Relaxing Basics [Tutor]

[Miraku]

Lately things had been more stressful than usual for Miraku. After applying to become one of the three shinobi chosen for Cloud to make it to the World Tournament, he had managed to make it from the top nine into that top three he had hoped for. But with such a position came a burden. Would he be able to live up to the spot he was given and represent his village and country well enough? Although he wasn't certain what the future would hold, he had been training relentlessly the past few weeks in order to prepare himself. After all that training, he felt like he needed a break from the monotony and stress of hardcore training, instead deciding that helping out the younger generation with some basics would allow him to take more of a back seat from training, while also still going over things which would be important to even himself in the coming times.

A few days ago he had gone to the academy to request the opportunity to help tutor a student but was instead given two for him to teach. When the day arrived for the tutelage, Miraku woke up earlier than usual to get some basic cardio training in for himself to warm up before he would need to head out. Heading home afterward to get ready for his lesson, he would change into move shinobi-like attire. Dawned his usual long black pants and grey long-sleeved shirt, he wore a village vest over top, his headband wrapped around his upper left arm. On his belt were two holsters, one for a dagger, and the other for a chokuto sword which each had long linked chains coming from their hilts connecting to each other, the chain hanging down behind him to stay out of the way.

The meeting place had already been set for both parties, at the main entrance to the Ancient Forest. Heading out of his home, Miraku moved his head quickly from side to side to stretch his neck before turning to the direction of the forest and began running, taking off to a full sprint before leaping up onto a nearby building and running along the rooftops in order to make better time. It only took but a few minutes at his speed in order to reach the location before leaping down to the ground below. Coming to a stop, he shifted to walking speed as he headed over to the entrance, standing before it awaiting the arrival of the two he was to meet, sure they would show up in a timely manner. Today would definitely be something new for him, as he had yet to attempt to train those not within the ANBU, though these students would have no idea he had any ties there. Teaching them something more basic would certainly be what was called for today. Something that would help them on their way to becoming Genin.

[WC: 491]
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[Shimamura Yosuke]

It’s been a month since Yosuke’s last class and life for him wasn’t the same. Ever since Shieo’s lessons he’s been relentlessly training in the forest, and now-a-days he was hardly at home. He only ever came home to sleep, at times being interrogated by his uncle, but usually using the same excuse that he was hanging out with a friend. Not that he had many, his only friend being Senju Shizuka. A ten year old girl and classmate he never noticed until after their experience together. But after the events with Shieo Sensei, he willingly sat besides her in class and ate with her during their lunch hour. He was still a daydreamer, and didn’t pay much attention. In fact, he would fall asleep at times, always exhausted from the previous day’s training. But it felt good to sit next to someone you could call a friend nonetheless.

He got another letter a day ago, stamped from the Academy declaring that he had another class coming up. While the name of the Sensei wasn’t indicated this time, the name of his peer was. Senju Shizuka. He snuck out of the window in his room, and ran to Shizuka’s house as fast as he could, in the brisk of the night (he was out training all day after school). He ran above the rooftops, hopping from one edge to the other until he reached her windowsill. He tapped on it a few times, and when she opened the window he hoped he didn’t scare her from his upside down position. He was standing on the soffit using the chakra on the soles of his feet. He showed her the letter, expecting her to know already but not caring if she did or didn’t, and declared that they would walk to the meeting spot together.

He didn’t let her get half a word out, since he was scared of getting caught by someone. So he waved her off and disappeared into the darkness of the night. The next morning, Yosuke prepared to learn from someone who he expected to be at Shieo’s level or even better. That’s when he began to consider that maybe Shieo sensei put in a good word to the Academy for the way the two worked together the previous time, so they were assigned to the same instructor once again. Being tested by the Academy on their skill of working as a group?

“Nah, no way,” He whispered to himself with a warm smile, still lost in his imagination. He tied his pink hair up into a small pony tail, letting two elongated bangs droop over his forehead (this was a habit of his after before every training). He put wrapping on both of his arms, from his palms up to his shoulders. Then put on some baggy pants and a short sleeve dark blue shirt. He was out the door early enough to make it to the training sight on time even if he was going to Shizuka’s house. Both of his hands were shoved into his pockets, and he walked lazily looking around the sleeping town as he did so. He always took this path to the academy, but when the path separated he went to the left rather than the right, following the path to her house.

When he reached her place, he leaned against the side of her house, waiting for her to come outside. When she finally did, he gave her a soft smile. The same soft, tired smile he gave her every morning in the Academy. “Shizu, you actually woke up,” He teased, knowing how much she hated mornings, “Let’s get going now, we don’t wanna be late.” He turned on his heels and started walking, not turning around to check if she was following. He had a bad habit of doing that.

He held up some small talk on the way to the forest, knowing the path there by the back of his hand. When nearing the site he spoke up, more enthusiastic than he was on the way there, “Who do ya think we’re gonna get as our Sensei? Think it’s an academy teacher? Or perhaps Shieo Sensei again?” He walked silently for a while, not saying a word after she replied before starting up again, “It doesn’t matter. Whoever it is, I’m sure they’re gonna be pretty strong. I hope they challenge us just like Shieo did,” He turned to her, with a rare toothy smile and used his thumb to point cockily at himself, “And if he does, I’ll be the reason why we pass! Not you.” He was messing with her, but there was a bit of truth in the statement due to his competitive nature.

