Repayment: Miso Soup To-Go [Sage Mode and Chakra Training][Private]

Yori snickered to herself, finding herself quite crafty. She and Hibiya were deep enough into the woods that it was silent other than the soundtrack of woodland creatures and breeze rustled foliage. It was peaceful and free of distractions. A Nishizaka's natural habitat other than the off-limits sacred area. She sat in the long grass, so soft it felt like a cushion laid at the base of a great tree. Her air was black again today, but much longer than before so it could anchor into the ground. Hands pressed together in front of her, the young woman was completely still other than her grinning face and shifting eyes to peer at her present company.

This is probably not what Hibiya had had in mind when she said her repayment was enjoying miso soup together. He'd probably envisioned a nice little restaurant operated by a cute little grandma, dishing out delicious food from recipes kept as secret as forbidden jutsu. But not so! She'd met him with a basket packed with a thermos of said soup, as well as other snacks and drinks. A picnic! And a shameless plot to not have to train alone. Yori wanted to know what it would be like to train with someone else.

"Once we're done training, we'll break into the basket, okay?" she asked, sensing the natural chakra around her even as she spoke. Her clan was naturally attuned to it, so drawing it within herself and mixing it equally with her own chakra was simple.

(1/10 Non-Summoning Sage Mode)

Chakra control wasn't something that he was used to, mainly because he didn't really need it in combat to carry out his attacks. If he used his blades properly, they should allow him to buckle in a victory within a minute if not less. Yet here he was, fully unprepared to be undergoing out into the forest to have a picnic. At the very least he could have paid for it, but it would probably be swinging at dead air at this point considering the miso soup was already made and inside of the thermo. On the plus side, he was going to be trying to increase the size of his chakra pool today by joining alongside her, though he was standing on the water and trying to balance as much of it as possible. As for why she needed him to be around while training was anyone's guess, not that he was in any position to be questioning it.

"Aw come on, not even a nibble?" Hibiya asked, holding his hands together with both pointer fingers sticking upwards to draw in as much energy as possible. Admittedly though, this was taking a lot of willpower to hold and he was struggling. But he was going to push past his limits somehow with the chakra, and it would be bad if he can't do something as basic as standing on water when he had this much chakra. If the exams were to come up, he would be a laughing stock should he make it to Chuunin without making it.

Of course, he wasn't prepared for the training that was given to him, but he wasn't going to get his clothing wet. At least not his shirt and jacket. Considering Yori didn't even flinch when he saw her full body, there was no reason to at least have his upper body showing so that he could prevent all his clothing from being soaked. As for his jeans, forget them.

"Why are we even doing this anyways?" Hibiya asked, closing his eyes so he could focus a bit more on balance rather than seeing.

"No nibbles. Once you're done playing in the water, you'll be starved. I made sure to pack enough to replenish our energy," the jounin answered the first question, taking care to remain still. Every now and then her hair seemed to glitter, becoming more frequent the more natural chakra she absorbed.

"Repayment. I never specified under what conditions we would enjoy the miso soup," quipped Yori to the second question, obviously pleased with herself. "But I could have asked for something much more embarrassing, like equal exchange," she continued, heavily implying that she could have asked him to strip. From the vibe she'd picked up off Hibiya, there was a small chance he'd have complied on principle, but she was sure afterward she'd never see him again. "Though, I suppose right now you're providing half of that..." the girl mused, glancing at his bare upper half more to tease him than to actually enjoy.

Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Natural energy was all around her, drawing up through her body and hair. If she had to imagine it having a color, she'd image green, and her own was blue. Mixing together how it was made a pretty teal inside her, a color she was fond of. "Besides, I always assumed this would be more pleasant when not alone."

(2/10)

Her reply to having no nibbles was a bit of a disappointment, so much that he hung he head down. Due to losing so much focus on the water, gravity once again played a role and dragged him down into the water right in front of him, a smaller splash considering he was standing straight up, but now he was completely soaked.
Oh come on, that barely counts! The blonde thought to himself, believing that hanging his head down should have not been enough attention lost. Even more embarrassing, done so right in front of Yori as well. Regardless, he eventually surfaced back up on his feet above the water, though now he was drenched and dripping water all over.

