Practicing games

It was a windy day, the sun shone brightly but was constantly obscured by randomly shaped clouds that moved along the sky at a decent pace. The brief moments when the sun was partially or fully obscured left islands of shade to also drift along the ground in conjunction with their cloud counterpart. It wasn't raining today, but a good storm would likely be upon the village in a couple days time, so luckily the humidity wasn't that high and made for a more comfortable setting. It also wasn't overly hot on this day, the cold winds that were blowing in came from the north and did wonders to fight off the absolute worst of the heat.

The winds did however cause the trees to have a pretty constant ruffling sound as the leaves brushed against each other and the limbs that held them creaked and cracked as they swayed lightly in the breeze. Seresana listened to this with closed eyes for a moment before cracking them back open to once more take in her surroundings. She wasn't at her usual and special training field, but rather one of the more commonly used ones by the school. A nice little open space of field surrounded by trees on three sides and a pond on the fourth side. From where she stood, the pond was one Seresana's left and she looked towards it first. The glistening waters shone dully in the scattered sunlight, and held several of the traveling shadows of the clouds upon it's lightly shifting blue surface. To the front, right, and behind her were the woods that Seresana was fairly familiar with. The dark brown bark of the trees blending in with the shadows cast by the trees if one tried to look past the first few yards of trees to make it hard to see at far distances and numerous shrubbery offered several hiding places.

Back in the field itself, the long grass swayed lightly in the breeze and lightly tickled Seresana's toes and feet in her wooden sandals. Her black pants with the two ties swayed just a little as well, one grey tie above the knee and the second green one below her knee. Her white shirt tried to sway as well, but like the pants it was also restricted by the three ties that bound it. The black one at waist, the dark green one that was wrapped tightly around her chest, and a final black one that bound her right arm's short sleeve. Her left arm that was spared a tie, was coated in the regular wrap of bandages that it sported. Seresana stood there in the middle of the field right in front of a large piece of wood that had been placed there for the purposes of training. Her hands were already a little scuffed up from her first bout of striking the kind of rough surface, but she was far from finished with the exercise, just taking a break and pondering as it were. "Hmm... this could be a lot more fun if I had someone to practice with," Seresana thought to herself as she gently laid a hand upon the target's surface.

Word Count: 533

Iku had awoken to the day in a slightly more groggy state than usual. Even enough to make her groan in exasperation. Blinking sleep, the unusual awakening of the young Uchiha girl was disorienting. Normally she awoke just fine. In fact, usually mornings were just perfect for her. Maybe it was the way she slept? Had she had some sort of nightmare? She eye'd her shifty bed. It appeared as if she had tossed and turned that night. So she had an uneasy night. That seemed to explain it.

Regardless, yawning and stretching, the slim girl got out of bed, and got ready. After a simple wash, and donning her usual outfit, she stepped outside to meet the new day. The sky was a clear blue overhead, as she peered at it, just under the slip of the small roof of her little shack. The humidity indicated to some a storm incoming, but to those more in-tune with their nature surroundings, they would realize it was a few days off. The trees around the Uchiha complex were all very lonely, while still indicating a very deep natural-connection. They shifted on their own against the breeze that was barely tickled Iku's exposed legs.

What should she do that day? There was training... Of course. Perhaps she should go find... No. Not right now. It would be a simple day of training. That was the plan. Raising her hand to shield another big yawn, stupor left over from the night still plaguing her.

Iku had elected to bypass the current training grounds of the Uchiha, to instead go to the training grounds commonly used by others in her age group. Sure enough, she spotted someone hitting one of the wooden dolls. Obviously getting some early training of her own. As she came forward, she heard the words from the girl she recognized: Seresana. That girl that liked archery for whatever reason.

"Perhaps it will be with me," Iku stated. Her words indicated she understood 'fun', but Seresana probably would refute that the last time they interacted. Iku was wearing her usual white cloak. It was repaired from the last time they met, looking as new as ever. She had been forced to sew it up herself. That happened often enough that she figured it was worth learning to sew. "Ohayo," she introduced herself, lastly. Her words and tone of voice indicated tiredness, but was the same ole Iku-speak. Of dull, disinterested, indifference. Or at least that was how it always appeared.

Actually, a yawn escaped her, as she stepped right up beside the single-inch taller girl. Iku and Seresana did not really look alike, but their heights and frames were so similar that still sort of resembled sisters of sorts. One was just Uchiha, somehow.

