[Tutor] Rust

[Shieo]

Perched atop a felled tree, I peered with an idle expression at the paper pinches between my pinkie and thumb. While the surrounding area of the Aurora Eruditio varied greatly to encapsulate the growing needs and diverse skill-sets that each student of the academy; it too served well enough to get out of the hustle bustle of the village, the academy and in general; just people.

Here, I scanned through the contents of the sheet; detailed in the task I was given and to whom it was intended to aid. "Funai Ikko, hm." Without much thought, I spoke aloud the name; letting it settle with the rest of the scribed information. Directing my attention up, and away from the document; I settled my vision on the area, with scattered trees, boulders, pitfalls and otherwise the general run of the mill boot-camp area for most shinobi-in-training. How you feeling about getting back into the grind of work-life? A guttural voice bellowed within' the confines of my skull and being.

This only drew a dour expression from the top of my forehead to my chin, I didn't need to answer him. Nor would I. Instead, with a casual shift of my weight I slung up my leg underneath the other's thigh and slipped the papers into the folds of my hide, leather and furred attire. To which it was now only a matter of awaiting the individual, having the details of this arranged session mailed to the youth's home. It would be a rather careless mistake to have ignored the prudence of the village's decisions in checking up the returned Genin.

"Now, what to expect I wonder." the drained droll of my voice filled the crisp air in the form of crystallized particles afore my vision; reminding me that while I had the heat of attire, and the coating of a being of fire; it was in-fact, rather chilled out.

"Mm, why not." Actuating my thoughts, I reached back and withdrew a travel mug from my belt; flicking open the cover and taking a sip from the beverage container; the wafting aroma of coffee drifted throughout the air. Stirring my attention to the blackened tattoos that danced around my right arm in it's static form, it was any wonder the whole story behind what they told. From the wolves, bears and general tribal aesthetic of it; I wonder if it only further confused people with my rather outlandish look.

Nevertheless, I looked up at the notion of another presence coming within' distance...

---

Post Count : 1
WC : 420
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.

 

[Funai Ikko]

"Tense" could be used to describe this particular morning in much the same way that "viscous" could be used to describe a tar pit. Ikko had been, effectively, put on a sort of world tour of eligible instructors as a way to get him back in to the swing of shinobi life. Typically that meant some kind of violence. Having been relegated to every waking moment being spent making sure crops didn't die, being reintroduced to a life style almost entirely dedicated to making sure things didn't keep living was something of an adjustment. The first week's outing wasn't especially complicated, Nozomi had him shoot at a target, ranged combat, ninja-ing, etcetera etcetera, but Ikko felt it wasn't especially complicated because Nozomi wasn't really a name he was familiar with. The next name did not have that luxury.

He had never met Shieo, he was probably busy not living up to his claims of teaching everyone or something, but his name had been mentioned quite often. Suika spoke...um..."fondly" of him on more than one occasions and he was one of the first names past Siu's lips when she returned to the village. Consequently, a certain level of expectation had been built around Shieo's name that when he saw it on the summons, Ikko was filled with a strange cocktail of excitement and trepidation. On one hand, he was finally going to see what all the fuss was about, on the other...there might not be that much reason for a fuss.

It was with those thoughts weighing on him that Ikko arrived at the designated training grounds. It was somewhat remarkable how often he seemed to end up back at the academy obstacle course, almost to the point where he was fairly sure he spent more time here AFTER graduating from the academy than before it. It didn't take him especially long to find Shieo...or at least who he presumed was Shieo. Unfortunately, Ikko's many strengths did not include an especially convincing poker face and Ikko saw Shieo mere fractions of a second before he smelled him. The very air around Shieo was fairly pungent, normally Ikko couldn't smell another person from several paces away, but the strange mixture of something that smelled strongly like boar feces left sweltering out in the hot sun and actual boar feces assaulted Ikko's senses. It was overwhelming enough that Ikko barely even noticed that part of Shieo's arm desperately needed to be punched.

"Shi...Shieo? I'm Funai Ikko. It's...um...enlightening to finally meet you."

WC: 419
PC: 1

 

[Shieo]

As I watched Ikko close the distance, his expressions were something to draw a modicum of suspicion, or at the very least; curiosity. My brow raised ever so slightly at the spoken form of my name, he stuttered and drew out word choices that were generally speaking; rather unusual. "Enlightening, you say?" Filling the followed silence of Ikko's comment with my own monotone voice; it carried but a hint of rhetoric. "Well kid, dunna' what makes you say something like that. -- Huup-" Following my own words I placed my mug atop the log, and with the sound of effort; I pushed myself up from the log and stood there, propping my hands atop my hips. Half-lidded eyes having scanned the young man for not only his general appearance, but too a matter of gauging his build, height, weight a rough estimation of his center of gravity and where his bodily strengths and weaknesses centralized.