"You saw noth-" Hibiya was about to quip, only for karma to strike him with his own lack of focus and threw him off balance a bit. But he then recovered quickly and managed to keep his position firm. Right, try not to lose that valuable focus.

Yori focused a bit more on how she got to choose how to have him repay her, following up with how she could have asked for the same thing that he gave her. This only brought out a chuckle from Hibiya, looking back at her with a smirk and his eyes half-closed. "Well you would just love that, wouldn't you?" The blonde replied cheekily, this time no balance thrown off as he learned his lesson from the last time he spoke to her. Eventually, words and chakra balance wee just going to go hand in hand, the time to develop the chakra pool was now.

"So the boy who met you the other day is the best company you can get?" Hibiya asked sarcastically, leading into a joke. "Come on now, I'm sure you can lure in a few more boys the same way you did me."

"Oh, you're probably right," she replied calmly, even sighing a little. "But stress is so bad for the body, if I strode through town in the buff, some people might not be able to handle it and die on the spot. A good way to weed the healthy companions from the not-so-much, sure, but I'd feel bad gaining company that way," counter joked the hippyish ninja. "And of the healthy ones, they'd either be too embarrassed and run away, or be too eager and distract my training with their grabby lust-hands. You did neither, so you win the prize!"

After finishing that thought, she started laughing to herself. "Streaking through Konoha...I wonder how long it'd take for someone to arrest me?" The scene was humorous to imagine, but it soon passed. She settled back into a more serene state, making sure to keep the balance. It'd be a blight on the clan honor if she turned to stone because she was imagining herself doing something so dumb.

"However, you're off the hook after this. I just wondered what it would be like to train with a friend," her tone dipped a little into loneliness, admitting to herself that it was a little desperate to force someone to train with you for any reason. It was just the fact that she really had no other friends, only peers. "But either way, it's clear you need the practice..." she finished, the witty smile returning.

(3/10)

It would defintiely be an interesting method of gaining friends, but the young lady had enough morals to resist doing such a thing just to get the attention she desired. Lovely how she had to add in the details of him getting shy and flustered after seeing that, in which he turned his head to the side and walked away from the surface of the water before crossing his arms, refusing to get himself any more soaked than he already was right now. "Oh come on now, we don't need to bring up such unfortunate reactions to that." The blonde would reply before letting a little "Hmph" escape his lips.

After that, he would look back to her when she explained that she wondered what would happen if she were to do that around the village. With the ability to imagine that with vivid detail, Hibiya had to resist the thought of that just to avoid slamming his head back in the river to cool down. "I can't wait to see that in the headlines of the paper." He started before then stating the headline of the lovely article. "Local Nishizaka clan member runs nude for friends!"

Her explanation of her wanting to train with a friend left an unfortunately sad undertone behind it, a perceptive Ayano could easily tell. So looking to fulfill his duty as a friend, he walked up to her so that he could look to her directly, attempting to lock eyes even if possible. "You know what I think would make you feel better?" The blonde asked, ignoring her comment about him needing to get better at the training, as he certainly wasn't going to make a mess of himself again trying to prove her wrong. He pointed his finger towards the thermo, looking to at least get a giggle out of her with a joke. Laughter made for a great medicine. "If you let me have some Miso soup. Sharing makes people always feel good~.

Yori stared him straight in the eye for a few moments, keeping the balance of her senjutsu chakra. She could feel it filling and mixing with her normal chakra, and she kinda hated to stop, but it was mean to deprive him if he was hungry. She weaned her meditating. His joking plea was a success, since as soon as she could do so safely she broke into giggles. The ebony tendrils freed themselves from the earth, shortening to shoulder length and playfully snapping him on the arm as they did so.