Finally from the distance, they could see a figure standing up ahead at the entrance to the forest. Yosuke stopped walking and looked at her, “That must be him.”

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[Senju Shizuka]

The soft knocking on her windowsill the previous day had been slightly startling, but Yosuke’s face, to which she had gradually grown used to during these last weeks, had brought a wide grin to her lips. Of course he had come all the way here to show her the letter - he sometimes really didn’t mind putting energy into things she considered fairly unnecessary. Perhaps that was the reason he had been sleeping in class so frequently, or maybe he always had but she hadn’t noticed before. Shizuka herself tended to be quite absentmindedly in class, so with them having been friends before it really wasn’t a surprise that she wasn’t sure what his habits had been.

Still yawning, the next morning, she stretched when slipping outside of her house. Yosuke quickly appeared in the corner of her vision field. She chuckled, slowly shaking her head. Now that he was giving her a hard time, so could she - tease him, that is.

“Be late? I would say let’s get out of here before my mom sees you again.” Keeping her face fairly neutral, she let the amusement seep through her green eyes. “She wasn’t happy with you sneaking out of my room last night, well, that’s what she thinks.” It wasn’t entirely true, but it was funny to scare him a little. This would made things so much more fun when she would bring him over for dinner after a training or to work on homework. Oh my, she could already imagine her mom’s sarcastic look and narrowing eyes. Poor Yosuke.

“I’m not sure, I wouldn’t mind it to be him, I quite enjoyed the last training, even if it was.. genjutsu. Something about his attitude had me feeling at ease.” Admitting it felt odd, but it was the truth. Besides, by now Yosuke knew how she felt about calm people, she appreciated the silence and low voices, even if the latter came in a monotone speech.

Quirking her right eyebrow in high amusement, she shook her head. That toothy grin he offered her pretty much said it all. A shrug was his answer, but it was clear that she didn’t take any offense to his words. In fact, it was kind of flattering to know he thought her to be the reason they had passed. Teamwork and persistence was what she thought to be key to their pass, but she let him and his competitive nature stew in the idea of being the hero.

“Mhmm”, humming, she agreed to it probably being their teacher. A man, she thought the figure to be, one with dark hair, too. It could be Shieo-sensei, she wasn’t sure, not from where they were at now. But, once they had come closer, she could see that the man was wearing a jonin vest instead of a chuunin one. Unless their former teacher had been promoted in the month between their extra classes, this had to be someone else.

Green eyes?

She felt hers widen.

Was this..? Woah, she gently poked her friend in the side with the help of her elbow. Did he recognize the champion? Or was she imagining things here?


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[Miraku]

It was but a short while before the figures of two children appeared in the distance, approaching Miraku. As they got closer, he could make out their appearances, a young boy with what seemed like pink hair, and a female with brown hair. They were definitely young; probably prime academy students. Standing up straight, his arms crossed with his fingers tucked under the shoulder straps of his vest, letting his arms rest in the position. A smirk crossed his face, thinking back to his academy days; they were simpler days for sure. He took a few steps forward to offset the distance they would need to travel in order to speak, as he came to a stop after a few steps letting them walk the rest of the way. They seemed to be talking on their way over but had not said anything once within ear range of Miraku. Looking at each of them for a moment, taking in their stature, attire, and overall feeling he got from them. He could tell their inexperience, but it felt like they were the type who were enjoying their youth and ready to learn, which bode well for Miraku's future teaching the two of them.

Taking the initiative, Miraku opened his mouth first before they could make any comments, "Nice to meet you two. I'm Miraku, and I'll be tutoring you today." he told them, introducing himself as if they would have no idea who he was, which he figured would be the case. He was so used to being an unknown quantity in the shinobi world that anyone knowing him besides those close to him and his ANBU teammates felt strange to him. Turning his body slightly towards the forest, allowing them the opportunity to introduce themselves if they wished before speaking up once more. "Today we are gonna head into the forest in order to get away from civilians and train in peace. We'll be talking about and looking at Ninjutsu and it's components today." He let them take it in for a moment, checking for any signs of excitement or disappointment from the two.

"So, if you'll just follow me, we'll head into the forest to begin." he finished, taking a step forward, and continuing at a walking speed until they would begin following and slowly speed up with each step until one of them would be unable to keep up with the speed and slow down to match it so they could also get a little cardio in before they arrived. He took them decently far into the forest, leading them with a bit of distance so they would have the opportunity to speak to one another about their thoughts, expectations or whatever while they were on the move.

One he felt like they had gone deep enough, he came to an abrupt stop, checking to see if they would notice. Once they would all get stopped and ready, Miraku would continue once more. "Alright, so no use wasting time. Let's start off with the question, what do you two know about Ninjutsu, and do you know any Ninjutsu yourselves?" Miraku wanted to see how far along they were, and what he would need to teach them. Them telling him what they knew would make that much quicker and would allow him to skip any useless information that they already knew.

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[Shimamura Yosuke]

He froze under the impact of her elbow when recognizing what she was talking about. His jaw dropped, and he looked at Shizuka, then back at Miraku. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, not truly believing what he was seeing. “T-That’s him!” He said with a loud whisper, that luckily was out of earshot. The tall, slim man started walking towards them with a smirk across his face and Yosuke was too frozen in awe to move forward. He poked Shizuka in the arm after snapping out of his venerating state, “Come on, we shouldn’t be disrespectful.”

