A Bird Meets the Light (Tsume)

As Tsume was able to accomplish storing the items away in the alternate dimension, her ears perked up at the sound of a voice muttering. Sal was quite amazed, and in disbelief, it seemed, that Tsume had actually been able to perform the technique. Yet she wouldn’t allow him to outshine her, taking it upon herself to now attempt the jutsu. Afterall, what better way to learn something than by practice and training?

Saluluna was able to make one of the rocks she had set up disappear just as Tsume had, before poofing the rock back into existence. It seemed she thought it was too good to be true, her head whipping from the young man to Rosa. As her one good eye laid it's sight on the pinkette, a sly smile crossed her face. For some reason the Genin felt uneasy at the sight of the taller woman grinning like that, and her suspicions rose as the white haired shinobi pulled a festive looking spear from what appeared to be nowhere, perhaps she used a different kind of storage technique the teenager thought.

Sal thanked her for teaching the technique to her, causing the blue eyed kunoichi to nod her head, acknowledging her gratitude. However, as she spoke her next few words, Rosa was slightly taken aback as Sal mentioned she had a trick for her, her dark colored eye looking over at Tsume as he made his approach back to them. It seemed he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to hear the plan Sal offered, but Hakucho seemed to have heard with his heightened bird senses, his eyes glaring at the snowy haired woman as best a bird could do for a glare. He didn't like this “trick” as much as she did, for perhaps he knew what she was hinting at.

Thus she was about to decline the spear when Tsume offered to teach her a few techniques with it, as it was apparently his specialty to use weapons. Rosa never thought much about learning weaponry techniques as they did not intrigue her much, but since the opportunity rose, she felt it would be a waste if she didn't take the time to learn some new things. She reasoned that it might come in handy one day to have this knowledge about weapons.

“I'll take you up on that offer, Tsume.” She turned back towards the spear, and would grab a hold of its hilt if Sal still had it offered out to her, making sure it's tip was facing the sky as to not hurt anyone with it. She would look Sal in the eye and then turn her attention back to Tsume to await his teaching, as she said, “Thank you both.” It would be improper of her to not offer her own form of gratitude at their assistance, it was one thing her father always reminded her to do. If they didn't have their manners, they could end up slighting the wrong person.

(WC: 501)
(TWC: 2,187)

Sal seemed a tad disappointed when Rosa appeared less than enthusiastic about taking her offer. Girl looked at her all suspicious like she was giving her a big red candy button and saying it brought world peace. What... Did she think Sal actually wanted to hurt either of them? Give her a little bit of credit, why don't she... The boy didn't seem to happy either about what she was proposing. Sal followed the girl's glance in the boy's direction behind her, looking over her shoulder to find him staring daggers into her back.

"What?" She exclaimed with a light shrug. "It's not like I'm asking her to impale you, bird-guy. Relax. All she needs to do is poke you with it and you'll both have some fun." She turned back to Rosa, offering her spear again but she seemed even less convinced than before. It seemed that the word "No" was on her lips when the weird bird-man spoke up, stating that perhaps he could actually offer training with the weapon. Then what was the glare for? Why did he look at her like she just threatened the life of his family? Pfft... Whatever. What works works, right?

"Of course." Sal bowed her head in a respectful smile, a knowing smile on her face. She'd hope that one of them would make a mistake in their training, the other somehow getting hit and then... Kissing time. What a fun little watch that'd be...

Rosa took the spear and Sal sat herself down a few feet away with her sewing stuff in tow, taking out her needles and began working on her project again. Ever so often she'd glance up to see how close Rosa was to smacking the poor bird dude, a small quiver of excitement in her belly at the mere thought. She did what she had to for amusement around here were grumps like Rosa were around in plenty. Except for maybe Gin who had some kind of humor (as dry as it was), people were so SERIOUS here... For Kage's sake let yourself go for a damn minute, would ya? Well... at least she got what she wanted for now. That's what mattered. Sal's needles clicked ever so softly and frequently as she rapidly began sewing the sweater she was working on together, going down each row in a manner of minutes like it was nothing...

