Paint Me a Lesson (P)

A sign of relief escaped his lips as he sat down in the grass underneath a tree with all of his cartography materials. No, he wasn’t going to draw some of the beautiful areas of the Water Gardens. He wasn’t that kind of guy with a passion for drawing and cartography. His reason for being here was so Shouhei could practice the sealing arts. Something he would have done in the training ground proper, but people were a bit too noisy right now, and not in the fun way with explosives. Just a ton of grunts and the sound of metal connecting with metal multiplied by at least twelve people sparring.

He took his brush, dipped it in ink…as soon as he opened the inkbottle. He had clumsily forgotten to do that after he sat down. Anyhow, with that done, he let the brush run down the scroll. Soon a picture similar to the one next to him was drawn onto it. In the circle in the middle of the scroll, he placed a kunai for sealing.

An “hmm” sounds came from his throat as he started to put his chakra into the kunai and scroll trying to get it to work. However, nothing happened and Shouhei was left with a frustrated frown on his face as he threw off his jacket and swung it up on a tree branch. This was going to take a while, and he did not want the sweat to sneak up on him.

Word count: 249

Clack!  Clack!

His steps echoed down the hall as the older ninja walked, calm and collected, but honestly just... depressed.  Aki had been missing for so long, and Arashi himself was finding that with his higher standing in the eyes of Hoshi, came more of a responsibility.  The shinobi was more than just Aki's stand in, he was now Akihana's replacement.  He was consulted, and expected to give reports, something Den was all too happy to give the young weather ninja. 

He was no longer a child... or even a teenager.  He was an adult in the eyes of the Palace, someone who had an obligation to remain near the village while also fulfilling the more dangerous missions to keep the land safe.  He couldn't leave.  Not to his ancestral home, and not to the land of Lightning to search for Akihana.  He had... nothing.

Even Arata was avoiding him.  Actually the younger sibling was avoiding everyone.  Skipping out of the Academy, not showing up for meals, and when he was found, he wanted to be left alone.  His only interaction was in combat, for those who could handle it.  Arashi had been, but with the demands on him it was getting more and more difficult to make Arata happy.  So much so that the younger boy said Arashi was taking after their mother more than he should have.

His only real solace was Tsuji, his just about official girlfriend.  They met almost daily, but this week... this week she was visiting family farther north.  So Arashi didn't even have her this time.  With no method of time occupation, the ninja walked over to an open window, and then flash-stepped away. 

There was one location that brought the young man a lot of solitude and comfort... the gardens.  A nice place, an oasis almost, where he could relax and stare up at the sky, or enjoy the sounds of nature.  It took him only a few minutes to go from the palace to the gardens, but by the time he got there, his normally empty time was interrupted with occupation.  Relatively few tended to be in this location in the park at this time, and as he crossed the boundary onto the soft grass, he was thankful that there was no royal escort this time.

Curious as to who this particular person was, he went into a cloud and drifted through the air up into the tree above the boy, using his new talent of suppressing his chakra.  Masking his presence, he reformed on a large branch over the individual, watching him.  He had a scroll, a guide, ink... and as the boy drew on the paper, Arashi almost instantly recognized what it was.  Sealing.  He was trying to master the art of basic sealing.  And not doing a good enough job. It was a classic mistake Arashi thought of.. something he encountered when he learned.

"Sealing is an underrated art.  It takes an amount of fine turning chakra that many aren't willing to train for.  What drives you to train in it?" he asked, lounging on the branch above the boy.

He was just about to lay down another scroll, having gotten so far that his hand was in the bag, some person above him asked a random question. Shouhei looked up to see a young man that looked like he was in his teens, and very nicely dressed. Not like he was wearing a massive amount of silk, but he wore clothes that fitted well together and was not all that worn.

As for what the person said, Shouhei couldn’t help but wonder why he would care. However, another thought made him think of it in a more positive way and run with it. It was not as if he had been rude about it, or directly sabotaged him.