Yosuke’s laid back saunter turned into a confident walk to meet one of the recent ‘heroes’ of the Cloud half way. He was mumbling under his breath about how he couldn’t believe they were going to be trained by one of the strongest Shinobi in all of the Cloud. Stronger than most if not all of the Academy teachers. Maybe even stronger than Shieo? He stopped his mumbling when Miraku stood before them. He bit his tongue as the man spoke, stopping any comments from leaving his lips.

Then came his turn to introduce himself, “I’m Shimamura Yosuke, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Miraku Sensei,” He stood from his bowed position and before they knew it they were off and running through the Ancient Forest. At first he kept up with the man, and eventually it turned into a run. His own training aided his stamina tremendously during the previous few weeks, but after a while he realized if he kept up this pace he would be out of breath. So he slowed down and fell behind a bit, he waited for Shizuka to run besides him and in between breaths said, “His stamina is crazy.”

He looked at her, his icy eyes were sparkling and he was smiling. There was certainly a sign of excitement as he spoke, “Do you think he’ll spar with us? I mean what better way to improve your Ninjutsu right?” He kept jogging and looked back towards the direction of their sensei. Then he mumbled, “I wanted to go to that tournament Miraku is going to be in. They’re letting Academy students go see it, and my Uncle wouldn’t mind. I just…” He blushed a little knowing how dumb the next part would sound coming from him. “I just don’t want to go if you aren’t going.”

“Really?” He snapped his eyes snapped open, and he smiled, “S-So you’ll come with?”. He was really happy, it was apparent to Shizu. But like always he tried to play it cool and shrugged it off. Miraku came to an abrupt stop and Yosuke slowed down. They stood in the thickness of the forest. He looked around at all the trees that towered over them, most of the color from the sky was shadowed by the leaves and branches. Only some sunlight of the sky peeked through and down onto the earth’s soil.

Miraku asked them what they know about Ninjutsu and if they know any form of it. Yosuke nervously laughed and tried thinking back to class, remembering a few faint things about Ninjutsu. “Uhm, let’s see…” He scratched the top of his head, “It’s one of the three forms of fighting used by a Shinobi and Kunoichi, it’s used with chakra that could be manipulated in many different ways. Uhm,” finally he shrugged admitting he didn’t know much. Suddenly he regretted not paying attention in class and embarrassment rushed through him. “But, I love the use of Ninjutsu,” he said, suddenly perking up. “I use fire, it just comes to me the easiest.” He shrugged not admitting the thrill he gets from seeing his fire singe things.

“I know two skills that I could consistently use, without messing up. Thermal Maw and Infernal Ember. But the list ends there...for now.”

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[Senju Shizuka]

Still feeling like she was in a dream Shizuka found herself staring at their teacher for the day. To be able to learn from one of the best was beyond her imagination. She felt quite excited all of a sudden, more so than usually when something actually managed to get her interest. Quite out of character was it for her to want to put effort and energy into a class. It seemed like today would be an exception. A big one.

“Senju Shizuka, it’s an honor to meet you, Miraku-san.” Adding a bow just like her friend had, she was too lost in her own fantasy about his skills and powers to give Yosuke a decent reply. By the time that her brain had come out of its frozen and blushing state, they were already running through the forest.

At first the jogging hadn’t been hard, but soon it was taking its toll on the young Senju. Every time she thought they would catch up, the man disappeared. It’s why she nodded toward Yosuke in agreement when he mentioned Miraku’s crazy stamina. He was right, the man wasn’t even sweating while she had to catch her breath a bit by the time they were halfway through. Then again, nothing less should be expected from one of the Cloud’s champions.

“Nahh,” she whispered to Yosuke, feeling like sparing wasn’t the right word for what would happen if their current sensei would decide to fight them. Killing students probably wasn’t a part of his schedule, and she was glad for that. Her mind soon jumped to the tournament and it appeared that so did Yosuke’s. She couldn’t blame him. They were following a legend.

“Hmmm, sure.” Came the short reply. At the moment she didn’t have too much breath to spare, but the grin she gave him was enough to show him that she would go. It sounded like a good opportunity to check out another country. Besides, she could bet that many would be going. Perhaps they could even meet some new people, other students, or just the civilians of the Tea country. Even while going there might be a drag, it would probably be worth it.

“Parents sounded excited about the tournament, but they have their jobs,” she nodded, rolling her eyes a little. Dad wanted for Cloud to show off their power, obviously. Mom found it funny, but you could see in her eyes that she was rooting for their champions as well.

By the time the trio came to a stop somewhere in the woods (even after multiple adventures in the area, Shizuka still had difficulty saying how far in they actually were) she caught her breath by leaning on a nearby branch, then smiled widely as her friend took the spotlight. Once he seemed to be finished, she figured that it was her turn to add things now. Not that she was an expert on Ninjutsu, even if she did like it a lot. More than anything else, in fact. Though, Miraku didn’t need to know that. She wouldn’t be comfortable with being as open about her feelings as Yosuke was.

