Kazou's boot camp.

[Orikanyo]

We do the training here.
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or relax, chill, hunt a deer.
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Or maybe not, the animals around Kemuri tend to be vicious bastard.
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Like the pigeons.
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Don't forget about the pigeons.
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They won't forget you.
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Ever.
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So yes, this is our playground where kazou beats the knowledge of a thousand years of research and practice into your little heads. All for the sake of making you stronger, better, faster, smarterer, even SEE better. How does he do that last part? Rule of anime, training can improve anything. 


So here we do the prep work. 


Lets do this. 

 

[KageYuuki]

Yuuki Mifune
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Kazou Yamamoto
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Collab with @Orikanyo
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11:57 PM, Mifune Compound. 


This brings back unpleasant memories... the man thought to himself as he slipped inside the building, his young genin will most likely get a rude awakening once he realizes it is gone... He holds it to his side more often then not. Perhaps this is to cruel... but he still must learn... 


And besides, he had to be mean once in awhile. It would be good for him and will create some urgency for him to finally get this technique down... Perhaps as he went through he'd check the room out, make certain his student Isn't hiding anything unsavory... 


...maybe that would get him running faster then the sword? 


No, it is unlikely Yuuki has such things... Especially as a Mifune and a sister like Tsubaki.


 And good luck hiding anything from her. 


 


 Now... where was Yuuki's room... the man's eyes glared down the hall, the moon lighting his path with its gracious slivers of light, enough to see, but not enough to be seen. That one was Tsubaki's room... he remembered the last time he had done this, he would not go in there even if it would kill him not to. Once bitten, twice shy. 


 


 Well, it was more like 3 days of running, twice shy. 


 


 And then 3 more months of apologies. 


Kazou turned his head to look down the hall, was Ryo also here as well? A pity this was for Yuuki alone... he'd like to mess with him as well. 


...Someone is awake...


Sinking deep into the shadows he stayed still as a statue... Hopefully it wasn't one of the boys.. The others were not so much of a problem, especially when.. you know... let them know before hand you'll be stealing their son's/little brother's precious katana to force him to become better at chakra control. 


Though still...


Please don't let it be Tsubaki...


Old or not, years of experience allowed the Jounin to move silently. Particularly in his own home. Kazou could no doubt see the faint glow help by the Ryugan in the dark, the deep blue color signaling that it was not Tsubaki that was stalking him. 


"It was wise to send word ahead,"  Go murmured, his voice kept low to not disturb anyone. "Otherwise you would have been cut down awhile ago..." He could feel Takashi stirring, the daemon sensing the faint traces of another,  far more twisted being. Interesting . . . 


Go pointed down the hall, "Three more doors." Was all he told Kazou before vanishing into the night once more. 


"..." Kaozu was silent for the exchange, he didn't need to say a word to the old man. In truth he was likely one of the elders you could actually get along with the most. Even if he was the leader of the Mifune... The stories Kazou has heard... he can't believe half of them in truth... then again.. they did all have demons inside them, and Tabemasu caused him some trouble on occasion...


Occasions that often made him go up in a belt size...


Damn that demon and its love of sweets. Or.. anything in truth...


Regardless, with the room's location in his mind, and hoping the old man didn't give him Tsubaki's room by accident or purpose he set forward.... Creeping towards the doorway, flashing in and out of the moon's glow, but never producing a shadow from being in it's light. He Reached the doorway and silently prayed he'd find Yuuki....


...


Success. 


Now Yuuki . . . . let us see how you shall perform under stress...


Yuuki quietly groaned, stirring as the morning sun filtered into his room. Damn thing loved to ruin a decent dream. Mismatched eyes slowly opened as he stared at the ceiling to his room. 


...


Something felt off . . . 


The young Mifune sat up, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes. His light blue yukata loosely hung off his shoulders, the obi pulled loose from a restless night. Still tired eyes scanned the small room.


All his pouches and tools still sat where he'd left them last night after sharpening and tending to them. Clothes remained in a disorganized heap.


Should probably take care of that before mom comes by . . . 


Finally his eyes landed on the stand where his katana, Ryuga, lay. 


....


It was gone.


Yuuki felt his heart drop as he stared at the empty stand. Scrambling from the futon, Yuuki practically fell where the sword had been placed last night. A single piece of paper lay there instead. Frowning, he picked it up and scanned the message within. 


Training grounds.


That was all the note said. 


"The hell?" Yuuki's eyes narrowed as he crumpled the note, tossing it aside as he quickly got dressed. The note had been written with a fine calligraphy brush. Not many would take the time to learn that kind of art. Honestly Yuuki hated being pulled into calligraphy lessons. But it was something he apparently needed to learn, both as the clan heir and a swordsman.


Swordsman . . . 


The door to his room clattered as the genin threw it open and raced through the house. He barely took the time to properly adjust the straps for the various pouches that were so common among the shinobi. 


Was everything even put back in there?


No, didn't matter. Right now, he had a sword thief to track down.


Something cool coiled around Yuuki's waist, nearly jerking him to the floor. A water whip . . . "Where are you off to in such a rush?" Ayame arched an eyebrow, no stranger to any of the shenanigans that had occurred under her roof. 


"Ryuga's gone," Yuuki cringed as the words left his mouth. Damn being in a hurry . . . "I think Kazou-Sensei took it." 


Ayame's gaze drifted over Go who remained at the table. Her husband said nothing, merely taking a sip of the hot tea. The faintest smile played at the corners of his lips. Ayame seemed to catch enough of a hint. "Well you're not taking off after a Jounin without eating something first."


"Eh?" Yuuki blinked, looking between her and the hall that lead to the door. "But-"


"No buts, gods only know you'll be running all over town, you'll need it."


Yuuki finally relented with a low grumble, knowing any further attempts at arguing would only end with the sharp snap of a water whip. 


Breakfast was fairly light. Both because Yuuki knew he probably would be put through his paces, and because he wasn't about to take the time for anything much bigger. There weren't many formal training grounds in Kemuri, but there were plenty of improvised ones. Tracking down Kazou might take awhile . . . 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"...So this is the blade Yuuki carries around all this time... not bad at all." Kazou whistled, drawing the blade and giving it a once over. Sure, it could be a Mifune artifact, a thing of legend... but he DID have it in his hands right now so...


Why not try it out? 


He had set up these dummies in case Yuuki is faster then he thought in getting chakra control down. but... he can do this as a personal sparring match instead. "Lets see if this thing holds an edge at all.." He spoke to nobody in particular as he held the sheathed blade on his hip. Iaijutsu wasn't Kazou's best style, but... why not? Could be fun to at least try it out with this blade.


"Lets see how well Yuuki takes care of you hmm?" he asked the blade, as if it could really answer.... With that thought he had the slightest feeling... if it could... it would've. had the most dramatic impact to at this moment really, so...


....


Nothing yet....


....


Guess not. 


"Alright then... let's get this done.... first test!" 


he rushed forwards with a small dash, his hand gripping the swords handle and ripping it forwards towards the dummy, the strike ripping from the sheath creating a, as Kazou would describe it, a thunderous roar of steel cutting all in it's path. The blade cut wondrously through the dummy, also a bit to well as it seemed to take half way into the one next to it...


"...Impressive...." he sheathed the blade once more, after checking the blade for any imperfections... wouldn't due to break a toy hes just borrowed now would it? 


Maybe he should practice iaijutsu some more...


...Perhaps another time... Yuuki might be close now, and might've heard the roar of his blade.


Yuuki's breaths had start to grow heavy as he ran through Kemuri, often taking to the rooftops to avoid slamming into anyone on the street. He's already been through several training grounds with no sign of the pilfering jounin. 


He was nearing another known area when he heard it. It was faint, but there was no mistaking it, the whistle of a honed blade cutting through the air. 


The genin quickly changed course, moving towards the sound. He knew he and Kazou were far from the only ones in the village that used a sword, but he still needed to look. Lo and behold there he was, a sheathed Ryuga in his belt no less. 


"There you are," Yuuki's eyes narrowed in a glare. He didn't care if Kazou was his sensei, there were some things you just didn't take. A shinobi's blade being one of them.


"Ah... he finally found me." Kazou chuckled slightly, his face currently in his usual perfectly calm smile, his student comes to begin his lesson... And it seems... he is just a tiny bit angry. 


Only a tiny bit.


"So you have finally came. I was worried you might not find me. Now... are you ready to begin our lesson?" He asked as he pointed towards a tall, electrical pole, long since abandoned and disused, the wires taken off and left as a large wooden stake in the long since dried out ground. A gentle wind blew through the area, his arms crossed and face now stern, like standing in a unflinching vigil...


"Today, you shall learn about chakra control." 


The man announced to his student below as he stood atop of the pole. "A very basic technique, but if anything it makes it all the more crucial. it is the basis for all advanced jutsu, especially Kenjutsu. As such, you shall be training until you can reach the top of this pole. Use this to mark your progress and to slow your fall."  He tossed down a kunai, in case the genin forgot to grab one in his haste. 


"Concentrate your chakra down into the soles of your feet, do not break concentration or else you will fall. It will not be easy. But you must master this art if you wish to keep up with your peers. And..." 


He took the blade Yuuki cherishes so out of its sheath and stabbed it down into the pole he was standing upon, dropping the sheath of the blade down to his genin. 


"If you wish for this blade to be returned to you, you must recollect it... I shall be watching your every attempt. Try and climb the pole another way and I will send you back down into the earth myself." 


The last part came like a whip upon the air, as if the very thought of his student cheating in this test is enough to send him into a fury....


If Yuuki were to look down, he'd see age old imprints of a man, smashed into the ground, over and over.... Would his add to the numbers? 


"And one last thing... Coming this evening there will be a large storm. For the sake of your blade... You best hurry... i for one would very much like to teach you kenjutsu... But what is a swordsman without a sword?"


Yuuki's glare continued even as Kazou offered a smile of sorts in greeting. The boy first thought this might be some lesson in combat, a sparring match to reclaim the pilfered weapon. He was already reaching for a kunai when Kazou pointed. 


What'd an old electric pole have to do with anything?


Yuuki was half tempted to send a few . . . fairly sharp items in the Jounin's direction as he effortlessly scaled the weathered pole. The only thing that stopped him was the announcement that their lesson would be on chakra control.


...


Well, shit...


By their very nature, chakra control never came easily to members of the Mifune. The blending of normal and demonic chakra left the end result somewhat erratic in comparison to the chakra held by most. It's not that control was impossible for them, it just took more work to achieve. 


Another growl escaped Yuuki as his sword was driven into the top of the pole. He leapt to snag the falling sheathe from the air, tucking it safely back in his obi where it belonged. 


"You want me to climb this with just chakra? Fine then!" He called up as he retrieved the supplied kunai from the dirt. Sure he brought his own, but this one was already there. The news of the impending storm did little to help Yuuki's mood. 


Get this figured out before evening, should be simple enough.


Right?


Forming the ram seal, he focused what chakra he could into his feet. A running start should help too . . . Yuuki lunged at the pole, not even making it a step before landing rather hard on his back. 


...This might be a little harder than first thought. 