The opportunity arose. Now that Rosa accepted his request, he would have to teach her something useful. And luckily he had just the thing in mind. "I don't suppose you two have chakra infusion down?" Assuming that they didn't know it as it's not on their skills list, he would probably get a no from Rosa. "Well then, let me teach it to you." At that moment he pulled out his Kanta out of it's protective, wooden case and held it with both hands. "It's quite easy to do when you have it down." He said as the blade suddenly lit up with the glow of his chakra. He then thought of Sal and said. "You should try this skill as well, it's useful for everyone, not just weapon users." He smiled at her, with a very welcoming smile, and it wasn't fake either. "Also, I'll need your element for something afterwards." The Chokyoshi added.

As they would teach each other useful techniques for battle, Hakucho headed off Tsume's shoulder and went to train his own stuff. He had been working on his clan's taijutsu with his feathers, as they could be used as weapons if used right. He took some air and started his practice on a tree nearby. He started with throwing them, but not very hard, barely enough to penetrate the wood like it was supposed to. He kept working on it, not letting Tsume get all the practice. The competition helped a bit, as the next time, it was much better, but not quite there. He kept going again and again as Rosa and maybe Sal were learning chakra infusion. Finally, with one last swing of his wings, the feather penetrated the tree. He was very content and did his own celebration flip in the air.   
WC:300
TWC: 1450

Rosa gratefully accepted the spear from Sal, noting the knowing smile upon the taller woman's lips. Something was off about the one eyed girl or the weapon gripped tightly in her own palm, but the pinkette couldn't figure what. All she knew was to stay cautious and careful, weary of what might happen.

The white haired woman then walked a few feet away, plopping down on the ground and pulling out seeing utensils. Rosa thought it was slightly absurd for her to be crafting while they were training, thinking she could spend her time training alone while he showed her about weapons. Yet she kept her pretty little mouth shut, her opinions left unsaid for it was none of her business what Sal did in her free time.

“No, I do not know that technique.” Came her monotone reply to Tsumes question, as he gauged their knowledge of weaponry skills. The name intrigued the young Akari, the technique sounding quite useful to learn. The young man unsheathed his katana after saying he would teach her it, firmly holding the hilt in between his palms. His following statement seemed a bit redundant and silly to the young girl, as anything would be easy once one was able to fully learning it. While he spoke his katana blade lit up like a Christmas tree, his chakra coursing through the blade.

The boy's gaze wandered to the tayloring woman, his voice friendly with a smile gracing his features. Tsume mentioned that Sal should also try out the technique, stating it would be useful to nonweapon users just the same. He also added that he would need her element for later, although Rosa wasn't quite sure how he knew Sal’s element unless, of course, they had previously met. She had not gotten that vibe when the two first interacted, but she could have been wrong.

Rosa wasn't quite sure where to begin with the technique, not knowing if it required hand signs or if it was a skill she needed to practice a few times before learning, and all she had to do was focus her chakra into the spear to learn it. Thus she waited for Tsume to give her instructions on where to start working on infusing her chakra to the spear.

(WC: 380)
(TWC: 2,567)

Sal smiled warmly as she watched Rosa look at her incredulously, as if she had suddenly pulled a paper-bomb out and lit it. What? Hadn't she seen someone knit before? Poor girl needed to get out more often. On top of that, when the boy mentioned a little Chakra-infusing technique, the girl's response was SO monotone, one would have trouble thinking she was HUMAN if they couldn't see her. It was actually kind of disturbing.

"Rosa." She called, offering her a soft smile. "Its okay to be a human you know. Nobody's gonna kill you for it." After a minute or two of fiddling, she held up her creation, a nice soft pink/red heart to show the monotone ninja. What reason? None really. Maybe to make her laugh, smile, anything more than the crippling boredom that was her tone. Hokage's sake someone needed to give this girl a hug... Sal would've even!.... If there wasn't the little detail that she just handed her the kissing-spear. The last thing she wanted was to get hit with that weapon as Rosa attempted to defend herself. Things could get... Awkward.

Tsume then decided to teach them all the secrets of Chakra-infusion, holding out his own festive blade as a nice blue current flashed right on through it. Well wasn't that just the best thing ever? It was almost like it was some kind of Laser-sword... a Fire-blade... A Light-saber... AND without giving any warning, his bird flew off to do his own thing. What a card.

"He's a keeper." The one-eyed ninja noted, rising to her feet and tossing her knitting back in her basket. "How's about we see if we can figure this little technique of his out?" Much like she did with the spear, Sal would pull a candy-cane sword seemingly out of nowhere, running her finger along the flat end of it's curved hooked-blade.

