Teaching the Secret of Life (Tutor)

[Enomoto Satoshi]

Educating Kumogakure’s future shinobi was an exhausting venture and Satoshi still felt fatigued from his previous forays attempting to instill wisdom and skill in some talented youngsters. There existed too much liability in the endeavor nowadays. If he joined the Anbu and killed people he’d be hailed as a hero, but heaven forbid he lose a student or two while teaching them some particularly ambitious lesson. Today Satoshi planned to take things a bit easier, primarily because he needed the rest, but also since killing off ninjas in their formative years rendered them useless for defending Cloud after Satoshi had retired.

Satoshi had situated himself in the center of a large, vacant field of freshly trimmed grass. Typically this expanse would be devoted to sports or recreation but Satoshi was assiduously engaged in assembling an elaborate obstacle course. Certainly he had a lesson planned for the intrepid young student Takagi Shuya, but first his pupil would have to reach him first.

A stalwart barricade of barbed wire fence had been erected around the entire perimeter of the field, leaving only one entrance for Shuya to traverse. Directly through this opening was a narrow corridor, approximately 100m in length, of smoldering hot coals which were lined on both sides by more razor-sharp fencing. At the end of this corridor stood a tall hurdle which was followed in succession by many additional hurdles of varying height down a grassy avenue of 500m. At the conclusion of the hurdles towered a fake mountain wall of colossal height, which must be overcome to reach the next destination. There was no rope or safety provisions of any kind, but numerous rocks jutted out from the slope which could be climbed with hands and feet. When one descended from this stone wall, the floor consisted of nothing but rubber tires for a long stretch of distance which made walking arduous. The tire path eventually led into a pit where two hungry dogs were running in circles and barking ferociously, but if one conquered all of the obstacles along the way and reached the rope latter on the opposite side of the pit, they could climb upwards and arrive at a halcyon stretch of grass which was occupied only by a desk and chair. Satoshi calmly strolled over to the desk and placed upon it a plain sheet of paper inscribed with a single question – “what does 3 + 4 * 5 equal?” Satisfied with his work, the Chuunin laid a pencil atop the paper and returned to stand patiently in the corner.

[WC: 426]

 

[Shuya]

With the sunrise came the day Shuya was finally waiting for: his first ever tutoring session. Although he had been enrolled in the academy for a few weeks, the most physical thing he had done was a little solo training in the woods. While he did work up quite a sweat from doing so, it was nowhere near enough to satisfy him nor his thirst for accomplishment. For him to get the opportunity to train under someone else, especially one of the village's high-ranking ninja, was like a dream come true! Of course, seeing as there was no way to predict what this training would entail, nor the state he would be in after finishing it, he couldn't help but be afraid as well. Regardless of the endless thoughts running through his head, he grabbed his clothes, left the house, and took off running to the training site. This was a new Shuya. A Shuya that would take challenges head on regardless of how scary they seemed. He knew, deep down, that the rewards for doing so would be worth it.

...Or so he thought. Once he finally reached the tutoring site, as he was catching his breath, he finally got a good look at what was before him. The large, barbed-wire fence that seemed to stretch forever gave off more of a prison vibe than it did a training one. With step after hesitating step, he made his way into the entrance and was immediately hit by a wave of sweltering heat. From what he could see, the walls were lined with what seemed to be burning hot coals and the only thing separating him from touching them was another layer of undoubtedly burning hot sharp fencing; the very same fencing that lined the outer perimeter. Although it was far, he could just barely make out some kind of light at the end of the long corridor, hinting that this was where he was meant to go. He also figured that he should hurry. Not even a full thirty seconds in here and he was already sweating bullets. "This is tutoring...?" he muttered to himself, turning his body sideways and taking his first steps down the corridor. He was never one to take pain lightly, so he knew that if he accidentally brushed up against either wall, there was a chance he'd jump around, brush up against the other wall, and pinball between the two of them until he was severely hurt. Or, even worse, dead.

His body stayed sideways and his head faced forward, inching his way down the corridor, resisting the urge to wipe the sweat off his face. Every so often, driven by the desire to get out of this sweltering heat, he would quicken his pace. At one point he stumbled and his body nearly fell forward. Luckily, thanks to the approach he decided to take with this, he wasn't severely hurt; he was just mere inches away from getting his face burned. That... was close... he thought to himself, utterly speechless at the amount of danger he was just in. Every bone in his body told him to just quit, go home, and make up some excuse the next time he saw Satoshi, but his spirit told him to keep going. He was already 25... then 50... then 75 meters into the corridor. Each step brought him closer and closer to that light and, from the sight of it, the end of the barbed-wire-lined walls. "Just one more step, just one more step..." he urged himself, face and body showered in sweat, until he made it out of the corridor and subsequently collapsed to the ground. The not-so-cool-but-not-burning-hot air was refreshing to him, and he congratulated himself with having made it through the first obstacle. The next challenge he'd have to overcome was a giant hurdle but, compared to the hell he just went through, it seemed like a piece of cake. After a few moments of rest, of course.

[MFT - 676 WC]

 

[Kazoki Mitsugi]

Mitsugi decided to get stronger to avenge his father death. Training would be the first step to achieve his target. He knew the Academy from granny-neighbor living opposite his house. Aurora Eruditio was the exact place of young Kumogakure shinobi practiced and trained.

The orange-eyed boy went early catching up for lesson. Along the way, he helped an old grandpa carrying fresh vegetables. Mitsugi arrived at Academy in a late time manner. There, he met with other students and learned that last class was finished. Disappointed for a moment, Mitsugi then decided to explore the area.

Wandering in Aurora Eruditio, the brown-haired boy saw a huge grass pitch marked with barbed wire. A black-haired teenager stand in the middle of the pitch and a young student like him trying to enter the maze. The maze looks like prison with single entrance and stalwart barbed wire fence as border. This must be some sort of training! This is my chance to get better physically! Mitsugi muttered to himself.

