[Muramasa Uemon]

dull aches, new and old

---

A young man sat alone at night in one of Kumogakure's many training grounds, perched on a log and scribbling a few notes into a small black journal with a bandaged right hand. There was a fresh, dull throbbing in his palm now...

Since it refused to subside, he had to pause his writing to flex his fingers every so often. "Irritating..." He thought, more disappointed in his own lack of speed than the circumstances that led to his injury in the first place. More death, a singing, unkillable priest, and now another scar. "I was too careless." The wanderer could only shake his head.

Compared to others, he was plenty fast enough on his feet, but being able to move quickly and react to things like lightning bolts were too very different skills. "There's still much I need to learn." He was too sluggish, too inexperienced, and still too weak for what he needed to do. It was only through sheer determination and luck that he managed to make it this far. "If I continue on like this..." An unfinished thought, his brow furrowing as he picked up his pencil.

All he could do was focus on improving his skills and progressing towards his goal. Soon enough he would be able to make another move... though he had the feeling that his slaying of that Masamune woman might force his hand before he was fully prepared. Minutes passed and he swished a final word on the page, finishing up his documenting of the past few days. "Environmentalist radicals, another notch in an age-old blood feud, and a Jashinist..." Each one unrelated.

Still... there was a strange feeling he had as of late. One of his struggle being inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. For now, he did the same thing he did with most feelings and buried it. Introspection could wait for later.

Instead, he flipped to some of the earlier pages in his book and began to read. Plans, diagrams, blueprints, all.

---

[Itagaki Mitsumi]

It felt like all Mitsumi did was train of late. Ever since she had reentered the academy, she has seized that spark of motivation, and tried to fan it into a blaze. There was much to learn, and to practice. Jutsu. Stamina. Strength. Speed. Stability. Reflexes. Strikes. Blocks. Evasion. And her dabbling with extending awareness outside of her body.

She had at in lotus position for a while, hands resting in a simple seal to aid concentration. Forcing chakra out of herself, a d to feel how it interacted with the world beyond her. A tiresome and difficult thing, and something she was making little headway with. There were educators available, but... no, she couldn't monopolize their time. She would take what she could, and work out the rest for herself.

That said, her focus waned after a while, and she turned to the next part of her regimen. Kunaijutsu. A weapon and tool most Shinobi were expected to know at least the basics of.

Cries of effort and exertion echoed through the hall, as she went through basic patterns on a striking dummy. The basics of the basics - stabs, blocks, slashes,and parties. Alternating between forward and reverse grip. An orthodox Kumogakure style, though she did not yet have the badge of genin to prove her affiliation.

Her muscles burned in protest, but she kept her leaden limbs moving, before suddenly halting, trying to reenter that state of expanded awareness once more. If she was truly to become a sensor Shinobi, she needed to be able to tap into this awareness at all times, not just when she had the time to sit and meditate.

She was breathing heavily, a d she could feel sweat drip over her closed eyes. Her mind wandered, even as she tried to focus. It was likely time for a break, or at least to cool off for a while. Or-

Her mind, even wandering, had apparently managed to settle into that place where she was suffusing the environment with enough chakra to learn what was in it, without overpowering that still-insensitive awareness with noise. Mitsumi was suddenly aware that she was not alone, and she glanced behind her.

A young man, nor bearing any sign of the Kumogakure Shinobi that she could see was... consulting a book? Tired enough for curiosity to win out over determination, she took a few quiet steps forward, blunt kunai hanging from a finger. Bandaged too - a Shinobi from another country, nursing his wounds? Then why a training ground? By the time she could see that they were blueprints, she realized she was creeping up on the guy, though her fatigued footsteps and heavy breathing were likely far from unnoticed.

Mitsumi blinked, and tugged at her hair, ensuring the fringe obscured her damaged face.
"Sorry, but... what are those?" She asked, indicating the illustrations. Mitsumi hoped it wasn't too much of an intrusion. But the blueprints made no sense to her, and it would bother her if she didn't ask. "I-if you don't mind..."

[Muramasa Uemon]

lingering pains; reminders...

---

Eyes flicked across the pages in his book, filled with detailed sketches of swords, a map of some nation to the west, and oddly enough what looked to be drafts of various animal parts. Fangs, claws, eyes, tongues and the like.