"Okay, fiiine. Sharing is caring," Yori said in a sing song voice, moving to the quilt splayed out on the edge of the lake. She sat out the bowls and filled them, sprinkling in a bit of green onion. She also brought herbal tea and water for drinking. "Hm, I feel better already," Yori sighed, using her spoon to swirl the little onions around in the broth around the tofu pieces.

"So, Hibiya, what does a guy like you do for fun?" asked the blue eyed girl, a sparkle of interest lighting them up further. Yori tried to keep her curiosity to a minimum, but having lunch was appropriate time for small talk, wasn't it?

(4/10)

Victory! In more ways than one in fact. Not only did he manage to get some Miso soup with the power of charm and charisma, but he was able to get a little giggle out of her as well. It seemed like a perfect recovery from that one literal slip-up that he had when he was trying to focus on chakra. After all, what better way to practice than to do it on a full stomach? So he was glad that he was given the chance to obtain some soup from Yori, ready at last. Hey, he was same as any other guy in the sense that they all loved food, and most would be lying if they said they didn't.

As he began to spoon some soup into his mouth, he was then asked about what a guy like him does for fun. "Hmmmmm..." He started, placing the mouth out from his mouth and holding it with the round end of it pointing upwards. "Well, I never really thought about that. I do love swords, being able to fight with them and using them to cut through many things! Perhaps I could also be a blacksmith, make my own weaponry! Hmmm, books! Reading words off of a page and applying them to the real world is fun, it makes you feel-

He cut himself from going on too long a tangent about himself, catching himself rambling too long to her without giving her a chance to reply to any of them. "Sorry about that huge essay." Hibiya apologized before placing his spoon back into his bowl, this time just spinning it around a bit. His gaze still focused on her though as he then asked her a question. "I know you like swimming and you have something with your hair, but is there anything else you like to do? Or just like in general?"

"Swimming and stuff with my hair. I sound so girly," she commented after she swallowed a mouthful of soup. Her eyes were reflective as she examined herself. "I like to read, too. I love how it comes to life and transports you to another world," she started, then paused again. Was this all there was to her? Everything else was more habit than fun. "I enjoy meditating out here. I like to go for runs and cook healthy foods...I like to plant trees in damaged forests..." Well, she sounded perfectly boring.

Gazing up at him, she gave a sheepish smile. "Like I said before, I've never had a lot of time. Being a jounin keeps me busy. Sometimes missions take longer than expected because I make sure we act responsibly. Fighting battles out in nature gives the false sense that shinobi can let loose without worrying about residual damage, but that's not the case. Just because these aren't human homes doesn't mean they aren't just as important. A healthy earth is a happy humanity," Yori finally ended, realizing she'd swerved into "eco-fanatic" lecturing.

Though she was sure he probably didn't care about her mantra, Yori was unrepentant. She peacefully finished her soup, seeming quite delighted in how she was currently spending her time. In her silence she broke out the tea, finding the herbal aroma even more calming than she felt inside.

He took another spoonful of soup, letting it flood his mouth with gentle broth flavor mixed with hearty greens, one of the more relaxing foods to enjoy out in nature. Yori’s explanation as to what she did seemed rather peaceful and harmless as well, which he can appreciate. Especially cooking healthy meals, making him wonder if she was able to make unhealthy meals too. Based on what she explained to him, the Nishizaka seemed like a lonely homely nature-loving woman, though very shameless about her appearance yet somewhat insecure about her personality. Seems his interest in psychology gave him a bit of an edge when it came to reading people.

“That’s a very collected mix you have there,” Hibiya started, placing the bowl up to his lips before drinking the rest of the soup once the broth couldn’t be reached with a spoon. After sipping the last bit of his meal from the bowl, he placed the bowl back down and a relaxed breath leaving his lips. That was a fine soup. “Between good cooking and enjoying nature alone, I’d say you have great peace of mind. But considering your Jounin title…” The blonde placed his palms by his sides and let his legs rest forward. The stress of the title alone seems bad. “Well, you must have the strength to endure a lot of things in the outside world. Genin and Chuunin, any misadventures you would like to enlighten a genin about before he graduates?”

