[Ryo Koshutora]

TORARyo "Dogs you say...why of course they can stay here. As you can see, Milo and the others are very well behaved and do not mind the extra company. Now they aren't really playful per se but they are surprisingly delicate. Your puppies won't have to worry 'bout a thing!" Ryo replied, snickering when Daichi went about the whole title again. At this point, the sage was sure the young boy lacked some critical information as to the why he enjoyed calling Toru by name. "Alright alright. Let me give you one more tidbit on info on my position." The sage raised a clawed finger out, then just playfully booped Daichi's nose. "I may have started my carreer as a shinobi of Kirigakure, yes, but a Sage's duty is towards nature and not the village per se. That does mean I do have a degree of freedom when it comes to deciding what to do." The tiger hybrid had to start petting Luna once the tiger had decided she wanted attention, so he kept talking as he handled the tiger. "Thus, formally, I do not answer to the Mizukage for most things and I am allowed a greater degree of independence. Nor I do I have any sway on the politics of the village in all honesty, those matters are hardly my concern most of the time. Now, that is not to say I would go against the village or that I wouldn't of course help with any mission the village would send my way, but I am allowed to refuse things that for you would be official orders from the Lord due to my other responsibilities, as being under a Lord would make it impossible to do a good part of my work. Since you plan on training here I can show you what I'm talking about in more detail later on." Ryo gently patted Luna over to Kiv so he could stand up and offer a paw to the chuunin to help him up as well. "Still... since it seems to bother you this much, commendable loyalty by the way, I will do as you ask. Now, shall we go meet your fuzzy training partners?" tags here

- ❤ -

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Daichi maintained an impressively deep-set frown throughout Ryo’s explanation. It made sense, he supposed, on a certain level. If you were someone who wasn’t especially fussy about titles, and nothing in your life demanded that you answer to a higher authority to maintain your position or job security, then why would you bother? On the other paw, so to speak, why wouldn’t you bother? It was a small thing to pay proper respect to someone who held such a position, even if they weren’t your direct superior or even of your village at all. Daichi wondered if Ryo would be so lackadaisical about interacting with another village leader; if he had cause to speak to the Tsuchikage, would he call her Takara-chan to her face? It would almost bother Daichi less if that were the case, because if Ryo were so casual in speaking to or about the fifty-year-old Tsuchikage as he were the nearly fifteen-year-old Mizukage, then he could feel reasonably sure that it was more of just an odd quirk of Ryo’s, as opposed to an insult to his lord. But Ryo amicably agreed to Daichi’s request, and it seemed foolish to pursue the argument any further. He took the offered paw, careful to avoid the claws, and got to his feet. Commendable loyalty, Ryo said. Daichi rubbed the back of his neck, feeling suddenly self-conscious. Was it so strange for a bodyguard to defend his lord’s honor, to demand respect for his name? "Not commendable,” he mumbled, "it’s just right.” There was some part of him still lost in thought, a portion of his mind slowly circling the high-falutin concepts of loyalty and respect and honor; but in the present moment, for most of his attention, fuzzy training partners became the higher priority. "Thank you,” he said first, not wanting the concession to go unacknowledged, and then, with emphasis: ”yes please let’s go.”

Ryo Koshutora -- 326

LAIKA OF THQ

[Ryo Koshutora]

