman made him genuinely curious.

“W-well, if I may ask, being married,” his head turned slightly as if he could gaze to the woman over his shoulder, “W-what is it like…to be with someone with the rest of your life and they be there for you?” There was silence…and stillness. Then-

*SLAP!!!*

“OUCH!” Grasping his bandaged shoulder suddenly became a priority after feeling the sound slap.

“Let’s get to work, kid,” The rabbit stood before Hikari in her fighting position once more. Another one of the gourds she packed had been traded off for another that was in her grasp. “We’re going to play tag. Aight’? An old rabbit tradition.” The woman explained as she tossed back the bottle. Hikari could hear her guzzling the drink. The disapproval melded away long ago knowing that her sluggish movements were no joke. He was actually starting to question would things be this simple.

“I do not understand,” he stood up slowly with a heave of his body, “What does this have to do with me being a proper rabbit?” A smolder of disapproval appeared on the rabbit’s face. The training sounded as if it was going to be that which he was used to with his family. The drunkard a sigh of breath. It was one that people made when they hated explaining the obvious.

“Your mom’s a dancer, right?” her fingers lifting one by one, “Umi plays with water and Hitomi has her thing with rope. Ya’ know what the common thread is? Style!” she pointed, thrusting out her finger towards the boy before he even had a chance to answer. “The problem is kid, you have none. You are being pulled on your mommy’s puffy tail with both your fighting style and how you talk to people in your little pick-up lines. In short – you suck.”

“W-well I-it’s just…I am learning the ways of the clan!” he stuttered nervously. Part of him knew she was right.

“Except that's the problem, you’re not!” Yami spat in disgust after taking another swig of her gourd, “The Usagi respect marriages, the Usagi do not mingle with business partners, and the Usagi give back to the people that support them. Everywhere I go, all I hear is bunnies that worry about profit and looking good for the crowd. You are so behind in learning the basics that it’s ridiculous. Sure, mommy dearest is teaching you how, but she is cuddling you. Not good enough! You need to grow up and learn about the world. Being a rabbit does not mean you just have fun with pouring drinks and getting tips and blowing off people and calling it 'just business.' Even shinobi are not that cruel.” The edge of the gourd danced at the woman’s lips as she tilted her nose up. Hikari can feel her looking down on him. “You are so out of the loop, it’s ridiculous.”

She was right.

Hikari knew there were some things about the clan that were missing. Contradictions plagued some of the conversations that happened between family members. Grandmother, even though strict in some regard, had seemed to become relaxed in others. She barely had strength to purvey the ideas of the Usagi, and that was where Umi came in. Almost every day, Hikari could feel the stark difference and feelings that were in a bind. It was a strange thing in a clan that was thought to be immoral.

“I-I…understand.” Hikari agreed, “But…my friends from the villages are teaching me a better way. I know I can do…something as a rabbit and something as a person...atleast.”

The woman stopped drinking as she lowered the bottle to her side. “Friends…huh?” Her voice amused by the word. Her body had begun to take stance. Her left hand up and curling an incomplete fist. It was almost as if she was holding a small cup and her legs spreading in an imbalanced fashion. “You know what little rabbit? You go first. Try to catch me.”

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“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

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by **DivineHeart** Fri Jun 22, 2018 5:37 pm

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"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

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The way he glided through the air made his feet be like talons and true to their nature, they swiped as if they were going for prey. The violet hairs whipped wildly through the sheer speed Hikari pressed on towards his target with his feet. First his right would sweep for a strike and then his left when he roosted onto the ground; but both were null. Each swing of his feet had been countered with an exotic movement that gave him heart-stopping pause. Even then, he pressed forth as he would go into a rhythmic dance.

With every spin, balancing on his toes, and pivoting on his heels; he would keep up the dance. He would score on the game only, and if only, there was a solid hit. She knew this game well! It was evident how she would lean using her center and fall back sweeping her own feet from under herself. Her back laid upon the ground as if she was a klutz who had gone into a fall, but he knew it was not that simple. Hikari pressed on as he leapt forth, his feet coming down for a solid stamp upon belly.

“She acts like she is moving like some drunk,” his thoughts as quick as his actions, “But she is focusing all of her balance to her center to move like that. It is hard to hit her, and even worse, she is up for a counter each time.”

