[indent] [/indent][hr][h3][color=lightsteelblue]Kazuhiko Taketori[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Land of Fire: Konohagakure[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] Time was fleeting, and it moved faster than Kazuhiko thought or wanted as the countdown until the chunin exams ran down. Training with Atomu ate up his days when he wasn’t working with his team under Minoru, and even on the weekend he felt compelled to keep busy, do something other than sitting around listening to his parents and clan elders talk. There would be time for all that and more after he passed his chunin exam, but first, he had to pass it. Talking with his teammates about their training had reminded him about what was important: getting stronger. So Hidemi hadn’t agreed to train him—he had Atomu, who was no less capable of training him at his current level. Trying to figure out what the puzzling man wanted could wait until after the chunin exams, he figured, especially since most of the skills he first had to work on were basic, foundational ones that set the stage for those more complex. There was activating the sensaigan, maintaining it, and becoming accustomed to it. Then there was actually incorporating it into attacks, familiarizing himself with the intricacies of the nervous system so that he could make the most out of every strike. The day he managed to land a true, sensaigan-backed hit on Atomu was a landmark, but it was one of many. Every new skill led to the introduction of another, and each required what seemed like endless hours of practice. Many a time, he wondered whether the Hyuga’s byakugan required as much time and practice as the sensaigan did, and when he finally brought it up to Atomu, the answer was an amused ‘of course.’ Taijutsu often required more time to master than ninjutsu since it was the body that was being molded, not the mind and the intricacies of chakra and how it was used. The two were taxing in different ways, but physical conditioning still took more time than chakra-fueled ones, for some reason. Perhaps, as Atomu theorized, it was the difference between the physical and spiritual worlds, but neither of them were philosophers and breaks between exercises were short. In terms of progress, Kazuhiko was quite proud of how far he’d come, not he’d ever admit it. When he described it to his parents, it didn’t come out sounding quite as impressive as he’d thought, but his father had easily understood. Despite choosing a life of politics over field work, Kazuma was a jonin-level shinobi, as was any other “self-respecting Taketori.” According to his father, it was a matter of pride, which was why the seemingly small improvements he was making made sense with the amount of time he was investing. “Foundation is key,” his father had said when Kazuhiko finished talking, echoing Atomu’s exact words—words that, Kazuhiko soon realized, were a mantra for most Taijutsu schools. Training, honing, and conditioning were what made the difference when it came to Taijutsu, and his gradual improvement in terms of accuracy and fluency showed. As he transitioned from foundational skills to his first few Taketori ninjutsu, though, he realized that there was a reason why the Taketori valued their own dojo so much: Many of their skills could only be taught by those experienced with sensaigan. Ninjutsu and taijutsu skills aimed precisely at nerves could easily lead to lasting consequences, after all, and a learning Taketori had little control over their strength and precision. Though there were discussed rules and limits, deflected blows were not easily as easily dodged, and many a time Kazuhiko had felt compelled to apologize profusely to Atomu as he watched his tutor tend to fried nerves with a special blend of medical ninjutsu developed by Taketori, for Taketori. Trying to imagine putting Minoru through the same injuries was unthinkable, and he was glad that both of his teammates had managed to find tutors within their clan. Though neither Koharu nor Natsuko wielded jutsu as focused on immediate damage as his, he’d seen the reason behind in-clan tutors firsthand, and the benefits didn’t end at experience. Though practicing with his team was allotted less time than it was in the past as a result of all three of them working on their kekkai genkai, the time they spent together was more focused than it was