Reunion [P]

Nodding along as she got each technique down within two attempts or less, Koutaku was gladdened to know that his method of teaching jived well with her. However, when she brought up that she didn’t really prefer Tobiishi, he found a small frown descending onto his features. Then she mentioned his mishap with weaving, and he couldn’t help but cover his face in a display of remembered frustration and embarrassment. “Ugh, you just had to bring that up didn’t you,” he groaned, peeking out from between two fingers before shaking his head as he lowered his hand. “Oh well, no worries, not every technique is for everyone,” he shrugged, seeming ever-so-slightly exasperated, but not in a way unfamiliar to her in the least. He’d get over it.

“Well, I’ve got some other things, not Iouchiryo techniques, but useful nonetheless. Rather similar to Flying Swallow and Chakra Infusion though,” that said he drew a kunai in his usual manner and then performed a series of handseals in swift order--perhaps faster than he’d been doing previously.

As he performed the handseals, his chakra surged out onto the kunai similar to the techniques he’d mentioned. However, this time there was something subtly different as if the chakra was moulded in a manner much like an amplifier. Further, it had clearly imbued his kunai with wind affinity chakra.

“This is a technique I picked up, it increases the power of your regular strikes, similar to Sokumen Henkou. However, as you can see,” he explained, swinging the weapon once, “...it also has another obvious benefit, you can infuse your weapon with an element. Further--no, actually, I want you to guess based on the feel of the chakra on my kunai. Tell me what you think the other effect of this technique is?” With that said he regarded her expectantly. It was decidedly unclear if this were to get back at her not much liking Tobiishi, or if he was just taking a different tact since she’d learned so much already. Then again, perhaps he was merely checking that she had been entirely paying attention--not that she was one to slack. More likely it was a test of how well she’d internalized the various lessons he’d already taught her.

Spoiler:

Takashi’s smile only increased at Koutaku’s embarrassment, although her eyes shone with a softness that made it quite plain she was laughing with him rather than at him. It was just a moment of good-natured fun between friends, though something in Koutaku’s face prickled owing to some internal irritant. It was a look that fell on his face often, something she’d learned was less about any sincere frustration with what he was doing or who he was doing it with than some internal revulsion at not being perfect all of the time. She knew he was sensitive about it, so she rarely initiated conversations that brought attention to those topics--still, it soured her elation just a tiny measure and she splayed her hands out before her friend before remarking:

“You did much better than some others did, back when I first arrived here! You’d have made a good weaver if you were one of us, I think! Besides, it’s not like I haven’t messed up too--remember when you were showing us around one of the training rooms that they’d repurposed into a sort of, uh… puzzle room? I got locked in that cupboard for three hours because I couldn’t work out the seals!”

She burst into a little fit of laughter at the memory, and she forgot all about that negativity from earlier. As Koutaku performed this mysterious technique she couldn’t help but extend her chakra senses, suddenly extremely interested in this continuation from earlier lessons’ principles. She studied the flow of chakra through the weapon intensely, able to sense little whorls and twists in the “threads” of chakra she imagined that had bound it together with the wind chakra as he’d described. Something about the technique felt… strange. Not empty, not lacking… not even incomplete, really--just… there was a potential there that stirred some artistic impulse within her and her response to it was even more intense fascination.

“Hmm… It feels like there’s this potential coiled within it, almost like… it could transfer the power to something else, like those amplifier techniques earlier?” she replied, her voice low and wavering like she wasn’t really paying attention to the words she was saying so much as having a little moment of simply conveying her stream of consciousness.

Spoiler:

Shaking his head with a mild chuckle and a small grin on his lips, his eyes touched with mirth, Koutaku replied a similar amusement in his voice. “Ah yes, I do remember that, my grandfather wouldn’t let you live that down for months,” he said, clearly remembering the man’s sharp tone, and consistent teasing. Those had been good days. As she shifted topics, focusing on what he’d meant to teach her, Koutaku awaited her reply, and when it came he was hardly disappointed.

“Precisely,” he replied, nodding once in acknowledgment. “The next technique used with the affected weapon is enhanced by this one’s use. It’s a jutsu derived from a style created by the Wolf Temple months many decades past. As such, though its exact name has surely changed since its inception, it has retained some clear connection to those monks.”