{458 words}

"Oh, hey's Iku," Seresana responded as she looked over to the new voice that had appeared to her side. "And sure, if you want to practice with me, I'd be happy to have the company. Though I don't have my bow with me this time, so we can't do that specific practice," Seresana added before looking back to the wooden post she'd been punching. Then she looked to the rest of the field and thought about the other things they could do. "Any specific training you want to do?" Seresana then asked as she looked back over to Iku. "And after whatever kind of training we do, we can go for a swim to cool back off," she added with another little smile.

True to form, Seresana's bow and quiver were no where to be seen, though it did appear that she had her usual ninja tools with her, if the little pouch strapped to her belt was anything to go by. Seresana also noted the yawn and generally sleepy appearance of Iku, but chose not to comment on it for the moment. "If she suggests combat practice though, I'll probably ask if she's sure she's up for it. After all, I wouldn't want to fight when half asleep," Seresana thought to herself. She also noted the repair to the while cloak, but just assumed that Iku's mother had performed it. It seemed well done enough and Iku had never hinted at having any experience with sewing before, so that was the assumption she was running with. Though, this was another thing that Seresana didn't audibly remark upon.

Word Count: 268
Total: 801

Iku blinked lazily at Seresana, then let her dulled, midnight-blue eyes travel along the other girl's body. Sure enough, there was no bow, and no quiver. Or whatever you'd call those shoddily-crafted 'weapons'. The Uchiha girl wasn't sure how she thought about that. It had seemed Seresana was so into becoming "one with a bow", but if she was training without it... maybe her comments on how useless the thing ultimately was, had gotten to the girl. Hard to say. Probably irrelevant. Iku would eventually see whether or not Seresana valued her bow-skills or not. Iku still thought of it as near-pointless though. An endeavor not worth pursuing. How could one ever hope to use a bow to great effect, when throwing kunai was much easier and vastly quicker? It was just superior in every-way. Or at least that was how it appeared to the Uchiha girl.

Actually, Iku found herself wanting to be proved wrong. Perhaps that was why she had previously picked up the bow herself. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wanted to see Seresana exceed with it. Blow any expectations of the crude device far out of the water. Was that some sort of tie between the two? Iku stared at Seresana, and couldn't help but let out a "tch." Finally revealing a tiny bit about how she ultimately thought about it.

"Shame."

The word, and the meaning behind it, and her thoughts, swirling on the whole idea of Seresana becoming a good bow-user had surprised even Iku. What had gotten into her? What did she care if Seresana got good with a bow? Got impressively good? Shouldn't her failure be just as acceptable to Iku? Why did it matter?

Ignoring her unusual thoughts, chalking them up to an unusual morning-sickness of sorts, that she seemed to have contracted, she responded. "Let's spar. I think that could be relatively... 'fun'. Test our skills. Then, we can see where we need to improve, and go from there." Her words sounded logical. Even sensei-logical. Working on one's weaknesses was always a good start. Then you bolstered your strengths. That was what would make a true, fine, powerful shinobi.

{358 words}

Iku's comment of 'shame' didn't really seem to register to Seresana, or at least not on a physical level for her expression didn't change from the cheerful grin she was still sporting. Mentally however, Seresana was proposing several questions to herself over an rather unexpected statement from the uchiha girl, even one so brief as that single word. "Shame? Could that mean she actually wanted me to have my bow with me? That thing is barely a training implement, more akin to a toy that I had just made to have some fun and extra time to spend with my father. Why would Iku care if I had my bow at all, especially after all she'd talked down to it so much the last time we'd tried training together. Hmm, maybe she wanted to do the agility practice again. It's pretty good training after all." Seresana thought to herself while she continued awaiting Iku's response since her thought process only took seconds and was finished before Iku actually did manage a response.

"Uhmm if you're sure Iku," Seresana replied with a slight bit of worry entering her expression. "You do look pretty tired though, but if you really want to, we can," Seresana replied before turning the rest of the way around and wiping her brow with her forearm to get rid of the bit of sweat that had already built up on this bright and sunny day. "Oh, though do you want to spar with jutsu or without?" Seresana then asked as she was still a bit uncertain if she was to use her abilities or not, and silently, Seresana hoped she wouldn't given the promise she'd made.

