[Graded][Plotboard] Values

[The Legend Excalibur]

Vale had been following Tatsuo from the rooftops for a while now, ever since he'd departed the prison. The interaction he'd witnessed between the older boy and his father was still fresh in his mind. The hostility that two had exert was something he hadn't sensed since, well, ever. His thoughts kept drifting to the most likely answer; the Council Chamber. Kotaru must have told him about it, and Tatsuo sought to seek, what, some sort of revenge on his behalf?

He paused, and watched as Tatsuo moved further and further away. Whether true or not, Vale felt the whole situation was his fault. He had intentionally instigate Kotaru within the Council Building, and whether he wanted to admit it or not, he'd enjoyed antagonizing the boy. It felt... good getting under other boy's skin, for all his threats, even if it meant tempting death from him. But now his actions had begun spreading to beyond just him, and was affecting his family. First Memi, who he sought to protect, and now his father.

Lightly hitting the ground he stood on, he released a sigh, resolving himself. Kotaru would never let whatever this grudge was go, for his own reasons. He'd never listen to Vale, nor accept any attempt at apologizing. But Tatsuo... from what he seen of the boy from their first and only interaction... he was sensible. And Kotaru seemed to listen to him, if only partially. Maybe he'd be able to convince the other boy of letting bygones be bygones?

Standing, he hurried to catch up to Tatsuo, leaping down from the rooftops to the street below, and catching up to the jounin. "Ah, Tatsuo-san!" He called out to him, from a few feet behind. "Could we, talk? Privately?" It was hard for Vale to hold back his nervousness. For all his threatening, the only one Vale had taken serious was the first; stay away from Tatsuo.

[Niro]

Tatsuo's meeting with Aku had gone...better than he had expected. The younger Akari had been ready for a fight had the Warden attempted to make a move but they had been able to resolve things with their words rather than their fists. He still didn't fully trust Aku when he had mentioned his request had been to train Vale. Their compatibility when it came to training was poor and it'd more than likely end with Vale on the ground unable to move.

His trek back to the Akari compound had been quiet. Tatsuo had not stopped anywhere and besides some passing faces waving at him, he didn't care to interact much with the populace of Iwagakure after such a tense situation. Moments before he was able to cross the threshold into the compound, a vaguely familiar voice called out to him from behind. Turning to face the source, Tatsuo was a bit surprised to see Vale chasing after him. Had he seen the interaction with Aku?

"Ah, Vale." Tatsuo replied, coming to a stop. He could hear the nervousness in Vale's voice, leading him to believe that yes, the genin had seen the interaction between the two jounin. "Sure, did you have a spot in mind?"

[The Legend Excalibur]

”Sure.” He replied quickly, as if he’d already thought through the entire conversation. In Iwa, where so much of the village’s structure and activity resided beneath their feet, one wouldn’t be surprised by how often people looked up. The rooftops were a common enough meeting place for people who sought privacy.

Though this being the Akari compound, the risk of Kotaru seeing them was multiplied by a hundred, meaning Vale needed somewhere that his unwanted rival would almost never stray near.... his family’s home. Leading Tatsuo through his usual route home, Vale’s mind raced with the possible ways he’d say what he wanted to say. How would he actually convince the older boy to try and end this feud? He had no reason to, heck, he barely even knew Vale. Why would he be inclined to do anything to his benefit?

When they finally arrived near his home, he’d perform several leaps, hopping towards the roof. He tried to do so lightly, knowing Memi would be home at this time, and didn’t want to disturb her.

Once settled, he turned to Tatsuo, and offered a deep bow. ”Tatsuo-san, I... He paused for a moment, thinking on his next words ”Look. I honestly don’t know what started it, but I want to end this whatever this feud... rivalry... call it what you want. I want it to end between Kotaru and I. Before the people close to me are drawn in even more than they already are.”

”Kotaru isn’t someone who’d listen to me... and I’m not strong enough to change that. And my father has.... well, I assume you already know.” He avoided eye contact. ”Kotaru doesn’t seem to listen to anyone but you. Could you, possibly, talk to him?” His voice came out uneven, though it wasn’t timidness. It was uncertainty, not knowing the outcome that was to come.

[Niro]

Tatsuo nodded at Vale's quick confirmation; the prompt answer was something he appreciated from the younger shinobi. He followed behind the boy, keeping at his pace. They traveled through the Akari compound before finally taking to the rooftops of a household he could only assume was Vale's. After reaching the roof, Tatsuo closed his eyes for a brief moment and activated his sensory. His sensory reached out, covering the household and picking up a singular chakra signature in the house. It was small but what intrigued him was the violet colored chakra leaking from the head of the person inside. Vale's sibling had an astrashiin and the puzzle pieces were beginning to fall into place. Aku asking the Elders had probably been about the person inside, rather than teaching Vale. There were no current astrashiin bearers who held a candle to the young jounin, it only made sense for the strongest of the generation to help nurture the next.

