Training in The 'Mourning'

"Hey mom, it's nice to see you again," Kaen said as he kneeled at her grave. "I've met a lot of nice people that are trying to become ninja just like me mom. I'm training in mostly Ninjutsu as I find chakra very interesting."

He paused as if she'd respond, "There's this girl named Chisana who is very pretty but bland most of the time. You'd really like her mom, I know it. Then there is someone else named Kobayashi Senshi, and he's nice as well. Formal most of the time so I don't know what to say to him but I really like both of them. They're my first friends, so... yeah. Dad has become kinda loony but I think that's just him trying to cope with you being gone."

Kaen sighed as he looked at her grave once again. It hurt thinking what life could've been with a mother, to do things together. "I'll see you later mom," Kaen kissed his hand and put it on the dirt, "I love you."

Kaen walked towards the entrance of the gate until something had caught his eye. It looked like somebody had made a... shack? He wanted to leave but he needed his curiosity settled. He jogged lightly over there, shivering slightly as his plain white t-shirt and black ANBU styled pants didn't keep him from the cold. He loved the cold though so it wasn't a bother.

The lights weren't on, is there anyone actually here? Kaen was just about to leave when he heard something that he couldn't quite explain, a creaking noise?

WC: 284

TWC: 284

Max had been out gathering bits of this and that all day, scavenging for pieces to create his works of art and to fix up his home. He had gathered a large bag worth of clothes and some wood from a broken down bed frame. A good haul since there would be plenty of fuel and material to work with for the day.  It had almost been dark, the sky in that beautiful Twilight phase that was as beautiful as can be. Max figured that this would be a good time to head home and start working on his shack. Akihana had been correct, he would need some way to heat his home. Maybe he’ll make that furnace today. He would have to gather a few more things, but they would likely prove to be heavy and so he would drop off his current haul first.
 
Taking the long route home so that he can look around for anything he could use that people might have thrown out, he notes the places that looked promising before finally reaching the Cemetery. Most folks tended to avoid the graves at night, and so Max would likely not have to worry much about being bothered. It was right as he was thinking this that Napa had spoken up. “You seeing what I’m seeing, boy? Looks like we have an unwanted visitor, likely taking our valuables and leaving us to go hungry.” Max would give the skeletal puppet a look of confusion. “Napa, you know that I keep all of my valuable stuff on me, right? I mean, you see me take the stuff every day. I highly doubt he is robbing us. Still, not many come around here to my shack. I wonder what it is they are doing…” Max would mutter to the puppet on his back before unraveling him and getting ready for the worst.
 
Keeping as quiet as possible, Max walks closer to the curious person and can now see that it is a young man, likely in his middle teens. If the boy was pulling a prank or trying to damage Max’s property he would end up being sorry.
 

Napa would be ready, kunai drawn in case things got violent. “Hey, are you here trying to rob me? I don’t have anything of value. I suggest you turn around slowly, else my friend Napa here won’t be too happy.” Max wasn’t entirely telling the truth. He had been working on his battery design for his puppets, and he wasn’t fond of the idea of someone stealing his ideas.

The skeletal puppet wouldn't be far away now, maybe 15 or so meters. 

OoC: Sorry for the hostility, but IC Max doesn't know you, and nobody normally comes to his shack. Feel free to RP out the misunderstanding. That should prove to be fun.

Kaen would've jumped if the next sentence out of the boy's mouth was 'turn around or else my friend Napa won't be too happy.' and whoever Napa was he knew that he didn't want him to be angry.

Kaen slowly turned around with his hands up, "Ah, ah! I'm sorry I was here because of... personal reasons. I saw your shack and I just wanted to check it out." Kaen had decided to take the friendly way out. Kaen slowly lowered his hand to a friendly handshake, there was a huge height difference between them but the boy hadn't cared.

"Kaen Yuki, I presume you're Max? I've heard a bit about you from Senshi but I'm guessing on a whim," Kaen would say with his beaming smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Kaen would then question, "Why do you live in a shack in the middle of a graveyard? I don't mean to pry but... that is freaking awesome!" Kaen said with another of his signature smiles. "If our village ever did get raided who would check a graveyard for people? Unless they wanted fictional zombies."

