The Beginning of Sorrows (Pestilence in the Holy land)

[Izanagi]

Mere days after meeting with his new team, Youji had been whisked away on a several-day mission with Enkouten Kanade. When he returned, his promotion to Special Jounin had been finalized. Though there were many who wondered why someone of his strength was not already a Jounin. While those he worked alongside knew his true strength, efforts had been made to supress the rumors of his talents and lend the credit to his comrades rather than himself. Additional responsibility was something that was expected of him, but he had no desire for it. He wished only to serve and further the reach of Iwagakure. He didn’t even want to lead a Genin team and he certainly didn’t feel fit to be anyone’s role model.

But reluctantly he had picked out a mission for his squad and in passing heard they had been keeping busy and got taken the liberty to perform at least one mission on their own. He could respect their initiative at least, and they hadn’t gotten themselves killed yet so that was promising. With a vacant gaze and a bored tone he instructed the lady at the mission office to forward the assignment and a meeting time and date to his students. More spirits, and something about a pestilence affecting a village in the Iwa-occupied land of holy towers. It was a several-day journey and there was no telling how long the mission itself would take. Seemed he would be stuck with the kids for some time, but he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to get to know them a little bit.

---

Youji dressed warmly, and in layers, culminating in a thick brown winter cloak clasped tight over a fur-lined tunic. His pair of Katana were fastened securely at his hip, one adorned in intricate blue lightning bolts and the other a deep red with gold trim. Across his back was a heavy pack filled with rations and survival gear. There was no telling what they might run into on the road and winter storms were common. He wondered absentmindedly how much bickering he would have to endure and whether or not he might ditch them and meet them further along, perhaps in one of the cozy inns he stayed at in Fur Country. A sudden memory warmed him, his night spent with Suzume nearly a decade ago. Another lifetime. He hadn’t known it at the time but that may have been one of the last nights he had truly felt happy and not merely distracting himself with the decadence he had later been accustomed to before everything had come to ruin.

The gaunt veteran shook his head, running a gloved hand across his stubble and giving himself a light smack as he forced himself to forget about times long past. Everything and everyone he had loved was gone now and replaced only by soulless duty and blind devotion to Akari Kotaru and the village he represented. “Where are these damn kids?” he muttered to himself as he conjured a plume of flame that he absentmindedly flicked back and forth across his fingers. He stared into the flames for some time, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. His other hand habitually tapped the hilt of his golden- trimmed katana.

[HotelBravo]

Nikkou hadn’t really wanted to go back to the Enkouten complex after the public shaming she had received had left her somewhat sore. So, it was nice that Hanzou had let her stay over at his place. She hadn’t intended for anything other than a sleepover, but somehow she had found herself contributing to the mess somewhat and waking up entangled in Hanzou’s arms. She was confused as she returned to the waking world, as she was not accustomed to the sensation, but the arms about her waist felt nice. It made her feel safe. The comfort and security made her begin to drift back slowly to sleep when suddenly a certain thought brought her to full lucidity. Wasn’t there a mission today?

”FUCK!” She said a bit too loud. She put her hand over her mouth and looked over at Hanzou. Wait a minute, what was she being considerate for - he was supposed to be on the mission too! She moved to shake him awake and… the realization of what she had done last night hit her. One guy calls her pretty and suddenly she is down bad. She had tasted the forbidden fruit and experienced true womanhood, and it was something that not only could she not ever take back. She knew a strange instinctive level that she had become addicted to it from her first taste. ”By the kami get a hold of yourself.” She slapped her face with both hands and then proceeded to make sure Hanzou was awake. The idea of being all giggly and girlish rather disgusted Nikkou but that was actually how she felt. It was embarrassing. So she washed and dressed and tried to think about something other than Hanzou.

She hadn’t brought any gear that was suited for traveling such a distance as would be required on their mission, so she had little choice but to borrow things from Hanzou if she wanted to make the meeting on time. So Nikkou got a spare backpack and filled it with some clothes from Hanzou. Wait a minute isn’t this the boyfriend shirt thing? She would be wearing his shirts the entire time and - ”fuck sake - fucking hormones stop doing this to me.” She slapped her face again and returned her focus. Fortunately Hanzou had some female relatives in the Fukusha Compound, and being a clan that had been nomads they were very much ready for a sudden trip. Thusly, Nikkou was able to get some spare sets of clothes and supplies that would work for her more feminine frame. She couldn’t help but notice that people in the Fukusha compound were calling her ‘sister in law’ and were giving her knowing looks.

---

Nikkou arrived together with Hanzou. She hadn’t said anything the whole time, but her cheeks had been red and she had been stealing glances the entire trip. She hadn’t wanted the friendship between them to change, but it definitely had and she suddenly didn’t know how she was supposed to act around him now. She didn’t want to ruin things after all. Nikkou was wearing mismatched clothing, and a jacket that was definitely Hanzou’s - though Youji might not be familiar enough with it, it was likely Kohaku would recognize it immediately. ”I’m sorry for being late Sensei. Please excuse Hanzou, it was my fault.” She didn't look at Hanzou at all.

[Drak]

Hanzou was in a place he couldn’t quite place. It seemed awfully familiar, but it wasn’t anywhere he could name. It was a campsite with dozens of yurts. He looked to his left and saw the Tsuchikage standing there. He looked to his right. The Tsuchikage was also standing there.

“FUCK!” the two shouted in unison with a strangely high voice as the earth shook around him, and the yurts began to float up into the sky.

Hanzou watched the yurts float away. When he looked back down he was in the training field where their squad usually sparred.

“By the kami get ahold of yourself.”

