A Glittering Sword (Summer - Solo Training)

Multiple wounds marred the surface before her, deep gouges in the stone of the wall. She could see the glittering edges of the wounds, the stone having been partially turned to Diamond but it wasn't perfected. She would have to spend a lot more time to work out exactly how to make the ability of her weapon work to its fullest degree so that she could turn things other than flesh to Diamond. It was interesting that despite the fact she preferred to to not hurt others that her weapon was unnaturally dangerous. The blade could kill anyone with a single slash simply due to its ability. What had her ancestor used it like? He knew his nickname was the Last Flash but she knew nothing else about him and she couldn't glean all too much from just the nickname although she could get some info. It was obvious that he was quick, his weapon was close enough to a katana that he would have been able to use it with the Tenmetsu-Ko samurai style so was that what he done? Superior speed and a single stroke to slay any foe that attempted to fight against him? It seemed to make sense to Summer's younger mind...

"Darling, please focus, you need to stop getting distracted." A soft voice called out from behind her, there was no malice to it and Summer turned around to look at her Mother. The woman was sitting on her heels, relaxed and with no weapon in sight. Summer knew though that her mother was a wielder of the Junsuina archery style and that her left arm, covered by a long, gossamer sleeve, sported a tattoo that would allow her to launch deadly bolts of chakra without the need for a bow. It was dangerous and interesting but it was not the kind of thing that Summer liked, one couldn't make an arrow non-lethal after all, at least not with ease. When Summer responded to her mother her own voice was quiet and respectful. "I apologise, I tend to overthink things but I shall return to my training."

That was when she turned back to the wall, glaring at it as though it was her arch nemesis. Training like this was good but it wasn't as fun as when she had trained with Cherish. That was a lot more enjoyable. Sheathing her blade with a quiet noise, Summer narrowed her eyes and let her mind fall blank. There was only a simple command that flicked through her mind 'Slash' and with that her muscles complied. Her blade lashed out quickly, scoring through the wall it was butter before she stepped back and jump, her knee slamming into the wall and her defense allowing her to break through it. She landed on the other side, sheathed her weapon and spun around, weapon flicking out and slapping one of the pieces of stone, shattering it with blunt force rather than the edge of the weapon. Sheathing the weapon again she took a deep breath and let it out.

"Geka Seido is truly an interesting style, I could see that your muscle movements were... Difficult to read to say the least but I understood from the base movements that you used a Strike of Disgrace and something akin to a Heel Kick, correct?" Her mother asked quietly and Summer looked to her before nodding her head. "It's what the scrolls are showing me to do, it's really rather interesting actually." Wiping her hand along her forehead to remove the sweat she walked around the free-standing wall and stood at the initial side once more. "Interesting, darling... Again."

It was even easier this time, her blade swung out, carving through a section of the wall, weakening it so that her knee could slam into it, breaking it into fragments before her foot slammed down once more, setting her stance so that her blade could swing out almost like a club, shattering a stone and sending the fragments flying off to the side and spraying against the skin of her Father. The stones turned to dust as they struck though and he chuckled quietly. "Careful there, sweetie." He scolded but there was a bright smile on his face and he moved over to Summer's mother and gave her a kiss.

Summer knew that her dad was a practitioner of Shubi Toride, something he had inherited from Summer's Grandmother, not that anything else had been passed down. So her dad was tough, many times tougher than Summer and his was much more deadly, breaking anything that struck him. With her earlier years before she had earned her true samurai blade, Summer had broken solid oak bokken against her father's body, the weapons just seemed so useless against someone like that, it was actually kind of terrifying but she knew her dad to be a kind man and he loved her very much. "I've been watching for a while by the way, that Geka Seido is certainly interesting. One of the weirder styles I've seen, akin to a Cypher's iaido in some ways." At those words he reached up and rubbed at his chest where Summer knew a long scar lay. It was one of the few times that a sword had actually managed to cut her father but then again he had been younger then so it wasn't that bad.

