The clearing where they train the new ninjas wasn't too deep into the surrounding woods, just a small stretch of clear land with grass and an occasional bush. There seemed to be a very purposeful tree standing in the middle of the clearing.
"Alrighty Kano"
Tsu turned around, grinning at the young boy as he held the spear firmly in his hands "Since you're so eager for a little hunting I'm going to tell you something that others don't know. We're hunting a creature that we can't kill. The beast is rare in the wild around here, we've got to catch it in a non-lethal way."
"We have to catch it in a non-lethal way? Then why are we hunting it?"
Kano asked her curiously. He knew how to trap for sport, but not very well. How to hunt for meat was something he knew well enough.
"Ah-ah"
Tsu giggled and waved a finger at Kano "I'll tell all later, when we set out. This is just a little warning, so you don't end up bringing a spear it turns out you didn't need. Now... we're going to practice your none lethal capture." It was necessary to test Kano in this, after all his powers were rather destructive and Tsu wanted to see how he would catch something without killing it.
"Ah, but the spear tip comes off, Sensei."
Kano told her with a smirk as he popped the bladed tip from his spear. "Now it's a perfectly non-lethal staff." He smiled confidently and held up his improvised weapon for her to view it. "So what must I hunt, non-lethally, during this practice?"
"Me!"
Tsu giggled, suddenly taking off and running up the tree behind her. She settled in the leaves for a moment, but not one to give Kano any kind of easy training she instantly took off towards the other side of the clearing, running for the tree line and seeing if Kano would attack now.
Kano closed his eyes and breathed slowly. He knew his eyes would play tricks on him and that while sight was off, the other senses would heightened. An effect that really only lasted as long as one kept their eyes closed. He listened, rather than looked for which direction she took off in, knowing full well that she wasn't going to make this easy on him. With a POOF! he leaped from his spot and took to the trees. What he was known for in his village was his speed, rather than his strength, like all the others.
Tsu looked like a cat for a reason, and she hadn't made it easy. She was already half way towards the tree line by the time Kano reached the bottom of the hill. She wasn't running full pelt, and she wasn't exactly invisible; she wanted him to feel as if he was chasing a wild animal, not a ninja.
Kano could see her, though she was just about out of his sight. He needed to figure out a way to coral her, make her double back and fall into a trap. Of course, first he had to set a trap for that to work. No...he'd have to catch up to her and take her out without harming her.
Tsu turned her head to glance at Kano, seeing what he was doing... what he appeared to be doing was chasing. Not the best, but he was quite speedy and was obviously trying to close in to take her down without really hurting her. She curved around as she ran, trying to escape off to the side so Kano would have to run further.
Kano saw the moment that she curved. He sighed, he hated long winded chases. He'd much rather sit back and lure a beast to him for the quick kill. Though nothing could get one's blood pumping faster than a good hunt. When she curved, so did he, bringing a kunai up from the pouch on his belt. He spun the little blade on his finger and then let it fly with lightning speed. It landed with a satisfying THUNK! in a tree trunk, a few feet from Tsu
Tsu immediately bolted off away from the sound of the kunai, not that it had scared her itself but because she was trying to behave as a wild animal might. Kano had tried to keep her away from the woods, in the clearing, which was a good thing; he seemed to be lacking in ideas of how to catch her though.
Kano knew how it must have looked to his Sensei by now. They've been doing this chase for a while now and still he was no closer to catching her. The truth was, that he was still trying to figure that part out. Without knowing fully what they were coming up against, how would he know how to capture the creature? Could it even be done without lethal force? She had said it was a rare creature, all the rare creatures from his own village were immensely powerful and the only way one
could catch one was with lethal force. He launched himself forward with a surge of chakra, closing the distance between them in only a few well placed jumps. It was a little trick he had developed to compensate for not being very strong, but he couldn't do it repeatedly in an encounter.