TORARyo "Alright Alright! This way." Ryo happily tugging Daichi along with him, happily waving a goodbye to the other tigers before he walked away. He would eventually find himself on the other side of the compound with the chuunin still close behind. The sage would eventually stop at the beginning of a forest. He turned around and decided against booping Daichi even though he did enjoy his reaction to the gesture. "Alright so. Word of notice. This place is sacred ground for the tigers that live in here. From this point onwards, I would like you to remain close to me at all times. No one will harm you, but until you'll be here training your access to this area is limited as to not disturb the sage tigers as well as avoiding you getting lost someplace you have no idea how to get out of." With the warnings taken care of, Ryo turned around and began leading the other shinobi deeper into the forest. Wouldn't be long before the two would be completely surrounded by trees in all directions. "Speaking of training, since you are going to be spending time with us I'd love to give you a training outfit for you to use for the duration. It's mostly just a stretchy bodysuit, some gloves and boots. I'm not usually one to enforce a dress code of sorts but the tigers around here recognize people wearing it and offer them protection and free passage to anywere in the compound regardless of wether or not I'm around. It should make it easier for you to come and go as you please in the case you need to do something outside here. Plus I guess you can show it around as a way to say 'I'm training with the tiger sage' or something like that." Trees trees and more trees. Ryo seemed to be wandering aimlessly but from the way the sage's wiskers buzzed it was clear that the tiger-hybrid was following a trail of sorts. "Which brings the question: What kind of footwear are you most comfortable with? Old style tabi boots, regular ones or shinobi sandals?" Ryo asked, raising an arm up to get a branch out of their way. Twenty more steps and the two were arrived. It was a clearing in the forest, a natural spring where a good number of different tigers were seen doing the most disparate of things. Some of them were closer in looks to the ones Daichi had already seen, while others were actually bipedal in nature and much closer to Ryo's looks. Not many turned around to greet them, but they all showed signs of being aware of the two kiri shinobi's presence, even the ones that were seemingly sleeping with their eyes closed. "Ah...there we are. Welcome to a place a few eyes have seen, Daichi-kun." tags here

- ❤ -

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Ryo tugged Daichi along, waving goodbye the the tigers as they left, and Daichi couldn’t help but mimic the motion. Only polite to say farewell, right? They stopped at the edge of a forest, the dense foliage stretching out in front of them. Ryo’s warning was deeply serious, and Daichi took it seriously, giving him a solemn nod. "I understand,” he said firmly, and true to his word, stayed close at Ryo’s heel as they continued onward. The forest was beautiful, thick and green and richly scented, so very different from the streets of Kirigakure, and Daichi relished in their journey through this pocket of wilderness. Ryo offered something of a training outfit as they walked, apparently aimlessly—though Daichi trusted that the other boy knew where they were going. "Sure,” he said agreeably, "that makes sense, I don’t mind.” A bodysuit sounded far more, uh, slim-fitting than what he was used to, but if it was just for training then it would be fine—and it wasn’t like he didn’t normally walk around with half his chest out anyway. At Ryo’s next question, he looked down at his feet to see what he was wearing—he hadn’t given much thought to his footwear before, except to think about how much he hated wearing it. "Tabi-style, I guess?” he said hesitantly. "I don’t, uh, really like shoes, but these are better than anything else.” Shortly they arrived at a clearing, a bright gurgling spring with more tigers than Daichi had ever seen in his life. He stopped short in his tracks, just quietly taking in the sight. "It’s beautiful,” he said softly, not wanting to break the magic of the moment. "Thank you.”

Ryo Koshutora -- 280

LAIKA OF THQ

[Ryo Koshutora]

TORARyo "Tabi it is then, it's good to know that you favour the classics." Ryo would comment, looking around at the clearing in the forest. He seemed to notice that the young shinobi guest was a little puzzled by the need of wearing a bodysuit for training. It almost made him chuckle, knowing what was in store for the forseable future. "Don't worry, it will all make sense later, but for now let's focus on this place. In here we will conduct chakra meditation amongst other things I shall keep secret for added impact later. Just so you know, this is a place of peace where many elder tigers gather to relax. Oh right, I almost forgot, can you hold still for me juuust a second..." The tiger hybrid hopped close and placed a paw on Daichi's chest, he would look up and down the you shinobi, taking mental notes on his body. He would gently tap Daichi's sides and then give a nod. Calling a small tiger cub closer, Ryo kneeled down to speak with him. "Hey little one, minding telling Komaeda to prepare a room for Daichi-kun and also have a medium sized fuinsuit ready for him to wear?  Oh and ask him to take my own suit to my quarters ." With the cub agreeing and scuttling off, Ryo was halpy to have a job well done. "There we go... and with this we have reached the end of the tour, pretty much there are a few places around here that you can see when you'll be spending time with us but for now I do think I have given you the general gist of the compound." Ryo concluded, offering his left paw for daichi to grab if he wished to do so. "That said, there is someone I want you to meet here. Can't go away before meeting Sento. He's the alpha of all the tigers around here and the one who taught me basically everything I know. He's much bigger than me, mind you, quite imposing looking but he's super friendly. You'll be fine." tags here

