A-TRAIN

Enishi Kurosawa was a man of his word.

Yesterday, he promised to train the young man who acted as his gate guard when he arrived at the Hoshigakure gates. In his mind, it was simply his way of paying his thanks to the man, who he soon knew to be named Amikiri. Amikiri was a Genin and while he said he was rather experienced in Bukijutsu and Nature Transformations, he wanted to gain proficiency in another area. 

Fuuinjutsu... The Seraph pondered as he strode to the Water Gardens. Adorning his typical outfit, he didn't feel a need to show off to his underclassman considering that this would just be like a training session...and Enishi wasn't a very superficial man to begin with. However, he did bring more things in a scroll he gripped with his right hand as he walked. In this scroll was a helix of sorts — a spiraling scroll in the sense that within the scroll held an assortment of other scrolls. Enishi didn't think it was necessary since he predicted that Amikiri was a competent and talented shinobi to begin with; but, within the parent scroll was a hodgepodge of texts directly from Suguru's study in his house that held general descriptions of everything regarding Fuuinjutsu and Bukijutsu as well as some of his own personal notes he wrote distilling some abstract Fuuinjutsu concepts for recursive use. Of course that was only 5% of the notes he wrote as everything else were extremely private breakthroughs he didn't feel comfortable showing to other people unless he perfected his research, but the ones he had in the scroll seemed good enough.

It was a few minutes before noon when he told Amikiri to arrive. Thankfully the Training Grounds were rather empty today, so he just sat in the shade under a tree and leaned against it as he faced the lake scenery, awaiting his student for today.

Hmm...I should fight Ryumi again.

WC: 323

The Hyuuga had spent most of the morning preparing for this. Not to say he was obsessed with Enishi, but one usually did not gain the opportunity to learn directly from a Nova Corps member. Amikiri would be extremely grateful for this opportunity, and as such, did not want this to go to waste. He had started the day by eating a well nourishing breakfast, as well as getting into his usual attire for training. This included a basic dark green t-shirt, pants, and some boots. Nothing too fancy. Despite fuinjutsu being a relatively “tame” topic to study, especially when compared to things like bukijutsu or Dust Release, Amikiri knew that he was certain to learn some powerful fuinjutsu techniques today.

Before he headed out to the training grounds, Amikiri wanted to sort some stuff out. With his recent increases in strength, he had acquired some powerful new items and as such, wanted to keep everything organized. He withdrew one of his basic scrolls from Storage Displacement. Unrolling it on the table in front of him, Amikiri would set about sealing items inside of it. This included one Ice Steel, one Meteoric Iron, one Damascus Steel, one Corpse Storage Scroll, one book titled “Human Body The Ultimate Machine”, another book titled “A Study of KKG and DNA”, and ten senbon. The dark haired man stored the scroll inside of his Storage Displacement once more and proceeded to head out to the training grounds. Right before he exited the house, he would double check and confirm that he was wearing his Nise under his clothes. Today could quite easily turn out to be one with a bit of danger in it, so Amikiri did not want to be caught off guard.

Amikiri moved briskly, but did not run to the training grounds. He certainly did not want to be late and he would prefer to be early. His father always told him that early is on time and on time is late. The dark haired Hyuuga arrived at the training grounds a couple minutes before their scheduled time of noon. Fortunately today they were rather empty. Amikiri looked around, trying to find his teacher. Despite sitting under the darkness of a tree’s shadow, Amikiri recognized the man quite easily due to his orange-ish, red-ish colored hair.

The Hyuuga approached him and would give a slight bow. It was not very deep by any means, as Amikiri could already start to tell that Enishi was not one for grand formalities. The dark haired man then said, “Good morning Enishi. Or would it be good afternoon?” The Hyuuga pondered for a moment, before continuing on by saying, “Well regardless, thank you for taking the time to teach me today. I already have an elementary level of knowledge in Fuinjutsu with techniques like Basic Sealing or Armory Seals, but not much beyond that. Where do you think it would be best to start?”