Word Count: 280
Total: 1081

Iku had noticed Seresana considering her previous word 'shame'. Even if it had only been brief. The Uchiha girl herself wasn't quite sure what she had totally meant by the word. It had just sort of... slipped out. In truth, it was probably better that Seresana had given up on that little ramshackle of a toy. It could only hurt her growth in other more useful areas, right? The time she spent shooting one arrow from a bow, straight at a sitting target, could be better spent throwing multiple kunai, at more dynamic targets, for instance. Or it could be spent on chakra manipulation. Or it could be spent on sparring with an actual partner, working on hand-to-hand, and close-quarters combat, which would eventually end up being the primary form of fighting between shinobi. Even if a quick arrow at night could silence an enemy without them knowing. In the end ninja got down to the nitty-gritty of fist-fighting more often than naught. Yep. It was probably better Seresana broadened her horizons, and left that child's toy in the dust.

Yep.

Right?

Definitely.

Iku frowned, and tilted her head at Seresana's words. "I appear tired? I suppose this morning did not agree with me too well. I spent some extra time at the Uchiha library last night. -Late last night. That might be it. Or maybe my breakfast was unsatisfactory." She let out a shrug. Which seemed more casual than Iku was normally capable of.

Seresana did not seem to keen on the idea of sparring. Certainly it was not just because of Iku 'appearing tired'. Blinking, she glanced around, taking in their surroundings. This was not the usual spot for Seresana, that much was obvious. Even for Iku, using more common grounds wasn't usual practice. The Uchiha girl often made use of the Uchiha facilities. It might have just been some sort of coincidence that lead both girls to that particular training spot that day.

"I see you're in a different training area than normal, today," Iku commented simply. "Any particular reason for that?" She inquired, turning her usual blank gaze back on Seresana. "Jutsu? Do you know any more than the usual Academy fluff? If we use jutsu, I assume I am allowed my Sharingan, then?" It was a question for sure, but had a side of dare attached to it. Would Seresana concede that a Sharingan might be too much for her? Or would she rashly accept the challenge placed before her? Even if Iku was tired, her Sharingan would definitely help cover for some of her missteps in combat.

{427 words}

Watching Iku contemplate her own responses and actions, Seresana let her hand drop from the wooden target she'd been striking before Iku had shown up while thinking back to why she was actually here and training. Sure this hadn't been her usual training spot, the reason for that was actually fairly simple to figure out. The tree stump in her own little training spot a bit outside her house was riddled with holes, grooves, scratches and other similar things that made the the surface of the stump's surface incredibly rough and not a fit surface to practice striking against lest she wanted to destroy her hands. As for why she was at this particular training spot, it was just the first one she came across on a random stroll in the morning. There hadn't been any prior meditation or purposeful selection used in the choice, just simply chance and convenience had presented themselves in that manner this morning and Seresana had taken up the offer it presented.

Seresana also listened as Iku explained away the tired appearance and the yawns she'd had. She winced ever so slightly when Iku said the morning didn't agree with her, but the expression barely lasted a half second before her usual casual grin was back as she continued to listen to the potential reasons for Iku's disposition.

Then she followed Iku's glance around the training ground. It's grass was a bit long, but not too much that it would truly be detrimental to their activities regardless of what they might have actually been. There was also an ample amount of space before the tree line became a present factor.

And then Iku finally voiced a question and Seresana responded with the partial reason. "Not really, I was just out for a walk and this was the first place I found," Seresana replied with a fairly small and brief chuckle. Then came Iku's response and counter question to Seresana's proposition about using jutsu. She paused for a moment to try and think of what she did know and found her list a bit short, not really holding too much that would be that helpful in a sparing match. Sure, she knew how to make things thrown suddenly fly a lot faster, but that was kind of dangerous given the only things she could throw were rocks, sticks, or her actual ninja tool weapons, hardly the things for just some friendly training or sparing. And then there was the levitation jutsu she knew, but that was only really useful to creating some additional distance between herself and her target, or getting up to someplace she couldn't reach even with a jump. Seresana however still was curious about the mention of this sharingan as she'd never seen it used before and had to admit to being a tad curious about it. "I wonder what it looks like, and how much of a different can it actually make?" she asked herself as she looked at Iku's eyes. "I don't know any jutsu that'd really be appropriate for this sparing practice, sorry," Seresana admitted first off with an apologetic expression. "But if you want to use your sharingan anyways, you can," Seresana added as her grin reformed and she stood there.