With that said, Koutaku clarified, “Thus, it--and techniques of similar origin--are now referred to as those under the Temple Style. This one, in particular, is called Temple Style: Discovery of an Incomplete Truth. No idea what inspired the name if I’m being entirely honest, but I suppose that’s beside the point.” He shrugged and swiped once more with the kunai.

“More pertinently…” he began as he slashed the kunai in a vertical motion, aimed downwards, “...it really adds oomph to other weaponry techniques!”


As the blade cut downwards, the air itself warped and twisted, and a sharp !crack! much like the sound of a dog emanated from the blade. At the same time the kunai lost the luster of chakra on its form, and the distortion erupted downwards where it hit the ground and cracked the stone just before Koutaku’s feet. The power of the strike was such that the ground fractured significantly, breaking in a series of places as the cracks spread a meter or more from where the force had struck. Where his attack had landed there was a deep gouge in the stone.

Koutaku grinned up at her, “...ah, and that’s another trick from their Temple Style, ‘Bark’ they call it. A much more straightforward name, if a bit droll. Still, as you can see, it’s quite effective and doesn’t require a single handseal. The key’s in the force of the swing really.”

Nodding to himself, Koutaku let her observe the damage for a moment to really appreciate just how powerful infused techniques could be. Once he was satisfied that she’d understood it, he tapped the ground with his foot and let earth chakra fill in the cracks, swiftly aligning the fragments with one another and fixing the damage.

Due to the lack of handseals, it was clear that it was less a technique, and more a careful manipulation of earth affinity chakra.

Spoiler:

It took very little time at all to get Takashi back to full focus on the techniques, Koutaku’s demonstration of both Discovery of an Incomplete Truth and Bark practically burned into her mind. It was a markedly more difficult technique than the others that Koutaku had taught her, but truth be told it did not feel like a challenge to her with Koutaku’s demonstrations and explanations. Instead it was like one of the little hexagonal puzzle games that they’d played with as children, having to rotate seals in order to flow chakra a specific number of times through specific blocks determined by variables depending on the challenge required. It felt just like solving one of those games by cutting away every false thread and finding each point of truth in turn. It was finally something that actually challenged her faculties rather than a fairly basic application of chakra that came to feel instinctual with practice, something that she really had to feel her way through over multiple tries and consider in her mind for moments at a time. When the threads of it finally came together, perhaps three or four moments later, she pulled a kunai out of her hidden pocket and began to demonstrate exactly the same manoeuvre that Koutaku had taught her (albeit with water affinity rather than wind).

The weapon’s appearance did not visibly change, but its sudden shift towards being aspected with water-natured chakra caused light to refract off of it gently, giving it a slightly dewy look as it soared downwards towards an adjacent and empty section of the floor. The strike happened without incident, however, simply stopping as Takashi’s swing reached its natural arc. Takashi stopped for just a moment to collect herself, considering what it was that had been missing from her activation of Bark--it only took her another few seconds to have another idea and try again, this time using her hands in a slightly different position and adjusting her breathing to naturally knead the chakra in the almost instinctual way that the technique required. A wet, damp pressure in the air intimated her success before a loud crack popped through it and a blast of force collided with the floor, crashing against it in a manner almost reminiscent of an enormous wave.

“Yes!” followed the sound up, markedly less loud though with a similar level of enthusiasm. Takashi dropped the kunai and clapped her hands together roughly as if by instinct, following it up with a broad grin in Koutaku’s direction as she bent down to pick the kunai up and stow it away where it rightly belonged.

Spoiler:

Watching closely with both his chakratic senses and his more mundane vision, Koutaku found himself somewhat fascinated by the way Takashi seemed to puzzle her way through techniques. Much like weaving itself, his friend seemed to excel at taking the various principles and actions required for a technique and diligently threading them together until she had a complete product. It was quite distinct from his own more...mechanical--yet intuitive--method of learning. ‘Man...people were such interesting things to study,’ he thought, not realizing the strangeness of the statement as it drifted through his mind. Not getting caught on the edges of that mental directive, Koutaku clapped a few times as Takashi succeeded, his smile brimming with a subtle sort of pride and joy as he rejoiced alongside his friend.

