[itako noro]

Not every day for Noro at the academy consisted of classroom learning from morning until evening, today she was scheduled to spend her afternoon on "targeted learning". From what she had gathered thus far, this was a vague term to allow students to be the responsibility of not only the academy, but also contractors and tutors.

An exercise room number and time slot was all she was given, she felt no need to ask anymore, or any less. So she sat, in silence, 15 minutes early. A habit drilled into her from a young age, prey arrives on time.

Of course there was no predator or prey in this scenario, hopefully. So, the young lady stood, quietly with her arms by her side and head tilted down. Her mask with headdress on, a dark blue shirt and loose trousers, with traditional wooden sandals upon her feet. On the back of each hand laid an extra eye, altogether her demeanour, posture and aura all suggested one thing: completely spaced out. 

Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Akira]

It had gone without saying that Hotarubi had taken to turning up at the academy and helping out some of the students. Maybe it was vicariously his way of trying to see Nageku and get him to move his shitty ass up and out and it had been filling him with a deep sensation of frustration.

But, in either sense it was helpful as Kenji said that he learned how to direct people: beyond giving them commands but giving them space to grow. If you were to foster control over the military and the abilities of people: you could either raise them up or pull them down. Hotarubi had... distinct ideas about how he would instil training.

But, he wasn't in any sort of power: so this was the canvas for him to develop those beliefs. So - Noro sat in the academy would feel Hotarubi long before seeing him as the presence made itself clear on the academy grounds that something oppressive was entering: this was something physical, Doton chakra to weigh down a person like a weighted blanket on them. And that door would slide open and in it would Hotarubi step into the exercise room. "Still looks like shit." He had been in there many times himself as he looked around the bare room - he had been a student himself in recent time. By the way he spoke Noro might have thought that he had been there years ago... and that still had been kind of true.

Then he saw and observed the Student first, making a bunch of assumptions. "You ugly?" Hotarubi would ask, walking opposite her and sat as well, crossing his arms.

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[itako noro]

While confident in herself, Noro is no stranger to the feeling of nervousness or anxiety. The weight that began to press upon her caused a moment of reflection. I feel fine internally... As she focused, she realised the weight was literal, physical, standing up was more difficult. 

Then the door slid open, and the intensity grew higher. This was the source presumably. Am I being intimidated? Is this a lesson in and of itself? Perhaps its latent, his natural... aura 

"Still looks like shit."

Noro's head turned right and left slightly, looking around, unsure of what he meant exactly, this room, the academy, or her. Regardless, she had nothing to respond with.

"You ugly?"

"I would make a poor wife or maiden, so for my own sake I'd hope so."

While the comment might have come off as a cheeky retort, it was more of a genuine observation from the student.

"I am Noro Itako, student of the Takigakure Shinobi Academy, I lack prowess in areas outside of fine chakra control. I do not wish to shake hands." Noro then gestured to the back of her palms, not ideal for handshakes.

Her tone and language made it clear she sought no personal connection here, in fact it was as if she was trying her hardest to put down a wall between any tendrils of kindredness between them, but that didn't mean she had to forego formalities, especially ones that could serve to benefit her.

Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Akira]

Hotarubi was intrigued by the response since it was cryptic and maybe this was just a little thing they'd done for themselves. Like Touwa, and all other shinobi who had their specific little quirks he would not probe further.

"Uh. Oh. Oh." Hotarubi was quickly reminded that Takigakure was full of abberants as he noticed the eyes on the back of her palms. "Wasn't intending to but that sealed the deal." There seemed to be a lot of body horror type stuff and the man had to admit that he wasn't at his strongest against it: Hakurai and Kunikunosaku were horrible little squiggle creatures, Hotarubi himself was a man made of earth and capable of making himself monstrous as the next.

But that was definitely something. "So, where are you at in your studies?" Hotarubi hoped that she wasn't going to ask him about academia because... one, they were in a training and exercise area: and two: he was dumb as a bag of rocks where it pertained to that type of stuff, he had definitely got the 'sailing' grade that allowed him to pass. "Basically - what do you want to train here, today, now?" And he would most certainly try to get over his aversion as he continued to steal glances at the back of her palms.

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[itako noro]

"So, where are you at in your studies?" Hotarubi was able to get off his next sentence with no interruption from Noro, "Basically - what do you want to train here, today, now?"

