Icy stare (IO, NK)

Ketsueki stabilized himself rather easily, his legs rising atop the water as he looked up to Rakka. 'Water dragon jutsu, fourty four hand seals?' He raised an eyebrow, pulling out his note pad and pen, opening it and writing the name of the jutsu. Hearing Rakka warn him about the amount of concentration she demanded of him. He gave a single blink and began to put pen to paper, studying her weaving of sign and trying to jot down each sign as it appeared.

'Ox → Monkey → Hare → Rat → Boar → Bird → Ox → Horse → Bird → Rat → Tiger → Dog →'

He then began to ask "Professor Yu-" Before he was cut off by her almost prophetic ability to know what he was going to say and so, he remained silent. Which was the best policy whilst being taught. She even in her wisdom actually surmised his counter claim as well.

'Tiger → Snake → Ox → Ram → Snake → Boar → Ram → Rat → Yang Water → Monkey →'

One of these seals was not like the other for the boy, he stowed that away in his mind for now, having tracked each one mentally as he watched Rakka. This growth she was talking about made him curious, was this the only jutsu that grew with its caster?

'Bird → Dragon → Bird → Ox → Horse → Ram → Tiger → Snake → Rat → Monkey → Hare →'

Six hand seals out of forty four? How much time and effort would this technique take, clearly just enough to make her head and shoulders above most people he's met so far. He didn't know her rank, she likely didn't know his yet. As far as the two knew about each other he assumed she was some sort of super powerful ex ANBU and the most she could get out of him was that he was little. Maybe an academy student who got lucky. He was just asking her to teach him a moment or two ago.

'Boar → Dragon → Ram → Rat → Ox → Monkey → Bird → Yang Water → Rat → Boar → Bird'



There was that damned seal again! He had to ask, but then he also had to stand in awe as from the murky depths rose a massive water dragon, flowing lighter than air and writhing in the sky as it flew over the boy's head and hers. He then looked to Rakka, hearing the okay to ask questions beyond the one she had predicted out of him. He then strode along the water as fast as he could, not really running but instead using his surface walking jutsu to push against the water and flow over it until he stopped just three feet away. "What was this seal?" He asked, pocketing his supplies and reaching through his sleeves and forming an obviously uncomfortable form the Yang Water seal. It didn't stop there. "How long did it take you to get forty four seals down to six?" "Is this similar to a summon? Can it think on its own?" Each question would barely allow Rakka time to breathe in between answering questions. Unless of course she made the mistake of giving him more than a few seconds of silence in which case it would be a rapid fire bomb of queries.

Rakka nodded with satisfaction as the boy prepared a note pad and, somewhat amusingly, actually blinked when she told him to. Damn, nobody ever actually did that. It made her feel kinda cool. As she began to weave her hand seals, her volume of speech would increase when the boy began to inquire, talking loudly over him as she answered his question with sage wisdom. She'd asked that very same question herself when she first learned this jutsu. 

The boy didn't say anything more after that. She could tell he was confused by something, what it was, she had no idea, but she didn't stop. Questions could come later. The produced the water dragon, a titan of suiton, which towered over them and performed her little dance routine. It twirled around them, and as Rakka was beginning to lose her control over it, she let it crash, head first, into the sea, returning to its home in the murky depths. 

When Rakka indicated the boy could now ask questions, ask he did. He ran towards her, inadvertently splashing some water into her face with his excited strides against the sea. She wiped the water harmlessly away, unamused but not enraged. He asked her one simple question to begin with... 'What was that hand seal?' Rakka had been about to ask him what particular hand seal he was talking about, seeing as she'd just made a little over forty of them, but he pocketed his supplies and uncomfortably made a seal that was familiar. It was similar to the dog seal, something that had confused the hell out of the Yuki when she was just a girl, a genin learning the technique, for the Yuki clan made extensive use of the dog seal in their techniques.

"Oh. That one." She said. "It's a Yan-" She began, cut off by the boy's continued questions.

"Sto-"

"Jus- Just-"

"Ca-

"SHUT UP!" She finally roared, attempting to silence the boy's incessant questioning. "One. At. A. Time." She asserted, sighing heavily. She took a breath, recollected her composure, and continued.

"I'll start with your first question." She began, creating a Yang Water seal of her own, correcting his posture for him with this display. "It's the Yang Water seal. It is similar to the dog seal, except your left hand is under your right, palm facing up." She explained, allowing him to see the proper seal. "It isn't one of the twelve basic hand seals, but it's a common one to use in water techniques. Most advanced Suiton employs this seal. I'm honestly surprised you haven't encountered it." She shrugged, her explanation being hopefully sound. She was a pretty shitty teacher, or at least, so she believed.