Despite what she said about herself, she really was a rather gifted shinobi, a quick learner in her own unique way.

“Alright, well done!” He said, walking up beside her and giving her a friendly pat on the back as he flooded the ground with earth chakra to mend it. “I’m sure those will serve you well in the days to come, but you can hardly use only those two techniques haha. So, moving on!”

“Kou,” the clone’s creator said, pulling Kou’s attention over to them. Immediately the clone understood Koutaku’s intentions and drew his blade, pushing into a headlong rush at his creator.

“Watch closely, this will happen swiftly,” Koutaku cautioned as he pushed off towards his clone at max speed. With the two rushing one another they closed the distance in an instant. At the last moment, Koutaku drew several shuriken, and a single kunai. Moving in time with his creator, Kou preempted Koutaku by slashing at him horizontally at 140 speed. However, Koutaku reacted just as swiftly at the last second, twisting to the side and dropping his body just barely beneath the edge of the blade before pushing forwards at speed.


Kou grit his teeth, performed handseals with one hand, and then Koutaku’s kunai struck his midsection. The blow released a small shockwave of force, and Kou’s eyes widened as the earthen shield he’d formed with Tobiishi to block was easily destroyed by Koutaku’s attack.


The force behind the strike shattered the earthen construct, and in the next instant, Kou was flying back as the butt of the kunai hit the clone. Koutaku moved his left hand as if to throw the shuriken, but instead pushed forth in a tremendous rush at 140 speed to close the distance between himself and his clone. Kou, meanwhile, used Tobiishi once more to create an additional platform, catching himself midair with it, and pushing down to land on the ground. While he didn’t have long to react to his incoming creator, Kou prepared himself nonetheless, positioning his blade in advance of Koutaku’s arrival and threw two shuriken at the genin.

Koutaku didn’t even bother reacting, for as the shuriken nearly struck his body they found themselves rebuffed by the sheer force of his movement.


Carrying the momentum of his rush into a horizontal slash, Koutaku swiped his wakizashi horizontally at Kou’s neck. The clone, in response, raised his blade and pushed it forwards at an angle as the clash began.


The force of the incoming attack seemed to diminish suddenly and then in the next momentum, Koutaku found himself thrown out of position as his arm was pushed inwards towards his chest, the kunai’s blade pointed away from him. Eyes narrowing fractionally, Koutaku pushed away from his clone, who decided not to pursue, and all at once as Kou’s creator came to a stop, the bout was ended.

Each took several deep steadying breaths, and then Koutaku turned away from his clone and to Takashi.

“Split Second, a technique that increases the speed at which you can dodge or react to an oncoming attack. Metal Crusher, a technique used to break the guard of an adversary. Bull Rush, a useful gap closer designed to protect the user and lead into a strike enhanced by the momentum gained via the dash, and of course Deflect, which...well, it does what it says on the tin.”

Approaching Takashi, Koutaku continued his explanation, “Each of these is more about your martial technique and the control you have of your movements and implement than it is about the utilization of chakra. Still, they’re no less important despite that.” He didn’t offer much explanation this time, instead giving her time to process the demonstration he and Kou had provided her.

“If you need any further guidance, I’m here, but knowing you...well, I think you’ll find that each of these techniques come to you quite easily.”

Spoiler:

The clash between Koutaku and his clone was quite interesting for Takashi to watch--one would think that if one were to fight against a perfect copy of oneself that the match would be even or perhaps predictable--but those with sufficient grasp of tactics and strategy were never boring to watch and that was certainly the case between her friend and his doppelganger. They’d each clearly planned ahead for one another’s moves, but Koutaku had ended up planning more steps ahead (seeing as they were the same person it was unlikely to be a difference in the quality of their stratagems) and had ended up winning the bout. Takashi narrowed her eyes slightly as she focused on something, as if trying to marry up an image with her eyes open and something solely in her mind’s eye. She went to the site of the actual clash and paced around it in small movements, eyes focused and mouth muttering words under her breath as she did so. She then picked her scarf up with her hands, moving it into a more wieldable position, and made a number of stunted motions that Koutaku would recognise as familiar little flourishes (or at least the beginning of them) if he’d been paying attention. She calculated like that for another moment or two more, then feeling confident enough to make the manoeuvres again but further and deeper into them.