"Hmh." Is all that followed, for only a moment. A quick sniff regained a position of speech, and kept my mind on track of conversation. "Just to cut to the chase, they didn't fill me 'n a whole lot. I get y' just got back'n stuff; a'n that they needed someone to shave off any rust that came with your absence." Reaching up I ran a hand through the thick of my hair, which in-spite my general look; was over-all fairly clean. "S'given history of my involvement in the system, s'long as nothing goes heinously wrong today; I'll probably end up overseein' a lot of your progress. That bein' said, 'll need to see what'cha got'n all that." With that same hand I gestured to him with an open hand.

"So gimm' the run-down. 'Ta think your strengths, weaknesses and where y'think you gotta' improve. If you don't know how to say it, show me." Directing my gaze to the surrounding area, I figured it would proceed to make sense to the youth; that the area was ideal for today. It was never a matter of revisiting the school; but a simple exercise to gauge his talents. There was anything an individual would need to show-case their skills, or lack thereof.

"From simple stuff... Chakra control, water-walkin' er' tree-walking. Acrobatics, maneuvering, weapon handling, tool handling. . . Hm; ninjutsu, genjutsu. That sorta' thing." Afterwards, I turned my attention to the kid; hoping he was following along. At least enough where I didn't need to kneel down and hold his hand.

Reaching back, I had gripped my travel mug; popping the top and taking a sip of the beverage once more. "Up'n'atter then."

---

Post Count : 2
WC : 434
TWC : 854
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.

 

[Funai Ikko]

Ikko was never someone who was especially good at deception and obfuscation. Not the most desirable weaknesses in a profession centered around such crafts, but Ikko typically made up for the deficiency with guile and agility. Unfortunately, to a discerning eye a fair bit about Ikko could be gleaned just by taking in the boy's posture. Ikko was a prey animal who no longer feared his predators. He was a confident child, almost obliviously so and the fact that he was so at ease in virtually any situation seemed to shout that, but it wasn't the confidence of a predator. It wasn't straight forward and it definitely wasn't cold. The confidence wasn't borne from being able to take what he wanted from those around him. At the same time though, it wasn't untested confidence either. Ikko didn't stand open, stand exposed. He was always on the balls of his feet, always ready to move or evade at a moment's notice in case one of those predators swooped down on him. The instincts ingrained in him were noticeable and likely told more about Ikko's past than anything words would ever accomplish. However, words were what he would try.

"Well I'm told I'm not a very good listener, I have this problem where I stop paying attention when other people talk. Oh, I'm also not really good at remembering rules and whatnot, like I think Yuii said something about her cookies last time I took them out of her office and I remember she was mad about something, but I can't remember what she said. I think she said something about a security dog? Can't remember, anyway, strengths...strengths...I can eat a lot of cookies, that's pretty strong ri...oh, right, ninja stuff."

It seemed like his brain was on something of a time delay as he processed the rest of what Shieo was asking him, specifically about the actually relevant skills and abilities, strengths and weaknesses that Ikko had. He did look quite a bit crestfallen at the revelation though, but it didn't seem to last all that long as he raised his arm above his head and began to pantomime, poorly, the act of throwing a shuriken.

"I'm not good at throwing stuff, or shooting stuff...or honestly punching stuff, unless it's a bear, I'm good at that. Usually if physical strength is much of a requirement I tend to have some issues I guess, I'm much better at being quick or usin' my noggin for things. Like this."

Ikko, with fluidity of motion that nothing he had said or done thus far would be even begin to indicate, brought both of his arms from a point of rest at his sides forward, raising them in front of him as each part of hands, independent of each other, furiously blew through a series of hand signs. As Ikko's fingers wove through the air, that same air dropped dramatically in temperature, his chakra filtering out and rapidly condensing the slight water particles in the air and forming them into full blown flurries of sharp frozen needles being hurled at a nearby wall. The torrent of needles continued for a solid minute, Ikko creating wave after wave and hitting different parts of the wall before the last cluster finally stuck into the surface.

"See!? Like that. I'm super talented."