The light smell of tea gently made the tip of his nose flinch, it was a flowery aroma that blends nicely with the forest around them. Something about it was calming, like a warm aura out in the cold winter nights to gently nurture the lost children in need of comfort. The Ayano could relate a little when he was so young, it brought back bittersweet memories that made him somehow feel warm. “You made the tea yourself? It smells… Comfortable.” He explained, using the only word that could perhaps fit it.

"Mhm," she answered his question about the tea, giving the liquid a swirl before pouring a cup. "I try to make everything I can when I have time. This is chamomile and rose bud tea with honey," Yori told him, placing the cup in front of him. She'd felt like a calming floral tea today, which was good because she was running low on other herbs. A gathering trip was in her near future.

Sipping her tea, she thought back over to events of the past. Was there any she could formulate into advice for a lower rank? Yori turned reflective, her eyes gazing out into the forest though she didn't see it. Scenes from years ago played, the good and the bad. "Well, the chuunin exams are harsh, but as long as you know your abilities well and train your chakra, it isn't so bad. Taking it seriously and showing your good traits will go a long way," the girl advised, raising a finger to tap her nose as she continued to think. "Some of my misadventures won't apply to you, since you're already much older than I was when I became chuunin. Leading teams when you're the youngest by at least two years is tough. Many people put a lot of emphasis on age, and decide your skills and decisions aren't up to standard just because of something as insignificant as how many more heartbeats they've had than you," she continued, then seemed to remember something that would be useful. "On that note, teamwork is very important. Nothing can tank a mission faster than a team what won't work together. Always listen to the squad leader, or you'll fail," she emphasized, swirling the tea in her cup.

The Nishizaka's eyes peered down into the warm, amber-tinted liquid, clearly in another place. She was quiet for a few moments. "But don't misunderstand. Even when things go pretty smoothly, it can still go sideways."

Now that sounded like music to his ears, the soft-textured liquid pouring delicately into the little tea cup was more than enough to excite him, the Ayano looking for a nice natural taste that could bring some nostalgia. His hands cupped around the tea carefully as to avoid letting it spill, though he lost a few drops regardless. The liquid was placed gently against his lips, which opened to invite the tea into his stomach with a light little taste trailing down his tongue. "Mmmmmm," Hibiya seemed satisfied, his eyes closed peacefully and smile that was warm and welcoming instead of collected and calm. "This is lovely, I do hope you use this in your future."

The advice seemed like the kind to expect, though it was unfortunate that none of the stories she could have shared to him didn't apply. He replied with a tilt of his head to the left and lips sealed in a neutral stance. "So I should focus on building the chakra, right?" He asked before his usual smile returned back on his face. It took him a mere second to dash back towards the river before placing his hands together again, excited to draw the chakra back in his body. And hey, this time he managed to stay afloat. Perhaps the tea was what did it for him, giving him a nice refresher to restore chakra flow once again. He felt lightweight above the surface, mind less clustered and more focused on maintaining chakra. "It's... It's working!"

"So you did just need food," Yori grinned, snapping from her more unpleasant memories to pick at him. She drained the rest of her cup, the soothing warmth re-centering her. She moved from the quilt, anchoring her hair into the ground once more and resuming her frozen stance. Natural energy once more began to flow and mingle with her own.

"Honestly, in my time at the exam, many genin failed because they didn't have a deep enough chakra reserve. They had the skill and some nifty jutsu, but they weren't effective because they tired out before it could really shine. With that cool blade thing you do, I imagine chakra is very important," the girl reaffirmed. It was good to see him focused. She needed to focus, too. The stronger she could get, the less likely it was that another incident like that one would happen again. "Now try to cartwheel across the water," she challenged, a mischievous gleam in her otherwise innocent eyes.