Tatsuo opened his eyes and looked at Vale, a small smirk on his face at the realization. "Kotaru is as brash and young as you are. I don't know what's going between you two but I can see the sincerity in wishing the bullshit to end. I can open up a talk with him but it is on you two to squash this issue between each other. Kotaru respects few things so you'll need to grow strong." Tatsuo replied to the boy's plea, the smirk having disappeared when he started talking. His face was now serious and it was clear to see.

"Is there anything else you wish to ask of me or what that the entirety of it, Vale? Besides your sibling below us having an astrashiin?"

SpoilerShow

*[Sensory Style • Beyond Senses]
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: Ninjutsu/Control/Instinct stats of 10
This sensor jutsu is used by shinobi to feel chakra sources within a radius of 25 meters. While this jutsu is fairly helpful in sensing chakra, it is unable to actually pinpoint specific chakras outside of 10 feet. This only gives the Shinobi an idea of how many entities with chakra are present in their general area.

[The Legend Excalibur]

”We’ve already gone through that!” He suddenly blurted out, something uncharacteristic of the young shinobi. ”One of the Elders had us sit down and ‘clear the air’. I... said some things I’m. Maybe they were true to me. But besides that, it ended in some tired apology between us. I know that isn’t the end.” Vale tightened his hands. Again, strength appeared as a deciding factor. And again, his lack of it was a problem.

Kotaru... Tatsuo.... even Memi, it seemed like, we’re prodigies, their strength seemingly an innate trait of the new generation, one that had skipped him entirely. In the Academy, he’d thought he was one of the strongest there was... only for that world view to be shattered merely months after graduating. ”Kotaru won’t listen to me. Not now. Likely not ever. Not with how I am.”

He looked up at Tatsuo, meeting his eyes, his own reflecting a solid determination and will. ”If strength is the one of the only things that would make Kotaru recognize I’m not just some weakling to put down and push at the whim, then help me become strong, Tatsuo-san.”

This kind of display was entirely out of character for Vale. The cool, calm, collected demeanor he usually dispalyed was replaced by one of crafted in the moment, formed from desperation and self-pity. ”You're one of the strongest people I know of, besides the Tsuchikage and my father. Please, train me to be stronger.”

[Niro]

"You did it once but did you do it right? You said things true to you but did you try to hold your tongue? Take it on the chin and be the bigger man? Kotaru thrives off of conflict and it only serves to push him farther, you have to calm down and be the rational person otherwise it just turns into a shitty contest." Tatsuo explained, shaking his head at the information Vale revealed to him about their meeting in the Elders' Chambers. "Also, unrelated, don't trust the Elders." He snuck in before moving on to the request.

Tatsuo could see and feel the desperation in the boy's voice, in his body language. He was sincere in his wish to get stronger and who was Tatsuo to tell him no? He was risking his life by asking Tatsuo for help, if Kotaru intended to keep his promise when Vale and Tatsuo had first met. "I want you to realize I was not given my strength. I worked my body to its absolute limits and that is how I gained it. My armory of shiin is a result of that hard work and perseverance. Are you really ready to get broken down like a stray dog and build back up again?"

[The Legend Excalibur]

Vale actually had tried to hold his tongue, in fact. It was something he'd been trained to do by his mother since he was young. But by his own admission, there was just something in the goading and the insults that Kotaru through that just made him not want to lie there and take it. But, what Tatsuo had said at least made some sense, in it's own way. Maybe the way to deal with Kotaru wasn't in trying to meet him word from word, but simply shrugging it off, which itself was no easy task.

And what had he meant by the Elders? The casual and off-handed way he'd said it led Vale to believe it may have been a slip of the tongue, but it was something that'd he consider later, on his own time.

"I'll.... consider your words." It was the most he could offer at this point, at least, when it came to Kotaru. Vale had never trained to the point of collapse, nor to the point of any serious injury. But by Tatsuo's tone, he could tell that both scenarios weren't so much of implications as promises. Was he really willing to do that, to enter hell, all in order to grow stronger?

A stray dog was of use to no one. It was weak. It survived on the mercy of others. No better than the trash it slept in. A wolf... a wolf made its own strength. It was no detriment to the pack, it didn't rely on it. Whether alone or together, wolves always had their strength. Before, Vale would have been as a dog. Docile. Obedient. "This... is my only option at this point. If I'm too weak to make it through, then I really wasn't anything to begin with."

Before, he'd been docile. No more.