[nara iniko]

A haze of gray had lingered across the sky for the second day now. Rain had been sporadic sprinkling from time to time but otherwise remaining little more than a drifting mist.

It did not bother Iniko. Rain or shine she was pleased to get away from home and get some practice in. Besides, she had a tutor today. Senju Kazuto had been the one to help her unlock the secrets of one handed seals, and he had agreed to teach her more. She had a simple request.. "That one that lets you walk on walls”, she’d called it, but Kazuto knew quick enough which jutsu that was.

So they were to meet at the training grounds in the morning to get started with the lessons.

Iniko was running just a little late today. Rather used to waking up with the sun, days without sun tended to at least throw off her internal clock. She’d bypassed her normal antics, the extra time required in traveling via her hands, or somersaults, or cartwheels or any of her normal modes of conveyance would just slow her down

Instead the girl sprints, practicing rapier in hand and cream colored cloak billowing out behind her. She races her way from the Nara compound and quickly through the village. She didn’t want to be late, but by the time she is scampering up to the training ground she is. Some ten or fifteen minutes perhaps.

Her eyes scan her surroundings as she runs, searching for her teacher and hoping she wasn’t -too- late.

[Senju Kazuto]

Kazuto woke up early as he always did. Eyes getting accustomed to the low light of the early hours of the morning. With a groan the Senju sat on his bed, smiling slightly at the sleeping form of his wife he slipped away from the covers and readied himself into somewhat comfortable attire. With the same care he left the house and made his way to the training field, using the opportunity to make some calisthenics of his own. Rather enjoying the cold weather of the morning as he began with a jog and ended up with a run, taking some joy in the burn of his muscles as exertion began to take made itself known. Finally reaching the training yard, the Senju would stop, taking a deep breath before looking around to find the young Nara. Iniko had been eager in asking him and despite many setbacks in his own personal experience as a teacher, Kazuto liked to provide guidance of others. In a way he was also passing down the will of fire, or at least the values that he identified the will of fire to be. It was a reassuring thought. As he waited and looked around he shrugged and decided to do some training of his own. Slowly, he began to weave hand sings, stringing complicated seals with one hand, beginning with sequences that he had memorized for more simple techniques and then incrementing their complexity in a gradual manner until it seemed that he he was weaving a new sign the moment he was seemingly ending the other. A wince shrouded his features as a sharp surge of pain flashed from his knuckles to his wrist. "I guess that is my limit for now." The Senju muttered as he rubbed the back of his hand in circular motions, until the discomfort faded away. "Oh well."

-tag- nara iniko -words- 320 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[nara iniko]

It was a little odd to be the one running late, it was a rarity for her. Typically she’d be the one practicing while she waited.

"Kazuto Sensei!”, she calls out from a bit of a distance as she jogs ever closer to the training grounds. She lifts her arm to wave cheerfully as she approaches, only skidding to a stop when she finally arrives. For her jog over she’s hardly even short of breath. Instead, late or not, she’s all smiles and cheer.

"Good morning”, she says, and tips her head and shoulders in a little bow to him. She spends a couple moments smoothing her cloak as she speaks, her cheeks brightening ever so slightly as she speaks an easy excuse. She also scratches her head a little, stealing an excuse to straighten stray strands of dull red. "Sorry I’m late, I kinda overslept a little. I hope you weren’t waiting a long time.”

Apology completed her smile lightens some. She wasn’t running on much sleep but it wouldn’t bother her. The previous night she had been wracked by her own eternal energy, just bubbling with anticipation and impatience. Laying in bed her mind just raced, and sleep only came shortly before sunrise. Just a few hours previous.

"You’re gonna teach me how to walk on walls, right? I’ve tried it a lot and never managed to do it. You know, I’ve tried this one a lot, and never managed to really get anywhere. Last time I was trying it with one of my cousins, Shun, and I kept sliding down this big round rock. Feel like I got close then, but everyone else makes it look easy.”

[Senju Kazuto]

"No worries." The Senju would raise a hand at her apology, granting the girl a smile to match her own. As she would speak to him, asking her the meaning of the lesson, he could see some anticipation mixed in with frustration in the girl. He could see that in her body language as she had energy barely contained, her could even swear that the child was almost about to jump, giddy with the prospect of mastering a new skill. He could see a reflection of his younger self in that desire to that she had. "Well, the technique works in just more than trees." He explained. "It will serve you well in static surfaces. In something like water or really wet mud, you will need to adjust..." He said before looking at Iniko, stopping himself before continuing. "But, lets not get ahead of ourselves." The Senju told her before he would take a step away from his student, finding a tree that was sixteen feet tall from the roots to the first set of branches. Kazuto closed his eyes and molded his chakra, finding the purpose weaving a sign for this generalist skill strange after having used it many times in battle. Slowly, Kazuto began to walk to the tree, planting a foot on the trunk and then another as if the tree itself was laid on the floor. He did so, his motion being awkward at first until he gave short steps, reaching one of the thicker branches. He'd look upon the girl, crossing his arms before his chest. "Now, look at where I stepped, see that I didn't do any damage to the bark. The trick of the technique is using enough chakra to adhere yourself to the tree. Too little and you will fall down, too much and you will break the bark and the tree will repel you." He added before jumping down and lading next to her on his feet, knees bending slightly to absorb the impact. "Give it a try." The Senju said in a calm tone.

