Center of the Earth

[Ree]

Kumori had found himself venturing outside of the Fukusha compound more and more as of late. This was more to clear his own mind than anything else. The compound was his home, the place he felt most comfortable. Lately, however, he had been having strange feelings of borderline claustrophobia, as formidable in size as the compound was. He often confined himself to his living quarters in his spare time. Usually he had preferred training within the compound as well, away from the eyes of strangers. In the last few weeks though, he had been going on long walks that sometimes ended at training destinations or simply circled back to the compound.

Today he had some free time and decided he would visit some place new in the village. A break from the usual scenery, he had heard some of his fellow Genin speak of an underground forest beneath Iwagakure. It felt like it had been so long since he had been in some foliage, and decided some true fresh air might be useful, despite it being underground. Kumori was still getting acquainted with all of the underground layers of the village, and he had some time to kill so he thought he might take a hike.

After dressing and eating a small meal for breakfast, the young Fukusha headed for the exit of the compound. On the way out he passed some elder clansmen who simply nodded their acknowledgment of him in passing. Returning the favor, Kumori kept his hands in his pockets and his hands low. He had been making it a point to get out of his own head, however temporarily.

Having gotten rough directions from some of his peers, Kumori wandered about for awhile getting his bearings before actually going underground. It took him awhile, not wanting to ask any villagers for further or more specific directions. He found his way though and eventually stumbled upon the entrance to a small park beneath the village. Thankfully, it wasn’t as crowded as his walk above ground had been. Having resided in Iwagakure for a couple years now, mostly brooding and isolating himself, he wonder why he had never ventured down here before. He couldn’t even remember the last time he saw so much green in one place. He must have been a child.

As cynical as the young Fukusha was, he felt almost refreshed by the scenery. Always on alert, he acknowledged all of those in the vicinity and made sure he had an exit route before walking through the park. He feigned comfort, still with his hands in his pockets. His head was held high now, looking around him. There was a different feel to the air down here, one he could appreciate. Part of him wished the compound was built underground. Kumori was always having conflicting feelings, but as he lay in bed at the end of the day, the same emotions washed over him. He shuddered, forcing himself into the moment and what was in front of him. That’s why he was here, right? A temporary escape. Kumori positioned himself underneath a tree, leaning up against the trunk and feeling the course bark interact with his clothing. Now he was simply taking in his surroundings, trying to make peace with himself. Most found him unapproachable, and he was okay with this. He wasn’t very interested in small talk.

[Zao]

An average looking, dark haired man sporting a traditional jounin vest with a rather odd looking sash that held a series of red orbs exited the compound of the relatively new addition to the village if one took into consideration the length of time the Stone village had been established. Scratching the back of his head was a jounin of the relatively low key Feng family, looked around and sighed a bit stretching his neck to one side then the other as the messy raven hair flipped back and forth. Xi was a pretty fresh jounin and was still attempting to feel his way around the new role and the set of responsibilities that came with the promotion.

The first of which was the assignment of his first genin whom he'd be personally responsible for guiding and mentoring while the chuunin and special jounin would mainly focus on the actual training portion along with whomever he found to partner with amongst his own peers. Though it felt a bit bothersome to him, he could remember not so long ago when he was a just a basic level ninja too. He considered all the shinobi within the village as he would family, but those who even thought to betray or harm the village he would deal with swiftly and without hesitation. One must always be willing to put the village and its needs before their own life, at least in his own ideology.

"They said that he went there..." Talking to himself, the jounin had been here to visit the parents of his new genin assignment, in the process see what the living conditions were for him and if possible speak to the young Fukusha at the same time. Though a little troublesome to go around looking for a genin it wasn't like the jounin had much more to do on his half a day off, having already had breakfast. With rhythmic steps the jounin turned and headed for the unique underground forest. After a bit of time had passed he would find himself descending down into what some might have considered a whole separate world from the village itself. The sight brought a gentle smile onto the teenager's lips as he recalled the first time he had stumbled upon this place...what a break it was from the outside world when one could escape away to it.

Bright green eyes slowly scanned from side-to-side, a picture appearing in the fully gloved left hand as he glanced down to insure that he had memorized the boy's face before tucking it away into one of the front pockets of the flak he wore. A few minutes later he turned to the left while traveling down one of manmade pathways to see the subject of his search seemingly resting beneath one of the trees. 'Found him.' Having found his genin the young jounin stepped off the cobblestone path and headed in the boy's direction, one hand tucking itself into the man's pocket and the other offering a half way as he simple called out the name of the clan member without any tone that would signify anything pressing or urgent. "Fukusha, Kumori...so I've found you."