Kaen obviously joked trying to lighten the mood and he would like it if he wasn't shanked.

WC: 217

TWC: 501

Upon hearing that this Kaen Yuki had been an acquaintance of Senshi, Max had Napa lower his weapon. It might not have been the wisest, but this guys seemed to be sincere when he said that he was here for personal reasons. “Napa, go ahead and put that away. We won’t need it.” Max would utter, the skeletal puppet looking back almost in astonishment at the boy. “Are you sure? He might be trying to lure you in. I say we end this quick. The advantage is ours, don’t waste it!” the puppet would retort out loud, almost as if it had a mind of its own. Max would just shake his head, “Napa, there is no need to kill him. He is clearly a shinobi of Kumogakure, not some threat.”
 
“Far too trusting, anymore. I blame Akihana’s influence.” The puppet would mutter under his breath as he returns the kunai to his pouch.
 
The boy walks over to Max, seeing the dark stains on the boy’s clothes and noting the stench of death and decay on the boy. He put his hand out for a handshake, and so Max wouldn’t deny the fellow Genin. He reached out and shook the guy’s hand. He seemed pleasant enough, and so Max would just reciprocate with a smile. “It is nice to meet you as well. And yes, I live here. It is useful for several reasons. Most people don’t bother me out here, it is a great place to get parts, and I feel the most at ease here.” He would say as he walked towards the shack, materials in hand. “Raiders wouldn’t dare attempt Kumo. Each would be slain, their heads used to deter any others foolish enough to try and attack us.” He would say this without any passion or emotion, almost as if such was a normal response.
 

Napa would follow along, eying up Kaen as he walked past. Max would set the stuff down and head back over to the Genin. “So, I take it you are here because you lost someone?” Max would say, not really realizing if that was an appropriate question or not for someone he barely knew. He didn’t have too many interactions with the living, though that was quickly changing now that he was training with his team and since he had been seen around town with Akihana, he wasn’t getting as poor of treatment from the villagers. They still seemed unnerved by the boy and his undead puppets.

Kaen noticed the puppet seemed, how to put it, not like a puppet. It seemed as if he was living, and he had his own conscious. Although, Kaen didn't know much about puppetry.

The Yuki pleasantly listened to Max as he continued to speak. It seemed as if he'd get a lot of free time here without anyone bothering him, and it appeared to be a pretty stable place to live.

“Raiders wouldn’t dare attempt Kumo. Each would be slain, their heads used to deter any others foolish enough to try and attack us.” Kaen cringed internally. He had known that Kumo was very bloodthirsty - which he wouldn't admit out loud - but to think that Kumogakure was growing so fast; they were getting more powerful by the day.

Kaen watched Max as he walked over and set his stuff down. The boy had tried not to falter under Napa's gaze. The question almost caught him off guard, but what did he expect? He was in a graveyard at the break of dawn.


"Yeah. I lost my mother when I was born; so sometimes I just come and 'speak' with her to calm my thoughts. Especially since I got into a verbal fight with my friend," Kaen said the last part quietly so the duo wouldn't hear. He hadn't needed to involve people in his personal affairs.

"Do you have any family Max? It would seem lonely just living here all by yourself," Kaen said as slightly stretched with a quiet yawn. It seemed as if he was rather blunt just like Chisana, although Kaen hadn't paid any mind to it.

"Also, I'd like to know more about puppetry, as I of right now, don't know anything," Kaen questioned.


WC: 300

TWC: 801

Hearing that this Kaen Yuki had lost his mother so long ago made the boy feel a deep sadness well up in himself. This boy didn’t even get to know his mother, didn’t get to feel her warmth and affection or know what a mothers unconditional love was. That made Max fairly sad, but on the other hand, at least this boy didn’t have to know what those things were like and then have them torn from you violently. It brings up thoughts on what exactly would be more painful to undergo. Would knowing such things and losing them, knowing exactly what it was that was lost be more painful? Or would it be more painful to never feel loved in such a sense to begin with? Despite wrestling around with the idea in his mind he couldn’t quite figure out the answer.
 