Now, jutting out of the wall, was a now fully formed image of what looked like a very cartoonish portrayal of Shieo, Ikko believed the word was "chibi," panicking with his arms raised above him, seemingly trying to catch a small bird that had absconded with the flask he had just drank from and was flying just out of reach of chibi Shieo's stubby little arms. Ikko even added a few shards for the panicky sweat drops that were flying off of Shieo's forehead.

"Oh, and I can do water walking and tree walking okay, could probably even manage it if a waterfall had a tree on it, and tools I'm not great with, though I've been getting pretty good at this sectional staff thing, I can get enough whip on that to do some damage without needing too too much appreciable upper body strength. Plus it looks really cool."


WC: 708(1127)
PC: 2

 

[Shieo]

If my expression could get any flatter, or unenthusiastic; it had. Staring at the boy as he pittered about the topic rather hap-hazardly and fluttering into the display of ... Artistic qualities through the usage of ninjutsu. The air around me had stilled for some quiet moments as I processed the squirrel injected with varying degrees of drug like qualities or something akin to a hyper-active ferret.

"Erhm..." Was about as much as I was able to muster into something audible a moment, having lifted and gestured my hand rather limply towards his picture of sorts. "Well- It's somethin'; but we don't need artists. So save it 'er people that care, or whatever. 'Sura your parents are pleased 'er something wit'it." With my arm falling back to my side, I addressed Ikko with my gaze; "'Evertheless, no one expects you to be good at 'vrything; but'a some degree 'a competency is, however; required." Muttering for a moment, I closed my eyes; pondering how I wanted to continue this mostly devised introduction to the new student. There were a number of things he could improve on, it was a matter of whether he would want to; or even have the capacity to do so. Confiding to my thoughts, this was emphasized by an exhaled breath, audible to those present.

"Aight. Well'a figure yer' probably half alright with movement. But'ta gonna hafa' see what yer' like under pressure, mm. So fix yer' stance." Finishing my sentence, I lifted my arms above my head and stretched them both; in addition to some of the larger muscles along my sides and back.
Following was nothing short of years of grinded familiarity and the motions were instinctual, rather than plotted. And in one fell movement, my right hand fell to my back and latched two unusual looking kunai of tri-horns around each finger. And like water, the arm flowed carefully forwards as the two weapons flew through the air on either side of Ikko. Close enough to nick him; but not directed to intentionally or accidentally harm him. "Show 'm what'cha have in reaction and defenses." The cool steel flicked through the air with the sharpening 'shing' sounds.

With the intent of the kunai flying on either side Ikko. I had taken the time to draw one more and a shuriken; flicking the kunai sky-bound, and following it with an angled shuriken throw. It soared and crashed into the kunai; sending it flying down towards Ikko's right shoulder.

Moments before impact, I had then activated the plan of all this. And my body in an audible 'fwomp' vanished in thin air, reappearing by one of the three kunai. Twisting my body to send my heel flying towards the boy's face in a rather plain kick; the force wasn't put into it. Having it in my mind to test movement, not durability. What I was interested in, was his plans; his actions and executions against an unfamiliar force.

---

Post Count : 3
WC : 491
TWC : 1,345
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.

 

[Funai Ikko]

Ikko was prepared for Shieo to not care much for his modern art. From reputation alone Ikko knew that Shieo was, in general, a less than jovial fellow. He was even ready to believe Shieo knew enough about him to know his ability to weave signs single handed and to not be readily impressed by it. What Ikko wasn't prepared for was his button to be pushed this early into their interaction. It was a throw away comment from Shieo, probably not something he even thought about having said, but Ikko's reaction was immediate and blatant. The boy did not have much of a poker face and the second Shieo mentioned Ikko's parents being proud of his little art show, the outrage and anger on Ikko's face was barely muted at all, whatsoever.

Ikko's eyes began to glow faintly, an azure blue hue building up in his irises as he glared at Shieo, the man addressing what he wanted to test off the start and, for once, Ikko was completely wordless. No response was given short of that outraged, borderline murderous glare. If he wanted a reaction, Shieo was definitely going to get a reaction. Mere moments after Shieo's arm dropped, Ikko's left followed suit and as Shieo withdrew his weirdly shaped throwing knives, Ikko's fingers had wrapped around a trio of metal poles, folded over one another and connected by a visibly tensile chain. As the knives were thrown, with a flick of his wrist and an audible "click" of the mechanism, the sections snapped together and formed a straight staff. In the same motion, Ikko swung the staff across his body at the incoming kunai, metal clanging on metal as he swept them away, knocking both off course and to Ikko's left, the swing following through and bracing along Ikko's back at his shoulder blades.

