Private Rule #1 of ANBU. Remember to breath. [Tutor]

[Otani Ryuichi]

Was this even worth Ryuichi's time? They sit utop the academy at its highest point with crossed legs and a casually swinging foot as their crimson eyes dart over the files of a particular student. Nothing on their history save for two key points.

Student shows a great affinity towards Genjutsu, and to a lesser extent Kenjutsu. High possibility of becoming a valuable asset towards Kumo's needs.

Student possesses a form of asthma that is triggered primarily in cold weather. This is the major factor that will hold this youth back.

And this was enough for Ryuichi to want to train the kid? Clearly not, but it's not like the silver-haired killer had anything to say about it. It was an assignment given to them, same as any assassination or espionage..."Prepare this one for an upcoming exam" says the Sennin. So, being the perfectly obedient and not at all rogue-factor ninja that Ryuichi is, They'll have to train the kid.

They casually toss the papers over their shoulder as they burst into flames from a simple fire ninjutsu with its ashes scattering in the chilly Kumo night wind. The only light illuminating the silhouette of the academy (and in turn, Ryuichi) was the moon in a semi-dramatic fashion. Crimson, glittering eyes staring down the only path leading to the building. Except....the boy's plight reminded Ryuichi of a certain something. Their eyes occasionally dart to their ankle where a nasty scar barely poked out from the boot of the ninja. Ryuichi was a student once...and while newly inducted into the academy, they had made a serious mistake while training and hurt their ankle to the point of seemingly unhealable damage.


Technically the damage is still there. Bone that will never heal properly, muscle that twitches ever so slightly when sidestepping the wrong way, and the time it takes for Ryu to require resting when traveling on foot is greatly increased...at least, it would be.

Ryuichi had learned to press on. Despite all the pain, despite being at death's door, despite it ALL. If you can breath, you can fight. So Ryuichi fully intended to bring this to bear and teach this student one thing.


Remember to breath.

[mft]

 

[Ryuu Tama]

Shinjo thought he would of been used to it by now, but being suddenly woke up in the middle of his sleep still brought about a groggy teenager. The results of tonight would of been the same, except that he was awakened this time not by shakes and physical threats, but by a gallon of freezing water. Shin shot out of his bottom bunk with a shout as he stood there looking at his now soaked bed; eyes wide opened. It didn’t take him even a second to realized that he was in his normal boy’s dormitory but alone. No other bunks, no other Students, just himself soaked head-to-toe in cold water. His eyes did a trained scan of the room and found a piece of paper attached to the trunk at the foot of his bed. Cautiously, he lifted the paper and found no wire attached before ripping it away from the chakra adhesive that attached it to the wood of the footlocker. Flipping the half-folded sheet up with a thumb he read the message that simply stated a location and a time. Shin’s eyes shot to the clock still hanging on the far wall and saw he had exactly ten minutes. Instantly he thought of Miro and just knew deep inside this was one of his sensei’s machinations.

The Student dressed himself in his usual: kimono, sandals, katana. Except this time he actually threw on a pair of hakama to keep his legs warm from the night’s fury. He tied the katana earned from his time at the recent fair with a proud smile, and then above that one, tied his late-father’s katana. Two-style sword wasn’t exactly his forte just quite yet, but he carried them both regardless. Better to be with two and only need one than to be disarmed and have nothing to rely on. Opening the door to his dormitory, Shin slipped out of his room. He was met with guards that were still patrolling around, though he managed to be lucky in not being seen.
It wasn’t his first time slipping around the guards of the Academy. The men and women who serviced to the Academy all seemed to be late-age Genin who never peaked beyond that title in skill or chakra potential. They were all still deadly shinobi, but, they weren’t as sharp as the true professionals; which made it easy to get a late-night snack. Shin slipped around them as he usually did and made his way past the kitchens and out the back where he had his first lesson with Miro. The paper had said that the location of wherever he was supposed to go was a little further back and up the mountain a little more. The shinobi felt his stomach drop a little and his lungs tightening, but then clenched his fist into a grip and set out into the cold.

Almost instantly he felt his lungs trying to catch him. Shinjo’s vision became a little blurry as he stood there in the cold for a full two minutes while he regulated his chakra to heat his body and try and calm his lungs. It was a trick he had been taught, and in practice it should help, but the reality was that it took too long for him to use to be practical; not to mention the intense concentration he needed to keep it going. Trying to use the technique during combat just seemed outright impossible, so he hoped that as he set forward to the location that whatever this was about - it wasn’t combat. After about fifteen, minutes, Shinjo finally arrived to where Ryuichi was waiting - wheezing and coughing as he hung onto a tree to support his legs. He looked around with blurry frozen-teared eyes for whoever had called him to this location of torment.