"Clear your mind and focus, erratic emotions cause erratic fluxes of chakra. Remaining calm will save your life, even in the most stressful of circumstance. Your sword is here, awaiting you." 


Still as a statue, he stood atop of that electrical pole, motionless even as the wind blew. He wants Yuuki to succeed... But this victory is his own, the inner workings of chakra cannot be forced to align to the user's needs by an outside source. This was Yuuki's chakra, he must seize its reigns.  


Hours passed as the sun continued its climb higher into the sky, signaling the change from morning to afternoon. Yuuki lay on his back at the foot of the pole, gasping for breath.


He'd only managed to get maybe ten feet up the pole before losing his grip once more. 


"Dammit," Yuuki muttered as he sat up, wiping more sweat from his face. He'd barely made any progress the entire morning. Why was this so much more difficult? The genin was starting to feel the effects from the almost constant use of chakra, his stomach growling loudly in protest.


The two chakras are causing issue it seems... I should be thankful I learned much about control before... Kazou thought to himself before gaze back down to his student... "At times a lighter touch shall prevail where brute force falters. With every step you gain a small victory, each victory is another step towards mastery."


"You have but 4 more feet to go, the end is in sight. But the storm is on your tail..." He motioned a hand towards the large rolling clouds in the distance. "The clouds, soft from a distance, but within a roaring strength. Struggling to hold on to itself, it lets itself loose wherever it is at the time. bringing rain, thunder, lightning. The power of nature, but tell me... did you know that lightning does not begin in the clouds?  But it goes from the ground into the sky?"


"The charge from the cloud extends downward, and only when it touches the ground and it's charge the strike occurs. Sending the current upwards, exchanging the charge with the ground and the sky. Lightning itself occurs due to the difference in charge, equalizing it." Kazou... mostly was speaking about it because he was bored, it was silly to watch Yuuki go up and down repeatedly but... perhaps he rambled on too much? 


Or was this a satisfactory lesson on equal use of chakra? 


....


Perhaps standing atop of this pole for 6 hours has messed with his head.. he DID skip out of tea earlier this morning. 


....


Perhaps he should have gotten breakfast? Did Yuuki eat breakfast? Ayame's cooking too... lucky kid... Maybe some... pork cutlet ramen later? Then a drink and a bath...? 


Wait, no, he had Lynn now, he had to go home to check on her. Maybe then bring her out? Dinner, a bath? She'd have to go into the women's... She was old enough to go in there on her own. perhaps he should ask one of the ladies who owned the place to help her? they'd be kind to her... especially since she was essentially his adopted kid...


...Was he already becoming an over protective father? 


Barely a month in? 


...Oh yes... Yuuki. 


"Lightning is mother nature's energy, seeking balance. remain focused and delve deep into your core... Focus... breathe... and then go." 


Yuuki had managed to catch his breath as Kazou spoke, his expression only growing more confused as his teacher seemingly became sidetracked by his own thoughts. The genin slowly pushed himself to his feet, his entire body aching from both the effort needed to climb and the repeated hard landings. 


Mismatched eyes warily gazed over at the looming storm. It was looking like the rain may hit a little sooner than expected . . . not good with his sword still out of reach.


Energy seeking balance . . . was it because of the two different kinds of chakra he had that was making this so much harder? 


Yuuki closed his eyes, trying to focus. It was difficult to even tell the two types of energy apart. The daemon's chakra had always been blended with his own, it never felt any different. 


No, no, focus . . . 


Direct the chakra to the soles of your feet . . . 


Mustering what energy he could, Yuuki started trying to ascend the pole once more. It was a slower pace than he would have liked, but he was climbing and not falling back to the ground. It was something at least. 


Just stay calm, focus, and keep climbing. 


It startled him slightly when his foot no longer had a pole to cling to. Gasping, he clung to the top with what chakra remained. Yuuki's breaths were heavy, tired, so tired. It took a moment to really register he was standing where Kazou had. 


It started as a low chuckle before erupting into full blown laughter. "I actually did it . . . finally." A shaky hand grasped the hilt of the sword before Yuuki tugged it free from where it had been driven. 


Landing on the ground before the pole, having switched his place so that Yuuki would have room up there to actually... stand at all. The man stared up to his genin, proud of his student's achievement. "You have done well Yuuki, you are now capable of controlling your tempestuous chakra. But the training does not end on this end, you must keep training your control. Even i have much still to master, even with my status of jounin." he nodded at his own words before breaking his usual smile forth. from his earlier statuesque form.


Bah, he shouldn't stay so stiff lipped for long, his face hurts  a bit. 


"Now, if you wish, let us grab something to eat, you must be starving after such an endeavor. And.... I am sorry that I took your blade, make certain you guard it more carefully from now on. Lest hands come to snatch it from the shadows. Those with more ill intentions then I." He awaited his student to come down from the pole...


Somewhat expecting him to fall more so than jump down. 


Once finished, they left the area to get something within their bellies, after collecting Lynn of course. It was then, they parted ways for the evening...


Yuuki, with his recovered sword and new found control, and Kazou, trying very hard to not buy Lynn half a store's supply of sweets. 

 

[Ganryu]

Ayumu & Kazou
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The Tale of the Sad Peacock
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Atop the rooftops, Ayumu sat with scroll afterscroll laid out around him. It was a messy array of notes, and tips, and it didn't seem to make much sense. It certainly didn't for the genin sitting in the middle of it all. The most telling thing about Ayumu that day was the preened peacock was messier than any of his scrolls. His hair was a mess, and bags were under his eyes. HIs face was without makeup, and his clothes obviously were from the day before. 


Ayumu could hide his feelings with others, but alone... the young kid still had much to learn about dealing with himself. It was one sentence torturing him.


"Genjutsu... I am well beyond such little tricks... you shinobi using such an incomplete form of power"


With a howl, Ayumu threw his inkpen from his notes at a nearby wall.


"...Ayumu... seems upset..." Kazou thought to himself as he stared at his student. In truth this might've been the first time that he has ever seen an emotion aside from sassy nariscism. Should he... go down there? Give the boy time? Come back with tea? 


....


May as well go speak to him.  


"Ayumu." the man began speaking to his student, landing not to far from the boy as he had jumped from his observation point. "You have been here for some time..." he gave a moment to gaze at the scrolls lieing around. Everything was in disarray... this could not be good for the young man. 


"I admire your drive to study, but if you are having trouble..." he let the words draw on to silence for a moment to get a good look at the boy... he looked down right rabid...


Ayumu nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing the voice. Immediately he jumped up, and tried to make his robes flow as normal.... it didn't quite work.


"Ah, hello sens..."


His voice was cracking all the way. Looking down at his robes, he realized it. He was unfabulous. UNFABULOUS! Here sensei was, one of the most fabulous people by accident Ayumu knew, and Ayumu was a mess. With a large sigh, Ayumu's head fell. At the same time, his sleeve angled wrong, and all his equipment clattered out on the ground emphasizing his mood.


"Just.... just don't tell Ryu. -sigh-. I'm a mess, aren't I? I just can't get the tart's " his voice laced with venom "voice out my head. She made fun of my craft, and tossed it aside like it was nothing. Like if someone called your defenses tissue paper. I want to show her what real genjutsu is like... but I can't come up with anything.


I've always trained alone, but... I just can't seem to get anywhere. I don't know where to go with any of my training. It's.... just not fair. If my genjutsu's nothing, then that leaves me behind Yuuki's sword, and Ryu's... well everything I suppose."


He... kinda looked like a dirty... really sad peacock... made of knives... The loss certain got to him. the woman espeacally seemed to be a trying part of his ordeal here. "The use of words within a battle could very well mean life and death. A scathing slurry of words could cause an enemy to flintch easier than a simple feint could ever provide." 


"You genjutsu is in a fledgling state, but not weak. You show you are ready to adapt, to gain more power. that is not weakness, but shows you are ready for more, greater things then what tricks you have now." he spoke of what he saw here, a young man trying his damn best to sort out just why he wasn't able to to succeed. 


"At times we shall fall, but having the courage to stand up once more... that is where true strength lies... Long ago, I was a weak hearted man. i could barely run a mile, much less around the school... I was as you are. in truth I had near gave up many times before my very first mission as a true genin... But I kept moving, forcing myself forwards when all I felt I could do is lay there and die." 


Kazou shook his head, trying to rid himself of those bad memories. "I failed many times... but I always returned. I went back again and again, never leaving what beat me down be until I won. And then, I kept going forwards again, the path getting easier and easier with every triumph, with every passed trial. Soon I found myself not failing even once in my duties.


there of course is a much longer story to this, but I think you catch what i am saying. You are an intelligent young man Ayumu. Your time against that woman will happen again, not now, but in the future, and when you do find her you will be that much stronger. And you will show her genjutsu that shall tear her very world apart." he clutched a fist for emphasis, his very form filled with confidence that his student will succeed. 


"I see great potential in you Ayumu. Yuuki and Ryu may have physical skill, you within you is a potential that cannot be ignored. You are never "behind them", you are preparing your next trick. You are never catching a breath, you are planning your next move." He took a few steps towards the young man before giving him an earnest smile. 


"We shall begin training your body. For thats where it all begins, for your mind to work, you need the thing that carries to to work. Your breathing, we shall start there." he then looked to his genin, meeting the young man's eyes.


"And I will also say... stamina will also do you favors in the way people view you." kazou began to do something rather unexpected... taking off his armor and shirt!


Beneath was a gloriously chizeled form, a body that has been trained to withstand all that goes against it, he was in top physical form... Every breath rippled with muscle, each movement in his arms as if it could tear apart a mountain. 


"You place alot of time in your appearance, in truth while I cannot say i went into my training to improve such, but it certainly did not disappoint in such regards. Train your body, and you will be able to be a thing that all shall give respect... And tied with your proficency already in making yourself eye catching... Who knows what you can accomplish." 


In truth... he was mainly doing this because he knew it was the best way to convince Ayumu to do stamina training. the best way to at least keep him interested for a good while at least. 


... did it work?


Ayumu's sad gaze looked up at sensei's recognition. Ryu and Yuuki both did have the physical part, but Ayumu had his own path. Sensei even touched on Ayumu's nindo, and Ayumu felt appreciation for that. He just had to figure out what the next step was. He had to rend the woman's world with his genjutsu, it was destiny, one Ayumu merely had to follow. The only question was how Ayumu would accomplish that.


Ayumu felt hope, followed directly by horror at sensei's next movement. He didn't know where this was going, but he felt he needed an adult. 


Ayumu did have to admit, a stronger form would allow him to wear more. As it was, Ayumu had been limiting himself to long sleeve robes. Not only because of his tricks, but because of his frail body. Sensei was right! He'd been failing fashion options with his body.


With a tinge of hesitation, Ayumu was for once complacent with the concept of physical work.


"Very well sensei. What do you have in mind for enhancing my breathing?"


Sighing at what he was doing, Ayumu loosened his obi, letting his outer kimono fall off to prepare for the exercise. Ayumu didn't want to dirty it. Below it was a much lighter wear, showing off Ayumu's skin. he was so pale and pasty that he seemed to sparkle in sunlight. His arms showed a distinct lack of muscle and tone in the sun. Ayumu seemed to flinch at the very contact of sun upon anything but his face.