Mitsugi then braced up himself and moved closer to the entrance. He saw the red-haired student moving through a hot coal. Damn that must be hot! Heat started to creep upon his body. No! I must get stronger! Mitsugi convinced himself. He was encouraged by the the bright red-haired boy bravery. If others can do? Means I can do it as well. However, the corridor was too small to fit for 2 people. Mitsugi observed keenly on red-haired boy movement. Once red-haired shinobi passed through obstacle, Mitsugi quickly start going through hot coal ground.

Tsss… The coal left red mark on his toes. Damn… It’s worse than I expect. But I should only move forward. I’ll be dead pierced through sharp fence if I keep hopping around to avoid this hot coal. No pain no gain, I’ll embrace this pain. Mitsugi then took out his kunai and bit its handle. The orange-eyed shinobi moved forward steadily while enduring pain and heat. He quickened his step and finally clear his way to nice and comfortable grass patch. There, the red-haired student was laying on the ground. Too much to handle eh? Mitsugi thought. Mitsugi put back his kunai in his pocket, gathered up confidence, and cleared up his throat. “Hey there. I’m Kazoku Mitsugi. Could I join your practice here?” Mitsugi momentarily paused, “Looks like quite changeling eh?”

[OOC: Thank you Satoshi for letting me join this tutor. ]
[Topic Entered]
[MFT]
[WC: 394]

 

[Enomoto Satoshi]

Satoshi straightened his tie and sat down idly at the small wooden desk in eager anticipation of his pupil’s arrival. One might naively expect an Olympian degree of stamina from a Chuunin of Cloud Village, but working industriously under the sweltering sunlight left Satoshi exhausted and he lamented his lack of forethought not to even bring an iced beverage for the occasion. He had devoted several hours that morning to constructing his little playground, and spent an innumerable measure of time in devising its layout, and he gazed upon his handiwork with an expression of pride. The procurement and transport of rabid dogs was no small feat, but there wasn’t a hardship Satoshi wouldn’t endure to educate the future generation of Cloud Village shinobi.

Twirling the pencil in one hand and wiping sweat from his brow with the other, Satoshi examined the sheet of paper before him. “Treading over hot coals and climbing rock walls is one thing, but have today’s youth even heard of PEMDAS?” mused Satoshi to himself, still relaxing in the plastic chair ensconced behind several layers of barbed wire fencing. “I shouldn’t ask too much from them. If I’m unreasonably demanding of my students they’ll quit the Academy and become accountants or something.” Satoshi scribbled down an answer and folded up the paper to place in his pocket, and he peered up in time to observe the arrival of a youth with vibrant red hair.

The student did not appear to notice Satoshi, who sat well concealed in the epicenter of the obstacle course, and he wasted no time in immediately tackling the challenges Satoshi laid before him. Satoshi possessed no encyclopedic knowledge of bloodlines, and pondered whether the student’s conspicuous hair color indicated some unique racial trait that imparted immunity to fire. A piercing sensation of anxiety briefly overcame Satoshi that perhaps he had labored indefatigably for hours to construct an obstacle course which was much too easy, but his fears were quickly alleviated. The young boy bravely tackled the first leg of Satoshi’s gauntlet, traversing across a narrow corridor of steaming hot coals with a dauntless visage. However, where his spirit blazed imperturbably, his own body forsook him, for the student looked visibly fatigued before even reaching the stretch of hurdles.

Satoshi stood up from the desk and was prepared to swoop in and introduce himself, but to his great stupefaction another boy arrived from out of the blue which left Satoshi flummoxed as to which one was really his pupil. He had to get to the bottom of this conundrum. The mysterious newcomer traipsed across the sizzling avenue with admirable stoicism, clearly suppressing an intense feeling of pain, and soon arrived right where the original student rested. Satoshi recognized this as his opportunity to introduce himself, and expeditiously raced between the two frenzied hounds, surmounted the rock wall, sprinted over the hurdle course and skid haphazardly in an effort to decelerate until at last he stood before the two students with a warm smile.

“My name is Enomoto Satoshi and I am a Chuunin of Cloud Village. It is an esteemed privilege to serve as your instructor today, though I must humbly request that you simply call me ‘Satoshi’ for I fear that I should consider retirement by the time people start addressing me by my surname.” Satoshi orated audibly to the two students in audience, though his eyes moved back and forth in uncertainty as to whom he should actually be speaking to. “Before we dive into the exciting aspects of today’s lesson, however, I suppose we ought to attend to the business end first. It was my understanding that I would oversee the instruction of a certain ‘Takagi Shuya’ yet two ambitious youths have decided to challenge this treacherous and unforgiving labyrinth. Could one of you perhaps be ‘Takagi’ and the other ‘Shuya’, or are there are two students with identical names who erroneously received the same invitation? Maybe the Academy of Cloud Village has been graced with a rare Rikkudo Sennin prodigy? I care naught, for pedagogy is a high honor and if I can impart some modest skill or wisdom to two promising students then I would have served my village far better than simply teaching one.”

Satoshi feared his introduction had digressed into palaverous rambling, and straightening his glasses to signal a segue in his speech, quickly moved to conclude the address. “I have gifted you a monumental favor; abrogating the most formidable task in this entire obstacle course. The only impediments remaining are the series of hurdles, the rock wall, the tire path, and my two puppies. I have an exciting and enlightening lesson planned for you today but we cannot begin until you get there first. I will eagerly await you at the end of these trials, but first I shall confer these two implements for you to use at your discretion. I would feel awfully guilty if my students died or something in the midst of all this fun, so please refrain from doing anything silly that might give me a scare.”

Satoshi handed both students two squeaky dog toys, and with a polite bow, hastened briskly through the obstacle course and sat once more at the wooden desk. His journey this time was somewhat clumsier than before and he stumbled while scaling the rock wall, though he soon arrived back at the finish line proving that conquering these obstacles was indeed achievable by man or child alike. Before climbing the rope latter at the end, he tossed a chew toy which pacified the two dogs momentarily but after a minute or so they returned to running in circles and barking.