"I think it could be fun, and I've never seen what such a thing is capable of. The sharingan is special to the Uchiha's, right? It's their special eyes, thing? What was it called... oh! A kekkei genkai! Yeah, it sounds like fun to me so you can use it if you want to," Seresana added as she took a few steps away from the post she'd been using for training and adopted a ready stance. Her left foot was just a bit ahead of her right foot, and her feet made an 'L' shape with the back right leg being more directly under her than the front left leg. Both of her knees were bent just a little bit and the stance seemed rather relaxed. Seresana's body was turned at an angle so it wasn't directly facing Iku, and her left arm was raised defensively with the elbow down and her hand left open while the right arm was held a bit away from her body, with the elbow pointing down as well and once again the palm being left open. "Ready when you are," Seresana said from her fighting position.

Word Count: 733
Total: 1814

"Kekkei Genkai, yes," Iku stated at the time of the question, posed to her, just a millisecond before Seresana, herself, remembered the words. In case she didn't know what it meant, the Uchiha would enlighten her. "It means 'Bloodline Limit'. A clan specific ability. The Uchiha clan has the Sharingan, the Hyuga have the Byakugan, and someone like..." she trailed off, thinking of another clan. Iku knew other clans, but she wasn't sure what other clan's Kekkei Genkai were. She assumed there were others. She was even sure she knew some other Kekkei Genkai, from studying scrolls late at night in the Uchiha library, but for whatever reason, nothing was coming to the top of her head. Though she had that irritating feeling one would get, when someone had something at the top of their head, but just could not recall.

Perhaps Seresana knew some. Iku decided to inquire. "Seresana, are you in a clan? Perhaps you, too, have a Kekkei Genkai. I admit, the thrill of testing our Bloodline Limits against each other! Well, that is, if you had one."

Tilting her head lightly, she thought about it. "Are you sure you don't? I did not want to deter you from using jutsu, if you thought you could pull ahead with some sort of technique. In a way, it could be similar to you using your bow. A way for me to train just a bit harder." She shrugged. "If you don't think putting any jutsu in is worthwhile, then that, too, is fine."

Iku, with a sinister grin, stood a small distance away from the other girl, readying her own stance. Which was similar to Seresana's, but a bit more tucked in. A feint basically, to make one think she was slower than she actually was. Also, that particular stance had another purpose. Iku was still not the tankiest of people. Any blow could and would cause her some significant damage. Defensive stances would aid her a long way, when she wasn't in all-out aggression. "Perhaps I will surprise you with the Sharingan... Though, I am unsure if you are ready for it."

{352 words}

Seresana didn't change her stance as Iku fell into a similar one, though she was still smiling while she replied to Iku. "I'm a Hatasuko, which is a pretty long standing family line, but we don't have any Kekkei Genkai or other special abilities," Seresana replied to the first question. "And I know a jutsu to help out my arrows that wasn't taught in the academy, but well, I don't have my bow with me so it wouldn't do much, so I won't bother with it," she then went on while sliding her leading left leg just a little to the side to widen her stance a hair and shift her torso a small bit so that it was facing Iku a bit more. "As for your Sharingan, we'll just have to see," Seresana said before suddenly sprinting forward towards Iku. Sure she didn't really know what the Sharingan was truly capable of, but to her the best was to just start the fight right away and find out.

As Seresana got close, she suddenly side stepped just a small bit with her left leg, before leaning onto it as well. Her right leg was then lifted, tilted to the side along with her lean. With the rise of the leg, the knee was bent and lifted as well, before it was suddenly snapped out to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick delivered with the top of her foot. While the kick traveled, Seresana kept her guard up, still not wanting to take too many chances against an ability she didn't really know much about.

Word Count: 265
Total: 2079

Stamina: 320
Chakra: 600

Combat Stats
Attack: 49
Strength: 15
Toughness: 9
Agility: 41
Speed: 40

"Hatasuko?" Iku repeated in a slight incredulous voice, with a question posed in her tone. She wracked her brain for that particular clan. Maybe they were rather reclusive or introverted. The Uchiha clan itself was quite tight-lipped, and clan members often only kept to the clan. The Uchiha clan loved their secrets. And Iku loved discovering and rooting out those deep, dark secrets. She thought maybe she had heard of Seresana's clan, but she couldn't be too sure. Perhaps they too, had their own little dark secrets? Intriguing... Iku narrowed her eyes.