"To enhance one's breathing, one msut learn the way we breath, pulling a deep breath, filling our body with the basest of energy to move, through breath comes life, through life comes chakra. 


And through chakra comes jutsu. Now follow me lead, this shall not be as thrilling as combat training, or learning a jutsu. But today you shall begin making your weakness, a strength." Kazou nodded to the young man before stepping beside the young man, facing the sun. "Through the sun comes all life, feel it's rays upon your skin... it's life... it's energy. All things breath, the trees, animals, even stones give off natural energy. Master your basest fuel, your energy, your chakra, and you will rule the world."


The man stood for a moment before widening his stance. 


"Breath in deeply and hold until i say 3.


One....


two.......


Three......


Again.


One....


Two......


Three.......


Again, open your airways, feel the warm breath of the world.


One...


two-"


This went on for roughly an hour, Kazou began to explain the importance of mastering one's breath, a thing not many truely understand to master, for only those who go without it knows its importance. To master one's breath, to temper its timing, the amount, the strength can do wonders upon the battlefield, when struck you can lose your breath, remain calm and exhale before the strike so you will not be struck stunned by the loss of it. 


To manage the rhythm of your breath, to see that act that is natural as important enough to manage, that is key to all things. A key Kazou extends to Ayumu, it will be strenuous on the young man due to his issues... but he will gain what the world stole from him. 


After about an hour of focused breathing Kazou shrunk his stance and let out a long exhale. "Repeat this each morning with the sunrise, you shall find me on the roof of my home doing this as well. if not that, try jogging and timing your breaths, 3 steps inhale, 3 steps exhale. it seems simple, but it is as important as any jutsu... the basics are what you live on, your foundation." 


He stared at his pupil for a moment... he had tenacity... that much he knew... Would he stick with this training? The young man must master his own breath, Kazou cannot do it for him, but he can show the way and give encouragement. 


"Now, before we end this training session, is there any other thing you wish to know? Perhaps a jutsu or having trouble with one of your own?" 


Ayumu nearly rolled his eyes at the training, he figured it would be a waste of time. He nearly missed the que for the first breath. And second. Breathing was easy, right? He did it all the time, why wasn't his body reacting the way he wanted it to? His asthma was bothersome, but it wasn't quite what was stoppingg him. 


It took Ayumu a full five minutes to get into rhythm, and figure out the issue. His body didn't want to slow down for one simple reason, it didn't want to. Ayumu was so flustered and rushed, his body was refusing to do anything other than full throttle, which Ayumu was not built for, not in mind, nor in body. 


Sensei gave Ayumu what he needed most with the breathing, peace. Both in mind and body, Ayumu was able to let go with each deep breath, and renew himself with the next. Ayumu hadn't even noticed the hour pass, peace being the only thing that was coming.  


Ayumu listened to the further instructions. He hated physical work.... but he supposed that just made it all the more important to do. He couldn't do ninjutsu, that left two fields. He could like one all he wanted, but he'd need both to get anywhere.


"I suppose not. This has been helpful, I'll continue with your instructions, I do trust you as far as being a ninja. As far as jutsu though, I feel I have to figure this jutsu out on my own though, otherwise it won't be mine. I will show that woman what real genjutsu is like, thank you sensei."

 

[Orikanyo]

It was a bright sunny afternoon, the dieing echos of training finally leaving the empty air was the three boys and their sensei finally brought their daily training to a close. The jonin, stood tall and strong before his students, he guaged them individually with his sharp, trained eyes. these boys would grow into true and strong shinobi, he only needed to help them down their path. he often told them of the need to master the basics, a foundation for all things they would learn in the future. Even if they would not be using it, to come up short because you have never trained in something all shinobi should know would be a fault on Kazou's account.


"We shall end instruction for today, you may continue if you wish but be certain to gain some rest. Your body cannot grow without it, and you still have a great deal left to do." he reminded the boys, he reminded them of this often, but the state of one's body means everything to a shonobi. he'll skip his long winded lecture on the nature of bodily health and chakra today, wouldn't take long, but he has business to attend to.


"I shall be leaving now, if you have any questions feel free to contact me another day, or loeave me a letter at home." And suddenly, he was gone, leaping high into the air and bounding off towards.. who knows where. 


The boys never saw to much of Kazou during their down time, even if they took time to go all around the city he proved to be a rather elusive sensei. But was for his new family member, a young lady named Lyn, she was less difficult to track down. She made her foothold in town rather easily, as she was a rather likeable young lady.. if a bit quiet. Having a home has emboldened her and given her the confidence she has not had when she lived in Koseki. 


Kemuri was her home now, and she was taking to it 


rather well. Even if she didn't seem to interested in the ways of the ninja. She did however pour over Kazou's books on anatomy and medicine, some of the words were hard but Mr.Yamamoto, she tries to call him that because everytime she slips a father in the man seems to tear up for some unknown reason, is more then willing to help. 


But today, today she is a young woman on a mission! 


Or rather is a young woman WITH a mission!


For something has been bothering this young lady about Kazou, or rather a person he sees sometimes, a mysterious person whom Kazou doesn't speak about... 


Such is the reason why she comes out of hiding once Kazou leaves the training area, and approaches the three young men.


"Umm... Excuse me." she spoke softly to the three, a few pages of paper in hand. 


Yuuki looked up from carefully sharpening and oiling the blade of his sword. The training had been difficult as usual, but he knew it was skills they all needed to master. "Hey Lyn, what's up?" He gestured in the direction Kazou had taken off to. "You just missed Kazou-Sensei if he's who you were looking for."


Shaking her head, the young woman's eyes sparkled slightly in the dying sunlight. "N-no, I'm not here for Da- I mean Mr.Yamamoto. I'm here to... See you... All of you I mean, not.. umm... I need your help."


The Genin tilted his head before sheathing his sword and standing. "Well, alright, help with what?"


Ayumu panted from the training field. He'd bulked up, but for him, that wasn't much. Resting was starting to pretty good. Then his thought returned to the paper woman, and he resumed a stance they had been working on. He hated working or training with his teammates, but he had to beat that paper woman, he just had to. She'd mocked his genjutsu. He'd EARNED that genjutsu. It was the only thing he could trust in. He didn't care if he was a genin, or if he had to go through hell and high water, he would show her what his genjutsu could do. A good body would be needed to cast it though. Then he noticed Lyn.


The peacock approached the pair, his eyebrow raising at the conversation.


"Interesting, very well."


Ryu always was something of a sponge during Kazou-sensei's lectures. Perhaps it was due to finally having a sensei that was actually able to teach, unlike Seiji, but it seemed that Ryu was more than eager to learn everything thrown his way. Some things, like taijutsu without his Serpent's Strike, he did not do so well in. Of late, he had begun trying to find some sort of weapon he could use that would augment his otherwise weak non-ninjutsu infused taijutsu. Thus far, trench knives had been his best bet. Resembling brass knuckles with a dagger afixed to one end with the blade extending over the knuckles, it was a rather violent looking thing. Ryu found them quite useful, however, especially since he could still cast ninjutsu while using them. Needless to say, he had come a long way from being the boy who failed the academy exit exam three times (albeit all voluntary). 


Although he would never admit it, a big part of his motivation was Ayumu. He was the physical embodiment of everyone that had ever looked down on him or doubted him, and it pissed him off. He made abundantly sure to always train harder so that he could make that smug prick eat his words. He had to admit, it always felt particularly good when his hard work paid off and he picked something up quickly that Ayumu struggled with. He never rubbed it in. He could tell just from Ayumu's face that he didn't need to say a word for the action to have its desired effect: Pissing the peacock off.


For the time, Ryu had cast off his usual Kimono top, wearing under it a vest that was loaded with all of his extra stuff. It was rarely seen, given usually he left it off while working or otherwise covered completely by the Kimono.


Lyn's arrival succeeded in snapping him out of his trance like state as he stared fixated on his hand, trying to figure out just what he could do with chakra if he could master a change in chakra shape and nature... He couldn't remember if he had first heard about it through Kazou-sensei or through a scroll (because we all know he didn't learn it from Seiji), but he had become somewhat fixated on experimenting with these changes to see what he could come up with. Of course, he was playing with things far above his level, so he really had only managed to succeed in frustrating himself for the most part. At least now he could manifest his chakra as a ghostly plasma in his hand that did little but look pretty... Of course, that was the easy part....


He shook his hand, the plasma vanishing as he approached Lyn. "So what do you need help with?" He asked, stretching a little as he waited for the girl to explain just what she wanted from them.


Lyn looked almost afraid to do this, she didn't like having to asking them to do this but.. it was the only thing she could do! She was so confused... Who was that person? why does Mr.Yamamoto not let her come along? Is it about her? Is somethign wrong? She... she has to know! 


"I...Umm... I..." she held the papers to the three and nodded, "it's... a... a.. mission. i want you to.. Umm.. F-f-follow Mr.yamamoto and see who he is with..." her resquest was rather simple, but for the boys this seemed to be a way to learn more about their mysterious and muscular sensei. 


And perhaps make use of the skills he taught them. 


"..Umm... S-s-so?"


Yuuki lightly pulled on of the papers free from her grasp. Needlesss to say she'd piqued his interest in this little request. "Mmm, can't say but my stealth's all that good yet, but it's worth a shot."


Should be more interesting than calligraphy practice anyway.


"Umm... They... they are going to a restaurant downtown... I don't know which one... When he was leaving I heard the woman say... umm... "how romantic" or something..." she didn't seem too sure of herself, not that she was really most of the times, but she did seem genuinely worried.


Ayumu sighed, as if some big thing were being asked that was completely up to him, though in reality, he was more butting in.


"If it's an issue of stealth, these two are hopeless; quieter than a civilian, louder than an elephant. I suppose that all but requires me to tag along. Pity, this would require me to dress down a tad. Anymore than this, and I'll look like Ryu.


Besides all that, I must admit, it grates me how Kazou can always find me, yet  I can never seem to find him, I accept. If they are going to a 'romantic restaurant', I know one or two. Are you accomaning us miss Lyn?"


Taking this as the young man offering to take her out on a date, Lyn's face turned red as a beet. "w-w-what!! Nn-n-no! I... Umm..I... i do wnat to see what Da- Mr.yamamoto is doing... umm...." she went silent for a moment and then nodded. "..O-o-o-kay... I'll do it!"


Yuuki shot his teammate a dark look at his remark on their stealth. Sure he wasn't the greatest out there, but it was usually more than enough to slip by civillians when in a crowd. But Kazou going on a date? The Genin wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation. "I guess we should pick a place and check it out then."


Ayumu had an innate knack for pushing just the right buttons to piss Ryu off. "The closest thing you know about romance, Ayumu, is when you look at yourself in the mirror." Ryu quipped, giving the peacock a dark look of his own. Sure, he wasn't a master of moving silently, but he could disappear from sight, something Ayumu couldn't do despite being a genjutsu specialist. 