“What he said, but it’s lightning for me. Though, I do like wood more, so I hope that it’ll come easier later on.” Unsure if she should be listing the Ninjutsu she knew, Shizuka figured that perhaps Miraku would ask them to perform one later on, or something. Because she felt like giving him a long explanation on some Jutsu she knew would be boring. Or.. maybe, maybe she was just lazy even while she got her breath back.

What she didn’t mind using the bit of silence for that followed up her answer, was a quick question. Perhaps a slightly impolite one, but her jade colored burning eyes just had to know. “What’s your favorite element to use, sensei?”


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[Miraku]

This was the first time in quite a while Miraku had been out with more novice shinobi. He was pleasantly surprised with how well they lasted on the run, and the fact that they were able to regain their composure relatively quickly as they stood before him and began answering his questions. The first to respond was Yosuke, giving a pretty basic answer about what Ninjutsu was; probably just based on what he had heard from word of mouth by adults or other children around them. A lesson on Ninjutsu from the academy would have covered much more or maybe the boy hadn't paid enough attention if they did learn anything. But Miraku didn't want to go too in-depth with it, preferring the practicality over theory side of things. The boy continued speaking of his enjoyment over the idea of Ninjutsu as well as speaking to his current elemental preferences and skills he had a handle on. Following Yosuke was Shizuka, only speaking to her elemental preferences and apparently nothing more. Maybe she was shy, or maybe she just didn't have anything extra to add. It was definitely interesting that she spoke of a fascination for wood though, as she knew at least slightly about the advanced elements.

Having given her a moment to see if she would add anything further, Miraku was preparing to continue with his explanation until Shizuka quickly asked a question, pondering the element of Miraku's choice. Certainly, an interesting question, trying to get to know her tutor better, or was she diverting the conversation slightly? Either way, it made a smirk cross his face for a moment. Focusing slightly he looked towards the two of them as he pushed his chakra throughout his body, exuding it outwards as the area around him shimmered for a moment before he began to rise slightly. Pushing his feet off the ground, he rose into the air, levitating before them with his hands in his pockets, staying up in the air as he chuckled a bit. "I would have to say it's Gravity." he told them, revealing what was happening before their eyes as he released his chakra usage, lowering himself to the ground once more, touching down.

"Before we get into stuff like that though, we need to go over a few basics." He told them, as he turned sideways slightly, and looked away for a moment, deciding where to start. "Well. To start, you're correct about Ninjutsu being one of the three main types of jutsu used by Shinobi -- though there are more than three technically." He told them with a bit of a laugh, teasing that little idea for them to theorize about. "Ninjutsu is the most vague of the three types, as it encompasses most of the jutsu that aren't either Taijutsu or Genjutsu. Most Ninjutsu use either Nature Transformation or Shape Transformation, or a combination of the two." Miraku took a few steps to the side to get some distance from the two before performing some handseals. "Nature Transformation obviously involves the elements. Thing's like your Thermal Maw jutsu using Fire" He said as he turned his head to the side, taking in a small breath before exhaling a small stream of fire from his mouth, showing off the same jutsu, keeping it small as to not burn down the forest. At the same time, he wove more handseals, finishing the first jutsu. "Or a lightning jutsu like Storm Bolt." Releasing the handseal, his hand began flowing with electricity as he pointed it to their right, aimed at a tree, releasing a small bolt of lightning from his fingertips, striking the tree, leaving a black mark where it hit. Turning back towards them, he moved closer. He held out his left hand in front of them, looking down at it as he moved his chakra towards it. "And of course, Shape Transformation involves you controlling the shape and movement of your ninjutu, like this." As he finished, chakra began to appear visibly in the palm of his hand, swirling around as it took shape in the form of a shpere. He held it for a few moments to allow them to observe before releasing the chakra, allowing it to dissipate harmlessly. "And when you mix the two you can create jutsu like this." Weaving more handseals, Miraku bent down for a moment, touching his fist to the ground as the earth began to move, forming around his hand in the shape of a large earthen fist. He considered using it to knock down a tree, but decided against that so as to perserve the forest, instead releasing the chakra holding it together, causing it to crumble and fall to the ground at their feet.

Turning around and walking a few steps away, he faced them once more, positioning himself at a slight distance. "Now, the elements are where Ninjutsu get interesting. Of course, there are five base elements, including Fire, Earth, Water, Wind and Lightning. Besides those, there are other non-elemental jutsu which don't fit into those categories. When you mix two of thos elements together in certain ways, you are able to create Advanced Elements. Those are things like Wood, or Gravity." He continued his explanation, hoping to wrap this part up. "But, learning to use advanced elements will require you finding out your innate element affinities. Every person able to wield chakra has certain elements that are natural to them, even if you don't realize it yet. Those are things you'll look at once you're further along in the shinobi world, probably once you graduate and become Genin." Miraku didn't want to go too in-depth with this general idea. "For now, you will need to work on Ninjutsu in general, probably sticking to what you know, or learning a few new jutsu from other elements you may want to try out, and just get the feel for using them in general." He finished, as let out a deep breath, feeling like he had just droned on way too long. "Now, are there any questions, or anything you didn't understand?" He wanted to get things like that out of the way so they could move onto the fun stuff.

