Come and Learn [IO]

Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:38 pm

Miyazaki brushed his forehead with the back of his hand, his glasses dangling dangerously close to the tip of his nose as he tried his best to fill his congested lungs with pure oxygen. Yesterday had been a wilder night than he anticipated, and he could still feel the taste of the sake in his gums, as well as smell the cigars he smoked. Still waking up, he tried to go back to the letter he had received; quite the situation, considering he was not properly an active ninja anymore, why would he be receiving letters at the early hours of the morning? The words started to come into focus, as he adjusted his glasses alongside the bridge of his nose, helping his deteriorating sight to read the note. The envelope, addressed to Miyazaki Otani, Academy Teacher, had been written in the hand of one Noboru Kaito, Deputy Kage. Noboru Kaito? The redheaded brat with no talent? He was the new Deputy Kage? That was a surprise, to be sure.

He read the letter, leaning against the kitchen counter of his apartment. “Dear Professor Otani”, it started, proper decor never hurt anyone, he just didn’t know Noboru had it in him. The letter went on. “I found my nephew twice removed from the side of my mother, arriving at the Western Port of Kumogakure. The boy agreed to take up the family craft. The Wind Country is very hot. Their fuzzy peaches quench our thirst. Best Regards, Noboru Kaito, Deputy Kage of the Kumogakure.”

Miyazaki glanced at the whole letter again, trying to recall the international protocol. It was very likely that while in Sunagakure, all communications were intercepted to make sure no act of espionage was afoot, and as such, coded messages with simple and mundane meanings had to be used. Nephew twice removed from the side of the mother. Missing Ninja, from another land than the Kumogakure. Western Port of the Kumogakure, coming into the country under internal advisory. Agreed to take the family craft; likely meaning he would enroll onto the Kumogakure ninja force. Wind Country being hot could be self evident, however, it could also mean there were tensions between the locals and the Kumogakure delegation. It would certainly explain their delay. Fuzzy peaches quench their first. A red head? Or maybe a ginger? Whatever.

Miyazaki got a cold shower, brushed his teeth, drank some orange juice and cursed under his breath. He brushed his hair, buttoned up a shirt, and got a vest over it. He brushed a lock of silvery hair to the side, and placed his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Sharp as ever.

In the first hours of his shift, he contacted immigration to check for anyone who might’ve come into the Kumogakure under the advisory of the Kumogakure delegation. One name came up, Satoru Jugo, signed by Ichigo Sato, whose report mentioned Noboru had sent the lad himself. With that in mind, he sent for this Satoru Jugo for a meeting, wondering what would come of it. The meeting was set up for 2 o’clock, and he would await his arrival in his regular teaching amphitheater, currently empty due to the kids being out in a field trip with other ninja.

WC: 542
NPC

Sun Feb 21, 2021 5:29 am

The sound of upbeat thudding radiated through Satorus dream as he tossed and turned in his bed. “Na—” he gasped for air as the sound approached, getting louder and louder by the moment. Suddenly the reverberation of the thudding stopped, substituted by a soothing tone of jingling keys. With a loud bang the young Jugo was roused from his slumber. His eyes darted across the room, his right hand instinctively reached for a Kunai the instant the door swung open. A shiver inducing breeze traversed the room, sliding between his sheets, quickly disturbing the women that laid by the Jugos side. In shock, she covered her exposed body as the Inn Keeper entered the room with an odd looking male in tow.

“Pardon the intrusion.” Uttered inn keeper, a perverted smile growing across his face at the sight of the naked women. Before the inn keeper could continue, he was brushed aside by a lean looking man wearing the Kumogakure head band. Releasing an exasperated “Ugh”, Satoru released grip on Kunai. As short metal blade of the Kunai clanged against the Shuriken on its descent back to the drawer, the Kumogakure Shinobi made direct eye contact with Satoru. “Satoru Jugo. You’re summoned by the professor. Get dressed.” He commanded.

Despite his head ringing, he released a brief nod before shooing the Inn Keeper and the Shinobi out of the room. Stumbling out of the bed, he made his way towards the bathroom, his eyes barely open, his breath giving off the foul odour of sake. “Ugh.” he muttered once more, snatching the nearest toothbrush. The interior of his room looked as if it had undergone a thorough carpet bombing.

Pivoting on his left foot, he stumbled towards the bath, pulling back a curtain to reveal a sleeping male and female, the latter on top of the former. His eyes briefly widened as he instantly pulled the curtain shut, returning to the sink he twisted the cold-water knob before sinking his head right under the spout. The shock from the cold abruptly alerted a plethora of his sense, so much so that his body instantly reacted to his excessive alcohol consumption releasing nothing but vomit over a period of four or five seconds. The vomit carried an intense smell of liquor coupled with bile and an assortment of semi-digested dumplings.