[WC: 946]

 

[Shuya]

As he lay on his back catching his breath, eyes staring up at the sky, Shuya was soon joined by another boy who looked to be around the same age, possibly younger, than him. From the sweat on his clothes, it seemed like he came in the same way Shuya did but, unlike Shuya, he didn't immediately collapse after completing the trial. The boy introduced himself as Kazoku Mitsugi and, after another deep breath, Shuya finally lifted himself up to a seated position and held out his hand. "Takagi Shuya," he responded, using his free hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "I don't mind if you join me." Almost immediately after the duo had exchanged pleasantries, Shuya noticed someone moving towards them. It was at this moment that he could clearly see the rest of the obstacle course and the person almost effortlessly traversing the rest of the course, making Shuya feel a little less confident in his skills. This course was just like a test to him and, from experience, tests tend to leave the harder questions near the end. Given how much walking through the heated corridor had taken out of him, he had no idea how he'd make it past those hurdles, scale a wall, and whatever else awaited him near the end.

Once the older man stood in front of the two students, Shuya finally stood to his feet and listened to the introduction. As he thought, it was this man who gave Shuya the invitation to be tutored and, surprisingly, only him. The boy that stood next to Shuya apparently wasn't invited at all, as the two names Satoshi said were both Shuya's last and first name, respectively. "Y-Yes, I'm Takagi Shuya," he spoke up, raising his hand briefly before lowering it. Maybe the man had forgotten that another student was joining them today? Or maybe this student just saw the entrance and decided to walk in on his own. Regardless of the reasoning, Shuya was finally face-to-face with his tutor and made sure to absorb every word he spoke. Maybe there was some kind of wisdom in them.

Only... there wasn't any. It sounded like a steady stream of rambling for the most part, with one very curious bit of information: the possibility of a "Rikudo Sennin prodigy" in the village. What is that? It sounds weird, but kinda interesting. Shuya didn't get a chance to ponder what it could be, as Satoshi started back up again, this time about the course. He laid out the rest of the obstacles and, with each one, Shuya felt his heart sink a little bit more. The meeting was soon concluded with both Shuya and Mitsugi each receiving a small, dog-shaped squeaky toy, which they were apparently meant to use at some point. Watching Satoshi go back through the course, albeit a bit more clumsily the second time, Shuya got an idea of what he meant. But first, he'd have to make it to that point. "Alright," he spoke up, squeezing the toy with determination, "I have no idea how I'm going to get through the rest of this, but I'm going to try." He spoke more to himself than to Mitsugi, but he turned his head to give a knowing nod to the boy. With that, he set off toward the first hurdle, hoping the running start would allow him to move across it easily.

[OOC: Sorry for the late post! Didn't check the thread until yesterday.]

 

[Kazoki Mitsugi]

The red-haired student looked very tired as he was laying down and staring blank to the sky. He then took deep breath and sat down and greeted Mitsugi.“Takagi Shuya” as Mitsugi new acquaintance introduced himself. Nevertheless, Mitsugi just wanted to practice and get in shape. He then inhaled breathe freely when Shuya letting him join obstacle training. Shuya, eh? I’ll remember his generousity. As they finished short introduction, Mitsugi saw someone approaching the students. The person moved swiftly throughout obstacles. He was tall and lanky yet agile enough to dash through two furious puppies and pretty strong to climb over rock wall. Amalgam of jittery and eagerness moved in his stomach as Mitsugi watched the young man rushed over course obstacles. Mitsugi concluded this young man should be the one who constructed these hitches. Then the young instructor raced and jump over the hurdle and stopped in front of the young boys. Okay, I will swallow every word of knowledge from him.

“My name is Enomoto Satoshi and I am a Chuunin of Cloud Village. It is an esteemed privilege to serve as your instructor today,” the young adult said loudly. So this person designed these obstacles. Satoshi-sensei. Mitsugi tried to remember all the new names he just met. Satoshi continue his introduction. Mitsugi chuckled when young adult teacher joke about surname and retirement. While Satoshi delivered allocution, Mitsugi inundated into his own thoughts. Is people in Kumo are talented to be jovial? Villagers’ jollity and jovialness were main reasons for Mitsugi to move from a village in Lightning Country’s border and to dwell in Kumogakure. Mitsugi wished Kumo’s inhabitants character could soother doleful encounter young Mitsugi experience. "Y-Yes, I'm Takagi Shuya," the red-haired student shouted. Shuya voices retorted Mitsugi awareness to reality. Ah, this courseis prepared for him. Hopefully Satoshi-sensei wouldn’t mind I showed up. Mitsugi traced blue-eyed preceptor’s message and caught few things he couldn’t fathom. What is Chuunin? Is it a well-paid job? Mitsugi really wanted to earn lucrative mony as he needed to provide foods for his little brother as well. Then there was Rikkudo Sennin? Nonetheless, Mitsugi conserved questions for now and reminded himself to ask Satoshi at the end of the training. The young teacher approved Mitsugi interruption to the event with remarks of duty in teaching young kids like Shuya and Mitsugi.

The glass-worn tutor then elucidated what left for two students, series of hurdles, rock wall, tire path, and two puppies. At the closure of his instruction, the pedagogue handed Shuya and Mitsugi squeaky dog toys. Mitsugi couldn’t understand his teacher purpose at the moment. The brown-haired student examined closely Satoshi movement throughout the course. He saw Satoshi’s toy was able to placate those frantic dogs for short moment. Shuya’s statement encouraged Mitsugi as he also will try hard through the course. Once Shuya nod to Mitsugi, h dashed hoping pace will help him past the hurdles. Mitsugi warmed up himself and stretched his legs and hands not wanting to have any injury as the result of this training. Once he thought he was good, he quickly ran through. Mitsugi ran at breakneck speed until multiple image of him was created as trace of his path.