"Second question, now. A long time." She said, shrugging. "I didn't master it until I was a Chunin. A particularly dedicated genin might be able to get it down with long hours of practice. Some people can perform it without any hand seals at all, but I honestly haven't paid my suiton techniques enough attention to try." She explained.

"Final question. No, it's not alive. It's just water, and it's subject to your will. You control it, and you tell it what to do and where to go. Don't go getting attached to this thing." She teased. "And don't go relying on it, either. It's only as good as the person controlling it."

Ketsueki's eyes were not averted by Rakka's dragon eventually soaring into the sea below. Once she had had enough of his exuberant questioning she let go a roar that turned his blood to ice and tossed him back almost as much as her Storm Of The Century jutsu did. He nodded after she had stated her simple rule regarding questions.

Of course each of her answers only made him ponder more, specifically the yang seal. If it was incorporated into the higher level jutsu he definitely had to start learning it easier, the seal hadn't really permeated his training or schooling. He began practicing his previously awkward seal, moving between the other seals from Dog to Yang seal, Ram to Yang Seal, Boar to Yang Seal and so on. Keeping his eyes on her.

Long hours of practice enticed the boy, maybe he'd be able to advance using this jutsu, maybe he'd be able to use it as a major benchmark vessel, either way if she had done it by chunin level why couldn't he. Especially with the amount of practice he employs within his day to day life. Yet that could be said about any Kiri nin. Training is almost like a disease, you can't help it, it's in your blood and one day you'll die from it. Well at least in Ketsueki's mind, he hoped to hone his skill right up until his death.

He wasn't shocked to hear that it wasn't alive, even if it was he would be more concerned with mutiny or the like rather than an actual kinship being devised between a ninja and a tool. Or in this climate a tool and a tool. He then looked up at her, finishing his seals. "I want to try it." He said plainly, shuffling his arms into his sleeves and holding out his note pad. "If you don't want to do it all over again to show me then can you hold this and flip to the sixth page, please? I can't really set it on the water and read it that way." If she took it she would be able to read all of his aspirations from his recent academy years and now.

His musings went from impressing his teacher Ren, which wound up being crossed out with red ink, Boosting the salt in his suiton techniques to give them extra 'oomph', and finally and depending on the reader most notably was the idea he had to train with the very best, his Mizukage. These were just some of the entries on his to do list as well as details of his encounters with multiple other Genin and Students. If not he'd stow it away and wait for her to show him the signs so he could emulate them.

The boy’s eyes didn’t change position at all throughout the water dragon’s display, even as it crashed back down into the sea, sending a wake in the surrounding area and rippling the water at their feet. He was relentless in his questioning, even when he finally stopped asking so many questions in tandem. She was just glad he finally stopped asking questions so fast, and her mood would quickly return to general indifference as she returned to answering questions.

He seemed excited by the prospect of more practicing, which might have been strange to Rakka, if she didn’t completely understand the drive. Ambition fueled many a shinobi, and she was no exception. For some time, she had kept a low profile, not really looking to make waves. Even when she was laying low, she still exceeded expectations, continuing to develop more advanced techniques, like the Rasencannon, the Reflection, or the Northern Lights Technique.

There was always that drive to keep improving, to keep getting stronger. It was cultivated in nearly all shinobi, but in Kirigakure shinobi, she found that it was especially strong. It was the culture of the village itself, the drive to improve and get stronger, to be the best. Rakka often clashed with the culture of Kirigakure, feeling like an outsider, but in this way, she was just like the rest of them.

Once he finished recording his hand seals, he said that he wanted to try the jutsu, offering her the pad, asking her to hold it for him so he didn’t have to put it away. Normally, she would have refused, but since they were standing on the water and she felt at least partially obligated due to teaching him, she allowed it, gingerly taking the pad and flipping carefully through the pages.

She didn’t mean to snoop, but as she flipped the pages, she couldn’t help but catch a few things. Something about salt water, his desire to train under Xyxer himself, which elicited a chuckle under his breath. The idea of Xyxer training someone was laughable, but even more laughable to Rakka was the recollection of him attempting to hit on her. Next came the name “Ren,” crossed out in red. Huh, that’s another name that brought memories to mind. Drunkenly piloting a boat out to kill a wendigo. Or something like that, she didn’t quite remember. She was cute. Too bad she had to abandon the village like that, and get killed for treason. That was likely the reason her name was crossed out.

And like that, she was at page six, which she turned in her hand to face the boy, holding it out and making it available for him to read.

”Here you go.”