A silence hung in the room, Noro did not use the words um, gave no physical indication she was thinking, except from quizzically tilting her head about 30 degrees. The young lady was not one for taking charge of things like this, she had mostly been following directions from her superiors, any work done in her spare time would just be developing and continuing things she had been shown before.

After enough time to make most people a little uncomfortable, "Of the five jutsu required for graduation, the ones eluding me are: Rope Escape technique or the Cloak of Invisibility technique. In more general terms, I lack any real foundation in physical fighting, most schools of jutsu are still foreign to me. I've been told I'd be suited for the art of weaving illusions with reality. If I were clay, how would you mould me?"

A confidently strung together set of sentences, an idiom she attempted to localize into something more natural sounding ended up making her seem more arcane than before.



Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Akira]

Was she not used to making her own choices? She seemed to look at him quizically. "What." Hotarubi queried her. Were all kids like this? He couldn't really guess her age beyond her small stature (inclusive of the fact they were sat) and so if he had to guess... 10?

"Good thing I brought both." Hotarubi would pull from his backside a rope and a cloak. The two most pointless things that he the never used ever since the academy. He would not spoil that for her: because insofar as he was concerned, it was needed to pass the academy even if it was the stupidest fucking technique to exist.

"I'd say you should work with what you love and are good at. I'm good at using earth, so I use earth. If you want to work with illusions, you could do that. I've seen some...." A spark of inspiration struck him. "Devastating illusions. You can do a lot with them." He had only seen it himself: but if she was going to foray down that path - if she were to use him as a practical canvas, then in the future it would benefit him to have someone who could potentially use techniques on him in the... what? Two years it would take her to pass out of the academy?

"We haven't got all day to work, so pick an area. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu. I can't help you myself with Genjutsu." Hotarubi would offer her a chance since she didn't seem to know what to focus on.

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[itako noro]

When Hotarubi revealed he had not only a cloak but also a rope with him, it struck Noro as creepy. Somehow shinobi going around with legitimate weapons seemed completely benign to her, but this was one step too far.

While she didn't show it, reaffirmation from someone who seems to have no vested interest in making her think one way or another, tell her that pursuing what she's good at is the path to go down was reassuring.

Once everything had been laid out for her, and she could no longer coast by, going with the motions, and actually had to decide, another pause came. 

"If I graduate into a shinobi, the branches of life will open up more. Enriching myself with fundamentals can happen later, for now, I'd like to become a Genin as soon as possible. The Rope Escape technique seems like one that would make the most use out of having someone here to teach me.


How should we begin?"



Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Akira]

"Getting tied." Hotarubi spoke flatly; he could not understand that Noro wouldn't understand this. "It's really about applying chakra." Hotarubi would shimmy closer to her on his knees, not bothering to stand only to move two meters closer. He held out the rope: waiting for her to get shibari'd. And when he did, he would start with a simple knot - one with her hands in her front.

"Just to be clear, no real Shinobi would use a front facing knot. It allows another Shinobi to still use handseals. This is for practice." Hotarubi meant his work when he wanted to teach and he wasn't about to help try and raise another weakling, and so even the bindings would be tight: and if she wasn't careful it would rub against the near of her eye(s).

Although, he couldn't personally help how he looked at them while doing it. It was so ... funky looking. Very Taki-like. "Are these uh... born with? Or doya' get them from other people?" At this point he was just using the opportunity to satisfy he curiosity with the engima. He couldn't personally see how it would be helpful - nothing like peeking a hand around the corner just to lose an eye... any form of hand to hand combat was just a poor idea in general, and Hotarubi felt she'd drawn the short end of the stick.

Back to the rope escape. "Okay, so you have a bit of chakra control. What we're going to do is visualise the chakra around our wrists down. Got it?" He would start with the instruction.

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[itako noro]

Internally, Noro meant one thing, another came out, and now all she could do when Hotarubi replied, "Getting tied", was let sleeping dogs lie.

"It's really about applying chakra." Noro was reaching the point of naturalization where a few conversational beats afterwards, she noticed there was room for a snarky/sarcastic reply, but that sort of thing felt out of character for her. 

She appreciated the time and effort of someone going out of their way to teach something that seems mighty unimpressive, compared to a lot of shinobi feats she had seen thus far.

