Icy stare (IO, NK)

Rakka’s hand would collide with the boy’s face, jarring him and snapping him back to his senses. He was silenced now, as Rakka began to speak. She noted that the boy intended to make another comment, and began to raise her hand for another slap, but found a sense of satisfaction when the boy held his own tongue.

And just like that, the boy set upon creating the dragon again, not allowed to use his notebook as training wheels. She was honestly surprised that the boy was even capable of remembering more than half of the seals, much less all of them, in perfect sequence. Perhaps his memory really was better than she had expected.

She watched him complete the sequence of seals, calling forth a meager dragon, which he manipulated for some time, trying to force it to grow to a taller stature, to no avail. Still, he managed to summon it up to at least his own height. Well, at the rate he was developing his jutsu… Well, perhaps Rakka was now safe for a trial by fire. Or not. Maybe he’d die. That’d be the second genin she’d accidentally killed while training, at least while she had lived in Shimagakure.

Well, it’s a good thing that Xyxer isn’t here.

The boy, likely exhausted, would turn to look at Rakka, but find that she had since vanished, the body flicker technique causing her to vanish in a blur of motion until she was 40 meters away from the boy, farther across the water, away from the bridge.

”Alright, kid!” She’d shout. ”I’m going to give you to the count of ten to summon up another dragon. When I get to ten, I’ll be sending my own after you.” She warned, before beginning to count.

”One.” A pause.

”Two.” A pause.

”Ten!” Suddenly skipping the rest of the numbers, Rakka began to form the six hand seals that were required of her, a huge water dragon rising up from behind her and diving over and around her head, headed directly for the boy across from her.

Ketsueki was left confused when the woman vanished across the water, his eyes barely tracking her upon her re-entry to the visible spectrum. 'What is she doing? Am I supposed to follow her or something?' He'd take a step forward before he heard her. 'She's going to send one after me!? Is she mad!? Even if I summon the blasted thing it wouldn't block hers!' He thought as he began to weave sign, his breath still shaky as he backed away, hearing her count. 'Maybe this is some sort of higher plan? Maybe.' Then he had heard her accelerate the countdown. His sign weaving accelerating as well 'Or she could just want to kill me!' He watched the water dragon weave and fly toward him, awed and intimidated as he flew through each of his signs, the last bits of his chakra reserves being pumped throughout his system and cutting right through him.

Each succession came faster and faster as if his body had remembered each seal before he could think of it. Aside from Yang Water which was the newest in his repertoire of seals, as he reached the final seal he collapsed as the water behind him began to form a raging whirlpool, giving birth to the fully formed head of a dragon and immediately afterward its body that writhed in the foam, breaking free of the pull of the whirlpool until it was at its full length, at that point it charges over Ketsueki as his knees hit the water. He forced himself to stay conscious as his own dragon finally approached Rakka's at full speed. She did explain that he had to control it himself.

Rakka’s smirk grew to a grin as the boy’s fear became more prominent, as her countdown came to a very sudden conclusion. She felt a great sense of satisfaction, however, when she noticed that he was creating the seals faster than ever. As Rakka’s six hand seals brought forth the dragon, it roared and shot towards him, spiraling through the air as it moved towards the poor boy, who made his hand seals as fast as he could.

She watched him, barely conscious, finally form a dragon from the sea, sending it forward to collide with Rakka’s dragon. He just narrowly avoided the force of Rakka’s attack, for while hers was slightly stronger, it was not strong enough to destroy Ketsueki’s technique. The two would collide, spraying water everywhere as they were both destroyed, most likely soaking the nearly-unconscious boy. Rakka was already walking towards him.

”Well done.” She said, a very rare moment of praise.

Ketsueki's eyes only stayed open for the collision of the two dragons, feeling his face get sprayed with water he let out a sigh before his knees drifted into the water, his feet also sank as his chakra was burned out almost entirely, he only had enough to keep himself alive under the water, yet his body ached and his lungs were on fire, his heart was beating out of control and his body drifted in the water like a dinghy in a storm.