[WC: 533]
[WCT: 927]

 

[Enomoto Satoshi]

Satoshi’s smiled brightly in greeting as his two students finally conquered the obstacle course and arrived at the cozy pocket of grass, circumscribed by several layers of razor-sharp fencing. Both youngsters had appeared exhausted mere moments ago when they successfully traversed the long avenue of blazing hot coals. Nonetheless, an auspicious vigor seemed to uplift them and galvanize their spirits, and through backbreaking effort and exertion, they soon maneuvered past not only a lengthy stretch of hurdles, towering rock wall, slippery tract of rubber tires but also two ferocious canines which were cleverly assuaged by the chew toys that Satoshi had bestowed upon them. Satoshi rose up from the plastic chair, and gazing fixedly from behind his spectacles, finally addressed the two once they had caught their breath.

“I must applaud your indefatigable efforts and unswerving perseverance in overcoming the many trials and tribulations which I laid before you. Nobody ever challenged me in such a daunting manner when I was a student, but had I disclosed the sheer magnitude of the difficulty and danger present in this obstacle course, I feared that I might intimidate you into giving up. Congratulations on a safe and successful passage.”

Satoshi paused briefly seemed suddenly lost in thought as his expression contorted into a frown. Glumly, he continued speaking.

“Unfortunately, I fear that my competence as an instructor has already expired. I spoke previously of an exciting lesson plan that I devised which would surely impart invaluable experience in the ways of the shinobi. As I sat here contemplating matters while you completed the remainder of the obstacle course, however, the horrifying realization struck me that I was so busy constructing this elaborate playground all morning that I never got around to finishing that lesson plan! Alas, my oversight has placed us in quite the quandary…but there still remains a flicker of hope, for the obstacles that you vanquished just now were merely a warm-up lap, so to speak, for the labyrinth which I have been engaged in building.”

Satoshi gave a swift kick with his foot and knocked over the wooden desk and chair, revealing a very narrow passageway leading deep underground. The top rung of a rickety, rope ladder peaked from the top of the hole, and the width was so tight that anyone climbing down would be uncomfortably squeezed by the encircling walls of dirt. Beckoning the students to follow, Satoshi led the way as the three shinobi descended single-file into the great depths below; climbing several minutes through pitch black darkness before finally arriving at an illuminated expanse.

Satoshi, Shuya and Mitsuga stood dwarfed within a massive cavern which was dead silent save the smoldering drone of torches burning on every wall. A dozen tunnels burrowed haphazardly in every conceivable direction. These paths were also lined with flaming torches, however, they shifted direction so erratically that one could not anticipate where they led simply from peeking through the entrance.

“I think you can sympathize with my fatigue when you look upon my handiwork. I had been digging for countless hours this morning before I struck this curious little cave here, but those long, winding tunnels are the result of my own excavation. You see, an Aburame friend of mind was expanding his entomology collection and kindly asked me if I could help him with this endeavor. I’ve been searching everywhere and at long last discovered what I was looking for!”

Satoshi pulled a cryptic object from out of his pocket which suddenly glistened in the torchlight. In the palm of his hand lay a glass bottle containing a sparkling gold spider scurrying about. “I have no clue what this creature is called, but it’s precisely what my friend requested. I found this one in one of my tunnels, but he requested three in total. Unfortunately, those passageways are infested with snakes, giant rats and a hodgepodge of fearsome critters which persuaded me to take a break until I could find assistance. Your arrival was a propitious turn of events.”

Satoshi paced towards the two students, though his presence seemed to phase in and out of existence as he moved across areas beyond the illumination of the torches. He handed both students a transparent glass bottle much like that one which he returned to his pocket.

“Take any path that you fancy, and obviously remember that your safety and well-being comes foremost so avoid engaging in danger that you cannot handle. I’ve already found my bug so I’ll sit on this rock over here while you scour the inscrutable depths of this subterranean maze. I bid you two the best of luck, and remember if your tunnel fails to yield a spider, you can always retrace your steps and try another route.”

[WC: 792]
[OOC: Please ignore my unfortunate avatar situation. Also, feel free to think creatively and take whatever liberties you see fit in describing your surroundings and dangers as you search for the spiders.]

 

[Shuya]

The running start idea proved to be a good one, as Shuya made his way up over one hurdle, then another, and then another, before coming face to face with the colossal rock wall. He looked over his shoulder and saw Mitsugi next to him -- whether he made it to the wall before or after Shuya, Shuya couldn't tell -- and was a little glad the boy had managed to join Shuya in the next challenge. It was just the kind of motivation he needed to keep moving where his ever-doubting mind would have normally dissuaded him. Unfortunately, Shuya wasn't among the strongest physically, so he knew he wouldn't be able to climb the wall normally.

He remembered his solo training in the forest a while back, where he concentrated chakra in his feet to stick to a tree with the hopes of walking up it, only to accidentally propel himself off of said tree by concentrating a little too much. Perhaps, he pondered as he began to attempt his chakra concentration again, I could push myself up this wall. Knowing he'd need it for later, he stuffed the squeaky toy in his mouth, which of course gave a comically timed squeak when he did so. Since his first training session, he had gotten better at controlling his chakra and, luckily, was able to push himself up the rock wall a little at a time, making sure to hold on to the ones directly above him for dear life. As he made it to the top of the wall he nearly slipped but, driven by the desire to not die, he managed to pull himself to the top of the wall and descend shortly after.

Compared to the rock wall, the tire path, while a bit tricky, seemed like a walk in the park. All Shuya had to do was make sure to step carefully between the tires and, little by little, he made his way across the long path. All that was left was the ferocious dogs which, from what Shuya observed earlier, were momentarily quelled upon hearing the toy. He waited until Mitsugi was at the same place and, on Shuya's count, signaled to him to throw the toys off to the side to guide the dogs towards them. Despite the aching in Shuya's legs, he forced himself to run past the two pups, climb the rope ladder, and finally make it to the grassy field where Satoshi was waiting. "Finally," Shuya audibly declared, falling on his butt, finally glad to be given a moment's rest. His heart was pounding but he had done what he initially thought was impossible: he had completed the hellish obstacle course. Unfortunately, his heart sunk after Satoshi gave the duo their congratulations.