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

There he was. The kid was already struggling to get here, leaning against a tree to catch their breath. But at least they showed up- the first step to doing anything. Ryuichi casually moves through a few one-handed seals before covering their face with the other hand, allowing a mask to materialize over it. One with the kumo insignia on the forehead and in the shape of a dragon's own face.

They jump down from the top of this extra academy building and land directly in front of Shinjo. With a casual wave, Ryuichi says. "Shinjo. Good. We can finally begin." with a think ancient-kumo accent common among sailors and those who live along the coastlines of lightning country. Their voice was neither particularly masculine or feminine and could be mistaken for either. And now that Shinjo could see their current instructor it was clear to see their attire. A think looking coat with fur lining at the neck and sleeves, simple anbu-issue pants with all the pockets one could want, flowing silver hair that reflected the moonlight with ease, and glaring red eyes.

"I'm an ANBU operative. And I've been tasked by our Sennin to train you. You are to refer to me as...whatever the hell you want." They say with a shrug. "Come. This task will be a simple one."

With the beckoning of one hand, Ryuichi walks towards the entrance of the academy building- primarily used for students that were...less than willing to learn. Stories of kidnapped children being forced to train here have become nightmare fuel among the commonfolk and as far as Ryuichi knew the practice was still done to this day. Ryuichi looks to the boy from head to toe when they arrive at the door.

"Let's just get into it because I don't want to be here. And you won't want to be, either. I will follow behind you to ensure you don't die. In the meantime you are to simply walk through this building. At the top floor in the administrator's office is a coupon for the karaoke place in town, my treat."

It sounded too simple. But the casual demeanor of the....teenage(?) shinobi could lead anyone to believe that they were simply slacking off...

At least, until they opened the door. The entire building was slowly filling with a bone-chilling mist that served to soak clothing and chill just about anyone to the bone. That paired with the fact that the direct path to the stairs was blocked off with a wall of stone meant that Shinjo had to find another path. There were probably a dozen classrooms along the way...surely one of them had an alternative way up.

"A few rules. No wall walking or scaling the side of the building, no ninjutsu or taijutsu of any kind....and finally, don't forget to breath."

Spoiler: Read Me

There are 12 rooms in here. Feel free to put whatever you want within them including a way up if you want to be lazy...but what's the fun in that? The jutsu currently active is "suffocating fog" and it will actively try to force itself to be breathed in. Simply covering your face will not work. good luck!

 

[Ryuu Tama]

Shinjo’s ragged breathing didn’t get any better. He stood there for a moment hanging onto the tree just staring at the masked ANBU operative before him wheezing with a glare. They were right, Shin didn’t want to be here and knowing that they too found this entire thing to be tedious did little to help his mood. Gripping the tree a little harder in anger the boy had a thought of actual violence shoot through his head for the first time since actually entering the Academy; he was going to stab Miro one day. He followed the operative though, knowing he had little choice with his lack of stamina but to do what was asked. Shin only hoped that they wouldn’t ask for a battle.

When they reached the doors and nothing more than a cold mist came rolling out, Shin couldn’t help but look at Ryuichi with some exasperation. He was waken up from a sound sleep, to walk through a building? He held his hands up to argue for a moment, but dropped them with a wheezing sigh knowing that he really didn’t have a choice. He took two steps into the building,
“Fine, karaoke sounds fun anywa-,” but before he could finish his sentence the fog showed it’s true self.