Alone as he was, he had no reason to have his sensory capabilities active, so the only other person present was able to get closer than she maybe should have without him realizing. A passive range of one hundred meters along with her labored breathing and heavy footfalls clued him into her presence soon enough, however. Slowly, he turned...

Casting a wary glance over his shoulder at the girl's approach. "No hitai-ate." He thought as he watched her draw nearer, his face as unmoving as ever. "A kunai... is she an off-duty genin?" A guess, but a fair one considering her age. The wanderer held the girl's gaze as she gestured towards his book, making no effort to hide its contents while she asked her question. After a moment of contemplation he shook his head. "I don't mind..." Came his reply.

Per usual, his voice was quiet and maybe a tad glum, did not seem to be unwelcoming. "These are for work." He explained, placing his pencil in one of his pockets before turning another page. This one was full of katana, tachi, wakizashi, and tantos of varying measurements and designs. "I'm a craftsman by trade." It was technically true, and just that moment, he did not necessarily feel like explaining the creation of his killing machines to a stranger.

Silence ensued for a moment, then he turned his gaze from the page back towards the girl. The tugging at her hair did not go unnoticed, and even beneath her fringe he could spot some reddened flesh. "A burn?" Old, by the look.

By contrast the scar on his brow was mostly visible, only half-obstructed by his own dark locks. She seemed shy... but aside from that, he was a bit curious as to why she was here in the first place. "I see that you're shinobi."

A comment, followed by a nod towards the blunted knife in her hand. "...are you out here this late to train?"

---

[Itagaki Mitsumi]

Mitsumi could feel his eyes on her, and did her best to fight down the wave of discomfort that washed over her. It was easier these days than it was before, but she did not meet his gaze, instead electing to stare at the open book. Only stealing a few glances at his face and body.

He definitely seemed like more than a craftsman, judging by the scars and bandages. Those felt like the wounds of a fighter, but she was hardly in any place to judge. It wasn't like any of her scars were won in battle.

The designs definitely seemed like a craftsman - she knew little of the forging of weapons, and even less of swords, but the diagrams seemed detailed beyond that which a hobbyist would be capable of. A shinobi and blacksmith? Certainly strange, but not unheard of. But then... what village was he from? She saw no marker of loyalty, and she didn't recall seeing him around, though that didn't really mean anything.

Mitsumi flinched away as she could feel his eyes on the scar tissue peeking out from behind her hair. It wasn't much, not much more than a twitch, but noticeable to the perceptive.

She was asked a question, and her scattered attention snapped back.
"A-Ah, um... yes, and no." The faltering caused her to cringe internally. "I'm still just a student, and... well, I'm already behind, so I have to put in more training to keep up." She was old for a student. Maybe not so much by the reckoning of Kumogakure, but she had been absent from lessons for the better part of a decade. "Trying to get a handle on a technique, but, well... it's tricky." Maybe he'd understand, whether as a craftsman or a shinobi, if her own guess was correct.

That did cause a thought to occur, and she continued to tug at her hair as she cocked her head. "Strange place for a craftsman, though, isn't it?"

[Muramasa Uemon]

of tragedies past

---

As he stared, the girl's slight fidgeting due to his silent observation did not go unnoticed. Keen as he often was, his (usually) solitary travels left him rather unpracticed when it came to some of the finer points of proper etiquette.

Realizing that he was rather idly staring, he promptly averted his gaze so as not to be rude, even shifting the book held in his hands so that she could get a better look. Throughout, he could feel her nervous gaze upon him from time to time, but he made no mention of it. By now, it was clear to him that the girl was more than a bit bashful...

No reason to add to her nerves, if he could help it. "I see..." He replied to her explanation, his eyes shifting briefly to meet her sole visible one. Apparently she was a student, and due to some circumstance lagging behind in her advancement. Mention of a technique giving her trouble came next. "New skills can certainly be difficult."

In forging, in strategy, and in regards to jutsu most of all. Long gone were the days of having a shinobi mentor to assist with his own training, so more often than not he was his own tutor. A hard, and often irritating experience, but not impossible for those with the requisite determination. "And patience most of all..." The wanderer's own development had been a long, winding road. In many ways, he too was behind where he 'should' have been by now.