"...I was so busy constructing this elaborate playground all morning that I never got around to finishing that lesson plan! ...the obstacles that you vanquished just now were merely a warm-up lap, so to speak, for the labyrinth which I have been engaged in building." were the words that stuck out the most to Shuya. At first, he couldn't help but think that Satoshi was kidding. That this was just a joke being played on the youngsters. The passageway that was revealed once the desk and chair were kicked over was indication that this was no joke; there seriously was a labyrinth awaiting them.

Shuya reluctantly got up to follow the other two into the labyrinth, climbing down the tight passage and getting smudged with dirt. Eventually they reached the bottom and were greeted by a dozen tunnels, numerous torches, and complete silence; save for the sound of the breathing and the crackling of fire. Just... how did he dig all this...? Shuya thought to himself as Satoshi continued speaking. There was no way the obstacle course had kept Shuya and Mitsugi occupied for that long... right?

The two students were soon informed of their next task: traverse these tunnels and find two more golden spiders. Shuya wasn't happy with this, being dirty, exhausted, and feeling a little cheated, but who was he to question the tutor? "Two spiders coming up," he responded, taking one of the bottle and walking into a tunnel. As expected, just by looking down it he could tell it was dark; the fire on the torches seemed to be dying down as well, making seeing into this place even more of a challenge. Shuya placed the bottle in his pocket and did a few handseals, aiming at a few of the torches and refueling their flames with Infernal Ember, rank 1.

What he saw next... surprised him, to say the least. Satoshi had warned that the passageways were infested with all sorts of critters but, upon getting a brighter look into the tunnel, Shuya saw that not only were they infested, they were absolutely crawling with the things! Snakes lined the walls and ceiling, rats scurried around trying to find a dark place to hide in, and a strong chill ran down Shuya's spine. He walked further into the tunnel, trying to ignore the terrifying creatures, focusing only on finding the spider. He didn't feel like he had much chakra left, given the amount he used to scale the rock wall earlier, but he was prepared to use all of it to ward off the creatures if need be.

[WC: 895]

 

[Kazoki Mitsugi]

In front of Mitsugi, Shuya dashed swiftly and jumped over the fence. The red-haired student rigorously push himself over the bar and over again. Mitsugi’s comrade enthusiasm ignited him as well. Fire burning inside his body and made it over his skin surface translated into mere sweat. Mitsugi ran at breakneck speed creating multiple image of him behind. Mitsugi didn’t realize that it seemed like he just blinked up to few meters ahead at the hurdles. Bang! I thought I was still like 5 meters away. Mitsugi remembered and calculated his position. The first hurdle collapsed and the unlucky boy rolled forward hitting the ground. Ouch. It hurts. While rolling, Mitsugi saw glimpse of multiple image of him at the path of track. What was that? After couple times of rolling, the black-haired student finally stopped then he stood up and looked at the path before him with curiosity. I’m pretty sure I saw something behind. Is it just my dream? Dozen of questions raced his mind. Mitsugi was pretty sure on what he saw but the images was shattered and it was only grass patch left behind. Maybe I’ll just quickly complete this training and I’ll head home for rest. He stood up and fended off dirt from his blue jacket. Then, he tried again to run. This time he concentrated well and jumped off in time and avoided the hurdle. Based on the experience he went through, he adjusted the speed to be lesser so that there is time for him to react and jump. Mitsugi did well for the rest of the hurdles and caught up with Shuya in front of titanic rock wall.

Shuya started to walk on the wall and climbed up easily with slight slipped over the top. Mitsugi was ready to catch him. Falling down from that kind of height was no joke and could have ended up in hospital with multiple bone fractures. Shuya managed to hang on and completed the wall obstacle. Mitsugi had no idea how Shuya able to do that yet. He fell down sitting on the grass and looked to the top of the wall. “A shinobi must be resourceful” he reminded what his late-father used to say. Resource. That’s it! Mitsugi opened up his pouch. What do I have with me now? 10 kunais, 20 shurikens, and 20m folded ninja wires. He tied the wire on along his hip line and attached the other end at the kunai. After checking it was strong enough, Mitsugi jumped reaching as high as he could and forcefully pierced the kunai through the stone wall. The kunai successfully planted however due to the nature of the rock surface. The kunai plunged from first contact point in about 10 centimeters leaving line trail behind. Mitsugi smirked and felt proud that his idea would eventually work. He then climbed the wire and finally reached to his kunai. Next step is the most difficult one. The brown-haired student then swinged left and right to get the right momentum once Mitsugi confidence with the arc and speed he pushed with full force and…. He was in mid-air with the kunai underneath him then he swiftly withdrew another kunai from his pouch this kunai also have another string tied to his hip. The orange-eyed student again pierced through the rock. The second kunai immediately stopped and jammed in. Mitsugi climbed off the wire and cut the wire connecting him to the first kunai. Yeah this works fine. He looked down and gulped saliva down his throat. I’d better moving forward and just keep looking up. Mitsugi prepared for the second swing and finally hit the third point with another kunai. Mitsugi kept doing this method few times until he reached to the top of the wall. In total, he used up to 9 kunais. Lucky, I still have my weapon for whatever I’ll face later on.

After passing through the wall, Mitsugi then faced a tire path. What a kindhearted teacher that provide easy task after the difficult one Satoshi is. He remembered how he used to play soccer with his friends back then in Kazokugakure. The coach have few drills before the game such as running zig zag through cone and jumping off tire path. Mitsugi remembered clearly the tricks and soon completed the obstacles. And suddenly two mad dog kept barking and charging at his direction. Mitsugi remembered his teacher tricks before. He quickly withdrew the squeaky toys from his belt pouch and threw the toys. Surprisingly, it calmed and domesticated the violent dogs. It will be so easy to rob a house if all guards dog are this doting. Mitsugi continued to pick up his pace and sprint through the dogs and jumped off the ground and reach rope ladder. As soon as he hangin on the rope, the image of doting and domesticated pets were shattered and the two became ferocious as before. Mitsugi hang on tight thinking it will be dead if he faced the dogs again. He slowly climbed up and reached the top. He saw his teacher sitting up on a chair in the middle of grass field. Mitsugi then quickly ran and reached their place.

