The Meeting of the Hyuga and the Senju [P/Rei]

It had been a rather quiet morning for Makoto. He looked at himself in the mirror, his hair as messy as ever but he didn’t mind, he just shook his head and went on about his business. He threw on his Senju blue short sleeve jacket and his ninja pants as he walked down the hallway. He grabbed an apple off the counter and some chakra papers as he walked out the door. He had a feeling he would need the papers, and as for the apple… he was just hungry. He walked down the streets past the stores, none of them seemed to interest him at the time. He was just interested in getting stronger within the moment and whatever that entailed . Within a few moments he found himself on the training grounds.

He looked around to see if anyone was there , no one was. Well that was definitely something he didn’t mind. Training alone? That wasn’t too bad but he knew not to do it too often because dummies don’t fight back. Makoto looked at a target log around 5 meters around him. “Well… it wouldn’t hurt to try.” He thought to himself. His goal was to learn Taijutsu today. He knew the basic hand things but he wanted to go more in depth to where he felt comfortable in fighting someone with his body alone. He threw a couple swings at the long only busting his hands slightly. He threw a couple kicks as well, although its not like they helped him on much seeing that he wasn’t that strong. Unlike Ninjutsu, Tajutsu took more than Chakra, it took speed, strength, durability and chakra all in one along with the use of your body. Makoto had been swinging for around 5 minutes straight before he put his hands on his knees to get a breather. “Man… this is going to be a long day.” He mumbled to himself.

WC: 323

[1/3 Posts for Adept Taijutsu]

Like all good shinobi, Rei was the type of ninja who always sought to improve herself. While most of the Hyuga family focused solely and relied solely on Jyuken: Rei's best childhood friend Kazue was a prodigy at her age and that inspired Rei to look outside her clan heritage for skill. As such, she found herself wanting to become more accustomed to the skill of Ninjutsu. She was proficient in Taijutsu, but she was no fool. Not every battle could be won with Taijutsu alone. Even her Byakugan had limits, thought small they may be. I wonder where I should train today. I'm certain father would be displeased if I used the clan hall to practice anything but jyuken. Hmm.. I should go somewhere that he would never expect me to go. she thought inwardly to herself: there were a few places, but the less obvious choice was the training grounds at the shinobi academy.

The training grounds were only used during certain portions of the academy students' training. As such, it was often permitted to be used by more seasoned shnobi as a training ground to hone their skills in a safe environment. After all, who would want to train something like fire ninjutsu in the merchant district? That thought brought a small smile to her serious face. A smile that was quickly ruined as she approached the training grounds to already find someone else there. She quickly decided to sit a safe distance away where the boy had yet to notice her presence. She wore her usual black haori, white waist sash and white overcoat emblazoned with the proud hyuga clan symbol on the back. Per usual, her hair was braided in two long strands, interwoven with training cloth.

She was the heir to the Hyuga clan, and as such, her father had saw to it that she received the proud white coat. It was a symbol of power and importance to the clan. Often Rei found it as a hindrance in practicing Jyuken. Her father always told her however, that clothes are no hindrance if the user knows how to fight properly. Speaking of fighting properly... she thought to herself, breaking her carefree thoughts as she watched the boy hit on the wooden dummy. "Spread your feet wider and lower your waist. To properly perform taijutsu, you must have a solid center balane." she would say out loud suddenly, finding the urge to offer helpful advice to an aspiring melee user. She was here for another reason however and even as she continued to watch the boy, she would place her hands together into the tiger handseal and focus on molding her chakra. Today she would heighten her ninjutsu, and just maybe help this boy better understand taijutsu.
ninjutsu 1/3

Makoto looked over as he heard someone call out to him. "Spread your feet wider and lower your waist. To properly perform taijutsu, you must have a solid center balance." She said. Makoto moved his back foot back a couple of feet to widen his stance. His eyes moved back to the target in front of him as he shifted his body down just a bit. He tried his punches and kicks again this time noticing that they were much stronger than before. The girl knew something, how did she? Makoto would just have to find out. Makoto glanced back at the girl as she was concentrating chakra. But just by her posture Makoto could tell this wasn’t something that was normal for her. Makoto would throw a couple of more kicks and punches as he looked back at the girl. She was in training clothing, which means she was here to put in work just like Makoto.

Makoto would walk over to her as he noticed her eyes from the jump. Hyuga. No wonder she knew about the taijutsu but why on earth would she be out here practicing Ninjutsu instead of Taijutsu. Makoto would just put that thought on the backburner as he spoke up. “You don’t seem the ninjutsu type… The name’s Makoto… Makoto Senju to be exact.. and you are?” Makoto already knew her clan name but he knew it would be disrespectful to call her by that and she would beat his face in most likely. Upon her telling Makoto her name, Makoto would pull out the chakra paper’s he grabbed earlier. “These should help you with your ninjutsu. More specifically your elements. Most Shinobi have one of the 5 basic natures and you can usually tell by the way the paper reacts. If they have the Fire Affinity, the paper will ignite and turn into ash. With the Water, the paper will become very damp. With Earth, it will turn into dirt and crumble off. Lightning will make the paper wrinkle and last but not least is Wind which will slice the paper right down the middle. But you see me..? I’m not normal apparently.” Makoto pulled out 2 papers and held one in each hand. He close his eyes and focused each side of his chakra into one paper. Scorch in the right hand and Wood in the left hand. He would open his eyes and look at the papers to explain to the girl. “On the right. I have Scorch..” Makoto showed her the paper as it looked dried up and easily broke apart. “And on the left.. I have Wood due to my clan .” Makoto showed her that hand as a small twig had appeared with an leaf attached near the top. He smiled at the girl and handed her a piece of paper. “Now you try.” He insisted hoping whatever she had would become of some interest to him.. more importantly information.

