Pit Stop (private)

It was a bright, warm day on the country borders. The sunlight shone radiantly on the grassy patched earth below, slightly heating up the area. The sky was speckled with cotton clouds which cast cool shadows onto the ground, and occasional summer breezes whipped back her pinkish orange hair. Amaterasu Akari, an ex-Suna diplomat, was not at peace, but secretly she thought that this was pretty close. She didn't quite know what she was going to learn today, but that was fine. The ninja was mostly travelling. A town or village of some short stood on the horizon a few miles out. Good. She'd take a break there for the day. It took around thirty minutes to approach at her current walking pace. She entered the village- which appeared to be a non black market trading hub- without much fanfare. Due to her expensive garb, it was likely that they thought she was a traveling merchant.

There were a handful of roads, a population of around four hundred people who seemed to live in wooden and stone houses, and a handful of travelling merchants who had set up three or four stalls smack dab in the middle of the town. One was selling bizarre cloths from foreign nations ("Yarn from Haven Country! Textile from Fire Country!"), one was selling spices and salts, and one was selling... Various knickknacks. She would have passed by with no interest and made her way straight to the tavern, except something in the stall caught her eye. A simple paper scroll with a handwritten kanji adorning its cover, wrapped in a faded teal ribbon. It read "Flicker Movement- D". Was that a jutsu of some sort? She was assuming that the letter was the rank of the technique. The highest one she knew was a fire affinity C rank, so if this one was a D rank it was perfectly within the realm of possibility.

She approached the stall, gently moving through a few pockets of locals and other people who were also investigating various wares. Amaterasu wasn't a fan of lines or anything like that, but she somehow managed to scrounge up enough patience to wait the required time frame. When she finally was standing in front of the stall, she was greeted with a small boy, no older than eight or nine, and his elderly grandmother (or so she assumed). Various wares were perched on the wooden stall, from strange flute like instruments, porcelain jars, and little strings of clay beads. A few little gems sparkled from the back of the counter, each one in a little container. Without a word from her, the older lady scanned her appearance and simply held out the scroll. Was she able to deduce she was a ninja just from...?

"That's twenty ryo, dearie." Wordlessly, she handed the requested amount over. Her head tilted and her brows furrowed. The unasked question rang throughout the air. How did you know who I am? "Don't act so surprised. I saw you staring from a mile away." Was she really so obvious? A pink blush dusted her cheeks as she took the scroll, nodded her thanks, and left to find a quiet corner. After around five minutes of walking around the small trading town which she had yet to learn the name of, she came across a large tree with a simple wooden bench resting against its side. It had a thick green canopy that was speckled with pinkish purple flowers. It provided reasonable shade against the heat, something she was infinitely thankful for. She untied the ribbon from the item she had purchased and unfurled it. It had a simple, numbered instruction, as well as a diagram which depicted the required hand seals and chakra flow. Supposedly, the technique had two hand seals- which was good, given that it was a fairly low rank technique. No need to waste too much precious time and energy on a jutsu that wouldn't even do that much. Once she had formed the required hand seals (rat and boar, in that order), she was supposed to focus her chakra in a small bubble around herself. This would slow her personal time flow, enabling her to somehow speed up and react quicker to potential events. For two hand seals, that was pretty good.

Alright, talking and theorizing did nobody any good when learning jutsu. The best way to actually get it down was to do it until it was perfected.

First, she would start by practicing the hand seals. Rat had never been used by her before, so it was extra important to get it correct. Once she got the general feel for both seals, she'd progress to using them more and more quickly. After she had THAT down, Amaterasu would practice it forwards and backwards. Messing up these hand seals were a fatal mistake, especially in a jutsu such as this which would affect her so directly rather than affecting a potential foe of some sort. It took around twenty minutes for completion to her standards of satisfaction. She nodded to herself. Alright, time to move on to actually using her chakra.

The Akari noble wasn't going to lie. The thought of using her chakra in such a way left her feeling more than a little timid. But she had nothing more to lose, so she figured she might as well get it over with in small to large increments. The first time she tried channeling her chakra in that odd bubble pattern that had been displayed on the jutsu scroll, nothing of interest had happened. She moved her arms up and down, observing the speed at which they traveled. It had no effect. She sighed to herself.

The second attempt at channeling her chakra after flying through Rat and Boar had a somewhat minor effect. When she moved her arms once again, they seemed to move a little faster and smoother. Perhaps that was the speed of her perception moving up instead of her actual body speed...? She stood up from the bench, scanned the scroll once more, and pocketed it. She did a simple lap around the tree. She didn't feel any quicker or anything, so perhaps attempting the technique one or two more times would do her good?

The third and fourth attempt passed non spectacularly. The same boost to her reaction had occurred, but her overall speed hadn't. What was she doing wrong? The bubble had definitely formed, but... Maybe she was going about the technique the wrong way. She could try simultaneously boosting her muscles with chakra at the same time? Not too much, or she would hurt herself. But in small increments it should be safe. The medics and kage of Suna had done as much, which was probably where she had received her inspiration from. The Akari noble nodded to herself. Alright, it was worth a shot.

Fifth time, after attempting the Rat and Boar hand seals and forming the bubble, she had focused her fire affinity energy into her muscles slightly. Not enough to cause any bodily harm, but this time, when she moved around, she was noticeably faster. A few laps around the tree had proved such a thing. Alright, she had the technique down. It lasted around eighteen more seconds before fading, and when she attempted it again, the same thing had occurred. She definitely had the Flicker Movement technique down. Now that she had learned it, though, there was one last thing she needed to do. She needed to thank the lady and her grandson for selling her the scroll.

She stood up from her bench underneath the pink flowering tree's canopy, and proceeded to walk through the town back to the stalls. The sun was noticeably lower in the sky at this time, as she had been practicing for a few hours, and a large majority of the crowd had dispersed. However, the lady and her grandson were still there. The former's eyes lit up slightly as she approached.

"Thank you," she said earnestly. "This technique is very useful, and it might save my life. It means a lot that you were wiling to part with this, so... Once again, thank you." Amaterasu's voice was soft, but filled with genuine gratitude. The old lady nodded simply, placing her hand on her grandson's head.

"Why, you're welcome, dearie. I wish you luck with future endeavors." she nodded her thanks once again before leaving the town to hit the road.

(exit)

WC: 1,417
Claiming: 7 stats, http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t25855-flicker-movement