Teaching the New and Remembering the Old

Ty found himself walking through the quiet parts of town. Taking a slow and leisurely stroll through the village on his day off was a rare treat for the young man. These roads were often bustling and filled with people. After the recent invasion attempt however, a lot of people have been choosing to stay home more often. Maneuvering through a crowd was not Typhon's strong suit. With ample space and much less noise now, he could admire the ornate architecture of the buildings and the shop stalls that are often surrounded by customers. Ty had never even seen most of the things on offer in the central market. Him and his clan members already catch sideways glances whenever they enter a shop. Imagining the issues that'd arise if he tried to buy something from a fruit stand was a nightmare. Even with his skin covered and gloves on, people would still fear his condition, and who could blame them?

It was enjoyable enough just being able to see the village like this. Watching it all unfold like a well oiled machine was one of the benefits that came with his shinobi Headband. Though still not wanted around others, Ty garnered a bit more respect from a lot of the village people because of his military status. It was a welcome change of pace for him to have some people smile as he walked by. He knew from a young age that the people's love was not unconditional and if he wanted respect he'd likely have to put his life on the line to earn it. Being a ninja was never in his plans. Following after his parents was not the young man's dream. After all one ended up dead and the other crippled for life. This job was often incredibly dangerous, but it has its perks. Luckily his fellow shinobi were often quite friendly and willing to work with Typhon.

Speaking of his fellow ninja, he could see a familiar face heading his direction. It was that of Toran; A young Uchiha and member of Team Winter. Ty focused his green eyes on the boy as he approached. It was still taking some time getting used to the fact that the shinobi corps was filled with people of all ages and sizes. Typhon was the odd one out being in his mid 20s and still a genin. The age of the child soldier was now and he got into the game really late. Kids like Toran with several years lead on Ty very well could be more skilled than himself. It was obvious that age meant very little in Hoshi considering the Hogokage was still in his teens.

Once Toran was within earshot the young Canopic would wave his arm and call out to him, "Hey man. Whatcha up to on this quiet day?"

(WC 475)

He was actually able to spot the Canopi clansmen walking towards him, thankfully the search for him wasn’t all too long, especially given how little people were around this day and age. That attack on the village seemingly put a lot of people on edge, his father was one of those many people. He could still remember his own parents' face when he had come back from the attack rather unscathed, yet it seemed that they were more concerned about his safety of simply being nearby that place more so than anything else. It simply made him think more, his mother’s tears streaming down her face as her sharingan along with his dad's remaining eyes were locked onto his own. It made him activate his own sharingan in response to their own eyes. Yet the memory faded quickly when he waved back towards Typhon, hoping that he could potentially teach their medic a thing or two.

“Doing well after that whole attack fiasco I hope! It’s a pleasure to see you again, Typhon!” He shouted from across the sidewalk. Taking a few more steps forwards as he wondered if it was alright if he could move in closer with a soft flick of his head forwards. He knew that some people disliked Typhon due to his own affliction. But it honestly couldn’t be anything too bad to be afraid of. So Toran took that chance as he stepped forwards, black eyes staring back at the green irises that blessed the masked individual's own face. Toran was of course slightly smaller than Typhon, only about 5’2 in height compared to the Canopi clansmen. Yet he’d open his mouth for a request from the other shinobi if possible. Glad to at least see him again.

“I was wondering? Typhon, do you know anything about one handed seals?”

He’d give a raised eyebrow towards his friend, wondering if he would be interested in learning the art. As it was one that Toran was waning on the more he seemed interested in other means of combat. Along with that his new eyes give him a much more varied arsenal in terms of his newest jutsu. However he had never shown that jutsu to anyone just yet. He wished to have some sort of excuse, some sort of way of showing that he had advanced so much farther than what anyone thought of him at that point.

“But also how are you doing? Seen anyone else from our team recently? I remember Yamato was a part of that defense squad that went out of the village.”

The Uchiha gave a small sigh, thinking about their sensei… he wondered if he could perhaps ask him more about weaponry in the future. He already was curious about fuinjutsu and weaponry before this. But he also wanted to understand more about the way of the blade more than anything right now. And perhaps him helping Typhon could also lead him to reaching a better understanding of himself. There was simply only the tell of time, as Toran stood there with a small smile plastered on his face, happy as hell to see that one member of team winter was here with him.