Summer smiled at her dad and walked over to give him a hug before driving her knee into his stomach. He grunted and flew into the air and Summer jumped up, punching him into the ground but neither of them took any damage. She knew that her dad was toning down his Defense but she didn't have anywhere near enough strength to hurt him, although usually she would be hurt by such an action, even if only a little. "My little girl's growing tougher it would seem." Her mother spoke with a smile before dismissing Summer to go have some fun while her father gave her a smirk and stuck his tongue out at her.

Spoiler:

Approved No more solo training with Summer for 8 More Days starting from today

The ground grew closer to her face every second and then drew further away, the muscles in her arms burned with exertion and exhaustion. Sweat dripped from her nose to pool on the ground under her as she continued to do push-ups, her young frame aching with the movements but she wouldn't let herself give up. With a growl of pain and frustration she lifted one of her feet up and crossed her ankles, continuing to push herself up and down. Her muscles started to burn but she managed to focus on an interesting pattern in the wooden flooring which offset the pain somewhat but there was always a limit. She hit that wall at about two hundred odd push ups and her arms gave out, causing her to collapse on the ground with a grunt and a whimper. She closed her eyes over and continued to breathe as best she could, her lungs screaming at her along with the rest of her body.

After Kami knows how long she managed to open her eyes and roll onto her back, muscles still seething with the fire of lactic acid. Still there was no time to rest she reached up and placed her hands behind her head. Her legs came up next, arcing into pyramids with her bare feet splayed out on the ground and then she started to use the muscles of her stomach to pull herself up to her knees, tucking in tight before letting herself back down. This continued for several minutes, silent but interspersed with the huffs of Summer's laden breath and the grunts as one of her muscles moved in the wrong way, sending a spike of pain through her body. She didn't care though, this was all for her better, this would make her stronger, this would make her more readily able to survive. There was war after all. The thought scared her honestly, she'd have to go to war, she'd have to fight for her life alongside her friends against a greater foe. She was still so young though, hell her tenth birthday was coming soon, ten years old and going to war. Her mother and father had fought in the war before, that was where they had actually met, murdering the beings of evil that populated Pandora.

Hopping to her feet she had to bend over for a second, hands on her knees and huffing loudly, staring at her toes as they wiggled against the floorboards under her. Now it was on to weapon training, she'd done this portion of her exercise. So she stepped outside into the garden, a little open area more in the center of her home than anything else but it was nice. Kicking Glimmer up from the stand, she caught it and then stood in the middle of the garden, eyes closed as she mentally prepared herself. She had two techniques to learn. First though she had to utilise a technique she already knew.

With her back facing towards the target, she reached down and placed a hand on Glimmer's sheath, focusing her still aching muscles before throwing her hand backwards, the other gripping the hilt. With barely a noise, the sheath launched backwards and jammed itself straight into the chest of the target. She walked towards the sheath and pulled on it to make sure it had pierced, which indeed it had. "Excellent..." She whispered before hopping backwards, toes digging into the dirt before she cut her finger on the edge of her weapon, forgetting about the effect for a moment and then spilling blood on the blade. With a single seal, the target and sheath appeared on the end of her blade.

The next part of the techniques she was to learn was the fun bit as she suddenly brought the target around in front of her and swung a knee up at it, striking it in the midriff and causing it to fly backwards, her sheath falling out of the body and allowing her to spin her weapon around and onto her hip again. The dummy hit the ground ten feet away and skidded a few more due to it not being alive, it looked pretty roughed up actually and Summer gave a soft chuckle, a smirk on her lips. Easy.

Words Written: 716
Words Needed: 700

Techniques Learned:

It was dark. Very dark. Pink eyes lay open however, staring at the roof even though there was nothing to truly see, well that was a bit of a lie. She could see vague outlines, vague details in the world itself, she'd been lying awake long enough for that sort of thing to happen even though she didn't think it would happen in darkness like this. This was the sort of darkness one expected from a technique or a genjutsu, it was all-encompassing, it muffled noises and for all Summer knew it hid secrets and dark monsters that wanted to kill her. She also knew that was absolute bullshit, there were no monsters in the dark, at least not yet. Thus came the root of her problem, why she was lying wide awake in the darkest hours of the morning... War.

