Fire breaks across the Mountain

Shiva Hyuuga sat outside of her empty dojo with a cup of hot tea in her hands. Breathing in the steam, the last rays of the run were ending as the day came to a close. The lessons of the day had gone well for her, much had been taught to the children of the clan, and she hoped the work she did would help preserve the clan for a long time to come. As she sat, her gaze moved this way that way scanning the road in front of her dojo. She was always interested in the movement of the villagers and the progress of the towns shinobi.

Shiva Hyuuga was a member of the main family, and leader of the branch family charged with the Trigram of Fire, along with being one of the chief instructors to the youth of the clan in the ways of the gentle fist. She sat with her hair pulled back in a pony tail, its auburn quality soaking in the light while her pale complexion reflected it. She was wearing her white and maroon tunic as was her favorite. The head band that was tied across her forehead held the symbol of the Hyuuga clan proudly upon it. She was actually getting ready to closed up for the day unless something were to stop her. Behind her the dojo was lit by torches, a large one room place, with a solid floor in the middle in the shape of the Yin-Yang symbol, one of many reflections of the Hyuuga ideologies. Taking another deep drink, she would once again peer up and down the roadway.

This was a very unusual day for the young hyuuga, he had spent most of the daylight avoiding most of the female population in his village. Apparently the girls around him had reached the age where males were no longer stupid one celled non functioning members of society. He hadn't the slightest idea where this change had come from and as to why he garnered so much of their affection. However the sun was now setting which meant most of the younger females were now inside with their siblings or helping the mothers prepare dinner for the families.

Mayuri let out a sigh of joy welcoming the final chirps of the birds in the air and even noticed the beginning of the crickets song as they rose to the occasion. He himself was heading home and he strolled on the side walk without conviction or worry. As always he was in his traditional kimono, the light blue color with white wash fit perfectly into the evening backdrop and he could resemble a cloud floating away if he was any higher. The kimono as always was just one size too big for him, and it showed as the shoulder area barely covered, showing of his collar bone just so, allowing for his almost sonw white complexion to be bathed in the last sunlight, but also giving him a frail look or very delicate to say. This was part of a facade he had built for a very long time, so that he was always looked down on in the battlefield, any opening in the enemy was one less area they protected.

Mayuri walked slowly with his hands behind his head looking up at the sky, watching the blue's change to purples and varying shades of orange and red as the sun set into the horizon. He was passing by the Hyuuga dojo at this time, a place he had never actually step foot into and only knew the owner by formalities never having time to actually speak to them in a personal manner. As he made it to the entrance he would notice a woman sitting she looked to be watching as people passed by enjoying the air just as he was. Removing his right hand from behind his head he would raise it high and wave once in a laid back manner half looking in her direction.

As she continued to watch this way and that a boy waving to her caught her eye. Master Mayuri it seemed was enjoying the final hours of the day as well. He was a handsome boy, and despite her being 7 years his elder, he already matched her height. As he waved her head tilted to the right as it often did and she gave him a wide smile before motioning for him to come and talk with her. Should he accept she would bow as came nearer. He was younger than her, and they were probably on equally setting due to her herself being the head of one of the branches of the main family, but Mayuri was still the younger brother of the clan head, and that made him an important, if not young, figure.

Once she leaned up from her bow she would speak to him. "How are you on this evening Master Mayuri? I hope your studies are going well." She would add as she waited for him to speak. She would listen, her eyes staring into his. Her face was warm and in that moment it would appear as she had no greater joy in life than to listen to what he had to say about the matters. If everything he said went well, and it was appropriate she would respond, "Well would you mind showing me what you have learned? It is bright enough here, and I am sure a little extra practice can never hurt." She would say still with her smile as she stood up to be of equal height with him, gesturing so he could enter inside before her, if he was willing of course.

