ANBU Training(Cloud)

Rai was still buzzing with adrenaline from the mission he had completed not too long ago. Though he wasn't new to dangerous missions, it was not everyday that you came across one of that caliber, which was why he was glad Cloud had summoned him to assist him. The two ANBU completed the mission with near perfect proficiency, which reminded the Hyuuga of old times. Apparently, it had reminded Cloud of them two, because the blond had suggested they start training together again.

He was currently waiting for the man with the plan to come to the spot they had agreed to meet. It was far enough away from the other training grounds to where they would have privacy. It was both preferred for them to train alone and a safety hazard for an innocent bystander. When the two got into their spars it was something scary.

When Rai and Cloud trained together, things seemed to always get as tad bit heated. That was why the blonde ANBU had decided to bring the old tradition back because it was part of how they both got as efficient as they were at their jobs. So he was jumping through trees and the buildings to get to the desired location that they had chosen long ago to be their training ground section and as Cloud began to see and sense Rai in the distance he took a special kunai out and threw it in that direction.

Cloud still just had the custom ANBU katana on his back as he flashed to where his kunai was and unsheathed the sword in the same instance, going for a slash at Rai. There was no need for words, the prowess of a Hyuga should have seen this coming long ago.

Rai could see him before anything. The sight of his captain flying through the trees before him. A lesser shinobi might not have seen him coming but there were few things that got past his eyes, and he prided himself on that. When the man in his sights got near, he threw a kunai towards Rai. The ANBU waited until the last moment to tilt his head to the side, dodging the projectile. The rule for all who have sparred with Cloud was to NEVER catch his kunai. It was almost instant defeat.

Just as the special kunai passed his head, Cloud appeared with a katana in hand, prepared to slash Rai. Pulling out his own katana he blocked, a smirk coming across his face as metals clashed. Jumping back, he glared at the man, his activated Byakugan fully focused on him. Holding his katana outright and his free hand closer to his chest, he set into his gentle fist stance. He was no swordsman, but when he incorporated his blade into his fighting style it became an extention on himself, slashing his opponent instead of palming them.

Then, dashing forward, he led with a slash of his own, followed by a palm to the chest of his opponent.

209

Cloud's special kunai hit the ground directly on side of Rai. The Byaugan was activated as Rai rushed towards him, the smirk still on his face. It was always a challenge to fight someone who knew Cloud's style and jutsu but it had been quite a while since the Hyuuga had seen him in a spar and the ANBU captain had a few tricks up his sleeve that Rai had not seen him develop. Just as Rai knew of his style, Cloud knew his and how to protect himself from the gentle fist. Their blades clashed with a spark and the Captain used the momentum to pivot himself upward into a flip over the Hyuuga to dodge the second attack of his fist.

Once he was up into the air, Cloud utilized more of his knowledge of Hyuga and brought a knee down towards the back point of Rai's neck. One of his only 360 visions blind spots. Although the attack was broad it was a chance to lay a blow on the fellow ANBU. He had another back up plan just in case.

187

Like Rai had guessed, neither of his attacks landed as Cloud guarded his katana and jumped upward to dodge his strike. It was what was expected of him. Rai watched as the man flipped over him with ease, without needing to turn his head because of his kekkai genkai. But then, all of a sudden, he just didn't see.

The one weakness of the Byakugan was the spot in the base of his neck that he couldn't see. But the good part was, he saw literally everywhere else. So in the inopportune moment that someone tried to exploit his weakness, he always knew exactly where to look. Meaning that for him, his weakness was not a weakness at all.

Dropping into a roll, he moved away from the blond's blow and simultaneously spinning to face him once more. And as soon as he was facing him, he shot forward once more. He had gone through many spars with the man before. And in his experience, it was not wise to sit still and allow him to make a move on you. He had to be the aggressor, not giving Cloud a chance to start teleporting. Turning the hilt of his katana towards the ANBU Captain, he attempted to jab him in the face with the back of it. If he blocked, Rai would attempt a sweep kick to catch him off guard.

