Hikaru strode up the path to Kitsune Park, throwing a glance at the afternoon sun to guess how many more hours of daylight she had. Clutching the straps of her bag in one hand and a sheet of bright paper in the other, she rounded a corner quickly and passed underneath an archway, nearing the park’s entrance. The village had released more details on the upcoming Rookie Tournament, emblazoned on the flyer in her hand. Though she felt some pressure to do well, since she was the brand-new Medical Chief (of the Combat division, no less), her pace was motivated by excitement. It had been some time since her last spar with Hinata, and now she had even more to prove.
Dappled sunlight shone through the trees as the Mednin arrived at the park, selecting a spacious area and setting her things down on a rock nearby. She spread the paper out on its surface, reading over the details another time. The tournament was open to all those Chuunin-level or below (she had gotten special permission to participate, fortunately), and would be open to visitors and competitors from other villages. The second part intrigued her to no end- this would finally be her chance to meet someone from a foreign land! Not only would she get to meet them, but she might even have to face some of them in the tournament itself. It would be an excellent learning experience, and hopefully a diplomatic step in the right direction for seeing other villages’ inhabitants more often.
Additionally, there were certain limits in place to prevent anyone from having an unfair advantage, few of which applied to her directly. Turning her attention from the flyer to her bag, Hikaru withdrew a length of string and a collection of posts- her goal today would be to practice her movement. From her position beside the rock, she walked around in a circle, placing the stakes down periodically and tying the string around them in an octagonal shape. It was meant to simulate the ring of a real tournament match, although she had little idea if it was accurate or not. The idea had come from her father, who had always been an advocate of honing her skill in combat.
With her makeshift arena prepared, Hikaru returned to the first post beside the rock, facing outwards towards the circle. Her focus on its center, she stood with her body weight spread evenly in both feet and gathered chakra in her legs as quickly as she could. The breeze slowed around her body as she waited a moment, then pushed forwards off the ground with the combined force of the energy converged there. She flew towards the middle of the ring, her feet scarcely scraping the ground beneath them. Then, envisioning a sudden attack, she forced control over the chakra she was releasing and steered it sharply to the right, turning her body to match as she did so, and sped along the edge of the string circle. The Mednin looped the arena once, then slowed, returning to her position next to her bag. Her technique wasn’t perfect, nor would it work that easily under the pressure of an opponent within the circle, but she felt confident that she had the right idea.
She had also planned to practice using Wind release to lift herself off the ground for longer than chakra-augmented running could manage, but now that she was here she realized that something of that nature would be almost impossible. Flight was much more complicated than simply separating oneself from solid earth, as she had found out the hard way, and the added difficulty of potentially dodging attacks while doing so was too much to master in the time she had.
Taking a drink from a bottle of water she had brought, Hikaru surveyed her makeshift fighting ring once more. What else could she use it to practice? Simple speed could be trained in any open area, and she didn’t feel like changing direction was causing her problems either. Her father had recommended this method, specifically for its effectiveness in simulating ‘every part of a battle’. She wasn’t sure how that could work… letting out a small sigh, she dug around in her bag once more to find her training gloves.
Dappled sunlight shone through the trees as the Mednin arrived at the park, selecting a spacious area and setting her things down on a rock nearby. She spread the paper out on its surface, reading over the details another time. The tournament was open to all those Chuunin-level or below (she had gotten special permission to participate, fortunately), and would be open to visitors and competitors from other villages. The second part intrigued her to no end- this would finally be her chance to meet someone from a foreign land! Not only would she get to meet them, but she might even have to face some of them in the tournament itself. It would be an excellent learning experience, and hopefully a diplomatic step in the right direction for seeing other villages’ inhabitants more often.
Additionally, there were certain limits in place to prevent anyone from having an unfair advantage, few of which applied to her directly. Turning her attention from the flyer to her bag, Hikaru withdrew a length of string and a collection of posts- her goal today would be to practice her movement. From her position beside the rock, she walked around in a circle, placing the stakes down periodically and tying the string around them in an octagonal shape. It was meant to simulate the ring of a real tournament match, although she had little idea if it was accurate or not. The idea had come from her father, who had always been an advocate of honing her skill in combat.
With her makeshift arena prepared, Hikaru returned to the first post beside the rock, facing outwards towards the circle. Her focus on its center, she stood with her body weight spread evenly in both feet and gathered chakra in her legs as quickly as she could. The breeze slowed around her body as she waited a moment, then pushed forwards off the ground with the combined force of the energy converged there. She flew towards the middle of the ring, her feet scarcely scraping the ground beneath them. Then, envisioning a sudden attack, she forced control over the chakra she was releasing and steered it sharply to the right, turning her body to match as she did so, and sped along the edge of the string circle. The Mednin looped the arena once, then slowed, returning to her position next to her bag. Her technique wasn’t perfect, nor would it work that easily under the pressure of an opponent within the circle, but she felt confident that she had the right idea.
She had also planned to practice using Wind release to lift herself off the ground for longer than chakra-augmented running could manage, but now that she was here she realized that something of that nature would be almost impossible. Flight was much more complicated than simply separating oneself from solid earth, as she had found out the hard way, and the added difficulty of potentially dodging attacks while doing so was too much to master in the time she had.
Taking a drink from a bottle of water she had brought, Hikaru surveyed her makeshift fighting ring once more. What else could she use it to practice? Simple speed could be trained in any open area, and she didn’t feel like changing direction was causing her problems either. Her father had recommended this method, specifically for its effectiveness in simulating ‘every part of a battle’. She wasn’t sure how that could work… letting out a small sigh, she dug around in her bag once more to find her training gloves.
