[Fuji Naoko]

It was a dark and stormy day. The sky had been cloudy all day making the village even more mysterious than usual and rain had been pouring for hours. Almost anyone would be miserable in this weather. Almost...

”It’s such a nice sound~” Naoko hummed out loud as she took off her now very wet overcoat. Classes were done for the day and she had arrived at an indoor training hall used mainly for physical combat and weapon training. Some ninjutsu was best trained outside and, since that was one of the most interesting subjects, this training hall was never full. On this day it looked like Naoko was the only person there – or at least she couldn’t see anyone else in the spacious gym.

There were racks of fake wooden blades, poles, wooden projectiles, etc. Further down there were also storage lockers with real weapons but they were for use only with a supervisor.

The girl often wondered what it would be like to carry around her own sword one day. She carried a wooden one for training and she had trained with real blades while living with her aunt but did not have a sword of her own. Her late father owned a katana that must have been in storage somewhere. She thought that maybe one day she could use that one, if she could find it.

The raven-haired child hung her coat on a rack near the entrance and took her shoes off before entering deeper into the wooden room. The floors were polished so it was a little slippery at first. She moved her foot over the floor boards a few times to test how much it would slide and then took a run forward and slid to the middle of the gym while giggling.

Afterwards, the girl went to sit down near and area with padded flooring. She hummed a little and waited with her wooden katana at her side. Her head rocked side to side and her bangs covered her eyes – they had gotten longer again and needed to be cut – which is why some referred to her as a ghost at the academy.

”I keep waiting~
Oooh, I keep waiting~
Toru-sama keeps me waiting~
Ooh~
But that’s ok because
Toru-sama is the beeest~” she made up a song while she waited for her teacher to arrive. It sounded in tune and quite bluesy.

---

Kaguya Toru

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Fuji Naoko

Toru had never had a proper student, the kind where he had a schedule to arrive to and teach. There were a few students nowadays that were like him, but less and less the children remembered the Civil War. Less and less, and while some were still affected, the youngest had no idea. They were coming of age when the nation was thriving and they had only been so very young when the nation was not doing well. It was nice to see how the newest clan was coming in, brighter and more excited. They were not going into the academy out of some sense of extreme necessity like Toru had.

Naoko, she was a little different. She had been a cast away orphan not unlike Toru and had taken a liking to kenjutsu not unlike Toru... And of course she was discarded by the children in the academy, not unlike Toru had been when he was still training - illiterate and malnourished. Perhaps she had a slight step up, but nobody went hungry anymore because of Toru's initiatives to improve the village and nation. No one was illiterate, some form of education was mandatory - even if it was not in the academy.

Toru was, uncharacteristically, running late to their meeting. Ironically he had been caught up in another meeting regarding the soup kitchens in the village and the expansion that was happening to a few other more remote villages in Mizu no Kuni. So here he was, moving quickly through the administrative building towards the academy where he had agreed to meet Naoko - an indoor training yard.

It was raining, and not a little bit, a lot. Which meant that by the time the Mizukage had arrived to the semi-underground training arena he was soaked. His dark green yukata was almost black with rain water, and his hair was dripping, sticking to his face and not quite as curly and poking out in different directions as it often was.

"Apologies," He grumbled, running fingers through his hair to brush some of the water up and out, which meant that his hair was now sitting slicked back. Toru removed his sandals and stepped out onto the wooden floor.

"Did you warm up?" It was a voice void of friendliness, mostly just expectant of the girl. If he was going to be her teacher, he expected that she would arrive prepared.

OWL

[Fuji Naoko]

It took a few more minutes and Naoko had sat down in a forward fold to stretch again. Their last class of the day had been physical training so the girl had warmed up already.

”Welcome.” she said after hearing the door open. The girl stood up and walked towards the entrance to see a drenched Mizukage walk in. Nervous that her teacher might be uncomfortable because of the water, the child looked around to find anything that might aid but could see nothing that would fit the purpose and so she stayed where she was, her eyes looking at her hands and she’d fidget with her fingers.

”Y-yes.” Naoko replied and only then realised she didn’t bow earlier so she decided that was the time to do it. ”Thank you for teaching me today.” she spoke but it was a really soft mumble under her breath and bangs while bowing and barely audible even to herself...