“That’s an interesting question that came out of nowhere,” he said as he took out another scroll. He started over again, “But so far I am just learning this basic sealing technique for its functionality. Plus, who doesn’t like the idea of dropping a random sack of rocks or an anvil on someone?” he smiled looking up at the dude making sure to take the pen off the paper so he wouldn’t make a mess. “So what made you sneak yourself up on me like that and why do you want to know?”

Word Count: 212

Arashi smiled, and shook his head.  "I may seem young to you... but I'm one of Hoshi's few Jounin ninja.  Its my job to ensure that the future of Hoshi is strong.  I'm surprised you don't recognize me.  I was the first to complete Hoshi's Jounin exam.  And the reason why I care about what you're doing is because I happened to be skilled in fuinjutsu." he said, letting himself slip down and lean against the base of the tree.

"I can tell you right now your technique is perfect.  The designs are spot on.. actually better than mine.  But the key is not in the design.  Its intent.  But if you want to be alone, I'll head back." he said, leaving an obvious open bait.  He did genuinely want to help this young man, but he was also not going to force himself on him.

"I usually come here to relax anyways.  I can lay by the lake and leave you in peace."

Should recognize? That was for Shouhei to decide with how things were put down for him after he graduated from the academy. All he knew so far was that there was indeed some Jounins who had just graduated, and that were the reason he hadn’t been assigned a team yet. Maybe Shouhei should make a list and seek them out himself. “Yeah that’s a good idea,” he thought to himself as he shrugged.

“I see. Some people say they are like an open book, but few say they are the eccentric sage who is there to help you. Funny how that sage would never asks directly if you need help, but instead…well do what you did. It’s hard to put words to now that I think about it.” He blinked.

For a short moment, he went into a stare thinking about the before mentioned, but quickly snapped out of it. “Anyhow, I am fine with some help if you are still op for it.”

Word Count: 164

Arashi couldn't help but chuckle a bit, turning back around to face the young man.  "I'm neither an open book, nor a sage.  THAT would be left to my mother." he said, walking back and taking a seat.

He reached behind him and pulled out a scroll, opening it up.  It had the same inscription on it as the design that Shouhei had, but in the center was the kanji for 'Canteen'.  He laid it out and then did the unsealing spell, creating a water canteen in a puff of smoke.

"Fuin is unique in one way, intent mixed with will.  What you are doing is similar to a summon, only what you are doing is locking away something outside of existence.  Doing the right symbol is only a part of it." he said, removing the canteen and laying his scroll next to Shouhei's.  The difference was clear between the two; Arashi's, now that it was empty, looked rougher than Shouhei's.

"Your will molds your chakra, but it needs a clear direction.  If you try to seal, or remove something from existence, your chakra wouldn't be capable of reacting to that intent.  You need a simpler command.  Think about this... what is your end result?  What do you expect to see when the seal is done?"

Shouhei blinked as the young man explained himself, and he shook his head after the man was done. “Well I guess I would need to meet your mother then one day. Once I find a reason to of course.” His tone was neutral, although he was a bit annoyed inside.

To him it sounded not too different from what Arashi had said before but just with a few tweaks and put into a sentence. Okay, that is usually how an explanation worked, but here it kind of hurt. He had already tried something simple. Like how can it not be simpler than “get in the scroll, but do not disappear from existence completely so I can drag you back when I need you”?

He sighed with a leer of frustration sneaking its way up towards Arashi before Shouhei focused his way onto the scroll, and made the hand signs. This time it seemed to succeed, though what Arashi probably didn’t know was that the “intent” he had inspired was for Shouhei to tell his kunai to “jog on.”

“And it’s gone,” he said before unsealing the kunai again just to make sure it worked. “Thank you for the help, by the way,” he mused for a moment, “Did we ever share names? I got distracted for a moment and honestly forgot.”