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Typhon was glad to see a friend out and about in the village. The whole place had a different feel in the air. People were worried about the future and who could blame them? The Hoshi shinobi put up a good defense and managed to save the day, but stopping an attack after its already started is not a particularly great way of showing security. The people would have been much happier had the invasion not been seen or heard about. Had the military dealt with the issue before it even made it to the gates then the people would have been none the wiser.

He knew it wasn't his personal responsibility to keep all threats out, but Ty could help but feel a little guilt. The fear he saw on the civilians' faces as they ran away would probably be burned in his mind for a while. More people in the shinobi forces need to step up to the challenge and work on actively keeping the village safe instead of waiting and reacting to threats. To this end he wanted to improve his skills and become useful, however he could.

Toran looked like he was being driven by motivation as well. A good sign that Ty wasn't the only one frustrated after the invasion. Having to sit on the sidelines and watch as family and friends ran in terror couldn't be fun for anyone.

"It really is good to see you again Toran. I have not seen the others, but I'm not worried about those three." Ty would laugh as he leaned against the wall he was stood next to. "I heard Yamato made a good showing in the defense. Another reason to get even stronger. Every time I think I've really improved he comes in and shows me up...or beats me down" He'd chuckle at that last bit. It was true that 'training' with Yamato often just involved Ty getting the snot beat out of him.

In response to Toran's question he'd say while scratching the side of his mask with his finger, "I've seen others using only one hand to form seals but never really gave it much thought. It would be pretty useful to have a hand free though." He would pause and ask, "Why? Do you know how to do them?"

It would be just another humbling moment for the young man if he were to learn something so complicated from someone pretty much half his age, but it Ty was anything it was humble. He knew when he enlisted that he would be surrounded by young people.

(WC 433)
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Toran also seemed troubled by the recent invasion attempt and the repercussions. The enemy didn't make it through the gates and yet there was always a sense that we may have lost some people. It was going to take some time for people to calm down and for everything to return to normal. Ty couldn't help but wonder about all the friends he hadn't heard from since the attack. He knew his friend Sebastian had participated in the defense and he had yet to hear from the man since then. He made a note to check out the hospital later, just in case.

Hearing that Toran's mission was to impart knowledge to another shinobi was a little surprising. It wasn't necessarily a 'job' so much as a way to get the village defenses even more prepared by sharing ideas. It was a smart plan on behalf of village leadership. Ty was impressed by Torans aptitude with one handed seals as well as the foresight the young ninja showed in realizing it doesn't do much to help him in combat. Acknowledging ones own shortcomings is essential to real growth.

"So I just have to perform half the seal while pressing more chakra through?" He would say sounding surprised at how simple the concept was. In practice his first try did not simply go to plan. He felt like he was doing it right but it wasn't working.

Crouching down and scratching his mask a little frantically Ty would think for a moment before remembering the trick that usually helped him, imagery. If he could imagine himself performing the seal with both hands while only actually using one hand he could probably do it. Closing his eyes he could see his hands performing the sign for Horse, followed by dog, and then more and more signs until he had performed the right ones. Focusing his chakra he would start to feel little beads of sweat forming on his palm. The hand seals worked!

"Hey! Hey I think I'm getting it!" Ty would loudly laugh as he canceled his Touch of Decay and turned to Toran. His excitement would likely be hardly visible but a smile was plastered on his masked face. "You were right, it really does drain more chakra though." He'd say as he let his arms go limp at his sides. The young Uchiha was correct it was a deceptively simple skill to pick up. It would really come down to how he chose to use it in practice.

"I really appreciate you taking the time to show me how it's done. But hey I guess that's what squadmates are for right?" Ty would say earnestly. In response to Toran suggesting they hunt some ghosts Typhon would wince a bit and remember his past experience searching for spirits. "I've yet to see any ghosts though not for lack of trying. Sebastian and I heard a rumor of a haunted cemetery a couple months back. It turned out to be nothing but a kid prankster."

In truth the kid ended up stabbing Typhon in the gut over his deep hatred of ninjas. It was probably a good idea not to go back to that area. No point throwing himself back into a neighborhood full of zealots. But that mentality was the reason why there was discrimination between the religious followers in Hoshi and the shinobi forces in the first place. Maybe they could do some cleaning of the cemetery while at the same time checking out the ghost rumors. It could be a good time and maybe helping out the local area would help better relations in the village.