It was a horrible word in itself, what it incited was never good, nothing good came of war, at least not to the people that actually fought in it. There was only more land to be gained, more money to earn, people to kill and clans to steal the secrets of, that's all it was. It was the people well above the soldiers being greedy, wanting more than what they actually had and they wouldn't stop until they got it, no matter how much it cost. It wasn't fair. She was ten years old, she wasn't fit to go to war, she still wanted to play with her friends, to mess around with Cherish, tease and learn about Colt but she couldn't, not to a safe degree at least, not when a dobutsu bandit squad could jump out of nowhere and try and end her life. Even though she'd be situated quite far away from the actual war, it was entirely possible that is what would happen.

She didn't think about what would come after that though, it didn't bear thinking about, not with how grim it was, how dark it would make everything and no longer just physical darkness. She'd thought about it before of course, her own death, she'd felt the weight pressing down onto her body, onto her mind, she couldn't move she couldn't think she could hardly exist, she felt. Everything was just wrong about that entire thought. She'd never seen anyone die before, she'd never thought about anyone dying before. She might say it in jest but lots of people did, it didn't mean anything, she loved people, she didn't want them killed.

The mental strain only got worse when she thought about her parents in the same vein, could she truly live without them? She didn't think that she could, she loved them far too much to see them die to even think about them dying.

Her feet hit the cold floor and she rose to them, clad in only a nightgown, it didn't matter anyway, the cold wasn't that bad. She started to walk through her home though, chewing on her lower lip and taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She had to see her parents, she had to see that they were okay. Her footsteps took her towards the dining room but she stopped when she noticed that there was a light on. Furrowing her eyebrows she move silently over to the door frame and then nudged it open slightly to reveal her parents sitting at the table beside one another. Her father's head was resting against her mother's shoulder and she had an arm around him. They weren't talking though and Summer was about to step into the room until her father spoke, sitting up.

"We need to talk about it, we can't keep going as though it isn't happening." His voice was usually so very calming but it was laced with an odd edge... Melancholic perhaps?

"You're right, Shora. We have preparations to make and things to get ready but... What about Summer?" Her mother didn't sound much cheerier either.

"You know I don't want her to go but we don't have a choice, when the council makes a decision... It's kind of final isn't it? We can't stop her we can just hope that her friends keep her safe and she does the same to them. I'd never hear the end of it from the Dokusei or the Juryoku if either of her team members died." He gave a chuckle but it was hollow. This was not a situation for levity.

Summer sat down against the door frame, head resting against it and eyes closed as she listened to the conversation that was going on.

"We've never been a full day away from our little girl... To put her life in the hands of others far away in a different land, it's just not right, we should ask if we're allowed to go with her." Shora just shook his head and reached over, taking the female's hand and giving it a soft squeeze.

"You know we can't do that, we're needed at the frontlines. We aren't exactly weak after all, we're part of the strong offensive force and we work well together. We go where the Council sends us and... Well that's that."

"We'll need to write a will, won't we, in case..." Her mother, Ria, left it hanging there and Shora nodded, his hand coming up to run through his short hair.

"Yes, yes we will. Then again, there's only one person to leave our things to.." He paused suddenly, looking up and scanning around before placing his hand against the ground.

Summer started and tried to get up and get away but a large hand closed around her wrist and pulled her back into the room. She swatted her hand at her father's stomach but only succeeded in hurting herself due to his upgraded body. With a whimper she was then pulled into a tight hug, a soft sigh leaving Shora's mouth.

"How much did you hear, little one?" He whispered to her but she only looked away and gave a soft sniffle.

"Oh my darling, it's only a precaution, we plan to come back and shower you with love and be a family once more, we promise." Ria told her daughter, stepping into the embrace as well but the comforting words weren't really enough, the floodgates had already been opened and Summer was sobbing openly into her father's chest, her body shaking with every wracking movement and sound, water flowing freely from her eyes. Her hands in the meanwhile had latched onto the nightgown of Ria and the pair of loose, flowing night-trousers that her father had on, making sure that they wouldn't move away from her.