Catching Shiva's eye, he watched as she smiled and beckoned him to come closer. This would be the perfect opportunity for him to actually get to know the woman they called "Shiva of the seven hands". As he got closer she performed a bow, which naturally made him uncomfortable and he raised his left hand to eagerly scratch the back of his head while his eyes darted downwards. He always had and would always hate formalities and the hoops one had to go through for greeting others in standing while they were alone. Looking down at the ground his lips parted only to let a whisper escape just audible enough for her to hear it.

"Please don't bow."

Letting his hand drop from his now ruffled hair he would raise his head again with a sheepish smile accentuating his childish face. Now that he was closer he could actually take stock of the woman before him. She carried a soft air around her but at the same time it still burned fierce enough to let him know she was confident in her abilities. Once she spoke however he put dissecting her attributes one by one and trying to understand her by the mannerisms in which she carried herself to the side, once again, it was the normal questions everyone asked each other while they were surrounded by people and these Mayuri disliked the most.

"No need for the pleasantries and baseless questions. I'm just Mayuri when no one is around, and if I had it my way it would be like that all the time. I'm fine however, and there is no subject that I cannot comprehend."

He answered the questions non chalantly and breezed through his responce in one breath before lazily inhaling another. She asked if he would like a session with her, which honestly, he couldn't have thought of a better way to end the day. A spar with the Fire trigram would provide him with useful information and allow him to also fine tune his own style as well.

"I'd like to match myself against you"

Ok so he wasn't one for words around most people, but even less so when those people were female, he didn't know what it was but they gave off a vibe that he still couldn't understand. However in a match they were just two bodies melding into one form of art, and that he could understand. Taking the lead as she stood up to let him by he noticed that they were about the same height, which meant reach and fighting ranges would be about the same for standard attacks, it was the special abilities that he would have his eyes on.

"Ladies first" rang through his head as he walked by Shiva and into the area ahead of him, he scolded himself slightly for forgetting such a valuable etiquette, women flustered him. He would await her entry as well and prepare for what was to come.

"I hope you don't mind talking during this match"

He normally didn't talk as it diluted the experience from the match but it was the only way he would be able to ask questions while looking in her eyes .

She had often heard of the bluntness that Mayuri often displayed. It was possible this could get him in trouble some day, however Shiva found it refreshing and if anything a little funny. When he asked her not to bow, she simply smiled, "If that is what you wish." She would say.

Following him into the dojo, Shiva walked into the middle of the room. There she invited him to take a stance in front of her. If he did then they would be approximately 3 meters from each other. The would crack her neck from side to side, and then twist her torso right and then left as he asked about speaking. "I do not mind at all Master Mayuri of the Mountain." She said with a smile. It was a bit of a tease as she was starting to get a good grasp on his personality, but such great alliteration should not go to waste.

Done stretching, she slid into a stance. Feet about shoulder length apart, offering balance, with her right foot slightly extended forward while her left was back just enough to continue to form a solid base. Her arms were in an unorthodox style however. Elbows bent at 90 degrees and hands in fists, they were at her side the forearm approx. equal to her naval. Her face watched his, with just a slight tilt to the left as she smiled. "You have the first move. Remember, please do not hold back in my regard only through pushing ourselves to the top, can we see the next mountain peek needing climbed." She said easliy.

She was well aware as Mayuri's status as the mountain of the Hyuuga clan. A formidable force to be sure, unmoving, unbent, unbroken. By giving him the first move she hoped the ease him outside of her comfort zone. Only by covering the weaknesses that we had could true strength be developed, she thought in her head. Her breathing was gentle, barely causing her chest to rise and fall. While on the outside her smiling face was the pinnacle of calm, inside her heart was racing. It was always exciting to have a spar, and she had a feeling that this boy in front of her would someday be something amazing. It was only a feeling, but the Hyuuga clan had produced many great heroes, and unless she was very much mistaken, and she rarely was when gauging a person, she was about to spar with a boy, who one day would be a man and counted among that famous stock.

