Two Steps Behind (P, NK)

Altar was walking amongst the people in the village, not having much to do this day. He was trying to decide just what he needed to do, whether it was to go train, check up on Xyxer and see if he had another mission for him, perhaps he should go visit Youta... All these possibilities, but his damned indecisiveness was keeping him from doing any. He was much too bored to keep up his charade of simply parading the streets, talking with people along the way, but he wasn't sure what else he could do at the moment.

Walking the streets some more, turning various corners that he wouldn't remember, a stray thought crossed his mind. He hadn't seen Haru in quite some time, and he wasn't even sure his makeshift teacher had heard of his rise to Jounin, or his misadventures to Amegakure. Perhaps he should pay him a visit. It would kill time, after all, and it was something he was sure Haru wouldn't exactly mind.

Haru’s small apartment was completely quiet. It was, after all, only an hour past noon. What would you expect of the young man at this ungodly hour? It had been awhile since he left the house, after coping with the horrible visions he had been getting about his Sharingan… It seemed at long last that he had been cured of them. His house was surprisingly neat for a man coping with a mental breakdown. A quiet moan sounded as a ray of light came from the window, into the mirror, and directly into Haru’s eyes. Rolling over, he held his eyes, rubbing them.
”Uuuugh…” He groaned, holding a pillow over his head. Normally, this would have been enough to send him back to sleep, except for, well, his roommate. Noctis sat at the foot of his bed, like a dog begging to go outside.
”Ahru!” The dragon whispered softly. ”Ahru!”
Haru rolled over to face the dragon, an expression of irritation clear on his face. ”Please… Shut up!” He muttered, rolling back over. Noctis leaned forward, stretching his head around to face Haru’s.
”Ahru! I need to stretch my wings! It’s been forever since I’ve been outside…” The dragon pleaded. Haru shook his head.
”Tell you what, you can pronounce your “H”s just fine now, so call me fucking Haru!” He shouted at the glorified buzzard.
”No.” Retorted the dragon.
”Well, it looks like you aren’t going outside.” Haru answered stubbornly. Noctis shook his head, irritated. The winged beast turned, bursting through the window, flying off into the distance.
 
”…Fuck.” Haru muttered, sitting up slowly. He  slid his duster on, grabbing his equipment as he jumped out the window after him. He dropped down, going into free fall, before crashing into a nearby rooftop, cracking the cement slightly. He stood up, cracking his neck and stretching his arms. ”Fine, Noctis. Get back over here!” He shouted at the beast, running across the roof towards him. Stubbornly, Noctis continued flying, crossing over towards the other side of the street. Haru jumped after him, catching him about halfway across the block, and catching Noctis in a headlock. His weight then pulled both of them down to the ground, landing with a crash in the street, Haru sitting comfortably on the ground, arm still rapped around the beast’s neck.
 

It was then that Haru noticed the boy looking rather bored, standing a few meters away from him. ”Oh, hey, Altar.” Haru said offhandedly, releasing Noctis, who stood up slowly, before flying off again.

In a matter much akin to "Suddenly, X!", a fucking dragon came crashing down from the skies. Of course, it was a dragon that Altar knew well and immediately recognized. It was Noctis, and that meant that... yep, there was Haru. Strange that the ANBU would just fall from the sky when he was just about to go see him. What luck... Noticing him, Haru threw a sideways greeting to Altar, before letting go of Noctis, the drake flying off into the skies.

"Hey, Haru. Long time no see, huh? How've you and Noctis been since the last time we saw each other? That Sharingan still bothering you?" Altar would say, barraging him with questions.

Haru sighed as Altar began barraging him with questions. He shook his head, holding a hand up to the boy’s face.

”Slow the hell down, kid!” He said. ”What’s your favorite color? You like chicken or beef? Are you a good dancer? Do you like fat girls?” He said teasingly, mocking the boy. ”Slow down and take a breath!” He said, rubbing his head. ”The sharingan is fine… I think I just took a bad bump to my head. I’ve been taking it easy just in case. Have you made another attempt at the climb? You’ve missed a lot of training while I was out of commission…” He said a little worriedly. He was afraid Altar might not be ready for the next exams if they didn’t pick back up on his training. ”We’re gonna need to pick it up if you want your promotion, kid… I’m sorry about this.” He said apologetically.

Altar's eyes would light up as he saw that Haru was still his old joking self. Sure, he could have his moments of being an asshole, but they seemed to be getting fewer and further between. He was glad he was okay now, though. The Sharingan incident had had Altar a bit worried about Haru. He had seemed crazed and mad, intent on getting the eye out of his head. It was strange to see someone so lax and calm in that kind of fit. "Well, that's good to hear. You had me worried for a bit." Altar would say, before hearing Haru's next words. He said they'd need to train him a lot harder to get his next rank up. Well, that was something Altar already knew.

"I haven't tried the climb again, yet. I decided to take a little break, and i've been kinda busy. I went to Amegakure, found it deserted, Xyxer ordered me to take their money and documents... And I know about the rank up, i'm gonna need to do a helluva lot more training if I wanna make ANBU." Altar would say, grinning at Haru. He was catching up to his mentor, and fast. He hoped that that would make him at least somewhat proud.