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[Shimamura Yosuke]

Yosuke looked over at Shizuka when she asked the question, then back at Miraku, nodding in anticipation to find out his answer. He wanted to know what a Champion uses as their favored Ninjutsu too. His jaw opened slightly, not being able to believe his eyes. Miraku-sensei was levitating. He really was levitating. He stared at Shizuka with a goofy smile, he really couldn't believe his eyes.

“Woah.”

He continued to stare at him, in a state of amazement, as he explained everything there is to know about Ninjutsu. He explained that there were two forms of Ninjutsu, both Nature and Shape transformations. For once Yosuke listened, nodding to what the man lectured them on. He gave a light hearted laugh when Miraku Sensei performed Thermal Maw so easily. That was one of the Jutsus that Yosuke trained relentlessly to perfect. His talent was amazing, despite these Jutsus being casual E-Rank forms of Ninjutsu, he was so diverse he could perform it with ease. Then he did a jutsu that formed lightning on his fingertips, one that Yosuke wasn’t familiar with but Miraku called it Storm Bolt. He glanced at Shizuka, perhaps she knew what jutsu that was.

Then he held out his hand, showing the duo what a Shape Transformation looks like through swirling chakra taking the shape of a blue sphere. He leaned closely to the spinning sphere in his hand, causing the two bangs on his forehead to gently sway. When he released the chakra, Yosuke stepped back realizing how close he was to him.

"And when you mix the two you can create jutsu like this."

Yosuke was wide eyed when he saw the combination of both forms of Ninjutsu. He looked at his own hands, wondering if he too can perform something to that degree. Imagine the possibilities if he could cast fire throughout his arms and use them when fighting. It would be almost unbeatable. Then just like that the earth crumbled around Miraku’s arm as he let the chakra go, and Yosuke snapped out of his daydreaming stage

“Yeah I have a question, I know that we’re here for the general stuff when it comes to Ninjutsu. But how long do you think it would take to mix a Nature Jutsu and Shape Jutsu, just like you did?”

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[Senju Shizuka]

Unsure if she had crossed some sort of line she held her breath while waiting for him to react. Eyes wide with curiosity and anticipation the young student gasped aloud when Miraku rose. Like a soap bubble the man floated above the ground seemingly without a care in the world. Nothing about him spoke of hard effort. Gravity, he revealed his secret and she drank in the sight. Having no idea how he did it, she felt her heart skip a beat. Harder and faster it slammed against her ribcage while her lips formed a little ‘o’ of pure awe.

“That’s awesome, sensei!” she found herself saying, wondering if Yosuke was as astonished by the sight as she was. His reaction told her plenty, he was as amazed at the revelation as she was. Unfortunately, before any of them could inquire any further, Miraku decided to continue the class. She understood his choice, but felt slightly sulky about it. Perhaps, if they would do their best, he would treat them with another display of advanced Ninjutsu.

He did -right after the lightning one at which Shizuka had nodded- though, while impressive, she found the earth justu display less entertaining and mysterious than the gravity one had been. Without a doubt it had to do with her being able to manipulate earth to a very small degree. It meant that one day she would be able to do more than a mud clone. Gravity.. however, was something otherworldly in the student’s eyes. Wondering if it had to be built upon the earth or the wind style, she blinked a couple of times when Yosuke spoke. It was time to snap out of her daydreaming and focus on the matter at hand.

Which, luckily for her, actually had to do with posing more questions. Now she wouldn’t come across as rude, right? He wanted them to ask about Ninjutsu so.. why wouldn’t she ask about something he had just performed. Even if it was entirely out of her league.

“I have a question as well. What do you build on and which element do you add when controlling gravity? Do you somehow cancel it out through chakra which in return allows you to float or do you continuously push yourself away from various sides to be able to..”, she looked for the right word, and could only come up with one at this point. “Fly?”


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[Miraku]

Both students had seemed to pay attention, both interested in different ways. He hoped that what he spoke of and demonstrated would sink in for them. As he gave them the opportunity to ask him questions, it seems they were both more interested in the more advanced applications of Ninjutsu, rather than the basics. He certainly understood why, as they were usually more flashy and definitely different from what a lot of people were used to, using the base elements. It seemed that Yosuke was interested in being able to mix both Nature and Shape manipulation together for jutsu, and Shizuka was more interested in the Gravity element and how it works from a technical aspect.

"Well, I guess we'll start with the easier question first. Being able to mix Nature and Shape transformations depends on the difficulty of the jutsu, and how big of a change you're making. For the most part, it will be quite difficult to learn to mix the two of them. It's likely you'll be at least a Chuunin before you're able to perform techniques like that, though it could be sooner or later. But I want to reinforce the fact that there are plenty of really good and useful jutsu that only employ one of the other." He explained to Yosuke as they stood there, hoping his answer wouldn't discourage the boy. "I will say, practicing the basic like your base elements, chakra control through tree climbing or water walking as well as basic shape manipulations will definitely make it easier for you to learn to mix the two in the future, but it's something that comes with lots of training and time." he finished.

Turning to face Shizuka slightly, but still addressing the both of them, he decided to switch to her questions. "As for your questions. Gravity is definitely a tricky one. It's based around the Lightning element, with Earth added in. Some would guess Wind thinking maybe it had something to do with the air, or others would figure Earth would be the main element. But Lightning effects the energy involved in gravitational energy, while Earth takes that energy and uses it to alter the space around wherever I use that chakra to change its gravity or create my own gravitational forces to push or pull objects. While being able to levitate, it's practical use in battle is quite limited, but being able to make myself lighter, and others heavier, move them around, throw them or even slam them into the ground can be quite useful." Miraku explained to the two of them.

