“Akito-san,” Kagura, Akito’s assistant said, opening the door to his office. Akito’s preference would have been for last names, but since he and Kokou shared one, the staff had settled on using their first names.
“Someone just set up an appointment with Kokou, and he also requests you attend. It’s a meeting with Tenzin Hatake – the bannin.”
Curious. What could he want with the University? A position, perhaps?
Akito raised his eyebrows. He recognized that name. He was, of course, a bannin which would be reason enough to recognize him. Additionally, he and Akito had the slimmest of personal connections. Tenzin was a year his senior, and they had been in the Academy at the same time. Akito remembered looking up to him then, even if they had never been close. Additionally, when Tenzin graduated and became a genin, he had been placed on a team with one of Akito’s Hyuuga cousins.
Why did Akito remember that? Placement of recently graduated Hyuugas was always big news on the clan compound: reason to celebrate even. At the celebration, he vividly remembered the girl’s father sitting her down, pointing to Akito and his parents, and telling her “You must be careful around your new teammates. If you get too close to them, you will end up like Shigure over there, with a half-breed child. Be cordial, yes. Work with them, yes. But remember that you are Hyuuga and as such are above such base boys.”
“Very well, Kagura-san,” Akito said.
“Put it on my calendar, and I will be there.”
When the day of the meeting arrived, Akito was neck deep in developing his new Ink jutsu. He had perfected summoning small creatures and having them report their findings to him. He had also spent some time figuring out how to create larger creatures. Specifically, he had been experimenting with large snakes. His desk was littered in papers with drawings of them ranging from crude to elaborate. If one was not familiar with Ink Release, one would assume that he was some snake-obsessed art professor.
One common theme he had found in his research was combining sensory jutsu with Ink Release. Akito had tried many times to ‘see’ through the eyes of his creatures, but with limited success. As the hour of their meeting neared, Akito finally began to make some progress: he summoned a small, ink black cat and with great focus was able to cover one of his eyes and ‘see’ what the cat could in his mind’s eye.
Akito let the cat return to its scroll and glanced at the clock. He wanted to try that a few more times, but he would need to meet Kokou and Tenzin soon.
If I knew exactly when Tenzin was arriving, I would have plenty of time to get to Kokou’s office before him.
A light bulb went off in Akito’s head. He grabbed a sheet of paper and quickly sketched a crow on it. With a few hand seals, he brought the crow to life and tasked it to keep watch for Tenzin. When it saw him, it was to return to Akito’s office and let him know. Akito opened his window and the crow flew out. Akito tried creating a few other creatures: rats, birds, spiders, and seeing through their eyes. He was starting to get the hang of things.
Akito’s next idea was to try to sense chakra through his creatures. He had plenty of experience sensing chakra: not only had he dabbled in sensory jutsu, but his chosen type of taijutsu was predicated on being able to literally see chakra. As he pondered how he might use this to his advantage, he heard flapping outside his window. The crow he had sent back glided in and alighted on the sheet of paper it had been summoned from, before melting back onto the paper, its inky body forming the words “Tenzin is here.”
Akito quickly gathered some paper and pens into a folio and rushed out of his office. He was wearing his usual formal attire: black tunic, heavy navy hakama, and a white haori. His long, black hair was tied into a topknot, and his Konoha headband was fastened neatly on his forehead.
“I have something to show you,” Akito said as he entered Kokou’s office, where they were slated to meet with Tenzin. Taking one of the chairs opposite Kokou, Akito laid his folio on Kokou’s desk, opened it, and produced a drawing of a snake. With a longer than usual series of hand seals, Akito bade the snake come to life. It leapt from the page, and slithered across Kokou’s desk, down one of its legs, and out of the room.
“Forgive the snake on your desk, but I have discovered how to see through the eyes of my ink creatures, and if my hypothesis just now is correct, I may also be able to sense chakra through them as well,” Akito said, placing his pen down and covering his right eye with his hand.
Akito watched in his mind’s eye as the snake wound its way up a pipe. The snake curved with the pipe, holding on and corkscrewing around it as it became parallel to the ceiling. After a minute or so, the snake located Tenzin and began tailing him, making sure to stay up high and keep out of sight.
Akito focused further, hoping that his hypothesis was correct and that he would be able to sense chakra through the snake. A few deep breaths, and Akito could begin to feel something: a strange uneasiness, and a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. For a moment he thought he had made a mistake, but when he moved his focus away from Tenzin to another student, the feeling lessened.
Curious. I wonder what sort of jutsu he is using to induce this effect. Something to avoid detection perhaps? I wonder if he will notice the snake following him at such a distance.
Akito continued to observe Tenzin as he wound through the corridors of the school to where he and Kokou were waiting.
“He is turning left now. He has paused to check a sign. Now he is continuing on his way.” Akito excitedly narrated Tenzin’s progress to Kokou.
“He does seem to have some sort of repellent jutsu active on himself which is making me somewhat nauseous.”
Akito continued to narrate the man’s movements to Kokou as he approached the office.
“Seeing through the eyes of this snake is certainly different. It is not quite as disconcerting as the omnidirectional vision of the Byakugan was the first time I activated it, but it is certainly unusual. As it winds its way around the pipes above the halls, I experience its vision tumbling in my mind’s eye.”
When Tenzin reached the door to Kokou’s office, he would hear Akito’s voice from behind it.
“Soon, soon, aaaaaand now,” he would say as Tenzin reached for the door. Upon opening the door he would see Akito seated in one of the room’s chairs, turned around in his seat, a hand over one of his eyes, and a look of contemplation on the rest of his face.
WC: 1202/(400 + 400 + 400 = 1200)
Remote Viewing
C-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: Sensory Proficiency
With some additional hand seals, Akito will be able to see through the eyes of any summoned Ink creature in his mind's eye as long as he keeps one hand over his eye. For creatures with powerful senses of smell or hearing, Akito will be able to absorb information from their hightened senses.
Beast Imitation Drawing: Serpent
C-Rank Ninjutsu
After drawing a snake onto a paper and channelling chakra into it, Akito can make hand seals over the paper and bring the creature to life. The snake can be up to five meters in length. It can move with Speed [Control/2], constrict enemies with Strength [Control], and bite enemies with a necrotic poision.
Chakra Sensing
B-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: Sensory Proficiency, Remote Viewing
With some additional hand seals, Akito will be able to sense the chakra of any people or jutsu within 25 meters of an Ink creature which he is currently using for Remote Viewing unless it his hidden with a jutsu of higher rank.