“I’m truly sorry to hear about your loss. I lost my mother as well, though she had been killed during the attacks on Kumogakure. I too like to just be here in the cemetery to be at peace with the rest of my clan. I feel… safer here,” He would say, his words tinged with deep seated sadness, “My family has sadly all passed on from this existence, but I don’t live alone. I have my friends to keep me company. Napa here has been around for a long time. He always keeps me safe and on the right track. So I’m never really alone.” Max would say this with a smile, but it was clear that thoughts of his deceased clan and especially his mother had now been clawing at his mind, trying erode away at his mental state until only the pain and anger had remained. Luckily, this had been something that Max had to deal with for a long time, and so despite his sadness it would not be able to truly ‘get to him’ in such a negative way. 
 

When Kaen changed subjects and inquired about puppetry, Max’s mood would shift a stage higher and he would be glad to talk about it. “Well, as I am pretty sure that puppetry is a fading art, you came to the right place to ask some questions about it. Puppetry is a pretty big subject, though. Anything specific you wanted to know about?” Max would ask, his eyes big and bright while waiting to hear what the other genin had wanted to know.

Kaen hadn't known that he had lost his mother; especially the loss of Max's whole entire family. It had floored him that a young boy such as himself was all alone. Kaen tried to stray from the topic so the boy wouldn't be distraught. The comment about puppetry had brought the boy's spirits up. It seemed as if he was very passionate, and as Kaen could see Napa was a walking trophy.

"Nothing specific Max; I haven't been informed much about puppetry in the academy, so I'd like to know whatever you could explain," Kaen would say with his one of his signature smile. He hadn't wanted to be rude in asking the boy for his help. Whatever he had to say Kaen would listen with great interest.

"Also, would you like to train? I've been trying to learn a few techniques, and I've been going to people more experienced than me. If you wanted you could learn a few moves from me. I'm of the Wind and Water element by the way." Kaen finished waiting for Maximillian to respond.

WC: 192

TWC: 993

Max would nod, understanding the boys inquiry. “Yeah, the Academy doesn’t cover the Puppet Arts at all. It focuses more on Ninjutsu and manipulating ones chakra to generate effects on oneself. It fails to properly teach one to use their chakra to manipulate something else. That is the basis of Puppetry. You control your chakra into thin threads which you use to control the motions of other objects. Like this,” Max would say as his threads shoot into the shack, a skeletal puppet shambling out of the house. “I can control its movements with my chakra and the manipulation of the strings. It is a rather intricate style, but it is very effective if utilized properly.”
 
Max would make the nameless puppet dance around with the motion of just his fingers, accentuating the motions a great deal so that Kaen can see exactly what he is doing, each twitch of his fingers causing the puppet on the other end of the strings to move in various ways. Napa just shakes his head while watching this all unfold, clearly showing his distaste for the technique. Napa clears his throat with a “hmmhmm” and Max looks over at his pal.
 
“He wanted to learn some of the basics of puppetry. Your particularities are not the ‘basics’ of puppetry, Napa.” The boy would add, moving his eyes back to Kaen. “Many puppets can have all sorts of interesting mechanisms within that trigger via the chakra threads attached to the puppet at various points. This puppet is rather basic and straight-forward. It doesn’t have any of the more complex mechanisms that I just spoke of.” Max would say as he made the puppet walk over to the shack, lean up against the wall and take a seat on the ground.
 

“Training? I’d be up for some training. I have to do some repairs on my house and one of my puppets, but I can hold off on that. Training sounds like it’ll be some fun. How did you suppose we go about it? Did you want to just show each other differing techniques that are in our repertoire, spar, or both?” Max would ask, a gentle smile on his face. “I must admit, I don’t know a whole lot of techniques. I can show you what I do know if you would like though. How about you, Napa? Are you up to do some training as well?”

The puppet would nod in agreement at the idea of training. Napa knew as much as Max did that the boy needed to get as strong as possible for what would lie before him. Facing off against various differing styles and techniques would help ready him for what is to come.