At times, Ryu could hardly believe how smug Ayumu acted despite the fact he was, by a wide margin, the physically weakest of the trio. Not to mention Ryu had, of late, grown rather annoyed with Ayumu's attemps to practice Genjutsu on him, particularly when he was working. Clearly, the peacock had no reguard for what real hard work was, given his wealthy status. He wondered if Ayumu even understood the concept of 'manual labor'.  


If there was one good thing that came from his abandonment, it was that he never developed the unholy arrogance his teammate showed for his upbringing. One of these days, that arrogance was going to be Ayumu's undoing. 


He shook his head to calm the urge to tear into Ayumu some more. "As for our search... you said he was on a date, meaning he could be just about anywhere. I can use my water clones to cover more ground. Once we find him, then we can condense our search. Ayumu can wait here in the meantime. We wouldnt' want him to burn all of his stamina before we even get started." Ryu remarked, deliberately taking another jab at his pretentious teammate to remind Ayumu of his own shortcomings since he was so quick to point out flaws in others.


Ayumu only grinned as Ryu spoke. Why shouldn't he find the idea of himself romanitc? Didn't everyone? As far as the stamina insult was concerned...


"Cute. Well then, shall we? Let's see what sort of woman sensei is with. I must admit, now Lyn here has me curious. I wonder, wouldn't it be interesting for Lyn if wedding bells were in the air?"


He santered off, having an idea where some of the richer restraurants were. Ayumu didn't have interest in them, but his parents would often go.


"Another thought does strike me. Yuuki, what sort of restaurants do you suppose Tsubaki might entertain as romantic? She's more likely to spend in the range I would expect Kazou-sensei would."


Yuuki stopped in his tracks, Ayumu no doubt feeling the annoyed glare coming off the Genin. "What's that have to do with any of this?" Just what was their flamboyant teammate on about this time?


"Defensive are we? Well, I'll refrain. When I say 'more likely to spend in the range', they are both Jonin, likely of the same paygrade. Or is your sister not a romantic?"


"w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w--w-w-w-w-w-w-w--wedding bells!?!?!" The young lady looked pale as the moon. "I... I don't know... I mean.. I..." her face turning a comeplete 180 and flashing red. "...maybe this was a bad idea..." She murmmered before following the rather fancily dressed boy who spoke to her, long back at Koseki... it all felt so very far off...


And now she was here... asking her guardian's students to find out what hes doing...


...


Should she really do this? 


......


Maybe it was just one of those adult things... maybe he didn't want her speaking with that lady? But.. could she really be that bad? She has seen some pictures of people.. Perhaps she was in one of those? 


"Umm... I remember Mr.Yamamoto has... Pictures.. there's one lady in a few. She has long dark hair and purple eyes... She looked scary... She was with a young man who looked like Dad..." she spoke thoughtfully, hoping it might help the young men in their bickering. 


"...Could it be?" she wondered, cocking her head to the side, curiously.


Yuuki hesitated, sure there were a lot of people in Kemuri with black hair.  But purple eyes . . . ? Ayumu had better keep his mouth shut.


"My, my, purple eyes. What exotic tastes."


Ayumu found Lyn's reaction cute. At least she reacted to his playful jabs. His teammates were pretty jaded at this point. The best he could get was mild annoyance.


"Well, that does narrow it down. We'll help you find out about her, I promise. Or rather, now we're curious, and I'm sure you are as well, so we'll fill you in as we find out. I mean, a man such as Kazou I'm sure would find a woman unmatched by others. I'd die if I couldn't figure out what sort of beautiful person would catch his eyes.


On an unrelated note, Yuuki what was that earlier question you asked me? I seem to have forgotten it."


Mild annoyance was still a fun reaction.


Yuuki's eyes narrowed into a glare at Ayumu, but he didn't answer. The ever annoying peacock was certainly asking for a sword to the back though.


After a bit of time, the group managed to spot signs of their sensei, Shi-usagi, standing nearby a lamppost with a rather... bored look about him. As bored a rabbit could look really... well.. a ninja rabbit anyways. but it was a sure sign Kazou was near, but why would he summon Shi-usagi? 


"So damn boring, why'd I have to stay out here while they have dinner eh? They better remember my damn take out this time... last month I starved for nothin'." The rabbit grumbled as his stomach sounded in protest of his long standing vigil. "Course.. the place cooks like no other, probably why they book it in advance... Lucky devils." 


He gazed around for a moment before flopping forwards, holding his stomache. "Be quiet would yea! I'm suppoused to be watchin' for trouble!" He argued with his stomach... 


Lyn stared at the bunny who was talking like it was a part of her every day... in fact he really was. "Bun-bun is here... he's hungry..." she spoke softly from her hiding place.. trying out his ninja tactics thing by hiding within a nearby bush. 


"Umm... I think Daddy is in there.." She says to the others as she spots a strange thing from one of the windows of the large restaurant... Large rabbit ears? IS THERE A BIGGER BUNNY INSIDE!?!?!


Ah crap, why'd he have to summon him...? Yuuki peered out from his place in the shadows. Shame he'd already eaten the lunch he packed for training today, might have been helpful in distracting the fluffy sentinel. Assuming he'd fall for it of course.


Then there was the issue of the owner behind those larger ears they could see in the window. He'd never seen Kazou summon anything bigger than Shi-Usagi. This could be trouble...


He glanced to his teammates to see their reactions on the matter.


Ayumu raised his eyebrow. He only knew the rabbit from the sewers.


"So he's got a rabbit guard? Because that's totally not inconspicuous. Now I know this has to be juicy. Hmm... I bet he'd report if we went in after him? And being Kazou's, it must be a rabbit among rabbits. 


Think I can at least distract it so we can go on? Or should we try talking to it? I'm not familiar with the summon. Lyn, what say you? You are in charge of this little mission. To review, I'm a genjutsu, user, that means I can make people see illusions. Yuuki's a taijutsu user, it means he's the strongest. Ryu's great with puddles."


"Huh? I-i-i-in charge?" she yelped and began to shiver slightly... This....


Was so exciting!!


She was a ninja today!!


Ninja Lyn! 


She nodded enthusiasticly, sudden filled with energy. "I'll.. I'll distract him." She spoke with all the determination the little woman could muster. she shuffled her way out of the bushes and began to sneak up on the rabbit in a way that stunk of her acting like a ninja... A rather... terrible one at that... 


Shi-usagi rose an eyebrow and twitched his ear... he could hear... small footsteps... smell... Lyn? What was she doing here? Little rascal! Can't blame her for being curious, plus he couldn't rightly get mad at her, she was just plain too cute!! 


...


Though he'd never admit he was charmed by the little thing. That said, perhaps he should let her sneak a bit close, maybe she was just passing by and saw him? Yeah, had to be it, likely will try and just sneak up on him and say hi, he'll act surprised and they'll laugh. 


The small lady walked forward, creeping very slowly... the rabbit looked smug and happy, like a parent pretending not to see the child sneaking up behind them. 


What he expected was a "BOO!" what he got was.. rather different... 


He found himself paralyized comepletely on the spot! his body shivered and fur rose up on end. She had struck his weakpoint!! Curses! Did kazou tell her about this!? That bastard!! 


What the young men were currently seeing happen was the young girl sneak up and start scratching the bunny between the ears, causing its eyes to close and freeze on the spot in purest pleasure. 


A distraction indeed well brought about as she plucked up the rabbit in her arms and carried him away from the area abit, out of sight of the windows and all while keeping the thing helpless. 


"I have him!" She spoke to the boys, looking rather happy with herself.. even if she was talking to them with the incapacitated guardsman in her hands. 


"Well, we seem to have the guardsman. Good job as leader Lyn. What are your next orders?"


Ayumu eyed the rabbit again, a familiar feeling as the first time he'd seen it. That fur was still illustrious. Shaking his head of the thought, Ayumu turned to the restraunt. 


"Well, Kazou's not likely to not notice us one way or the other. Hmm. Maybe we can be something else. Yuuki, how's your transformation jutsu? I can't do it, I might be stuck out here. Hmm, I'm still dyin to see this scene though from a ... completely unbiased view. What are the odds you can transform Lyn here? I think a grown woman entering would be very unsuspicious. I can give her a bit of coin to pay for a meal. Or perhaps you have a few ideas of how we can enter?"


"Umm," Yuuki shifted, rubbinng the back of his neck. "Depends..." Golden eyes shifted over to Lyn, "If you know how to create and build up chakra I should be able to mold it for you and cast a transformation jutsu."


Lyn jumped slightly at being asked about chakra, she was more interested in her little bunny pal at the moment. Wait? transform her?! "What? Transform? Me?" Yes Lyn, thats just what I narrated. 


"I... I don't know how to do... what you said.." She looked suddenly rather embaressed with being unable to do as the others could... "...Sorry..." 


Yuuki shrugged, "Not a big deal. Was worth asking though." Granted he'd never tried to manipulate someone else's chakra and cast a jutsu for them before.


Ayumu smiled looking at her.


"It is perfectly fine. You see, I can't either. Which leaves Yuuki. Hmm. I don't like being stopped however. Well, I suppose it's time for a makeover. Ninjutsu isn't the only way to hide yourself. Give me a sec."


Ayumu slide his kimono off, revealing clothing underneath (his usual accents). It was a surprisingly nonflamboyant. Several knives clattered as he removed it, it sounded like a walking armory. He continued messing with his hair, wrapping it in a ponytail Last of all, he began to remove the mountain of makeup he had onrr. He almost looked... normal. His arms were still noodles, and his hair white, but it wasn't at all like how Ayumu normally dressed.


"It'll take a second glance with me. All we need. Hmm. Now Lyn. For a second glance on your end, we just need to make you not as cute as you normally are. Yours is natural. Ah, I know."


Ayumu picked his robes up, and ruffled through the sleeves, until he found what he was looking for. He smiled as he approached Lyn, almost menacingly, makeup in his hands behind his back.


Lyn was... just about ready to run. The presence he gave off was like that of a demon!! His eyes... he was... NO! No she couldn't let him do such things! "No! Stay away!" She dropped the rabbit and ran away from the young man....


Directly into the restaurant. 


She clung to a surprised jounin's leg, shivering like a frightened rabbit. "...Lyn? What's wrong?" He asked the young lady, getting over his surprise. "Are you okay?" He asked once more, getting and kneeling down to her. 


She shivered and hugged the larger man. "Ayumu... he... he wanted to.." She sniffled before Kazou's face went grave.... 


What did his student wish to do? 


What did Ayumu wish to do to Lyn? 


It was at this point, the rage was palpable.... his face was... serene... But one could feel the demon awakening within. 


"Kazou darling~!" An almost sickeningly sweet voice called to the man, the young men could hear this woman's voice from outside as well, it sung through the air like the chiming of bells. 


"Don't you worry your sweet handsome head, you tend to Lynny-kins and I'll go give those boys some punishment~! Okay~?" She was a rather bouncy woman telling from her voice, but her sweetness was enough to amk one feel sick... the boys could just feel the overbearingness from outside. 


"Ah... Alright... Where is Ayumu Lyn, tell Tsuki-"


"Momma tsuki~!"