They stayed like that for a little while, in silence until Summer had cried herself out, no more tears dripping from her but it had left her eyes puffy and stinging which was never fun, not to mention she wasn't looking very pretty at the moment due to other things. With that done though, Ria picked her up and took her off to bed, Shora giving her a kiss on the forehead, he wasn't one for much affection after all. Her mother took her to bed and put her in it, making sure to tuck her in and sit beside her. She didn't say anything though, instead just running her fingers through Summer's mussed up hair but that was alright, Summer was happy with that, she didn't really mind, she didn't have anything to say either.

When her eyes opened this time she was looking at the rays of light dancing in her room, motes of dust floating and twirling lazily through them, highlighted for a moment before falling into darkness and she gave a soft sigh, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. They were slightly crusty both with her tears and her sleep but that was quickly remedied and she got out of bed. Her movements were slow and lethargic though, her body didn't have much energy. She must have been pushing herself too hard, that was always bothersome. She'd have to take a break for a few days, let her mind and body recover from the training that she was putting it through, after all going off to a different land with potential foes with tired muscles and a lack of energy was not going to be helpful.

Walking over to her dresser, she tossed her nightgown off onto the floor and then removed her underwear, standing and basking in the light while naked for a moment. Sometimes it felt pretty good to just not have clothing but she needed to put some on. Opening up her drawers she pulled out a pair of panties and pulled them on, making sure they weren't stuck anywhere and sat right. She then pulled a dress shirt on and a pair of breeches, buttoning them up and tying them at the front respectively. A pair of socks and shoes went on afterwards and then she put on her necklace and her belt.

There was only one other thing to put on, she reached over to the weapon stand beside the door and pulled her sword off of the top, twirling it between her fingers for a moment before nodding and placing it at her hip, tying it just right so that it would come off easily for some of the other maneuvers in her samurai style. With that done she brushed her hair and her teeth, after going to the bathroom of course, and then put a smile on her face to continue the day.

Summer wandered through to the kitchen to find her mother and father sitting talking about just some random topics, nothing really interesting but they both gave her a smile when she entered the room. It wasn't a pitying smile like she would have expected after her outburst last night but it was a truly friendly smile, a warm, loving smile that she couldn't help but give back. She loved her family very much and it was obvious that they loved her more than anything. They were all still going off to war but that wasn't so bad, they'd come back, she'd come back and they'd be a family again. Or they'd have to move due to the dobutsu destroying Dipugakure but that was okay too as long as they were still around, hell she might be able to convince them to adopt Cherish if such a thing happened so that she could always have her best friend around.

"I'm sorry about last night." She said quietly, bowing at the waist.

A soft titter left Ria and she smirked. "Oh shush, silly, there was nothing to be sorry about, in fact you just missed your father crying against me." She flashed a wink to Shora who coughed and went back to looking at a particularly interesting cup of green tea.

Summer just giggled and walked over to sit with her family, happy for the time that they did have together even though it wasn't going to last. They'd be shipped off sooner rather than later and Summer would have to leave her parents behind in order to go to war, to destroy the foes of the shinobi council. A smile came to Summer then as she realised that she was okay with such a thing, she didn't mind having to be away form the people that loved her as long as she could assure the fact that they would survive later on. They'd of course do the same for her and that made her happy, they loved her and she loved them, that was all she could ever hope for.

She spent a few minutes like that, sitting and smiling, sipping away at a cup of green tea before she placed it down and rose to her feet. She walked over and gave her dad a hug, her mother a kiss on the cheek and then both of them a bright smile. "Today's a lovely day, Dipugakure is really shining... I'm going out to play with Cherish." She told them with a nod, receiving smiles and affirmatives from them both and leaving her to skip out of the door, grinning. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad.

