Anita
"Mmm... Taijutsu, Bukijutsu... I need to push myself, further and further... I've already fallen a bit behind." She had a somewhat distant gaze, as she began to swing her weapons in a light metronome type of pattern. "You don't know me enough... So I'm fine with messing up if I'm training with you..."

She began to swipe, her cuts whistling through the air as she focused... Legs coiling before she sprung towards the dummy, her claws getting stuck about half an inch in, before she sighed, an almost disappointed sound escaping her lips. "Nope... That's still not good enough... I need to cut *Through* It..."

"You just throw em? Or do you fight up close... Someone told me I'd need to feel pressured if I wanted to grow..."
Brandon
Aomi understood the feeling of falling behind. It felt like many of the genin in their year were already doing missions and achieving great things, whereas she was stuck training day in and day out. Azuku's comment about being fine with messing up in front of her brought a small smirk to her face. "Yea, pretty much feel the same way." 

She watched as he training partner lunged forward and stabbed into the dummy, only to get her claws stuck. "You're probably not putting enough force into it. It also helps to swipe at certain angles. See?" Chakram in hand, the Hoshigaki would slice straight across a training dummy's neck and lop its head clean off. The wooden block came tumbling to the ground, rolling across the training ground floor before coming to rest at Aomi's feet. 

"Probably answers your question on if I fight up close with them, huh?" She said with a toothy grin.
Anita
"*Tch...*" She wanted to say it was a lucky shot, but she knew it wasn't... Even now, she could see it, that was hard work, skill... She felt a knot well up in her stomach, before shaking her head free of the thoughts. No point in being so curmudgeon, she'd made her mistakes, now was the time to fix everything for the future dammit! 

"I-I knew that! I just... *Aaagh!*" She swipes again... More savage than graceful, the dummy to the left splintering as the head came off... Far from a clean swipe, more like a savage slap. "How can I not get this right! It's im*Paw*Sible to be this bad but-" Even the long range fighter did just as well up close... Baaah, stop the damn pity party, Azuku had no time to beat herself up! She *Needed* To get stronger, faster, and quickly!

"At an angle..." She got into a... Stance. At first, it could've been mistaken for something similar to the Inuzuka's own Four-Legged stance, but it was too sharp, her body tense... Before she *Pushed* Away from the ground, arms outstretched before slashing down again in an X motion. The blades caught in the middle, stopping each other, as she let out a grunt. "Huh... Better... Oi, you... Dumb question but... Do you ever feel weak? Like... Totally weak, and falling behind?"
Brandon
"You were closer that time." She remarked as the wooden target's head came tumbling down the trodden earth underfoot. She was impressed with how much force Azuku could exert, having expected the other genin to be more reliant on dexterity. She supposed that she shouldn't judge a book by its cover. 

She watched as Azuku swiped at an angle, only for her claws to get caught in the middle. She might be upset with the result, but striking so precisely with both weapons was impressive enough. Her question, however, would bring a small frown to Aomi's face. She scratched her head in frustration as she thought about how to respond before finally saying, "Yea, guess I do. Too much for my own liking, I think. That's why I'm here so often." 

As they spoke, she'd throw a few more practice swings at a nearby target dummy, her Chakram quickly lopping off sections of wood before being recalled to her side via wires.
Anita
"Closer isn't good enough." She grumbled, wrenching the claws free. Grace was only a part of it, she had to be fast *And* Strong, she couldn't allow herself to be... To be held back by laziness, by settling, that's what led to her current issue, an issue she couldn't very well solve unless she pushed herself more and more.

"Hmm... At least I'm not the only one... Everyone's pushing past me... They all got promoted, fancy with their new duds... And I'm here, too scared to do more than a damn D-Rank!" As she kicked off the ground, the disturbed earth would leave a cloud of dirt, Azuku this time only bringing one claw down, as it almost perfectly cut through. Splintering could still be heard, showing that it was both in due part to the sharpness of the claws *And* The force of her downward strike, cleaving through the dummy.

"So... What pushes you? I... Mmm, I dunno. I feel like... I had a reason for doing this... But it's got me all confused now, like a cat's cradle, all tied up..."
Brandon
She could sympathize witth her frustration. She too wanted to grow, to get stronger and reach greater heights like the Hoshigaki before her. Her father, perhaps unknowingly, compared her too often to her late cousin for her taste and instilled a desire in her to stand out. 

"I get what you mean. People that I was training with just a few weeks ago are now full-fledged chunin. While I'm..." She gestured towards the training grounds, seeing no need to continue her sentence. She threw a few more Chakram at a poor target dummy, cutting clean through it's forearms before retracting the blades. 

"You... Promise not to laugh?" She asked with a bit of uncertainty. This wasn't something she told everyone, it was a dream she only shared with a few close friends and her parents. 

Once she confirmed that Azuku wouldn't laugh, she'd continue. "There's more to the world than this village. I want to see it, the world beyond the walls. The clan elders share stories of something called an *Ocean*, a body of water that stretches as far as the eye can see and tastes like salt. I want to go there and see it with my own eyes."

[you're good to end]
Anita
At the sheepish question, Azuku raised her eyebrows, before gesturing not only to her cat hoodie, and her cat claws... And the sash around her waist that dangled near the back like a cat tail... "You're asking *Me* Not to laugh... Puuuuuhleeeeease... I'm self aware enough to realize that I'm in no place to make judgements."

She hummed, listening... Before tilting her head... An entire... Body of water, far as the eye can see... The only thing that didn't make sense... "Ehhhh? It's *Salty?* But you couldn't even *Drink* It! But..." She didn't laugh, and instead, offered a small smile, shaking her head. "How's that stupid? No one really knows what's beyond the walls, not completely, right?"

"It's not a stupid goal... It's cute, it's a clan thing, even if I don't absolutely get it... I want to be a cat, what does that tell you about my goals?" She snickered, before laughing fully. "Nyahaha... Ahh, saying it aloud it really is dumb huh?" She stretches, humming. "But still... That sounds like it'd be great for a swim... Eh... I *Do* Like swimming, I'm not just a caricature..."

``` Co-Op Donezo ```