- ❤ -

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

A veritable boatload of information later, Daichi’s head was spinning. There was a lot happening very quickly, his mind snagging on words and phrases that Ryo threw around as if they were nothing, which Daichi desperately wanted to know more about. Chakra meditation? Fuinsuit? He was dying to ask more questions, bursting at the seams with curiosity, but there were places to be and measurements for Ryo to take and an overwhelm of sights to see. For the moment, all he could do was take Ryo at his word: it will all make sense later. He stood still as Ryo took a look over him—well, still as he could, as he couldn’t help but shift awkwardly under the Sage’s observant gaze and light, measuring taps. He wasn’t used to people looking at him so intently—well, people other than the Mizukage, whose gaze had such a permanent intensity to it that feeling the weight of it had simply become second nature to the bodyguard. Directions were given to a little cub to direct someone named Komaeda, which Daichi thought sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place the name. "Thanks for showing me around,” Daichi said, still looking around as he tried to take it all in. "It’s massive.” There was a wiggling bit of doubt in the back of his mind that he’d actually be able to find his way back here on his own—but then again, that was probably half the point, and it’d be a good exercise in sensory awareness if nothing else. He took Ryo’s paw when it was offered as if by reflex, though he was still careful to avoid the Sage’s large, sharp claws. "Is that… I mean, is that okay?” he asked, nerves suddenly twisting in his gut. "I mean, I don’t want to impose—though I guess if this is his, uh, territory then it’s probably a matter of respect that I present myself to him…” He trailed off, muttering quietly to himself as he tried to wrap his mind around what the alpha tiger who had mentored a sage could possibly look like.

Ryo Koshutora -- 367

LAIKA OF THQ

[Ryo Koshutora]

TORARyo "If you refused I would have to insist. It's only natural to say hello if you're going to be staying here a while and training. You know, you two might never bump into eachother but it's always a good thing to thank the guy for letting us dwindle around." Ryo would reply, squeezing Daichi's hand and happily tuggin him around. He would delve deeper into the sactuary with the young shinobi in tow. He would then turn around and grin playfully at the chuunin. "Not that you could say no in any case, scrawny as you are." He'd chime, poking Daichi's nose with the tip of his free claw. "Granted, I'm taller than you because in this form I am standing on my digits so it's kind of wearing heels. It's a little cheaty I know, but even though we are the same height under...normal circumstances I still have you beat when it comes to brawn." The tiger hybrid stopped walking and growled at the forest. Soon, a large, seven feet tall tiger would appear, much taller than both of them and with biceps twice their size. He was wearing a rather unconventional getup and moved about with grace but oozing raw power. It stopped in front of the sage and folded his arms. He didn't say anything at the moment, simply choosing to stare straight into Daichi's soul instead. Ryo chuckled and hopped behind the chuunin. He gently pushed Daichi to step forward, then just wrapped his arms around the other's shinobi's shoulders. "...Scrawny little thing, this one eh?." He spoke in a warm tone, laughing in a boisterous tone and relaxing his stare. "I expected Lord Kaguya's right hand to be more...imposing, all things considered. Then again, appereance is misleading." The tiger bowed in respect at the young bodyguard. "I am humbled to make your acquaintance, Yamaguchi-dono. My name is Sento, I see you have been keeping young Ryo busy. Please excuse his...um...rather direct demeanor. He means well. Welcome to our humble abode, be at ease. Our home is your home." Ryo, not really surprised the leader of the tiger already knew Daichi, gently shook the chuunin. "He agreed to remain here a while and train for a few days. We may drop by now and then so I thought it'd be great for you two to meet." Sento nodded, raising a paw up and headpatting the chuunin twice. "Oh is that so? That is wonderful news! I will make sure to set aside some time to personally oversee your meditation exercises. I have to say, you are quite brave. Ryo apprentices say his regimen can be quite brutal." Ryo pouted. "That's not true, it wouldn't be that grueling if they listened to me and did things every day without slacking off." "Right, what about that one arm push ups-" "It's normal warm up!" "With three hundred kilos on your back?" tags here