“Hmm… I wonder if these map up to the various movements of the Orinuno no Mai?”Takashi spoke aloud, though not really directed to anyone in particular--she had just reached the point in her thought process where this was how she worked best; Koutaku’s presence was simply comfortable enough to her that she was able to do this in front of him freely. She began to sync up the various movements of her combat meditations with certain tells for existing flourishes that she might make with a scarf, adapting and manipulating her style so as to be able to perform the same kinds of functions that she’d seen with Koutaku. It was easy to forget that they were both actively trained combatants independently of their ninja abilities who were technically fully martially proficient. It was more pronounced in the two of them owing to the nature of their clans and their unique situation of having been exposed to the others’ methods in their formative stages. Applying the principles of the ninja abilities they were capable of to those basic proficiencies should, theoretically, have been quite simple--it simply took a bit of restructuring.

Within a few iterations Takashi could perform all of the techniques, barring Deflect (owing to a certain lack of speciality, she supposed, having not chosen to study weaponry personally) in her own unique ways, having incorporated them into her unique method of fighting.

“Right! What else?” she added almost as an afterthought, breaking herself from the focused reverie to turn back to Koutaku.

Spoiler:

Finding nothing in her practice to require his intervention, Koutaku simply observed with open interest as Takashi worked through the forms of what almost appeared a dance. At the same time he mapped those motions in his mind with the various technique’s he’d demonstrated a few moments before. As the two images grew closer, he realized the significant similarities and a small smile touched the edges of his lips and crinkled the corners of his eyes. He was glad to have such a remarkable ally, and even more warmed by the fact that she was more than that--that they were close, sharing a bond that was far from likely to break unless one of them decided to cut it.

Letting his mind fall into a shallow trance, Koutaku observed her just as he considered his own actions. Idly he dismissed his clone, allowing its experiences to flow into his own in swift order. Now used to the process, Koutaku sorted his thoughts, and the new experiences with well-practiced ease. By the time Takashi had finished, he had let himself slip from the trance in order to give her his full attention once more.

“Well, honestly, we’ve sort of blurred through most of it. There’s really only two more techniques I know that I think you’d find particularly useful.” Scratching his cheek slightly, Koutaku withdrew a book from thin air, and then flipped it open to an empty page.

Lowering his free hand, he flicked his wrist, pulling a pen from his dimensional storage as he did so, after which he swiftly scrawled out a pair of fuinjutsu diagrams on the paper before him. When he was done he turned the page so she could see and began to explain.

“The seal on the right is the Armoury Seal, it allows you to summon any item that has the seal on it to your person with a small use of chakra.” He flicked his wrist once more, dismissing the pen and replacing it with a kunai, which he turned such that it could catch the light, revealing the seal etched into its surface. “As you can see, I’ve taken the effort of placing one on this kunai. More specifically, I’ve placed one of the seals on each individual piece of my equipment. Just in case.” He shrugged slightly and then moved on, pocketing the kunai.

“The seal on the left on the other hand is a precautionary measure. It’s called the Breath Seal, and what it allows you to do is place it on a surface somewhere exposed to open air, so that you can activate it remotely to draw that clean air into your lungs rather than whatever is around you at the time. It’s useful for avoiding poisons, continuing to breath underground, or underwater, and I’m sure it has some other uses that aren’t quite as obvious. Either way, it’s definitely worth placing one before you go anywhere even remotely dangerous. After all, you never know when someone might try to cut off or poison your air supply.”

With that said, Koutaku let her look over each seal for a bit longer, before he closed the book with a single swift movement of his hand. Done with the thing, Koutaku promptly shoved it into the open air, where it disappeared as if swallowed by some unseen mouth--he’d returned it to its rightful place in his dimensional storage.

Spoiler:

Takashi stroked her chin thoughtfully as Koutaku said that they'd breezed through most of what he had to teach--it didn't feel like they'd been there for that long, but the truth was that she could already feel the fatigue seeping into her and that she'd pushed herself a bit harder than she was normally used to. It didn't help that she'd spent the better part of the past week or two sat down furiously weaving to fulfil that ridiculous commission for Lady Chiyoko and the combat meditation alone was not by nature strenuous enough to count for the same kind of Bukijutsu training that this had been. She let herself take a few deep breaths, shook herself out, and performed a few exercises meant to stretch her muscles slightly to loosen her tightened form.