Hanzou turned to see a robed, hooded figure standing behind him. It was holding a bowl of soup and slowly coming towards him.

Hanzou was rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to get away as the figure approached him, holding the soup out and bidding Hanzou take it. He knew that if he touched the soup something bad would happen. The figure continued to speak, but Hanzou couldn’t understand what it was saying.

Hanzou opened his eyes. He was in his room at home. Someone was shaking him awake: Nikkou. She didn’t have anything on.

That’s weird, how did she-

Hanzou jolted up, ripped immediately out of the liminal state between wakefulness and sleep by his remembrance of the previous night. Nikkou had come home with him. One thing had led to another and now a naked Nikkou was urgently shaking him awake.

“I’m up. I’m up,” Hanzou croaked, his voice still gravelly from sleep. “What’s the matter?”

Another jolt of adrenaline went through his body.

“We have a mission, don’t we?”

Nikkou was already prowling around his tiny, one-room apartment looking for spare clothes. Hanzou stumbled into the bathroom and splashed some water onto his face and into his hair. The sudden cold made him feel less like every step he took his mind was one step behind. He walked out and pulled on some clothes: a tight black turtleneck, thick black pants, and a fleece-lined collared jacket. Nikkou had already poached his signature bomber jacket.

This is how it starts, huh?

Still a Fukusha to his core despite having lived most of his life in Iwa, Hanzou had a supply bag ready to go, complete with bedroll, a small tent, and some emergency smokes. He threw some additional food, clothes, and supplies into it. On their way out, Hanzou grabbed a dark greatcoat. It wasn’t something he wore often. Even in frigid Iwa, it was overkill, but out in the wilderness it would do well to keep him warm. It was an old garment, passed down from some dead relative: an artifact of the times before the Fukusha could take refuge from the elements behind city walls.

After a few embarrassing trips to some of his female cousins’ homes, the pair rushed to meet Youji and Kohaku.This wasn’t how Hanzou had foreseen this morning going. Hanzou could see Nikkou peeking over at him. Whether her face was red from running, or from the cold, or because of him was anyone’s guess. She didn’t say anything the whole way over. Hanzou offered her a wry little smile in response.

Is Nikkou mad at me? Or does she just not know what to say? Man, just when I thought that right after coming out of the stocks was a bad time for what happened, this has to be the next morning. I hope it doesn’t ruin things. Last night was fun. I hope we get another chance for that. Shit, what is Youji-sensei going to think? Worse, what will Kohaku think?

Nikkou threw herself on their lateness before Hanzou could do anything. He wanted to take some of the blame off of Nikkou, but he had a suspicion that the last thing Youji wanted to hear were excuses.

“We’re here now, Youji-sensei. Ready to ship out.”

Hanzou reached into his pocket for his cigarettes only to find nothing there. Hanzou looked over at Nikkou wearing his jacket.

They must still be in the pocket.

He could wait. The last thing he wanted to do right now was stick his hand into Nikkou’s pocket in front of Youji and Kohaku. Beyond trying to placate Youji in wake of their tardiness, Hanzou had jumped straight to business to try and minimize any discussion of why he and Nikkou had arrived in the manner that they had.

“You said you’d brief us on the way. What’s the mission?”

[King of Cats]

While his team mates were busy fucking and sucking each other, Kohaku stayed home on the Akari compound. But make no mistake, he wasn't baking cookies or even lighting candles. Kohaku was hard at work, studying the blade, honing his craft, observing the cadence of life. Kohaku was mastering the art of being a ninja, he was becoming one with the ninja of yore, the ancient Shinobi gods who conquered the lands before him. Kohaku was becoming a machine, a beast, a monster! He was becoming everything that fate would prepare him for.

Deep in the Akari compound, Kohaku was testing his mettle against another Akari genin. With his shiin in hand, Fish-Bone, Kohaku brutally pounded the younger genin into the ground. What Kohaku had previously lacked in drive was a thing of the past. No more were the days of wallowing in fear of the Akari people. Kohaku was learning to abate his hunger for Shiin. He didn't know it, but by training his bloodlust, he was piecing together the fragmented soul inside of his body. Kohaku was healing, slowly. This wouldn't be all that he needed however. Whether Kohaku liked it or not, he was destined to consume shiin and piece together his soul before the very Gods of this Earth. It would be a long journey, and it would start as he sunk Fish-Bone into his opponent shoulder. It was a strike much like Nikkou had endured, but unlike Nikkou, the boy couldn't handle the brunt of Kohaku's Fish-Bone blade. The shiin was enormous, and heavy, and Kohaku wielded it like it were a butter knife, but when he crashed the edge into your body, you really felt the pains of being a man.

The ninja that Kohaku had just gravely injured went flying into the wall, Kohaku's strength easily overcoming the fragile boy. As their blood squirted across Kohaku's face, he was suddenly reminded of their Melashiin. "I could devour it." Kohaku thought for a second. As the thought registered in his mind, Kohaku felt a great bloodlust travel throughout his body, it was like an electric weed wacker was trimming off all of his nerve endings, but instead of pain he felt extacy. It was truly a surreal experience, and for an instant, Kohku was blinded. He turned to move, but as he did, someone called to him from the sidelines.

Standing near the arena there was a chuunin whom Kohaku recognized. Her name was Imane and she dealt with missions. Imane would pass out orders from the Tsuchikage's office, usually to inform ninja of national affairs. Kohaku was confused why she was calling him, and that confusion abated the urge to kill. He turned to look at her, and confusedly, he waved with his giant buster sword in hand. "I give! I give!" The ninja cried out, but Kohaku wasn't paying any attention to him. Instead he was walking over to Imane, who was waving for him to come to her.