Concentrating for a moment, he performed a few handseals, gathering his chakra for a moment. Suddenly the two of them would feel a pressure pushing down on them. It wasn't too strong as he didn't want to hurt them, but it would be enough to where they would realize what was going on. He would hold that state for a few seconds, letting them take in the feeling of finding it harder to move, harder to breath, but only so much as to be a slightly noticable difference. He then raised his hands slightly changing the force of gravity once more, though this time he had lower the gravity around them, doing it more so that he had pushed down, causing them to feel much lighter than before. If they were to jump, they would feel themselves jumping much higher than usual, and much easier than they would normally have felt. "This is just a slight example. It can be used much more aggressively than this of course." He finished before releasing his control of the chakra, taking in and exhaling a large breath before them.

"As fun as it is to demonstrate these jutsu, you're also supposed to be learning something from this. So if you have any further questions, you can feel free to ask. But I also want you two to understand how important it is for you work on your jutsu. This goes for everything you do as a shinobi though really. However you wish to fight in the future, working on the skills required for it is very important." He tried to explain to them, as he stood before them, taking a few steps back, he gave them some space. "Now that I'm done demonstrating, I want the two of you to show me what you can do. Show me something you're working on so you're able to practice it here for me. While you're doing that you can ask any further questions you have about things we've talked about, or about whatever you are working on. I want to see what the two of you are made of." he said with a wink of his eye and a smirk crossing his face, hoping it got them a bit excited to show off as well.

[WC: 812]
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[Shimamura Yosuke]

“At least a Chunin…” Yosuke’s looked down at his hands that were balled into fists. His eyes were shadowed by the two dangling bangs of hair. But a smile would soon spread across his lips, and he looked up with half lidded yet confident eyes. He nodded, a self assured aura emanating from him. He dropped his fists to his side and looked up at Miraku with a confident nod, “If that’s what it’ll take, than that just means I have to work harder.”

“Hm…” Yosuke looked at Shizuka, as he explained the way the Gravity Ninjutsu worked. The fact that you needed lightning and earth to perform it made Yosuke think of Shizu, then he gave an abrupt laugh at the idea of seeing his friend ‘fly’, as she put it. He noticed her staring and quickly shut his trap, knowing he would have probably gotten a fist to the head if Miraku Sensei wasn’t around.

Then suddenly the air felt heavier and it became slightly harder for him to breath. He didn’t stop looking at Shizuka, wondering if she felt the same pressure or if something was wrong with him. He tried clutching at his chest, but his hand was heavy and hard to lift against the gravity. Struggling to look at Miraku, he tried asking what was wrong but even his lips felt heavy. But soon after it wasn’t heavy at all, instead he felt much lighter. Yosuke came to realize Miraku Sensei was using his abilities on them, like some type of demonstration.

Discerning that he wasn’t having a heart attack made him happy, and he seemed to enjoy being lighter than he naturally was. He jumped up a few times and laughed at how high he was able to get off the ground. “Man this is cool,” He said, mostly to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Yet, after all the fun and games were up, they were assigned a task. To demonstrate what they were working on, and show Miraku Sensei what they got. Yosuke was up to the task, in fact, he lived for the moments like this. Finally time for the action! He stepped forward, “Alright, here goes nothing.”

He knew very well he couldn’t control the move he was going to test. But if there was a time to test it, and do it correctly, it would be now. Shizuka was watching, and even more importantly a Champion was anticipating him to do something impressive!

“Fire Style,” He whispered, creating the seals and his eyes didn’t seem to belong to him. They were wide, electrified, and yet a bit out of control. He jumped into the air and aimed for the ground where no one stood, his ponytail floating up into the air. “Infernal Ember Jutsu!”

The chakra infused flames that sparked from his hands were supposed to be much smaller. At least that’s what he was expecting. But they were much larger than even he anticipated. Not that he cared, he had a wide smile, from ear to ear as the medium sized flame burst into a shower of small flames. He landed on the ground and watched as the fire rained down onto the soil, slightly singing the short grass yet luckily not catching anything on fire.

He caught his breath, and moved the bangs from his eyes. He was still breathing heavily when he realized he did the Jutsu correctly, with what he thought to be, an impressive showcase. But that didn't matter. At this moment none of that mattered. He looked back at his hands, opening and closing them over and over. He snapped out of his mesmerized state, looking back at the other two, “Sorry…”

The look in his eyes reverted back to what ‘the real’ Yosuke looked like, and his big goofy smile returned. He blushed and scratched the back of his head, “I might have gotten a little carried away there!” He laughed.

“Your turn Shizu!” He scurried off to give her space and hide his own embarrassment. But he still couldn’t believe how much unbelievable fun it was to...burn things?