Tsu checked Kano again... the boy was closer, but he hadn't realized what the trouble was with this. She was still running. This was why she wanted to train, she wanted to see if he could think of a way to use his powers in a non-endangerin
g way; he'd taken out half the ring with his powers, could he even stop one person from running for even one second and let himself tackle them?
Kano had not been wanting to use his fire-style jutsu, in fear of harming his Sensei. She wanted non-lethal force after all. Fire was a pretty lethal way of doing things. But nothing else he tried seemed to be working. Maybe if he didn't aim it at her though...the idea came in a flash. His hands working quickly to form the hand signs, he brought his fingers to his lips, "Fire Style - Dragon's Breath Jutsu!" A great stream of searing flame shot forth and engulfed some of the trees. He had hoped to be able to make a line in which she couldn't run or she'd be burned. Surround her with fire
Finally, a moment of stillness as she screeched to a halt; the trees were on fire, Tsu had to move quickly... and she moved faster straight towards Kano, head down and aiming straight for a blow in the gut. It wasn't powerful or hard, but they were both traveling quite fast and it was a surprise move.
The move was super fast, Kano wasn't able to dodge it, but it was somewhat expected. having no where else to go, it was clear to him that the prey would simply turn around and head towards him. He brought his arms down to block her attack before she could knock the wind out of him
Surprisingly it seemed to stop the charge... or rather the charge stopped when he brought his hands down. Tsu had stopped dead, grinning up at Kano and nodding slightly "Well done. Now I'm not saying this would work every time... a lot of creatures have fangs and tusks and horns and trying to stop them with your own arms is a bad idea. But... we've got a starting ground."
"Ones with fangs, tusks, and horns are more suitable to capture if some lethal force is administered though." Kano told her with a weak grin. He hoped they wouldn't be hunting something dangerous and not being able to use the proper force
"I said rare, not weak" Tsu pointed out "Some bears are rare, you could call legendary animals rare. This is the problem, this is why I lead you out here and had you train. This thing is dangerous, I don't want my students getting hurt out there because they stand in the only exit."
"I'm sure I will not be in this thing's way." Kano told her confidently.
"Block it's escape and it will turn and attempt to trample you down to leave" Tsu said firmly, nodding to Kano "I also suggest not igniting the entire forest while we're there... Rare, after all, don't want to cause any accidents."
"Once I know what we're up against, I'm confident that I will be able to think of a better way to entrap the beast." Kano told her, not knowing was certainly something that caused great distress
"Prepared for anything remember" Tsu sighed softly "I'll be on hand if it starts to go bad, but I want to see what you guys are capable of doing on your own."
"I am prepared, sensei." Kano said with overwhelming confidence, "Just to know one's opponent would make things much much easier."
"No hints, it spoils the fun" Tsu tutted, wondering when the boy would realize she wouldn't be coerced. "Just concentrate on the not getting hurt and the non-lethal parts, that's the most important part of this mission..."
"I understand, sensei." Kano replied, bowing his head
"Now, run along, tattle to your team mates about every bit of information I've given you" Tsu chuckled, waving a hand towards Kano. She knew he would even if she'd told him not to... or at least hoped he would.
"Yes sensei." Kano said before turning and running back to the kazankage's commissioned apartment
"Mmmm... I always liked the woods..." Tsu admitted as they came out into the training area "I've always had the urge to climb onto tall things..."\
"So I've noticed." Ishiaki told her with a smirk, pulling her to his side as they walked. "I suppose the foliage looks nice this time of year." He offered with a shrug
"I suppose... but I also like the smells... the sounds... it's nice out here." Tsu said again, smiling and letting him hold her against him "The company is nice too."
"Indeed you are." Ishiaki said with a smile as they walked. "You are right of course. The aesthetics of these woods are very appealing, even to those of us incapable of enjoying their sights."
Tsu giggled gently and nodded, licking her lips and snuggling up against Ishiaki wordlessly. He was such a kind man... the flowers, the company... It was more than she'd had before.