"I have an important mission from you. It's from Youji." Imane said to Kohaku and handed him an envelope with instructions on where to meet Youji, a long with some important details on the mission.

With the envelope in hand, Kohaku dutifully meandered out of the arena and headed home. He had an important night of packing ahead of him, and Kohaku was no slacker when it came to organization. He wanted to have enough time to adjust all of his belongings appropriately.

At home, Kohaku put together his clothes for the trip. He had a few cotton thermals, which he knew he would need. The mission info indicated that the weather would be colder than average temperatures of Iwa, and Kohaku was already chilled to the bone as it was. He also packed a few hoodies with the Akari clan insignia emblazoned on the pack. Rolled up into his backpack, Kohaku stored his clothes He had some room for food and water, so Kohaku made sure to include all of his favorites.

After Kohaku had his clothes and food packed, he made sure to check the inscriptions on his various seals. Kohaku kept a tent and a multitude of food stored in paper tags. They were all finely crafted, and he stored them in his utility pouch with his kunai and shuriken. Once he had his ninja tools loaded up, Kohaku went to sleep for the night. He had a few hours before he had to leave, and he was sure to get some rest in now. It would be a while before he slept soundly, from the way the mission docket read.

---

The next morning Kohaku woke up to his alarm ringing. He had ignorantly slept through it for a whole hour! He was appalled with himself, and rushed out of the door. Taking only his backpack and utility pouch, Kohaku was as ready as he could be. The Akari rushed to the rendezvous point.

When he arrived, Kohaku first saw that Youji had been waiting on them. He looked frustrated already, and as the interim leader of the group, Kohaku was nervous for what kind of attitude his sensei would have with the students.

Once Kohaku processed his leaders disappointment, his eyes wandered over to Nikkou. She was unusually quiet today, and Kohaku couldn't help but wonder why. The genin looked her over, she was easy on the eyes. Everything seemed to be in place, the twin mango titties, the long, thick legs, the bubble butt, but Kohaku couldn't help but notice something was off about Nikkou. He stared at her for a second, and then it hit him.

"The fuck?" Kohaku said out loud, looking at Nikkou. He had a confused expression on his face, and he was slack jawed. Nikkou was wearing Hanzou's bomber jacket, and it seemed like her clothes were out of place too. She was dressed like a Fukusha! Kohaku was in complete disbelief. Well, only for a second.

Kohaku then looked over at Hanzou. He was smoking, which was weird. The genin wondered if his friend had a cold or something, and then it hit him. "These two are fuckin'!" Kohaku thought to himself, still appalled. The team leader let out a big sigh and pointed his head at the ground. "Hanzou fucked before me..." Kohaku thought to himself dejectedly. Not that the wanted Nikkou, but it was still disappointing him. In fact he didn't want Nikkou at all! But the idea that Hanzou popped her cherry, that was disheartening. Kohaku could tell she was a virgin, she had too much life in her. "That'll all change now toots." Kohaku loudly thought to himself as he picked his head up from the ground. He felt awkward now.

Trying to smooth over the rocky intro to their mission, Kohaku looked over at Hanzou. Without his bomber jacket he looked naked. Whining at the idea of Hanzou's currently fished bone, Kohaku said to Hanzou, "Hey.. you got a cigarette?" Perhaps that would bring a sense of normalcy to the scene of abject horror.

[Izanagi]

Time passed by. At some point snow had begun to fall, its touch barely registered. Pale blue eyes once filled with enthusiasm stared vacantly at the flames dancing between his fingertips. Within the flames, memories flashed before him; the familiar scent of burning flesh filled his nostrils and screams of agony reverberated through his ears.

”I’m sorry for being late Sensei. Please excuse Hanzou, it was my fault.”

It took him a moment to register the softer voice calling out to him. Clasping his fist shut the flames dispersed and his gaze fixed itself instead upon his delinquent students. He forced a wry smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes as he observed the awkward tension. His gaze flickered between Nikkou and Hanzou, twice over, analyzing every detail and coming to the obvious conclusion. Looking to Kohaku, it seemed the Akari had also realized what his teammates had been up to. Sighing, the Special Jounin mercifully decided not to air out the matter. He recalled what it was like being young and hot blooded, during his time with Vanguard unit he had his share of attractions and awkward moments with both Zakuro and Nikuya, though nothing had come of it until later during the war. Youji shrugged his shoulders, “Oh, don’t worry about being late. I’m sure most of the villagers will be dead by the time we get there anyway” he dismissed with a half-hearted wave.

“You said you’d brief us on the way. What’s the mission?”

“This is a C, possibly even a B-ranked mission. In the Iwa-occupied lands of Holy Towers, there have been reports of spreading disease affecting several villages. The locals believe they are being punished by their Goddess. Our objective is to determine the source of the outbreak and prevent any further spread by any means necessary. I reiterate, this is not a rescue mission, you are not to come in direct contact with any of the infected. Our lives are far more valuable than mere farmers, is that understood?” he clarified. Torch and burn ops were his specialty, and his team would learn they needed to look at the bigger picture. Iwagakure had a growing Empire to maintain, there was no room for soft hearts and heroics.