WC: 493

[2/3 Posts for Adept Taijutsu]

She watched, pleased that he had heeded her advice. His attacks were more effective and caused him less effort to perform. That was the secret of Taijutsu: form control. Still, she had piqued his interest and even now, he watched her while he practiced, trying to figure her out. It made her somewhat uncomfortable to be watched by a stranger when she was practicing something new: but to be fair, he was in the same position. A senju huh? she thought to herself, one of the other major clans in Konoha. I am Rei Hyuga, first and only daughter of the clan leader. she gave a curt nod to Makoto, wishing to focus more on training than pleasantries. Still, it was only polite that she answer his inquiry. I am new to Ninjutsu. My clan doesn't bother too much with other skills besides Taijutsu...
I just want to expand my abilities.

Upon his explanation and visual representation of the chakra papers, she would also take one of these papers and try it out. The result? The paper singed in her hand and fell apart, just as the boy's had. Scorch element. she would say, noticing the attribute which they shared. Scorch release was a rare and extremely deadly element- it was an odd sensation to realize you possessed such an affinity... let alone also meet someone else with it. What made you wish to learn Taijutsu? I can give you some pointers. she would say to change the subject. It was a lot to think about and she wished to think over it at another time. So instead, she focused on molding and manipulating her inner chakra as she asked the boy why he wished to learn Taijutsu. The senju were known well for their skill in ninjutsu.

Ninjutsu 2/3

Makoto watched her paper do as her paper did as his did. Interesting, he thought to himself. On one hand he didn’t feel as special because someone else had the scorch release but on the other hand he felt really good about it seeing that he had someone else he knew with the scorch release. This gave the both of them a unique way to teach each other jutsu that not many other people could learn. Makoto looked at her and proceeded to answer her question.

“I know that Ninjutsu wont make me the greatest ninja to ever live. Which is what I want to be. The Hokage is my dream and passion and what is a Hokage with only Ninjutsu. Also with ninjutsu the most important factors are patience and breathing. Once you master that ninjutsu will come easy. I promise.“ Makoto scratched the back of his head and walked towards the wooden dummies that he was at before. Getting help from a Hyuga in Taijutsu would be helpful indeed although there wasn’t much she could teach him due to him needing the Byakugan to learn it. He stopped at the wooden dummies as he began to lower his stance and move his back foot back. He started with kicks to get his legs loose as he began to make conversation with her. “So first born daughter of the Main Hyuga Family..? “ Makoto would smirk to himself as he knew how they acted within certain times, almost as if they were better than everybody due to their eyes but he wouldn’t hold it to her because everybody is different.

WC: 271

[3/3 Posts for Adept Taijutsu]

It seemed he too had a solid idea to expand his knowledge and skills, though his aspirations were different. Dreaming to become Hokage was a big goal. It was not a job that she wanted: handing her clan was trouble enough in itself. Becoming Hokage will require a lot of strength,
and not just from yourself. she would say after a somber moment of deep thought. It was a piece of advice to Makoto: though no matter how strong he may become, he would never become Hokage if he didn't have others to support him. She took his advice and continues to breathe and patiently molded her chakra as she thought over the hard path Makoto had set upon himself.

Though she had no desire to become Hokage, she already possessed a great burden. A responsibility to her clan- so she all too well understood the responsibilities and difficulties associated with leading people. One one hand, she wanted to support Makoto's dream. On the other hand, she didn't really know him, nor did she understand how deeply his convictions were: nor how powerful his skills might become. There were many Hokage-candidates out there- young dreams to be the strongest and rule their people with their own ideals. But were they all good ideals? Mature or childish? That uneasiness settled in Rei's mind suddenly, just as Makoto resumed his speech and inquired about her lineage. My clan values rich and generation old traditions. As the sole daughter to the clan head of the Main Family, it is my duty as the next heir to inherit the position of clan leader upon my father's death. she would say, somewhat inadvertently throwing the discussion into a morbid direction. That was enough. She stood up abruptly, cancelling the flow of chakra in her body. She had learned a lot from this training session: in both mind and body.

The presence about her had changed somewhat, whether Makoto would realize that or not was of little consequence to her. She folded her arms and regarded him for a moment, If you wish to become Hokage, you will have to surpass me. she would declare, firmly placing herself directly into Makoto's path of ascension. She didn't wish to become Hokage, but she could at least lead him on to believe that she was out to take his dream. Her real goal however, was to get to know Makoto better through more interactions: whether social or in rivalry. She needed to know his ideals and his skill to determine whether he was worth supporting n the future or not. The future of her clan depended upon the next successor to the village's rulership. In her naivety, she had overlooked such an important fact up until now. No doubt there would be others and she would place herself in their way as well. Meet me at my clan hall, early morning. Prepare yourself for combat. Tell the Branch family guarding he gates, that you have an audience with me. With that, she would turn abruptly and disappear, leaving Makoto to ponder just what he had gotten himself into.
Ninjutsu 3/3

Makoto took a deep breath as he looked at the girl, as she began to ramble about the Hokage. He knew that it was a big task and he was prepared to take it on 100%. Makoto would raise his eyebrow as she said he had to beat her to be strong enough to be Hokage. Makoto would smirk, not that he was stronger than her but the fact that she basically challenged him to a spar 1v1. Before he could speak she interrupted with stating that he had to combat with her for the next day in her clan hall. This would be a long day. Makoto continued his strikes before walked home trying to figure out how he was going to take on a hyuga full on the next day, not only that but a Hyuga with the scorch release just like him.