"Feeling better, I hope?" Ishiaki asked her, looking down at the little woman beside him. Going for a stroll was not exactly what he had planned for today, but he was glad that it happened.
"Oh... much. Thank you." Tsu said with a shy smile, looking up at him as he... 'looked' down at her. That was still a little disconcerting. "You're so nice..."
"So you keep telling me." Ishiaki said with a smirk. "You are one of the first to say that though."
"And that's why I keep saying it." Tsu said with a giggle "Cause I know you don't hear it enough." She smirked "Why, is there something else you'd prefer to hear?"
"Not that I can think of." Ishiaki replied with a chuckle. As they found their way to the center of the woods, he looked around, discovering that they were truly alone.
Tsu looked around as well "Oh, Ishiaki, we've really wondered out quite a way..." She giggled lightly and looked up at him "You drive me to distraction."
"Is that so?" Ishiaki asked her with a smile. "I've yet to see you walk into something."
"I'm very light on my feet, even when distracted." Tsu pointed out, sticking her tongue out slightly at the man and waggling her eyebrows.
Ishiaki smirked and hoisted her up into his arms, laughing boldly. "Why yes, you are!"
"Come here." Tsu half growled to him, leaning in and kissing him firmly on the lips while he held her close against him. She enjoyed Ishiaki a lot. He made her feel normal.
"Mmmh!" Ishiaki mumbled in shock when she kissed him. He crushed her to his chest and returned the kiss passionately
It surely couldn't have been much of a shock. She'd been wanting to kiss him for quite some time now. Tsu let out a small happy noise as he kissed her back, letting him deepen it if he wanted. She was willing to take anything from him.
It was a shock only in the fact that Ishiaki had not expected it just then. He was planning to kiss her himself, and she beat him to it.
She usually was faster than people expected. In more ways than one. "Mmmm... that was nice..." Tsu said coyly as she pulled back from the kiss.
"Yes. Yes it was." Ishiaki said with a smirk. "So did you have any further ambitions for this walk?" He asked delicately as he set her down gently.
"Oh? How... do you mean?" Tsu asked, trying not to smirk too much. Maybe it wasn't what she was thinking... but maybe it was.
"Oh? You truthfully do not have any plans?" Ishiaki asked her in disbelief.
"A few... things were in my head... but nothing... chained down. So to say." Tsu said with a little giggle and a wink "What about you?"
"I thought the walk was going rather nicely." Ishiaki told her with a small smirk. The chained down comments brought certain images to his mind.
"The walk is rather nice, yes." Tsu said with a smile, obviously knowing what she'd put in his head "But those mental images you're having are rather nice as well."
"Oh? And just how do you know what's flashing through this mind of mine?" Ishiaki asked her curiously.
"Oh... little things... how you stand, how you smell, how you smile..." Tsu giggled gently "And the way you tensed when I mentioned being tied down."
"Perhaps...we should continue our walk?" Ishiaki asked, feeling as though it were suddenly very hot outside...
Tsu giggled and winked, smiling and starting to walk along with Ishiaki. No reason to make his head too befuddled right now.
"You are one...Ughnn...minx." Ishiaki told her with a befuddled chuckle, shaking his head as they continued their stroll
Tsu grinned widely, licking her lips and squeezing Ishiaki's hand "Oh, you know it. In fact I can probably show you how much of one I am, if you want. Not here... of course."
"Of course. Too open." Ishiaki told her with a smile. His hand slipped down and gently pinched her backside, "My place, or yours?"
Tsu giggled gently, jumping at the pinch "Mmmm... how about we start walking towards that cottage of yours hmmm?"
"Knew you had a plan." Ishiaki said to her with a chuckle and headed towards Hirameki Cottage
"Oh shush." Tsu giggled gently "What ninja doesn't have five plans already set up in their head. About everything."
Stumble!