Haru raised an eyebrow as Altar told his little story of what he had been doing while he was on leave…

”ANBU?” Haru inquired, a little warily. ”Did Xyxer promote you?!” He asked, excitement clear on his face. It was something wonderful, to see your students succeed. ”Congrats, ki-“ He began, before stopping himself. ”I’m proud of you, Altar.” He said, a little more seriously. He supposed, technically, they were equals now, at least by rank. Altar didn’t know that Haru was an ANBU, after all. ”Well, I’m guessing you’ve stepped up your game a bit since I last saw you? Learn any new tricks?” He would ask, a little interested to see how his protégé had gotten along without him. What skills had the boy learned since he last saw him?

Altar saw something akin to elation on Haru's face, congratulating him in full before stopping himself short of calling him kid. He took on a more serious route of congratulating him the second time around, seemingly to make things more official and grown between the two. Altar was no longer the small childish Genin he had been. Haru next asked if he had done anything to escalate his skill at fighting.

"Well, i've got a few more tricks up my sleeve. Nothing extreme yet, just some more of the same kind of stuff. I've been working on my Nin game mostly, but i've been delving into Genjutsu and Taijutsu as well, though nothing has really come of them just yet. I was hoping you could teach me some stuff, actually. Now that I have a Byakugan, and you're a Hyuuga..." Altar would say, heavily implying that he wanted to learn what he could of the Hyuuga techniques.

Haru was glad to hear that Altar had started to branch out. It was nice to see that the boy was expanding beyond simply using ninjutsu. Particularly that he was developing taijutsu skills. Taijutsu, being his preferred fighting style, was something he was glad to be able to pass down to his students.
 
”I suppose there’s a thing or two that I could teach you. Just like old times.” He said, placing a hand on Altar’s shoulder. ”Come on, if I’m teaching you this, I’m teaching you the right way. Follow me.” He said, turning and beckoning for Altar to follow. Haru would lead the boy to a wooded park area, one he recognized from the last time he had trained with Youta. He would turn to face Altar.
 
”Take a seat, and try to pay attention. I’m going to explain the basics of the gentle fist. Try to keep up. The gentle fist is a form of hand-to-hand combat used by members of the Hyuuga Clan. It inflicts internal damage through attacking the body's Chakra Pathway System, subsequently injuring organs which are closely intertwined with the area of the network which has been struck. To do this, the user surgically injects a certain amount of their own chakra into the opponent's chakra pathway system, causing damage to surrounding organs due to their proximity to the chakra circulatory system. Even the slightest tap can cause severe internal damage, hence the name "gentle" fist.
Targeting the tenketsu can enhance the havoc and control a Gentle Fist practitioner can impose upon an opponent's chakra network. These special nodes, 361 in total, are key gatekeeping interceptions in the chakra circulatory network, thus forcibly opening or sealing them in whatever manner the Gentle Fist user sees fit is a powerful tactical option to have. The user's chakra can either increase chakra flow in the opponent's body, or disrupt it completely, preventing them from using techniques.
It is done by leaking chakra from the chakra openings in one's hands and moulding it into a needle-like shape to slice through the chakra. However it is unknown if this technique can be done by any Gentle Fist user or just those who can see the tenketsu.
Because the chakra pathway system is invisible to the naked eye, the Byakugan is required for this style to be used effectively. Since the Byakugan is unique to the Hyuuga clan, it has become their signature style of combat.

The ability to inflict severe internal trauma with minimal external force, combined with chakra network manipulation, makes the Gentle Fist the one of the most reputable and fearsome taijutsu styles known throughout the ninja world.” Haru explained, stopping and taking a breath. ”Did you get all of that, or did it all go over your head?”

Altar looked on with a droll stare as Haru explained how Gentle Fist worked. Well, that was frightening. He'd have to remember to never piss off Haru again. Ah, who was he kidding. He'd always piss off Haru, no matter his age or rank.

"Alright, I got most of it, I believe all of it... When can I start learning, this is way too badass to pass up" Altar would say, smiling at Haru.

Haru smirked as Altar affirmed that he retained all of the information he had just passed on. Somehow, Haru didn’t believe him, but whatever. He would indicate for Altar to rise to his feet. Once he did, he would activate both of his dojutsu, giving himself a rather offsetting, battle-ready appearance.

”Alright, well, you know the theory. Put it to practice.” He told him, taking up a gentle fist stance. ”This is the gentle fist stance. You must take up this stance if you wish to preform the technique correctly.” He explained. ”I’m going to teach you the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms technique, the simplest of the basic gentle fist techniques.” He said, before stepping forward, towards Altar. He would strike the boy lightly twice, with no chakra needles formed, merely to show Altar what to do. ”First, two consecutive strikes to make two.” He said, before moving slightly, striking twice more. ”Second, two more strikes to make four.” He continued, striking four more times, counting in the same way he did for the first two as he did so, striking then eight times, then sixteen. ”Finally, thirty-two to make a full sixty four palms.” He said, finishing the barrage. ”Now, attempt the same thing on me. No chakra needles yet.”