- ❤ -

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Scrawny? Daichi wrinkled his nose as Ryo bopped it with a claw, the tiger-man cheerfully dragging him around by the hand. He didn’t think he was scrawny. Sure, Ryo could out-muscle him any day—most chuunin could, if he was being completely honest with himself—but he still worked hard to stay in shape, and he made a specific point to ensure that his muscles were well-defined. He was lifting for aesthetics more than strength some of the time, yeah, but… His train of thought was completely interrupted by a growl that rumbled from Ryo’s throat, and the massive tiger that strode, bipedal, from the dense thicket of trees. He looked at Daichi like he was peering right into the boy’s soul, which made him freeze in place. He felt like a show animal beneath the weight of that stare, as if the tiger were about to decide whether he received a prize ribbon—or the butcher’s knife. The tiger relaxed quickly enough, laughing in good humor, but tension still wound tight through Daichi’s shoulders—though part of that was also due to Ryo’s paws on him, claws resting lightly against his skin. He bowed deeply at the waist in return, scrambling to come up with something to say as a way to show respect to this master of the forest. (Though his pride was now twice injured by the word scrawny. On one hand, sure, there was room to improve. On the other, the bar of a seven foot tall tiger was objectively too high for him to ever reach. 180cm was about the scope of Daichi’s dreams for his final range of growth spurts.) "Thank you for your hospitality,” he said. There was a faint tremor in his voice: lingering nerves. "The honor is entirely mine, Sento-sama.” Ryo shook him gently, explaining the situation to Sento, to which the tiger… commended his bravery? Daichi raised his eyebrows, standing up straight so that he could glance sidelong at Ryo. Working out every day was pretty standard—one-armed pushups he wasn’t super practiced at, but he could manage—but three hundred kilos made Daichi abruptly choke on air. "I think I can deadlift... two hundred kilos… on a good day.” He offered tentatively, his whole face wrinkling up. "But… that’s the point of training, right? I need to get stronger, so I’ll do what it takes.”

Ryo Koshutora -- 390

LAIKA OF THQ

[Ryo Koshutora]

TORARyo "Two hunderd sounds fine for someone like you who lacks Sage training." Ryo would quickly interject as he pretty much kept himself cuddled over to the Guard. The guy had this nice aura around him he couldn't ignore. It was like Daichi was a magnet for people. So likeable of a personality and such friendly spirit. "We'll get you to some nice gains evetually, but first we'll have to work on the basics. In any case, I think we are about done here. If you don't mind Sento, I'm going to show Daichi-kun where he is going to sleep when he's training with us and all that." The sage tiger nodded and saluted the two of them, reminding Ryo to be nice to his guest and once again thanking Daichi for his brave choice of training around the young sage. He was sure the two would get along just fine. With all things said and done, Ryo was once again holding Daichi's hand and dragging him through the forest in the opposite direction towards the compound. "Now...I usually get up early to do my meditation stuff. You are not a sage, so you could sleep in a little bit longer and just come around for physical taining. As I said, we'll be using a specialised bodysuit for that which will make things much more interesting. It's strechy stuff so it should fit you in any case. I'll leave a couple more in your room just in case the tabi one isn't to your liking. It is very important that you're comfortable inside it, as it'll be helping with excersises amongst other things. We should go see if it fits ya. You know. Since you're here might as well get at least a little bit of training done." The The long explanation would end as Ryo approached the compound and showed Daichi through the main door. The inside was rather luxurious. It looked like some sort of mixture between a mausoleum and a living space. Ryo escorted the chuunin to the second floor and showed him to a rather large room with everything he'd need for his stay: a large bed in the middle, a huge wardrobe on the left wall and a long wooden desk besides three mannequins, one intended to wear Daichi's regular clothes for when he needed to change, one held the bodysuit Ryo pretty much couldn't shut up about and the third was empty for any other clothing need. The suit itself seemed a rather tight fit, the material stretching to cover the entire body in black silk from toe to neck. The boots where tabi style as requested, with smooth rubber soles and a heel cutout. Fingerless gloves and a zipper on the back to climb in and out of. "Consider this your home away from home. This place has so many free rooms I can fit an entire shinobi team and have space to spare. You are free to use it whenever you like. If you need anything, you can ask any tiger you see walking around they will all be happy to aid you." Finally letting the other shinobi go, Ryo stretched. He was still giddy about the nice little training experiment he had created for Daichi to get stronger. "So, why don't you try the suit out, see how it fits and join me back in the main hall in...say five minutes. We can use the estate's gym for our first session." tags here