before. The looming deadline of the chunin exam date was daunting enough to keep Natsuko focused, and Kazuhiko had to admit he was impressed with how far she’d come over the past year. Minoru had encouraged them to combine their skillsets since “three heads are better than one,” and Koharu and Natsuko did wonders with his encouragement. Combining their wind ninjutsu was hard to time, but when they figured it out, the number of trees they managed to whip bare intimidated Kazuhiko, as did Natsuko’s lighthearted warning of a “bigger, better, more [i]amazing[/i] technique” when she figured out how to properly mesh her wind with Koharu’s ice. The thought of ice shards zipping through the air was scary enough with Koharu on her own, nevermind more numerous ones at faster paces when Koharu was allowed to focus on just controlling her ice. As for his techniques with his teammates, his options had been rather limited. His sensaigan didn’t mesh well for obvious reasons, and Natsuko’s wind did nothing for his lightning other than helping his electricity-charged kunai fly faster. With Koharu, he’d managed to come up with a large-scaled attack featuring her water ninjutsu, but those were rather limited in comparison to her ice-based ones, so progress was slow there. Trying to develop team tactics, though, had encouraged an interest in picking up a second chakra element. Some water release ninjutsu would greatly expand his options with his lightning jutsu, and it’d mesh well with Koharu’s skillset too. Though Taketori water-wielders weren’t common, they weren’t unheard of either. Wind and lightning chakra affinities were most common, but water affinities made up a healthy minority of the clan. This thought, though, remained but a thought, and both Atomu and Minoru had agreed that it’d be a good thing to work on [i]after[/i] the chunin exams. For now, he focused on improving his existing skills with his own skillset and with his teammates' because even if his sensaigan didn’t directly work with their jutsu, there was no reason their jutsu couldn’t help him close the distance between him and his opponents. [indent] [/indent][hr][hider=Jutsu] [indent] [/indent][hider=Taijutsu] [indent] [/indent] [color=lightsteelblue][u] Keen Fist: [/u][/color] [indent]The Taketori style of Taijutsu that uses their Sensaigan’s nerve-cutting abilities to compound the damage done to struck areas. This style of fighting emulates the movements of staves and spears, aiding the Taketori in landing their Sensaigan techniques.[/indent] [indent] [/indent][/hider] [hider=Ninjutsu][indent] [/indent] [color=lightsteelblue][u] Lightning Release: [/u][/color] [list][*][color=#dbe4f0]Thunder[/color]: User creates small sparks of lightning that can hit multiple targets at once. [*][color=#dbe4f0]Thunderbolt [Needs Practice][/color]: User creates arcs of lightning that can hit multiple targets at once. [*][color=#dbe4f0]Lightning Strike [Needs Practice][/color]: User creates a strong arc of lightning that can hit multiple close targets or be extended to hit a faraway one. [*][color=#dbe4f0]Thundering Kunai[/color]: User channels their Lightning Release technique into a kunai, thus charging it. This technique can be used with different ninjutsus to create varying intensities of electricity inside the blade [*][color=#dbe4f0]Lightning Clone Technique[/color]: User creates a tangible clone that is dispelled with very little damage and cannot perform jutsu. The clone will also dispel if enough time passes.[/list][indent][/indent][/hider] [indent] [/indent][/hider] [h3] [/h3][hr][h3][color=#AB4730]Natsuko Rinha[/color][/h3][hr][sup][i]Noon || Land of Fire: Konohagakure — Rinha Compound[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] [color=#AB4730]“Hi-ya!”[/color] Natsuko shouted, kicking off Sayumi’s arm and landing a few feet away. Her tutor rolled her eyes, prompting her to straighten. [color=#AB4730]“What?”[/color] she whined. [color=#AB4730]“Can’t I make cool sound effects while I practice? I’m bored enough as it is.”[/color] “Training isn’t supposed to be fun, Natsuko, and you’re supposed to be [i]focusing.[/i]” Sayumi said, sighing and straightening as well. [color=#AB4730]“I am!”[/color] Natsuko protested. “On the basic taijutsu we were working on, or on making your ‘sound effects?’” Sayumi asked. At Natsuko’s pout, Sayumi sighed again. “Alright, run along. It’s about lunchtime anyway,” she said, dismissing Natsuko with a flippant wave of a hand. [color=#AB4730]“Okay!”