Because Sealing is what? Fundamental

Yomiko tucked her hair behind her ears while squinting into the book she had been reading for more time than she cared to admit. Since becoming a Genin, she felt as though she hadn't done much to truly better herself despite her ideology that she was one, of many, that could help bring a brighter future to her village. She needed to change that, and change that she would. Ever since she was a little girl her mother would tell her the stories of the greater clans of Konohagakure no Sato. The Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Sarutobi, amongst many others varying in scale of power, prominence, and skill. Amongst these clans was one that she descended from; the Uzumaki. They weren't native, particularly, to Konoha, but their strong ties eventually led them to become an integral and influential clan within the village alongside their cousins the Senju. 

What they were known best for was their large chakra pools, prolonged lifespan, resilience, and, above all else, their capability to learn, create, and execute Fuuinjutsu; or sealing jutsu. Yomiko had read that in some hidden villages there were sealings battalions and that at one time, the Uzumaki were the spear headers for one such battalion here in Konoha. Not anymore, but the history was there. The precedent was there. Yomiko had the mind to bring that back into fruition! However, she couldn't, considering her current skill level, and she knew that. That's why her eyes hurt so bad right now and why her back and neck were so stiff. She needed to learn everything that she could about Fuuinjutsu and become an expert in it much like her ancestors. 

I wonder if Mom would know anything or have any advice?

She looked up from her book and across the living area of her family home. The open floor plan allowed her to look straight into the kitchen where her mother was going over some paperwork with her father regarding some Fujii business on expanding the wisteria towards the east of the village to make it more welcoming to outsiders. Yomiko grimaced a bit. She knew that the Fujii were responsible for bringing acceptance and peace to other nations, feudal lords, etc., by way of negotiation, peace treaties, and above all else, the symbol of giving with wisteria. The fact that her mother ended her shinobi career to aid her father was a noble one. She wanted to cultivate peace and prosperity in a way that complimented what her husband and his family did. Yomiko easily could follow the same path----but she wouldn't.

Closing her book and tucking it under her arm, Yomiko pushed herself up from the armchair she had been in for hours and cleared her throat a bit to garnish some attention, "Mom? Can I borrow you for a few minutes? I promise it won't take long. I know you need to get back to helping Dad."

Yomiko's father glanced up from the stack of papers that the two of them were going through. Her mother did the same before looking back to her father who only nodded. Smiling, her mother put down the papers she had and came towards Yomiko who continued out of the living room area and into the den of their home to which her mother followed. When they had fully crossed the threshold, her mother smiled while putting her hands on her hips, "So then, what is it that you needed privacy like this to talk? Is it boy stuff? Girl stuff? A mix of both?"

"What?! N-no, nothing like that!", Yomiko started, clearly flustered by the questions. Shaking her head with another clearing of her throat, Yomiko opened the book she had been reading back to where she left off. The top left corner at the symbol of the Uzumaki clan while the next few pages detailed the fundamentals of sealing jutsu, their applications, importance, and what sort of things these seals could do. "I need to get better, Mom. You were a shinobi before. A chuunin even! So I know you must know something in relation to our clan heritage right? I want to learn."

Her mother studied her for a moment, looking her up and down for a bit before smiling and finally nodding, “Well, you’re not wrong dear. The Uzumaki may not be as prominent of a clan as they were in the books you oh so love to read, however we still do have our own unique prowess with seals. There are a few basic ones I can help you understand.” She held out her hand in front of her, silently asking for the book that Yomiko had been clutching this entire time. Without much hesitation at all, Yomiko handed the book over to her mother, eagerly watching as she watched her start to flip through the pages. 

“Alright dear, let’s take a look at this one. It’s fairly simple and what it does is basically allow her to passively keep track of people. Allies, enemies, whatever have you---say you and another Genin go out on a mission and need to split up? Put this seal on them and you can find them, as long as they are within range mind you.” Turning the book around, she pointed to the seal in question as Yomiko smiled in response, eyes scanning over the page as she read on. It seemed simple enough without too much intricacy. It shouldn’t even be a problem to learn. Yomiko looked up to her mother expectedly to which she just chuckled softly, closing the book and folding it under her arm much like how her daughter did earlier. Making one hand seal, the dog, her mother then laid her hand onto Yomiko’s arm where a small black dot appeared briefly before disappearing into her skin. “As long as you’re within 100 meters, I’ll know that you are alive and near me. I can’t find where you are specifically, but I’ll know that you are close----whenever I activate it.”

Yomiko nodded, eyeing where the mark had been on her skin and taking note that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t see or feel it there. Her mother then held her hand out expectedly once more, though not for a book, but this time for her daughter to do the same thing that she had just done in return. “Focus your chakra with your intention. You’ve seen the book, you’ve seen me do it. Now you.” Again, Yomiko nodded and mirrored what her mother had done earlier. Making the single hand seal necessary, the dog, Yomiko focused her chakra with its intent while visualizing what it was she needed to do before reaching out and placing her hand over top of the back of her mother’s. After removing her hand, she watched as she left behind a small black dot that slowly faded away into her mother’s skin. 

“I-I did it! That was so easy! Thank you Mom, really, thank you so mu---,” Yomiko was silenced as her mother held her hand up before motioning to continue. Sheepishly, Yomiko nodded and focused on the chakra signature of her technique while repeating the dog seal. It activated the black dot that now reappeared on her mother’s hand. Yomiko could feel the small little pulse of her seal, nodding as she understood and acquainted herself with the feeling of her technique. That is when her mother lowered her hand smiling, nodding at her daughter who now, officially, ‘did it’ as she proclaimed earlier. Yomiko continued on, beaming. “Thank you Mom! That came so easily! I know not everything will, but are there any other simple seals you can teach me? I want to use this momentum!”