[Ree]

As Kumori scanned the vicinity, there was no one immediately around him. Just as he felt as though he could relax, an average looking shinobi walking along the cobblestone path began to walk in his direction. Instinctively, he leaned off the tree, standing up straight and bracing himself for whatever. He knew he wouldn't be randomly attacked in his own village, but he was always on his toes regardless of the circumstances. The man had an average appearance, though he was clearly a shinobi. Kumori had never seen him before, and couldn't imagine why he was being approached. As the man called Kumori by his full name, a bewildered look danced across the young Fukusha's face. Why was this man even searching for him? He had not spoken to anyone within the compound, though he wasn't exactly difficult to find. Kumori was a creature of habit, and when he did venture outside of the clan's designated living space, his whereabouts became predictable. Still, no one had ever approached him in this manner before.

Combing over the last few days events in his mind, he wondered if he should have been expecting this man. Aside from his uncle and clan's leader, Fukusha Kazuo's instructions that he needed to participate more, within the clan and within the village itself, no one had mentioned anything else specifically to him yet. He was just going on a walk to clear his head. It seemed the only way he could figure out what the man wanted was to engage him in conversation. Still, with his body tense, Kumori proceeded cautiously. "Who are you?" Kumori asked, looking the man up and down. He really was rather plain looking, with a couple inches of height over Kumori. Messy, short black hair with emerald eyes locked on the young Fukusha. He notice some scarring on the man's arm, but other than that, he had no distinctive identifiers.

As Kumori stared at the man, he simply awaited a response. Kumori squinted his eyes, as he was confused as to why he had been approached. The man wore a vest he had seen higher ranking shinobi wear throughout the village, so that must have meant something. Was he tasked with finding Kumori by somebody? That seemed to be the only thing that had made sense. Kumori rarely mingled with those outside of his clan, so there must be a reason this Jounin had been seeking him out. Did Kazuo put this man up to this? Did someone else in the village? Only time would tell.

[Zao]

A half smile formed on the man's calm face, his half waving hand dropping to the side as it would also slip into his pocket, as well. "I am Feng Xi, starting from today until you are able to reach the rank of jounin I have been tasked with being your reporting Jounin." Xi was normally always a straight forward type of person, today was no exception as he got straight to the point as the boy seemed to be a bit on edge. But that wasn't unexpected response as if a random higher up shinobi suddenly approached and called you out by name without some form of forewarning then it would truly cause one to start thinking of most likely what bad reason they could be here for. Thankfully today was not a meeting on any negative terms and instead was a simple introduction period for Xi to the first genin assigned under his watch.

"Our meetings will be bi-monthly, working around any missions and the such you could be on at the time, of course." The newly promoted jounin continued to speak after the short break in his words, the pause meant for Kumori to understand the reasoning for being sought out now before speaking more about how their meetings would work and when he expected to see or speak with the genin. "Have you found other genin to form a team with? Have you looked into any finding any chuunin to help train with, as well?" The questions from the young man, only two years older than the genin in front of him actually, came back to back as he wanted to find out the basic details of the boy and where he was with the normal things genin should being doing to train themselves.

It actually brought the young man back a few years when he'd first became a genin himself out of the academy, things were much different for them here in Iwa compared to some of the other village, as they were pushed into building themselves up on an individual level along with seeking out guidance from chuunin or special jounin level shinobi. Then their was the part that they needed to seek out and band together with other genin to form teams or partnerships in order to complete other missions, the village leaving all this to the genin level shinobi themselves to figure out. This would force the shinobi to look at themselves and those around them to find those who worked best with them along with learning how to be truly independent and critical thinkers. Even if it was a true hassle learning to handle all that at once...

[Ree]

As the Jounin before him provided an explanation for the engagement, Kumori relaxed, his tense body becoming more loose. He stopped squinting at the man and instead eyed him in a more respectful manner, listening to his every word. Apparently, Feng Xi was tasked with guiding the young Fukusha. This definitely must have been apart of the responsibility and expectations Fukusha Kazuo had placed upon him. Kumori's standard stoic and cold demeanor was replaced by a calm one, as he had been working on his outlook on life and how he interacted with others. This man, Xi, did not appear to be much older than Kumori himself, but he had reached one of the highest ranks shinobi could reach. To him, this signaled an extremely capable shinobi, and thus Kumori would respect this man as such. After all, if he had rose through the ranks so young, he might actually be a useful guide for Kumori to navigate the shinobi lifestyle.

