Private The Fundamentals of Environmentals [Tutor]

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

With only one name on his sign-up sheet, the Inuzuka breathed a small sigh of relief. Teaching was never something he'd tried all that much and had no idea if he'd be any good at it; the consolation that he'd only be messing up with one person if his skills were too dull was at least somewhat of a comfort. Keiyaku delegated the task of giving Hayashi the lesson's details to Morutobu and, with the opportunity to buy more of those delicious baked goods at the forefront of his mind, the Shiba pup tottled off to the Pankesu family bakery to deliver a note, written in the Inuzuka's scribbly scrawl.

Spoiler: Class Invitation

Dear Hayashi,

I see you've signed up for my class. Looking forward to seeing you again! Please come to the Inuzuka Clan Complex on the edge of town tomorrow afternoon. We'll be working in the woods. Also, please give Moru a scratch behind the ear for delivering this for me.​

Note delivered and Morutobu by his side, he waited patiently at the front door of his clan's home, ready to get to work. Most of all, Keiyaku was just worried he'd made a bad impression upon Hayashi some how the first time they'd met.

- 5 posts totalling 1500 word count minimum.
- Missing a post within the 72 hour time limit will result in a strike.
- 3 strikes you are out.

1/5
WC: 230/1500

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

Hayashi was staring at the door of the bakery zoned out, it had been a pretty slow day and he was wishing he had brought something to kill the boredom. Suddenly the door was knocked ajar and a nose forced its way inside, quickly followed by a mouth, a head, 2 legs... Hayashi rushed over to open the door. "You know Moru, you could've just knocked right? You could've hurt yourself forcing your way in like that" Said Hayashi with a chuckle. "So what brings you here?" Moru gestures to a pocket on his jacket. Hayashi read the note, with some difficulty but he got there in the end, "Ahhh, class is tomorrow" he said to himself, "Thanks Moru!" Hayashi goes back round the counter and picks up a bread roll before handing it to the dog and giving him a nice scratch behind the ears, before opening the door and setting him loose once again.

There wasn't anything to do today either, this class was the only thing Hayashi had going on. Working all the time is all well and good until you start working a little less and realise that you don't have anything else going on in your life. Well, that was the reason he had signed up for a class in the first place, he was gonna go stir crazy if he was just sat inside with no social interaction. Arriving at the stated location of the Inuzuka Clan Complex a little early, he saw his prospective teacher, Keiyaku.

"Hey! Hows it been? Im ready to learn some knowledge!" Said Hayashi enthusiastically, excited to be finally talking to somebody!

[WC: 272]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

The moment Hayashi stepped into view, Moru, predictably, was smitten. Bounding up to him, he jumped at him, tongue lolling about all over the place. Clearly, he had some Pavlovian expectation that seeing Hayashi equated to ear scritches and free food... buuuut, that wasn't the point of today. Keiyaku let out a very low-pitched rumble from his throat and the little dog seemed to stiffen, retreating to Keiyaku's side and standing to attention with a surprisingly marshall bearing. The Inuzuka, despite still looking very tired and worse for wear, had hitched a smile onto his face. It was genuine, friendly, and full of warmth.

"Heyo, Hayashi," said Keiyaku, approaching his student and good-naturedly cuffing him on the shoulder with slightly more force than he'd meant to, "just you and me today, hm?"

With a wave of his hand, he ushered Hayashi into the building. It was obvious a lot of dogs lived here; the scent of dog hung heavy on the air and there were great tumbleweeds of shed fur lining the corridors.

"What's this, boy? Bringing strange smells into the house again?"

Keiyaku stopped and turned. The voice was extremely deep and gravelly, as though its owner were rather fond of cigarettes. It had issued from the mouth of a huge, shaggy, black dog, its features pointed and prominent, patches of its fur thinning. It approached Hayashi and sniffed at him curiously. It was much more wolf-like than a typical dog.

"It's alright; he's just here for a lesson, is all. Wanna come out and give us a hand?" It felt weird to say that given he was a couple years younger than the baker.

The old dog didn't answer verbally but gave Keiyaku an indulgent smirk. The Inuzuka lead Moru, Hayashi, and now Kiiromaru out through a big door which opened onto a small forest clearing, the clan complex leading right out into the woods.

"That's Kiiromaru," he explained to Hayashi over his shoulder, "he's basically my dad, actually. My real father's a bit... checked out."

Kiiromaru was laying down in the grass, his legs having become more frail in his old age, but he was snickering all the same, "raising you weren't exactly a tail-wagger for me, boy!"