"...Momma tsuki where they are." he softly spoke to the child, patting her head to give the poor thing some comfort. 


"They're.. they're outside..."


"Ohohohohohohoho~! More than one naughty boy hmm?'


"Y-y-yes?"


"Awww poor thing~! Let Momma Tsuki take care of everything~!" The voice came closer to the door, each step echoing through the air as the woman came forth from the restaurant... 


"Oooh boys~! Where are you~?" The woman called out into the night, taking her time to look over the area. She was tall and lithe, rather... itnerestingly dress and had a prenatural sense of grace in each movement. Her kimono flowed in the air like a constantly moving wave of cloth, her hair a shining like the full moon above, her eyes a... rather worrying shade of red.


And to top it all off, atop her head was two, big, floppy, rabbit ears. 


(https://rei.animecharactersdatabase.com/uploads/chars/5688-1257717704.jpg)


"Oooooh booooys~! Wasn't Shi-uasgi supposed to be here?" Her hand placed above her eyes and gazing around from her point upon the restaurant's entrance. 


"Where are you~? You stupid lazy piece of fluffy!" Her voice turned... vicious... perhaps it is time to run?


Yuuki rubbed his eyes with a groan as Lyn took off inside the restaurant. "Well that could have gone better..." He shot Ayumu an irritated look before watching the building once again. "Won't be long before Kazou-Sensei knows we're here, should probably-" The genin frowned at the woman that stepped into view, her malice quickly becomming apparent. "Run, definitely run."


Ryu could hardly keep himself from facepalming when Ayumu scared off Lyn... Why did it seem that Ayumu had a completely innate talent for upsetting the client, even when the client was Lyn?! "Ayumu... one of these days I need to teach you a little something called tact...." Ryu grumbled. 


That was when the rabbit-woman decided to emerge... Oh they were most definitely in deep shit now.... "Ayumu... clones.. NOW" Ryu hissed, already making his own handsign as he let the water out of his scroll. 


Right now, the best chance they had of getting the holy hell out of dodge in one piece was to take a play from shi-usagi's book. A couple dozen water clones sprang up around them, several transforming to take on Yuuki's appearance as well. He knew well enough about those rabbits to know the second they tried to run, she'd hear them. The best bet was to give her too many targets to possibly pursue and hope against hope that they managed to escape.  


"Scatter!"


Ayumu sighed, ruffling through his robes he'd discarded.


"All this from a makeover. Surely the last one wasn't that bad?"


A smoke bomb explodes, and several genjutsu clones ran out of the screen, running close to Ryu's. One dove at the rabbit woman.


"Eh!? A smoke bomb! But thats cheating!' she pouted for but a moment, before the shadow clone rushed towards her. "Eh? just what do you think YOU'RE-" the shadow clone was hit with a bone crunching kick "doing~!" As it departed with a rather pleasant poofing noise.


"Oh noes~! The little perverts are running away~! Shi-usagi~!" She called out for her underling, and lo and behold he answered, kneeling before the woman. "Yes my lady I'm here to serv-GRACK!" The little rabbit was being stomped upon with a curel heel. "YOU MISSERABLE LITTLE RODENT! HOW DARE YOU LET THEM RUIN MY DATE WITH KAZOU! I HAD HIM RIGHT WHERE I WANTED HIM!" 


"I'm sorry misstress please forgive me!" The rabbit squealed before she lifted her foot. "FIND THEM YOU MISERABLE RAT!" And with another boot the rabbit went flying through the air, splitting into 5 more to hunt down the boys "Y-yes my lady!!!" 


"Hmph, now... Where could they have gone...?" She paused for a moment and gazed up at the big wide moon... A faint silvery glow circled around the rim, turning into a faint glass-like mirror of silvery light. "Now boys... where are you heading... the moon sees all~!" 


"Hmmm....


HMMMMMMM.....


ooooooh?


Ah! 


I see....


hmhmhmhmhmhm~!"


Once she finished looking herself in the mirror, she finally saw what was behind her reflection, a young man, with a little demon inside... Well.. little as in recently got in at least. "Now where are you heading...." She asked herself before touching the mirror's glass, sinking her hand and body inside the rippling surface. 


Disappearing from sight. 


It wasn't long at all from when  the three split up that Yuuki bounded across rooftops. In hindsight just splitting up likely wasn't the greatest idea out there. But whoever or . . . whatever Kazou had been meeting with didn't seem like the kind to be messed with. Of course now he also wanted to know who it was...


*CRACK*


The sounds of shattering glass split the air above Yuuki, a good 5 feet above his head the sky split open like a broken window into a unseen world. "Found youuuuuuuuu~!" She called to the young man, landing just in front of him, her feet landing with a force one would not expect from such a lithe frame. 


"I


Found


you~!" 


Her voice seemed to never stop teasing those she spoke to, like a haughty older sister who just kept talking. "Now my little pervy boy, you know what happens to young men who try to mess with cute girls, right?" she asked Yuuki, looking like she was going to ENJOY whatever she was going to do... 


"Hehehe, you're actually kinda cuuute~!" A predatory grin appeared upon her face, tongue licking her lips. "Any last words?"


Yuuki came skidding to a stop at Tsuki's sudden appearance. The boy's eyes wide with surprise before confusion quickly took its place. Did . . . did she just call him pervy? Wait- now she's calling him cute??


"I uh..." He took a hesitant step back, fully aware of the power difference between the two. "I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding..."


'Ooooooh~! A misunderstanding?" She asked curiously, her head turning slightly as her ears flopped to said side. "And would you please tell me what misunderstanding is going on hmm? Are you not the pervy one? Then why were you with them hmmm?"


"Lyn asked us to help her find out who Kazou-Sensei was meeting with..." Yuuki couldn't shake the feeling there was no good way of getting out of this. "Since she couldn't use chakra and needed a disguise she... may have taken Ayumu helping her the wrong way..."


"Oh? Ayumu? Hmm..." she asked before giving a small chuckle. "Well, I suppous I shall visit him next. But first... I guess I will go a bit softer since you were so nice telling me about your friend~!" The rabbit ears woman lunged forwards... and Yuuki's vision went black...


"Ohohoho~!" 





[First victim, Yuuki, knock out by suffocation]


From the smoke cloud, Ayumu stayed. It was the first lesson Kazou had taught him, helping him hide. Sometimes the best way to flee was to stay right where you were. It seemed to do the trick as the woman left. Ayumu casually walked out the cloud, and to the restraurant.


Thankfully, without his kimono, which he'd left outside, he looked... very normal. It was like a completely different person, a black shirt, and dark bottoms on underneath. His hair was still in a ponytail, and he'd removed his makeup. He wasn't too afraid of it being stolen. Anyone who didn't know about the knives it would probably have their arms shredded putting it on. 


Ayumu walked up to the table Kazou was at, and very casually picked up a menu.


"You know Lyn, for a first mission as a ninja, you did just eliminate your entire team. I'm not sure if I'm impressed or not."


He casually flipped through the menu.


"A-a-a-yumu!" Lyn gasped as the young lady hdie behind a rather tall and serious looking jonin. "...Do mind your manners Ayumu, you brought this upon yourself." He motioned Lyn for her to sit on his side of the booth before sitting across Ayumu. 


"Though, I suppose I did bring it upon myself as well. had I known you were to go this far." He sighed and stared at Lyn for a moment, whom was holding her head low and hands together. "I'm... Sorry, Mr.Yamamoto..." The young lady whimpered, only to get another pat on the head. "It's alright, you did nothing wrong... When Tsukiyomi gets an idea in her head I simply cannot reel her back in... And on this night she has free reign." 


"You.. you mean the bunny lady?" she asked, looking up to the man. 


"Yes, the bunny lady... Once she returns I will explain and talk her down.... Well, explain after you do Ayumu..." he turned the scene to the young man before giving him a scowl. 


Ayumu continued to shift through the menu, the inner child in him looking at the desserts, though he kept going back and forth, pretending he totally wasn't.


"I cannot. As a ninja, I'm sworn to protect the secrecy of the client. I took a mission. But perhaps the client would be willing to explain? She is rather close.


On a side, I'm pretty sure either Ryu or Yuuki is in the hospital right now, maybe both. Carrot breath did try to viciously kill my genjutsu clone earlier. I only escaped following your first training."


[meanwhile]


"Grrr... where the hell is that BRAT! Damn it, I should've asked what he looked like!!" She growled uncharacteristically, unlike her cheerful fluffy usual facade. She searched and searched, but to no avail.. she just didn't know what he looked like... All she had was that stupid discarded robe! 


"Bah! Whatever, I'll find the other one then~! Won't take long~!" She hummed a happy tune..in a rather angry tone as she searched the area for the final young man...


Ryu hadn't run too far. He had faced off with Shi-usagi before, and knew full well exactly how fast those rabbits could run. Escape wasn't exactly an option, and he knew it. It was only a matter of how far he could run before she caught up to him. He stopped near a fountain, surrounded on all sides by buildings facing inward, making a circle. Even at night, the fountain was filled with water, more than enough for what he would need. 


He slipped the scroll from his back, tucking it safely into an alleyway before slipping off his Kimono top. He didn't want his favorite top to be destroyed in the battle to come. Prepared, he returned to the fountain, placing his hands on the water and spraying it on the faces of the buildings before scattering explosive tags around the arena he had created. 


Satisfied, he pressed his back to the wall, crossing his arms over his bare chest as he waited for his opponent to arrive.


But first....


He viciously backhanded the Ayumu clone that had stuck to his side. "Just wait Ayumu... when this is over, I'm doing that to the real thing...." He hissed, knowing that Ayumu had likely acted deliberately to make him the prime target.


The slap slipped straight through the Ayumu clone. The clone simply smirked at Ryu, before turning to where Ryu had been staring, not saying a word, but looking incredibly smug.


The world was silent, a forlorn wind blowing through the air was the only sound permeating the area. A silent peace as the silvery moon shined down upon all that stood in the streets this night, as if the sun never set. The beauty in its silver shine could not be understated, be it man, woman, dog, cat, pidgeon or edgey teenage ninja. 


It shined down upon all. 


....


.......


...........


................


It was... Rather quiet. 


..........................................


.....................................................


Very much so.


...................................................................


..............................................................................


"...Hey kid." A familiar voice called to Ryu, Shi-usagi was standing none too far away from the young man. "Waitin' on somethin'?"


Ryu glanced over as the rabbit appeared. "If a fight is coming regardless, I want it to be on my terms. I know that rabbit woman is likely going to find me sooner or later. I doubt she'd let me off the hook just because I ran." He remarked brushing a stray strand of hair behind his ear. 


"I don't know kid, she can be rather lazy... When she wants to." The rabbit sighed, taking out a cigar and a lighter to take a moment to relax. "So, how's your training come along, eh? Ol' Kazzy showin' yea the ropes?" 


"Yeah. I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve since last time. Well.... Metaphorically speaking..." He mused, looking down at his bare arms. His body, even for one so  young, was covered in scars, most having been earned long before he passed the academy. The Mizuchi family were notoriously cruel in teaching of their newest shinobi, such that many children didn't even live to attend the academy because of the family's training.