The girl peered up at the teenager through her bangs. His hair was now different. She didn’t remember if she had ever seen Toru’s forehead. *Ooooh, so that’s what it looks like... like a regular forehead* she thought while staring at it and wondering how she might have protected him from the rain if she had been outside with him. Given him her raincoat perhaps? Her hair wouldn’t look that different if wet.

The girl lifted a hand and drew it threw her bangs to mimic a slicked back look. *So this is what being Toru-sama feels like...*

They should start training at some point... the girl would remain attentive and wait for her sensei to tell her what to do.

---

Kaguya Toru

[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Fuji Naoko

Toru stood quietly at the threshold of the wooden floor, noticing that there were a few drops of water. Not unlikely that some students had arrived wet to practice earlier on after a brief recess in the school courtyard - some students chose to train in those moments, while others rushed home to pick up a lunch from their guardians if they so chose. Most hung out with friends and took rest.

It was good to hear that the girl had warmed up at the very least, it meant that they were one step ahead. The girl seemed to be caught up in thought, but she did eventually bow to him, also a good sign. Though Toru was more used to bowing nowadays, he often forgot that people were supposed to do so... Until they performed the bow, and it reminded him of his station. It was a strange thing to this very day.

The Mizukage took steps further into the training area going to some of the racks, he looked them over briefly before he picked a basic bokken. It was a bit worn from every day use, but it would do the job. This bokken he would hand to Naoko before he picked up another for himself.

"We shall work on the basic Kiri Oroshi strike today." The academy went over such kenjutsu kata's but Toru believed in a perfect foundation when it came to kenjutsu. Even at his own level he trained the basics every day without any bit of flare. The basics were more important than almost anything else - and he knew that it bothered academy students and genin. He had seen and heard it all first hand. They wanted to move on to more exciting techniques, something that was less 'boring' and 'irritating'. But Toru knew that they would never achieve their very best as swordsman without these basics.

So the basics it would be.

Kiri Oroshi was a basic strike down from overhead with several levels - one to the head, one to the mid-section, one to the legs with the wrists tilting down significantly, and the final version in which the swordsman squatted well below their own knees. The right leg always started back and stepped forward with the strike in unison.

"Watch."

Cutting straight to the chase the Mizukage took up his position and performed each one of the strikes, clean and precise.

Then he would return to a neutral stance and look at Naoko.

"Perform the first one now."

He would demonstrate the first kiri oroshi then, the head strike from overhead before giving Naoko space to copy.

SPOILER: Click to show

Example here

OWL

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  the way of the sword -  -  -

---

There were many moments when Naoko would just be lost in thought and imagine herself in a different reality. It was a pleasant escape for her and she’d happily stay in her thoughts if she could. Home was now a small apartment provided by the government where she resided alone after losing her aunt. Her parents died when she was a child and her clan relatives had certain requirements for family that Naoko did not fit. The child spent a lot of time on her own so, living in her imagination was preferred and she’d feel less lonely that way.

However, escapism being her favourite pastime, she really liked learning. Studying with Toru was especially exciting because of how much she admired the young man. He might have been one of the rare people (all academy tutors were like that, too) that Naoko actually paid attention to fully. The girl silently observed what was required from her, taking into account the amount of steps, where the weight pooled and grip.

Handling tools and different weapons came naturally to her so she needed no real prompting to demonstrate what she had learned. The girl walked forward with her given weapon and took a stance with her feet shoulder-with before lifting the weapon above her head with both hands. She took a slow breath as she did and performed the action with a short quick breath. Her core tightened as she performed the head strike and her weight carried through the blade to the imaginary target in front of her.

She turned her head towards Toru and shiny amber eyes searched for any feedback before she would carry on to repeat the movement.

”My hair doesn’t move the same way... I’m sorry” she mumbled under her breath barely audible.

---

TAG : Kaguya Toru || WORDS : 000 || NOTES : 3/6

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[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Fuji Naoko

Toru stood aside and watched Naoko perform the technique, it was something she had likely seen in her classes. But it was always a little different with one-on-one sessions, there were more imperfections to notice. As Toru looked on, he realized that he was in the position of his mother when had had caught her eye once upon a time ago in the academy. A scrawny borderline homeless orphan that she had taught well and hard. Now she was gone, and he had no one to turn to... Many people were gone from Toru's life that had once been there.