"Anyway," said Keiyaku, slightly cutting across the black dog, clapping his hands together in a business-like fashion, "before we get down to business, I want to get to know your style a little; why don't you tell me a little about yourself, how you usually fight, and maybe show me some of your jutsu?"

Moru stood stoically beside Keiyaku, looking up at Hayashi with a slightly dream-like expression.

2/5
660/1500

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

"Yeah, I guess its just us today then" Said Hayashi with a shrug. As Keinyaku turned around to welcome him in Hayashi took the opportunity to discreetly rub his shoulder where he had been hit. "Lovely place you've got here, very homely”. The house was warm and the smell of dog washed over him like a tidal wave, but it was fine, certainly not the worst thing he had ever smelt

‘Strange smells?!’ Thought Hayashi, ‘Surely strange smells would be exciting!’ He had often daydreamed about having the keen senses of a wolf and being able to tell in an instant if bread was fresh and how fresh it was. Or to be able to identify the individual scent of a customer to help him remember them and what they would usually buy, so if they came in and asked for 'the usual' he would know what they were actually talking about.

“Hello uh, sir!” Hayashi said with a little wave, He smiled at the light hearted banter between the two, it remined him of how he would talk with his dad during their late night conversations when his sister was finally asleep and his dad had had a drink to take the edge off.

"Well... I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things, you know? And I never was much for fighting or doing anything down that path really” Hayashi chucked dryly at his own comment, “so I've not been making any improvements to my …skill set.” As he searched through the metaphorical filing cabinet of his mind looking for the dusty old folder labelled Jutsus, he let out a low "uhhhhh" that seemed to go on forever, until eventually it was interrupted by more speech. "I've got Mystical hand, that's probably the one I've used the most, after I stub my toe or something you know? If I ever was in a fight I could use Storm Bolt or Whirlwind spin or something like that. Usually I prefer to talk my way out of situations, huh, even back in the academy" He looked away and scratched the back of his head embarrassed. "Talking about myself though? I can do that, you know I'm a baker, I also like to talk as you can tell... and that's really about it." He looked off into space as if he was about to have an identity crisis before quickly looking back at Keiyaku.

[WC: 402]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku hitched another indulgent smile on his face as Hayashi tumbled on through his explanation of his own skills and experience. Some medical ninjutsu... good, some taijutsu, some elemental ninjutsu. His immediate thought was that he hadn't full found his own style yet or developed his preferred way of fighting, judging by his insistence on verbal discourse back at the academy. Still, that wasn't a bad thing; these things take time of course.

"Ah don't sweat it; we all gotta start somewhere, right? Besides, being a baker, all that you can do in that shop, I wish I could make something that tasted nearly that good."

More than anything, Keiyaku wanted Hayashi to feel confident in what he'd achieved already, and also at ease. In his experience, students and budding ninja did their best work when feeling supported.

"Right, in that case, we'll do something a little less technical and a little more practical today! You might've noticed we're in the woods today, and not a classroom."

Kiiromaru rolled his eyes so heavily, it was almost audible.

"That's a little because, I find it's easier to train out here, easier to think. The smells of the forest, the cool breeze, feels great on your mind, don't it? But mostly, it's 'cause, we're going to be learning how to hide, and how to track, without relying just on your eyes!"

Keiyaku was finding it hard not to just default into a long lecture, but some things couldn't be taught via practical demonstration without a briefing first.

"We're gonna do a little hide 'n seek. Moru's gonna disappear into the woods, and you've gotta find him; you gotta listen for his paw-steps, look for prints in the ground, don't just rely on your eyes. Kiiromaru here, is gonna be hunting you and you gotta make sure to shake him off your tail before he tags ya."

Keiyaku gave a grin at his father figure and heaved a small sigh, but didn't exactly refuse the job.

"Here's the thing though; there's Environmentals to worry about. There's two types; you've got your Visibility, and you've got your Terrain. When you go into a battle, this is the first thing you wanna take a mental note of, you follow? So, if I were to ask you, does the forest provide Light Cover, or Moderate Cover here, and if the Visibility is Dark or Dim, what would you say?"

Keiyaku gave a little growl at Moru who dutifully stood to attention, gave Hayashi a wink, then bounding off into the woods. The game was on.

Kiiromaru smiled and got up slowly, his legs and back audibly clicking. He nudged Hayashi quite hard in the small of the back with his nose.

"Come on, pup. I'll give ya a head start."