+235= 444

There was a smile that came to Cloud's face when Rai rolled out of the way of the knee. It was expected that the Hyuuga would be smart and quick enough to know that if he couldn't see the attack coming, then he would know where it was coming from. The black hair man spun on point and rushed towards him, the hilt of his sword aimed for the blonde's face. That blow was easy enough to dodge but the sweep kick that followed was able to catch the Captain and flip him backwards.

Such a move wasn't enough to halt him as he sprung both arms backwards and caught himself in a handstand position. Both hands pivoted quickly which spun an outward spinning kick towards Rai's ribs. Even if the attack missed, he would push himself back with his hands at least 15 yards, quickly he unsheathed another special kunai and tossed it with more strength at Rai. There was a strategy that had begun to form within Cloud and he had no intention of losing the momentum as he performed hand sigils. "Earth Style: Earth Bulet Rock Jutsu!" A blast of Earth shot forward towards Rai in a spinning motions.

+210=397

The sweep had somewhat taken Cloud off guard, if only a little, and Rai tried to utilize that moment. He attempted to continue his attack but was halted by Cloud's spinning kick, making him bend backwards to avoid and give the blonde the chance to get back and throw another kunai as well as use a jutsu to get the upper hand.

Rai took a step forward, ducking out of the way of the kunai while reaching his palm out to the big slab of earth coming toward him. "Eight Triagrams Vacuum Palm!" he shouted as he created a vacuum shell to blast the rocks to pieces. It was not a juts usually used for that, but when fighting with someone who could think outside the box, Rai had to do the same. Dropping down into a slightly different stance than before, Rai crouched with the most serious expression on his face.

"You're in range."

+167=611

A smirk fell onto Cloud's face as the man uttered the words that he was in range. The kunai had hardly flown a meter past his hand when the blonde ANBU began to move his hand. By time his hand had moved a half of a foot, he had appeared with a flash where the kunai was and caught it in his own hand. The movement was already there, he had timed and moved his arm at the perfect angle to come down the blind spot and stop the kunai short in his hand down the nape palm middle of the man's neck.

Although he had a back up plan just in case but from where he could see if Rai began to move the kunai would dig into his neck. Cloud was known for ending matches and battles in an instant but he was not sure if the Hyuuga was up for the end of a match so easily.

+162

And just like that Cloud had disappeared. It didn't take a Byuakugan for Rai to see what was coming next. The man had appeared behind him, the kunai that Rai had just dodged in his hand and ready to dig into his neck. It was a genius move. Yes, Rai knew not to catch the man's kunai, but dodging it had it's risks as well. You had no control over where the projectile would land, and in turn, you had no idea where the man would appear next.

Upon reaction alone, chakra began pouring out of Rai's body. It started at his neck, where the kunai would have pierced him. Like an armor, it stopped the blade as he began to spin and turn it into an absolute defense. His body spun like a top, knocking back anything within his reach. He could have made it larger, but this time it was solely to get him out of the situation he was in.

"Eight Triagrams Palm Revolving Heaven," he called out. If Cloud got caught in this, it would beat him up pretty bad. But if he got out of the way, it would at least get Rai some breathing room.

+210=821

As the kunai was lightly placed against the back of Rai's neck, the rotation began that shot the kunai into a different direction. If it had not been for Cloud's experience with this clan and their gentle fist techniques, surely he would have been sucked into this but he was able to jump backwards from the attack. All the ground in a five meter radius had been sucked away and wrecked by this powerful technique. Cloud was able to jump about fifteen meters away from the blast radius which put him just out of reach for one of the gentle fists powerful techniques.

"Generally I like to fight Hyuuga at a distance but I do have a need to feel my life be threatened so I'm trying to take a different approach with you Rai. Try and see how well my reaction time really is nowadays." Since this time of peace, Cloud has no doubt improved his skills but now it was just time to see what exactly he could do. "It seems like you've just gotten stronger and faster since the last time we sparred."