He hadn't heard her fleeting words of praise and as appreciated as they would've been he likely wouldn't have had the vigor to respond. His consciousness faded away but the feeling remained, he felt the water flowing around him as he floated on the water. Ironically he wound up  face down in the water without his own volition or Rakka's fury. Odd. He felt at peace like this. He wasn't able to truly think or act in this state but he felt calm, collected, and aimless. Was that what peace is like? It seemed too boring but. He couldn't do anything to stop it, his chakra network was in a frazzle and his flimsy body hadn't moved a muscle unless Rakka moved him.

He felt another presence, however, further down the river to the sea. As if he were being called, not by one voice but by many, many droning voices in unison, calling his name from the depths of the ocean. These voices seemed to connect deeply to him, a strange experience to be sure, maybe even divine? From then on it was like a dream. He was still blinded as his eyes were closed but, he felt the energy of others surrounding him in all different shapes and sizes, from above came the largest, he felt fear at first, but was soon wrapped in what felt like the locks of an angel, it droned his name once more and he was cast out from the dream, left unconscious with Rakka.

Rakka's grin would quickly fade when it became apparent that the boy was not able to stand any longer. The Yuki's eyes widened ever so slightly as he disappeared in a splash. He sunk through the water, his body floating downwards into the depths of the sea. 
"Shit, shit, shit!" Rakka was running now, quickly approaching a full sprint as she dove down into the water, following fast through the sea, chasing after the slowly sinking form of Ketsueki.

She was soon brought face to face with something glowing brightly, bioluminescent perhaps. It appeared to be leaving him, not chasing towards him, and while from this angle, she could not tell what it was, she had no desire to let it get at the boy a second time. She hoped it hadn't injured him, she really didn't need another dead genin's blood on her hands. She really didn't want another death. 

Her arm was around him now, and Rakka was pushing the two of them back to the surface, fighting the ocean currents and forcing the boy's head out of the sea, pulling herself out of the water and lurching the boy up onto her shoulder. She disappeared in a blur of motion as her body exceeded speeds traceable by the human eye, coming back into view at the shoreline, where she tossed the boy down onto his back. She listened for a heartbeat, and heard it, albeit slow. She listened for breathing, and heard nothing. 

"Fuck." She muttered. She pounded on the boy's chest, trying to force him to breathe. The water would gush from his mouth as she did so, and she would turn his head sideways so he didn't drown a second time. She listened once more for breathing, and heard...

Ketsueki was still for a time, as still as one could be whilst having their chest pounded upon, especially one of his size, soon his entire body followed suit to his turned head as his eyes opened, as did his mouth, heaving a mouthful of salty water before he began to cough up the remains. It felt as if he were coughing with ground glass in his esophagus, but that was just the rawness of his throat, the salt and the usage of so much chakra put his body under much stress, his reserves to even continue living were dismal, yet he wasn't on the verge of death quite yet or even in as much pain from the use. As he coughed and attempted to heft himself up he still thought of his dream and what he felt. 

Just then it set in that his eyes were opened without him wiping them on anything, and as such the salt water got into his eyes, causing him to cover them and wince once he felt the pain. Keeping his eyes shut, he huffed. "Thank you..." He knew Rakka was the one who grabbed him and used that odd technique, it disoriented him still, despite him not being able to feel how fast he went when he was out cold. Whatever else was there, he was sure it wasn't able to get him out. "Were you...Calling my name?" He asked, attempting to blink out some of the salt water from his reddening eyes. 

The voices sounded nothing like her but, then again, the feeling of soft, numerous fibers around his face and body didn't seem like something she was capable of generating. Her hair wasn't that long and he doubted there was some sort of hair jutsu. So what did he feel? He put the thought out of his mind, for now he was more concerned with the feeling of exhaust on his body, his body ached all over and he felt incredibly weak. "What is this?" He asked, his arms hanging as he got himself to his knees, he didn't have the strength to hold his arms up.

...The faintest sound of breathing. Like the light light of a flame returning to life after a strong breeze, the boy coughed up the water, sputtering and gagging, but coming to life once more all the same. Rakka breathed a sigh of relief as she turned his head, easing his troubled breathing before removing her sopping wet flak jacket and setting it under his head, giving him at least some small comfort. She was quietly relieved that the boy had come too so easily, as she dreaded the hearsay among the other Shinobi of Kirigakure if word got out the cold-hearted Rakka Yuki had performed CPR on a genin. 

