Fishing for Success [Kikuko]

It's a pleasant afternoon in Kirigakure. The rain from the previous day had cleared, the sun was bright enough without being overwhelming, and the gentle breeze made waves on a small pool of water surrounded by trees. Makoto had often thought this specific place was probably used at least once by a teacher to help students with the Surface Walking technique, since it was out of the way enough to avoid embarrasment from falling in, but deep enough that it was still a possibility. That kind of training was partially why she was there, after all- Not so much for the basics of the technique as for training her Chakra control.

Sitting cross-legged on the water and trying to keep an even spread of chakra across her lower body, Makoto is trying to read a book without losing focus on the technique. Naturally, this is rather difficult, even for someone with aptitudes for medical ninjutsu, so she's chosen a not particularly deep part of the pond to sit upon, lest the book be assuredly ruined if she makes a mistake. Becoming too engrossed in the book before had already had...consequences, so this was her third attempt. It was a careful balancing act, pun not intended. Poetry was interesting, at least.

Her god remained quiet thorough, not disturbing her concentration but giving slight corrections to the flow of her chakra that she picked up on. She'd probably have to stop once she got tired, but she felt pretty well rested still at the moment.

[TWC 254]

Makoto stares at her with wide, pitch-black, lifeless eyes. What? In the first place, that outfit-

-MORE IMPORTANTLY, in second place, did she just walk out of the water this casually? Was this some sort of water-breathing bloodline at play? She couldn't see any gills, and besides, for the body to be able to take that much oxygen from the water it'd likely require- No, she's overthinking things. She closes the book slowly, placing a hand on the water and standing up with some effort and a good amount of focus as she redistributes and controls the amount of chakra being condensed there. Tucking what was absolutely not a romance novel under her arm, Makoto takes another good look at the young woman before nodding slightly.

"Yes. I was hoping to continue working on my Chakra Control. I'm trying to further refine my skill with medical techniques, so this seemed like a way to train endurance and control in one." She smiles slightly, looking a little awkward. "Good, uhm, catch today, I hope? I certainly wasn't expecting a-" strange lake woman "-Well, anyone to be fishing here."

[TWC 444]

"Never actually had it." She steps out of the water as well, brushing a graying lock of hair behind her ear. "Oh, and... it's more like endurance training? Maintaining precise focus and control for long periods of time is exhausting, so I figured it'd help a lot if I practiced incrementally...uhm. Incrementally using bigger and smaller surface areas for this and for longer periods of time. Actually, it's similar to what some of the monks do back home. I remember one of the older ones simply using a finger..." It had been a very impressive display, truth be told. She'd tried to replicate it many times, always ending up drenched, but it'd been a good type of training to pick up.

"I'm Makoto." She experimentally offers a hand, as if unsure. The expression on Kikuko's face purs her more at ease, though. "Makoto Yoshida. It's nice to meet you, I only recently actually graduated due to some... health issues. So it's nice to be meeting all the other people my age."

"She does seem nice. A fuinjutsu user, too- It's not an easy discipline at all. Perhaps you could learn a few things from her."

[TWC 701]

Makoto vaguely remembers one of her predecessors had actually set up some of the bigger seals around the temple, and she'd always wondered how that sort of thing worked, so... Well, it did seem like a good idea. Divine inspiration, if you would

"That was some sort of seal that allowed you to breathe underwater, was it?"

Clams...she'd definitely have to try them sometime. This was not foreshadowing of any sort. Don't look into it. She listens to the question, thinking back on the monk...

The image of an elderly man with muscles of steel holding himself up on a single finger wasn't too hard to remember. Over a pool of clean water, the old monk stood perfectly still, carefully balancing his body's center of mass so as to not tip in any direction, the tip of his finger shining with strongly concentrated chakra. Though she remembers that stoic image well, a few other memories of the other monks attempting similar feats and failing catastrophically creep onto her mind, causing the priestess to laugh, covering her mouth with a hand.

"Well, if I try it, it should probably be with clothes like yours... From what I've seen and experienced, it'd certainly lead to a lot less embarrasment."

Shaking Kikuko's hand, she just repeats. "Well, it's nice to meet you Kikuko. Honestly, I've already been working very hard and doing missions, I'm actually..." She lowers her voice, as if it was a bit of a sinful secret. "I'm actually rather proud of my progress so far."

She listens to the Fuinjutsu explanation, shaking her head after being asked if she was an enthusiast. "Oh, no, one of the previous heads of the clan set up a lot of seals at the temple, so I've always been curious about it, though."

[TWC 947]

Approved