He hoped his constant presence would keep others around, including Naoko. That she would not lay adrift because of what lacked in her life, but rather what she gained as she marched in Kirigakure's foggy forest of misfits.

The girl made a comment about her hair and Toru let his brow rise slightly in questioning.

"Your hair has nothing to do with your skill with a sword." The teenager remarked and then spun his bokken around. He started to tap at Naoko's legs, getting them to spread. A stance slightly wider than her initial one. Then the bokken poked and tapped at her arms, getting her to swing up, Toru placed the bokken beneath her elbows to keep her still.

"Stay here..."

It would seem like nothing at first, but Toru would keep Naoko in this mid-action position for a while, with the intention to cause her body to not only remember this position permanently, but also to put her muscles under real strain.

OWL

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  the way of the sword -  -  -

---

”My hair has nothing to do with…” she repeated. A thought of why that was so occupied her mind for a second as she tilted her head and then nodded. So, when she thought she had to do exactly like Toru did, it just meant a part of him and not all of him. That also made sense. In her own way, the girl had understood the task in a very literal way and now explored how it might, in fact, work for her body.

”Kya!” she yelped as she’d get tapped on the leg. Not that she didn’t expect having her posture changed, she did, but she didn’t expect to actually make contact and hopped with her feet a bit more apart. Instantly, colour started rushing to her cheeks and she lowered her gaze a little to hide her eyes again. It was embarrassing - Naoko wanted to be super cool somehow but now she had yelped… and not just yelped normally but with a ”kya”. No one would think the teenager was formidable anymore. Not that they did before, but that was besides the point.

As instructed, the now tomato coloured girl lifted her arms and stayed still. Within moments her arms would start to feel heavier and she’d feel her core tense more to maintain her posture. It would be really easy to succumb to folding like a piece of fabric but Naoko believed it was just her mind that was the obstacle. Having something to focus on besides her embarrassment from just a moment ago, the girl slowly returned back to her regular facial colour and pursed her lips in effort. Some while later her arms and core would start to feel heavy and she would feel imaginary weight on the back of her head… at one point there was a light tremor in one arm but it stopped just a second or two later. It looked like she would stay there until the cows came home or she would collapse if need be. Apparently, the girl was perfect at taking orders.

---

TAG : Kaguya Toru || WORDS : 000 || NOTES : 4/6

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[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Fuji Naoko

Toru got Naoko into position and then lowered his bokken and himself next to the girl. His legs tucked underneath him as he knelt down and sat quietly. Toru did not watch Naoko, he trusted that she would do her best to keep in this position after he had instructed her to stay. In the meantime, he would take a moment to simply relax and meditate for himself. He hoped his presence would be enough for Naoko to remind herself to keep pushing past the physical limits that she was likely experiencing.

After all, holding a bokken over one's head was not exactly an easy endeavor even for the most trained individual. Everyone had a physical limit. But that was the way of kenjutsu, the way of shinobi, and more so the way of Kirigakure no Sato. To continue on, beyond one's body. When the body was screaming to stop, the shinobi shrouded in mist got up again to fight once more like a demon unable to be stopped.

Toru was going to teach not only form to Naoko today, but the idea of never letting oneself remain down when kicked to the ground. He hoped it would resonate with her as he continued to fall further into his mind, swimming gently through dark water's where he knew Isobu roamed.

OWL

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  the way of the sword -  -  -

---

Time seemed to go slower and Naoko’s body was feeling stiff and heavy. The sensation of unforgiving tiredness started from the tips of her toes and fingers, and coiled through her limbs like a quiver of snakes. At the same time her torso felt bulky and immovable like a rock. Only a few minutes had passed but at around minute four her fingers and wrists went numb.

The girl was shaking because her knees were slightly bent the entire time and her legs were cramping as well. Her thoughts were quickly changing as well and staying just like that became a mental battle more than anything else. Even while shaking, her will discipline was strong.