Raising his head from under the tap, he brushed his teeth with the banging at the front door having re-commenced. Stumbling out of the bathroom he did not think much about his traditional disguise, getting dressed in his usual black t-shirt, flexible cargo pants and donning his large black cloak before slipping his feet into a pair of jet-black sandals. The banging continued throughout this time but before long Satoru approached and made his way out of the room.

He yawned as his escort delivered him to the Ninja Academy. In his hungover state he didn’t really take his surroundings in, instead he simply strolled inside, following the guard into a room where a muscular silver eyed old man sat in wait of the young Jugo. As the Jugo entered it was almost as if all of his annoyance quickly subsided in wake of the mans presence. While he was previously rather annoyed at having been woken from his slumber, the respect that this professors presence demanded quickly forced the Jugo to back down and reside himself to his regular, calm nature. Needless to say he was late, as it was now 2:10pm.

WC - 583

Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:10 pm

“You’re late”, growled Miyazaki from his sitting position at the desk that faced the amphitheater. He jerked his left arm, bringing the clock closer to the wrist and lining it with the top to make it easier to view the hour. “Either that, or my clock is ten minutes fast. Tell me, Satoru”, he pondered as his eyes circled slowly from his watch to the man before him, “is my clock ten minutes fast?”

He awaited a reply, but wouldn’t pay too much attention to it unless the lad tried to insult him or play him for a fool. “Now, if you were one of my students, you’d need to pay back to the class for interrupting the session. Ten pushups per minute late, you’d have to drop and give us one hundred. Of course, there’s no one here anyway, and as I said, you’re not one of my students… yet.”

He got up from the chair he was sitting on, and travelled to the open space between his desk and the amphitheater, eyeing the empty desks before them with melancholy. “Our esteemed Deputy Kage sent word of your arrival. Now, we of the Kumogakure don’t usually invite foreigners unless we see something in them we like. Pray tell,” his head and frame turned to face Satoru, “what did Noboru see in you? And, why did you accept the invitation?”

Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:41 pm

“You’re late”

Two words that made Satorus heart sink. The growling tone of the professor forced Satoru to focus despite the nausea, headache, and cotton mouth. Before the thought to apologies even sprung to Satorus mind, the professor had continued questioning the accuracy of his clock. Satoru wore a blank facial expression, responding with “No, sir.” with an unusually polite tone. In his previous life, it was paramount to extend courtesy to high-ranking individuals of villages, as they could easily cut off trade negotiations or have you imprisoned. The rhetoric attributed to those interactions was almost engrained in the young Jugo.

Having paid little regard to Satorus response, the professor broke out into speech pertaining to his expectations for those who were late in his class room. “Ten push ups…” he processed rather slowly, lowering his body in response to the demand for push ups only to be nudged by the Shinobi that had escorted him to the Academy. In that instant his mind effectively rewinded the conversation, processing the verbal transaction once again. Having now understood the point that was being made by the professor, Satoru styled out the movement of his arms and upper body into a gentle pat against his knees while the professor continued.

As the professor shifted his head and rather large yet lean body towards the Jugo, Satoru couldn’t help but straighten his posture responding to the professors enquiry with a roll of his shoulders. “I eough—" raising his palm to his mouth he forced a quick cough before continuing, “I don’t know what he saw in me but I know that I don’t want to hide in fear of waking up on another operating table. An' as he told me and I now see, the strong don't hide in this village... they're worshipped by their peers.” he clenched his right fist as responded with his raspy tone.

An observant individual would be able to see past the black linear tattoos on Satorus face and arms. They were all tactically drawn to conceal an assortment of cuts, burns and deep tissue bruises that couldn’t heal as a result the assortment of chemical agents tested on the orange haired youngster.

WC – 338

Wed Feb 24, 2021 4:24 pm

For a moment, it seemed like the orange headed lad was about to drop down and give him ten pushups, but apparently he just needed to pat his knees for some reason. Miyazaki had seen a lot of things in his lifetime, he wasn’t one to judge others' lifestyles.

The Jugo didn’t know what Noboru saw in him, nor why he had been invited. However, the most important part had stuck: the Jugo was tired of cowering under the weight of the world. Of course, Noboru would outline it as “the strong are worshiped”. Ever the reductionist, no perspective. This was the Deputy Kage of the village. “That is true, to be sure.” Miyazaki approached the Jugo so he would be standing closer, all but two meters separating them after he took soft but sure steps with his black wingtip shoes that echoed lightly on the room. “But, there’s more to it. While the basic philosophy of the Kumogakure is ‘The Weak Worship The Strong’, the truth is that strength is worshipped. This could be the strength to speak the truth, the strength to endure the hardships of this world, and of course, the strength to tame the mountain and make an inhospitable biome into a comforting home.”