Chuckling once more, Yomiko’s mother nodded along and sat the book down on the nearby table in the den. “Well you know,” she started, looking around the room for a moment. “It’s not as though we’re out on the training grounds or we have the time to do too much. So what I’ll do is that I’ll perform a few techniques in succession and I want you to pay close attention so that you can practice and mimic these on your own time. I love you dear, but I do need to get back to your father and help him with the treaty he’s working on the present to the Hokage.” 

Sighing, clearly looking a little disappointed, Yomiko merely nodded and took a few steps back while propping herself up on the father’s desk to watch what her mother had planned. This is where her mother scanned the room and grabbed one of the many scroll containers her father had ready over by the book case. “Inside of this scroll case is a blank scroll. Point being though, inside this case is SOMETHING. You want that something and I don’t want you to have it. Therefore...” Her mother made a string of four signs; dog, ox, dragon, and then tiger before using her now blue glowing finger to trace around the top of the container. A circular array seal spread out along the surface in response. Her mother then tried to open the container, but it wouldn’t budge. “This technique ranges in power, but at its simplest, you can lock small objects or containers as such.”

Okay, a locking seal. Dog. Ox. Dragon. Tiger. Got it.

Demonstrating the container being locked still, her mother sat the container back down and before seeming to focus for a moment, her index and middle fingers glowing blue before she reached down and touched the previous lock seal she had used. It quickly dissipated. “Now it may look like I just unlocked this seal, but really this technique breaks seals in general. Much like the lock, this technique also scales in power and you’ll need to train yourself to be able to break bigger seals; whether that’s a lock seal or other Fuuinjutsu in general. There are no hand signs necessary, just focus and intent.” Yomiko looked amazed, but studious all the while her mother performed these techniques. They were fairly simple in explanation and execution. 

Yomiko’s mother then pulled the container open to retrieve the blank scroll within. Unfurling it, she laid the scroll down onto the floor below before looking back up to her daughter and gesturing down. “The basics of fuuinjutsu initially started with sealing equipment, items, or even other jutsu within scrolls or spaces for safe keeping, traps, or for use later. This basic sealing technique may come in handy to you later; especially for storing weapons or maybe even delicate or important items for a mission.” Without so much as creating a single hand sign, her mother slammed her hand down onto the scroll, a seal spreading out along the paper while she pulled a pen from behind her ear in which it disappeared with a puff of smoke into the scroll. Then, within the same motion, she waved her hand with the scroll still open and the pen returned to her hand with another puff of smoke. 

“You see Yomiko, this normally would require hand signs. However, that’s what makes you and I different. Our lineage allows us to bypass some things when it comes to sealing intricacies and this technique is so basic that it is basically in our blood. Just remember to focus your chakra, mold your intent, and have at it. Okay? Now I need to get back to your father.” Using a previous technique, Yomiko’s mother broke the seal placed onto the scroll and then gave a little wave to her daughter, leaving the scroll unfurled on the ground for her to practice on. In quick succession her mother had shown her three new techniques on top of the one she had actually practiced and achieved earlier. Her brain was fuzzy with the details but it didn’t stop her from wanting to try and excel in what she knew she could be good at. 

Mimicking her mother once more, Yomiko concentrated and performed four quick hand signs; dog, ox, dragon, and then tiger. Her finger, like her mother’s, glowed blue as she traced it around the cap to the scroll container. Blinking in a combination of disbelief and excitement, she quickly yanked the container up into her hands and tried to pry the lid off, but it wouldn’t budge. Grinning, she sat the container back down and inhaled softly. Focusing on the intent and idea of breaking the seal that she had just placed. It came a bit easier, since she knew the amount of chakra needed to combat the chakra placed into the locking seal but the mechanism in its use was still the same. Her index and middle fingers glowed blue this time around to which she reached down and traced along the locking seal she had just placed. It dissipated just as quickly as it was set. 

Okay, Yomiko! That’s three successes. Three techniques. All simple seals, but still, it’s a start! Now, let’s not let Mom down and do this technique the Uzumaki way. Without seals. Just focus and…

Inhaling and then exhaling, Yomiko turned to face the unfurled scroll and slammed her palm down onto it. However no seal began to inscribe itself along the flat surface. Clicking her tongue, she shook her head. She rushed it. She already felt as though she did no more then she turned and slammed her palm down. Again, Yomiko took the moment to concentrate before, again, slamming her palm down onto the unfurled scroll paper. This time around, the seal did begin to stretch itself across the paper without difficulty. Snatching a pen from her father’s desk, it puffed into smoke and, presumably into the scroll it went. Giddy, she took a few steps back away from the scroll while leaving it open. Holding out her hand, the pen once again puffed into smoke, but this time right into her hand like her mother did before her. 

Grinning still, she then broke the seal she created on the scroll paper and quickly rolled it back up and placed it back into its container. Closing it up, Yomiko sat it back with the rest of them before grabbing her book back off of the desk. Today was a success. A small one in the long run of things, but even something as small as this was fundamental to her growth and understanding of these techniques. 

Just wait Mom. Just wait, world. You’re going to know my name and what I will be capable of.
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WC- 2437
Jutsu Learned- 3 E-rank (Mark Seal, Lock Seal, Fuuinjutsu Break), 1 D-rank (Basic Sealing) (1250 WC)
Stats- +24 Vigor (2400 WC)