[Yuki Kazu]

As Kazu was semi-successful, the woman watched him, attentive to all his actions as he made the icicle. Once he finished, Lady Fifth began to speak. She complimented him, saying that this icicle was absolutely better than his previous one that was made mere moments ago. Kazu had allowed the crystal to develop itself more naturally, and as a result it was more deadly. 

She continued to teach the boy, showing another method Kazu could practice. She raised her hand to the air once again, gathering the moisture to create a snow flurry. It wasn't something Kazu even knew he could do in all honesty, maybe it was just something that was so simple that no one had bothered to teach him it? She told the boy to create a small snowstorm, and then compress it. Easy for the leader of his village to do, probably not so easy for Kazu.

He gave a sigh, but to most it would probably look like he was just breathing out. At this point, he was sweating. However, he wasn't quite at his limit, he'd always had a lot of chakra to use in general. He started by lowering both hands to his sides, his palms open. His eyes closed themselves, as if he was acting on pure instinct. He collected the moisture in the air, less condensed then normal since he wasn't used to this particular application of his bloodline. As his eyes fluttered open, he saw the small snowstorm he had made. How was he supposed to condense it though? His snowstorm grew increasingly out of control as he tried to gather his thoughts, it wouldn't be enough to hurt anyone. At least, Kazu didn't think so.

"How do I condense it Lady Fifth?" He tried speaking over his manmade snowstorm, hopefully her response would be heard.

[Yuki Shuka]

Yuki Shuka --- TAG Yuki Kazu NPC - WORDS - - -

T

hat was a decent display. It was clear he'd never done anything like that before. It made sense. A lot of a shinobi's learning happened at the academy and with their sensei. While family often taught shinobi skills as well, especially for those kekkai genkai and hijutsu clans, there was still bound to be a gap when you spent your entire work day alongside people who may not have the same skills as you.

Still, he was able to tap into his nature and develop a small storm as instructed. It was relatively light, though as he thought it became slightly less controlled.

"You've drawn the moisture out of the air and quickly changed how cold it is to create this storm. However, the moisture is still mostly in its calm arrangement. You want to take your chakra and lace it through the cold air you've formed, then draw it together. Like when you lace something up, but in multiple dimensions. A harsh storm is created by all the elements of a storm being together in a small area. You want to allow things to fall into place as they naturally would in such a situation. You're just forcing it to happen in the first place."

She again demonstrated the process in slower form. Create a regular storm. Slowly draw it closer together. As it became smaller, it became stronger.

ISHY of THQ & ADOXOGRAPHY

[Yuki Kazu]

Kazu listened to Lady Fifth words, he was successful in drawing out the moisture in the air. The issue was that the moisture was still in its calm state. He needed to lace his chakra throughout the cold air he had formed, and then draw his chakra together. It was something he'd done before with certain things, but not with chakra. Plus, as the woman had said, this was in multiple dimensions. Kazu was forcing it too much, he needed to let nature take control of the process. He watched as the woman demonstrated once again, at least his flurry wasn't as strong as Lady Fifths, he'd probably have difficulty seeing the demonstration if it was her full power. 

After watching the demonstration, Kazu took a deep breath, closing his eyes shut again. He tried to visualize his chakra being laced through the flurry of snow he'd created. He continued as the Fifth Lady had instructed, trying to condense it by bringing his chakra together, despite it being so spread out. As he opened his eyes once again, he saw the mini blizzard in his hands. Cold air swiftly moving in it. It was like he had made a snow globe, except without the glass. Now, what was he supposed to do with it? "I did it I think, what now?" Looking over at Lady Fifth, he realized his mini storm was a bit bigger than hers, he didn't condense it as much as she had apparently. What was to do with his creation now though? He waited for her to either demonstrate what to do or explain. He was starting to sweat though, how much longer did Lady Fifth plan to train him?

[Yuki Shuka]

Yuki Shuka --- TAG Yuki Kazu NPC - WORDS - - -

T

he cloud was drawn together, at least slightly well. Less compact than her own, but again, she had much more advanced chakra control and decades of experience under her belt. Kazu was a quarter of her age - by the time he made it to be as old as her, his skill level would certainly be impressive. However, she could tell that this level of training was beginning to exhaust him. His stamina for this sort of chakra manipulation was likely also much lower than a shinobi of her experience level. She would have to give him a break.