[Here's the game rules;

Terrain conditions are: Moderate Cover (+1)
Visibility Conditions are: Dim (+1)
As explained here: https://ninpocho.com/threads/ultimate-battle-rules.5510/#bbStealth

Hayashi, you roll a d20. I'll roll one for Moru and Kiiromaru.
Both Hayashi and Moru have a +2 to stealth
If Hayashi beats Moru's roll, he finds him!
But if Kiiromaru beats Hayashi's roll, he finds both of you first!

This is all designed pretty hastily so lemme know if there's any questions!]

3/5
1124/1500

((Don't forget to keep track of your total posts and total word count You need em to pass))

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

"Well, just wait till you find out its all packet mixes" he Jested

The forest and Hayashi didn't tend to meet often, although he was familiar with it, only vaguely through the occasional walk in the woods when he was younger. He had to agree with Keiyaku, the forest ambiance was far superior to the noise of any town. The wind seemed more alive when it was free and not being forced into the confines of streets and it carried smells, foresty smells! The sweet scent of pine, the earthy smell of forest ground mixing with the slightly pungent aroma of small stagnant ponds dotted around. The sickly sweet scent of... 'pollen!' thought Hayashi as he let out a sneeze, "Achoo! Yeah, feels great on the mind, but I'm not sure about the body" said Hayashi with a smile.

"Okay so, hunt down that bread bun eating monster and also not get caught by someone who has a sense of smell a bazillion times more powerful than mine!? Piece of cake!" He proclaimed, watching Moru scamper off into the wilderness. "Pup? I'm not pup cant you see I'm a fully grown man?!" Boasted Hayashi, before flexing his muscles in an over the top fashion. His display of incredible masculinity was cut short by not so manly sneeze, before also running off into the forest, Sneezing and sniffling all the while.

Creeping through the forest and taking great care to leave little trace behind him, Hayashi ventured onwards in search of Moru. Something then caught his eye... a big branch! Leaves were still attached to it so when picked up it resembled a small sapling. 'This is it! The perfect disguise' He thought as he picked up the branch and began to carry it along with him, he got the idea from a play he had seen but he couldn't for the life of him remember its name. Surely this disguise would shield him from the watchful eyes of Kiiromaru! Unfortunately it couldn't do anything to dampen the deafening sound of his sneezes that shook through the forest disrupting nesting birds and traumatising resting mice, hidden in the brush.

[WC: 355]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

The Inuzuka raised an eyebrow as Hayashi was overcome by sneezing, his eyes looking a little red too. Hm, hayfever. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy; he couldn't imagine being allergic to the outdoors. Still, the guy was optimistic, and seemed to have a very rosy outlook on life. Keiyaku couldn't help but respect that. As he bounded into the woods, Keiyaku leapt into the tree tops to spectate Hayashi's progress, using both his nose and his chakra sense to keep track of him. Hm, he could already spot Moru. Kiiromaru meanwhile, shaking off his aches, bounded as much as he was able into the dense treeline, sniffing and snuffling around until he found Hayashi's scent; it wasn't too hard considering the boy smelled of food. The old dog missed getting outdoors and shaking off the cobwebs, so, naturally, he would give the baker a sporting chance and enjoy the feeling of the chase.

"Hm, interesting idea..."

The baker had seized a large branch and was using it to camoflage himself against the ground. Nice bit of on-the-spot thinking there, Keiyaku thought, but he figured the rampant sneezing was likely to be too much of a give away. He wondered if maybe there was some kind of medicine for that allergy. Moru was crouched in a nearby underbrush, shuffling around slightly, crunching leaves, but keeping his eyes on Hayashi whom he had spotted from a distance, but at the same time, he sense Kiiromaru was near...

THUNK

"Gotcha!"

With one great leap, the elderly ninken pounced with the agility of a much younger dog, pinning Hayashi to the ground and snickering triumphantly, almost childishly. Moru came out of hiding and Keiyaku descended quickly from the trees, grinning at his student. Helping him to his feet, he clapped him roughly but affectionately on the shoulder.

"Real nice work there, buddy. Carrying that big branch was a nice touch! Definitely hid you from view, but, you gotta think about your scent too. Think like a dog, hm? Roll around in the dirt a lil. And don't forget to use those ears too!"

The Inuzuka beckoned Moru on over to him and gave him a scratch behind the ears.

"And also," Kiiromaru growled eye, clapping eyes on Hayashi, "you didn't answer the question neither, pup. Visibility and Terrain conditions."

Keiyaku waved Kiiromaru away with his hand, not concerned about that in the slightest.

"Is there anything else you could've used?" Keiyaku asked, side-eying a trail of pawprints in the mud that led into Moru's underbrush, wondering if Hayashi had picked up on it.