"... She's a lot stronger than you are.... Isn't she?" Ryu asked, even though he already knew the answer.


"Yea kiddin'? Compairing me to her is like compairiong a wheel of cheese to the moon. Makes about as much sense as it, but yea get me." He took a long drag of his cigar before blowing a smoke ring into the air. 


"Yer trap won't work, won't even touch her. Just how it is, like attacking your own shadow, she'll just be there. Sure as the moon rising each night and the sun comin' in the morn." He gave a small nod before giving a shrug. "But, if yea manage to mess her up a bit, that'd be a sight in it'self I tell yea. If of course..." 


He took a moment ary pause before letting out a small chuckle. "She even remembers what she's fightin' about." He began snickering a bit, tapping his cigar to get the burnt ash off with his... his....


How was he holding that cigar anyways? 


"Right air head on these nights." He motioned the burning cigar to the moon. "Poor Kazzy has to deal with her. you're lucky kid, don't go messin' around with rabbits and gods. If you want power, make it yourself." 


"I understand that. If power came easily, everyone would have it. If it were that easy, I wouldn't carry around that scroll just for the sake of having a large water flask..." He mused. No doubt shi-usagi would recognize it as a summoning scroll, but Ryu had never actually used it for summoning.


"They won't even talk to me. I guess they're as disappointed in me as my family was." He muttered, obviously referring to the creatures that the aforementioned scroll summoned. "Oh well. No sense dwelling on those that feel I'll never amount to anything. Better if I just focus on making sure I prove them dead wrong." A cold smirk crossed his lips. 


If there was one wonderful thing that came from living with the Mifune family, it was that he finally managed to get passed being disowned. Now, rather than seeing it as a burden, he saw it as a challenge, one that he was dead set on overcoming....


"Aye lad, life will run yea ragged, push yea down and kick yea till yea piss yerself. But all that matters is if yea keep on standing up." He took a few steps towards the young man. "Yea'll grow strong kiddo, just don't let yerself be blind to see others need yer help to grow as well, and the fact you need others as well. Many ninja forget this, think others get in their way or will piss on yea for making mistakes. But that's how we learn, and learning with others makes the lessons all the more worthwhile..." He then smirked as he added in.


"And safe for that matter... yea don't wana know the shit kazou got into in his days as a genin... nearly blowin' himself up, nearly getting killed by the- Actually.. not that one, told me never to speak of that one... Well.. let's just say, when yea go in to try and sneak a girl a letter, don't accidentally wake her up alright lad?" He chuckled once more before standing in front of him. 


"So, yea plan to stay out here all night?" 


Ryu shook his head. "Just a little bit longer to see if she bothers to show up. If not I'll just clean up from here and head home. Given how much of a challenge you put up before, I thought she'd catch up to me a lot faster than this." He mused scratching his chin. 


"Guess maybe I just got all prepared for nothing..."


"Meh, I don't know about that Kid... yea mind if I wait with yea- Ah? Well I'll be, looks like she's showin' up!" The slight sounds of cracking glass resonated through the sky, slowly showing more and more until it fully shattered, sending down a blinding beam of moonlight upon an area...


"Young Ryu..." A soft voice spoke to the young man... the rabbit woman was.. calm.. serene.... Almost proper if she wasn't wearing such a.. revealing dress. "Seems I kept you waiting hmmmmmm~!? Well, I'll just say I have a surprise for you my dear~!" 


"Well lad... yea ready for this?' said the rabbit at his feet, looking stern and proud of the genin before him. 


"Of course... a Ninja has to be ready for anything." A smirk crossed Ryu's lips as he held his hands palms down in front of him, water from the ground rising like tendrils to follow the movements of his arms as he settled into the notorious Serpent's stance. 


It was at that moment a certain rabbit sprung his plan to action...


Yes.


This was the plan from the beginning.


With a sudden jump skywards and a swift kick towards the genin the rabbit's true plot was shown. "Ready for anything eh!? We'll see about that!" 


"Wait, Shio you were fighting to?" 


"Eh? I THOUGHT YEA TOLD ME TA DO THIS!" 


"...I did?" She asked as the rabbit landed on the young man's back, the situation now very awkward. 


"...Err... lad... I'm... See yea kiddo!!! " The rabbit dashed away from the scene as fast as its bushy tail could. 


"..Umm... huh..." the woman stopped, looking very... confused as to what to do. "..Umm... You know what... I'm pretty hungry... so...." She patted her tummy before flashing a peace sign and a wink to the young man. "Bye bye~~~~!" And with a swift swing of her hand she disappeared in a slight flash of silver sparkles...


MEANWHILE AT THE RESTAURANT~! 


Entering in the door came a certain rabbit woman walked in through the door "Ohayooo~! I'm back~! Move your butt cutie." she motioned to Ayumu to scootch over, which she kind of forced anyways with her own body pushing him into the other seat. 


"So~! What's up?" she asked them all, Lyn simply stared at her with sparkles in her eyes as Kazou looked.. very unimpressed... 


"..You.. didn't hurt them did you?" 


"Nope~! Well, maybe their pride." 


"...Fine.." he sighed heavily... "...Lyn will be comign with us for the next times." he patted Lyn's shoulder as his rabbit suitor gasped "YAY~! But.. next month I had the love hotel planned~!" 


......


Lyn blinked for a few moments. "..What's a love hotel?" This forced Kazou to place his head in his hands and sigh... "..I need a vacation..."


Ayumu: "It's where -" 


"No."


Ayumu's eyes then lit up as his milkshake arrived, though he tried very hard to appear calm and collected, as he always did. 

 

[Ganryu]

Ayumu && Kazou Part II: The weight of training.
​

 


 


Ayumu scanned again and again around the training field, making dead certain his teammates were not there. He'd asked Kazou to train him, but wanted dead sure it was just him, for a variety of reason. Yuuki might be alright, a normal pleeb, but he did not want Ryu to be there under any circumstance. On second thought, neither Yuuki. Seeing neither there, he shed his outer robes, wearing an actual practical black shirt underneath. He then put his hair up in a pony tail, before approaching Kazou. He honestly looked like a completely different person. Ayumu was going to be a ninja, that was foremost. Sadly, he had to let Kazou see underneath his fashion, but that was alright.


 


Again, he scanned nervously around.


 


"It's just us, right sensei?"


 


'It appears so." 


 


The man stood with his back facing Ayumu, his lone vigil the training field was over it seems. Well, less of a vigil, more of a "wait and see if one of his students still needed him" type of deal. to which, it seems it was successful. the man turned to see his student and mentally froze as he saw him. *Who the hell is this kid?* he thought for a moment, correcting himself soon after the thought. It was Ayumu, of course, who else? But to see him in a black shirt, one thats even slightly unfashionable? 


 


"It seems you have need of me...  but first, how have you been doing? the last mission was a steep climb, you performed well, but I wish to hear your thoughts upon your actions and status during that climb."


 


Ayumu, now sure it was just them, reverted back to his narcissism.


 


"Honestly, it was a bit too easy. The steep climb was harder than anything in it. Just a few traps from a few non ninjas. I'm hoping to be able to a chunnin at the next exam, worries me a bit if they're all like that."


 


He paused as he thought.


 


"Though... there is something that does bother me a tad. Sensei, what are your thoughts on killing?"


 


"My thoughts upon killing..." he hadn't expected ayumu to get philosophical so quickly. But he suppous all ninja must think on this during their work, he has, a great deal as well. he was a medical ninja, so his flirtation and rivalry with death is more prevalent then most. 


 


"In my time as a ninja, I have seen my fair share of killing. Done so as well." he started with something simple, something one might expect. "it is never easy, and i feel cold at every life I take... But at times it is nessiary for me to take a life to advance a mission, protect my life, or msot importantly, protect another."


 


"however, as a medical ninja, I find something more in saveing a life. With each life you protect and save, you give it a chance to grow and thrive, in whatever way it may. But you do not need to be a medical ninja to save lives, you can do so in your day to day dealings... Or simply reaching out to another." he gave the thought a few nods. "I did not need to take Lyn in, i could have let her stay in that hellhole. But i didn't, and I likely saved her life by taking her in. You all saved that young man as well, and likely will save many more in your future actions." 


 


"In the end, to kill, or not, is up to you. Though, your duty as a ninja..." he grew silent for a moment, thoughts flying together all at once. "...mustn't trump your ninja way." he gave the young man a nod once mroe before waiting for his words. 


 


Duty must never trump your way...


 


Hmm...


 


Ayumu thought for a minute. 


 


"Up to me, hmm."


 


He shook his head. 


 


"Well, it might be a personal decision most of the time, though life and death are on the line. But some things are not right. I was disgusted by the barbarity I saw on the last mission. They might have been puppets, but I'd restrained many of them last mission that ended up massacred. It was vulgar.


Very well, this is my ninja way. I will not. I'm not an idiot though, it makes things harder. Sensei, you are a beautiful doctor as well as ninja are you not? Do you suppose you might teach me a little bit about how to disable?"


 


Two knives were produced from Ayame's shoes, which he twirled in his hands. It was a far cry from the cheating he did on the last taijutsu practice.


 


"I feel my taijutsu has been lacking in any case. Is this acceptable?"


 


"A good choice, leave yourself with no weakness and you will give the enemy fits when they try to know just how to best you." he gave a small chuckle before pointing to his knives. "We wont be need those today. Today you will learn how to disable a man with just your fingers." the man took off his kote and showed his student two fingers. "primarily a speacialty of the Hyuuga, i've had the pelasure of witnessing their style first hand. it was not pleasant." he furrowed a scowl for a moment at the thought before returning to the lesson. 


 


"The whole point of this, is pressure points. With simple jabs into the opponent's body you force their muscles to perform certain tasks." he walked towards Ayumu and took a look at his arm. "For instance.. right here." with two fingers pusshed hius finger into the bend of Ayumu's forearm. "This can cause the target to raise their arm, forcing muscles to contract and could cause them to let go of what their carrying." he pressed hard, causing his arm to rise. "A simple thing, but can be useful if somebody has you by your clothing or throat." 


 


he now loomed over Ayumu's head. "The head, while a strong bone, had a good deal fo weaknesses. here." he tapped the middle of his forehead. "Strike open handed there and it can cause a concussion and will always force the enemy to tilt his head back. More importantly the temple." he tapped the young man's left side. "Can cause sever pain, a concussion, or perhaps even death should the person be weak enough. " he stepped back twice and held up the two fingers again. "A pheonix eye punch could perform that ever better then a normal fist., a simple change to a regular balled fist, keep your upper most finger half curled and brace it with your thumb, creating a point for the impact to center upon." 


 


"The chest area has some points that are weak as well, naturally." he cleared his throat for the moment and took off his shirt. "A single knuckle punch, unlike the pheonix eye you do the same but with the middle finger curled into a point. you perform a straight punch directly into the sternum, to cause issues with the opponent's breathing. Remember what i said during stamina training, your breath is your life, your fuel. What also affects breathing with a swift punch into the solar plexus, this has a great chance of winding potential." he tapped the points upon his own body before continueing. 