"What you should do with it now is release it before you pass out," she joked mildly. "If I am exhausting you, you are free to let me know. Pushing past our limits is sometimes necessary, but exhausting your chakra can be harmful if you're not careful." She would release her own storm, letting it pitter out into nothing.

"What you should do with it in the future, though, is attempt to practice with it frequently. Perhaps every time you're training, or when you wake each morning. Push yourself to condense it more. The best thing I can recommend for strengthening Hyoton is truly becoming familiar with it. Use it all the time when you're not on a mission where you must conserve your energy."

ISHY of THQ & ADOXOGRAPHY

[Yuki Kazu]

While Kazu was exhausted, the woman training him did not seem to be any more tired than when they had started. Just how much chakra did she have? As she answered his question, it was obvious she could tell Kazu was getting winded. Still, Kazu wanted to make the most of her training, she was the leader of their village after all. Kazu released his own storm, watching it flutter out of existence. Lady Fifth then recommended adapting his regular training to include some of these techniques, it would improve with time. Kazu was all for cutting out some of the other training he did, as rare as that was, to make time for this.



He looked at the woman once again, "Yea, if you can tell I'm tired than it's probably best that I rest. I'll be sure to include these techniques when I practice from now on. I appreciate the lesson Lady Fifth, really didn't expect you to know so much about Hyōton." He'd made the connection that the two were related in some way, as all clans were. He decided not to say anything though, he'd rather go home and have a good rest. For once, he might have earned it. If she had nothing more for him, Kazu would simply head home, his bed was calling his name.

[Yuki Shuka]

Yuki Shuka --- TAG Yuki Kazu NPC - WORDS - - -

Y

ouths really did live in their own little world, didn't they? He was unaware that she was also a Yuki. Perhaps that was because of the fact that their name and village shared a name, though. Perhaps the title Yuki Lady, Yuki Shuka could be a bit confusing to someone not in the know. Still, amusing.

"I am glad to help. As others in your reported file said, I think you have a lot of potential." He just needed to find a way to inspire himself to tap into it. There were many sources of such inspiration in the world. Hopefully going to the exams now would help him to find one and begin working upwards in his career. Otherwise he would end up as a career genin. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing - there were some experienced shinobi who preferred to stay in that position for their entire lives.

"If you would like to train further after the exams, let me know. I will be there to watch you in the final round." Hopefully he would make it that long. Many shinobi often dropped out in the early rounds, though. There was a good chance he wouldn't make it to the third round. Still, hopefully knowing that she was rooting for him would be some measure of encouragement?

"You're dismissed," she informed him. He was free to go. She would return to her office to resume her usual work - plenty of papers to get done before shinobi could be allowed to travel across the seas to Mizu no Kuni.

ISHY of THQ & ADOXOGRAPHY

[Yuki Kazu]

The woman said she was happy to help him, and just like the other individuals in his file had said, he had potential. The main thing he needed now was just some lasting motivation. Still, a compliment from the Fifth Lady was something he wasn't expecting. "Thank you, Lady Fifth. I personally don't think I'm anything special, but I appreciate the compliment." Well, that wasn't entirely true. He was special, just not in the best way. While most people could be motivated by the simplest things, Kazu couldn't be motivated from stuff that would heavily motivate most people. 

As he heard the leader of her village speak her next words, he didn't know how to feel. He had no idea she'd be there. Should he be happy that she would be there to support him? Should he be nervous about disappointing her? Should he hope that he put on a good show? His statement was a bit of a mixture of all three answers, "I'm glad I'll have the support of you, at least in the final round. In a sense, it'll feel like the whole village is supporting me. I hope it's entertaining to watch and that I don't disappoint you." Then again, his sensei had already explained that making it to the final round was very difficult. Would she be sad if she didn't see Kazu in it? Still though, knowing that Lady Fifth was somewhat rooting for him was encouraging, maybe he did have enough skill to make the cut. Once the conversation was done, he was dismissed, allowed to go have his rest.