After inspecting their gear and ensuring they were relatively well prepared for the journey, Youji would lead them away, placing himself in front and Kohaku as the second in command bringing up the rear. They would set out at 5 Speed, limited by their slowest member, Nikkou, though their pace wouldn’t slow for several hours. Occasionally Youji would dash ahead at 25 Speed and scout the next few miles while leaving Kohaku to take point and Hanzou to rotate to rear guard. He always returned in precisely 30 minutes. The first night would be spent sleeping in the wilderness only about halfway across old rock country before the recent expansions. The pace felt painfully slow to an experienced shinobi, and truthfully Youji had half a mind to simply meet them at the large outpost of Spirit’s Nest, a two-day trek due west of Iwagakure. It was unlikely to encounter more than wild animals within the wilds of Rock country. There were Barbarian tribes throughout the Northern mountains but few ventured south or would dare attack Iwa shinobi. Intentionally Youji had avoided travelling the main roads or along the rudimentary train systems throughout Rock Country, it was perhaps only slightly slower to travel in a straight line by foot as it would have been to wind North and detour through several towns. Training, he would tell them if they asked. It was important to hone one’s physical ability and not rely on modern technology. A shinobi squad could maneuver in ways a train could not and were far less predictable. Too many times had he been ambushed and even kidnapped on trains to trust them.

[HotelBravo]

“Oh, don’t worry about being late. I’m sure most of the villagers will be dead by the time we get there anyway” Youji said with a half hearted wave of his hand. He seemed altogether WAY too bored for the dire circumstances. Was sleeping in a few minutes that deadly to these people? Nikkou drooped her head as she beat herself up. She had been feeling pretty good about herself before - she didn’t regret what she did with Hanzou, in fact she hoped that there was more, but she felt guilty that her pleasure had meant that people were suffering.

“You said you’d brief us on the way. What’s the mission?” Hanzou followed up Youji’s answer to her late excuse with one of his own. Nikkou at this moment appreciated the fact that they were changing the subject now. Fortunately it didn’t seem that anyone had noticed that she was wearing his clothes and had his stuff yet. Good. But would it really so bad if they knew about it? No way, actually it would be really awkward. She was still trying to improve her image on the team after her rather poor showing at the opening introduction to the team where she had basically surrendered immediately, and then later set Kohaku on fire - which she shouldn’t have done if she was being as honorable as she had complained about. Nikkou had since come to appreciate that she was something of a hypocrite, and frankly it didn’t sit well with her. She had wanted to give Kohaku an actual apology, but the opportunity hadn’t come up yet. She chanced to glance and meet Hanzou’s eyes and she turned away way too quickly because her cheeks lit up crimson. Shit!

“This is a C, possibly even a B-ranked mission. In the Iwa-occupied lands of Holy Towers, there have been reports of spreading disease affecting several villages. The locals believe they are being punished by their Goddess. Our objective is to determine the source of the outbreak and prevent any further spread by any means necessary. I reiterate, this is not a rescue mission, you are not to come in direct contact with any of the infected. Our lives are far more valuable than mere farmers, is that understood?” As their sensei explained their mission, Nikkou grit her teeth. First she was shamed for being late and now the objective of the mission wasn’t even about the people. What the fuck was the point of that opening statement then!? Man! No, she couldn’t let her jounin sensei get on her nerves though. She had to resist. This guy would just hand her ass back to her and demote her back to civilian which meant she’d have her chakra sealed up permanently.

Youji inspected her gear - which was actually Hanzou’s gear, but he said nothing about it and ok’ed her for traveling. It was somewhat annoying that Kohaku got put in charge of the team AGAIN, but this time there really wasn’t any room for arguing with the appointment coming from their direct superior.

”Hey Kohaku. Before we head out I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for how I treated you on the other missions. You didn’t really deserve it.” She wanted to get this off her chest before they got out on the road. She had been extremely rude to him since they had practically started this group, but Hanzou was close to him and she had gotten some better insight into Kohaku’s situation on one of their prior missions. It made her feel guilty for how she had treated him, and more importantly. Hanzou was always so casual with Kohaku - it didn’t take much to see that they were close. She really liked Hanzou too. He was tall dark and handsome, what was there not to like? They were on the same team and of course they needed to be able to trust each other but Nikkou did have a little guilt because she had an ulterior motive for her apology.

Last night Hanzou had taken her virginity and as awkward and stupid as she had been, she had decided for herself that she wanted that relationship to continue, and she was willing to do whatever it took to win him over, and being enemies with Kohaku wouldn’t let her win the game in the long run. She had to look at the big picture after all.

[Drak]

Hanzou tried to not let his emotions show as Youji briefed them. For the most part his face was a sort of stolid indifference, but there were signs of worry, and even guilt underneath. A swallow harder than most and a slight purse of the lips when the sensei said the villagers would be mostly dead by the time they got there. A slight forward tilt of the head and knitting of the brows as Youji explained that this was not a rescue mission.

“Understood, Youji-sensei.”

As their gear inspection began, Kohaku asked him for a cigarette.

“Nah man, I got here and realized all my cigs are at the bottom of my pack,” Hanzou grinned and ran a hand over his slicked back hair. “I was actually hoping you had one.”

He flashed a goofy grin at his friend, glad that the specific circumstances of his arrival had not attracted the attention of either Youji or Kohaku. When Nikkou cut in to apologize to Kohaku, Hanzou took a few steps away. Suppressing the instinct to croon “Gaaaaaayyyyyyy” at the two, he waited as they worked out their beef.

As the journey commenced, Hanzou found himself in an increasingly annoyed state. What he had said to Kohaku was true, the bulk of his cigarettes were at the bottom of his rucksack. He had failed to mention that today’s rations were currently in the pocket of Nikkou’s jacket. His jacket, that Nikkou was wearing. It was still his jacket.

“Fuck that’s Nikkou’s jacket now, isn’t it?” he muttered to himself. “I like that jacket. Unless....”

Maybe last night was a one-time thing. Fucking hope not...

Finally, an opportunity to get his cigarettes – if not his jacket – presented itself. Youji announced one of his scouting runs and sprinted off. Hanzou lessened his pace, falling back to take rear and floating by Nikkou.