"No, Kekkei Genkai?" Iku repeated, clenching her fists. For the Uchiha girl, that sounded almost like a challenge. Was Seresana lying to her? Or perhaps the girl merely didn't know her own clans secrets? Clans often had their own Kekkei Genkai. It was almost what made them clans. That wasn't true for all clans obviously. The Nara clan, or Yamanaka clan did not possess any Kekkei Genkai. However, they did possess certian secret clan jutsus. Which was almost the same thing. Perhaps Seresana was telling only half-truths, and she actually knew some secret clan jutsus.

That really got Iku curious. For someone that wanted to learn all jutsus there were, Seresana's mysterious 'Hatasuko' clan was very fascinating to Iku. She would definitely have to snoop and learn more about it later. Perhaps this 'friendship' with Seresana could be of use in learning about the other girl's clan. Perhaps she could even start right now.

Iku's eyes tried to keep an intense watch on Seresana's movements. Her previous training seemed to have been paying off. She saw the snap and the pivot, and that sharp movement. It was crude, and seemed like it needed more refining. Which was probably why Iku could keep up with it. If Seresana were more than an Academy Student that particular move would be far too difficult for Iku to keep up with. Her Sharingan would have been absolutely required. Even now, it would make this easier. But not yet. It was not needed just yet.

Iku's hands clasped together and she blocked the sole of Seresana's kick, right in her palms. It caused her to skid just a tad. That had been the strength behind the attack, coupled with Iku's relatively low stature. That only served to annoy the Uchiha. They were basically the same height and stature, so Seresana would need to be pumping out some serious offense to really stagger Iku, that much was certain. Or at least, that's what Iku surmised.

"Impressive," Iku stated, eyes squaring in on Seresana. "So you have no Kekkei Genkai? Perhaps you know some special clan jutsu though? Like something your mother taught you?" Could she get Seresana to spill? Did Seresana know anything? Was she naiive and chatty? Iku only hoped.

Words: 462

Stamina: 475
Chakra: 745

Combat Stats
Attack: 62
Strength: 13
Toughness: 6
Agility: 69
Speed: 70

Rather than reply just yet, Seresana pivoted her stance to a more square shouldered one and in the next instant, sprang up from her back left leg while stepping down with her right one that was against Iku's hands. The intended action was to almost step up on Iku's hands, using them like a step up to suddenly put her in the air a few feet off the ground before twisting her hips about to deliver a second round house kick at Iku's head with her left leg now that the right one was below her. Even if the step up failed, the act would still put Seresana in the air a bit from the spring up of her back left leg to deliver the kick while her right leg went to standing. And all the while, Seresana's hands still maintained their guarded position to protect her body.

"Nope, the Hatasukos are just a long standing family in the village. My mom and dad aren't even ninja," Seresana added as she delivered the attack. And tot he best of her knowledge, neither of them were ninja for Seresana had never seen either sporting one of the headbands, taking on missions, or disappearing for long times... Well technically that last one wasn't true as her dad did occasionally disappear for extended amounts of time, but that was on longer hunting trips or more distant errands he had to run, not missions. She'd even accompanied him a couple times on those hunting trips and the memories of such she treasured.

Word Count: 259
Total:2338

Stamina: 320
Chakra: 600

Combat Stats
Attack: 49
Strength: 15
Toughness: 9
Agility: 41
Speed: 40

Iku felt a twinge of irritation when the girl had the audacity to use her hand as a spring to leap into the air. She should've punished her for that, by snatching her foot, and pulling her back down, smacking her hard into the ground, but it was too late. Perhaps her Sharingan would've seen it coming, thus letting her know how to respond. There might have even been a better response. Or perhaps it didn't matter regardless.

Did her ears hear right? Seresana's parents weren't ninja? Was that possible? Well, Iku knew there were regular citizens in Konoha. It just never registered to her that people simply did not train to become ninja. Did they attend the Ninja Academy? No, right? Then... what? How odd. Her parents were ninja, that much she knew. She could not help, but voice her surprise, "Really?" her question loosed, as she nimbly avoided the air-borne kick.

With a swivel, scuffing the dirt, Iku spun around, and flipped, putting some distance between her and Seresana. She poised, then narrowed her eyes. Seresana had some good moves, probably from honing her agility, and coupling it with her speed. A type of fighting style that Iku herself was quite adept in. A grin spread over her lips. So it was agility and speed, versus agility and speed? How interesting. May the fastest win.