The white fluffy canals upon his head would twitch. Each time they would listen to every bending glade of grass, heaving breath, and guzzle of liquor between the woman’s movements. Her posture relaxed, seductive, as if she was a drunkard without satiation. Her body language told many lies to Hikari’s own ballet, making it seem as if she was unaware of his movements. Far from the truth, she would make a sudden movement each time that was unorthodox but genius.

Body barreling, Yami had avoided he stamp of the violet haired boy’s foot that pounded the terrain. She continued rolling, and he gave chase as he whipped his body forth into an acrobatic flip. His rhythm continuous as her own, eventually, she would come to a stop as she kicked her feet into the air and whisked them downward. Catapulting herself upward, the woman had stood upon her feet once more, and with one lean, she intended to dodge the next incoming strike.

A gasp of her breath shown her surprise over her thumping heart.

Usagi were not usually ones to throw a punch, but it was precisely what the woman did not expect. She leaned avoiding the strike, and was thrown off balance by the next. A spin of his body swept the ground to catch the woman’s foot, and a pivoting on his knees sent him into another sweep as Hikari brought down his hand to fuel his rotating motion.

She kicked up one dodging the first, the second…

THWACK!!!

“Ouch!” She kicked up again, landing on the ground, but kicking Hikari backwards. “What kind of fighting is this?” His voice was funny. He sounded like a parrot as he held onto his nostrils with a clamping hand. His arm propped up his body, but his pride was a lost cause at the moment as, even now, he still could not put a solid blow on the woman. He could hear her chuckling, he could hear her laughing, and then he could hear her let out a coo of excitement.

“Ha! It’s called ‘Suiken,’ bunny boy!” she chanted through her mad laughter, “Now, your turn! What kind of fighting is that?!”

“W-what d-do you mean?” Hikari could hear her laughing. Every bit of him questioning her sanity, making fun of him, or perhaps both. His ears could not distinguish between the two considering the falling kickflip he had taken to the head. He rubbed the sore spot hearing the woman as he tried to regather his strength.

“What? The punch! That’s what!” she called, “Usagi don’t use their hands for attacks in a dance. Not like that! You are pretty fast, and you used your hands to try to catch me with a solid punch! Somebody taught you a thing or two, too!” Her laughter became apparent then: she was enjoying herself. The woman sat up, and even in the darkness, Hikari could perceive the joyous thrill on her face. She seemed authentically intrigued at the style of fighting from the sound of it. However, he had no way of perceiving the smug look on her face not like he could with her hands on her hips as she seemed to lean herself forward.

A smile came to Hikari’s face hearing her praise.

“Wait! Wait! Lemme' guess! Don't ruin my fun! Your ‘friends’, huh?” her form straightening up as she taken her stance once more. Hikari followed suit, not thinking on it, as if instincts guided him back to his feet. He was starting to feel it; there was something to be learned from this...and it was not that this woman was a few carrots short of a cake. If an elder Usagi praised you in the clan, it was considered an honor. This woman, whether of the clan or not, seemed to give him that exhilaration. “Alright kid, now I’m interested! Turns out that you do have a little style of your own. This time, use that speed along those hands to show me something new.”

___________________________________________________
“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

Now Playing: ”Emergency” by Paramore
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Word Tally: 915/5,668 Total

by **DivineHeart** Sat Jun 23, 2018 11:28 am

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"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

__________________________________________________

The rabbit had stood for some time after hearing the woman’s demand. His brow lifting and his head tilting in that same clueless manner as always trying to comprehend just what was she was asking for from him. Something new? It was beyond him! Yet, Hikari tried to his fullest! His charge continued as he went into another assault after the two combatants resumed their signature poses.

The fight continued with movements that had started to become as rapid as a rushing river. Each flow from him or her would collide like an opposing wave and they would reverse their rotation. His movements stayed sweeping like a turbulent twister as he would pivot on his heels and strike with a quick lifting kick and go into acrobatics. No matter how much he would do so, she would make such sporadic and benign movements that made him question just how bizarre she fought.

“Good, kid! That’s great!” laughter reached his ears as he would keep up his rhythm. “Not a snowball’s chance in hell of hitting me, but I love the show!~”

The taunts were discouraging!