He couldn't tell if it was just her nature or if she was doing it for fun, but she kept up the proper speech pattern and even still referred to him as a master, which he wasn't by any means, at least in his eyes. He watched her stretch and took in the information like a sponge, she seemed nimble, and he could tell by what he had seen so far and by stretching she played by the rules and enjoyed doing things in order. Mayuri was however waiting for where the true fun began, where he could see how she fought and pick it apart for all of its details.

"Her legs offer good stability and range of motion in their current stance, pivoting and side stepping will be most likely from these points. Right foot is extended forward which means her left leg is the dominate leg maybe, if kicks are involved that is the stronger and faster of the two legs."

He broke down her stance in his head in an instant trying to find the best way to attack this target and render it ineffective. What caught him by surprise was the lack of a open palm technique, she was using clenched fists, something he had not seen yet.

"Closed fists, damage output elevated, more brute force, greater damage area.."

He would need to see this in action, dropping his body into a lower stance with equal spacing between his feet, he took up a defensive pose with both of his hands up by his head, both open palmed in knife hand forms. He eased his distance in closer, still noting their attacking range should be the same, so once they were both in each others zone the fun should begin.

"If you insist"

He whispered it in confirmation to her giving him the first strike, Once he met striking range his right hand would shoot forward like a spear, it's aim directed towards her center mass. This was a opening strike used to judge response time and effect, all valuable information in a extended fight.

Her eyes maintained their focus on Mayuri as he eased into a stance with open palms.  A very traditional means for assault, good form, and excellent balance.  She was still smiling and very pleased that he was beginning in a traditional and strong stance.  Her own was different so he would get experience in fighting other styles.  As he began whispering he moved forward.  She watched as his right hand began to extend to if unstopped hit her in the center of her chest.  Attacking the sternum, perhaps a strike to the central chakra network, or disrupt lung function.  Attacking the center of the body crippling everything by extension, very good.

As his hand got closer, Shiva made her movements.  When his arm was extended approx. 3 inches from her chest, was when she decided to make a movement.  This way she hoped his body would be in its most unbalanced state with the extension.  Her left hand shot up to punch him directly in the wrist center knuckle right on the joint.  The closed fist was to make the hit harder, and to catch him off guard with the pain a punch to the joint would send throughout his hand and forearm.  The second point was to with his arm extended, he would mostly have to use his shoulder muscels to push against the force, while in her current stance with her arm closer to her body she would have the benefit of greater leverage.  She would follow through with the punch to push his arm up to get in the way of his left arm that if all went correctly was still up by his head open palmed.  

By pushing his arm up in this way, she hoped to block it in the case he used it for defense measures.  As well as by pushing his right hand with her left, his center of gravity would be shifted over, giving her the opportunity to move.  If the punch was succesful, her left leg would follow up by sliding out in a more traditional Jyuuken movement and connect with Mayuri's ankles.  The force would be enough to sweep his feet if it connected at least that was the hope.  

If everything had gone directly as planned, he would be swept off his feet, along with being caused to twist away from her body from the initial punch.  As he started to fall, her body would naturaly be more twisted to her right side.  Using this natural torque to her advantage she would twist to her left, using her right hand to open into a open palm strike and push directly over where his kidney was.  This would cause his initial strike onto the ground all the harder.  She would then react appropriately to his actions.

If he hit the ground and was momentarily stunned she would speak.  "Very well first strike, I liked the concept you had behind it.."  She would assist him up, and see if he had anything to say.

Hitting center mass was usualy the best way to decipher a persons movements, as it provided them multiple angles to attack from and allowed them to showcase their abilities which in turn allowed Mayuri to grow, albeit through some pain. It seemed she had a similar way of judging a persons abilities while hiding her cards till the last moment. She waited till he was almost at full extension on his arm for her counterattack. It was a good strategy and left little to no room for feints and countering as the attacker was already committed to their attack.