Soon after Mitsugi reached, the black-glasses teacher congratulated both of students on achievement completing such rigorous physicality obstacle. Mitsugi smiled of the congratulatory while wiping sweat of his face. However, Satoshi declared it was just a mere warm up. Mitsugi couldn’t believe what he heard, he wanted to protest but Satoshi quickly kicked down chair and desk revealing a secret passage with rope hanging. The teacher led the way and climbed down the rope and three of them reached massive cavern illuminated dimming flaming torches with dozens of tunnels. Satoshi then briefed the two daunting students on the next task. The students need to find a sparkling gold spider. Some Aburame freak wanted to collect more insects. Good news was Mitsugi just need to find one. Bad news was a lot of creatures hiding inside the tunnels ready to eat him alive.

Mitsugi then chose a passage behind Satoshi and held his kunai preparing to defend whatever come and attack him. He then remembered again multiple image of him when he sprinted at rapid speed. Let’s just test whether that was a coincidence or not. Mitsugi concentrate his chakra on his bodyand did quick step to accelerate off. He bolted through the passageway and he could finally see snakes, rats, and terrifying creatures crowding the tunnels. Mitsugi looked behind and again he saw the multiple images of him created behind. The orange-eyed boy smiled confidently. Speed is my trump card.

[MFT]
[WC: 1107]
[WCT: 2034]

 

[Enomoto Satoshi]

Satoshi sat placidly upon a protruding rock as his two pupils darted about the cavernous abyss. They quickly disappeared behind impenetrable sheets of darkness which obfuscated all attempts to peer down the dozen or so tunnels from his vantage point in the center of the cave. With both students out of sight, Satoshi yawned loudly and took a small moment to embrace the serene silence emanating throughout the chasm. He had wanted to present himself as professionally as possible to earn their respect as an instructor, but behind this lively facade Satoshi was utterly enervated from his tireless work all morning.

“I’m lucky to have such industrious and sharp-witted students. I don’t think most youngsters are half this competent,” Satoshi mused to himself, as an echoing *drip, drip* sounded from somewhere beyond the opaque murkiness and contributed a new timbre to the droning blaze of torch light. “Back in my student days I would have been furious if my teacher assigned me some menial task tantamount to running errands as part of my lesson. That’s exactly what I’ve done for them, but they embraced the challenge without even a grumble and clearly see it as an opportunity to improve their skills.”

All of a sudden, a thundering hiss roared throughout the cavern and Satoshi stood at attention, vividly recognizing that sound. When he was sedulously engaged in burrowing throughout the cave, Satoshi had encountered innumerable creepy and crawly pests but most of them posed little threat. With one exception. A ferocious hydra had attacked him when he found his golden spider, and after wrestling savagely with the beast, a well-timed Rasengan had annihilated the serpent’s body and sent all nine heads flying. Satoshi optimistically hoped that this decisive strike would prove successful at slaying the monster, but it appeared that the Hydra heads were still scurrying about using their necks as tails, and were surely looking for trouble.

Briefly overcome with alarm, Satoshi considered dashing off in some haphazard direction and intervening on his students’ behalf. A Hydra possessed killing potential far beyond the capabilities of a typical student. However, Satoshi’s students had proved exceptional thus far and conquered every obstacle he could conceive to throw at them. He sat back down, somewhat persuaded by his own fatigue as well, and resolved to see how Shuya and Mitsugi would fare searching for their spiders with a newfound monster prowling about.

[WC: 400]

 

[Shuya]

Much to Shuya's dissatisfaction, no matter how far he went into the tunnel, the number of critters and crawlers didn't seem to dwindle at all. It was very possible that many of them were upset with the young boy, given the number of the brethren he left on the ground as a result of his panicked movements and wild fire-slinging, and decided to give him an even harder time than they would normally. Whatever the reason, Shuya knew one thing and one thing only: he desperately wanted to find this spider and he desperately wanted to get out of this tunnel, take a shower, and rest for more than a few minutes. Thankfully, the first of his wishes came true, as in the distance he could see the torch light reflecting off a very bright object perched atop a rock; something that was undoubtedly the spider he had been sent down to find! Picking up the pace, going against the pain in his legs, he sprinted as quickly as he could toward the spider and, as quickly as he could, scooped it up into the bottle and sealed the thing shut. "Yes!" Shuya's voice echoed throughout the deep tunnel, a shout of happiness and accomplishment overpowering the silence. Now all he had to do was get out of there.

As he turned around, he noticed the path was a lot less... occupied than it had just been. Did they all just decide to leave me alone? he questioned, his answer coming in the sound of a hiss. He stood there, puzzled at the sound, and stared down the dimly lit tunnel. Again, he heard that hiss, only louder this time. And louder. And louder. The moment Shuya decided to move, he was suddenly attacked by the source of that hissing by a snake-like creature that, upon first glance, seemed to be as tall as it was long. Definitely big enough to swallow a kid like Shuya up without so much as a struggle! With a panicked yelp, Shuya, luckily, was able to leap out of the way, forcing the snake to dive head first into a nearby wall... or so he thought. This creature was a bit smarter than that and, without missing a beat, turned to the side and lunged at the teenager again. Another narrow escape made, another escape short-lived.

This is crazy... he thought to himself, sweat pouring down his face, unable to even take a moment to think before the snake was back on him like ants on a piece of candy. Just as it seemed he had nowhere left to run, his body completely exhausted, the snake stared him down, almost as if it knew it had won himself a nice, tasty snack. Shuya's eyes widened, truly believing that this was the end, but, to his surprise, his body once again managed to move out of the way; this time, immediately before the snake opened its mouth but after the snake descended on its prey, causing the large creature to crash head first into the wall.