A third clang echoed overhead as Ikko caught the movement of a shuriken knocking a third and final kunai off course and down toward Ikko. It was flashy, but that was really all it was. If he actually wanted the thing to hit Ikko, up and then down was fairly pointless. The simple travel time involved simply gave Ikko too much time to react, even with the change of direction it seemed like a really pointless display...that meant for the move to have any purpose it needed to be with...there we go. The audible thwomp echoed through the area and Ikko used the one advantage he really had...he got low.

Shieo had a solid foot of height on the boy. This normally would pose an issue, the reach would make it too difficult for Ikko to really get inside his guard, but with him using such flashy movement, Ikko banked on him not being ready for the boy to react and attacking up at him was the best strategy he had available. The problem was Ikko had no idea where he would show up, front back left right, the boy had no way of knowing. So he went for the one thing he was sure he wasn't going for, down. By the time Shieo reappeared, Ikko's center of gravity had dropped a solid foot into a crouch and as the man's foot shot up and could be seen, Ikko shot toward the incoming leg, the falling kunai smacking into the ground behind him. Aiming to slip under the heel kick, Ikko, with his staff along his shoulders, would push forward to slide under the foot, grip the ground with his toes, then try to shoot up into the leg that with his staff braced against his back, attempting to at the very least upend Shieo.

---

WC: 612(1320)
PC: 3/5

 

[Shieo]

As I vanished into the thin air, the fraction of a millisecond travel time often gave even the most hardened veterans zero time to react; even having fooled the former Hokage with the Flying Thunder God technique. Had led me some information I wasn't completely certain of, that was the boy was fed information about my persons a bit beyond simple formalities; and outside of our first interaction.

I had somewhat anticipated the fluid movements of the boy to deflect the initial kunai; save the fact they served no purpose but to distract him, but act as free moving locationary pings for myself. But as I reappeared with my foot in motion to strike, the boy wasn't where it was predicted to be; leaving me only to smirk ever so slightly. As in that hairs moment; I vanished once more in a buffet of air that hailed the youth in his lowered position. Where Ikko had motioned for his foot to strike the man, was met with nothing but the freedom of air; and the misplacement of momentum.

In that second, I had positioned myself to a deflected kunai away from Ikko; it was only for the purpose of evasion- And with a continued assault. My form replaced in the sound of a sonic boom once more- to the Kunai that was in-fact near Ikko. And my left arm coated in a sickening crackle of scales and reptilian claws had coaxed the air around myself in heat. Sending a rocketing strike into the boy; it wasn't sharp, or even really all that painful- like a shove, with a pocket of air to blow him back towards a tree.

As the first engagement came to a conclusion, I narrowed my eyes- It wasn't anger, just concern; or perhaps disappointment. "Reactions 'er correct- if'a bit too informed..." With a pause between my speech, I left the scales of Bahamut's connection to be rescind into my body, revealing the regular flesh and cloth of my real form. "Defenses; 'ever are incorrect. Y' don't completely know yer' opponent, why would you choose a tactic you're inadequate with?" The inquiry was both designed to make Ikko question it, but it too left me intrigued. If I were to help develop the boy, I needed to know how he thought. "Y'ave access to Ninjutsu, 'n are better at it. Use it." Letting my words sit for a moment, I ramped up the speed; and in a blink had retrieved the scattered kunai, and returned to my original spot in a half second.

Culling a deep breath, I seized the crisp air to let my lungs refill and regain my thoughts. "Now'I know the basis 'fer physical defenses. Now stand." Slipping the kunai away into the pouch they came from. I set my sights on the young Genin. If he knew who I was, in depth; he knew that this was where things got... Interesting.

Upon the time Ikko had comfortably got himself back to his wits; seeings how the physical engagement ceased, he would have plenty of time to do so. What came next however, was subtle. With my eyes set on the boy, something would linger in the depths- slithering into the cracks of his mind, into the senses, his smell, sight and touch.
"The hardest defenses, I wager." My voice carried in echo, as if it surrounded the boy but came from nowhere. Darkness lofted around Ikko's peripherals and triggered a sense of vertigo; but what came was the intent of the assault. A test of the mind, yes... But I saw the triggers, the sight and motion of the boy.