Once her fist made contact with his wrist the immediate pain that came with the blow wasn't as forceful had this been a fight against an enemy but the pain was still very prevalent and for a moment his arm sent awkward pain receptors to his brain as if his funny bone had been hit directly. He wanted to see how far this attack would go, surely it led to a great finale, she had all the means to press the attack forward and Mayuri needed to see just how unorthodox the fire trigram was. Once contact was made Mayuri would usually pull back from the initial attack, especially if this was a real enemy, however with Shiva a fellow Hyuuga, death more than likely was not on the table for today's spar, so he pushed through continuing the attack.

Sure enough the attack did continue, Shiva was doing an amazing job at covering all of her bases and ensuring a counterattack was not easy to do. By pushing up with her other arm she effectively shut down his right side and prevented his left from aiding by moving the right in front of the left. Interesting, very interesting indeed, he didn't know if he was right, but her style focused on balances and counter balances, using weight distribution as a effective fighting ally. Even during this Mayuri let a small smile tinge his face.

What was next, she had attack and dominated his upper half, he noted that now her left leg was moving inwards to what appeared to be a sweeping motion. he was right it appeared though on his initial hypothesis, her left leg was the dominate and indeed a kick was coming in fast. Very well, he was learning her attack patterns and it was time for him to rise to the challenge. The great thing about wearing kimono's was not only the extra fabric that inhibited view of exact locations of limbs,it also served as an indicator as how close an attack was before it hit home do to the clothing bunching up in one area. For this he would need for his weight to be shifted forward slightly to avoid him falling over as he lifted up his right leg, the instant Shiva's leg would pass to be directly under his right foot he would drop the heel of his foot onto hers. This would in theory press her leg into the ground stopping it's movement entierely and also throwing off the rest of her movement.

Keeping his right foot atop hers unless she moved it with force his right hand would come back down except instead of an open palm it was now pointed with all his fingers touching and held firm. If the kick had been stopped this would put her closer to her right side effectively stopping a counter from the left. Mayuri would bring the attack down onto her collar bone area hitting the soft tissue in between the bone and the neck. This coupled with enough force should send his target buckling due to the pressure point located there if indeed this did go through and her body did lower in height his same attacking hand would return to an open palm and quickly push forward as he slid off of her foot to make contact with her ear, not harsh enough to cause permanent damage but enough to throw off her equilibrium.

"I appreciate this lesson"

He would speak it bluntly and resume taking up his stance again, this time mimicking her previous style, down to the clenched fists. The only difference is his body would be fully facing forward and his arms would still be bent in front with his fists leveled at his head his right fist slightly ahead of his left and both fists facing forward.

"I'll give it a try."

The sharp pain hit the top of her foot as he had reacted.  It was a wise decision as it stopped her own attack mid momentum, and would cause the entire strategy to shift. Her eyes spied as his hands became pointed.  The downward movement was surely aimed to stun her and lead to a more effective attack meaning it needed stopped.  Quickly she moved both her hands straight up elbows bent at a slight 45 degree angle so they were not fully extended.  With both hands up, and being close this would cause his hand if its course was unaltered to hit mid tricep instead of its origianl course.  As it did so, she would pull her left leg out from under his foot, giving her body the momentum to twist to the left.  

With his left hand blocked being to her back, as she twisted her right elbow with come down to knock into his jaw.  Not hard enough to cause anything more than a sore jaw for a moment, but again enough to send a jolt.  At the same time her elbow was moveing and connecting her left arm would seek to wrap around or pincer down onto his right arm.  As she continued the twisting motion after the elbow to the jaw and his arm was locked, she would throw her hips into his along with pulling.  In this way she sought to uproot the mountain, and tossing him to the ground.  

If all this worked she would smile and attempt to help him up.  "Good defense, it was a wise decision, and using your clothing to your advantage, shows ingenuity.  You really do deserve to be the mountain."