Upon informing Kumori that they would meet on a bi-monthly schedule, bar any other obligations he had, the young Fukusha nodded modestly. The head of the Fukusha told him he was to venture out into the village at least once a week to train with others outside of the clan, so it was strange to Kumori that their meetings would be so spread out. However, the Jounin continued speaking to the young boy and the bigger picture became more apparent. It seemed that Kumori was expected to seek other Genin to form a team with, and even seek out other ranks of shinobi for help training and guiding them. After his talk with Kazuo, Kumori believed that his uncle simply had his best interests in mind, but now he was unsure that if it was Kazuo's idea or if pressure was put on him by the village to make sure the young members of the Fukusha were meeting expectations. Either way, Kumori had no choice but to embrace this culture, so he might as well not make life harder for himself. He was warming up to the village though, and he saw a silver lining in having specific things expected of him, even if he was unaware of them.

Kumori paused for a moment, mulling over the information that was just presented to him. The young Fukusha thought about his answer, as he often did before speaking. He didn't like speaking more than need be, but as expectations were arising, he knew he would need to be more active in breaking out of his shell. He was a grudge holder, but he knew none of the people he had come across were responsible for his parents death. After a brief moment of contemplation, Kumori slowly shook his head. "I have not interacted with many shinobi outside of my clan. I was unaware that I was obligated to do so." Kumori answered honestly, of course. He truly was unaware of this, however he would be lying if he said for sure no one told him this. He often avoided people and zoned out when addressed in a group setting. It wasn't that Kumori wasn't good at meeting people, he simply didn't attempt to do so. Pausing briefly again, he continued speaking, with a question of his own.

"Where do you suggest I begin?" The young Fukusha was actually clueless. Of course he could search training grounds for other Genin, either alone or in small groups. He had no idea what being on a team entailed. Although he did not want to waste Xi's time, he had to know clearly what he was supposed to be doing. He had been on brief missions around and on the outskirts of Iwagakure, but they were not very important, and usually presented to him by his fellow clansmen. Hopefully this more experienced shinobi could point him in the right direction, so he could have something to actually report the next time they would meet. Kumori pondered whether or not he was the only Genin Xi was in charge of. Not that it mattered, but it might make his life slightly easier if he knew of other Genin in need of a team.

[Zao]

"Oh?" The young jounin's emerald green eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the genin's first reply, but nodded his head in some form of understanding due to the clan background of Kumori. Being from a small family he was forced to go and seek out others to work with due to the gaps in levels and ages amongst the other younger family members but if one was from a clan that had many shinobi around your age and skill level due to its size then outsourcing help probably wasn't an issue. A half smile returned on the teenager's face, able to understand at least part of the issue as the student before him asked where he should begin. "I wouldn't necessarily be an obligation, per say. Normally the academy instructors don't tell you why you are to do this."

While the instructors at graduation do normally speak of these things for the kids that are becoming full fledged shinobi, it wasn't often clear what the actual intent of those orders where. Something that could cause confusion upon many who received them, especially as such noob level in terms of shinobi thinking and actions. "The end goal is of course to form a strong team of complimenting skills to take on more challenging missions to work your skills and mindset towards that of a chuunin. But the unseen actions are building repour with other shinobi, networking more or less, in which you build ties with others in the village increasing your investment in the village as you continue to grow along side those other shinobi." There was the hidden reasoning of not necessarily to make friends, as the village cared little for such type of sentiments but instead to understand the level of your own generation and serve as a tool to pit the genin against one another to grow stronger.

Of course there was no need at the moment to explain everything in detail to Kumori, that was something he would discover for himself farther down the road of being an Iwa shinobi. As for the second part, "As far as finding them, I would prefer that you attempt to search out others first on your own. Training areas, the mission assignment office...there are many places to begin that search. For the latter, I'll need to have a better sense of what your skill set looks like to guide you towards the appropriate chuunin to help mentor you." Taking a breath, not normally this much of a talker himself, one of the small red orbs broke away from the sash he wore diagonally across his body and floated over in front of him, not appearing in any manner of threatening at the moment as it simply hovered there ith only the jounin's will guiding it. "I know what your academy report states, but I'd prefer to hear it from you at what your combat strengths are."

[Ree]

Kumori listened to Xi intently, hanging on to every word. Was he really that ignorant to the way the world worked? In his own defense, when he graduated the academy, he was still heavily in denial and extremely depressed with how things were going. Still, being a shinobi was the only thing that truly kept his mind thinking forward, and kept him out of a very dark place. He appreciated the Jounin's seemingly understanding demeanor. He seemed a tad surprised, but he was very informative. As Kumori thought back to when he graduated the academy, which wasn't too incredibly long ago, he strained to think of what was asked of him. The young Fukusha truly was in a bad space mentally, and though he had a rough idea, for the most part he had simply been wandering around trying to grow on his own. What Xi was saying made a lot of sense, however. Everything he was being told seemed aligned with what Kazuo had been telling him. The Genin had wasted enough time sulking as it was.