Ten more minutes passed and the bokken slipped out of her hands and down to the floor behind her. The hilt tapped the back of her head and ‘ow’ could be heard. She straightened up and started bouncing on the balls of her feet to regain feeling in her legs. The girl also shook her arms out as she did. Her hair moved a lot with the movement so she would swap between seeing everything and not that much as her bangs moved.

”I’m sorry.” she said and moved to pick up her weapon again.

”Umm, Toru-sama, I brought you something. Can I give it to you?”

---

TAG : Kaguya Toru || WORDS : 000 || NOTES : 5/6

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[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Fuji Naoko

The young Mizukage had fallen into a deep trance of meditation, it did not occur to him that Naoko would be struggling in front of him. Well, it did occur to him, but it did not occur to him that it would happen in about ten minutes or so. When there was a slight clatter of wood against wood, his eyelashes fluttered open to see Naoko standing there awkwardly, clearly having been shaken by the otherwise mundane activity.

She apologized and moved to pick up the weapon.

"You may." Toru responded, not standing up immediately. If the girl was going to give him a gift he had no reason to stand yet to show her another technique to work on.

Sitting there though Toru contemplated what it was that he needed to shift with Naoko. Her arms and body were clearly not strong enough, he had once not been very strong as well, his was a lack of nutrition. This was a remedied situation in the academy anymore, so it should not be nutrition. He would need to prescribe to her full body workouts to strengthen her stance and form. She could not stand with her arms overhead for ten minutes, a battle for over ten minutes was well out of reach... And what of the survival that she would have to play out when she tried to graduate?

Toru hoped to teach the girl enough foundational basics to inevitably be able to simulate a kenjutsu battle with her. But she wasn't ready, not yet.

OWL

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  the way of the sword -  -  -

---

”Ok! I’ll go get it!” Naoko announced and bolted off over the lacquered floor only to slide the last couple of metres in her socks to reach the entrance of the hall where her coat hung.

The girl reached into the pocket of her raincoat and retrieved a fabric sachet tied shut with a purple bow. The girl skipped back and repeatedly slid the last couple metres before she’d stop in front of Toru with a wide grin. Naoko sat down in front of her mentor and politely lowered her head while extending the package. ”I made cookies.” she explained and waited for him to take it from her.

Now that the girl had lived alone for a while, there was a lot to learn how to do by herself. While her aunt had taught her a couple things, baking and cooking in general ware not among those things. So, Naoko would learn on her own. It took some trial and error but she had mastered the art of the cookie and now thought they were good enough to share with others.

”They’re filled with jam.” she explained after and looked up at Toru intently. No words were said but she expected him to try one. He absolutely had to. Even through the bangs, the teenager would feel an intense, unyielding stare. She had to know if she did well. The treats themselves looked simple enough. Round cookies coated in fine sugar with a hint of vanilla and were filled with dark red mixed berry jam to relieve the sweetness with some zest. She had learned how to make jam too.

Now she waited for the moment of truth before they could continue their training.

---

TAG : Kaguya Toru || WORDS : 000 || NOTES : 6/6

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[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Fuji Naoko

Toru had never had much of a sweet tooth, he had recalled a time when he had told a young boy that his teeth would rot and fall out if he ate even a single drop of sugar. Naturally, the recollection of such a memory made him sigh, as he knew that it was wholly untrue. A single drop of sugar would not rot anyone's teeth, but it nonetheless did not change that he was not fond of sugar. Though the design of these cookies he found amusing - even if he did not show it - as they appeared almost bloodied in nature as if the jam was dripping from the inside of the sweet confection.

"You made all of these for me?" He did not lift one to try, it would be inappropriate to eat where they were and Toru had a great deal of respect for training areas - they deserved to be places of reverence more than anything else. If Naoko verified that they were in fact for him he would nod his head, the smallest of bows in his gratitude.

"I will have them with my tea."

If not he would hand the wrapped package back to Naoko, his intention would be to have one later but not in this very moment. For now his gaze would return to Naoko properly a fleeting glance to the coverings on her feet.

"Remove these it will improve your movement." It was far too easy to slip with fabric or cloth on one's feet, so it would be best if she discarded her socks for a time better suited for such clothes.