-tag- nara iniko -words- --- -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[nara iniko]

Give it a try, he says.. Oh brother.

She lifts her right hand, fingers pressing through red threads as she scratches the side of her head a little. She watched him, sure, but nothing he did was different than others. They just made it look so easy. Still, she had no qualms about bumping her head a few times. Such was her lot in life.

Practice sword still clutched gently in her left hand, she approaches the tree. Nice and tall, but that wouldn’t be needed. She had a great deal of confidence, but not in walking up this tree. She gathers up some of her chakra, just a tiny bit by her assessment of things, and presses a foot against the tree.

She’d have little time to damage the bark, as she lifted her right foot she would just topple over. Stupid tree…

She lands on her back with little grace, but isn’t down for long. She doesn’t right herself through standard means, instead she rolls back easily onto her shoulders, then shoves an arm below herself. She kicks easily up into a handstand, then sets her feet beneath her and rises.

She doesn’t really say anything at first. Instead she just stares daggers at the tree, like she could will it somehow lower and easier to climb. Then her eyes drift over to Kazuto.

"Nailed it.” she says with a nod. She smiles slightly, though manages a deadpan expression decently well. "Lunch now?”

[Senju Kazuto]

"No." Kazuto replied, mimicking her deadpan tone and expression. "You've barely made one attempt." He added. The attempt had been pitiful, he had expected that. Had she managed to climb the tree in a single go it would've made for an extraordinary moment in the early career of a shinobi in training. This step alone was just the first into a larger world. Slowly he walked towards the tree and looked at the mark her feet made upon the bark. Slowly he would pluck his kunai from his holster and slashed just above it to mark it as the highest point the girl she had reached. "Also, its not even noon yet." The Senju told her as he turned to meet her gaze. "We won't stop until you reach half way on the bark." He said casually, sliding his kunai back into the holster and moving away to give her space. He observed the girl, her mannerisms, even the way of her gait. It reminded her of someone he had met before but he couldn't simply remember who. "Well then, go on. And try to land on your feet." He told her with a quiet chuckle. Kazuto would of course try to catch her if she fell, the girl was under his care. In the meantime he would look down to his hands and released a long breath, and slowly began to weave single handed hand signs. Increasing the speed as the sequence became increasingly more and more complicated before the ended. He would continue to the next and to the next. Stopping himself with the miss fire of signs and restarting once more. There was a look of satisfaction in his face, even with the mistakes, as if the exercise had been bearing the fruits of labor. Quietly he would stop the drill, and rub his hands before returning once more to it.

-tag- nara iniko -words- 324 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[nara iniko]

She grins all the brighter when she’s corrected on her accomplishments, but she doesn’t correct herself.

The very idea of sticking to a tree just made no sense to her, chakra or not.

"It doesn’t make sense to me”, she notes as she eyes the large tree, towering well above her. "Chakra or not. Doesn’t make sense. How’s chakra supposed to keep you stuck to something, when it’s all about power and force and making things or destroying them. When I try to put chakra in my feet it’s like I’m lifting off. Running faster, jumping, but not sticking.”

She squares up with the tree as she’s speaking, and positions her feet just so. It wasn’t a surprise when she leaned in after speaking, and took off running towards the tree. She leaps, high, and plants a foot on the tree. She pushes, managing to get some more height from her effort. Both feet then dig into the tree. Sword still in her left hand, she tries for some purchase on the bark with her right. It is to no avail, of course.

Before gravity can fully take the girl again, however, she kicks her feet into the wood and launches herself well away from the tree. She does a little back flip in the air, then lands again on her feet.

"Hmm..” She manages, pondering for a moment something completely unrelated to the jutsu at hand. She wanted to try that again, but it’d have to wait. The tree was definitely worse off for her efforts, missing bark and scarred wood showing where a great deal of force was channeled through her feet. Far, far too much chakra to ever come close to sticking.