So in that respect the student had his sympathies. "Hm..." A moment of thought, his eyes flitting downward for a moment as he considered his options. Already he had played the role of substitute teacher in Kumogakure, and they were both here already... "Well..." He was sighing internally. "...what's one more distraction, in the end?" Lending a hand would not kill him, and currying a bit more favor with Kumogakure might prove useful to him in the long run.

That was what he told himself, at least... but perhaps he merely had a soft spot for misfits. "That it is." He said to her comment about his presence here. "I'd planned on doing a bit of training myself, actually." Away from prying eyes, or where those who watched Kumogakure were not concentrated. Here, at night, was one of those rare places. "What sort of technique are you working on?" The wanderer asked her. "I... may be able to help."

---

[Itagaki Mitsumi]

Mitsumi desperately wished she could stop fidgeting. She did like meeting new people, especially those who had no memory of the pathetic disaster which had reduced her to present state. But as her breathing slowed and steadied, she found her hands wandering. Tugging at her hair. Fidgeting with her sleeves. Shifting her jacket. There were worse ways to dispel nervous energy, she supposed.

The offer of help surprised her, and her visible eye widened. Her natural instinct was to flinch away and refused politely, but... no. She needed to do this. Needed to become genin. Better than genin. No time to look gift horses in the mouth.

"If you're sure... that would be appreciated." Some of the nervous energy was dispelled, and a determination flared up in her eyes. She was, apparently, serious about this.

She sat, seiza, in front of the wanderer. "I'm trying to..." She trailed off, unsure how much this craftsman knew about ninjutsu. "I've got a knack for controlling chakra. And I was taught that you could control the flow out of your body, and kind of feel the space around you." It was the best way she could explain her current and very imperfect understanding. At the moment, she was just trying to control the flow of chakra out of her body, and to have it relay back useful sensation. As it was... she felt like she was making progress, albeit slowly.

"As it is, it feels like I'm just... leaking. Does that make sense?" She knew that sensory shinobi weren't exactly common. It was a long shot, but maybe he knew something, or had heard something. Any trick or way to get her from just throwing stuff out into the aether, to be able to feel something in return.

[Muramasa Uemon]

an unplanned lesson

---

The wanderer said little, merely nodding as he placed his pencil into the pocket of his trousers, closed his journal, and looked on patiently for the student to explain. He listened intently, then... "You want to be a Sensor-nin."

A quiet, but assured statement, possibly revealing that he knew more than he let on. Sometimes, he made efforts to obscure his ninja training, but here in Kumogakure that fact had already been illuminated. First to a med-nin, then to the Raikage herself, then proven during a mission. Any further obfuscation was either out of habit or caution.

Fortunately for the student, this was an area he was well-versed in. "Yes..." He replied to her question with the smallest of nods. "That makes perfect sense." In his own view of things, he imagined the act of sensing chakra was much like sight, sound, smell, or touch; no two people experienced it the same way. Yet when he first began learning to use the ability he ran into a similar problem. "I imagine the process isn't the same for everyone, but I try to envision each person as a sort of... transmitter." He explained, his eyes drifting downward in thought.

Sensing, the concept itself, was quite abstract... so he did his best to relate it to something a bit more material to help. "Everyone possesses chakra, and all chakra emits a signal passively to some degree or another." The wanderer glanced up, to stare at the vacant training grounds. "It should be safe here... and Shosuke-san has already seen them, besides." Slowly, he set his journal aside on the log next to him, shifting slightly to reach for a holster concealed beneath his open jacket. He produced two small scrolls, set them down on the ground before him, and unfurled them. Two kanji, one '兎' and one '蛙' were drawn on the paper. A single Hitsuji seal was all it took for two small puffs of smoke to erupt then dissipate via the Kugutsu Kuchiyose no Jutsu. If she did not suspect his training before...

She would know for certain now. Once the smoke cleared, a small white rabbit and a round green frog stood atop the parchment. "The trouble arises when trying to receive those signals." He said, leaning down from his seat to click a button just above the frog's stomach. A screen there hissed to life. "Kneading your chakra to open yourself up to them is the first step." He continued on. "This... 'leaking' you describe is exactly that."

A slight pause followed as he stared at the each of the motionless puppets. "Without the proper attunement, you essentially end up like that." He gestured lazily at the frog's screen, all static. "A receiver with no input."

