Academy Class - Chakra Cleanse - open

Kirigakure academy, classroom 5

Hayate arrived early, as usual.  Academy wouldn't start for another twenty minutes, and still he was third to arrive.  However, the group wasn't the overeager teachers pets one might assume.  Due to the severity of failing an exam, this academy had a few more older students held back than most, whether through their (or their parents) wishes, a shortcoming, or outside circumstances.  Still, it wasn't the norm.  It made you the odd man out.  So while maybe one of the younger class rep types might show up this early, it was mostly the out of place students.  Hayate, at 14 and nearing the edge of the ages that didn't make you a total freak, found that it was easier to be already there when others arrive than it was to arrive to a crowded, bustling room, and he suspected the others felt the same.  Besides, he told himself, it makes you look more like a cool senpai to your younger classmates.  Or, at least, he hoped it did.  And even though he was on friendly terms with most, it was easier to be already in the back, with his earphones on, when others arrived, he'd be less likely to be sucked into the energetic morning rush.

With both the mask part of his compression shirt and the hood of his typical light sleeveless hoodie covering his face, he nodded a wordless acknowledgement to the others already there, bonded with them by situation, and took the far rear corner.  He decided today wouldn't be the worst day to get sucked into a conversation, so he took down the mask and hood.  Messy blonde hair shook loose as he did so.  He still kept in the earphones on and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes to a narrow slit though.  No need to go crazy.  His head lazily bobbed along with the beat.  All that was left was to relax and wait for the lesson.

Chakra cleanse was today, eh?  Hayate had heard of the basics of it, and it shouldnt be so hard.  Some of the ninjutsu was really tough for him, but surely this wouldn't be a challenge.  An easy day, then.  Of course sensei would split it into three parts again.  First would be theory of how it works and uses, then move to the actual signs and justsu, and finally get to practice it, as we always do.  At least with this one sensei probably wouldn't find a way to turn it into an excuse to have students hit each other.  Probably.


[feel free to jump in before the lesson starts]
[WC 426]

The rest of the students filed in, taking their seats, murming with normal pre-class conversation.  It quieted down immediately as soon as the classroom door slide open, though.

Sensei strode into class purposefully, carrying a box of something with him.  He was a powerfully built man with short cut hair, looking straight like he came straight out of a war film, especially in his flak jacket and uniform.  As soon as he reached the desk, he set down the box.  He wasted no time getting started.

"Alright, heads up.  As you should remember, we start today out with chakra cleanse.  It's an easy one, so I expect you all to get it by the end of the day, you hear me?"  He eyed several students in the class.  "No exceptions.  Now, the basics are....." 

Several diagrams and a lot of talking later, the whole class was aware of how you were supposed to spread out your chakra evenly over your skin then release it all at once, radiating it outwards to carry stains and dirt and et cetera off of you.

"Alright, now obviously this weak of a jutsu has no combat applications.  It couldn't even defend against a spitball.  Its only for getting clean, saving a bit of time.  So why would we ninja learn this, besides the fact our tasks often make us get dirty.  Class?" Senpai looked around the room.

A smaller ninja in the front raised their hand and was called upon.  They stood straight up and remarked on how a ninja was not only a warrior, but often an ambassador, and had to always be upstanding and put the best face forward for the village, both for villagers and for foreign relations.

"Alright, Not bad."  Sensei flexed.  "Projecting strength and professionalism often eliminates conflict before it starts.  Projecting weakness and sloppiness" He eyed a few more students "invites more trouble and conflict, and reflect poorly on the village.  Anything else?"

Hayate looked around, as a bunch of other students were doing.  After a few moments, he slowly raised his hand.  As sensei called on him, he answered simply and uncertainly "Stealth?"

Sensei barked at Hayate to stand when he answered, but admitted it was a correct answer.  "And WHY would that be, Hayate?"

Hayate almost sighed as he reluctantly stood, but stifled it. That would only provoke sensei, and he didn't want to do that, he just didn't see the point of jumping up every answer.  "Well, if you're like sneaking around and trying not to be noticed, or hiding in a tree, leaving a trail of dust or water droplets, or having them drop from your hiding place onto your target would just give you away.  Plus, there are some ninja who can do tracking or jutsu off of blood, so you probably wouldn't want that on you for long."  He remained standing just in case.

Sensei nodded approval.  "Alright, Hayate, acceptable answer.  You can sit now, by the way."  He smirked.

Next, sensei went over the one handsel required, tiger, and how to focus and release the chakra.  The practical would be coming soon.

[WC 521 TWC 947]

Kether walked in with the influx of students showing up just before they were late and made his way toward the back of the classroom as usual. He never sat at the very back, however, as that tended to draw attention from the teacher too. As the instructor went over the basics of the technique that they would be learning today, Kether couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment and even a twinge of frustration. The Chakra Cleanse technique isn’t even one of the five I was told to work on before I became a Genin. This is just a waste of time.

               The question of why this technique, which clearly had no combat applications, would be useful was the same question that had been running through Kether’s head since the start of the lesson. Most of the techniques taught in Kirigakure were taught with the intention of making their shinobi more deadly. This technique, however, clearly wouldn’t do that. One of the younger students in the front of the class made a comment about how shinobi were ambassadors of their village as well as warriors, which was admittedly true. The instructor’s insight on the answer matched a simple truth that Kether had learned well: perception was reality. While dirtiness might not necessarily imply weakness, it could give an appearance of being more worn out and thus might tempt an enemy to make a move rather than avoid a fight.