Once the rope was held out, Noro had no airs about being restrained, "It is a relief that despite me being a young lady, you give no room for slack in these bindings."

"Are these uh... born with? Or doya' get them from other people?" This question was no stranger to Noro, many had shown interest in her bloodline and it was part of the reason why she was scouted to become a Takigakure shinobi-in-training in the first place. No matter how many times it was asked, there were always flashes of her tribe, the importance they made her feel and the significance of the role she thought she'd fulfil, all sorts of things that would impede on a clear mind.

"The answer only became known to me when I was identified as useful, then emigrated into the village. They are given through a ritual, all things considered, I actually possess very few. Some are gifted with them in fortunate and tactical places, some burdened with far too many in inopportune places." If it called to her, she might take this time to add a more personal touch, but felt no beckon to, nor any desire even if there was.

Once the instruction was given, she would simply nod in affirmation. So the idea is to slide them down.... The sensation and concept of chakra flowing throughout her was a strange one, manipulating this flow was something she did with an err on the side of caution.

The slightest trickles of chakra would start her off, a chakra sensitive individual would be hard pressed to even notice the level ramp up, but Noro hadn't spent her life being groomed for this sort of thing, this level of intensity was a distinct notch above her natural rate, thus the process of playing too much, too little began. 


Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Akira]

"Funny girl. You'll die no matter what's between your legs if you aren't strong enough." The lack of expression on his face as she made it about gender would likely register as lack of amusement. His position on it was agender: it would have been tight for any student, and he would have not cared whether boy or girl. If anything, she had been given an easy one to begin with.

'Someone else's eyes, then.' Hotarubi thought wordlessly to himself as his curiosity was being satisfied. Another one of the loony lot. Just another family with a particular set of quirks, so he supposed he couldn't fault them for that either. "Uhhuh." His response would leave a lot to be desired as he quickly moved on to the actual teaching element.

But he would wait for her to begin using her chakra- it was pithy and did not have any feeling, so there was no indication to him that she had started it beyond the look of concentration - or what he construed as concentration by the fact there was no expression on a mask, and it was her stillness and silence to indicate any sort of progression.

"The bindings are just a barrier: using your chakra, you need to apply some form transformation. I guess like uh.. visualising that your hands are made of putty." It was easier for him, he who moulded the shape of his body as he needed it to be. "just enough form to allow your wrist to dislocate and flick back into place. You aren't trying to change the structure of your body, just flick a light switch. A momentary lapse of what it is to be human. Give it a try."

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[itako noro]

"Funny girl. You'll die no matter what's between your legs if you aren't strong enough." A nod was the only response from Noro, half in agreement, half in acknowledgement.

The sensation within Noro's wrists at the moment was akin to gently turning the faucet, the only fine tuned aspect of the process being reducing any wasted chakra, her plan was to feel what sort of response she gets from the ropes tied around her wrist and deduce more from there.

This methodology was one she adopted from what she knew, animals and animal behaviour. As a child, a shaman from her tribe took her to a cave, and for hours they listened to the almost imperceptible shrieks of bats, observed how they moved.

It was explained to her how they used the feedback of sound bouncing off the walls to find their way around, much like how she was using her chakra to find where the chakra needs to go and how right now.

Without realising, Noro's head had gently tilted downwards, instinctively her eyes were drawn to the point of focus, her wrists.

"The bindings are just a barrier... Give it a try." When Hotarubi had began speaking, Noro turned her head back up to face him. She'd nod along slowly to what he was saying.

"Intriguing. My mind envisioned-" she'd attempt to aid her explanation with hand gestures, "applying pressure to the points where the rope itself had been tied. If the tension at one point of the bindings is inwards facing, then make it outwards, undoing the bindings. But your solution is more robust. Independent of the bindings."

Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Akira]

On the other hand the man was entirely there in the moment as he waited for her to try and figure it out. Hotarubi thought about her method and he was quiet - eyes in silent contemplation as he focused on her eye(s).

"well."

It was hard for Hotarubi to admit he wrong - well not wrong as such but not right, it was the academia in him that lacked. "That would work too." Hotarubi would shrug it off, not focusing too hard on the error. Being wrong was below him after all! There were different avenues, he supposed: just like whether it was a run and gun operation or an investigation of sorts.