Kaen was interested in puppetry as soon as Max had explained it. If he knew about it in his earlier stages of the academy, then Kaen would've probably taken it up. The way that Max had described it so vividly made Kaen realize how passionate the boy was about the arts. It brought a warm smile to the Yuki's face.

Max started to respond to his offer of training, and at the mention of a spar Kaen noticeably perked up, "Yeah. We could learn techniques from each other, and spar with each other at the exact time. I need more combat experience as it is."

Kaen instantly put his fingers to his chin in a thinking position. "Is there any rules you'd like to lay down. I wouldn't want to break your puppets because you'd have to repair or make them again."

"Also, I think we should start off with the spar first to see each other's techniques. Then we can delve each other in our skills, and then finally learn something from each other," Kaen finished his sentence and jumped back a few feet. When the rules were all laid out, Kaen would adopt his fluid fighting stance he had learned from his Haze Clones.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Kaen said as Clone 1 appeared on his right and Clone 2 appeared on his left. The three spared quick glances at each other, happy to see their duplicates again. Kaen's voice went into a quiet whisper.

"Clone 1, you run off into the nearest woods and perform the Hidden in the Mist jutsu to cover the place with mist," Kaen said causing Clone 1 to nod and take a position to run. Clone 2 looked at his boss expectedly, not to be one to turn down his job.

"Clone 2, I want you to go to the other parts of the wood and do the same jutsu that Clone 1 is going to do. Then after the field is covered with the Hidden Mist, I want you two to attack with all your might," The black-haired boy known as Kaen Yuki said, causing the two clones to nod in agreement with the plan.

"You can make the first move, Max," Kaen would say as he prepared for his counter move.

(OOC: If you don't want the puppets destroyed, then the clones will just make sure they are not able to be used in battle, so you can fix them easily.)

WC: 414

TWC: 1407

“Hmm. Rules? I don’t think it’ll make much difference to me. If you manage to break my puppets it will be because you earned as much. Plus, I need to make some adjustments on them anyhow. Oh, and I guess we should try our best not to kill one another. You hear that, Napa? Don’t cause any serious or lasting damage, either.” Max would say, making sure that the puppet understood. The puppet would nod, reluctantly of course. “The best training is when your life is on the line. That focus and determination cannot be replicated.” The puppet would retort, readying his two Kunai for combat. Max shook his head, driving home the point to his friend, “This is just a friendly training exercise, Napa. You don’t need to push him to his limits. Are we clear?”
 
“Of course, Max…” he would reply, waiting for the training to commence. With a nod, Max would signal that he was ready. Kaen Yuki would leap back, performing hand seals for some unknown technique. Upon finishing the seals, he would shout out ‘Shadow Clone Jutsu’. So this was some sort of replication technique. Normal clones were merely illusions, unable to do much but confuse those foolish enough to fall for them. This technique seemed to be different, as he had given them commands that they seemed to understand. This must have been a relatively high ranking Jutsu, for Max hadn’t read about it in his Encyclopedia. Quite impressive. So he plans on using a numbers advantage? Hmm, I still think that I have the numbers on my side. Does he have some sort of greater plan?
 
“I am to make the first move? It looks as though you already have!” Max would say with a grin, Napa on the other hand would press forward, dashing to the trio (Speed 55) with his weapons ready to strike. He wasn’t sure which one of them had been the real target, for they all seemed equally likely. “Good, this just means if I stick the right one I can say it was out of my hands!” He says as he thrusts the Kunai in his left hand at one of the boys (Speed: 55 Sharpness: 50; RP it out as a clone if it connects please, don’t wanna gut you).
 

Max would look as though he was barely moving, unflinching in the face of combat. Slight motions of his hands could be seen at his sides by those with sharp eyes. The puppet that had sat by his shack would rise as well, it also drawing its Kunai while preparing for combat. Max still had barely moved, and he knew that inside the shack was still his final puppet. He shouldn’t need him, but if this spar turned sideways, Stein could always come in handy. He hoped that he wouldn’t need to resort to him, and it would likely prove for the best not to bring Stein in to the fight.