** Pyromaniac- CA **​

[WC=690/2,539]
[Posts=4/5]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

Good and bad news in one is what he gave them, at least in her opinion. Gravity flowed forth from Lightning, so there was the possibility that one day she too would be able to do what he could. The problem here was that it would take ages to get there. Well, for a ten year old anything longer than a week felt like forever. Even while she could be patient this would be pushing it. Of course she knew that the only way to hopefully bring these sort of Jutsu and skills any closer was by training. That’s when she knew it. Ninjutsu would become the branch she would put her time into. No more slacking off. From now on she would train harder, study more, and research the real potential of Lighting. All of this would come in handy later, it had to.

Nodding, or well, trying to nod, she found herself stuck. A sudden fear of having been paralyzed wanted her to dart forward but she could barely move a muscle. The air flowed into her lungs a bit too slowly, the ground latched onto her feet with vigor. It was as if her blood had been replaced with lead.

Was this a genjutsu?

Her gaze, full of panic, sought their sensei, that’s when everything turned lighter, and she finally understood what was happening. He was the reason why it had been hard to breathe, why she couldn’t move, and why she felt like she was floating in water right now.

The fact that Miraku was willing to show them a tiny bit of his abilities brought a wide smile to her lips. She really appreciated it, and found him even more admirable than before. Not only was he strong and smart, he was also kind and willing to give and not just take. Yosuke, next to her, appeared to be enjoying this sense of weightlessness as much as she did. His comment had her chuckling lightly. From the tone of his voice she knew that he was as excited and impressed as she was.

Perhaps that’s why he took the chance to shine, stepping forward while Shizuka leaned against the branch from before. With the gravity having returned to its usual self, she needed a second to accept the natural tug of mother earth. Meanwhile her friend was preparing his fire jutsu; she followed his motions with curious, green eyes.

What he performed wasn’t something she was capable of doing. The heat briefly filled the area as flames curled toward the sky. She smiled at the sight, giving a short clap. “Nice one, Yosuke!” Perhaps he could show her how to do that one day. Then she wouldn’t need to fire lightning at dried twigs when trying to set a fire.

“Okay,” she passed him, wondering why he was so flushed, but didn’t ask about it. Once she had taken his previous spot, the young Senju went through the jutsu she knew and tried to figure out which one she liked the most. Their sensei had already used the lightning one, so there was only one other option left. A jutsu she had learned not too long ago, and was very, very proud of.

“Mokuton,” she formed the seals, let the chakra flow, and tried not to be too nervous about showing it to a stranger with such high skills. “Wooden Tendrils!”

The chakra rushed into the ground, earth broke in three places, allowing spears to appear. They were the size of elegant logs, sharp at the end, and coming fast at the tree she had chosen as her target. When wood crashed against wood only one of the three spears managed to pierce the tree trunk. One broken apart in splinters, lacking some chakra to keep it strong, the other missed its target by about a feet. That one simply disappeared into the bushes, its tail visible - sticking out from where its head had bore itself into the forest soil.

Turning, she grinned at Yosuke before letting her lips straighten out a bit. Only then did she shyly cast a look at their teacher. It wasn’t as if she was embarrassed or anything, Mokuton was the Senju’s pride, so she had wanted to live up to the name, in her own, small way.


**
[719/2296 | 4/5]

 

[Miraku]

As he watched, it seemed neither of the students had any further questions but were happily ready to share their skills. Yosuke took the lead once more, stepping up into an open area and preparing himself. Watching as the boy began to weave his handseals, Miraku immediately knew which jutsu the boy was going to use as, of course, he knew a lot about fire jutsu. Much to his surprise, the flames had grown quite big in the boys hand, larger than he would assume a standard Infernal Ember would be. It seemed the boy had a knack for fire jutsu, which could come in handy for him later if he stuck to that element, probably would end up being his first main affinity to any of the fives elements. They watched as the flames were tossed downward, raining to the ground causing a few small fires which burned out rather quickly on the cold empty ground near them. Miraku decided to hold back comments until both had done their thing.

Next up was Shizuka. He was curious where she would go with this since she had mentioned she enjoyed Lightning jutsu. Watching as she moved forward to where Yosuke had been moments before, she stood there for a few moments before finally beginning to form seals. Miraku grew curious as they were ones he wasn't exactly sure on, so they probably weren't seals for a Lightning jutsu. Watching in anticipation suddenly from out of the ground came wood. He should have guessed from her earlier talk, as well as her name that she could already perform Wood jutsu. It was certainly impressive, an Advance Element already at her young age.

Taking a few steps forward, Miraku drew his hands from his pockets and began clapping for them "Well done, both of you. Yosuke, your flames were quite strong for a student and someone your age. I think you may have a real talent for fire based jutsu in the future. Possibly elements like Scorch, Explosion..or one of my favourites." he said, pausing his speech for a moment to form a few handseals, standing before them and then jumping back to gain distance from them for a moment as a thick mist began rolling in behind him as his Hidden Mist jutsu was activated. Suddenly things around them became hard to see, they'd only be able to see eachother with the rest of the area being too thick with mist to see, before it crept in further, Miraku disappearing into an act of stealth, moving at incredible speeds from in front of them within the mist to behind Yosuke in an instant, placing his hand on the young boys shoulder. "Vapor Jutsu. Quite useful for being stealthy." he chuckled as the warm mist began to roll out to clear the air for them. "And Shizuka. Even though it's in your blood I would assume from your name, being able to use an Advanced Element already? Impressive for sure. Wood is a very strong element. Though I'm sure you know a lot about it." he continued, as he walked out from behind Yosuke back in front of the two of them.