- ❤ -

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

Daichi’s head was spinning—everything was happening so fast. Overstimulation, no doubt, with all the new sights and experiences that had been packed into such a short amount of time, the imposing presence of Sento-sama, the feeling of Ryo’s tiger claws and bristly fur brushing against his skin. They exchanged goodbyes with Sento-sama, and then Ryo was dragging him off again, Daichi wide-eyed and trying desperately to take everything in. He just hoped that he’d be able to find his way around on his own, if and when the time came. Ryo’s mention of his ’meditation stuff’ piqued Daichi’s interest, but his interest was quickly diverted by the specialized bodysuit—the fuinsuit he had mentioned earlier, maybe? So many questions, so little time. Finally they arrived at a luxurious bedroom, far superior to the little apartment Daichi had rented once his pay was high enough to allow him to move out of his mom’s space. He liked his apartment, mind, he was very happy with what he’d been able to achieve on his own… but this was on a whole other level. "This is amazing,” he said, probably for the umpteenth time that day. "Thank you. Seriously, I really appreciate it.” This was an amazing opportunity for him, no matter how weirdly it had started, and he wasn’t about to let that go unacknowledged. The suit, though. Once he was left alone to change, he stared at it for what felt like far too long, until he abruptly remembered the direction of five minutes and hurried to undress. It was awkward reaching around the back to zip himself into the skintight suit, but he managed—and felt his face heat to the boiling point as he looked down at himself. Arguably this was more decent than what he was used to wearing. He presented himself in a very specific way, designed to display the muscle definition in his chest and shoulders and arms; he wore close-fitting clothes all the time. But he also wore a tunic over it all, and they were his close, and this… was different. It felt indecent. But the clock was ticking, so he tried to banish his growing sense of self-consciousness and made his way back to the main hall. He very nearly got turned around again, but with a small push of his sensory bubble he was able to pinpoint that distinct aura of Sage chakra and find his way back. His arms awkwardly folded across his chest, his cheeks flaming red, Daichi stepped into the main hall to reunite with Ryo. "What are the, um, special effects?” Daichi hesitantly asked. "This is… not quite… what I’m used to. Does it really help with your training?”

Ryo Koshutora -- 449

LAIKA OF THQ

[Ryo Koshutora]