Word Count: 221
Total Thread Word Count so far: 846
Jutsu Learned: Generic Sealing Jutsu (500 words | 250 discount with teacher)
Stats: 800 / 200 = 4

Arashi assumed that Shouhei was thinking more literally, but regardless, it worked, and his chakra responded.  The older young man smiled, and nodded.  "There you go.  The key is retraining your mind.  Focus on the final outcome, and you will get into the habit of being able to use sealing as a type of summon.  At my point, the command of "seal" is fully understood by your mind and your chakra." he said, as the young boy asked for his name.

"Good point, I never did.  Arashi Tekiatsu-Akari.  Hoshi's newest Jounin shinobi." he said with a chuckle, holding our his hand.

"Before you go, I want to see if you can do that again.  Sealing is more than just putting things into a scroll, but this is a good place to start.  You can also seal objects like doors, chests, even bottles, eventually." he said, shaking his water canteen. 

"I want you to focus.  I'm goin to put the canteen on the seal I have here.  I want you to seal it. Give it a try, just remember to picture the end result.  What do you want the seal to do.  Alright, go for it."

”Did the coach on the field call? Otherwise, I don’t think I need to leave for the time being. I am more here on my own time fortunately,” he responded with a light shrug then noticed that the Jounin had reached out his hand. Shouhei shook it awkwardly with haste. He was about to say more than that, but Arashi – as he had introduced himself – had more to say. Shouhei let his ears peak out – figuratively of course – and listened to the young jounin.

There wasn’t much new there but a challenge. However, his words did make him wonder why sealing bottles was harder than a kunai or the water canteen he just placed on the seal that he had drawn himself not long ago, but haven’t completed. In any event, Shouhei shifted his position so he faced Arashi’s scroll looking it over again with an inquisitory expression on his face. Then, he remembered he had done that already when Arashi placed it next to his scroll, and kind of face palmed over himself internally. Arashi could probably see a random frown from all this.

“So why would sealing a bottle be harder than a kunai or your canteen? I could imagine it being the case with a door or a chest because of their mass or the content of their holding space though,” he asked as he did the hand seals failing his first try but getting it right in the second.

Notes wrote:Word Count: 247.

"A kunai is easy, its a single object made of different materials, but all of it has the same structure." he explained, lifting the canteen and shaking it to hear the sloshing inside.

"But in this case, you have two different elements.  The solid container, and the water inside.  You need to be able to seal them both without losing either, and if it doesn't work correctly, when you try to unseal it you'll get the canteen and water separately.  Again, its about will.  If you just make a command to seal, it will do just that, seal whats on the scroll.  You need to command to seal it intact.  Go ahead and try it." he said, watching the young man's first attempt.

It seemed to go well, but when he unreleased it the water spilled out, soaking both scrolls.  Arashi held his hand up to let him know not to worry, and used his own latent ability to pull the water from the scrolls and back into the canteen.

The second attempt went much, much better.  As the canteen reappeared, Arashi lifted it up, and shook it.  The water sloshed inside.  It sounded more empty than before, but it was successful. 

"Good work.  You have the basics of sealing.  Practice your chakra.  Train it to recognize your commands, to do what you want it to do.  Its like a spiritual muscle, you need to train it before you can use it with no effort."

Arashi put the canteen on his own scroll and sealed it within the scroll, before rolling it and putting it in his own bag.

"I'm glad someone is interesting seriously in the sealing arts.  It will definitely help.  And when you are ready for more challenges, I'll be ready to step it up a notch.  Like using and creating sealing tags.  That's always fun." he said, standing up.

"You're doing alright.  But I have other duties to attend to.  If you need anything, my house is the largest in the country.  You can't miss it." he said with a smirk, before flash-stepping away.  Hopefully this way, the young man learned a thing or two he needed.


[EXIT]
(Word Count: 1570)
(1570 towards Bijuu Tail 1)