A lesson on the senses (P)

Kota was going to have a great day at the training grounds. He was already pumping himself up before he even got there. He had the belief that the current him held no talent for genjutsu. That did not mean that he lacked talent for sensory type stuff. He grew up surviving in various environments all his life. Having a life like that one developed sharp senses or risked dying. Even now he believed his instincts were more developed, compared to the average shinobi of his level. He just did not know about sensing chakra.

The training area Kota was going to use this time was based on a forest. Trees grew all around providing perfect cover. It would be impossible to see everything. That was why it was also called the sensory training ground. Small animals could be noticed in the forest. The better hidden the animal, and the more you can find. The better your sensory skills were said to be. At the moment Kota could even spot some bunny tracks leading into the trees. He could have hunted but chose to ignore them. The rabbits were considered low skilled animals. Any slightly observant person could notice them.

Entering the forest Kota lost track of a small rodent he was tracking. As soon as he moved it just upped and disappeared. He had to stay still to notice some details and really focus his senses. The problem occurred when he started to move again. He felt like he could vaguely feel the chakra. It was a vague sensation that he kept losing as soon as he tried moving. Kota tried doing it a couple of more times with various degrees of success.

Huffing as he walked towards the exit. He walked up to a request board. He thought he could spend some ryo to request some instruction. The reason was three-fold. His missions were going well netting him some extra cash, instruction would increase the chances of him being able to understand the sensory specialty, and if he had some time he would pick up a useful sensory skill. That many benefits from paying, it would only make sense for him to buy it. It slightly reminded him about the disparity that some ninjas could easily afford better things. Kota was very specific; he only believed he needed some light instruction. Just a bit of a lesson on expanding senses and sensing chakra.

WC: 405

The fragrant aroma of warm baked goods greeted Musu as woke early to greet the day. These night shifts at the gatehouse have been growing on him, the long nights of quiet contemplation coupled with the rare but worthwhile visitor to the gates who would spend moments interacting with Musu were welcome, and very rarely was his job ever stressful. This tranquil work fostered only by the tentative peace currently preserved by the power of the Hidden Sand.

Despite this Musu still required  ways to hone his skills further. A jounin of the village should never be caught dull and unprepared and waking up early was a simple, albeit difficult, challenge. Musu had acclimated to the sleep schedule so getting up this early was not fun. His eyes would strain as he labored to get vertical and slowly begin to get moving. No easy task.

There was another reason Musu chose to rise with the Sun. The Gatekeeper gave decent money but provided little in extra funds and he knew he needed to work more if he wanted to progress further. So he took an ad requesting teaching in sensory abilities: Not only did this give Musu a chance to sharpen his skills but should the student learn anything from this exercise the village would grow further as well.

Intent and Motive in mind Musu would dress, drink a large class of water, grab his gourd, and head down the rafts that could be constitute stairs leading down his apartment and onto the main road. The trek to the training grounds where they would meet was long enough for Musu to get a good run in as a warm up exercise to the training so he would begin jogging as a faster than normal pace than most of the other walkers along the road, dodging through traffic and weaving his way through the crowds. In time he would reach the forestry patch of land he was meant to meet his client and out of breath would begin to search for them through the foliage.

“Kicking dirt and waiting. This is exactly what I wanted to do with my day.” Kota huffed as he kicked rocks. He was trying to stay patient as his instructor ran late. It was an odd bittersweet thought. Kota never believed the day would come when he would be on the other side. It was normally his job to run late. This time he arrived early. “I guess I can try self-teaching before the instructor gets here.”

Kota dusted his bottom and sat on the ground. Closing his eyes he tried to emulate what he heard about in the academy. He did not allow himself to see with his eyes. Instead he listened. Kota listened to the sounds of the forest around him. Breathing in he smelled the air and tried to differentiate the smells in the air. He was trying to expand two of his senses at the moment. It would allow for him to better assimilate all his sensing channels in the future. Of all the senses on the body, eyes were the most frequently used. Kota felt a bit miffed about not being born with special eyes like some people.