Shuya was nearly in shock, but his body didn't want to give up on him just yet. The snake shook off the effects of the first crash and set its sights on Shuya again, but something was different this time. He had no idea why, but for some reason he could see where the snake was and what appeared to be a second image of the snake simultaneously, the second image appearing to be its movement pattern. Another narrow dodge, another ground-shaking collision as the snake inadvertently harmed itself. Holding on to the bottle for dear life, Shuya began running back where he came from, constantly looking back at his persistently pursuing foe. Every time it appeared that the snake would lunge forward, Shuya jumped out of the way and caused the beast to collide head first, adding yet another hole to the already damaged wall, shaking and even extinguishing a torch or two.

He felt like the creature's movements slowed with each collision, but he wouldn't dare slow down himself to confirm that. He saw the light at the end of the tunnel and knew that it was just a few more feet before he was safe. The creature knew this as well and decided to take one last shot at gobbling the frightened student up, letting out a bone-chilling hiss and leaping up, descending on Shuya. Thankfully, just barely, Shuya was able to see this before it leaped and jumped out of the way, leaving the snake to dive into the ground, skull penetrating the tough soil, body halting completely soon after.

Shuya's chest was pounding, his breathing strained and rapid, but it didn't look like the snake would be getting up from that. The pool of blood that started to form around its buried head was a pretty good marker of a creature that was done for. With a grunt, he got up and moved as quickly as he could to the main entrance, holding out the bottle once Satoshi came into and he was out of that hell hole. "I have... the spider. Snake... attacked... might be... dead." Shuya knew he barely sounded coherent, but at this moment he could barely stand, let alone speak clearly. And the moment he handed the bottle off to Satoshi, whatever power he had seemed to run out. His body, completely drained, could no longer keep itself standing. And so, he collapsed, falling flat on his back.

[MFT - 942 words]

 

[Kazoki Mitsugi]

As Mitsugi explored further to darker and deeper tunnels, all his sense heightened. Damn, this Aburame-freak is such annoyance. However, deep down inside, Mitsugi felt thankful as well. He realized that he would have better skills once experiencing near-death situation like now. Experience is indeed the greatest life teacher. Furthermore, the brown-haired student knew that he had to be pressed on eradicating laziness nature.

With confidence, the orange-eyed boy dashed through warren swiftly as he remembered the events at the hurdles before. He passed multiple dimming torchlight. Moments passed… the image became clearer. It was python head. As Mitsugi realized, it had colossal size reaching one third of burrow width. He then increased his speed and run in zig-zag hoping to confuse the giant serpent. Mitsugi prepared to cast first jutsu his father taught –kawarimi no jutsu- to dodge if it opened mouth and attacked him. Once Mitsugi was just 1m away from it, the snake moved its head charging towards Mitsugi. As if time stopped, Mitsugi saw the serpent’s fang was just inches away from his hand. Mitsugi reflexively casted Body Switch [Mastered] to escape from the serpent. In a moment, the brown-haired student blinked away further huge snakes. He then ran quicker hoping to make further distance with the creature. He was so relieved fleeing from the python. Mitsugi removed dripping cold sweats using his hands and continued his journey.

Just one minute after escaping the huge serpent, Mitsugi heard footsteps and felt movement of huge animal charging to his direction. Further down, tunnels were darker, Mitsugi decided to keep the pace. After a while, Mitsugi finally saw boar like creature with huge horn in front of its face. However, due to dimmed light in the tunnels, it was just about 2m distance between him and the creature when he was able to see it. Again something weird happened, as if the boar stopped, Mitsugi saw the boar suddenly immobile like in a picture frame then Mitsugi focus chakra on his feet and jumped dodging the wild boar. He then landed and ran again quickly away from the boar. When Mitsugi saw behind, the boar continued running on opposite of his direction while looking left and right searching Mitsugi. Mitsugi pondered what was happened. Am I magician? It seems I can control space and time. Mitsugi smirked and murmured, “This should be absolutely easy.” Then, he heard thundering roar throughout the cavern…

The roar was sounded from further down the tunnel. Mitsugi continued his journey and found entrance of huge underground chamber at the side of tunnel walls. The hissed was roared again and it was very clear coming out of the space. Mitsugi moved closer to the entrance and observed carefully the space inside. It were slightly different than whatever creatures Mitsugi saw before. It looked like snake-dragon combination with blue skin. Bad news was Mitsugi saw two of these creatures moving in circle seemed like protecting something with glistening color in the middle of the chamber. Mitsugi strained his eyes and concentrated to observe the small glistening item. Ah, finally I found this spider. But I must be alive and not be eaten by these creatures.

Mitsugi planned diversion so that he could get away from the snake-dragon creatures’ attention from the golden spider. The brown-haired student threw 2 shurikens mightily so that it reached back part of the chamber. Soon after, he drew another 2 shurikens quickly and threw it curvely and hit the first 2 shurikens producing strong clanking sound throughout the caves. It was enough to get the creatures’ attention as they moved to the back of the caves. Mitsugi then sprinted forward as quickly as he can to the spider location. Just within seconds, the orange-eyed shinobi managed to reach golden spider location and locked it inside the bottle Satoshi gave. However, the snake-dragon creatures were smarter than his expectation. They sensed another presence in the caves and stopped halfway the trip to the back of the caves then looked back. Seeing its spider locked by the boy, both of the creatures quickly charged toward and of it lunged its body forward and opened its mouth showing multiple piercing teeth. He closed his eyes and concentrated to release potential of unnatural speed reside in his body. When he opened his eyes, it was as if time stopped again and the snake body was motionless in the air. Mitsugi released Pressure Burst [Rank 1] towards the nearest createrure. As if time start ticking again, the snake was knocked 10m back due to pressure of wind coming out of Mitsugi’s fist. He felt joyful for able to hitting this creature and smirked proudly yet never paid attention to the second serpent movement. It was too late for Mitsugi to dodge the second attack. It seemed like there is a limit in his bending reality ability. He managed to slightly move his left arm but few of its fangs successfully pierced through the meat resulting hot blood dripping from Mitsugi’s arm. "Arrggghhhhh." The orange-eyed shinobi screamed at the top of his lunge. Biting his lip and holding his pain, Mitsugi quickly made few movement of handseal and produced invisible force of Wind Slash [Master Rank] slicing creature’s mouth.