“Hey there,” he cooed at her as he went by, walking close to slip his hand into her pocket, giving her hand a brief squeeze, then coming back out with his pack of cigarettes. He shot her a wink as he continued to fall behind to their marching distance, hoping Kohaku had missed all of that.

[King of Cats]

The details of the mission came to no surprise for Kohaku. As Youji explained the matter at hand, Kohaku stood at attention, his back straight and strong, his eyes focused on Youji. It seemed that Youji didn't care for the Land of Holy Towers. Or perhaps it was the people, Kohaku didn't care enough to think on it, he simply noticed the lackadaisical attitude his sensei expressed. To Kohaku, the lands that Iwa occupied were simply estates in Iwagakure's neighborhood, free to be taxed and monitored as the ninja saw fit. Kohaku thought highly of himself as a ninja and he wondered if his Sensei shared such pride.

Once Kohaku showed Youji that Fish-Bone was healthy and in working order, he withdrew his shiin and turned to the group. Everyone else had been inspected. Hanzou didn't have any cigarettes and he was being extra goofy today. Kohaku wasn't surprised, if he had more of a sniffer on him he would be certain of the smell of sex on his best friend. But for now, Kohaku just suspected that Nikkou had done something lewd for that jacket. Kohaku took Nikkou for many things based on their first interaction, and more so on the missions with his team, but salacious and bawdy was not on that list. It was foul to Kohaku. He cringed at the idea of Hanzou sharing a bed with someone like Nikkou.

As he stood there awkwardly, not responding to Hanzou, Nikkou spoke up to Kohaku and apologized for her previous behavior. She hadn't shown much respect for Kohaku, in fact, that was mostly why he didn't like the idea of Hanzou fucking her. "Like dude, have some standards." Kohaku thought to himself as Nikkou was apologizing kindly to him. Kohaku cracked a smile. It was genuine, but it was painted. He gave Nikkou a thumbs up and said. "No problem, Nikkou. Let's work hard together, for Iwa." Kohaku put his thumb down and immediately back into his coat pocket. It was cold. "By the way, nice jacket." Kohaku clicked his tongue doubly, a sound similar to what would be heard of a cowboy calling his horse.

---

As the journey began, Kohaku stayed behind Youji. The group was moving at a relatively slow pace, maybe just faster than a horse galloping through a field. Nikkou needed some training, but she was doing her best. Kohaku felt proud to have her on his team. She was slow and weak, but her tenacity was probably greater than both Hanzou's and Kohaku's put together.

Kohaku remained silent, only speaking to Youji throughout the journey. He wasn't mad at Hanzou, her just felt like it was weird for Nikkou to have sucked his johnson moments before a big mission. Kohaku wasn't the least bit jealous of Hanzou fucking Nikkou, but he was a little envious that Hanzou got laid before him. "It's time to get serious, find a nice Akari girl." Kohaku thought to himself as he ran through the rock hills of Rock Country.

[Izanagi]

Youji enjoyed the sensation of icy wind stinging against his skin as he dashed ahead of his Genin underlings. There had been a time not too long ago where he wondered if he would ever be free to run again, or if he would die in a dark, unmarked cave deep within the mountains of Rock Country. He strived to enjoy each day of his newfound freedom, his new life in service of Iwagakure. The Tsuchikage trusted him, enough to let him lead a team and leave the country unsupervised. He would honor that trust and do his village proud.

Attentive as always, his eyes constantly darted around, searching for sign of anything out of place, any sign of a potential ambush or any trouble ahead. But there was nothing but the whistling of the wind and the steady snowfall, coating the ground in a growing layer of powdery ice. Upon each return to his squad, Youji noted the awkward tension. He had hoped they might talk amongst themselves and work through whatever was going on. Being involved in teenage drama was certainly the least compelling prospect to being their Sensei. He was almost disappointed that there wasn’t any combat thus far to distract from their petty issues.

Alas, as the hours passed and the sun began to wane, Youji held up his hand signaling a halt. He could see the fatigue setting in, as much as he was sure his students were trying to mask it. “We’ll make camp here and set out again at first light” he instructed before assigning some basic tasks, gathering firewood, and fresh water from a nearby river. With a stomp of his foot, the ground rumbled and a stone structure formed from the earth. The appearance was that of two boulders resting against one another, through upon closer inspection there was a small opening, hidden in the crux where they touched, obscured behind a previously established shrub. “We’ll stay in here, fires can be made inside to warm us for the night. I can create vents at the top of the boulders and then close them again when we put the fires out for the night” he explained. Perhaps he was being overly cautious, they were still well within Rock Country, out in the outskirts but they were still shinobi and it was good practice to keep their skills sharp.

He would allow them to rest for an hour, establishing their camp and eating a small meal before he gathered them before him some 500 meters from where they had made camp. “I’m going to teach you each a jutsu, pay close attention” he instructed. “Kohaku. Strike me” he commanded, and as soon as the young man took a step forward Youji’s chakra would surge, flowing into the ground. The earth beneath Kohaku’s forward stepping foot would shift, moving several feet at the same moment his foot touched the ground, effectively sweeping him as if having his leg kicked out from under him. If he tried to stabilize himself with any other limb or weapon, that point of contact too would shift in an awkward direction with the intent of causing him to collapse and sprawl onto his face. “This may seem like a terrakinesis application, but I assure you it can be achieved simply. As your skill grows you will learn to perform it without hand seals but to start try it like this” he advised, before demonstrating a slow sequence of seals. ‘Snake, Dog, Rabbit, Tiger’. “Build up your Doton chakra and flow it into the ground on the first two seals, then imagine applying it like suiton, flowing it like a stream as you form the rabbit seal, and lastly apply the desired power and speed with the final seal” he explained clearly. It was a technique suspiciously close to mud jutsu, and he was sure Kohaku with his exceptional understanding of Doton and its related releases would have little trouble perfecting it.