He observed the Jugo as he spoke, however, from this distance, he wasn’t able to differentiate the scar tissue masked by the ink of his tattoos. It didn’t bother him much; most of the warrior breed seemed fond of tattooing themselves, likely a claim to their capacity to endure pain for fulgral reasons, meaning they could endure pain in the heat of battle without much issue. He had noted through the years how Noboru tattooed himself all over his upper body, and the testament it was to his will. “The Kumogakure has a long history of tyranny and liberty. Sometimes, strength is standing up for the weak, who are unable to defend themselves, against those who would oppress them. And why would the weak worship the strong when the strong can subjugate them? Or why would the strong defend the weak? It’s easy. Symbiosis.”

Miyazaki turned and started walking towards his desk, while circling his arm in a low arc towards the desks in the amphitheater where students would normally sit. “Please, be seated.” He got a couple sheets of paper, and a pen, reviewing the writing before lifting his eyes and hopefully following Satoru as he sat down. “I am a terrific teacher, and a good ninja.” He slowly walked to Satoru, looking him in his golden eyes as his shoes once again decorated the room with the decorum of their sound. “But I am a shit farmer, and a worse blacksmith. While the farmer might not be able to cast a great fireball, they are able to follow the seasons and observe the telltale signs, till the soil and harvest what they sow. So that they may work, I sacrifice my life. So that I may eat, I protect their lives. The weak worship the strong. My strength is to protect them. Their strength is to provide food for the thousands who live within the Kumogakure. The strong are worshipped, whatever their strengths. You wish to be worshipped for your strength. Very well. We would like to offer you a position as a Student of the Kumogakure Ninja Academy. You will officially become a ninja of the Kumogakure, and you will be as family to our people, and our people will be as family to you. All we need is to work through some… bureaucracy.”

He handed one of the papers to Satoru, while he held the other. “We took the liberty of pre-enrolling you earlier today, so a contract could be drafted. I will read it for you so that we can both be sure to understand the terms of the contract.”

He cleared his throat. “I, Satoru Jugo, do promise to live my life by the following conditions: to love the Hidden Cloud Village, and to preserve the peace and foster its prosperity, to have a mind that will not yield, to go over and beyond the required training and military work, to lead a healthy live, both in mind and in body, that my example can inspire others.” He pointed at the end of the sheet he held. “And then, you just sign on the first dotted line, with today’s date, then I’ll sign the one below. You get to keep a copy, of course. You can sign one or both, but we need to keep the one with the signatures.”

He handed him the second sheet, before continuing. “Now, this is a serious commitment, so I understand if you need some time to think, or if you want me to clarify anything about this contract?”

Mon Mar 22, 2021 4:03 pm

The Jugo stood silently, consuming every word of what the professor had to say. It was all very interesting to the young Jugo, up until a few seconds he couldn’t quite justify why he was so drawn to this village and in turn the land of lightning. However, it was all starting to come together.

He had experienced tyranny first-hand in the eastern country, subjugated and branded like an animal from birth. The tattoos that covered his body told of a cumbersome story, one where only the Jugo remained to tell the tale. Having fought tooth and nail for his freedom, he knew all too well the felling of worshipping those who were strong, those who protected him from the bounty hunters and the kekkei genkai scalpers, those who fed him and gave him purpose in life… he worshipped them to their bitter end.

His lacrimal gland quickly filling with tears at the thoughts of the past, but thankfully he was offered a seat. Briefly bowing his head, he edged his index finger against the right eye, collecting any built-up fluids that broke through the glands before taking a seat. Shifting his gaze back to the professor, he continued to listen, mentally digesting the analogies and the scenarios that the wise man presented. His speech was almost poetic in its nature, it put the young Jugo at ease, reinforcing his trust in the words of Noboru Kaito.

Before long, the professor began to cover the topic of enrolment. The instant he offered the position to Satoru, his eyes lit up as if the breath of life had been renewed within him. His ears perked up, as he nodded in response to the proposition. Before the professor even went as far as to read the terms of the contract he had the Jugo hooked. Nodding tentatively to the terms of the contract, he shifted his gaze to the piece of paper that contained odd typography that the Jugo failed to recognise. Perhaps he had hit his head last night and had forgotten how to read? Or perhaps he never knew how to read but simply asked others for translations? He nodded once in response to the request to sign the dotted line, raising his thumb to his mouth, he casually slipped it between his canines, biting down firmly enough to pierce his calloused thumb. With fresh, warm blood now oozing out of the tip of the thumb, he branded the dotted line with his finger print before doing the same to the 2nd of the two sheets before him before jotting the date in blood in line with the lunar calendar that he had followed.

“Ninja of Kumogakure…” he thought to himself.

