Odds, Ends, & Reunions

It had been quite some time that Kato had been a member of The Hidden Mist village but it had been quite a while since he had visited the ninja academy. He had joined the ninja academy not long after finding his way to the village and it didn't take him long to graduate. He had been clearly the oldest in the class by quite a number of years but that also meant that he advanced very quickly. He had graduated within a couple of months which he was very happy about as he couldn't stand the classes, they brought up too many memories from his past where he was forced to sit down and learn information. Those memories coupled with the fact that his peers were around half a decade younger than him gave him feelings of discomfort sometimes stretching into embarrassment and a strange sense of humiliation. It was those feelings that lit such a fire beneath Kato, he was determined to become a fully fledged shinobi and to get out of the classroom as soon as possible and that is exactly what he did. He'd graduated within 6 months, somethings that was quite the achievement he was told at the time. Kato acknowledged this but was more concerned with the challenges ahead rather than his experience in the academy.

The day started just as it usually did for Kato, he awoke, stretched, performed some calisthenics and then ate a nutritious meal. He was familiar with the shinobi carrier pigeon that usually delivers mission scrolls interrupting him during this routine but this time the scroll did not contain a mission, just a note from his old sensei at the academy. 

"Kato it has been some time, is life as a Genin that busy you have no time for your old sensei? Haha. If you have some spare time I'd love for you to come and meet the latest crop of academy students, you could even show off some of your new jutsu if you'd like? -Zaza"

Reading the message from his academy sensei lightened Kato's heart a bit, it had been quite a while since he'd been to the academy at all let along visit Zaza-sensei. He'd had such a dedicated focus on graduating from the academy and achieving the rank of Genin that he'd almost forgot about some of the connections he had made along the way. Life as a Genin was pretty busy like Zaza-sensei had joked about but he had been granted a bit of spare time today it seemed so he decided to take his old sensei up on their offer and began to make his way towards the academy.

As Kato walked down the streets of Kirigakure towards the academy where he had spent the majority of his time as a fledgling member of the hidden mist village his thought went ahead to the academy. He wondered how Zaza-sensei was doing and what the new academy students were like. Before long his thoughts caught up to his reality and Kato found himself looking upon the academy once again. After a few seconds stood in front of the Kirigakure Ninja Academy Kato's eyes saw a familiar sight, the tall slim figure of his academy-sensei. "Ahh Kato, you got my note! I'm glad you took me up on my offer" Zaza-sensei's light blue eyes glinted with a sense of joy as he spoke. "It's good to see you again Zaza-sensei. I'm sorry I've been so errant but you know what I'm like, the blinders go on when I've got a goal I want to achieve" Kato spoke with a lighthearted and familiar tone, his body language relaxed further in the presence of his old sensei. "Chuunin is what I'm aiming for now sensei but I'm sure you knew that already." The two of them carried on their conversation as they continued in to the academy, heading for Kato's old classroom.

To Kato's surprise a lot of the academy kids were ones that was in his class before he graduated. "Looks like you lot have been goofing off while I've been hard at work. I can't believe I see so many familiar faces here" Kato joked to the class as he began to address them. Zaza-sensei then informed the class why Kato was there and they all quieted down and watched Kato with a curiosity, eager to see what he was doing to show. 

With the eyes of the whole class on Kato a hush of silence fell on the room. This was an alien experience to Kato, he was not used to being in this kind of role but he assumed similar things would be asked of him when he achieved the rank of Chuunin so he used the opportunity to gain some experience. He took a deep breath and addressed the class:

"Zaza-sensei has asked me if I could come and share some of the jutsu that I have learned during my time as a Genin, but first I think you all would appreciate this little story of how I used a basic jutsu that you are all learning at the moment on a recent mission."

Kato formed the dog handseal and promptly used the Transformation Technique to take the form of one of the villages highly-trained chakra-enhanced monkeys that he had tracked down in a recent mission.

"Now you all should be familiar with this technique, you will off had it explained to you many times by Zaza-sensei. This jutsu was vital for my last mission, our village's research & development department has trained and enhanced a lot of monkeys to aid in their work and they had begun to mysteriously disappear, I was sent to investigate. So me and my team could get close when we eventually found them we used this jutsu and it worked perfectly! Think of that next time you're complaining to Zaza-sensei that the jutsu is lame." 

The class watched and listened to the story with enjoyment and laughter. Kato was enjoying this experience so far, it did help that he had a funny story to start off with it seemed to appeal to the younger nature of the class. Upon concluding his initial story Kato released the jutsu and returned to his usual tall, crimson-haired visage. "Now for something new" Kato's hands came together to form the rat followed by the dog handseal, he then brought his hands apart holding his palms upwards. Blue light began to gather in each of his palms, the light growing and morphing in shape until they were the size of Kato's two katanas. The light faded away and in Kato's outstretched palms he held two katanas, apparated out of thin air. The kids in the class let out a gasp of amazement as they witnessed the Storage Displacement take place in front of them. "That jutsu is called the storage displacement technique, very useful for storing vital ninja equipment when you're not using it"   

Kato grinned at his sensei as he displayed his new jutsu to which Zaza-sensei gave an approving nod. He felt his time in front of the class was drawing to an end, most of his other techniques were far too advanced for these kids and there was not any Hyuugas among them who would benefit from seeing his Gentle Blade technique. Kato wound down his lecture, gave a grin to everyone in attendance formed the ram handseal, using the Body Flicker technique to vanish in a cloud of smoke, a fitting end and exit to his lecture.