Words: 225

Stamina: 475
Chakra: 745

Combat Stats
Attack: 62
Strength: 13
Toughness: 6
Agility: 69
Speed: 70

As Seresana's kick hit only open air, it threatened to send her into a spin, something she didn't fight in the least as she twirled about in the air before landing with a slight skid as her feet fell back into place on her stance. Though when she landed, Seresana kept her guard up but her expression seemed mildly puzzled and like it was kind of distracted even with her eyes resting right on Iku. As if while she was looking right at the Uchiha girl, she wasn't really looking at her and instead was deep in thought.

"Ye- yeah, neither of them are ninja as far as I know, and I've lived with them my entire life, so I think I would have noticed if either of them left to go on missions or kept ninja gear around the house, but so far mine are the only tools of the trade I've seen about. Is it really that strange to not have ninja parents?" Seresana asked after a moment of this thought and reflection back to what she'd seen her parents doing around the house. "For them not to be ninja? Some people have to actually fix the village and houses up from time to time you know, and that's something my dad does when he's not busy hunting, trapping, fishing, or crafting. And all the while my mom takes care of the house, and my little brother," Seresana added in before she broke her stance, pulling the back leg forward to join it's leading companion and letting her arms lower to her sides. "I do have a lot of stories my dad's told me about the Hatasuko family and it's role in the village's life. There's a lot of ancestors and such who did important things during their times and I could relate a few of them if you'd want to take a brief break from the sparring practice. We could pretty easily pick it back up afterwards," Seresana suggested from where she stood. With her stance no longer there and her arms at her side, it would appear that Seresana wasn't properly set to react at this point, though that just as easily could prove to just be a trap to lure Iku into a false sense of security, or perhaps just unsettle her with the unpredictability of the standing position. It was hard to tell.

Words: 400
Total: 2738

"If you're parents are not ninja, then why are you training to become one?" Iku posed the question immediately after Seresana began speaking: her question if it was unusual to have non-ninja parents. She retained her position, and her stance, even as the other girl folded back, dropping her own fighting stance. Frankly, it was slightly surprising.

Raising her eyebrow, even at the words of Seresana, Iku commented, still positioned to fight. "You say that as if you're remorseful of others who have ninja parents. My parents are important, too. They've gone on many missions, defending the quaint little life your parents have lived. Your mother or father fix a roof here or there, or pick up some trash to make the streets look nice. But my mom and dad have fought in the heat, and in the cold, each mission threatening their very lives. While your father has the option to take you out on some father-daughter date to the woods, to practice archery, my father is out fighting against enemies stronger than any bow could handle. One wrong move and he could die."

She spoke adamantly about it, but in truth, rarely kept tabs on her own parents. Even speaking the words made Iku think on the issue. What were her parents currently doing? They had their own place in the Uchiha clan, she knew that, but she didn't know if they had survived their latest mission -whenever that had been. Perhaps it was time to give them a 'looksee', for posterity sake.

She lowered her guard, moving to a more comfortable standing position. "You want to stop, right after we just begin?" Iku cast her gaze down momentarily, then shrugged. "Sure, regale me one of your stories of your parents, or your ancestors, and how their work was so vastly important to the well being of the city," she said decisively, with a wave of her hand. Like that, she walked across the dusty clearing, and sat atop a stump, reaching for some water she had set aside, before conversing with Seresana. She sipped at it, looking her blank eyes over to the other girl expectantly.

{356 words}

Seresana stood steadfast under the criticisms of the other girl, not wincing or wavering under the almost harsh words that could have been interpreted as Iku saying her parents either took for granted their easier life, or weren't as important as ninja parents might be. It wasn't that hard though really given Seresana's disposition. She was always happy with her parents and what they did to make life not only better for the family, but also for those around them and her father's clients. It reminded her of something her father had once even told her, that a battle is not won on strength alone. A commander must also look to strategy, the terrain, the weather, and the upkeep of their soldiers which was where her dad fit in. He was one of the few who made the effort to keep the fighting force up and able to fight with good equipment, a good place to rest and recover, and good food so they were fighting at their best.