WC: 489

Whilst practicing some mental exercises to sharpen his mental faculties for what would appear to be a rather rigorous day of demonstration, Enishi noticed footsteps approaching. Unfortunately, his senses weren't sharp enough to determine who exactly those footsteps pertained to, but deduction was equally as strong a sense. A smirk plastered on his face, he stood up as his student approached him and they both greeted each other respectfully. He was pleasantly surprised that Amikiri came a few minutes early, understanding that it was probably going to take a while for his student to learn the basics. Fuuinjutsu, by Enishi's biased perspective, was the most challenging field a shinobi could invest themselves in since it required studying, linguistic mastery, calligraphic mastery, and a perfect understanding of mutual balance and how that relates to the energies found in the natural world. Typically, a true Fuuinjutsu Scholar should take a year studying and practicing the basics before actually moving on to creating and replicating seals, but time was of the essence for shinobi.

Amikiri quickly explained his understanding of Fuuinjutsu which aided a lot in figuring out his current skill level. "Well, you're right about having an elementary skill level...that's for sure." Enishi put a few fingers on his chin while thinking. "However, both Armory Seal and the Basic Sealing Technique are solid foundations, so you should already have an idea of how Fuuinjutsu works. Come, take a seat." The ginger motioned as he sat under the tree overlooking the river, hoping that Amikiri would sit across from him, still under the shade. From there, he'd swiftly unseal three tags from his scroll, placing them between him and Amikiri while he unsealed a special brush and ink as well. "As you know, Fuuinjutsu revolves around sealing and unsealing items into and out of objects. This isn't limited to just physical items, but anything to the practitioner's desire as long as they're skilled enough. Of course, there are multiple types of Fuuinjutsu and specific sub-categories that  I can demonstrate later—Juinjutsu comes into mind—but we'll be sticking to basic stuff for now and I can see whether you're ready for me to teach you useful techniques that are around your skill level." Enishi explained eloquently. Should Amikiri understand, he'd elucidate more on the things he just unsealed.

"So I have right here a few tags and a special brush and ink. Traditionally, Fuuinjutsu was practiced in a similar vein to Caligraphy, and I find that some of the traditional styles help in understanding the theory of Fuuinjutsu a bit. Even if we're trying to get you to learn this for more practical reasons, Fuuinjutsu is inherently a theoretical art." Grabbing one of the brushes, he dipped it in the special ink before drawing the Kanji for "Break" on it. "The root of Fuuinjutsu comes from the concept of 'Kotodama.' Every word—which we can draw as Kanji—carries spiritual power that quickly disseminates into chakra. So, we create Kanji through our chakra that draw on this concept to create seals. Alternatively, you can also use this special brush and ink that can construct seals if you create the correct Kanji. For example, I just assembled the Breaking technique in this tag, so if I put it against an Explosive Tag..." Enishi pulled out one of his to demonstrate the interaction, "the Explosive Tag seal breaks."

"Now, just drawing the Kanji for 'Break' on the tag using the brush won't do anything. What makes this an exercise I find useful for beginners is that it's mental training. You have to envision everything about the word and what you want the seal to do as you draw the Kanji. I have multiple tags, so I want you to do this ten times, and when you're done with the ten tags, we will test them to each Explosive Tag I have to see if the seal will wear off. This will also make you remember the physical motion of performing the strokes, so when you have to construct it out of mere chakra eventually while managing all the other information in your mind, it'll take a load off of your brain." 

Enishi then sighed after realizing he was talking way more than he had usually done over the past few months.

"Well, I'll leave it to you. If you have any questions or need help, just tell me. You're learning quite the tricky art." With a calm smile, Enishi would watch Amikiri get to work as he handed him the tags and equipment.

WC: 758
TWC: 1081

Hearing Enishi’s words, Amikiri was a bit more hopeful. He thought that a mere handful of fuinjutsu techniques wouldn’t be enough to grasp even the basics, but Enishi thought it showed a decent understanding of the fundamentals. That meant Amikiri was already a little closer than he thought he was.

As Enishi sat up, no longer leaning against the tree, Amikiri would join him, sitting across from him no more than a meter away. Then Enishi would withdraw from a scroll a few tags, similar to a blank explosive tag, as well as a brush and some ink. Amikiri was not too pleased by the site of the latter objects, as handwriting was not his speciality. His mother wanted him to learn calligraphy at one point, but fortunately his father convinced her otherwise after a few disastrous lessons.