 


"Next, the the side, or as one might call, the lvoe handles." he made mention to the area... but there was really nothing but muscle upon him... "This works regardless of body type, grab it with your foremost fingers and push them in while pinching. this will cause them to jump, lsoe momentum. Also good for getting a jump out of friends... Don't tell the others i taught you that." 


 


'Finally for the basics, we have the ribs... i'd be surprised in your time being a ninja if you do not break one. they are very easy to break, and cause quite abit of pain when they do. Along with causing trouble with breathing and possibly causing internal bleeding... And being damn hard to get at when your trying to treat said injury." he let out a small sigh before procuring a scroll. 


 


"You will be a tad ahead of the curb then the others, but this scroll details the other parts of the body and their effects. it also details acupressure points and their effects. " he handed over the scroll to Ayumu before giving it more thoughts. 


 


"mind these pressure points are numerous, it is less about hitting the opponent and more about what the hit causes for them. You can punch a man in the neck, but know that it causes trouble with breathing tied with a punch to the solar plexus can take him out of the fight completely. A key rule I keep to when i am in a hand to hand fight, is to not stop. Always know what you are going to do next, never have a moment of where you are not sure what to do. that is lost time, and when you are in clsoe quarters, time is opportunity. Blocking for the sake of not getting hit only expends energy, I block to grab the oppoenent's limb and use it to my advantage." he finished off his lecture with a small word for the wise. 


 


"And Ayumu... Should it come down to it, If somebody grabs your hair and you cannot get loose... life is more important." he motioned to the young man's hair. "..it'd be a shame to lose it though, your sensei had long hair once." 


 


Ayumu nodded his head, trying to take it all in. Taijutsu wasn't his forte. Then again, genjutsu used to not be either. Ayumu grabbed the scroll, putting it with his robes. Sighing,he already knew he was about to regret not stopping when he was ahead. Ayumu turned back to Kazou, slid his foot back in a stance, one hand infront of the other. It was just like how Kazou had taught them the other day (it wasn't, his feet were in the wrong position).


 


"Well, I'll try to remember what I can. But, I said the other day the body tends to remember what the mind can't. Mind showing me a thing or two?"


 


Ayumu would try to run forward, and let do a single knuckle punch at Kazou's solar plexus. The feeling of a punch was weird.


 


kazou stared at the smaller young man attempted to punch him in the chest.... One would say attempted, because the punch impacted with very little movement from kazou as a whole. it made one wonder if Ayumu was simply that weak, or he was simply punch something abit out of his weight catagory... or both. 


 


But the man let him have said punch, as it would be good experience regardless. however he should be shown how it is done, and perhaps the best way to teach him... is experience! 


 


"Watch my movements, this shall only hurt a moment." his words came quickly as heshifted into a forwards stance and thursted his hand upwards, giving him a light palm to the forehead, tinlting his head back exactly as he spoke of earlier, and then with a second mighty fist he stopped inches infront of the exposed neck. "A light strike can set up for a larger one... or..." 


 


he took a step back once more, paused... and lunged forwards once more, striking with two fingers into his shoulder, where the ball of the arm and chest connect. in but a fraction of  a second the boy's arm felt pain, then went into an uncomfortable numbness down to the tips of his fingers.  He could move his hand, but the numbness felt debilitating. 


 


"And.. here!" he lashed out once more, a closed fisted strike upon the outer thing, close to the knee. 


 


Causing what one might coloqually know as a "Charlie horse." 


 


"Know these well, for they are common, and relatively easy to do. simple ways of getting rid of an enemy's movement. If you are proficent enough, you could strike at both of the enemy's arms at the same time... Try doing jutsu or wielding a blade with numb arms... I wouldn't recromend it. once was afflicted with a poison that numbed my hands..." he scratched his chin as he thought of that time so long ago... "...Was that not the mission i headbutted the target unconscious? I shall have to ask Tsubaki..." he mused on it for but a moment.. before remembering his student who was currently rather.... well... 


 


Pained, no doubt. 


 


"With a modified strike you could effectively dislocate the target's arms as well, requires some more strength or momentum, but strike the shoulder towards the arm and both effects will be achieved." he gave the young man one more nod before thinking on what else he could tell him... "Armor... this can cause you issues, but know all armor have weak points as well, the connecting points between each plate, the joints espeacially due to the fact they must be flexible." he made mention to his armor upon the ground. "mine is a speacial case, but typical armor will have leather or chain, which wont be enough to stop the effect should you sue a tool." 


 


he finished his inforation dump and looked upon him again. "Your thoughts?" Aside from the pain, but he didn't say that part. 


 


At his punch being shrugged off, Ayumu looked up, and nearly let out a whimper. Had he expect much? No. Had he expected more? Definitely.


 


He flinched, before Kazou-sensei turned to a more instructive manner, telling him how to improve his punch. Ayumu looked at his scrawny arm as Kazou spoke, taking it in. And then Kazou-sensei mentioned only hurting for a minute.


 


"Wait, wha-?"


 


In the space of a few seconds, Ayumu found himself on the ground. A low, pained moan escaped his lips as he contemplated his decisions since this morning. The one good one was his kimono was off, and therefore not dirty with his ending up on the ground. 


 


 It was only a second, but a few light taps had left him on the floor? Was he that weak? No.... that wasn't it. Kazou-sensei. could have just decked him to achieve the same results. Each strike was relatively light. He listened intently as his leg throbbed, and his arm felt... well nothing.


 


So many ways to lightly disable a target. 


 


Ayumu slowly got up.


 


"My thoughts are this will be about as difficult as I expected, but I stand by it. These are all useful ideas. I suppose you showed me those moves in particular as I'm more likely to achieve them than a simple punch. It is appreciated.


 


Hmm. I suppose I have one last parting question. I need skill to use these, but I also have to be fast. Much faster than my opponent. My only saving grace is people will underestimate me in close quarters. I need more than that. How can I train speed, sensei? Is there anything, or any style I should study for gentle disabling blows? Besides this scroll? I'd rather not eat up all your time in one on ones. Afterall, you do have two other students."


 


Who I will surprass. Genius will never beat me. 


 


"Speed...  Hmm...." he thought for a moment and a twinkle in the man's eye appeared. "Indeed, there is a way to train your speed. Your dexterity is one thing, that is quickness of your reactions and hands. But Speed is something that needs to be trained in specific ways other then simply running, which will do the job, but wont suit our needs as ninja... as such... Give me but a moment." With a sudden gust fo wind he took off, disappearing for but 15 seconds, before returning with strange objects.... 


 


"These, are weights." he dropped the cloth wrapped object upon the ground, causing a rather... worrying thud. "ty them upon your legs, these shall be the new additions to your daily attire...." he smirked slightly before raising his own pants leg, revealing another set. "Over time they will be like feathers... Ah... Forgot something."  once again he disappeared, only to return with... another duo of weights. 


 


"And these are for your arms." yet another pair of very worrying thuds. "You will get used to them, a very old way of doing it, but there is no better way i assure you. they shall also help with your stamina during your morning runs! And perhaps it might give your strikes the weight they need." he chuckled slightly, before waiting for Ayumu's reaction. 


 


He remembered when he used these weights for the first time, so long ago... it almost felt like a dream, seeing his sensei bringing them, wondering how in hell he will be able to move with them on... Good times... 


 


Meanwhile back at Kazou's home. 


 


Lyn stared at the doorway that had just opened and closed four times in the blink of an eye, "A....A...Ahh!? A ghost!?!?!" she shook in fear of the poltergeists power, opting to, instead of finish doing her homework to instead hide under the covers in her room. 


 


"THERESNOSUCHTHINGASGHOSTSTHERESNOSUCHTHINGASGHOSTSTHERESNOSUCHTHINGASGHOSTSTHERES-" 


 


She was not having a pleasant time. 


 


A large sweatdrop landed on the ground from Ayumu's head. And then the weight hit the floor, and Ayumu had to resist the urge to run. Mainly because Kazou could out run him. Taking a deep breath, he realized that was exactly the reason he'd come to him, because sensei could. He could fight, he could move quickly. Ayumu couldn't. He had his condition sure, but he was desperate for power. He couldn't treat himself as a special snowflake. Least not if he wanted to beat Ryu.


 


With an exasperated gasp, he slid the weights on. He immediately regretted it, nearly falling over from the added weight to his limbs. He felt like he was underwater. 


 


"These.... will.. help?"


 


Well, there was his training for the next... infinity. His breathe began to be short just by standing. Ayumu straddled over to his clothes, picking up his inhaler, taking a few breathes. He would have been more discrete except Kazou already knew. 


 


"Alright.... Thank... you.."


 


"Should you need to rest, i recromending squatting. it will look strange, but it is better then choking to death.... And be careful how your sleep for awhile." he gave the young man a few.... pointers on who to survive them. "Give it a week or two, you shall find them easier to deal with. Good luck Ayumu! hahaha!" a cheerful laugh echoed through the air before he took up his armor and left with but a small gust of wind. 


 


 

 

[Orikanyo]

Yuuki Mifune


Kazou Yamamoto

Stealing Seji's radical work out spot. 
​

​

 
​

The end of the lesson came to the group, the rest of the day was theirs to do with as they pleased. Ayumu sauntered off, straining under the weight of his... everything. Ryu left with little to no telling of where he was going, most imagined it was to go off somewhere and angst for awhile. Kazou stood silently atop the waters, thinking on the progress of his students, they all have been faring rather well, even if Yuuki took one to many dips in the drink then he would have liked. 


But Kazou knew it would be an uphill battle for the young man, such was the lot for Mifunes. But there was no fast track to success in such regards, he only needed to keep it up and work, work, and work. 


Speak of the devil(or rather demon) his student was just attempting to dry himself off from his most recent dip in the waters below. Kazou found that standing atop water was far more challenging than clinging to vertical surfaces. For water had waves and constantly changed, he'll admit to on occasion causing a ripple or two to test if he was stable or not... 


A bit cruel, but it will help him in the end. 


He only occasionally tossed pebbles underneath him to allow him to learn faster! 


There was absolutely no other reason for it. 


...


"You have improved greatly Yuuki, your control has been growing day by day." He complemented his dripping wet student, he gave the young man a confident smile. "You very well may master this faster than Ayumu gets used to the weights." He says as in the distance the young man slowly crawls his way home. 


Yuuki sighed, noting that the clothes he'd hung up a good while ago were still fairly wet. "It'd be nice just to stay standing for a minute," he muttered, "even if it isn't completely on the surface." So far, he was more often seen sloshing around about shin deep in the water instead of the surface like he was supposed to.


"Slow and steady my young genin. Soon your ankles shall breathe as well as your kneecaps." Kazou barely hid the smirk, he has to watch himself... lest he find Ayumu's sarcasm bleed off onto him. 


He stood still atop of the waters, silently thinking of what he should have for dinner tonight... Lyn was off visiting a friend in town for a sleepover, since it wasn't a school night that was fine... But he found himself in a strange limbo of what was HE going to do? 


Perhaps he could go out with friends as well? 


...


But most are busy these days... he'll admit to being rather.... overthinking when it came to his free time and how to spend it. Not to mention a certain moon god kind of made him have a tough time speaking to most of those he might spend time with.... 