His pale blue eyes moved to the Enkouten girl next, “Nikkou, I have two D-rank techniques I would like you to learn. The first is a Katon jutsu that has an array of uses; a signal flare, or a targeted, lingering burn” he explained as chakra flowed into his hand forming a small fireball. Turning, he straightened his arm and aimed it toward a tree. He applied only a small amount of chakra and launched it a mere few meters where it lingered in the air, burning brightly. “This technique is simple in nature, it doesn’t use much chakra, but it requires exceptional control. The tricky part is defying Katon’s usual nature to spread, you must keep the flame burning bright but condensed. If applied as an attack, it allows for a very controlled burn” he explained, forming the technique again and launching it with much more speed and power as it streaked across the small clearing, impacting a thick spruce tree with a crack and sizzle as it began to bore into the tree, leaving a thick plume of smoke in its wake as it seared straight into the tree and continued to slowly bore through it without losing form or spreading its flame. On further contemplation, Youji realized this was likely the most complicated low ranking technique one could conceptualize and it was likely miscategorized. A shrug of his shoulders, perhaps she would figure it out anyway. “Again, try with handseals first but for anyone who focuses on taijutsu it is better to learn to perform it through channelling if you can. I’d recommend…” he considered it for a few moments, it had been at least a decade since he had come up with the technique as a Genin himself. “Tiger, Horse, Bird, Dragon, Snake, Tiger” he decided. It was rather complicated in its effects after all, and would require seals that assisted in more complex functions. “Really focus on containment and suppression of the spread with the Horse and Bird seals” he advised. “If you can get that one down I’ll teach you another jutsu in private sometime” he promised. There were some secrets he wasn’t quite ready to share with the boys, but it would be a good bonding moment with Nikkou to let her in some of his hidden talents.

The man sighed, running a hand through his dyed russet brown hair, its brighter auburn and pink tinted natural born coloration seeming to give him some natural highlights accentuated in the bright glow of the fires behind him. “Last but not least, Hanzou. I would like to teach you Tenkujutsu, but I’m only just learning myself so it’ll have to be another Katon technique, bit of a speciality of mine you could say” he said simply. He would leap away, ensuring he was at least 15 meters away. “This one is well suited to keeping taijutsu users away from you. You’ll need to flow chakra across all your major tenketsu points, building a layer around you before igniting it in Katon and unleashing it as a spreading wave in all directions” he explained as an impeccable, smooth layer of refined chakra visibly coated his body before converting before their eyes into katon and spreading out in a perfect wave for 10 meters, bathing them in heat before the flames dispersed with a flick of the man’s wrist. “For this one, I challenge you to learn it without hand seals at all, but don’t apply the Katon until you can create a smooth layer of chakra around, see how long you can hold the raw chakra and then in an instant ignite it as a surprise attack” he challenged. It was a risky jutsu to practice, prone to setting oneself on fire, but of each of them he expected the Fukusha was the one with the most refined chakra control and the greatest capacity to replicate his techniques.

Jutsu UsedShow

[Earth Element • Earth Flow]
C-Ranked Ninjutsu
This simple jutsu only requires the channeling of chakra and contact with the earth within a 25m radius of the designated section of earth. The affected earth in its base form can be up to 5 meters long and wide. By flowing chakra intro the ground the user can cause this section of earth to shift or flow suddenly at a speed equal to [Control], pulling strength of [Control] in an attempt to knock an opponent off balance, sweep them away or put strain on their knee or ankle.

Katon • Signal Flare
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming a brief set of handseals the user will focus chakra to his hand and raise his arm, firing off a 1-meter diameter plume of fire that travels at a speed equal to the user’s control. If aimed at the sky it will hover for 5 posts, the maximum distance this flame can travel is 10 meters. This fire is unique in that it will burn in place with a strength equal to the user’s control but will not spread. The glow produced is particularly notable, capable of illuminating a 30-meter diameter in a soft red glow.

Katon • Ripple
C-Rank Ninjutsu
By channeling katon chakra into their body, the user can store this charged katon chakra for up to 5 posts before releasing a burst of flame around their entire body, coming outwards from them. This sphere of roiling fire pushes outward with Strength and Speed equal to the user’s control. the flames extend up to 25 meter from the user at their discretion, able to be reduced to a shorter range to conserve chakra. Due to the fire pushing outward the user remains unharmed.

[HotelBravo]

Not long into the traveling Nikkou was approached by Hanzou, matching her pace. “Hey there,” His voice was soft and soothing and it reminded her of the soft warbling of a Cliff Pigeon, one of the native birds in Iwagakure. She smiled in reciprocation. She had her hands in the pockets of the bomber jacket and found Hanzou being incredibly bold while they were on official business. He reached his hands into the pocket, and squeezed her hand. She smiled, a butterflies dancing in her stomach and a giddy feeling coming over her. What did this mean? Did he want… a relationship? Or was last night just a bad decision? He reached into one of the Jacket pockets and she was shocked thinking that he was even more bold than before. What was he doing? Was he about to cop a feel right now? She turned away, her cheeks reddening a little, if it was Hanzou she wouldn’t mind…

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and she immediately felt like an idiot. The butterflies were gone in an instant, and instead there was… a sense of… anxiety. He shot her wink, and kept falling even further behind. What he was just going to smoke? Nikkou pulled back and matched his pace. ”Hanzou…Last night I…A-are we dating?” She looked at him, and searched his eyes as he continued to fall back further behind. She glanced over at Kohaku to see if he noticed what was going on, and tried to keep her voice low. Low enough to not be over heard by Kohaku or Youji.