"Got any ideas, cutie?" She questioned in a purely platonic way.

As Tsume predicted, neither of them knew chakra infusion. Which was good, cause he wanted to teach the girls something. Rosa did sound a bit bored and Sal commented on the fact that it didn't really sound human, which Tsume just giggle off. Also, the girls had their own weapons, Rosa with Sal's spear and Sal with her own candy cane sword, which Tsume had as well but it was at home. Not because he didn't like the blade, but it was more the fact that he already had a bunch of weapons on him, so there was no room. 

Teaching chakra infusion wasn't hard for Tsume because as soon as he showed it off to the girls, they mimicked with their own weapons. "Wow, impressive." He commented with a cheery tone, which was like his normal tone, he always sounded happy. That wasn't just for kindness reasons, he knew if he sounded friendly, he would be more trusted. 

Well now their weapons glowed like his own, he moved on with the explanation. "Now that our that our chakra is wrapped around the weapons, it should increase the sharpness." Then he looked at his winged friend. "Hey buddy, can you get me a rock." Haku knew exactly what he meant. Taking off to the sky, Haku went to go find that rock. Soon, the white feathered bird came back with a rock in his talons. The thing was as big as the bird itself, Haku was a strong bird. The white feathered bird flew over them, dropping the package like a bomb. As it descended, Tsume took ready and cut the stone in half when it fell near him. He kept cutting it until the little rocks formed from it fell beside Tsume harmlessly. "See, normal blades would be able to do that with the effort I put into cutting." He smirked. "It felt like running your blade through butter."  It sounded like he was full of himself, but he was really just proud of the technique. 

But it was over after that, he wanted to show them one more thing. "Another thing about this skill is that it can be applied to elements for more sharpness." He showed it off with his own element, wind. The katana that he held was now running with wind chakra, losing its blue colour. "Cool? If you want me too, I could help you with your elemental infusion." He offered, not knowing if they were tired or they could keep going. 

WC:418
TWC: 1868

EXIT
CLAIMING:
9 stats for Hakucho and Tsume
1868 wc towards Feather strike for Haku (2000/2000)
1000 wc towards Storage Displacement for Tsume (1000/1000)
514 wc towards Battojutsu:Quickdraw for Tsume (2000/2000)
354 wc towards Iai Beheading for Tsume (354/3500)

Link to progress for Quickdraw and Feather strike:  http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t37560p10-up-and-coming-p-io

Approved unless interupted

The ashen haired woman’s actions were not the only thing surprising, albeit confusing, the pink haired teen. She mentioned that Rosa needed to be a bit more human, implying that she were not already fully human to begin with. She wasn’t sure what kind of ridiculously dry joke Sal was hinting at, but it did not make any sense to the young Akari, although Tsume seemed to pick up on what she was referring to as a slight giggle escaped his lips. Whatever joke she had made, the young boy found it just as humorous, if not even more than she herself. Despite her lack of knowledge and understanding, Rosa remained silent to the other woman’s antics, feeling no sense of obligation to reply to her comment. It was around that time that Sal lifted up her knitting items, showing her what she had made. It was a little pinkish-red heart, although her reasons for showing her such a useless thing were unknown. Why create something that no one can use or benefit even slightly from? It was a waste of her time, which could have been spent training instead of messing around. Again, however, the pinkette held her thoughts in. She wasn’t someone who could tell others how to live or spend their time, she could only silently disapprove of their actions.

Tsume seemed to pique the silver haired woman’s interest as his blade illuminated a blue hue, his chakra coursing across the blade as he demonstrated Chakra Infusion. Sal rose to her feet, finally deciding to train alongside them, as she threw her knitting utensils back inside the basket they came from and muttered something about Tsume, or perhaps his aerial companion that had flown off to train on his own, being a keeper. Her blue eyes glanced over at the one-eyed woman, trying to read her expression to come up with a reasonable explanation for her comment. She found none of course, but luckily for her, Sal had already moved on, pondering if they should try to figure it out on their own. Rosa nodded her head in agreement at the inquiry, agreeing with her for once that they should begin on their own. Then, similar to how she retrieved the spear she currently gripped, Sal drew a sharp, red and white striped sword out of what seemed to be thin air, or as Rosa assumed, a different space-time jutsu that she could store objects in.