(5/10)

"Oh come on, admit that it was just my pure skill~ He taunted playfully as he began to step on the surface of the water, slowly walking and maintaining all of his chakra. It required near all of his attention to do this, and he felt himself being able to slip every now and then. Other than that though, he would continue to step slowly through the surface, just like any "skilled" ninja would do. On the plus side, the blonde was increasing his chakra flow this way, so it didn't really matter the pace as of right now. Every day is a gain in the book of a ninja.

After her mention of how gaining chakra would be his best option and then following up with the challenge would result in him shaking his head. "Oh no no no, why would I do something like that?" The Ayano asked, full well knowing he didn't have that control yet. Besides, he didn't see how that was going to help him do anything when it came to chakra, for he was just a newborn child crawling on the ground. There was no way he was going to do a backflip at that stage, and in neither case was he going to do a cartwheel without a good reason to. "There's no way you did cartwheels for your training when you had to develop your own chakra, that's just too hard for me to believe." The blonde challenged, needing convincing to try.

"Oh?" counter challenged Yori, the temptation to put her sage mode training on hold growing. "I really did," she insisted, seeming very impish and a little prideful. "I worked twice as hard with self-imposed higher goals than my peers in the academy. When you have a disadvantage and despise being hair whipped, you make sure you are faster and stronger. Graduated to genin early and everything," she bragged with exaggerated pride. She wouldn't tell him that with all the meditation in the forest she'd done from birth, developing her own chakra had never been an issue. Just like she meditated now to strengthen her senjutsu power, she'd done this as a child with both of her chakra as if it was second nature.

No longer able to resist, once more the inky black locks freed themselves from the ground and her hands parted. She bolted toward the water, running close to him before doing several cartwheels in a row, then simply showing off with backhand springs. Coming to a stop, she flashed him a smile and skated closer to him, circling him not unlike a shark. "Even genin on missions have to stay above water in the heat of battle. They really should emphasize this more at the academy."

(6/10)

“But I’m barely managing to even balance! Aren’t goals supposed to be only a little harder?” The Ayano pressed as he remained as still as physically possible so he had just enough focus to keep his balance. Wind threatened to sink him to the bottom of the river, the waters lapsing against his ankles as the small waves seemed like currents rippling. No way he was going to be fighting against that right now successfully.

Now that was just unreal to him, her suddenly charging towards him did catch him in a bit of surprise, but at least he was able to track her movements. Regardless of how much he tried to keep up with her movements, she was just straight up treating the water like her own gymnastic stadium, leaving him with aqua-blue eyes wide open with awe. “Uh…”

And here he was on the surface, somewhat unbalanced with his walking on the water. Practice and pushing limits is fine, but that just seems like taking in too much. The blonde had a feeling she was going to keep harping on him until he made an attempt. Even her body movement as she was circling around him felt like that of a vulture stalking its prey. Or… perhaps a vulture. “Okay okay, I give. But just this once…” The blonde submitted before looking back down at the water, only for it to strike a bit of fear in him. “Well… Too late to turn back now.”

Clearing his mind as much as he could, the blonde took a hop forward, the water surface blocking him out for now. A sudden leap to follow it, still being kept on the surface. And at last, he twisted his body to the side, raised his arms out annnnnnnnnd…

Hibiya’s body got wiped into the river, his body falling fast thanks to the lovely amount of force he placed into the jump. It would be lovely to be able to curse under his breath for going along with this stupid idea, but he instead just looked back up and pressed to the surface. After a few seconds, a blonde tuft of hair reached above surface, followed up with a defeated Ayano rising up with it, gasping for air and staying afloat.

“Forget that, never again!” He declared to Yori, though he had no idea where she was at this point. Getting dunked into the water twice in front her was more than humbling to the helpless genin.

She stood nearby, arms crossed against her chest and a hand over her lips to stifle the soft laughter. At least he tried it. She'd give him credit for that. Yori deep down knew he couldn't do it yet, but there's a lot to be said for trying even when it's obvious it'll only meet with failure. Plus, this would give Hibiya perhaps an idea of just how far he'd need to go, but in a harmless way. It was better to consider this situation as you learn and not as you are cornered in the middle of a lake, unable to escape, defend, or attack the enemy.