”I don’t know if what we had was love or lust… but All I know is that I enjoyed spending the evening with you, and I’d like to do again - and more. I totally get it if you don’t want to date someone like me. I’m a tomboy, I’m brash, reckless, and annoying. You don’t have to tell me. Unfeminine. I don’t think I could ever be the perfect girlfriend - so I get it if you want to back out.” What she didn’t add, is that if he did back out she knew that she wouldn’t be able to forgive him. She refused to be a conquest. She had heard how men talked about women and she hated the idea that she was a woman that men would talk about in that way. She didn’t choose the shape of her body, if anything she would have enjoyed just being… genderless. Or maybe even a man, but her night with Hanzou had been… Special. She had learned about what it meant to be woman, and she felt more adult than she had ever felt in her life. But she was still scared. She bit her lip, as the anxiety and anticipation was almost too much to bare.
[To be continued in another thread]

Nikkou was more than ready to handle the travel - at least, her will power was. It did not escape her notice that the whole team had been holding back for her. It actually pissed her off. What made her the most angry was that they were right to be considerate. Any faster and she wouldn’t be able to keep pace, her endurance would be burned up so much faster in the day, and then they would have been forced to stop and rest. How could she be so slow or weak? She knew that she was innately better at Chakra control and had a gifted Chakra pool in comparison to her teammates, but to be honest this wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to be reliant on the gifts of her bloodline. That clan that she hated so much! That she would rely on them and the scraps she had thrown her over the years. It was her right by birth to have the Youton style. It was in her blood. But she couldn’t stand the people whose blood she shared.

The Enkouten, the Fucking Enkouten. She could only be eternally grateful that she wasn’t in a genin team full of 12 year olds that far outclassed her. At least Hanzou and Kohaku were both older like she was, so it spared her pride that she didn’t have to but up with snot nosed brats everyday and forced to be on a team with them. If anything - she had been the immature one on the team. Fuck. The weakest link again - even emotionally.

After the traveling for the day came to a close, Nikkou leaned over, her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. She was the weak link in their marching pace. She saw how easily their sensei had ran too and fro - and at times seemed bored waiting for them. Well damn him. If this road was better paved she could use her skateboard and maybe she’d have been… actually she didn’t have her skateboard. She groaned remembering how she had smashed it during the Spirit invasion missions. Ugh. That was a stupid thing to do. Shit. Youji, dauntless and completely ignorant to ails of the road gave out orders for basic tasks. She winded up with gathering wood from the frozen trees that were in the area. She brought back a mix of kindling bundled in her arms with some wire for easier carrying. Youji had summoned a stone structure that looked like some boulders. It hadn’t been here when she left for the firewood, and she was slightly confused at first where the camp was until someone called to her and invited her into the structure. She set the kindling and firewood down before letting herself collapse to the ground. She made a small ring using her Doton Wall jutsu, and controlled it so that the barrier made by the wall was only small enough to create a firebreak for their fire. She set the kindling inside the wall.

As she had worked she saw that Youji was now busy giving a lesson outside of the boulder shelter to Kohaku. The spectacle was a little comical with how Kohaku was being treated but she couldn’t help but feel a little indignant on Kohaku’s behalf. He was the one who was the best at Taijutsu in the team. The fact that he was getting so handily embarrassed wasn’t something to laugh at. If he was getting his ass kicked, then Nikkou was worth even less. She cursed at the scene realizing what it meant.

+1 Endurance 1000/1000

---

Youji’s eyes moved over to Nikkou and she could see his intent plain as day. She gave a heavy and defeated breath and stood onto her feet, wondering what new embarrassment that he had in mind for her. She stretched and worked the soreness out of her muscles as Youji addressed her. “Nikkou, I have two D-rank techniques I would like you to learn. The first is a Katon jutsu that has an array of uses; a signal flare, or a targeted, lingering burn” He began to explain. He held out his hand and demonstrated forming a small fireball. He held out his arm at full extension with his palm facing towards a tree. It was a blink of an eye, but the ball of chakra danced from his hands and it lingered in the air just before the tree. It’s light seemed ghostly against the backdrop of the setting sun of the Iwagakure countryside. “This technique is simple in nature, it doesn’t use much chakra, but it requires exceptional control. The tricky part is defying Katon’s usual nature to spread, you must keep the flame burning bright but condensed. If applied as an attack, it allows for a very controlled burn” He continued. “Again, try with handseals first but for anyone who focuses on taijutsu it is better to learn to perform it through channelling if you can. I’d recommend…”

He paused and considered for a moment. “Tiger, Horse, Bird, Dragon, Snake, Tiger” He concluded. She formed the seals at his suggestion. Tiger and Horse were both strongly affiliated with the fire element and she nodded that it felt right for such a technique. “Really focus on containment and suppression of the spread with the Horse and Bird seals”

“If you can get that one down I’ll teach you another jutsu in private sometime”

She already knew the fireball technique and didn’t really see the point in a technique like this, despite Youji giving her an explanation for what its purpose was. She could easily use her fireball jutsu to do so much more damage than this technique, but then she did have to admit that it was not very precise. This had much better control, so she gave a sigh and decided to follow suit. He performed the technique again and launched the small spark of a jutsu into the spruce tree where it hit with a sharp snap sound. It began to sizzle and eat into the bark of the tree and left a plume of smoke in its wake.