More silence to allow for his words to sink in, then he shifted his gaze towards the girl's face. "...do you follow?" It was not an easy thing to understand, and even harder to explain. And since he did not know how much she knew...

It was best to start at the beginning. No hint of ego in his voice, just the same dreary tone he normally spoke in.

---

[Itagaki Mitsumi]

Mitsumi sat and listened intently, no different from receiving a lecture at the Academy. If anything, she was more focused. This was more personal and specific, and she needed absolutely every edge she could get her hands on. Things to make her strong or useful. If she wasn't greedy and scrabbling for every handhold, she would fall back into the pit.

Mitsumi lightly shook her head, banishing intrusive thoughts as the stranger wrote characters, then engaged what she vaguely recognized as some form of fūinjutsu - a summoning technique? Her hands come up to her mouth in surprise. Not so much that the creatures, or puppets, had appeared, but rather their appearance. They were kind of...
"Cute..." Mitsumi breathed, barely audible. She shook her head again, firmer. Focus.

Mitsumi leaned in to get a better look at the indicated screen. She knew little of how puppets worked, but she understood the basics of radios, if nothing else.
"I think I follow. It's more like... hearing than touching." She said slowly, not wanting to make an incorrect inference. She realized that leaning in to examine the frog had brought her closer, and she sbruply retreated, sitting up stiffer, body language more guarded. Her hand smoothed out the hair by her neck, fighting the urge to scratch a pervasive itch.

"Maybe it's not that there's no signal... maybe it's that we tend to tune into our own frequency? So I've got to be more receptive. Take the cotton out of my ears." The metaphor and simile were starting to become very mixed, but she hoped it would ground the conversation. Chakra was usually such an internal experience, typically expressed outside the body through controlled jutsu, and through unconscious expression. Like breath misting in the cold. Or a heartbeat sending tiny ripples through water.

"So it's less trying to grab or touch your surroundings, and more... opening yourself to them." Mitsumi pursed her lips in thought, hands coming back to rest on her lap. "I get the theory. I think. Have, um... any advice for the practice, ah..." Mitsumi blinked, and realized she didn't know the man's name. A blush worked its way onto her face.

"O-oh! I'm Itagaki, b-by the way. Itagaki Mitsumi." Better late than never, she supposed.

[Muramasa Uemon]

sight beyond sight; a sixth sense

---

'Cute' caused him to spare another glance at his small animal puppets, one corner of his mouth perking slightly in thought. "Kota certainly thinks so." He mused to himself, remembering his young ward's words about the two of them.

If nothing else, at least a few of his creations were charming to some. As he listened to the girl work through the problem aloud, he nodded in acknowledgement. So far, it seemed as if she was on the right track. "Precisely." He said, rising from his seat to slowly walk behind the rabbit. "And once that cotton's gone..." He crouched down.

To press a button behind Tsuki's ear, the cameras in her eyes activating. "You'll be able to interpret those signals." On the frog's belly, the circular screen there was now receiving live footage directly from the transmitter puppet that included the student and her surroundings. "Like this." For a moment his dark eyes looked to the girl.

Searching her face for a sign of understanding before he stood and placed his hands in his pockets. It seemed like it was beginning to sink in, and he nodded again at her inferences. "I'm glad this making some sort of sense..." For a moment, he was beginning to worry that this was much too esoteric to put into words properly. Chakra was a strange, strange thing. "It doesn't help that I'm far from the world's best orator..." Tentative understanding he could be content with. Next she asked for advice, and he was about to respond when she interjected with an introduction.

Both of them had forgotten, it seems. "Muramasa Uemon." He replied quietly, considering his own manners before removing his left hand from his pocket to offer to her. "It's nice to meet you, Itagaki-san." There was no smile on his face— there never was, but there was a hint of sincerity in his voice. Mitsumi seemed like an endearing enough person, and he had no reason to lie just now. Besides that, her blushing was... "Cute." A lone thought...

Quickly evaporating due to the matter at hand. Whether she shook or not, he would return his hand to his pocket and resume their impromptu lesson. "When I was learning, it took me quite some time to properly open myself up to those signals." Uemon continued, eyes drifting downward as he recalled his time in Tsuchi no Kuni.