TORARyo "Well well well..." Ryo found Daichi all ready and dressed up in the bodysuit. His body was...quite attractive all things considered. Very well balanced, sculped muscles. Hell it was crazy to think, you'd never guess under all the tunics he wore. "Fits you like a glove." He stated, poking daichi's belly with a claw. "You should keep it. I have spares anyway. Be sure to always have it on during training." The sage offered him his paw to take again, grinning like no end. He was amused at Daichi's awkwardness. He would get used to it soon, but for now Ryo couldn't help but giggle at his embarassment. He would then lead him to the compound's training chambers, where they would have peace, quiet and privacy. "Suit feels snug yeah? It's pretty form fitting, should give you alot of free movement...for now. See, that suit you're wearing is chakra reactive. More specifically, the seal inscribed on it is. It will become apparent in a moment." The sage would place his paw on Daichi's chest and weaved the tiger handsign. Daichi would feel chakra flow from Ryo to himself, the suit he was wearing warming up slightly as a rather elaborate seal would soon spread all over the suit. Then, the suit would begin to tighten, squeezing down on him more and more. It would stop once it had a rather firm grip on the chuunin without being uncomfortable. "The suit is elastic and the fabric is now tensed up. If you try to move around, you will find that the suit is actively restricting your movements, meaning you need to put more effort to move. Try it out. Raise your arm." He stated, pointing ad his left arm. The sage would then place his hand on Daichi's chest again, causing the suit to tighten once more, adding further resistance to all of Daichi's movements. Ryo's whiskers were buzzing with excitement. The more he talked about training the more he was getting uppity. He loved all things fighting and training with someone else was always so delectable. "There we go. Now you're all set. I'll let you have five more minutes to familiarize with the resistance the suit has while tensed if you need. After that, taijutsu training time. Your objective is simple: you have to avoid me for five minutes. If I manage to touch you again, the suit will tighten more and it will be more and more difficult to move. If you fail too many times, well...the fuuinsuit will probably tighten so much as to make you immobile. Naturally, for the best gain from this training you should make an effort to only take the suit off as little as possible. Eventually, you will build enough muscle that you'll be able to move around even when the suit is actively fighting against you. If you can manage this excercise, I will also don a suit like yours and we will move on to actual sparring. The first who will make the other immobile wins. Any questions?" tags here

- ❤ -

[yamaguchi daichi]

I COULD EAT THE WORLD RAW

A claw poked into Daichi’s belly, making him flush an even brighter red—glancing down as if to find that he had developed a tummy when he wasn’t looking. It was impossible to get rid of all his stomach fat without getting truly insane about what he ate, and he tended to not care that much… but the fuinsuit wasn’t leaving much room for the imagination. He was led along to another room—some kind of training facility, it looked like. Then Ryo started to explain the function of the suit. He wove a handsign, and the already-tight outfit constricted even further. It wasn’t uncomfortable, exactly, but it was like a compressive weight was bearing down over his whole body. At Ryo’s prompting, he tried to lift his left arm. It was possible, but it was also notably more difficult, as if he had training weights attached to the whole of his limb. Gingerly, he tested his right arm as well. Interesting. "This is so efficient,” Daichi said, marveling at his arms. Ryo touched his chest again, and the suit tightened again, adding more pressure and weight. His discomfort was quickly melting away in the face of genuine excitement about the thing he was wearing: an extremely useful training tool, doing so much more to improve his compound movements than any of the standard weightlifting he practiced. He nodded, agreeing to Ryo’s terms—though he doubted he would make it past the first round of their little bout. He wasn’t much of a close-combat guy. Still, he’d give it his best, and he took the whole of the five minutes to practice moving in the suit: lifting his arms, doing high-knees in place, stretching, a minute of shadowboxing. Even after just five minutes he was starting to sweat, thin trickles beading at his forehead and the back of his neck. "Okay,” he said, chin lifting. "Ready.”

Ryo Koshutora -- 313

LAIKA OF THQ

[Ryo Koshutora]

TORARyo "Alrighty then. Three. Two. One." Ryo quickly transitioned into his comfy fighting stance. He could use a little more of his fun sage abilities, but for the time being perhaps he could cut the guy some slack. No need to go super mega hard right from the get go. The sage would begin by circling around the other shinobi, sizing him up a little. He was trying to figure out where he could best strike against his target. Perhaps he could faint towards the eyepatch side. That meant a much bigger blindspot that would indeed give him an advantage. Yes. That was what he would do. His first assault was swift but managed. He himself was not the greatest at hand to hand, but he did know the basic pretty well. Thus, he began pressing in closer and closer with every little scuffle. If Daichi managed to avoid him even with the suit's resistance, he would move a little bit faster next time. Eventually he was bound to slip past his defenses and give him a nice tap on his chest, with the suit contracting again and limiting his movents soon after. For the moment, he also avoided being too acrobatic. At the end of the day this was training. The guy needed a little time to adapt. "So, Daichi-kun. Would you like me to start trying a little more?" He asked after a few exchanges without confirmed hits. tags here

- ❤ -