"Nothin like a bit of practice." If she chose to go one way or the other, he would be there to advise her. As they sat there and he waited - he wondered if there was anything else to mention. Running through the basics in his mind, and then... this had been a painful experience for him as well at the academy.

Did he care enough to ask her why she became a shinobi? Get to know her? No. No he did not. Hotarubi would wait for her to either ask a question or for something to happen that would let him intervene with a comment or two.

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[itako noro]

A pause in her words, no "ah"s, no "umm"s, just a girl attempting to formulate the following thought without being disrespectful to someone taking time out of their day to do her a service. "I'm under the impression this won't find much use in my potential shinobi career."

A short nod followed, a gesture to show she was getting back to it. This new approach required her to use chakra patterns that would allow her wrists and thumbs to move beyond their traditional range of motion. Rather than violently snapping and becoming dislocated, the idea was to twist and use chakra to supplement the ligaments and tendons so they weren't pushed past their limits.

This didn't mean the rate at which she was ramping her chakra changed. Slow and steady suited her, internally she was forming thin vine-like wrappings of chakra around her wrist and the joint where her thumb connects to her hand. Carefully and meticulously, she created it incredibly thinly at first, then wrapped again, making the layer of chakra thicker.

The process repeated itself several times, there'd be a gentle visual indication of this happening over the course of a few minutes, but only noticeable by someone keeping a keen eye on the process, which Noro did not expect Hotarubi to keep over something as mundane as this.

The following few minutes would be mind-numbing for the pair, as Noro would create a new layer, check to see if it was evenly distributed, unwind the layer if not and try again. 

Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Akira]

"Don't get caught." Was the simple and very effective solution that Hotarubi had: but that was easy when someone was able to reform their body into any type of anything.

Unlike what Noro might have expected of his personality she would be surprised to see him with an ironclad glare the entire time. "Bit more on the wrist." Would be a comment here. "Keep your chakra consistent." Would be another. Hotarubi was intensely serious about some of his work, and where it concerned his own interests Noro was simply another checkbox on the list of his learning.

So- she would likely feel the weight of his gaze. Hotarubi could see that what she was doing was working by the way the ropes seemed: at points, he could feel and notice visually that the rope was loosening in some areas, or it was slightly bending the 'norm' of what movement rope should have, and she would likely find her success well quickly enough considering her chakra control - another clanless, or other type of Shinobi who had the bigger chakra pool would find this much, much harder. It was a precise art.

"Don't hesitate to move your hands, it's an art. Once we're done here, we'll move on to another type of binding - one that separates your hands." It was actually the most common type of binding in Shinobi: one hand in the front, the other in the back, preventing handseals from being formed.

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[itako noro]

Falling into "the zone" was something that came very naturally to Noro. Her mind had not been inundated by the frivolities of modern civilized life, so when given something to hone in on, she was able to comfortably immerse herself.

Hotarubi's cues were like drops of water going into a pond, ripples that eventually became one with the pond. The repetition of repeating the same pattern over and over, this figure 8 chakra pattern that went over her thumb joint and hand. Each iteration made it thicker and thicker.

From the outside the change was becoming particularly obvious, her shoulders were rotated inwards and the back of her palms began to press against each other. The breakpoint was coming, which made Noro approach even more meticulously. It wasn't fear or anxiety of failing, but if she had flooded chakra into her hands right now just to get over the finish line without the proper support for her joints, ligaments and tendons, it could cause all sorts of mishaps.

Pop. The bindings fell, a hiss of discomfort left Noro's mouth at the same time. Noro's hands had now fully twisted inwards and her thumb popped out of place, with her wrist well past the point of hyperflexion, only possible due to the support given by the internal chakra structure she had moulded. She pulled the reins back slowly, another pop followed as her thumbs came back into place after the external force disappeared.

The eyes on the back of Noro's hands reopened, darting around the room. She gave a nod to Hotarubi.

"When you close one of your eyes, you lose your ability to perceive depth. Do you ever wonder what you would gain if you had another eye?"

The sensation Noro went through when the eyes on her hands had reopened was one that reminded her of opening her eyes in the morning. The question she left off was one she was happy to let sit in the room, an answer wasn't very important to her.

"Shall we move on?"

Akira

MADE BY VEL OF GS