Then came the second surprise for Seresana that day, Iku actually lowered her guard and seemed interested in Seresana's proposed stories, even going so far as to actually ask her to share at least one of the stories of her father's ancestors, though Seresana was a bit too wrapped up in the disbelief about that part to notice the level of bored disinterest that Iku also seemed to be expressing. So Seresana quickly walked a bit closer to Iku as she sat on the stump, a simple reflective grin on her face as she cycled through the various tales her father had told her over the years, trying to find one that would prove the most interesting. "Hmm... Ii could tell her about great great grandma Miyo and her medical accomplishments, but that story isn't very exciting. There's also great great great uncle Okiju and his quick fixes to the walls around the village that helped fend off an attack from one of the neighboring villages, but I can't really remember all there was to that one, I'll have to ask dad to tell it to me again," Seresana thought to herself before her eyes lit up with a choice finally being made.

"Alright then, I'll tell you the tale of one of my distant ancestors, Mursuka Hatasuko, a hunter and trapper like my own father. It was long ago, back when the village wasn't nearly as strong as it is today. Mursuka had been hunting and setting traps for game when he accidentally discovered a ninja from the land of water scouting out the village. Curious as to why a ninja from a different land was scouting out our village, Mursuka tracked him when he departed and found an army of ninja waiting outside the leaf's boarders, getting ready for an attack. Mursuka rushed back to the village to warn them, but he was dismissed under the notion that he wasn't a ninja and wouldn't have been able to successfully gather such information without being one. Despite that though, Mursuka knew what he saw and he had no will to see the village attacked, so he went about doing what he could to stop the attack."

"For the rest of the day, the following night, and clear into the following day, Mursuka made a great many traps in the woods surrounding the village, using everything he had at his disposal to make them all but impossible to see and as deadly as could be. It was dangerous work, and he nearly got caught more than once, but the water ninja weren't used to the dense forest that surround our village and he used that to make sure he wasn't spotted. Later that night, the water ninja attacked with the thought that they would be able to sneak into the village undetected and kill them all under the cover of darkness, but that also meant that the already well hidden traps were just that much harder to spot. The first screams were barely a prelude to the cascade of them that followed as the first few groups to fall prey to Mursuka's traps simply assumed that they were hunting traps set to catch game and the like, not ones hidden away to kill the invading ninja. More and more water ninja were felled by his traps, but there was still a bit over half the force that managed to nearly reach the walls, only to set off Mursuka's final set of traps. Now all this time, the screams had alerted the leaf ninja that something was up, and so a lot of them were already on their way to the gates and walls to see what was going on when the final traps were triggered. A brief sizzle and then a high pitched whistle were all the warning the invaders got before a series of fireworks erupted in the skies over them, triggered by the traps Mursuka had left, not only blinding the water ninja with the bright lights, but also exposing them for the leaf ninja who were already on their way to investigate the screaming."

"The battle that followed was all to brief, and the invaders were repelled with only minimal damage and injury on our part. In the aftermath of it, the current Kage himself asked who was responsible for setting all of those traps and quite possibly saving the entire village, and when he heard that is was Mursuka who'd managed it despite being dismissed so disrespectfully before, the kage himself thanked Mursuka for his service and as a token of his appreciation, offered him a boon. That boon is the land that my house is currently built on, where the Hatasuko's have lived for many generations and continued to do all they could to help the leaf village despite the lack of powerful ninja members, amassed wealth, or noble standing," Seresana concluded her tale with a relaxed sigh. "Though that story is pretty old, I could tell you about a more recent ancestor of mine, like Wasseyne who helped save one of the hyuga families after their house collapsed on top of them during at attack. Or I could tell you about Miyo the doctor who worked with the medical team that saved the village from a plague, if you'd like to hear more that is," Seresana went on, though those two were only a couple of names off the top of her head. In truth, she could go on for hours about her various ancestors and what they'd done throughout history to help the village throughout it's long history.

Word Count: 1100
Total: 3,838

Iku stepped forward as Seresana came over. When the girl sat atop a tree stump, the Uchiha girl stood in front of her, staring down at her with her dull midnight blue eyes. She didn't open her mouth or move, as Seresana began to recite some tale about some great ancestor that Iku quickly found out was named Mursuka. A trapper like the girl's father. It seemed that profession ran in the family. Which was probably why Seresana herself had seemed so keen on training with the bow and arrow.

As Seresana went through the story of this great amazing person in her family tree, Iku made no noise, and in fact was eerily still as she listened. It was almost as if the Uchiha was a statue, or had long since gone and been replaced by a fake clone of sorts. Seresana drilled on, probably not even noticing just how vacant and still Iku was.