4/5
1563/1500

[Hayashi rolls a 4. Moru rolls a 14+2(16). Kiiromaru rolls a 16 and catches Hayashi]

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

Between the sneezing, the distracting beauty of nature and just generally being outclassed, Hayashi was discovered and caught by Kiiromaru. Hayashi let out a muffled cry of fear as he was unceremoniously slammed into the ground, his eyes grew wide and time seemed to slow down as many thoughts raced through his mind. 'Oh well, I've lived a good life... and now I'm going to die looking like a fool walking around the forest' Just as Hayashi had made peace with his inevitable demise at the hands of some forest creature, he peeked his eyes open one last time. "Oh... its just you" he groaned from the floor, letting out a sigh of relief. "Well played... sir." Giving Kiiromaru a sportsmanlike nod.

"Thanks man" He chirped as Keiyaku helped him up off the floor. "Hmmmmmm, think like a dog you say..." Hayashi tried to visualise himself as a dog... His thoughts drifted to a large St Bernard wearing a chefs hat plodding through the forest, the large ears blowing gently in the wind. "Ears! Yes, I could've heard the little blighter if had been paying more attention. And yeah, I guess my normal scent sticks out like a sore thumb in the forest" He laughed heartily, "But I guess if it didn't, it would stick out back in town!" Raising his hands in a jovial shurg

"I'm sorry I must've not heard you during my pre-game gloating" He looked around, "This forest seems pretty dim, and those trees and such should provide moderate cover, right?"

"Well... I couldn't hear much when moving because I was constantly crunching down leaves, if i had been walking more lightly and carefully maybe i would have been able to hear Moru." He watched as Keiyaku's eyes then darted over to his side and he turned to see a relatively obvious trail of overturned leaves and prints leading straight to Moru's hiding spot. "Aww crap, no that's just plain old stupidity on my part" he grumbled, "I mean how did I miss that?!" He asked no one in particular as he rested his head in his hands.

[WC: 349]
[Total: 1358]
[Post: 4/5]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Kiiromaru got back up, an audibly click coming from his knees as he stepped back, looking up at Hayashi with something akin to approval; he tried and did his best, and that's all the old dog could ask for.

"You did good, pup," he grunted, nudging the baker roughly in the arm with his nose.

Keiyaku grinned with pride as he watched Hayashi right himself and dust himself off, seemingly pondering what it would be like to be a dog at his question.

"Not a bad tactic on missions out in the wild you know; if you know you're up against someone that can track you by scent... a shinobi using a Canine Summoning Contract, or an Inuzuka, for instance, sometimes it might help to crawl along the ground, get some of the forest's scent on you, and blend in a little better. There's many different ways to do this."

Keiyaku nodded, smiling with genuine warmth as Hayashi correctly answered the question, feeling like this lesson hadn't been a complete failure on his part as a teacher. Maybe he could teach okay after all?

"Yeah, that's right! Dim, and Moderate Cover! Very important you check this out when you enter any kind of situation; whether it's to jump out and strike an enemy without warning, or to run away from a threat, cover and visibility should always be your first points of reference."

With Moru in tow, Keiyaku guided Hayashi, with Kiiromaru, back to the Inuzuka complex, lead him through, and back out onto the village's streets again. Cuffing him on the shoulder, he treated him to a toothy grin.

"You did real good Hayashi; I'll send Moru along to buy some more bread soon. Mind you look after yourself, yeah?"

Handing him a little slip to show Academy proof he'd completed this lessons, he let him go and headed back inside his house for some food.

5/5
WC: 1873/1500

[If your next post crosses the 1500 mark, you pass! Don't forget to head onto the mission reward request thread and get your Yen and training bonus!]
[Topic left unless stopped]

 

[Pankesu Hayashi]

"I did?!" he exclaimed, slack jawed, "Oh, thank you sir", nodding graciously at Kiiromaru. "Got it, cover and visibility", cementing the concepts into his memory. On the short walk back to civilisation Hayashi concentrated mainly on preening the leaves and bits of bark from his hair.

Hayashi held the piece of paper between two fingers and twirled it round triumphantly before gently placing it into his breast pocket and giving it a pat. "Yeah thanks, I'll make sure to relax after this incredibly taxing class" He remarked with a cheeky grin, "And I'll make sure there's some fresh bread for when Moru visits!" With the lesson now over and a proof of attendance slip in his pocket, Hayashi thanked Keiyaku again for his tutorage, bid the pair farewell and went off on his merry way. His stomach rumbled loudly and he realised that he hadn't eaten a bite of anything all day so he went with haste to a local food place to satiate the ravenous hunger that all that learning had worked up.

[WC:172]
[Total:1530 ]
[Topic left]