[Senju Kazuto]

"Chakra can be more subtle than that." The Senju would reply. He could understand why she thought it like that. After all a girl like her would've grown with tales of heroics, of chakra turning into a force of nature. Chakra could be those things but its applications where bound to the imagination of the wielder of the chakra. "You think of it in two-dimensional terms." He added, moving next to the young Nara after she attempted once more the exercise. The three now bore a new scar. He took a deep breath, rubbing his temples as he tried to come up with an explanation. "Have you seen magnets? The same magnetic poles repel each other." He said, pointing to the tree. "You need to find that point in which your chakra adheres into the surface of the bark without repelling it. Just like how a magnet of different polarity would work." He hoped that such words would work. They had with him but everyone was different. With that done he would retire back and carry on his training. He made fists out of both hands, releasing the tension that had been accumulated. He felt that he was close to a breakthrough. But that remained ever illusive, pain always crept in when he had felt close to increasing his speed. Quietly he resumed the exercise. Pain flashed slowly but he managed to ignore it. Sequences began, chakra flared within him as he gave it form. Vegetation grew around him, snaking its away on the training grown, petals grew and changes rapidly mirroring the speed of his fingers again and again. The trees began bushes, then turned once more into trees but before the sequence could be completed the finger slipped and it all faded as fast as it had begun. "Damn."

-tag- nara iniko -words- 311 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[nara iniko]

Like magnets? But how do those work!?

She stares at Kazuto as he explains things, no doubt simpler in his mind. Simpler in her imagination too, but that was far from reality. As the Senju returns to his own practice she eyes the tree again. It was still tall, still made of wood, and still hard to climb without hands.

"I'll try.." She mutters, though she doesn't sound very confident.

She takes a few steps back and then once more dashes at the tree, leaping at the last second to gain some height. She plants her feet against the bark again and rushes chakra down into them, a great surge surrounding her feet and pouring from her soles. Everything felt the same to her as it did last time, and just like the time previous she started to slide down the tree.

As she does she kicks off it again, and with another little backflip she lands easily on her feet. She wastes little time, her practice sword still in its scabbard in her left hand. She rushes the tree, leaps and plants her feet. More chakra, more chakra! Bark crushes beneath the soft soles of her shoes, and she tries to get higher. Another push, another jump, but she wasn’t sticking. Threatening to slide towards the ground again, she pushes off the tree.

As she does she flips, and twists, right hand seizing the handle of her sword. Her fingers slip easily beneath the swept hilt and around the protected crossguard. In a flash the sword is out, though her swing is too late and she misses cutting the tree.

Still, once more she lands on her feet, and now with both hands full she rushes the tree again, and repeats the process. She lands, exerts more and more of her chakra, but succeeds only in injuring the tree, and then backflipping back to the ground. At least she was well practiced in that. She is relentless. Also, the advice she was getting wasn’t the most helpful, at least not for someone with no real experience in this stuff. Not wanting to ask for more, she makes due and keeps assaulting the tree with her feet.

Time and again she races up the tree, and each time she makes it about as high before she slashes the tree with her blunt sword and then backflips to safety. While she didn’t seem to be making any progress in her tree climbing, she was getting better at her cut and back flip each time. Her mind wanders away from the real task at hand and suddenly she was wishing she had some shuriken to throw.

Surely she could stick the tree with a few of those while she was flipping. Lacking any supervision Iniko’s daydreaming begins to take over and soon she is spending significantly more time assaulting the tree with her sword than she does trying to climb it.

[Senju Kazuto]

By the time that he had found his sequence to be satisfactory, the Senju nodded and concluded his own exercise. Pain had turned into discomfort and while he knew that there were many things that he required tuning before he would be able to use the speed in battle. He would have time for that later once he found a suitable sparring partner that would force him to adapt and have his abilities become more and more suitable for battle. As he finished and crackled his knuckles he would return to see his charge, his eyes looking at the shape of the young Nara as he saw the blade being marked on the bark many more times than it should have. Less than the milestone of some achievement and more like frustration on her part. "Having fun, aren't we?" He asked, trying to get her attention and noticing that his previous focus had not worked, in fact it had backfired and he could only hope that she would have not regressed. It seemed that Iniko was the sort of student that needed to be guided more actively than any other pupil he had ever taught. Kazuto took a deep breath as he would kneel place his hand on her shoulder. "Ok. It seemed that didn't work." He told her and smile at the girl. "Iniko, why don't you tell me, do you think on anything when you try to climb the tree?" He asked, deciding that he should do a more focused question now that he had the chance. A brief apologetic smile appeared on his features. "Do you picture your chakra? Do you try to guide it? Control it before you move to step upon the tree?" He asked, being honestly curious of her thought process on this.

-tag- nara iniko -words- 309 -notes- --- -music- ---

MADE BY VEL OF GS