+194=747

Rai smirked at Cloud's words. "With all due respect, even if you are the Captain, my plan is to knock you down." Both men knew that though they were strong, there were weaknesses among them. No matter how hard they trained, they could never be without weaknesses. There was a weakness for every technique. You just had to see it. Yes, Rai had grown stronger since the last time they sparred, and it was clear to see that so had Cloud. As was life, it was inevitable for them to get stronger.

"Besides, who else is around to keep you on your toes?"

Shooting forward at full speed, Rai began his attempt at the sixty four palm technique. Cloud wanted to feel as though his life was threatened, Rai would gladly comply. Besides, he could feel the spar coming to an end soon, the time for warming up was over.

When he neared Cloud, he sent a feint strike at first, before spinning and sending his two strikes at the man's chest. Hopefully the feint would work, and if his first two strikes hit, he would continue with four, then eight and so forth." These strikes were not chakra enhanced, but enough to knock him out of commission for a while.

+223=1044

Who else was there to keep him on his toes? Cloud just smirked as he saw the man rush towards him. The faint attack had made the Captain prepare for the next attack that came his way as the lightning slowly oozed out of all of his pores right before the two attacks were to land. If the lightning were to hit, it would cause a paralysis but regardless of if Rai was able to see the chakra form and dodge it or if it was hit and paralyzed for a moment. The Chidori rawred with a loud screech inside the palm of his hand.

This was a technique that not even Rai knew he had mastered, one of the only who had. The Chidori was pulled back behind the blonde's head as Cloud used his chakra to exponentially boost his single thrust to a 11 speed the attack going for a straight line on his shoulder. If he was paralyzed from the previous attack it would harm him greatly but if not then it would depend on how Rai would defend.

If it was the heavenly spin, then their two chakras would clash together and cause damage to both of them.

203+747=950

Rai was in complete shock at what had begun to happen as he began to strike. There were not many things that caught him off guard, but seeing a new technique from someone who he had seemingly figured out would always be a good way to do so. Like everything else, he saw it first. The lightning coming out of the man's body was a threat that he could not avoid. He was already moving at a speed in which he could not stop himself, he was too close. As his strikes connected, he felt the electricity surge throughout his body, causing him to freeze up. This wasn't good.

The Hyuuga was nearly defenseless as he heard the crackling emitting from Cloud's hand as he attempted to thrust a ball of lightning into his shoulder. Not having any other option, Rai forced chakra out in front of him in a massive blast. He currently couldn't spin, so he tried to make up for that by pushing out even more chakra.

The result made him fly back, safe from the deadly lightning, but sustaining damage nonetheless. Flying a few meters back, Rai landed on his back, unable to move.

+202=1246

Cloud felt the chakra force itself out of the now paralyzed Rai who had hit the currency that the ANBU Captain had sent through his entire chakra system. Upon meeting the contact of chakra, Cloud pushed as hard as he could through the wall until the tip of his middle finger made contact. It was enough to push Rai backwards a great amount but the damage was already done and by laying that finger on him, the flying god seal was placed onto Rai. Not that one was not already placed on the Hyuuga but Cloud made a handicap that he would only use seals placed during the battle.

With a blood flash, either foot landed on either of Rai's arm and the ANBU katana was placed dangerously close and onto the Hyuuga's throat. "Chalk it out to another win." This blonde was still on the ready but he felt as though he had won this battle.

Whenever he sparred with the man, someone always ended up getting a little more hurt than they were supposed to, and that someone was usually Rai. There he lay, shocked both mentally and physically as his opponent lay over him with a katana placed at his throat. Closing his eyes, all he could do was lay there and accept defeat. Looking up at the sky, Rai grinned.

"Nice trick you've learned, I didn't know you had that up your sleeve." Lightning was his element, but he didn't have any juts of that caliber in his arsenal. He would have to ask Cloud to teach it to him in a later session. Taking a deep breath, he looked into the eyes of his ally. "You win," he said hesitantly. It was obvious, but the way they went on there was no defeat until someone admitted it. This time he lost, but next time, he would know what to expect.

Claiming 1,100 word count, add 10 pool points to Health and Chakra respectively