Of course, there were more pressing matters at the moment, like the life of the boy who was on the ground before her. She was sitting on her knees beside him as he opened his eyes, before quickly wincing in pain. Gently, she wiped a cold hand across his face, removing the water from his eyes as best she could, before placing her hand on his. 
"Easy, kid. Just breathe." She cooed, in a tone that hadn't left the lips of the Yuki in a very, very long time. 

He asked her if she had called his name, and the Yuki shook her head. He was delusional, from the sound of it. Going on and asking about something incomprehensible. She just comforted him, pressing a finger to her lips to signal silence.
"Just a dream, kid." She assured him, placing his hand on his stomach and standing slowly from her position. "Wait right here. Just rest." She said, stepping around him and moving inward, towards the beach. She picked up a large piece of driftwood, and a few smaller ones, before returning to his side. About 5 meters from him, she dropped the wood, scuffing out some dirt and forming a film of ice across the ground to ensure that the fire she was about to light did not spread. She placed the wood inside a small hole she scuffed out in the sand, before breathing a jet of orange flame upon it, setting it alight. 

"Warm up, kid. The sea will rob you of heat this time of year, and I don't think your body is as forgiving of that as mine is." She warned him, crouching down before it, and patting the sand beside her.

Ketsueki found himself back on his rear, completely unable to even sit upright, the frost had hit him in an instant and stolen the remaining conscious strength left in him, his head was cushioned by a flak jacket as he coughed again, this time heaving far less water and a smidgeon of blood, he took care not to get blood on the jacket. He wasn't sure how the woman felt about her reputation but he was sure that beating upon those of lower rank than oneself would be frowned upon, therefore, allowing his blood to spill upon her jacket would have been an insult. Mayhaps if he hadn't been feeling like death on ice it wouldn't have been such a pain for him to do so.

Ketsueki felt her presence drift away as his tired eyes closed and he sighed softly. He didn't believe what he had done, and what he felt. Aside from the grueling pain he had no real way to explain the feeling of the power he just drew from within himself. He also had no way to explain what he felt in those leagues under the sea. The start of a flame woke him from this thought as he heard the woman invite him to come closer to the newly kindled flames. "Thank you." He wheezed, his distant, cold voice replaced by a more hoarse whisper. He carried the jacket with him as he inched closer and attempted to conserve his energy. Despite his more gaunt and ghastly appearance, the cold wasn't what would have ailed him. It was his use of nearly all his energy. She pushed him as far as he could go and then some. That's far too risky for anyone but an experienced teacher's methods.

"Do you have other students?" He asked, hesitant to ask repeated questions rapid fire style as he did before, right now the back of her palm was far more dangerous than that time, anyway.

(Exit) 
(TWC: 4728)
(4k for water dragon jutsu * .50 = 2000 4000-2000 = 2000w)
(Claiming water dragon bullet)
(2k for snake's mouth)
(Claiming Water release: Snake's mouth.)
(Putting 728w into Suiton: Water Wall 728/3000)
(Claiming 23+ Chakra)

Rakka watched the boy hobble over, still carrying her jacket. He sat down beside her at this makeshift campfire she had constructed to save him from freezing in the winter cold that haunted even Kirigakure’s tropical climate. He was exhausted, she could tell. He had used every last bit of energy in that training exercise… Perhaps she had gone too far? Asked for too much?

No.

In Kirigakure, only the strong survived. She was forging him in fire. She was making sure he was strong. She had been helping him. That was what she kept telling herself. It had been for his own good, and after all, he was fine in the end, wasn’t he? Still, all she could think of was the genin whom she had killed, the one whom had been subjected to her genjutsu, apparently overwhelmed by its power.

That could have been this boy here. She could have killed him where he stood in her carelessness. How would she have been making him stronger if she had put him to death before his body was honed to be able to even hope to fight her? She had sent her own technique against his, far more powerful as it was, and expected perfection. It was a miracle that he did not drown.

He thanked her. That wasn’t something she expected, and it was jarring enough to pull her from her thoughts. She smiled faintly, staring into the fire. She said nothing more. Until, that is, he asked her his final question. Her smile grew ever so slightly, as she shook her head slowly.

”Just the one.”


(Exit)

(TWC: 4321)
(1465 WC remaining after mid thread claim)
(+1465 WC to Absolute Zero)
+14 AP

Approved