....


A sudden feeling of loneliness grips him... like a chill wind causing a shiver down his spine. 


Yuuki sat by the water's edge with an annoyed huff, his teammates had already left for the day and he figured he was waterlogged enough for the time being. One's patience could only stand so many spectacular failures in a single day. 


"Hey, Kazou-Sensei," his golden hues continued to stare into the clear water as he spoke. "You specialize in defense, right? How do you handle long ranged opponents?" Finally the genin looked up at him, "Reaching for a kunai to take out shuriken or knives is too slow. I mean I can use Ryuga if there's nothing else. But it's an old sword, I really don't want to risk damaging the blade if I don't have to, you know?"


"Against long ranged attacks hmm?" The man was knocked from his thoughts, thankfully by his student's question. "Typically, I use a jutsu that involves water depending on the situation. A simple wall of rushing water can block most projectiles... But I feel you are searching for a less ninjutsu oriented answer." He smiled before continuing. 


"In such, I typically use tessen." He smiled to his genin, procuring one such weapon from seemingly nowhere. "A properly made tessen is acceptable enough to deflect most projectiles. Due to it's nature of the weapon it'self, it can block melee attacks as effectively as long ranged... So long as you are skilled in it's use." he extended the fanlike blades as if to show it off. 


"Would you like a display of such? Throw something at me." 


"How can a fan stop a knife without breaking or tearing?" Yuuki would admit to not having heard of tessen before, figuring them to be the same thin bamboo and paper fans people carried during the summer festival. But if Kazou was willing to demonstrate, he may as well find out. 


Snapping open the holster on his leg, Yuuki withdrew two shuriken and sent them flying towards the jounin in one motion.


As if blowing away a pesky fly the man's hand swatted the air twice, sending the shuriken flying harmlessly to the ground to his feet. "Typical fans are made of weak paper and wood. Tessen however are a ninja's friend. Mine are crafted from steel and silk as to maximize their defensive potential, steel is to block and the silk catches what goes between the steel. As if it nearly impossible to tear." He plucked at the silk and steel rungs upon the weapon as he spoke of them. 


"Opened, it has great defensive potential. Closed however." He shuts the fan with a surprising loudness in the action. "It becomes as versatile as a kunai." He shows the folded stack of steel and silk, before tossing it just past yuuki's head, embedding it deep into the tree just beyond him. 


"Of course... they are more expensive then kunai, so do use them over it when you need a tool for climbing." Words for the wise, he's ruined a good few that way. 


"They also can be very useful in melee, the silk bends but rarely cuts, especially should it be made of spider's silk, and the steel rungs can be used to disarm and parry. Now, recover that tessen, should you wish to learn how to use it, it is yours. I shouldn't need to tell you that it can be used alongside a sword." He chuckled slightly, knowing full well Yuuki was a competent swordsman. 


Yuuki blinked, watching what should have been a fragile item deflect the weapons with no sign of damage. Steel and silk, it was a far more inconspicuous weapon than a katana or kunai. He stood and retrieved the thrown fan, surprised at its weight and how well it dug into the tree.


"Huh, never thought I'd ask to learn how to fight with a fan..." The boy mused, letting the fan open with none of the finesse Kazou had shown.


Pulling out yet another fan from a place beyond mortal understanding, he began.


"Let us first begin with handling, opening and closing the fan... You hold the fan rigid by holding the bottom rung with your ring finger, keeping the fan fully opened, then you place your middle finger on the back to support it. use your pointer finger to hold the other end of the fan's rungs upon the other side. The pivot point will be held by your thumb, by the end you will be able to have a solid grip upon it." The man spoke through handling it in one hand, showing the young man where each finger lay. 


"To open and close is simple, with a flick of the wrist." He flicked the fan up and the rungs swung up to a closed position. "The same, with opening, it is easy to get your fingers into position, as they will naturally flow into such to hold it. Simple." He smiled to the young man before continuing. 


"Now, to continue..." He let the fan splay out like a small wing. "The act of swatting projectiles out of the air is relatively simple... Since you are effectively doing exactly so." He waved the tessen slowly through the air, much like how one might see a dancer do so. "The fan will collect all things in it's path, needles will be caught and deflected, kunai will bounce off the silk and the steel, blades will be caught and tossed aside." 


"But you must be careful, opening and closing the tessen is crucial, as the weapon will find itself to be slower to react when opened, opening and closing when necessary is key to making certain it is ready at all times. At times you will find yourself almost dancing with it should you need to deflect many blows or projectiles."


"The greatest way to practice this.. is through practice... We shall go for a time to allow you to deflect projectiles, then, we shall go into melee combat." 


With a swift hop he landed upon a rocky spot on the ground. Plucking up several stones he tosses a nice one up in the air before catching it again. 


"Get ready." 


Yuuki listened to the explanation, trying to mimic his teacher's movements. The fan felt awkward in his grasp, especially when open. Needless to say he was nowhere near ready for what Kazou had in mind after the short demo. "Shouldn't we get basic movements down before trying something like that?"


"Yes we should." He smiled, a small chuckle coming through. "We shall begin slowly, first, attempt to swat this." A slow underhanded throw, coming from above downwards was the first. A simple matter of swatting it away for one who is a ninja, even if he is unsure of using a weapon. 


"As if attempting to catch it with the fan at first, but then keep moving to toss the projectile aside." he explained once more before tossing yet another rock. "You are a bird, swatting away flies with your wing." He explained once more before he tossed yet another rock.


And another.


This one a bit faster. 


And another rock.


And a slightly bigger rock. 


Now a very tiny rock. 


Now a rock as he was complaining about how tiny that last one was. 


This went on for awhile, the pile of rocks standing around Yuuki slowly growing, as Kazou's supply began running low. Finally, with the last rock upon his side that he could find, he looked towards Yuuki, a smile and arms crossed. "How do you feel? Getting the hang of it?" He asked as he eyed the many tiny bruises here and there. 


Towards the end of the rather slow but steady barrage, Yuuki was at least able to better deflect the stones with just the fan. His eyes were more than capable of tracking much faster moving objects, it was just a matter of figuring out the actual swing and opening and closing the tessen. Preferably without catching his fingers between the rungs. "I think so, at least as far as rocks are concerned."


"Good, we shall continue this during our regular lessons, for now we shall continue onto usage of the tessen in kenjutsu." the man took a moment to look around himself, finding a sturdy branch off a nearby tree, snapping it off, and taking it up in his hands. "Now then. from what you learned by deflecting the stones, you shall now attempt to disarm me of this stick. Failing that, you must defend against my strikes. You may use your sword as well. Block using solely it and I shall punish you accordingly. Ready?' 


With the stick in hand he held it in a one handed grip, pointing the small leaf on the end towards Yuuki. "Do know, I shall not be going easy on you." 


Yuuki shifted, glancing to his sword that lay behind Kazou out of reach. I'm probably better off blocking the swings with the tessen closed, but how am I supposed to disarm him that way? He shifted, holding the closed fan not unlike how one would brandish a kunai. "Ready as I'll ever be I guess."


"So we shall begin..." He stood still as a statue, his body not giving so much of a hint of what he was planning. And then, in but a mere moment the man rushed towards Yuuki with blinding speed, drawing the stick in a horizontal strike aiming for his torso! 


"It has been nice weather today hasn't it?" 


Sometimes it was easy to forget just how swiftly Kazou could move should the need arise. Not like any of their missions required him to step in as of late. Blocking such a swing was a simple feat, though the very fresh branch still partly coiled past the guard for a light smack. "I mean it's not raining for a change..."


"True enough, but the sun shine has been pleasant, not to mention you can quickly dry off if you fall in a river, and the warm breeze does wonders." A slight smile broke across his face as he quickly drew the branch upwards in a upwards strike. Blocking wasn't going to help yuuki much, his weapon was to flexible to be deflected so easily. 


His words weren't simply small talk at this moment, it was a small hint to help him realize what he must do. 


Yuuki frowned, watching as Kazou moved for another strike. As flexible as the branch was, the small shape of the closed fan wasn't going to be of much use. But will open really be any better? There was only one way to find out, hopefully it'd end with the rather cheap shot being deflected. Or Yuuki might just end up on the ground. The now open fan swept down, looking to move the incoming attack up and away.


The stick impacted the tessen without much of a sound as the silk folded in, catching the blunt weapon with relative ease. The stick did not bend nor stick Yuuki... though it DID come rather close. The softer material descended, but quickly took back it's form once the pressure was off, but when it was beign pressed upon Yuuki would be able to notice how sharp the blade of the weapon was, much akin to shears. 


Kazou smirked, happy that his student caught on to what he said. "Though at times the breeze can be an issue, in the worst weather the winds could very well snap a tree in two." He withdrew the stick and brought it down diagonally, aiming to give him a rather nasty slap on the shoulder area. 


Had he noticed his words here he wondered? If he did, this might be the end... for now at least. 


If he didn't... well...


Yuuki watched as the fan blocked the incoming branch, bark having been peeled away in places where it brushed up against the blades. As much give as the silk had, should he snap the fan closed the blades should get a good enough bite into the makeshift weapon for Yuuki to disarm Kazou. Or snap the branch in two. Yuuki wouldn't complain either way here.


Even as he brought the tessen up, Yuuki instinctively pivoted to avoid a blow to the collarbone or right on top of the shoulder should he fail to block. He had more than enough bruises for one day.


Kazou brought down the branch, and as planned the stick came down in between the blade, and with a quick shut of the tessen the branch was caught in between. "Good work." Kazou complemented his student, before raising up the stick once more, taking the tessen with it and tapping him upon the head with the still caught stick. 


"But focus upon your grip." A smirk broke along his mouth as he dislodged the tessen. "Green wood doesn't cut as easily as dead wood. But you have captured the idea of using the tessen well. While you will not be snapping a blade in two with it.... Any worth while blade mind, you can capture a sword blade within it, giving you enough of control over the weapon to manipulate the person's guard for a strike with your sword, kunai, hand whatever you wish." 


He dislodged the tessen and tossed away the stick. "Another bonus, is that people will always under estimate the weapon, and you can very well use it to hide your jutsu or equipment should you have it open. Its power is not in its potential to slice a man in two, but in the ability to confuse, disorient, disarm, and defend. Versatile and beautiful, a useful addition to any ninja's toolkit." He handed the tessen back to Yuuki, before motioning to his sword and clothing. 


"They should be sufficently dry now. Is there any other techniques you wish to work upon." the man, looking quite proud of his student shifted his belt slightly, moving his ever present sword to a more comfortable location. 


Success! The tessen managed to capture the branch before it could strike. Only for Kazou to pull the stick and fan from Yuuki's grasp. It was definitely harder to hang onto than his sword or a kunai.


With the tessen now back in his possession, the genin moved to retrieve the rest of his belongings. "Not today..." He mused, noting how low the sun had gotten already, "Dad's probably wondering where I am by now." Turning back to Kazou, he offered a bow, "Thank you though."


"Always a pleasure, say hello to Tsubaki for me." he saw off his student... Silently wondering how awkward it would be to stop by... 


...


Likely a good deal so...