He knew it would be very dangerous if he lose all his blood before he reached back to Satoshi-sensei. Mitsugi then turned around and sprinted quickly through the darkness of tunnels hoping it will not encounter any of snake-dragon creature anymore. Spending few minutes running through the underground maze, Mitsugi finally saw huge chamber of the centres of the maze. He saw Shuya already arrived there and he quickly panted…. “Satoshi-sen…” he tried to communicate while catching breath after long dash. “Snake-dragon creature….” Mitsugi breathed heavily, “I bleed…” Mitsugi then took out bottle from his pouch and showed Satoshi-sensei the glistening insect marking his success.

[WC: 978]
[WCT: 3000++]

 

[Enomoto Satoshi]

Satoshi stood anxiously in the nexus of the cavern as loud crashes and menacing hisses echoed throughout the subterranean cave. No matter how hard Satoshi strained his eyes to discern the source of the uproar, his efforts proved futile for a shroud of darkness concealed his students’ whereabouts and rendered their fates a portentous mystery.

After what felt like hours, though in reality only minutes elapsed, Shuya emerged from the tenebrous void appearing as if he had not only seen a ghost but wrestled with one. Tachycardic and Tachypneic, his conspicuous fatigue and bruised body still emanated a triumphant air whether he realized it or not. Utilizing his last ounce of energy, he handed Satoshi the prized golden spider and collapsed supine as an exhausted but victorious shinobi.
Satoshi hardly had the time to examine the elusive insect in its bottle when Mitsugi appeared sprinting with expeditious haste. He delivered his bounty to Satoshi with remarkable stamina; for he was clearly tired and breathing rapidly, but hardly more so than anyone who had just sprinted several meters. Before Mitsugi had the opportunity to alert Satoshi as to his injury, however, the Chuunin noticed the blood dripping from his left arm. Satoshi was astounded with Mitsugi and his seeming Olympian pain tolerance. He never would have guessed that the kid had been wounded for he had ran with an unmitigated stride. Nonetheless, though the laceration looked painful, it did not appear grievous, and Satoshi felt confident that it could easily be handled at the Aesculapium with no lasting effects.

“Shuya. Mitsugi. I have never had the privilege to meet students with such precocious athleticism, creative afflatus, and perhaps most importantly, a tenacious dedication to completing a task no matter how superficially menial it might sound. I’m ashamed to admit it, though I’ll humble my ego since there’s nobody else around in this desolate chasm – you are lightyears ahead of my abilities at your age, and with your astronomical potential, I don’t think there’s an ambition you cannot achieve if you’re willing to devote the same effort that you showed to me today. Congratulations. The sky is the limit for both of you."

Satoshi flashed a warm smile, and directed both students back up the rope ladder to the sunshine above. Having survived a treacherous obstacle course, a labyrinthine cavern, and bloodthirsty snake monsters, Shuya and Mitsugi were exceptionally accomplished for their ages and would no longer required his teaching.

[WC: 408]
[Topic Left]
It was a pleasure RPing with you guys. Good luck with everything.

 

[Kazoki Mitsugi]

Mitsugi tried to catch his breath while handling the spider-filled glass to the black-spectacle sensei. He then took out his jeans jacket and tied it to his right arm. This will help to reduce the bleeding.Mitsugi imagining soaking under warm water, eating some hot and delicious ramen, and then tuck in under warm blanket. His imagination was interrupted when Satoshi-san started his speech.

“Shuya. Mitsugi. I have never had the privilege to meet students with such precocious athleticism, creative afflatus, and perhaps most importantly, a tenacious dedication to completing a task no matter how superficially menial it might sound. I’m ashamed to admit it, though I’ll humble my ego since there’s nobody else around in this desolate chasm – you are lightyears ahead of my abilities at your age, and with your astronomical potential, I don’t think there’s an ambition you cannot achieve if you’re willing to devote the same effort that you showed to me today. Congratulations. The sky is the limit for both of you."

Mitsugi smiled widely as his effort being recognized by the instructor. But he knew this was just the beginning. Yeah, I need to get stronger to pay debt of father's death. "Thank you everyone. Hopeful to meet you again in future." Mitsugi said to Shuya and Satoshi. Mitsugi then climbed up the rope. As sunshine fell into his face, he finally reached surface. He passed the Aurora Erudition field and the huge tree where students like to gather. Whistling joyful tune, Mitsugi walked home celebrating success of his first tutor.

[MFT]
[WC: 257]
[WCT: 3000++]
[Topic Left]
[OOC: Satoshi will you raise the request on the tutor rewards?]

 

[Shuya]

It seemed that no matter how beaten up and worn down Shuya's body had gotten, it wouldn't just allow him to pass out for more than a minute. He supposed it was for the best though. Despite his strong desire to lay down and rest, he had an equally strong desire to not fall asleep in such a murky, dank, frightening place such as this.

Seeing as he was still awake, but hardly able to move, he could still hear Mitsugi's approach and Satoshi's closing speech, congratulating the two students on completing their series of arduous tasks. Upon hearing that, Shuya was probably more proud of himself than Satoshi ever could be. Before deciding to become a shinobi, Shuya never could've imagined himself doing anything like this, let alone succeeding at it. It was just the first step on his long journey of becoming a great shinobi, but it certainly was a hell of a first step.

After Satoshi and Mitsugi began their ascent up the rope ladder, Shuya decided he'd had enough rest and could make it out of the cave, soon following behind the duo and finally stepping back into the glorious sunlight. Now he was officially finished with this tutoring. He couldn't wait to meet up with Ren and tell him all about what happened, as well as try to find out more about that strange vision thing he experienced with that snake beast. But first, he desperately needed a shower, a change of clothes, and some sleep.

[WC: 252]
[Topic Left]
[OOC: Thanks for the tutoring! I had a blast roleplaying with you two.]