And what came was a test of will. The mind can fill the blanks; I just tugged the right threads. And in the area just in-front of Ikko, came a pair of individuals; grasping at memories, of familiar voices, familiar faces and figures. They were; designed to wound the boy with words, with memories and actions of his own design. Fears, come from the heart and mind. Genjutsu; uses that to it's advantage.

The challenge, was... What came of his parents? And could he escape? Or was there room to develop.

---

Post Count : 4
WC : 698
TWC : 2,043
[MFT]
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.

 

[Funai Ikko]

Two feints...what in the...

Ikko barely had time to properly process that Shieo just wasn't where he was supposed to be before a concussive impact struck the boy clear in the back. He felt his balance and by extension the ground leave him as he was thrown away from the spot. He could tell by the fact that he was both alive and not especially crippled that Shieo wasn't intending to hurt him, at least not seriously, and it felt like he barely even made contact. That was still enough to send the partially airborne Ikko tumbling through the air...annoyed. Gritting his teeth, the blow back from Shieo's strike digging the boy's staff into his back, Ikko released the weapon and wrenched his hands forward. Not bothering to keep up the facade of needing hand signs, he threw his hands toward the ground, his eyes gleaming azure once more as a slick sheet of ice formed along the ground beneath him, shaping in to a pathway for him toward the tree. Ikko landed on his knees and, not without a bit of pain, slid along his makeshift icy skating rink, more and more ice forming before him as he moved until he reach the tree, the path snaking up the trunk as he moved. Using his now upward momentum, Ikko deftly pushed off the ice with his hands, dropping him down beside the tree and fully upright. It looked way more graceful than it had any right to.

There wasn't any showmanship to it though. No grandiose posturing, no theatrical flair, Ikko just dusted himself off and moved toward his discarded weapon as Shieo spoke to him. This out of character behavior continued as Ikko hefted his weapon up onto his shoulder and spoke.

"Common sense, mostly. The point of this is to learn. I'm not going to beat you even if I use the tactic I specialize in, wouldn't learn much other than that I wouldn't beat you. Much rather fight with what I'm not good at it to get better at it against someone way better than me. More room to improve there."

It was analytical, that wasn't out of character, Ikko was actually a considerably more thoughtful boy than one would imagine from watching him. It was even a bit petty, that wasn't out of character. Ikko wasn't immune to playfully holding grudges for perceived slights. What was out of character was that it wasn't playful at all. There wasn't much joy or energy in his voice, it was pure bitterness that radiated from Ikko. Of course, that wasn't the full answer. When he was sliding around that sheen of ice, he saw his reflection for the briefest moment, he saw that glow in his eyes. That scared him. He wasn't really sure what would happen. Granted, Shieo was making a very strong case for why Ikko shouldn't care what happened. Both because he was probably strong enough to handle it...and because Ikko wouldn't really mind ripping his head off.

Ikko wasn't as well informed as Shieo suspected of him. Nothing he had done so far was off of information, it was just steady intuition. Unfortunately, that didn't really help him too too much here. Not as he was right now at the very least. If he was in his right frame of mind, maybe he'd have realized there was no way Suika and Eishi would just materialize into thin air in front of him. That made zero sense. He'd know he was in a genjutsu. But his mind was flashing back to his own eyes in the reflection of his ice, his glowing azure eyes...eyes that materialized behind the pair of them, obscuring Shieo from view. Not much scared Ikko, not because he was tough per say, just more because self-preservation just never ranked too high on his to do list. Ikko was scared now. Tendrils of frozen air snaked up and down the apparitions of Suika and Eishi, the color faded from their eyes, their bodies turned rigid, Ikko knew they were dead, light blotted out down to their very core, blotted by him.

He barely moved in time. It was subtle, almost invisible, but a tendril of faint blue struck through the air. Ikko dropped and rolled as the jet of frigid air shot over head and crashed into the tree behind him, Ikko's quick look over his shoulder saw the tree flash frozen, petrified in place with a shimmering glean in the sunlight to his eyes, fear gripping him once again, fear and something else.

The air temperature around Ikko dropped precipitously crashing down to far below freezing as the boy's body began, physically, changing. Ikko's hair began changing colors, streaks of white coursing through his blue locks as his eyes, very noticeably now, glowed a brilliantly bright blue as veins of blue light danced across his skin, raw chakra pouring through his body as the boy's jaw physically began to change. Large incisors jutted out, fangs forming as his jaw extended forward. A cry of pain, fear, and anger erupted from the boys growing maw as tendrils of frigid air, much like what had come from the Genjutsu's creation, shot forward toward the monster before him, but it didn't really seemed aimed, more akin to throwing a drunken haymaker in a bar than an actual coordinated attack, as more explosions of frigid power shot from Ikko toward the monster and, should it move, toward Shieo.