(WC: 2311)

Ketsueki waited patiently, his body bobbing up and down from the water's rage. He then began warming up his hands with the new seal. He wove sign faster and faster with the new seal, from Boar to Yang, Dog to Yang and so on, performing faster and faster. Once he heard the woman gesture him he looked up, nodding to her and narrowing his eyes to the parchment. He wondered why it took her as long as it did to tell him she had it on the right page but there were pressing issues.

The small, meek boy began weaving sign, his chakra already feeling the weight of this new jutsu. That, or he was letting his nerves get to him. "Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog." He said aloud, his focus evident as he studied the paper, his network going all wild as he continued. That's usually what would happen when one went above their rank. He was much like Icarus, about to fly to high toward the sun.

He continued weaving dauntlessly, his hands moving faster than he'd ever seen. "Tiger, Snake, Ox, Ram, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rat, Yang Water, Monkey." His mouth had been outpaced dramatically by his hands but his momentum kept him from ceasing his speech, he'd been going to far and for much to long to fall short in this.

Ketsueki's blood appeared to be raging all through his body like wildfire. "Bird, Dragon, Bird, Ox, Horse, Ram, Tiger, Snake, Rat, Monkey, Hare." He was worked up, whether by the fact that he was in front of a very powerful ninja, the fact that he was being flustered by the jutsu, or the fact that suddenly he began thinking of the notes he wrote about his aspirations being seen by Rakka, he was still blazing with energy.

"Boar, Dragon, Ram, Rat, Ox, Monkey, Bird, Yang Water, Rat, Boar, Bird! Awaken!" He yelled as the water stirred a few meters behind him, swirling much like a whirlpool portal to another realm. Ketsueki felt the drain from the activation as he felt the entrance of his dragon. It was mighty, flying out of the water like a graceful sky serpent, it's whiskers flowing in whip-like unison across its mighty flowing water body. He laughed joyfully as he turned to see it flying around them at its full length, its massive head weaving through the air.

If only that all had actually happened. No. Ketsueki did not feel anything more than a stir and didn't hear anything more than a splash from a half made dragon pitifully surfacing only two meters out of the water before it 'died.' Obviously Ketsueki wasn't quite ready for this jutsu despite his attempt and could only take shame in it. He hung his head as his hands stayed on the monkey seal and after a pause he began again. "Ox, Monkey, Hare, Rat, Boar, Bird, Ox, Horse, Bird, Rat, Tiger, Dog!" He yelled, refusing to give up on the first time he failed. If he could not prove his worth to himself how could he do so to anyone else, chiefly the teacher he stood in front of today.

Rakka had known from the start that this boy could not perform this jutsu. His chakra was simply not powerful enough to do so… Not on the first try. As he was in this moment, he was not capable of calling it forth. She had sensed that on him from the first. Still, his initiative to attempt the jutsu at all, combined with his surprisingly strong comprehension of the hand seals, was promising.

Still, he was really losing his shit now. It was clear he was frustrated, but he simply began shouting the hand seals again, blindly attempting to conjure the jutsu a second time. Now, manipulating chakra when one’s mind is clouded is a dangerous game to play, and can have catastrophic consequences. To cure this behavior and get him to stop losing his shit and doing something the both of them might regret, Rakka would do something quite simple.

Inhaling, as if to sigh, Rakka prepared the technique. It was a simple thing, but that wasn’t the main purpose of it. She exhaled a small stream of flames, which were colored green and would travel a few inches towards him, far enough to catch his eyes, not far enough to burn them. The stream of flames would stop there, but the effect they would have on the boy would be easily presented, if he caught sight of them. The flames would be calming, they would clear his mind of his frustrations and force him to focus on nothing but the flames themselves. It might have been torture, if it didn’t feel like ecstasy to the victim.

She’d do this for just a few seconds, long enough to hold his attention, before subsiding the flames, breathing in once more to catch her breath.

”Calm down, kid. Don’t lose your head.” She would say, handing the notepad back to him. ”That is an A-Ranked technique, well out of your league. I’m surprised you even managed to get the hand seals right. You need to focus more on the technique itself, not the hand seals. To do that, you need to memorize them, so that it feels like second nature to you. Until you do that, there’s no way you can get this to work.” She explained.

”Commit the seals to memory. Then focus on the technique. The folly of many a student is to think the technique comes along naturally with the hand seals.”


(TWC: 2624)

Ketsueki was at hand seal number 23 before he felt some odd presence, stopping mid seal and looking up to see green flames that filled him with euphoria and forced his attention to only be on the flames, his body chilled down to his neutral state. His hands slowly drooping down to his sides as he watched the flames until they disappeared. 