Kato left the academy glad that he had accepted Zaza-sensei's invitation, it had been an enjoyable day and he felt more experienced because of it, if only a little bit. His thought were pleasant as he wandered his way back to his apartment, the village was really starting to feel like a home to Kato and he felt grateful for it. After a short walk he let himself into his apartment, made himself some food and relaxed for the rest of the day, reading a book he had purchased recently. "Me reading for pleasure? maybe the village is affecting me after all" Kato silent thought to himself as he ended his day.

[1372]
[Using 500 WC to learn Gentle Blade: Flowing Parry {C-Rank} 50%]
[Using 569 WC to  finish learning Flying Swallow {1500/1500}]
[Using 250 WC to learn Vacuum Palm [v7] {D-Rank} 50%]
[Training 10 stats = -5 strength, +5 chakra]

Approved.

It had been a few days since Kato had visited the village's ninja academy, he'd given a short lecture about his experience as a genin to his old academy class at the request off his old teacher, Zaza-sensei. It had been a successful trip and Kato had left feeling richer for the experience. As he was saying his goodbyes to his academy sensei Zaza had told him "If you ever want to return to the academy for a bit of training don't sweat it. A lot of genin never return once they've graduated as they're too busy or their focus is elsewhere. It surprises me really because there are scrolls that contain the details of quite a few useful jutsu in our library. Of course the academy students are never told about them otherwise we'd never get them to focus on the basic jutsu needed to graduate." The parting comment that Zaza-sensei had given Kato had burrowed its way into his mind like a seed that had been sown. 

It was another lovely morning in the mist village, the sun shone, the sky was as blue as the gorgeous ocean that surrounded the peninsula that held the majority of Kirigakure. There was only the odd cloud lazily making its way across the sky and there was a nice breeze to the air. As Kato worked his way through his usual morning routine he kept an eye out for a mist carrier pigeon, one usually interrupted him at some point in the morning with his days orders, be that a specific mission or something else. Like usual the carrier pigeon arrived, landing on Kato's windowsill. The mist carrier pigeon promptly placed a scroll on the windowsill next to where it was perched, pecked up a few seeds that Kato had left in a bowl on the sill and flew off for its next delivery. "Ah the morning post, I wonder whats on the cards for today" Kato thought to himself as he unfurled the scroll. Casting his eyes over the scroll it read:

"To Kato (Genin),


Looks like its your lucky day. As the Mizukage is absent from the village due to the Kage summit there has been less missions being carried out past the boarders of the village. All of today's missions have been assigned to already so you've got yourself a day off, I suggest you use it wisely. I'm sure you're already aware but I will inform you anyway, the ninja academy and the military training facility are both open to shinobi of the mist for the use of training and development, I'd recommend spending your day in one of those locations.


Yamato (Jounin - Mission HQ)"

The frequency at which Kato had been getting assigned missions had slowed as of late, but he wasn't too concerned however as it meant more time for training and developing his jutsu. He'd already completed a good handful of missions varying in their difficulty and knew he was well on his way to the rank of Chuunin. His train of thought stopped momentarily and focused on the achieving the Chuunin rank, he'd heard rumours that there may be a Chuunin exam held after the Kage summit. "I wonder if that's going to be one of the things the Kage will talk about?" Kato pondered to himself as he remained in his thoughts. "Either way, I need to develop my jutsu, I need to ensure I meet my own high standards." With that Kato's thought train continued its journey, leaving from its momentary stop at 'Chuunin Exam station' and chugging along towards what he was going to do today.

The seedling that Zaza-sensei had planted last time he had seen Kato had germinated and sprouted inside his mind, the letter from Yamato serving as a sort of fertiliser aiding in its development. There were times when Kato felt that the universe was trying to send him messages and this felt like one of them. Not wanting to challenge the imagined 'will of the universe' Kato decided he would return to the academy and seek out the jutsu scrolls that Zaza-sensei had teased in their last meeting. 