WC: 913
TWC: 2213
PC: 4/5

 

[Shieo]

"Wise answer, but'a not what I was'er lookin' for. Need'ta see how'a you think too kid." I had tapped my forehead in response to his quip about being bested, "'Fta all, we're gaugin' y' today." It wasn't much longer after such a spoken exchange that the genjutsu layers started to lather the boy's mind; I was careful not to cause any lingering- or any significant damage to his mind or nerves. The intent was merely to provoke not only a reaction in his mind, but to see how his defenses held up- Unfortunate to my learning, the defenses were generally speaking; not there. Rage? Or perhaps a lack of exercise were the root causes of it, but it was like an open door to his mind.

As darkness coalesced Ikko's mind, and the apparitions filled the void; with his senses, perception, sound and feeling being overridden by the chakra manipulation- the reality was the world he inhabited was simply a space in his mind; where I sat out of sight and mind to witness the acts of the young man's rage, his interpretations of the fear or creations that stirred him- what made him tick. Through the visceral images of the two other youth lashing out to Ikko, and the retaliation of ice back to the images that lofted any number of feet apart from Ikko.

Interesting, if nothing else. Another special case I s'pose, they like sendin' me the weirdos.

In the lapse of thought, I awaited until Ikko's mental lashing out at the figures concluded with a spectacle of glittering ice. Only for the facade of the darkness to slop from around his peripherals, revealing that the images of his friends were simply that; images. And as if it was some nightmarish dream; his senses returned as if nothing had occurred. Revealing the land back to normal with nature chirping in the background, and my half-lidded dour expression watching him. With my mug of coffee in hand and and an air of patience flowing around me.

"S'y'have some problems w'tha rage, huh. Happens'." Bringing the mug up to my lips, I took a deliberately slow sip. Nothing to mock the young man, but a moment for him to gather his bearings- The vertigo experienced from two different realities can be a bit uncomfortable for those unprepared. "S' seems like y'need some mental fortitude t'build, an' a'think some 'elp with controlling... That" I narrowed my eyes as I finished the sentence; simply pointing to Ikko with my free hand, figuring he had enough sense to piece what I meant together.

"'Course, thats'a if you want. I ain' yer' boss, an' you can ask for someone else." Lifting the mug to my mouth, I took a sip. Sparing Ikko some time to think about the situation, and make an informed decision. Awaiting for a response, verbal, or even in a matter of how he chose to act.

---

Post Count : 5
WC : 487
TWC : 2,530
[MFT]
Thought
"Speech."
Bahamut Thought.

 

[Funai Ikko]

It was a stark shift in what Ikko could consider reality. A few moments prior, he saw his friends dying, saw the monster that haunted his nightmares looming over him, he felt control slipping, felt chakra surging, and on the side felt just a little bit hungry as well. Then, amidst that tumult of emotions and instinct, it was like a light switch was flipped on for the world. The horrors before him, the presences assailing him, all vanished in what might as well have been a puff of smoke as the light switch was flipped on. Like a Genjutsu. Genjutsu.

The word clicked in Ikko's brain, the one nugget of rational thought crept through and was succeeded by a flood of similarly rational thoughts. The fangs receded, the veins of chakra subsided and Ikko's feral form slacked as the boy came to himself, realizing just what all was happening. It was so easy to dissect after the fact. It wasn't real, it couldn't be, etcetera etcetera, but something like that caused him to completely lose all semblance of control. He heard Shieo describe it as a rage...and Ikko supposed that was as apt a description as any. Then again, "that" was as apt a description as any as well. The man didn't exactly offer to be the one helping him control the "raging that" but it seemed to be the implication. Ikko's eyes had turned down to the ground as he spoke and the non-committal "well if you really want" spiel followed after it. Thankfully, Ikko knew what he wanted without much prompting.

"No, if you can help me gain some control over it then I don't want anyone else. When do we start?"

For the first time since Shieo mentioned Ikko's parents, or rather the utter lack thereof, the light had returned to Ikko's eyes as he pried them away from the ground to stare with a strange mix of earnest determination and childish glee, as if a solution for a difficult problem had dropped out of the sky and bonked him on the head. Which, effectively, was exactly what happened.

---

WC: 353
TWC: 2566
PC: 5/5