"Ya know that area still gets rumors of ghosts. Maybe we were too hasty when we checked it out last time. I could lead the way there if you'd like?" Should Toran agree, Ty would head towards the part of town that the old cemetery is in.

(WC 655)
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Learning a new way to perform seals was not how Typhon had planned to spend his morning, but he was glad he had. This was another door opened that could lead to something more. He knew he was still a ways off from besting Yamato in a fight, but that simple goal kept him moving forward. He was glad he didn't look like an idiot in front of Toran as he worked out the details of the skill. He would gladly help his squadmate with his next mission. Small jobs like maintaining the grounds in religious areas made up a surprising amount of shinobi work. Ty had spent days picking up trash, assisting the churches, and all other manner of odd jobs for the citizenry. It wasn't at all what he had imagined life would be like in the military. His parents must have left out all the mundane stuff when they told him stories. He wished they hadn't. Knowing that being a ninja didn't just involve killing probably would have changed his perception on shinobi.


As the pair walked towards the shrines. Ty would idly chat about how the two had grown, "Ya know we've both come a long way since that day with the training dummies. I used to be really intimidated by people like Yamato and Morio. Didn't think I could ever pull off some of the stuff I've seen, but now... now I feel close. Almost there you know?" He paused to think about his words a little more, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to fight as good as the others, I can at least be confident in what I'm good at."


He honestly hadn't meant for the conversation to go all sentimental. He just sort of felt an odd kinship with Toran. When Team Winter first met up it was obvious that the two of them were far less prepared than Morio and Hotaru. A bit of shared embarrassment that he wanted to overcome together, so it was great to see Toran working on his skills. He wondered what kinds of things the young lad was capable of nowadays.


Arriving at the shrines Ty would quickly get to work  picking up trash that was scattered around the grounds. His newfound control over the virus allowed him to put it to everyday use. In this moment he had removed his right glove and was rapidly decaying the trash and letting the mulch fertilize the yard. He had to admit it was nice to find something useful in an affliction he always saw as purely negative. 


"You seen any spirits yet Toran? Heard their great wisdom?" He would jest while he worked. To Ty the important part was making the area look nicer. He knew people would be happy with something they can see rather than some ceremonial gesture. It wasn't that he didn't believe in ghosts but really he couldn't see why they would hang out in a cemetery. Who would want to spend eternity haunting themself? Needless to say he expected the whole thing to be a bust. But hey it's easy money either way.

(WC 523)
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Ty would laugh thinking about the 4 genin of Team Winter taking on Yamato all at once again. Surely it wouldn't go the same way it had before. Given the same position Ty now could have blocked the tail swing that bruised his ribs and been right in range to either immobilize or infect Yamato. But surely he was playing with them at that point. To this day Typhon hadn't ever seen their squad leader go all out.

"Well judging purely off the Nova fight results it'd be safe to assume Morio is at least close to Yamato's level if not past it at this point. But I don't think Yamato really got to show off his full abilities. That Tsunayoshi is a monster so I can't blame our squad leader for going down when he did. Given a different bracket I think he was a shoe in for the finals." It felt weird giving Yamato so much open praise, but it was impossible to deny the man's abilities.

As the pair wrapped up the cleaning Toran would ask a strange question. Ty hadn't heard anything of the sort. He figured the young Uchiha must be hearing things, but still the rumors of ghosts in the area made it a little weird.

"No I haven't heard a thing. Maybe the spirits here like you." Ty suggested sort of kidding but also kinda not. If there were ghosts in this religious area they probably wouldn't appreciate Ty using chakra to clean up the area. Perhaps they like that young Toran seemed so upset by the state of the shrines. People had been piling up trash here which even to the non religious Typhon seemed rude.

As they wrapped up with the missions Ty would offer to take in the paperwork and let Toran go do whatever he liked with the rest of his day. He enjoyed spending the day with his teammate and hoped next time he was the one who could teach Toran something new. 

(WC 335)
(TWC 2421)
(Exit)

Mission Rewards: +10,000 ryo & 50 mission AP

81,700 ryo + 10,000 = 91,700 ryo total

1000 words to learn One handed seals (50% off due to Toran teaching it)

1000 words to up Jotun Grip from B to A