So much had happened since then... but he still remembered the process. "The best advice I can give is to close your eyes, and try to clear your mind." Something easier said than done, but for him, a necessary step in learning how to feel the chakra of those around himself. "Form a hand seal. Focus only on your flow of chakra..."

As he spoke, he did the same minus the seal. To him, it was almost second nature. "...once you can perceive your own without sight, we can move on." His voice was quieter now. "It'll take time so... don't get discouraged."

---

[Itagaki Mitsumi]

Mitsumi's eyes widened and wonder at the puppet, clearly fascinated. She had never seen anything like it before. She was aware that one of the guest lecturers used ninjutsu puppets, but she had both never seen her, nor her performance, and they sounded like fairly normal puppets. Not... whatever this was.

"I-it's a pleasure, Muramasa-san," An awkward and stuff mutual introduction, Mitsumi falling back on rusty manners. She wasn't used to introducing herself. Most of the time, people either knew who she was, or ignored her. And it wasn't like she had any cause to meet new people until very recently. Not that Uemon would know that.

Could know that. An effort to hide herself complicated by an offered hand. She stared at it, and reflexively flinched away. Mitsumi had made a lot of progress, but touch, intentional skin-on-skin contact? She would rather take a punch during sparring than shake the hand.

She dipped her head in a shallow bow, her eyes remaining downcast. Her hands remained clasped on her lap.

Fortunately, the lesson continued, even though his eyes still made her skin crawl and itch. What did Uemon see in her? A student worth teaching? Or someone to be pitied? She feared the latter, but latched onto the former. "Okay... close my eyes... form a sign..." Things she had done before, but she had a slightly different perspective. Instead of going out to feel and grab at her surroundings, she had to be still. It was like a one-way radio. Couldn't hear unless she stopped transmitting. Except she still needed to transmit. Just... in a more receptive way.

Her brow furrowed as her hand seal tightened, and she drew in a breath, then let it out. It was hard to focus when her mind was still processing what she had been told. And not being able to see Uemon, yet knowing he was there-

That was it, wasn't it? To know that someone was there. It was such a small but obvious thing. Training alone in the first place was a mistake.

She regulated and stilled her flow of Chakra as her breathing deepened. She tried to open her mind and slowly directed the flow of Chakra outside her body, to pick up resonance of others. Like looking for something underwater by watching how the ripples changed.

"U-um, Muramasa-san? Could you... move around, quietly? I think I know where you are, but..." She spoke, eyes still closed. The itch threatened to distract her, but her focus was present, if shaky. "B-but that could just be... well, memory."

[Muramasa Uemon]

surpassing the rest

---

A small bow rather than a hand shake— he was more than fine with that, though her small flinch caught his eye.

Thinking back on things, there were plenty of times when he did not even offer an alternative when he chose not to clasp hands with someone. "Perhaps she doesn't like physical contact." He thought. "It isn't exactly my favorite thing, either."

Instead, the young man simply nodded in acknowledgement as she replied in kind. Once introductions were done and the lesson underway, Uemon allowed the girl space to piece it all together. Soon enough a hand seal was formed, and even with his eyes closed he could feel the slight fluctuations in her chakra. "Hm..." His mind hummed.

Ripples, similar to how his own acted when he was actively searching out chakra. "I believe she's starting to get it." He thought, his legs slowly beginning to move. Uemon's footfalls were practiced and exceptionally quiet, his training made sure of that. By the time Mitsumi requested that he move he was several meters away. "I already am."

Breaking the silence intentionally both to test her focus and to throw her off. As he spoke, he shifted direction, skulking away in the opposite direction. "Visualize your chakra, then reach out." Another change in path, a few more meters back. "Focus only on my signature." To him, chakra signals appeared as something akin to pulsating pings in his mind. A greyscale impression populated by blue, luminescent silhouettes of varying intensity.

"If you do it correctly..." A thought, the wanderer doubling back one final, noiseless time. "...the world is suddenly awash in color." Now he stood behind her, hands still in his pockets, eyes still shut. A few feet away and silent as the grave. 

---

[Itagaki Mitsumi]

Stillness, quiet, and meditation were a double-edged sword. If she kept her focus, and grounded herself in her present self, or on a particular mental or spiritual task, it helped to still the mind. Progress and control. Something Mitsumi had experience with, despite her lack of progress or skill as a kunoichi.