Though he had to admit, he had never been this tested before! His dance had not gone on for so long against an actual opponent. This was what it must have felt like fighting an actual shinobi instead of pirates, crooks, and killers. His movements his breathing had to calm itself to continue his movement. His pivot would have to remain consistent as his ears would hear the whirling breeze he kicked up. It distorted his “vision” slightly, making his perception slightly hampered, but the rhythm continued.

“This happened before,” his thoughts went back to his previous time in Konohagakure, “That shinobi.”

Konohagaure seemed to have what was a “magical” charm to the rabbit. Every time he came to the land, he swore he would learn something new! His instructor that was loaned to him from his movement from Iwagakue was very enlightening. Not to mention he would meet a few students who were very enthused to meet someone from the main branch of the Usagi Clan’s houses. They would invite him many places and desire that he work his ‘charm’ to have a little exclusive access to bathhouses and local places to eat from. A memory that caused him to endure nonetheless as he went into a spiraling spin on his heel and quickly swept his foot downward to catch his opponent. The lazy lean prominent still as she whisked her body back to dodge with her hands touching the ground and one leg kicked upward that was intended to be swept right under her.

“Nice try, kid.” Her amusement momentary as a second kick collided with her leg. The rabbit sporadically moving as Hikari seemed to continue his projected rhythm.

“Uh-oh.” A combination that she did not expect, and one that he felt he could be proud of!

The rabbit had stopped pivoting on his feet and let his momentum go to his hands. He balanced himself as one hand reached to the next as it walked. In stride, it had rotated the boy’s body as his legs had beat the air in a circular motion. “I never thought of this,” his mind whirling about with his feet, “If I keep up the using my feet and what my sensei taught me, I can make more combinations!” Such a technique he never thought of before or even practiced with elders due to wasted time on trivial things! Had he been more focused on combat rather than customer satisfaction and little daunting lines of persuasion, he probably would have never noticed!

One leg was batted away, then the next, and then with a push off his arms, the violet haired boy sent himself sailing through the air with one decisive heel-drop strike. His eyes closed as he placed all his focus into listening to his surroundings and felt his heel collide full force atop of something…solid!

“Now I'm feeling assaulted!”

The voice of the woman was amused still. Her hands reached to one another, one pushing at the back of the other to catch the heel that attempted to impact her head. With one mighty push, she parried the assault, sending Hikari back as he kicked through the air and landed afar. His balance returning as he stood up breathing heavily: fatigued and tired. He had one quite well, in his opinion. His potent and powerful ears could hear the woman’s breathing change for once instead of the usual chuckle and humored laugh that would quietly escape between her lips.

“Interesting combination, Bunny Boy.” The names she came up with was getting annoying. However, she was taking things seriously. Hikari’s ears could sense something different from her disposition from before. No doubt, she was trying a little harder, and so was he. One listen at her condescending raspy voice, her sluggish movements, and her obvious drinking problem; the rabbit sensed he would learn nothing. However, this seemed to not be the truth at all.

A gentle smile upon his face, the rabbit had lifted a brow, preparing himself as he lifted his heels. “I will catch you with this next one,” he declared with a smile, “I-I think…I have this new rhythm figured out.”

The declaration, no doubt, was tempting to the ears of the woman. “Ooooo!~” her sung on the air as she lowered her gourd from her lips. With her hand tightening around the ribbon of the container, the black rabbit had pulled it until the container was bracing her knuckles. Her heels mimicked his own movement, lifting from the ground. Her tea cup grasp demeanor returning as she tilted back her head.

“M’kay, Lil’ bunny. Catch me if you can!~”

___________________________________________________
“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

Now Playing: ”Emergency” by Paramore
Chatty Ditz: -----
Word Tally: 959/6,627 Total

by **DivineHeart** Sat Jun 23, 2018 4:53 pm

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Thus I knew no other color rabbits go by.”

__________________________________________________

Fighting? Dancing?

He did not know the difference anymore, but that was how it should be. The Usagi Clan had a thing for combat being like a dance where one would lead and the other would follow to teach. In other dances, both were conflicting for domination making similar moves. In this case, it was the former instead of the latter. Each move he made was countered by the woman perfectly! Hikari, even with his new knowledge of how one could gain buoyancy through his movements, he would be denied a payoff of a hit.

