Friends? (Complete)

Thu May 11, 2017 12:22 pm

The Black Market was a constant. Surprisingly enough. It was fairly familiar, something Roku had been educated on well. It was not by any means a place where he felt super comfortable or at home, but for the most part, people stayed relatively clear of his path. Currently, the Market could be taken almost literally; the moving mass of ill repute had found its way once more to a small town, though what few buildings stood were large enough to survive the chaos of their “visitors,” buried in a rather thick forest. The vast majority of the time said the tiny town was a nice hub to use in one’s travels across the lands. When the market came, it became a bazaar of malicious intent and shady dealings. Participants in the cesspit varied rather greatly, and they all stayed out of each other’s way or made their shady bustling to involve multiple people. Occasionally, with some time, stray eyes, and luck, one could catch an actually interesting situation; after all, the populace of the Black Market was rarely as well behaved, generally speaking, as that of an actual village. They did usually stay within the boundaries and general rules that made everything stay safe. Men and women sometimes flicked away, only so much as a hand seal needed. Body Flicker was absolutely necessary for any ninja, regardless of their alignment and with only the slightest lack of imperative for lower ranks. As someone with speed as their main weapon, it would always be better to find ways to get faster. Hidden behind tinted glasses, Roku closed his eyes in concentration. Chakra was a tricky thing to work sometimes, and it would seem this was no different; he took a leaping step in the direction of a nearby alley and brought up a hand. Ram was easy enough to remember. Chakra discharged from him rapidly as he moved, sending him toward the alley but in no controlled manner; he had launched himself more than accelerating. A few strangers bumped into quite rudely and quickly; maybe it wouldn’t be a bad technique for pickpocketing. Maybe he could practice that. Sadly, it seemed that the rather shady and belligerent men he had bolted through seemed to think something similar. Roku fled, sprinting deeper into the alley and attempting to lose them with a few random turns. It didn’t work, they seemed to know the streets of the little place rather well. The young rogue led his trio of assailants to the same alley as each other, taking a turn and once more attempting a flicker to just above the three. As they sprinted around the corner after him, they saw only the wisp of gray smoke he left in his wake. The boy darted off in the direction of the Social Zone.

It was a special day, as Roku had rarely found in himself the desire or need to venture to the social area, where he had found himself now. It was simple; eventually, he would need some assistance for something, and it would be quite useful to have already found some ally. One of the main difficulties posed by a task such as this was his resume. He had almost no experience with anything, and it was rather easy to discern that he was no grown man with a glance. He was easily dismissed, though it was a saving grace that people would underestimate him. The boy pushed his shades up the single millimeter that they had been displaced, and a corner of his mouth tugged into a small smile. It helped when someone thought too little of you, even if you were still pretty little. The final blocks of his walk were shaded by great buildings, separating the more civil area from the potentially calamitous carnival of creeps. Once more, he attempted a quick flicker. Instead of launching himself wildly about, he zipped to the end of the alley leaving only a small wisp of gray smoke in his place. Helpful, but it was only about five meters. Surely, he had some more potential than that for such a jutsu as this was, adaptable on all scales to all kinds of power levels. Ugh. But it was no longer the sole object of his concern. Roku would continue his training, but at the moment he had finally reached the social zone; though it was no den of good and justice, the park and surrounding sort of shantytown were far less dangerous and aggressive than the cluttered mess of stalls and paths from before. People were still scattered about, more sporadically but it was in more comfort. His eyes darted around to examine those he could, and from a distance, he might even have been mistaken as a light trail of smoke meandering through the park himself.

WC: 804
Towards Body Flicker

Tue May 23, 2017 11:37 pm

Ah well, no need for an ally as of yet anyway. It was pleasant enough to observe the atmosphere and see the varied, if generally felonious, people. This Body Flicker would still need to be trained quickly enough, it would be invaluable. Roku grinned and raised his hand for another Body Flicker, using a few of the small jumps he had learned in rapid succession to dart through a couple conversations and springboard off an unwary stranger back toward the more busy bazaar. Before he entered the fray, though, a plan occurred to him; in order to train the flickering ability, why not just avoid the cavalcade of people entirely? The first practice of a long leap would have to be up one of the taller buildings, to grant the height to make this jump work. What short dashes of chakra he had been working with needed little control, and scaling it took a bit more concentration. Roku held the seal and gathered chakra in his legs, letting it spread to minorly infuse the rest of his body, and expelling a large burst while still maintaining enough to grant him speed. His jump would take him just to the lip of the building, where a couple steps up the wall would bring him to the roof. The sun was out bright, and it would have been rather blinding if not for the boy's ocular protection. A brisk walk led him to look down over the mass of people, peering at the gap across. Few of them heard or even saw the shape sprinting off the roof and dissipating into a few wisps of gray smoke, swirling around in the air he had formerly occupied, nor did they detect it reappearing on the other side of the crowd; a clear jump of almost twenty meters, with a bit of falling time to clear the last of the distance. This particular quest was fruitful in at least that aspect, then. This Body Flicker thing wasn't too awful to train for, and with a bit of practice, it was a huge utility. The lack of any kind of ally was rather disappointing, however, and that would have been a nice thing to see. Maybe such a thing was really just not in the cards for his people. Having left the merchants undisturbed and only suffering a few nominal bruises and scratches from his falls, and with the knowledge of a new technique under his belt, Roku left the Market.

WC: 416

Claiming Body Flicker and 6 stat points

Wed May 24, 2017 8:18 pm

Approved

Friends? (Complete)

Friends? (Complete)

Re: Friends? (Complete)

Re: Friends? (Complete)