[/color] Natsuko said, instantly perking up. Food sounded pretty good right about now, but just as she turned to run off, she hesitated, remembering something her father had mentioned to her. [color=#AB4730]“Um, Sayumi-sensei, my parents wanted me to invite you to have lunch with at our house sometime. As thanks for you agreeing to tutor me. I think my dad’s home now, if you’re free to drop by? We’re having udon, I think.”[/color] Sayumi looked up from where she was retrieving her water and towel. “Oh, sure. Udon sounds delicious,” she said, slinging her towel over a shoulder and walking over. “Lead the way.” Though Natsuko led the way with a smile, she couldn’t shake her nervousness. Inviting Sayumi over for lunch had mostly been her mother’s idea. It’d been decided that her father would open up his schedule for lunch to get some time to talk to Sayumi, see how Natsuko was doing and how Sayumi was as a tutor. Since it was Minoru who’d introduced Sayumi to Natsuko, her parents weren’t as in the know as they wanted to be, and Natsukawa Rinha liked to be in the know about her own clan members. From the snippets Natsuko had heard through her room’s walls, Sayumi had been a properly accomplished jonin on active duty until very recently, when she’d had a rough mission where she’d been forced to take some risks. Though the mission had been successful, Sayumi came out of it gravely injured. Something about overloading on chakra and overexerting her body. Natsuko wasn’t too sure about the specifics, but at that point she’d figured she’d probably heard a little too much. As far as she’d been concerned, the loose cloth Sayumi wrapped around her arms and legs had been an aesthetic choice, communicating a sort of bandage-like feel without the rough appearance of gauze and injury. Knowing the truth behind them tended to make her feel guilty, and she’d spent a few days hesitating before striking when direct-contact attacks were part of the day’s training regimen. Now, she was mostly over it. Though it was scary to think about what sort of injuries could force a full-fledged jonin onto sick leave, it wasn’t like Sayumi was bedridden or unable to move. To Natsuko, her tutor seemed as capable as the next jonin, but she couldn’t shake the uncomfortable feeling that’d settled on her whenever she thought back to her parent’s words. ‘Gravely injured’—that sounded bad. Very bad. And Sayumi didn’t look like she was injured that bad. Which, if Natsuko had to be honest, only scared her more. [color=#AB4730]“Dad, we’re here!”[/color] she called, opening the sliding door to their house. “Natsuko-chan, welcome back. And you must be Sayumi-san,” Masaya said, emerging from another room and bowing in greeting. “Welcome.” “Masaya-sama, thank you for inviting me over,” Sayumi said, bowing as well. “No need to thank me. I should thank you for offering to tutor Natsuko,” he said, gesturing to a doorway. “This way,” he said, leading the way to the dining room. “Tell me, has Natsuko been doing well in her training? I know that she can be a bit… distracted at times, but I hope that hasn't been hindering her,” he said, indicating to a butler to have another meal set up. “She’s been fine. She could use a [i]bit[/i] more focus at times, but she’s learning and improving at a very reasonable pace,” Sayumi said, shooting a pointed look at Natsuko, who gave her a pursed smile. “Good, good,” Sayumi said, indicating where Sayumi should sit. Natsuko took the other available seat beside her father, hesitating before picking up her chopsticks. Eating alone seemed like a preferable option right about now. “How is her dark release coming along? I heard from her sensei, Minoru-san, that she’s been able to perform some Kusunemasu skills,” he said, picking up his chopsticks. Natsuko took the cue and dug in, slurping up her udon heartily. Training tended to distract her from how hungry she was, but the smell of food helped remind her of it. It wasn’t until her third slurp that she remembered that maybe she should tone it down. Generally, she liked to slurp as loudly as she wanted, but there was a conversation going on right now, and it wasn’t like her father took a lot of time off work. Someone had to go experiment and develop new jutsu, and her mother couldn’t