A spinning sweep, and mid-section round house kick, with his pivoting heel swinging his body was he kicked off and risen into the air to make a strike. It was only then when she would jump, sway, and block that caused for the woman be forced to make moves that would brace and guard instead of dodging by relying on her center. Hikari had begun to see a difference in their attack and defense form, and he only became partially satisfied as he done this simple motion in all his steps.

“Good, bunny boy!” she would praise, “Good! Come at me!”

Hikari had obliged her! His ears would catch wind of her words and he followed suit as he could hear the woman leaping skyward. He kicked off the ground, flying into the air. Using what he had learned thus far, his legs would gain strength to fight the pressure of the ascension into the air. It was like a wing beat as he spun kicking through the air as he would attempt to strike her while whirling like a hurricane itself.

There was an impact once…twice…thrice!

He spun all the while, twisting his body with each kick, and finally making a third kick to strike as an overhead heel drop to end his combination. The rabbit felt himself dancing through the air as he done so, as well as the impacts. Each and everyone of them felt as if they met resistance, and his lips pressed, he knew the truth of the matter as he started to fall back down to the ground, touching the dusty training field.

“She guarded again.”

Her landing was graceful, but it was heard nonetheless. Hikari’s breath was heavy as he had been greatly stressed with making such stressing movements while airborne. It was beyond him to use his momentum in such a way, until today. He wanted to try once more! His posture readying as he started to lift his heel and perfect his rabbit-like form.

“We should stop.” Hikari’s eyes widened hearing the woman’s suggestion. The orbs more curious even if they seen not a thing. He stood up, shocked nonetheless, as he straightened his posture.

“B-but why?” his mind grasping straws, “I-I hear no one coming. A-and I haven’t hit you yet, n-not once!”

“Well, that’s the thing kid,” The sound of the rabbit taking a drink from her gourd was apparent if not by smell. “You ain’t going to hit me, not the way you are now. You should practice that more and see where it goes…and you need some work. Sooo…how about this? You just stick with me for a while, kay?” The suggestion was so random. Hikari,let out a surprise squeak hearing the woman who was reaching to her messy hair and scratch through it with her free hand. She seemed intent on not letting go of the gourd. “I mean – why not? You’re a rabbit of a different breed, I’m a rabbit of a different breed, and then you definitely aren’t like dem’-“

“I accept!” Hikari chanted, interrupting her. His head tossed forth as his violet hair curtained his head.

“W-wait, Bunny Boy!” the woman chanted, “Dontcha’ even want to know why I’m going to teach you?”

It was unusual. If the woman was a black sheep (or rather black rabbit), then one would certainly avoid anyone like the plague. Hikari, however, could only think of one thing as he heard of the woman’s background. “It does not matter. I-I just been thinking as all, about learning more about shinobi.” his head lifting to show his misty blue eyes and a smile that complimented them, “Y-you are a shinobi, you have a family, but you seem eager to protect something like the rabbits do!”

It was an unlikely combination he thought he would ever encounter. He wanted to know more about it. “I-I want to learn from you how to protect something, too!” He was cheery saying this. Confident and he felt as if the world and all its answers was before him.

Still, there was something off.

When Hikari said this, that heartbeat that had once gone had comeback. It was an ominous one that garnered his attention. However, he was more interested in one thing; an answer. “S-sure kid,” the woman stuttered, “I’ll…I’ll teach you how to protect something. Just go for now. Go think of something you care about and come back to see me, then we will head out, m’kay?”

He had a sensei…and apparently homework as well! The rabbit was thrilled to hear this. He nodded his head vigorously, at first wondering how he was appalled he was about being around the woman, and now he felt better. It was certainly a feeling much different than the other rabbits he spent most of his time with. He thought of his assignment, enthused, but disturbed as he entered the grove of the woods with a head full of thoughts and a body full of fatigue.

Perhaps there was more to the “Black Rabbit?”

___________________________________________________
“The Black Rabbit cometh!”

Now Playing: ”Emergency” by Paramore
Chatty Ditz: -----
Word Tally: 935/7,562 Total
Notes to Staff: Finished Stat Training - 7,562/250 = 30 Points

by **Yune Uzumaki** Sat Jun 23, 2018 6:25 pm

Approved for 30 stat points. Go nuts!~

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