Taking a deep breath Kota calmed himself down. Getting worked up was counterproductive to his training. As soon as his mind wandered he lost track of the chakra he was channeling. “This is getting aggravating. How is a village supposed to be strong if all the power is so scattered?” He laid on his back instead of continuing his training. Kota needed some time to complain. He felt like self training could only get him so far. As well as worrying about the ryo deposit he put down. If no one showed up, would he still get his money back? That money could have gone towards a whole bunch of other stuff.

WC: 305    TWC: 710

Musu catches his breath as he inhales the subtile hints of nature: Dirt, light dew, leaves and other foliage all around him. It was as though he was quietly reminded of his life oh so long ago with hints of his past coming through. HE would take a bit of time to reflect on this moment before snapping back to the task at hand. Now Musu was late to meet with his client or at least he could sense that he was falling behind. The anxiety of this began to rush him into action: First he would shut his eyes for a moment and begin to concentrate on the world around him. His minds eye would leave his body and begin to search his surroundings for any chakra signatures that were nearby. It would only a take a minute for Musu to discover a chakra signature a short distance away. Assuming that this figure was the client. Again Musu would open his eyes and begin to surge forward towards the chakra signature.

Musu would clearly be making noise as he walked forward so that the figure would be able anticipate him. Once within shouting distance Musu would let a loud "Hello!" to further announce his presence. Moving closer, if not interrupted, he would find Kota within a small grove, sitting down on the lush grass beneath him, though Musu was unsure what exactly the ninja was doing. He would wait about 3 meters away from Kota, with his hands in his pockets and his gourd slung across his back, let out a long and clearly exhaustive yawn, and await any sort of response from him before reacting accordingly.

Kota could hear the sounds of movement. He attributed the noise to a bunny and almost decided to ignore it. When a soft hello was heard. He started to believe it could be his instructor showing up. That or an impatient fellow that did not know the place was booked for a bit.

“If you are not here to see Kota Apollon I suggest you leave.” Kota stood up and faced the intruder. His tone was not as polite as it should have been. The waiting and prior nervousness filled him with displeasure. “If you are here to see me then you are pretty late. I was inspecting guidance some time ago.”

Kota did not want to be too rude. As he still expected the man to teach him. He just needed to vent the frustration that was stifling him. “Still better late than ever. If you are my instructor I am ready to start when you are.”

With his arms crossed in front of him Kota would wait with narrowed eyes. If the man was just a passerby and not here to instruct him. Kota would continue to expand his senses to the nearby area. He believed his skills were actually improving in the training area. Even if his teacher did not show he would have a somewhat fruitful day. It never crossed his mind that the man could be dangerous. He was not at the sensing chakra and taking a measure of relative strength stage, yet. He was more of a being able to taste danger. If the man could hide any evil intent at this point. Kota would be too close to get away with his life.

WC: 280 TWC: 990

Musu ventured further towards Kota as he let out his reply because he now knew he was in the right place. Musu wandered through the thicket and now stood in the meadow within 5 meters of his pupil. Musu could tell that the Kota still needed a lot of development: his chakra signature appeared lack luster, though he did have a slender build, and this led Musu to suspect that chakra based techniques were not the focal point of his training in his formative years. Still, Musu knew that this task appeared to be an easy one, given the notice only requested light training in the field of chakra sensory. Oh to be young again., Musu would think to himself as he studied Kota further.

Before continuing Musu would give Kota a deep bow. "Forgive me, my name is a Musu and I am late to meet with you, Kota. Still I'm glad that you waited for me. To be clear you are looking for training on sensing chakra signatures?" The Uzumaki acknowledged while lifting his head from his bow.

Should there be no interruptions, Musu would take a sitting position a few meters away from Kota and begin his instruction. "Chakra Sensory is all about being in tune with yourself and with the nature around you. Whatever that nature may be you need to have complete presence of mind and awareness. If you don't, your chakra will be in flux, and you ability to sense even large chakra signatures will be difficult. The art is all about reaching out with your chakra, not as an intruder but more like an overhead observer. You're a fly on the wall, a flower in a garden, or whatever metaphor works for you. The point is that it's not about you." Musu would conclude.