do it all. “It’s, well, it’s coming along,” Sayumi said. “Her control needs some work, but whose didn’t, at her age.” Masaya nodded, finally starting to eat. The conversation progressed from there, with Natsuko focused on eating so she could dismiss herself from the table. However, because she couldn’t slurp her noodles, trying to eat them quickly was proving quite difficult. Finding the balance between speed and manners, between quiet and loud left her teetering, and more than once her father had to glance at her. “Also, forgive me for how late this is, but congratulations on your most recent mission, Sayumi-san. I heard you were key to the mission’s success,” Masaya said. “Thank you, Masaya-sama. The entire team was great, and I’m lucky to have had them,” Sayumi said, dipping her head. “I also heard that you were injured, but you seem to be in good health. I assume you’ve healed up, though? When will you be taking your next mission?” Sayumi paused. “I’m taking a short break from missions, actually. To rest and recover.” “Oh, of course. Good thing Natsuko found you when she did, then,” Masaya said, smiling. Natsuko felt the stir of discomfort again. ‘Gravely injured’—did that have anything to do with Sayumi taking a break? Because, by the way her dad changed the subject again, it seemed like it did. [hr][sup][i]Late Morning || Land of Fire: Konohagakure[/i][/sup][indent] [/indent] [color=#AB4730]“Here!”[/color] Natsuko shouted, dashing towards where her team was gathered by the bridge. Looking at it now, with shoots of grass peeking out of the slush-speckled ground, invoked the memory of the cold wind from the year before, and Natsuko shook out a shiver as she came to a stop beside Koharu. [color=#AB4730]“So? What’re you all talking about?”[/color] [color=lightsteelblue]“You,”[/color] Kazuhiko said simply, throwing her off for a moment as she stared at him, taken aback. Though she quickly realized it was a joke, it’d taken her a few seconds longer than usual to make the connection. Surprise accounted for that delay since it was [i]Kazuhiko[/i] making the jokes. He’d started to snipe back in the past year, sometimes returning jibes with a flippant tone that always had her reeling, wondering for a second or two whether he was being serious, but she was cutting that time down. Not as quickly as she liked, perhaps, but she was working on it. [color=lightsteelblue]“I was just asking Minoru-sensei about how Kazuha and Haru are doing. Apparently Kazuha’s vocabulary is expanding?”[/color] Kazuhiko continued, not missing a beat despite his joke. As much as Natsuko hated the fact that his deadpan delivery threw her off, she had to respect good technique. Maybe it was time for her to stop letting her grin betray her attention before she finished her sentences. [color=#AB4730]“Oh, can Kazuha finally say something other than ‘Natsuko silly?’”[/color] she joked. Her eyes, though, stayed fixed on Minoru. Where Kazuha seemed to have multiple thoughts about how Koharu and Kazuhiko were, she’d been branded as simply ‘silly,’ which didn’t work out in her favor when she was making genuine efforts to get to know the girl and her brother. [color=lightsteelblue]“I thought she was rather spot-on with that assessment,”[/color] Kazuhiko said. Natsuko crossed her arms, pouting. [color=#AB4730]“First time I see you in a week and you’re this mean? What’d I do to you? Make fun of your haircut too much?”[/color] Kazuhiko pulled a face, one hand going up to try and muss up his hair, which had been cut a bit too short to allow anything of the sort. [color=lightsteelblue]“It doesn’t look like my dad’s. His is longer in the back.”[/color] [color=#AB4730]“Looks similar enough to me,”[/color] Natsuko said, grinning. It really didn’t, but hey, it was getting to him. [indent] [/indent][hr][hider=Jutsu] [hider=Ninjutsu][indent] [/indent] [color=#AB4730][u] Wind Release: [/u][/color] [list][*][color=#df9797]Gale Palm[/color]: User increases the velocity or density of wind to form a powerful gale capable of knocking over a person.[/list] [color=#AB4730][u] Dark Release: [/u][/color] [list][*][color=#df9797]Kusunemasu [Weak][/color]: User absorbs chakra from others and uses it as their own. Possible through direct physical contact or from a distance with more concentration[/list] [indent] [/indent][/hider] [indent] [/indent][/hider] [hr][sup][@Sunflower][/sup]