A technique like this might have given her a great deal of trouble if she hadn’t just witnessed the technique’s performance in front of her. Her greatest skill was her chakra control, though it was only begrudgingly. She followed his motions and seals, and intuited the feel of the chakra. It took very little time for her to bring the technique to life, and she launched the technique at the spruce tree as Youji had done moments before. A second hole was born into the tree. He had suggested that she try it without seals as well.

She had felt the way that the chakra was manipulated by her handseals and she imagined forming thet seals in her mind instead of physically. Her chakra was tied in a knot much like it would when she had used handseals, but it took so much more effort and concentration. She was holding her breath. She couldn’t breath. She inhaled, and the technique died. She had to practice doing this several times, and while she had moved on Youji had turned his attention to Hanzou, and was showing him a different technique. She launched the jutsu and it bore into the tree. She looked at her smoking fingers and closed them into a fist. She had done it sealless, but she hadn’t been paying attention to what she had done to achieve it. She had been lost in thought. She shook her head and decided to pay more attention this time. She paused what she was doing and watched what Youji was showing the Fukusha. It was a more advanced technique than the one that she was learning. Dammit! She wasn’t even good enough to be the best at fire techniques. Hanzou was being taught a different one - a stronger one than she was.

Jutsu Learned
Katon Signal Flare
400/400

---

Why was she bothering with this? He was promising her extra attention, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Should she feel offended? No, she was the weakest after all. No, the thing that was bothering her was simply that she wanted to excel in taijutsu, not ninjutsu. This felt like a waste of time compared to what she wanted to learn instead. It was just frustrating. Maybe Youji would start teaching her some cool taijutsu instead? Dammit. She was falling behind, and she wasn’t going to let herself fall behind any more. She already had the other technique figured out, she was going to do this one instead. She hadn’t seen him give the full instructions to Hanzou, but she had seen how the technique had looked once it was completed. ”Well, I’m not going to be doing it without handseals, but It shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out.” She said to herself aloud. She watched Hanzou so she could copy any handseals that he was performing. Damn. IT really hurt to have missed so much of the demonstration. Okay, figure it out on her own, she could do it. She formed the tiger seal and began to manipulate the chakra in her system to give life to the technique. Her chakra began to burn hot as she then switched to the horse seal - a seal that allowed one to move fire chakra around in their body or even in the natural world.

She summoned the fire aspected chakra through her tenketsu, burning slightly in the process and down through her feet. She was pushing the technique out of her feet, causing the ground to grow hot and pop as sudden heat filled it. This wasn’t the technique that she had seen. It looked more like he had coated his entire body in chakra. She took a deep breath and formed the seals again and this time formed the monkey seal followed by the Horse seal again. She spread the fire aspected chakra evenly across her entire body. She began to line it up with her own Tenketsu in preparation for an explosion of power. Yes! That felt like this would do it. She closed the technique with the Tiger seal. The chakra exploded from her tenketsu all out once creating a burst of flame around her entire body. The flames licked the ground and air in a sphere that expanded from her and as the flame ran out of her chakra to fuel it, it died, and she took a breath. Fuck that was hard. And he wants Haznou to do this without seals? Fuck that. She shook her head to herself. Maybe she wasn’t ready for the next level after all.

460/440

Jutsu Learned Katon Ripple

[Drak]

Hanzou continued to fall back further behind Nikkou, prying open the cigarette pack and lighting one up. He was greedily gulping down a drag when he noticed Nikkou coming up alongside him. He nearly choked when she hit him with the question. Were they dating? By the most traditional strictures of the clan, those which the oldest and least-integrated into settled life still adhered to, he and Nikkou were not dating: they were married. Hanzou, having grown up most of his life in Iwa was thoroughly settled and didn’t hold that particular belief. He also decided to not bring it up in front of Nikkou. This would be tough enough to navigate without the prospect of this being a lifelong commitment off the bat. Still, Hanzou wasn’t at all opposed to this being something more serious.

He waved his hand in front of his face to disperse the cloud of smoke that came out with his coughs. A weary smile came across his face. His coughs subsiding, he opened his mouth and…

---

Show off, Hanzou thought to himself as he watched Youji create a shelter out of Doton. It was impressive to be sure, not to mention useful. Still, Hanzou couldn’t help but think that their teacher’s insistence on bringing shelter with them was undercut slightly by this display. He and Nikkou were sent off to gather firewood for their campsite. Wood gathered, fires lit, the four prepared a small meal. While he and Kohaku would share a watch later that evening, now Youji was teaching them. Hanzou was to learn a Katon technique. Katon was his specialty, in theory. It was every Fukusha’s specialty.

Hanzou watched carefully as his teacher wreathed himself in flames. For the briefest moment his eyes flashed purple. An expertly crafted shell of chakra encased his body, then shot off in every direction in an expanding fireball. He stopped the flames short as not to burn his fellows. The copying technique of the Shogo-Zumi was a funny thing. Only the most refined masters of the ocular technique could consciously remember how to execute a technique. For most, the techniques that they copied felt as something inborn and unteachable, like trying to explain an emotion. And just like emotions, with time they faded from memory.

Still, there was a case to be made for the pedagogical use of the Shogo-Zumi. With it, one could learn not how to execute a technique consciously, but how it would feel to do so correctly. Particularly useful for such a dangerous technique as this one. Hanzou would not master this technique today. Knowing now what it felt like, he would soon.

SpoilerShow

WC: 442/400

*Katon • Ripple
C-Rank Ninjutsu
By channeling katon chakra into their body, the user will release a burst of flame around their entire body, coming outwards from them. This sphere of roiling fire pushes outward with [Control speed and impacts whatever it touches with [Control] strength, the sphere extending roughly 25 meters in radius from the user's body.