As he moved to show her the seals she thanked whatever cosmic force had given her this reprieve for a more intellectual task, studying their forms with surprising alacrity beyond that which even Koutaku normally displayed--she’d spent most of her childhood researching fuinjutsu for use in weaving and it was something of a personal specialty for her. She’d been learning the combat applications of her innate weaving skills at the Yuganori clan compound recently, and had been able to almost finish the last touches on the technique known as Kumonosu no Jutsu, the most basic combat-oriented application. She had no great talent for Ninjutsu and so had not particularly prioritised learning these particular techniques, but there were several other very powerful techniques that she’d set her mind on--but for now, she simply wove a little patch of silk from her wrists, spinning and weaving it as it emerged to create the same seal she’d been shown but with the relevant chakra woven into the correct shapes within the individual threads that made up the patch. It took only a brief application of additional chakra for the first seal to illuminate briefly, working as it should, before she repeated the process with the second seal, and then again with the storage seal from earlier whose formula she’d been able to remember.

“Easy peasy! Seals have always been something of a personal specialty, much like you’re better with weapons and with ninjutsu than I am.”

While she awaited Koutaku’s further instruction, if any came, she continued her work on the Yuganori technique from earlier, now using one-handed handseals to mould it as well as her chakra senses to be able to view the process with a little more clarity, and be able to fine-tune the process.

Spoiler:

“Yeah, you were always better at fuinjutsu than me...but I’ll catch up to you, it’s just a matter of time.”

He said in reply, a smile on his lips as he twirled a kunai around a single finger. His mind swiftly shifted from the topic however as he considered what else he might teach her. However, while they could spar and perhaps train in that way--accruing valuable experience--he found that it would likely just be better to let her acclimate to the things she’d learned today. There was no need for them to rush after all.

Turning to her, Koutaku did one last stretch, pocketed his kunai, and headed for the door. “Well, that’s all I’ve got for the moment, and I promised my cousins that I’d play with them the next time I had the chance. If you want to stay for awhile yet feel free, I’ll leave the key on your side of the door.” As he said the words he did just that, transferring the responsibility of closing up and returning the facility’s property to Takashi in the process.

“We’ll talk again soon though, and I’m sure I’ll have thought of something else to keep us both occupied.” As he said it he glanced over his shoulder and shot her a mischievous grin, before giving her a two-fingered salute, and vanishing out the door. Of course, he did have to stop at the front desk first, informing the clerk that his friend would be closing out the room he’d reserved rather than him. Further, he returned his various training gear as well, before departing Kirigakure’s Advanced Military Training Facility.

Walking down the stairs with an easy gait, Koutaku considered the events of the last hour or two. He found that he was proud of Takashi, and happy with his own abilities as well. Further, he was relieved that she’d not be gone for so long again--at least hopefully not any time soon. If he could help it, he’d keep her busy enough that her family would hardly have a chance to snatch up her time.

Smirking at the thought, Koutaku grabbed onto a railing above his head with one hand as he walked past it, and hoist himself upwards. Going sidelong due to the strange angle of his momentum, Koutaku swiftly used a technique utterly devoid of handseals to push off a platform of wind and towards the opposite wall. Activating the Sticky Paper Adhesive Technique immediately, Koutaku stuck his hand to the side of the building even as he pushed off with his hand and let the technique fail, thus sending him to the other wall where he repeated the maneuver. In swift order, he jumped over the lip of a roof, where he stood to his feet and began walking again.

For once, Koutaku took his time getting home, throwing a wirebound shuriken halfway across gaps, before leaping into the open air and using the Lightness Skill to have the shuriken provide a pushing-off point for him to reach the other rooftops. So it was that after perhaps thirty minutes, Koutaku arrived home, and honored the promise he’d made to his young cousins.

They'd be playing for quite some time before dinner was had and it was time for them each to make their beds and lay in them as well.

Spoiler:

Approved