"I think for now though, we're gonna have to call it here for today. There's a lot for you to take in, and more you can look into if you want to learn more, like the Advanced Elements you may want to learn in the future. I definitely expect the two of you to keep improving, and next time I see you, I want to see some of those improvements." Miraku chuckled a bit, as he started walking towards them. "But for now, lets head on out of here. If you two want, you can follow me out of here since you followed me in here, and then I'll be on my way." And with that, Miraku took a few steps past them giving them a chance to ready themselves if they were to follow him before he would begin running out of the forest at a similar speed to earlier to allow them to follow at a distance and possibly talk amonst themselves, but as soon as they reached the exit, Miraku would sprint to full speed and disappear to head home.

[Topic Left; Unless Stopped]
[WC: 713; Total WC: 3614]
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[Shimamura Yosuke]

Yosuke stood behind Miraku and watched in awe at Shizuka’s movements. He knew his friend was smart, no matter how lazy she was at heart. But he never saw her in action. Never witnessed her perform a jutsu. When she began her hand seals his heart suddenly began to beat erratically, and his palms grew sweaty in anticipation. His competitive nature was gone for those few split seconds, and he really wanted to see his friend succeed.

“Wooden Tendrils!”

The broad beam on Yosuke’s face said it all. He held his fist up and silently cheered her on by waving it in the air. His exhilaration grew twice the size when he saw the three logs burst out from the ground with sharp points. They were going at high speeds that made him ooo and ahh. But he held his breath, as one missed by a foot, the other shattered into splinters, but he waved his fist again when one struck it’s target successfully.

When she looked his way, he blushed and threw up two big thumb ups with a huge cheesy smile. But suddenly Miraku started clapping and Yosuke turned to look at him, the pink tint of his cheeks faded and he stood proudly with his chest puffed out. When he praised him on his talent with the fire affinity Yosuke’s icy eyes sparkled. A champion called him talented, and that was more than enough encouragement to keep him hungry to further his Ninjutsu.

“Possibly elements like Scorch, Explosion..or one of my favourites.”

He watched as he performed some type of hand seals and suddenly they were surrounded by mist. Yosuke looked around, in awe, and a little bit of fear. This was another new jutsu to him. He spun in circles as he heard what sounded like footsteps coming from every direction and jumped under Miraku’s sudden touch. He laughed nervously as he caught his breath and listened closely to what he told Shizuka. He looked at her and smiled again, being proud and impressed by his friend.

As he lead them out of the forest he turned to his friend, “That was really cool, Shizu!” He was laughing as he jogged besides her. He looked towards Miraku, “I think he’ll want to train us again. To see how we developed. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look forward to it.”

When they reached the exit he marveled as their sensei sprinted off, far faster than Yosuke could run. He shouted his goodbyes and waved, then they stood there in silence. Just the two of them.“He’s something else huh? Way different from Shieo Sensei,” He laughed and untied his hair.

“Not that Shieo Sensei was bad!” He quickly corrected himself not trying to sound disrespectful.

“Hey, Shizu, let’s get something to eat, I’m hungry,” His eyes became half lidded again, and the awe faded from his hues but he kept a satisfied smile on his face. “I would eat some of those noodles your mom makes...but after last night I don’t think it’s a good idea showing my face around there,” His pinks were pink again, he still gullibly believing that he was discovered at her house the night prior to the training. And so he was off, hands behind his head, looking up at the blue sky full of big fluffy clouds, not looking back yet expecting Shizuka to follow. A dynamic duo at work.

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[Total Word Count=3,113]
[Posts=5/5]
[Topic Left]

 

[Senju Shizuka]

A wall of gray descended upon the duo, and then bit by bit their teacher faded into the background until there was only Yosuke’s face left. Shizuka didn’t like the feeling of the pressing, warm mist coiling all around them, but was impressed by its heavy presence nonetheless. Going from what Miraku had told them about the more advanced elements, she figured that the mist came from mixing fire with some water. It was probably why he was showing it to them - Yosuke was good at using the fire element, so he could take it further toward the creation of mist should he want to.

Oh, it was vapor!

Well, she smiled to herself, her thoughts had been close enough so there was no shame in there. The embarrassment she did try to hide, however, was the way she had jerked to the side when Miraku had appeared behind Yosuke. The man was so quiet in his movements, quick, too. There had been no way for her to have seen him coming, definitely not in this sort of misty surroundings. Still, she cursed herself for having been spooked so easily.

“Thank you, Miraku-san.” She followed the man, thanking Yosuke as well (for his compliment of sorts). “Yeah, he might. That would be very nice. He has a different approach, but I liked it as well.” Nodding, while trying to keep up with Miraku’s form in the distance, she briefly wondered if every approach had its advantages and disadvantages, or Miraku was possibly stronger than Shieo because of some superior training method.

Knowing that today wouldn’t be the day she would get her answer, she agreed to grab food. “You’ll survive,” the girl grinned, caught up with Yosuke and threw her arm over his shoulders. Letting it slide a bit down, she tried to grab his neck into a hold before dragging him in the direction of her house. It would be so much fun to watch him squirm every time her mother would look at him! He would probably end up stuttering once or twice as well. Hopefully mother would play along.


**
[353/2649 | 5/5]
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