It did not take Kato long to make it to the village's ninja academy, he knew the route well, plus the island nature of the village meant that important buildings were not too far apart from each other. He made his way into the academy and sought out his old sensei, finding the tall, slim and greying man that had started him on his shinobi journey teaching in his regular classroom. "Zaza-sensei, do you have some time for a familiar face" Kato had poked his head into the classroom and spoke, interrupting Zaza as he was mid lecture. Letting out a bit of a sigh Zaza turned to address Kato a slight smile on his lips "I can see that your manners still need some work Kato. I'd be happy to help but you'll have to wait until I've finished delivering this lesson to the class. You're welcome to sit in for the remainder if you would like." Kato responded to the ageing academy teacher with a familiar grin and slid into the classroom, sitting in an unoccupied seat at the rear of the classroom. The lesson was familiar to him, he'd sat through it during his time as an academy student. Kato basked in a sense of nostalgia as he listened to Zaza-sensei's lecture, he was explaining the uses of the substitution technique. He had enjoyed learning about this jutsu when he was still as green as the exercise fields out the back of the academy so he did not mind listening to the lesson once again.

After a short while Zaza-sensei concluded his lesson and dismissed the class, freeing the youngsters to go and expend the energy that was no doubt building up whilst sat listening to the lecture. Kato followed the flow of traffic as the students emptied from the classroom, stopping once he reached Zaza-sensei. "Sorry for the intrusion Sensei but I wanted to see those jutsu scrolls that you mentioned last time I was here, and you know my timing is not the best" Kato let out a light chuckle, and running his hand through his long red hair as he spoke. Zaza responded with a knowing smile "I thought that little line would have you back to the academy in no time, seems I was correct. Follow me and I'll show you to the part of the library restricted to the academy students" turning as he finished his sentence Zaza-sensei led Kato to the academy library conversing along the way. "Was there any particular area of jutsu you are looking to learn Kato? That would help us narrow down appropriate scrolls for you to study." "Well now I thought about it a bit I can see a bit of a hole in my skills. I can use the lightning element but I do not possess much jutsu that uses the Raiton release, perhaps we could start there?" Zaza-sensei responded to Kato with a smile and a nod then begun to search among the scrolls of the library. 

After a short while Zaza returned to Kato with several jutsu scrolls in tow "I think these scrolls will be appropriate and should keep you busy for a while" Zaza placed the scrolls on the table where Kato was sat and begun to provide brief overviews on the jutsu he'd picked out. "there are three raiton techniques that should be useful tools for you as well as a jutsu that is a more advanced version of the body flicker technique that you already know" Zaza picked up the first of the four scrolls as he continued to speak "This jutsu is called 'Thunderclap Arrow', it's the weaker version of the jutsu but still should be a useful jutsu for fighting at mid range." Zaza placed the scroll back on the table, picking up the next scroll in the line, this one had a different appearance "next is the 'Gigavolt' jutsu. As you can probably tell from the appearance of the scroll this jutsu is more advanced than the previous. However it is the started for of this particular jutsu, there is a lot more room to grow this jutsu, I've heard some lightning users have even developed this technique to S-Rank standard." 

Kato sat and listened with a focus and stillness that was rather unfamiliar to him. He'd always squirmed and lost focus in academic situations like this but there was something about learning new jutsu that captured Kato's attention. All of his senses were focused on the academy teacher as he continued his explanation of the jutsu he'd selected for Kato.

Zaza moved onto the third scroll, Kato noticed it had a similar appearance to the second scroll "the final raiton technique that I came across is another interesting one that should be a useful tool for you. It's called the 'Lightning Rod' jutsu and just like the others, this is just the introduction to the jutsu, there is a more powerful version for you to work towards once you have the base technique learned" that then brought Zaza to the last scroll in the line, its appearance similar to the two previous, the only notable difference was the lack of an elemental symbol. "Now this final jutsu is called 'After Image'. It's an advanced version of the body flicker jutsu that enables you to create several images of yourself. Useful for distraction when on the offensive and for stalling/retreat when on the defensive." Zaza finished his little speech and placed the last scroll back on the table, a large smile was on his face. He'd watched Kato closely as he gave the overview of the jutsu he'd selected and was proud to see that Kato had remained focused for the entirety. "You really are developing well Kato. I can't remember a time when you listened that closely as an academy student." Grinning Kato replied "Thanks sensei, I have noticed the development myself. Can you believe I've even started reading a bit in my spare time?" an expression of amusement was clearly visible on Zaza's face "now that is a surprise, looks like my lessons might have made a difference after all. But for now that's all the time I have for you, I must return to my academy students." Zaza-sensei then left Kato to pour over the scroll, absorbing the information they contained. Kato remained in the academy for the remained of the day, reading, thinking, & then practicing the jutsu that was contained in the scrolls Zaza-sensei had chosen for him.

[1781]
[Using 500 WC to learn After Image|V7|] 50% DC
[Using 250 WC to learn Thunderclap Arrow D-Rank] 50% DC
[Using 500 WC to learn Gigavolt C-Rank] 50% DC
[Using 500 WC to learn Lightning Rod C-Rank] 50% DC
[Using remaining 31 WC towards Gentle Fist: Landing Lightning {298/1750}]
[Training 16 stats = -8 strength, +8 chakra]

Approved