After the lecture he took his note pad and looked at his hands. Sighing softly, the only thing that didn't leave his mind after the flames were used that returned immediately after they were ceased was his shame. He didn't take the idea that he couldn't even summon a proper dragon well at all, despite the achievement he had at being able to create the vortex that brought the dragon out of the water. He looked up at Rakka. Pocketing his notepad.

"But my chakra was completely focused. I made sure to give each seal all I had." He sighed. "I'm beginning to see why you were a chunin when you mastered this." He said, his eyes closing tiredly, his chakra still being drained from his inexperience with the rank and his inability to really handle the technique.

Blinded by the light, Ketsueki was revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night. He stared at the flames, entranced, and it seemed to calm him. When he finally came to, he seemed distraught at his own abilities. Rakka actually chuckled at this. When he explained that his chakra was completely focused, the entire time, however, would raise her right hand and swing it hard across his face in a backhand motion, not hard enough to injure him, but hard enough to hurt, and to snap him back to his senses. 

"Arrogance." She would say flatly, her hand returning to its neutral state across her shoulder, her arms folded. "You are a novice Shinobi. Nothing more. You cannot honestly tell me that you executed forty four hand seals perfectly on your first attempt, without memorizing them." She scolded. "You nearly brought forth an A Ranked ninjutsu technique on your first try. Is that mediocre?"

She looked to him once more.
"Now... I'm not going to let you use that notepad again. You've managed to work your way through these hand seals once, and now I want you to do it again from memory." She said coldly. She knew that she was being overtly brutal, but that was by design. She'd see how his memory and resolve served him.

(TWC: 2856)

Mid thread claiming

+1805 words to Storm of the Century, putting me at 6,000/6,000 with my 25% discount whenever someone actually approves Black Games 
+1051 words towards Absolute Zero 

+28 AP

Ketsueki was puzzled, he had yet to realize his tenacity wasn't all that would make a ninja and that going overboard in response to failure was little more than pathetically dramatic. A harsh reminder of this would come to him in the form of the back of Rakka's cold palm across his gaunt cheek. His face darting to the side as he was snapped back to reality by the woman. His eyes widened and staring at the water but seeing nothing, as if he were in a trance. Light eventually came back to his eyes and he watched the water flow past the both of them before he looked up at the woman.

'Arrogance.' His eyes were transfixed as she spoke. The astonishment evident in his expression. 'You are a novice Shinobi. Nothing more.' His hands returned to his sides slowly, a numbness flowing through his body with every word spoken, paralyzing his legs, then his arms began to weigh, heavier and heavier as she continued. 'You cannot honestly tell me that you executed forty four hand seals perfectly on your first attempt, without memorizing them.' His shoulders weighed heavy with the weight of the situation. Feeling as if they'd tear him asunder at any time.

'You nearly brought forth an A Ranked ninjutsu technique on your first try. Is that mediocre?' He remained silent, he couldn't take pride in a failure like this, not on this level. His mind could only see what he should have done rather than what he did and it still left more of an impact on him than anything he could append to his name positively.

'Now... I'm not going to let you use that notepad again. You've managed to work your way through these hand seals once, and now I want you to do it again from memory.' He raised an eyebrow, still partially in his shocked state. "What? But you sai-" He winced, a sting on his cheek returning as if the pain had lagged behind the impact. Maybe it was a hint as to why his retort may not have been the wisest decision. He sighed softly, taking a breath. He wove again, with less confidence. What was the point of conjuring another disappointment?

He began weaving sign once more, taking care on each seal as in accordance to the woman's words he had made some sort of issue, which had slipped past him but not her keen eye, he started slowly. Not worrying about time, nor getting overtly psyched up as he had seen the result.

“Ox. Monkey. Hare. Rat. Boar. Bird. Ox  Horse. Bird. Rat. Tiger. Dog. Tiger.” Ketsueki droned, his memory serving I'm very well so far, yet his seals were woven with greater care and lesser speed. “Snake. Ox. Ram. Snake. Boar. Ram. Rat. Yang Water…” he ran into that sign once more. Placing an articulate emphasis on it. “Monkey. Bird. Dragon. Bird. Ox. Horse. Ram. Tiger. Snake. Rat. Monkey. Hare. Boar. Dragon. Ram. Rat. Ox. Monkey. Bird. Yang Water. Rat. Boar. Bird.”

No flashy finish sign here. Just a harsh drag of his chakra reserves as the water actually began to stir this time in an unnatural way. A small whirlpool began to form as once more the malformed dragon body writhed and wriggled out of it's home. It once more made it out until it was just about Ketsueki’s height before it destabilized after a moment or two went by of its warped visage writhing from it's home, attempting to get free.


When it finally died, Ketsueki's reaction was only that of exhaustion. Each seal completion felt like it dragged more and more out of him.

Approved