Sat Mar 27, 2021 4:22 pm

The way Satoru’s eyes lit up, was almost enough to make a damned grown man cry. Fortunately, he was able to maintain his composure as he spoke the rest of his sentence, and while he read the prearranged contract for the man. He looked at the paper in a haze, it seemed, as if the ink that wrote the words melded together to showcase a psychological test rather than a contract, but once he was done, he lifted his thumb between his teeth and sunk the fang onto his flesh, producing a smear of blood on the dotted line. The old ways, Miyazaki thought with longing. Before the time of the written signature, it was blood that bound a contract, the life essense more valuable than any word, so much so, even the sentient animals that occupied the world would only accept a blood contract as a binding one. Miyazaki smiled at the sight.

“Alright, I’ll take this one”, he said, picking up the bloody contract. “Actually, let me do this right.” He pushed his own thumb into the canine, piercing the calloused surface of the thumb, where he would press against the dotted line where his own signature had been written earlier on the part of the academy administration. “There, now we got a proper contract between ourselves.” He picked the freshly bloodied sheet on the desk, and turned the second sheet around so he could put his thumb again on the duplicated contract he had handed over before, now holding the sheet with two bloody thumb imprints onto it. “Fantastic”, he remarked, making his way to his desk while his shoes echoed in the amphitheater. He put the contract down, angling it so it would be aligned with the desk’s borders, neatly in order, as the former soldier liked it. He turned back his attention to Satoru and made his way toward him, saying “In the name of the Kumogakure and the Ninja Academy, I would like to welcome you, Satoru Jugo”, he extended his hand, his blood still sliding down his hand from the thumb, slowly, towards the orange haired man, “as an Academy Student of the Hidden Cloud. Welcome home, lad.” If Satoru would take his hand, he would give it a firm shake, before breaking away from it.

“You can take the day off, not much is gonna happen today”, he picked a handkerchief off his breast pocket, then wiping the blood before it dripped onto his clothes, or worse, his shoes, “and if you want, most of the study materials can be found in the Thunderpeak Campus, although if I’m being honest, most you’ll need is to graduate is a civics written test, a basic weapons course, and of course, the traditional four basic ninja arts to become a Genin. And, I’ll say this”, he handed over the handkerchief to the Jugo, if he would take it, “you can take these tests whenever you feel ready, but career students don’t inspire confidence in their peers. Take that as you will.”

A small plate of bone slid in between the broken flesh and the broken skin of the Kaguya born, halting his bleeding. He allowed the hand to point to the ground, while his left hand comfortably filled his pants pocket. “Any questions?”

WC: 548
TWC: 2119

Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:16 am

Satoru found himself in a position where for once in his life, everything was coming together in his favour. Having signed the enrolment contracts, he could not help but offer up a toothy grin in response to the professor accepting his blood contract with a thumb print of his own. Receiving the duplicate copy of the document, Satorus eyes were pinned on the professor, his expression akin to that of an excited child on Christmas morning.

“Welcome home, lad.”

His booming smile went from ear to ear despite his best efforts to contain his excitement. He felt a spine-tingling chill as he extended his hand out, firmly shaking it up with the professor. It was a new chapter in his life, one that even his inner beast would not be able to ruin. Up until this point, he found himself surrounded by people that couldn’t compete with his inner berserker yet he knew that if he ever lost control as a villager that he would be stopped in his tracks by a multitude of well trained individuals without any loss to life.

That one thought put the Jugo at ease, he finally had an opportunity to live his life without looking over his shoulder in fear of organ poachers and bounty hunters. As the latest addition to the village, it was his time to persevere, the fact that the Academy was likely filled with people half his age did not deter nor embarrass him. He was ready to face every challenge that were to come.

“Thank you.” He responded just as the professor went onto instruct the Jugo to take the remaining day off. His smile now subsiding, his ears couldn’t help but perk up at the mention of the Thunderpeak Campus. He continued to nod along to the points made by the professor, chasing the penultimate sentence with a “Understood, sir.”, before accepting the handkerchief offered to him by the professor.

The Jugo wiped the blood that had dripped into the palm of his hand before casually returning the piece of cloth. “No, sir. I don’t have any questions.” he spoke with more of a composed tone as he slowly ascended out of his seat. “Thank you very much for this opportunity, I won’t disappoint you.”

Holding his head high for the first time in a long time, the Jugo would excuse himself should he be allowed to do so, leaving the professors office at a moderate pace.

“Writing test… So those symbols had a meaning…”

[Exit if permitted]

WC – 430

Claiming –
Academy Student

Total WC = 1815

Claiming:

https://www.narutoroleplaygame.com/t49169-swamp-of-the-underworld-v7-2 [1815/1875]

Thu Aug 05, 2021 11:49 am

Approved

Come and Learn [IO]

Come and Learn [IO]

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