"Never say never," she sighed as her laughter subsided. Light footsteps on the water brought her to him, where she offered him a hand to get back on top of the surface. "Someday soon you'll be able to do it. I just know it," smiled the kunoichi, not seeming to have a single doubt in her mind that he'd learn it, especially not that she'd shown him how easy it could be with practice.

"Besides, my third mission as chuunin had us surprised and backed into a lake, where we had to actually fight. The genin I was in charge of could barely stand, let alone fight. It's hard to protect three people and fight off four enemies. Sometimes D-rank and C-rank missions are either fraudulent or there are unexpected threats," she said, then made a slight face. She sounded like a teacher. Her heart was in the right place, though. It seemed she cared for his safety.

Never say never, to always discourage saying never when the worst times desire it. "I'll never forget that." Hibiya jested with a sly smile in return, reaching out his right hand to firmly take a hold of her offered and pulled himself back up to the surface. With the most basic of chakra control mastered, the soles of his feet managed to step onto the surface and he stood face to face in front of her. Something about her words told him that she was just doing this out of care, and perhaps a bit of defense against her feeling of being lonely. "Thanks though, I appreciate that." He thanked, referring to the help up she gave him that moment.

But he wasn't going to give up quite yet. Perhaps he can't do a cartwheel, but what about jumping? Surely with his current speed, he could at least hop from one part of the water to another. "Then let's treat this like a bit of a battle then." Hibiya challenged, lightly pushing on her shoulder to provoke a little bit, though he kept his smile in place to show that it was more lighthearted rather than threatening. "I need to be able to dodge, regardless if I'm on water or not, right? I bet I can easily outrun you." Another challenge, not letting his previous attempt at doing a cartwheel hold him back for now. With all this adrenaline in his body, how could he pass of the chance to improve at least a bit? If he were lucky, maybe he'd find an opening to splash her as well.

A genin out running a jounin? That wasn't likely, but something bugged her about the challenge. Hibiya was either goading her...or he could back up his words. Yori was never one to underestimate. Just because he could barely stand on water didn't mean he wasn't skilled elsewhere. She smiled easily, bobbing her head in agreement. "Okay then, a battle."

The girl then did something a little funny. She breathed in deep, clapping her hands together. "May Makami protect my luscious locks," she prayed, then proceeded to wiggle her shoulders to free them of any tension. "Alright, I guess I'm ready.."

Abruptly, Yori dropped into a spin kick, going straight for the weak point she was already aware of. Anything else about the blond boy she was in the dark about, so she'd have to keep her guard up.

Since he didn't really have any intent on attacking her, he held off from summoning the chakra blades, whichw would haev supplied most of his attacks and support for carrying over the water. Instead, he was just fighting with his fists while using his feet to stay above surface. As for Yori, she just asked to have her locks be protected, in which he just let out a light laugh. "Don't worry, I doubt I can even touch them anyways." Hibiya replied. Even if he could do such a thing, he wasn't aiming to attack of sabotage her, just simply trying to evade while on the surface of the water.

Her first attacked launched was a spin kick, though launched at a speed his eyes were surely able to track. The concern he had however was still present, as he knew full-well what she was aiming to do. Approaching the situation like normal, he jumped over the leg quickly to avoid the leg aimed to sweep him. The jump was launched forward, using one of his legs to try to push her back a decent amount while also flipping backwards onto his feet on the water. But if the attempted press against her shoulder were to miss, his lack of chakra control will force him to bite the dust as he would crash under the surface of the water, failing the test already.

Yori simply took the kick, not wanting him to fail so quickly. She remained braced against the water, sliding back from the momentum of the hit. "Very good," she commented, rubbing her shoulder and thinking about her next move. How good would he be under pressure? That was the real test here. She started jumping on the water, making the surface choppier under him. "Uh oh, there's a storm...or an earthquake or something." Once the surface was suitably disturbed, she rushed at him.