When her story had concluded Iku once again moved. Heck, she breathed in, as if she had not even took in a single breath the entire story. But that would not have been possible. "Intriguing," Iku responded thoughtfully. "Sounds farfetched. But before you jump to the defense, let me say that farfetched does not mean impossible. I don't know just how you and yours keep records, if by spoken word is the only way, then I can foresee such a story becoming.." she made a small shrug, "'Inflated' so to speak, over time. However, stories like this hold a ring of truth somewhere. This 'Mursuka' sounds like an amazing person." Even while she praised him, her tone never shifted from dullness. "Your family sounds similar to the Uchiha clan. While we are not 'trappers' by name, our clan often employs such unsavory tactics to win fights. Heck, we even share some qualities from the water ninja in your story. Using subterfuge, cover of night, and nasty hidden attacks to deal with our foes. It's common Uchiha blood. We also fancy power, though. Which is the opposite of one who fights with tools, such as your father, Mursuka, or yourself when I first met you."

Iku's eyes cast away, out towards the forest. She seemed lost in thought. "Now. The tales of this 'Miyo', and "Wasseyne'."

{378 words}

"Alright, but umm... Miyo's tale isn't very story like I'm afraid," Seresana forewarned before starting on the old story. "Well many years ago, well before even my dad was born, a terrible sickness started to plague the village. It spread like wildfire, infecting dozens of villagers within the first few days of it's appearance, but what was truly nightmarish about this infectious disease was that medical ninjutsu didn't seem to have any effect. As the disease continued to spread by unknown means, the village put it's doctors together into a think tank to come up with a cure, and Miyo was on that team. It took some time, but the think tank was eventually able to find a way to cure the disease as well managing to figure out how to stop it's spread. The individual accomplishments of the medical team weren't disclosed and the whole group was accredited with the breakthrough so I'm not too sure who did what unfortunately," Seresana concluded rather anti-climatically with an apologetic smile.

"Wasseyne's tale however is one rightly known and recited by the family. It happened during one of the great shinobi wars, in the aftermath of an attack on the village hidden in the leaves. During the attack, a lot of fighting broke out in and around the hyuga district, and while the invaders were repelled by the might of the hyuga clan, the area sustained fairly heavy damage. The fighting however was still going on while Wasseyne was there as he'd been on a job to repair a balcony that had been damaged in a recent storm. As Wasseyne was trying to get out of the district and away from the fight itself, he heard the cries of a child beneath the rubble of a destroyed house. Instead of just fleeing like most of the non-combat trained people were, Wasseyne turned around and ran over to the toppled structure. The roof had caved in and most of the walls had fallen out making the scene rather bleak, but the cries continued and so Wasseyne continued to search for their source. Eventually and with the fighting still going on around him, Wasseyne found the source, a couple kids who were trapped under a chunk of the roof along with their unconscious mother. Wasseyne worked as quickly as he could, first clearing away what he could from the roof so it would be lighter, and then he found a piece of pillar. Using every ounce of strength he could muster, Wasseyne lifted the collapsed roof and wedged the chunk of pillar under it so that it would stay up by itself. Then he got down and helped pull the mother out while the kids scrambled out as well. The four of them then made their way out of the district and the fighting with Wasseyne carrying the unconscious woman all the way to the hospital. When the fighting was over, and the father was reunited with the rest of his family, he asked if there was any way he could repay Wasseyne for saving them. Out of all the things he could have asked for, Wasseyne only asked that when it came to rebuilding their house, they remember his name and hire him," Seresana concluded the tale with a more confident smile as she looked towards Iku to see what she'd think of the two stories, even though the first one was a little lack luster since a lot of the details weren't disclosed. Still, they were two more of her ancestors on her father's side that weren't ninja but still managed to do some real good for the village.

Word Count: 607
Total: 4,445

Seresana waited for Iku's reply for either some more stories or for the request to resume their fight, but then she caught sight of the sun and saw just how far it'd already set. With a bit of a gasp, Seresana apologetically bowed to Iku. "I'm so sorry for this Iku, but I've got to go. We can spar or swap stories again sometime if you want, but I can't be late," Seresana explained before straightening back up, turning about, and bolting off away from the little area. "Sorry again, I'll seeya later!" Seresana called out before getting too far out of ear shot.

Word Count: 105
Total: 4,550

(Seresana exits the thread, I'll leave it unlocked for you to make one more post if you want, but I think I'm done waiting on this.)