"To begin lets focus on meditating, continue to recognize all the smells, sounds, and sights you produce in your mind." Musu would instruct his student to do so and Musu would do the same. Should there be any disturbances or should Kota in the unlikely event attempt to attack the Uzumaki, Musu would be prepared to retaliate with his chakra chains.

Kota took the words Musu said to heart. The man felt wise and scholarly. If it was not about him then his impatience could be the root of why he could not feel anything. “Sorry for my impatience. I shall do as you have described.”

Taking a seat as if he was a blooming lotus, Kota tried to silence his mind and focus on the world around him. He smelled the trees, breathed the air, and felt the heat of the sun. Kota did not notice any passage of time as he just watched. A spiritual awakening occurred and Kota could feel everything. It was like the entire area around him was under his observation. Even Musu was in his range of observation. It was terrifying how strong the man felt. Kota would hazard a guess that Musu would be the strongest ninja he had come in contact with.

“I think I have gotten the hang of it. I can at least sense chakra now. You are a lot stronger than I thought you would be. I don’t really have a frame of reference, as I have not really met a lot of non-genin ninja. What do you normally do?”

Making small talk with anyone new could be weird. Making small talk with a man that held enough power to end your existence in a blink. It was like being friendly with a caged tiger. Hard to tell if it was ever really tamed or biding time. Kota was able to sense but he had not gotten the hang of turning the sensing off.

WC: 264    TWC: 1,254

Kota had not realized that over an hour had passed since he had come back from this meditation. The coolness of the trees enveloping them along with the soft tranquil sounds of nature forced Musu to relive the life that he once had. Before he found himself in the hidden sand his life was supposed to be simple: he would hunt, gather, and provide for his parents around the deserts of the land of the wind and the land of fire. He would grow old living off the land and be happy wiht his time in nature. But that wasn't the calling that fate had designed to him. All because of that fateful journey to the land of lightning: Why did his father tell him to go there and was it all part of his grand design? Musu would hope that one day...

Musu's meditation would cut short by Kota's questions. The deep thought that Musu had journeyed into would have to wait and now it was time to snap back to reality and help his pupil further understand chakra sensory.

"Usually, in the heat of battle, you will not be able to find the time or the space to get into deep meditation. Until you have mastered chakra sensory, I would recommend a hand seal: The seal of confrontation will help to focus your mind and bridge the gap between your skill now and the skill you master. And, if you choose to continue with your training, the technique will help you develop greater sensory abilities." Musu would say as he stands up. "Join me for some stretching before we continue" musu would gesture to Kota.

Regardless of Kota's answer to streching or not, Musu would begin to go through a variety of different exercises to let him loosen up, and would then answer any other questions that Kota may have as the training resumes.

It was easier for Kota to start doing then ask questions. The man was higher ranked who knew what kind of mystical purpose he had behind stretching. As long as he was paying he could only assume he was getting what he was paying for. Anything that came out of the senpai’s mouth could be treated as valuable gold.

As they stretched, Kota tried to remember some details about the man he was stretching with. The only thing he could vaguely recall with the name Musu was a gatekeeper. Kota attributed the name to only being similar or something. He was not even sure if Musu was his first or last name.

A faint breeze trailed across his skin. Kota was wistful as he felt it. He was reminded of many times in the wild, even the freedom of birds. Kota was mildly impressed that  the other creatures could fly free. “I wish I could use the wind element.” It was a passive statement made in the haze of musings. Kota believed that a person who achieved the wind element would have an easier time with it. It was a shame he never had someone teach him. The only element he could use at the moment was the one he had the highest affinity with.

WC: 215                TWC: 1,469

[Mid-Thread Claim]
Chakra Sensory Skill - 75% - 500
Sensory Spec - 75% - 500
Using: 1,000 total.

Approved