Her charge had no attack behind it, but he didn't know that. The pressure alone from the unsteady surface and a foe bearing down was enough to break focus. Should he not move or fall into the water, she'd gently poke him in the forehead.

The ripples she spiked through waves caused him to lose his former sense of balance. A snarl formed on his lips as he began to slow pace to the side as much as he could, but constantly stopped to regain balance. Slowly he was gaining speed, but the ripples certainly didn't help any. "Oh come on, that's not even fair!" Hibiya whined, his gaze on Yori now icy as he thought less of the chakra, relying a bit more on instinct now. Surprisingly enough, he was actually keeping some sense of balance on him now, the waves somewhat calming down, though maybe not in time as the Nishizaka charged at him. The best focus seemed to be the one that relied the least on attention. Perhaps focus and attention are two different things. He thought to himself.

At this point, he lacked the focus to balance, going completely on instinct and treating this as if he were standing on solid ground at this point. Her charge was direct and she had her arm extended. Bracing his feet against the surface of the water however caused him to lose the balance that he once had thanks to the amount of weight he placed onto it. While he tried... He failed when the gentle finger Yori pressed against his forehead was enough to completely knock him off balance, thus now putting him under the surface. Damn it, damn it, damn it! I was so close! He thought to himself as he swam back up to surface a few seconds later, looking up at Yori with a defeated face.

"You win, but I was surviving for a bit!" The Ayano explained, somewhat proud despite the loss.

"You were! Very good," she grinned, hands on her hips and leaning forward to look down at him. What a face! Who thought defeat could look so endearing. "I thought I was going to have to pull your feet under if that last thing didn't work," she revealed her next step, one she hadn't had to take. "I brought dessert, which I guess could count as a reward. How do you feel about pound cake made from yogurt, cranberry, and orange?"

Yori turned her back to him, walking back toward dry land. It seemed her guard was down. Yes, a small piece of her famous (to her) healthy dessert was in order, and perhaps some more tea. Then she could get back to storing up nature chakra for Sage Mode. Hibiya could at least enjoy some more tea before he went back to normal chakra training.

She was already thinking steps ahead, this woman can PLAN while keeping her body above the surface of the water. His own body would slowly come back to surface as his face returned back to normal. "Pfft, I'll surely be able to beat you at this game one day!" The blonde would retort, though he didn't genuinely feel bitter about it. It was a fun little contest that helped him out a little bit, it just came down to a bit of practice before he can actually fight her on water. Who knows, maybe he might actually get into a real training fight and prove his true strength to her? But for now, why rob her of her victory?

Now the dessert she offered to him sounded amazing, and name a man who didn't love something to eat after trying their hardest? "That sounds great! I would love some!" Hibiya replied, noticing her back was then turned away from him. A sly smile was formed on his face as he saw something he could do to mess with her a little bit. This may be his only chance, he must take advantage of it! "Hey Yori!" He called, seeming genuine instead of sly. Cupping his hands together, the Ayano lowered his back to reach the water before sweeping the water upwards. A massive amount of water is being sent her way, meaning that his little prank will result in her getting about as soaked as he was. At least the top half of her should with all the flying water.

"Hm?" she asked, turning only to find a wall of water instead of Hibiya. Her eyes widened, helpless to getting a face full over water. Once it finished soaking her, she stood there, blinking and looking vaguely betrayed, but also amused. "A sneak attack...so that's how it is." The dripping Yori sounded a little evil, the wet hair glued to her face moving itself so one eye gleamed at him. "I thought you wanted dessert...too bad..."

Her heavy wet hair flipped forward, giving a wicked spin to send the water spraying back at Hibiya, not that it would do any good. He was already soaked to the bone, but it was a water fight on principle. "Take that!" she laughed, then ran forward as if she meant to tackle him. Her long hair sunk into the water behind her, like she was readying another spray if she needed it.