               Another voice came from behind Kether and he turned along with most of the class to look at the speaker. He had seen the kid around but he didn’t actually know him other than his name: Hayate. Not standing when called on to answer a question seemed like laziness, but he would reserve judgement for now. The answer that he gave was more in line with something a Kirigakure shinobi would come up with. Avoiding detection and throwing trackers off of your scent were two important skills for a shinobi to have and the cleansing technique would certainly be an assistance in both of those. Maybe the technique wasn’t such a waste of time after all.

               Kether never really answered questions in class. He wouldn’t be surprised if nobody in the class even remembered his name, to be completely honest. That was okay with him though. He was more than happy to avoid notice. As the instructor gave the basic instructions on using the tiger handseal to shape the chakra, Kether’s mind began to wander again. He slowly began to mix the chakra inside of his body, getting a feel for it swirling around. If today was anything like the last few days, they’d all have a chance to practice soon enough and from the sound of things, they wouldn’t be leaving until they could at least perform the cleansing technique at a passable level.

               He snuck a quick glance over at Hayate again. Kether was two years older than him, but clearly the kid’s mind was in the right place. He’d almost certainly pass the Genin exams as long as he was competent enough to perform the jutsu required. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have a… well, friend wasn’t exactly the right word, but at least an acquaintance. ”Attempt number one,” he whispered under his breath as he formed the tiger handseal and exhaled, using his chakra to blow off the dirt he had gotten on himself while training before class. It was subtle enough that nobody else should’ve noticed it unless they were paying attention, but he couldn’t help the slight grin that broke out on his face.

WC: 601

After explaining the hand seals, the instructor lifted the heavy box onto his desk, and opened it. It was filled with dirt.  As sensei made some hand seals, he told the students to practice at their desk, and when they thought they had it they were to come up and he'd put two marks of mud on them, which they had to remove with the justsu.  As he finished the last handseal water poured from his hands into the dirt, making a muddy mess.

Some of the students got it immediately.  There was even a super tall guy with silver hair that had some dust float right off of him without moving before the instructor stopped talking.  He looked even older that Hayate, and but was so quiet normally that Hayate hadn't really conversed with him besides some early morning nods.

It surprised Hayate when he thought he had it after only 4 tries.  Normally it took him a while to get even the simple ninjutsu, but this even spreading of the chakra seems to agree with him.  

Concentrate, tiger, spread, release.
Concentrate, tiger, spread, release.

He practiced two more times to make sure, then went up to show the instructor.  With this easy of a jutsu he wasn't the first to leave, a few had gotten it before him, but most of the class was definitely still working.  he was proud of that.   The two dabs of mud, one on each shoulder, were easy to spot as they sunk in against the white of his shirt, but after a quick seal they pushed out easily and fell to the floor.  With his name checked off the list, Hayate got his stuff to leave.  It was a while before the next class, and he wanted to head outside to the training ground for a bit.

[WC 305 TWC 1252]


Hayate would leave the room to start a new thread (and do an exit count), unless something happens in the class/hallway.

As the other students in the class continued to practice the cleansing technique, Kether simply observed. It wasn’t that he was some prodigy with jutsu or anything, he’d just already spent enough time this morning in practice that his control of chakra was already warmed up and a bit more fine-tuned than a lot of the students who had just showed up for class. There were a few who got it just as quick as he had, but there was definitely a large spread of ability throughout the class.


               He couldn’t help but pay attention as Hayate rose to his feet and went up for his prac-app. He wasn’t sure why, but something about the kid seemed different than the others here. At any rate, he passed pretty easily and Kether walked down to the front as he was leaving for his own prac-app. The instructor glanced over  him for a second before rubbing some of the mud on his clothing as well. Taking a deep breath, the silver-haired boy brought his hands into the tiger sign and, with a quick exhale, blew the mud off.


               The instructor didn’t say anything to him to indicate that he’d passed or not. He simply made a mark on his sheet and moved over to the next student. Deciding that he’d probably passed since he performed the jutsu correctly and hadn’t been told to stay behind, Kether walked out of the classroom to head back out for a bit more training before the next class. It looked like Hayate was heading toward the direction of the training grounds as well, so maybe he’d actually attempt to talk to his fellow student today. It wasn’t really his style to make friends with people, but he knew life as a shinobi was much easier with companions than it would be if he tried to go it all alone.


               If nothing else, he was sure the two of them together would be able to get some real practice in and push each other. Kether may have been older, but they were both still students. Besides, it was probably a bit conspicuous for a student to have almost no social interaction with any of his peers. There was only so much that Kether could push himself without someone else and he was certain that Hayate would improve if Kether was there to push him too. The only thing now was whether or not Hayate would even want to interact with him in the first place.


[exit]

WC: 418
TWC: 1,019
Stats: 5
Jutsu Learned: Chakra Cleanse

[Exit]
WC 1252
Claim: 6 stats, Chakra Cleanse ninjutsu

Double approved