As the Iwagakure Jounin continued his explanation, Kumori felt a sense of gratitude. Though he was unaware of whatever events had been transpiring behind the scenes, he was grateful things were being set in motion. At least now he would have a clear cut understanding of how to progress as a shinobi. Xi explained that the ultimate goal was to network, to build a rapport with others in the village, and increase the investment in the symbiotic relationship shinobi have with their village. The more Kumori really considered this, it made a lot more sense. He was beginning to reach this conclusion on his own, but obviously he needed a push in the right direction. He had spent so much time wallowing in self pity that he had held himself back slightly. For as long as the Fukusha had been apart of the village, he had avoided bonding with others outside of his clan. Even within his clan, he was distant. This all needed to change.

The next part of the Jounin's explanation of what Kumori was interpreting as standard procedure was the direction he truly needed. Where to begin in building this relationship with others. Although it may be easier for the village to just assign teams, it might actually prove to be more beneficial for these teams to form on their own. These bonds would be chosen instead of forced, ensuring a well oiled machine. Kumori was all ears, locking eye contact with his reporting Jounin. Xi had asked him to describe his own skill set, and this is what made the young Fukusha realize he had truly been lacking. Expanding his arsenal would prove much easier with others to build with. As they say, many hands make light work, and Kumori had been willingly working by himself. He paused, thinking about how to describe his strengths.

"My strengths...I would say my mental toughness. I was raised learning Taijutsu. I didn't learn Ninjutsu until we joined Iwagakure. I have an affinity toward Katon, though I don't know many Ninjutsu techniques." Kumori was being honest, as he hadn't really strayed too far from what he knew. He seemed to stick with the things passed down by the Fukusha, but he was beginning to realize the holes in his skill set. He didn't mention his Doujutsu. Those familiar with the Fukusha knew of the Shogo-zumi, but he felt uncomfortable discussing it with outsiders, even if this man meant well. If their relationship proved fruitful, Kumori would entrust him with his more deep thoughts, but for now, he felt the information he was divulging was enough to start with. "I guess my biggest strength is adapting to the task at hand. I lean toward close to mid range combat." Kumori sounded slightly unsure of himself. Maybe seeking others would truly be as beneficial as it was beginning to sound.

[Zao]

'Mental toughness, decent taijutsu, Katon ninjutsu...' As the slightly younger shinobi before him began to speak about himself the new jounin was making some mental notes for himself in order to fill out the paperwork on the back end of things. While it was true that the jounin was only responsible as the reporting officer in the case with Iwa, there was still a lot of paperwork that was filed on each of their genin in order to help monitor their growth and also as a check on them in case odd cases developed. He hadn't imagined that most of his time off work would be filled with catching up with the extra duties that came with being at this level. The small orb was still floating slowly back and forth as he gave a half smile and reached up to rub his chin with the index and middle fingers of the left hand now.

"Being mentally tough and able to adapt, these are traits that not ever shinobi has, especially at your age. Let's do a few tests so I can better gauge the level each of your aforementioned skills are at, my young friend." Though he didn't mention his doujutsu, being an informed jounin, he knew more or less its capability but he hadn't really had any first hand experience working with or against the kekkie genkai. Flicking his finger as though pointing into the empty space in front of them the small orb zipped forward to a distance of twenty meters and was joined by a second one as the two slowly circled around one another forming an imaginary two meter circle. "Please demonstrate some of your skills against my orbs...."

As the calm jounin turned his green orbs from the soul orbs to the genin he continued, a gentle smile on his face as he was a bit excited to see what the Fukusha could do...one to always have high hopes for the future generation of shinobi who would be there to support him and ultimately take his place in the future. "Don't worry about holding back or breaking them, they may not look like much but they are surprisingly resilient little things." These were only two of the total twenty five soul orbs that he kept on his person, the strange chakra receiver orbs linked only to his chakra which allowed for him to control them so easily before the genin. They were rotating currently at about two meters from the ground and at a steady five speed, wanting to get an initial judgement for the boy's strengths before ramping things up a bit for him.

[Ree]

As the Jounin seemed to ponder the self description Kumori had given him, the young Fukusha began to pay more attention than the items on his person. On Xi's sash were a multitude of orbs, a few moving as if they had a mind of there own. One of them was floating, as Xi began to speak again. He seemed to accept Kumori's answer, at least on the mental side, acquiescing that these were indeed good attributes for a shinobi to have. After this, the Jounin mentioned something of testing the Genin to gauge where exactly his skills lied. That was fine with Kumori. Though he had began to second guess himself and his limited skill set, he still held a demeanor of confidence, and was always more visual than verbal.