Shinjo was a boy that was afraid of many things. The finality of death showed its ugly face to the kid on more than one occasion, and truth be told without the Genjutsu that Miro had marked him with, he would of probably died a long time ago. The weakness exhibited from his asthma was always something that bothered him but he never had a reason to fully fear it. Yes, it caused him to black out sometimes, but he always came to and had never really had a real fear of suffocation. That was, until he stepped into the building. Icy fog rolled up his body like a giant’s hand gripping him, and then he felt it shove its way past his throat and into his lungs. Already burning with asthma related problems, Shin felt his world go black almost instantly as the fog barely stifled a scream when he lost control of his legs and fell over deeper into the mist. Somewhere in his mind, perhaps the Genjutsu scar, triggered something in his body that fought back against the ninjutsu choking him down. He rolled over onto his elbows and knees, coughing as sheer will power forced out the fog for a moment to allow one single gasp of breath. The teen sat up on his knees and arched his back with the sudden rush of oxygen; following it was a rolling coughing fit. Seemingly, the jutsu left him alone for a second as he got back to his feet, a gleam of murder in the boy’s eyes as he started to accuse the ANBU member of homicide,
“Are you trying to freaking kill m-!?” but before he could finish the fog shot back up a tendril back down his throat and Shin was on the ground again clutching his throat. He looked up at Ryuichi, the murder turned to pleads for help in his eyes but he saw nothing back from beyond the mask. They just stood there. Shin closed his eyes tight and tried to focus his thoughts to overcome the justu and figure out how he got it to let go originally. Rolling over onto his arms and knees again, the Student began to crawl with what little strength the single shot of breath had gained him, looking for a room that wasn’t so permeated by the fog.

[MFT]

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryuichi only peered at the boy at first as the Jutsu's effects took hold. This was more than some simple mist, and that was made VERY clear. Shinjo's lungs would be filled with air that couldn't be breathed all the while the chilling effects of the vapor set in both outside and in. Hell, this fog could be used as a torture method against *normal* people in the right situations, let alone someone with asthma.

They walked beside Shinjo as they fell over in pain. "Keep crawling. I'll ensure you won't die." They say with a tilted head. Gleaming red, emotionless eyes peering beyond them and to the young boy. Even being accused of attempted murder didn't cause a reaction, because....well obviously if Ryuichi had intent to kill anyone it'd be over with by now.

And throughout it all they simply walked beside Shinjo, not affected by the fog. Where Shinjo was crawling and gasping, Ryuichi had the ability to give a small sigh as the boy got close to a door. The ANBU decides to indulge them by pushing it open to reveal that the room inside was still filled with mist, but the ambient chakra was far less potent. This would be a suitable place to escape the suffocating fog for a time.

An empty classroom, devoid of even the desks that are normally set inside. The windows are all open to let that freezing kumo night air in, and the only thing of note is a simple chalkboard with the number "3" on it in chalk.

"You did it. The first room. Good job." Ryuichi says as they lean against a wall.

[MFT]

 

[Ryuu Tama]

The teenager crawled into the room quickly and before he realized it, darted towards the open window. Half of his face stuck out as he inhaled the frozen cold night air into his lungs before he started into a long cough. Shinjo wheezed as he attempted to breathe normally at all and didn’t realize through his anger at the ANBU who dragged him here that the wheezing was less than it had been climbing the mountain up to this point. More than that, he had actually just took the first full lung of mountain air since coming here and let most of it out without a hitch.

The boy turned away from the window with a cold sweat and pale flesh. His legs were still weak, causing him to lean heavily against the window seal, but he was holding himself up. Chakra started to swirl in the center of his guts as he recovered from multiple experiences of nearly choking to death and it was pulsing in a weird way; all out of his control. Ryuichi’s method of training was, despite it’s Draconian levels of absurdity, actually helping. Shinjo had never had an actual challenge, except those put forward by high superiors, and even then it only seemed like it took a few moments for him to grasp what was being taught. Stuff that would take some students days or weeks was taking him hours, and it was happening again right before the eyes of someone else who could actually watch the phenomena unfold; perhaps explaining why Miro had an interest in the boy.
The coil’s energy spread through his circulatory system and began to pulse. The more it pulsed, the easier it made him able to breathe. After about a solid minute inside the classroom, the boy started to walk forward again as his chakra’s pulsing ebbed lightly until it was once again in a calm state. His own body’s energy was acting like it had its own will, and with each injury and challenge to his physical form, the chakra went to strengthen. It wasn’t healing, but more like a speed workout, where instead of relaxing the muscles that helped him breath the chakra beat them up until they got strong enough to handle the current level of distress he was in; now he could breath ever so slightly better.

“Let’s get this over with,” the ANBU hopeful mutter as he walked past the chalkboard, just barely catching that it had the number three written on it before stepping outside the class room. Predictably the fog launched itself at him again. Shin tried to dodge it for a moment, taking shallow quick breaths as he danced away from the deadly cloud, but eventually it overwhelmed him. Once again the icy wet grabbed him by the throat and forced its way inside. The difference between this time and the first, being a look of willful determination. Shinjo steadied his breathing into even shallower gasps, and in reality he literally looked like a fish out of water, but he was on two legs slowly moving towards the next classroom.

[MFT]