Amikiri nodded along to what Enishi was saying. From Basic Sealing, Armory Seal, and Breath Seal, he understood the concept that Fuinjutsu seals were able to store basic objects. However, Enishi’s next comment made Amikiri realize the potential of Fuinjutsu. The possibility of storing chakra, or as Enishi phrased it, his “desires.” This opened the Hyuuga’s eyes to a whole new world of Fuinjutsu techniques he could create. Enishi’s mention of Juinjutsu intrigued Amikiri. He had never heard of this and would have to ask later on in the session. As Enishi took a pause, Amikiri would give a nod of understanding.

Enishi’s next explanation would start to give Amikiri a better understanding of the fuinjutsu process. While yes, the calligraphy, writing, and the shape of the seal itself was important, what was really important was what Amikiri envisioned the seal doing.

As Enishi finished his instructions, Amikiri would nod and pick up the materials. The Hyuuga first looked closely at Enishi’s depiction of the Kanji for break. He studied it closely and tried to remember the pattern for every stroke, sweep, and curve. Amikiri wasn’t very good at calligraphy, so he was trying to make sure that wouldn’t be the point of failure for this exercise. Amikiri also thought of Enishi’s other wisdom. Yes, the calligraphy was important, but it still only served as a medium for the greater purpose of implementing your willpower through a chakra effect.

The Hyuuga quickly pulled out a sheet of paper and set on top the tags in front of him. Amikiri then draws the tip of the brush against the ink block, gathering a sufficient amount of ink on the brush. While some calligraphy required the calligrapher to put lighter strokes in certain places and stress differently with certain points of the brush, Amikiri felt that a uniform strong approach would create the easiest medium for the application of his chakra.

Using his own paper, Amikiri would do a quick practice drawing of the Kanji for break. He was out of practice and it was only on his third attempt that he considered his drawing to be passable. It had been many years since he had last tried to dabble in calligraphy, so the intricate strokes were all very difficult. The Hyuuga would then draw the Kanji twice more. In his opinion, it was important not just to get something right, but to not get it wrong. When those two additional attempts were also successful, he felt confident that he could combine both calligraphy and his attempts to channel chakra through it.

He then set his own paper aside and refreshed the ink on his brush. Now, he would close his eyes and think for a second, reflecting on exactly what he wanted this seal to do. He did not want it to destroy the explosive tag in front of him, simply to weaken the chakra of the tag itself. The dark haired Hyuuga thought back to his extensive training with his Byakugan and recalled how every human had Tenketsu points, where chakra flowed through them. Through Gentle Fist and Gentle Blade techniques, Amikiri had learned to stem the flow of chakra. Now, he must take a similar, but more drastic approach. It was like instead of limiting a Tenketsu point, he would be completely destroying it. Only the Tenketsu point though, not the muscle and fiber it was contained within.

Using this approach, Amikiri would open his eyes. He held his right wrist with his left hand and performed a couple circular motions, stretching and loosening his wrist. The Hyuuga then thought of each different stroke in the Kanji he was to draw as a different Gentle Fist strike, and each letter giving the explosive tag its sinister purpose as a Tenketsu point. The Hyuuga furrowed his brow in concentration and set his brush down on the paper. He moved slowly and deliberately. Each stroke was as precise as the strike of his Gentle Blade, purposely covering the letters on the Explosive Tag to help Amikiri’s metaphor. The Hyuuga would finish the symbol and look upon the tag with anticipation. The letters hidden under his Kanji would slowly start to fade away as his Fuinjutsu Breaking technique did its job.

A small smile would spread across Amikiri’s face. While he started to learn Fuinjutsu Breaking more than a year ago, this was an advancement he simply wasn’t ready for. However the smile would quickly fade. As he had remembered earlier, it was not about getting it right, but not getting it wrong. And so he set about the nine other Explosive Tags. With each one he would take care, making sure to completely expel the influence of the chakra from the tag. By the end of it, Amikiri felt no need to completely cover the writing on the explosive tag with his own Kanji. His metaphor was starting to lose purpose and he was understanding the fuinjutsu as it was, not with his own twist applied to it.

Amikiri would look up from his work and say to Enishi, “Well, I think I’m done. Now comes the nerve racking part.” Amikiri would chuckle lightly and jokingly say, “Will they or will they won’t blow up?”

WC: 1012
TWC: 1501