Just then, Xi flicked his finger, pointing to an empty space close to the two. The orb that floated beside the more experienced shinobi shot to where Xi had pointed, followed by another orb removing itself from his sash. The two orbs floated to where he had directed, about twenty meters away. They began to cycle, spinning in a circle that appeared two meters in diameter, and hovered two meters off the ground. Kumori observed the strange objects, as the Jounin instructed him to exhibit some of his skills on the orbs. Claiming them to be resilient, he seemed confident that Kumori would not destroy them. The Genin had personally never seen anything like these orbs. It seemed that they were somehow linked to Xi, though he had no clue how. Some form of chakra control? He had quite a few of them on his person, over twenty from Kumori's rough estimate. Whatever they were, if a Jounin had such confidence in them they were not to be taken lightly.

Kumori quickly skimmed through his reserve of jutsu, trying to decide what to lead with. This is what he assumed the Jounin meant, as he could not see himself sparring hand to hand with a strange orb, though he wouldn't let his guard down in case the pace of things picked up. Kumori looked at Xi in his eye, and nodded. Turning he rushed forward towards the rotating orbs. As Kumori closed the gap between him and the orbs, he began to string together a few hand seals, bringing chakra to his chest. Kumori stopped just short of five meters from the orbs, taking a quick, but deep breath. As he exhaled, the young Fukusha expelled a large cone of fire, releasing the pent up Katon chakra in his chest. The cone spread out from Kumori's mouth, spanning a length of five meters and a base of three. The cone would travel at a speed of 10, and impact at 10 as well. As soon as the stream of flames dissipated, Kumori would immediately take up his clan's Walking Stance. He knew this jutsu would not be enough to show his skills, and he would prepare for whatever was to come his way.

With his feet positioned in a L formation shoulder length apart and his knees slightly bent, Kumori gave off the facade that he was relaxed. At least, that's what his body language would show. Truly, he was on edge, prepared to dodge, parry, block, or counter any form of retaliation from the orbs. Relying on his instincts, Kumori would not underestimate these strange objects, and did not expect Xi to just watch him try his hardest to destroy the orbs.

SpoilerShow

*Katon • Flame Jet
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user draws in a deep breath before exhaling out a cone that is up to five meters long and three meters wide at it's base. The cone travels at a speed equal to [Control] and impacts with a strength equal to [Control].

~Flames of Hate • Walking Stance
D-Rank Taijutsu Stance
The Fukusha will pair their feet in an L stance, and have a casual movement to them despite their mind being on edge. This stance is typically used to lull opponents into thinking the user is relaxed as their feet are paired shoulder width apart, and knees slightly bent for immediate leverage when needed. While moving the user will typically keep their body on edge as if to react out of instinct to dodge, parry, or block any incoming attacks. In this stance the users keep their torso up straight.

[Zao]

A faint trace of a smile could be found on the right corner of the shinobi's thin lips, jade eyes that didn't appear to be to focused on what was actually going on were taking in each movement and action that the genin assigned to him now made. Breaking the short distance between himself and the orbs into maneuver into range to utilize katon ninjutsu. Stopping at almost the perfect range in order to utilize the max effective range of his ninja technique, Kumori had good senses for sure in order to measure out the precise spot that would allow for him to keep some distance but also have the target within range. 'Not bad...'

Only a simple nod of acknowledgement came from the young jounin at this point, keeping his actual thoughts to himself for the time being continuing to make additional mental notes of the genin's performance and possible potential. "Moving on." The gloved left hand lifted slightly to about waist level, his gaze shifting quickly back and forth between the rotating orbs that revealed themselves having little more than a few traces of black upon their crimson surface. It would take much more than a technique at the chuunin level to deal with the soul orbs that were linked to him only, unable to be used by another because of the bond they shared.

The index of that hand pointed out towards the orb and then he swiped left sending the orb directly for the boy at center mass, precisely controlling the speed to match what he saw the young shinobi move at previously. (Speed and strength of 7) He wasn't looking to over power or force the boy into any type of difficult situation as of yet. Just still assessing what the capabilities of Komori were at the moment. While the second orb stopped rotating and instead appeared to hover in place without moving as if it was awaiting the command of its owner to also join in to attack the genin. But for now there would only be a single orb to deal with. Focused on the single orb and the genin he would allow it to attack the boy three times in a row, back-to-back, all three attempting to strike the genin in the chest or back.