Before she could open her mouth to strategize on how to learn Tsume’s technique, Sal asked yet another question, one with a slight twist at the end. Rosa vaguely arched her eyebrow at the word Sal used to describe her, cutie. It was not a word she was accustomed to hearing, and was, quite frankly, not one she desired to be called. She was supposed to be anything but cute; cruel, vicious, inhumane, all things that would describe an assassin, which she had been raised to be due to her Loyalist father and the lessons he embedded in her since she was born. At first she felt slightly insulted by the simple word, but then a thought crossed her mind. What if she could use that to her advantage? Trick people into thinking she was cute, then stabbing them in the back when they least expected it. It might not be the most conventional way to go about being an assassin, but if she could not rid herself of such adorable features, she would harness them fully, using them as a strength instead of a weakness to overcome anyone in her way.

Rosa, finally deciding to take matters into her own hands, focused her chakra toward the spiked tip of the spear in her hands, willing the energy to flow from her body and cover the weapon, sharpening it. Her aquatic eyes watched with repressed delight as the elaborately decorated spear was enveloped in a warm, familiar glow, showing off her success at learning the technique on her first try. Tsume praised her accomplishment, cheerfully stating how impressive she was for being able to do it so quickly. Her voice evenly called out to him before he continued with the lesson, giving him a simple “Thank you” to show her gratitude at his praise, the way her father had taught her to do so.

His voice was soft, yet informative, as the young man began to elaborate on the technique and asked his companion to retrieve a stone to use as an example. The falcon flapped his mighty white feathered wings and took flight, soaring through the crystal blue sky with great speed as he went searching for the perfect rock to practice on. Within a couple minutes he reappeared in their sights, carrying a gigantic rock in his talons. Rosa was amazed the bird could carry something so easily, despite it being as big as himself. Once overhead, Haku released the rock, the massive object spiraling downwards as gravity pulled it back to Earth. Tsume anticipated Haku’s actions, having prepared himself to launch forward the moment it began its descent, his blade slicing through the rock with ease over and over again, until the once giant rock shattered into a million tiny, harmless pebbles that fell at his feet. He smirked at the rock’s remains, confidently stating that a normal blade would not have been able to accomplish such a feat and that it had been similar to cutting butter, easy and smooth. Rosa didn’t doubt his statements, having witnessed firsthand how versatile the technique allowed one’s weapons to be, her eyes glistening at the opportunities this skill allowed her to harness. Especially if she were able to run her lightning chakra through the blade giving it the same tendencies as lightning while it slashed through things, being able to numb anyone who dared to cross her. This skill, paired with the skill she had been told of by her father that only Loyalist Akari were able to learn, would be a deadly combination, enabling her to become nearly undetectable to even the most experienced of fighters. Truly, an assassins way.

Tsume was in the middle of showing them how to enhance the weapon with their own element, when a messenger bird flew overhead, as if summoning one of them to speak with the Hogokage or to let them know they had been selected for a mission. The bird swooped down, a gust of wind blowing her rosy hair behind her as the hawk stopped in front of her, its talon extended. It seemed she was the lucky one to be summoned, although she wasn’t sure what for until her graceful hands unraveled the envelope and ehr eyes rapidly scanned the contents it held within.

“My apologies, it seems I must cut this training short.” Her tone remained the same as it had from the beginning, probably much to the dismay of Sal. She turned to the silvery haired woman, handing her back the spear. If the spear wasn’t taken back, she would stick it’s hilt into the ground for when Sal was ready to grasp it, then she would glance between the two of them as she continued, “Thank you, Sal and Tsume, for your help today.” Once she finished speaking, she swiftly turned on her heels and dashed off towards the village, her boots thumping loudly once more as she headed towards the Hogokage Chambers, her mind already hard at work as it thought of more jutsu and skills to train for the next day, or even later that evening if her business with the Hogokage did not take too long.

(Exit)
(WC: 1,277)
(TWC: 3,844)
(Claiming 19 stats, 1000/1000 for Storage Displacement, 1000/1000 for Chakra Infusion (½ off due to learning from someone else),  388 for Golden Eye Level 1 to make it fully learned at 2000/2000 because the 1,612 WC came from this thread, and lastly, the remaining 1455 for Art of the Akari making it 1456/2000)