Words Required: 2000
Words Written: 2044

Spoiler:

Approved

"Summer, there are bad tidings on the horizon, whispers throughout the domes that war is coming to our home." Her father's voice was calm and soft, he never raised it and it swept through the large room that they were in. His eyes were downcast, a worried expression on his face and his hands were clasped behind his back. Summer knew him though, he was strong, he would be alright he was just making sure that she was alright. She was all that mattered to him, her and her mother, Summer knew that for certain. So with that she continued to kneel there, hands on her knees and Glimmer set down before her as her father paced back and forth. "To this end we have decided to reward you, you have done extremely well with the recent proclamations and worries and you have made new friends which I am very pleased with. Due to this there is something I wish to give you. It belonged to a cousin of mine who has recently passed, giving me this to give to my child...."

With that her father turned and walked to the rear of the room, behind Summer who did not turn to look at him. She heard the sound of rustling cloth and a few footsteps before he came back into view holding an object in his hands that was swaddled in cloth. Crouching down he offered it forwards and Summer reached up, taking it into her hands and feeling the weight of it settle in her grip as she brought it back. She only had to look up at her father who nodded at her before she removed the cloth. In her hands sat a beautiful thing. Six feet long, it was about half a foot longer than Glimmer and weighed a fair bit more but each blade was unique, she could respect that. The hilt of this weapon was solid white and etched in silver and deep iron grey, smoke like wisps and markings drawn over the steel, shifting almost as she tilted the weapon. Changing her grip she wrapped her hand around the sheath and drew the blade half way, noting the odd holes drilled into the blade and the interesting colour of the steel of the weapon lending it an almost mysterious air... As though blood pumped through the sword.

"It is named Vexos and it is of the elemental nature of Ash. No one is sure how the red veins ended up throughout the steel but some believe that the weapon still holds the life force of those that it slays and that they watch over the user. The ability of the weapon is... Well see for yourself." Her father whispered, walking around her and yet... She knew where he was even as he went around behind her, stepping silently... She was aware of him. Once he stepped out of the range she knew her Nagamakis would reach though, he vanished from her perception. "Blade sense." He told her despite the fact she already knew and with that, Summer rose to her feet and bowed to her father.

"Thank you, papa... I'm going to go train with them, we shall survive, we shall win." She told him, full of young confidence and she received a soft smile in return before hugging her father and running off with both of her swords, ready to train with them both to see what they could do.

Words Needed - 550
Words Written - 578

Jutsu Learned:

Approved

The blades were in the ground before her, hilts pointed to the sky, blades glinting against the soft light that filtered in from above the courtyard of her home, the small training ground that they had in the home in order to keep their skills honed when they were unable to head to the training area or needed a place to relax. Her mother and father were both out of the house, this was something for her to learn, something for her to understand focus upon. Admittedly her parents would probably frown upon some of the techniques she was learning, they wouldn't want her harming herself in the name of techniques but it had to be done... There were certain powers that could be gained from blood.

Look at the Kurogane, their blood release was never seen as anything truly wrong and yet Kinjutsu was bad? Then again, the Kurogane were ore skilled when it came to things like that... And there was a reason that a lot of Kinjutsu was forbidden due to the damage that it inflicted on one's body. However it did make her think of her earlier technique, the odd burning feeling that stretched into her blade, the strange aura that coated it... All of that stemmed from her pain, stemmed from her rage and her ability to channel it. Was using her blood as a price for her power so different from that?

Perhaps it was but her parents didn't need to know about any of this, nor the brutal nature of the Genjutsu that she was learning to weave this day. After all in order to win sometimes one had to be brutal, one had to do whatever they could to survive, the world was a harsh place, even the safest of locations could harbour the worst of evils. Summer didn't quite know the full extent of such but she knew that the world was not a kind place, it was not a place that could be beaten by being soft, by letting yourself be run over and used, one had to either rely on one's self or rely on others that could support them, show them the true power that they wielded and thus allow them to do the same in return. Summer had such a reliance on Cherish, the one true friend that she had and her anchor for the coming days and nights.... Taking a deep breath Summer looked at the blades implanted before her, looking at the differences they had, the sharp edge that could and would take lives in the near future and she understood. With a nod she pulled the weapons from the ground and sheathed them before turning and leaving... She had things to learn.

Spoiler:

Approved