But there was always the risk. That shutting out distractions would draw her mind into the abyss. That roiling, boiling hell of memory and loss. She pressed it down, shut it out. Ignored the itch that spidered across her skin. Maybe one day she'd be able to have her mind wander to those things without losing her ability to reason. But not now. She had too much to do. An image of strength to build.

She shifted her weight, and refocused, thoughts and physical sensation retreating to the periphery. Embers instead of a blaze. Manageable.

The uncertain and fluctuating flow of chakra decreased in magnitude as she began to reach out. Not to grasp or grab, but to receive. If she poured too much out, she basically just blinded herself.

It took time. Mitsumi spending minutes in focus, keeping her breathing steady as she cycled Chakra through her body, out of her body, then back again. Ripples across water, seeking for something beneath the surface without directly interfering with it. Then... it was faint, and fleeting. A spark of something in the stillness and darkness. Felt ripples bounce off of something lurking in the emptiness.

Eventually, eyes still closed and back to Uemon, she raised a scarred finger to point behind her, in the wanderer's direction.
"There." Her voice wasn't certain, but she opened her eyes, and uncertainty was burnt through by elation. She jumped up to her feet in excitement. "I actually did it!" It had been slow, and only worked because she knew what she was looking for. A skill far from mastered but she had finally managed to take that first step.

[Muramasa Uemon]

progress, slowly made

---

There were a few moments of silence, some of uncertainty as the student focused her mind and sought him out.

But to his surprise, it did not take the girl long to find his position, even while masking his presence as carefully as he was. "Hm." He hummed to himself internally, a bit impressed with her skill. "That you did." Uemon replied.

Of course Mitsumi would need more practice, but she was on the right track now. If her experience was anything like his own, her grasp on sensing would multiply from here. "Now, you're done with the most difficult part." A word of encouragement— or as much of one as he could manage anyway, as he slowly made his way around her.

Footsteps returning to a more normal, but still light weight as he walked over to his puppets and crouched down near them. "Keep practicing." Uemon formed another Hitsuji seal, and two more puffs of smoke later the small creations were sealed safely back away. "I'll be in Kumogakure for some time yet." He said as he rolled the scrolls up and secured them each with the twine threaded through their ends. "If you have any more trouble..."

The wanderer paused, sparing a glance at her over his shoulder. "...and if you're so inclined, seek me out." Once the scrolls were tightly rolled, he slipped them both back into his waist holster and stood up, concealing them beneath the hem of shirt once more. "I may be able to help further." Uemon turned, then walked near Mitsumi.

Only to retrieve his journal and spare her a final glance. "Otherwise... perhaps our paths will cross again in the future." He offered a small nod, then turned to leave. "Oh, and..." A pause. "Good... work, Itagaki-san."

It did not sound forced, but it was stilted. Like the tone of someone trying to correct a bad habit. "I need to be better about that..." He thought as he walked, thinking of a certain half-feral boy in his care. "...I dislike setting examples."

As he returned to the inn he was staying at, he thought of Mitsumi and her progress. "A talent to watch, that one."

---

[Itagaki Mitsumi]

Even though part of her brain whispered that the compliments were false, made only to soothe her clearly fragile spirit. But even so, she couldn't prevent the smile from spreading across her features. It was good - really good - to make progress. Especially in something that went beyond the mere basics she was learning in the Academy. It was orthodox, yes, and far from perfected, but it was something she could truly call her own.

She had yet to choose a path for herself. A small set of skills to truly specialize in, as it seemed Uemon specialized in the craft and use of puppets. But it felt like she had finally taken a step forward on her own path. That she could actually do this, as long as she worked hard, and never backed down. It wasn't like she had talent to fall back on, after all.

"If you wouldn't mind, then..." Mitsumi bowed at the waist, the polite gesture made a little bouncier than usual due to her excitement. "I may take you up on that, Muramasa-san." She straightened, the smile small but bright, her visible eye shining.

"Thank you." She blushed a bit at the parting compliment, her gaze finally sliding off the wanderer. "I-I hope your hand recovers soon." It was sincere. She knew better than most how hard recovery could be. How painstaking the days, waiting until their body recovered. Mitsumi wouldn't wish a sliver on that on anyone that didn't richly deserve it.