Once she did as asked he would motion for her to pick up her bokken.

"What do you wish to accomplish with a sword in hand?"

OWL

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  the way of the sword -  -  -

---

She nodded in response to the question. Indeed, all of them were for her mentor. Truth was, she had made a lot of practice batches in trying to make Toru happy and so she had more than enough cookies back at her apartment. A little disappointed that she wouldn’t see him try some, she hung her head but then perked up when he said he’d have them with tea. It was such a strange thing to imagine - Toru doing normal people stuff. Maybe he had tea like a maiden? Blushing every time over a delicious snack and sighing happily after a sip of tea. Thinking about it made Naoko blush a little. It would be adorable and so out of character for the seemingly stone-faced Mizukage.

”My socks?” she looked down and wondered if being a bit slidy was not a good thing - it certainly was a fun thing. She did take them off one by one and stuffed them in the pocket of her skirt before walking up to her bokken. Toru asked what she wished to accomplish with a sword in hand and she hooked her foot under the bokken before tossing it up high with her foot and tapped the end with a hand as it went up. It spun a few times midair and she caught it behind her back with a spin. She was pretty impressive at handling tools of any kind - even in the showy way. She was still quite physically weak, however. ’Last time it spun five times… I should flick with more force, I guess’ she thought while also contemplating the question asked.

She shrugged ”I guess I want to see how good I can be.” she responded honestly. It was not the mindspace of an academy student to look at it that deeply but she did have reasons. ”I have nothing to protect and not much changes with me as part of it so I just want to test how great I can become.”

And then she did another flip of the bokken - this one around her arm and something she had named "the shield” in how it was a vertical rotation in front of her. Naoko had a lot of free time so she came up with a bunch of cool tricks.

---

TAG : Kaguya Toru || WORDS : 000 || NOTES :7/6

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[Kaguya Toru]

I would know him in death At the end of the world Fuji Naoko

Toru tilted his head slightly waiting for the young girl to answer him, he had remained seated the entire time his body was not antsy to shift and move. He had the mindset of a swordsman, he was always vigilant and focused not just in mind but in body too. It had allowed him to do well in his leadership role this meditative focus and it had garnered respect from those that might not have otherwise respected a teenage boy that lorded over them in some metaphoric way - even if the teenage boy had not a drop of ego to him, at least not in the way that one would expect.

"Nothing to protect?" It seemed a strange thing to say, even as an orphan Toru had felt a strong pull to serve the village. Perhaps he had some opinions on the wealthy and the way that they had torn the country apart and had been thus the downfall for both of his parents. These things he to this day had a hard time forgiving, but it had been the wealthy who had shown him kindness too, so his mind had adjusted, balanced to the world's order.

"Am I nothing? Is your village nothing?" He inquired, a girl in the academy who had nothing to strive for, who wanted to improve for the sake of improvement. It was not a good mindset for a future soldier, someone who would stand and fight and when asked to lay down her life should be able to do so without hesitation.

"It is never good enough, Naoko-san, to strive for one's own good. You must find a greater purpose or there will come a time where you will hit your own ceiling of potential. You will not improve until there is something worth doing all of this for."

A selfish endeavor never ended well.

OWL

[Fuji Naoko]

 .

-  -  -  the way of the sword -  -  -

---

”Why are you nothing, sensei? I can’t protect the village. And how can I protect you if you’re already protecting the village? The Mizukage is a turtle shell and the village is the turtle…” the kid asked in genuine confusion and recited something that one of the teachers had said in the academy. She was getting lectured now, too, which made no sense to her, as well. It was all a bit out of the blue for the girl and almost felt like a reaction to her honest answer to a question. She didn’t lie - the girl had nothing to protect that she could protect… yet.

”Bigger than myself? Like the sea?” maybe she needed to find a sea of things to protect? Where to even start. It was all very vague. And why was wanting to get better bad to begin with? Had her answer just been wrong to the vague existential question given?

The child sat down and expected Toru to explain what it was that he wanted from her, exactly. ”What would your answer be to that question?” maybe an answer to that would make her understand the question better to begin with.

---

TAG : Kaguya Toru || WORDS : 000 || NOTES :8/6

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