A Sense of Self [Private]

[Akuro Kunashi]

Spoiler

It was a chilly evening just around sunset, a typical Kumogakurean night. Snow was falling lightly from the sky, the elevation keeping the precipitation constant in the region. Kyōshi closed his eyes and breathed in the cold air deeply. It mixed with the warm air in his lungs, and he held it in for a few seconds. He opened his eyes and exhaled all at once, and watched the steam from his mouth raise into the atmosphere above. He began walking once more. He had been wandering around with no end in mind. Kyōshi reached into his jacket pocket and found his box of cigarettes. He paused his walk as he tapped the box, knocking a cigarette loose. Placing it in between his teeth, he blocked the tip with his hand as he lit it with his lighter. Once the fire was burning, he began walking.

His eyes caught a sign that pointed to the local hot spring and followed it. He, of all people, needed to unwind. He had just retired from the ANBU after years of service, and is now an average jounin of the Main Branch. He had been away on a mission when the assassination of his Raikage, Hayata Shin. He understood there was nothing he could have done, but the thoughts kept swimming around his head. What if he had been there that day? What if he could have stopped Hoshikata from committing the now infamous assassination? It had all become too much for him, and he quit the corps for an easier life in the Main Branch.

He approached the springs with money in hand, and put out his half-smoked cigarette. Handing the owner the yen he owed, he walked to the changing room. He stripped down, folding his clothes and setting them aside. He wrapped a towel around his hips and grabbed his box of cigarettes and his lighter. He walked around the steaming pool to the far side facing the door. Setting his things and towel on the rocks beside him, he slid into the hot water up to his chest. Bringing water to his face with his hands, he splashed his skin with the hot water. With his face dripping, he reached and grabbed a cigarette and set it between his teeth, lighting it and taking a drag. It lingered in his lungs, the smoke fusing with the steam inside of him. He leaned his head back and exhaled, the smoke billowing straight up from his mouth. He closed his eyes and relaxed, the lit cigarette still hanging from his lips. The springs were almost as relaxing as the alcohol. Almost.

 

[Osuteno]

The 8 year old calmly looked up at the sky with a small smile. Osuteno occasionally caught snowflakes on his tongue as he made his way from his typical training grounds to the hot springs. Even though snow was a common sight Osu always enjoyed watching it fall. He had a lot on his mind though. He had just recently discovered that he had a bloodline, that of the Chigokai. It raised a lot of questions for Osu including who this might mean he was related to. Raised as an orphan he basically adopted his neighbors and friends as family. Now he had this absolute sign that by blood he was related to a group of people he knew only generic things about. Should he go and find them? Would they want anything to do with him? Who were his parents to begin with? He knew the Chigokai were a matriarchal family so it was probably more likely that he was related through his father's side and normally he would not really be part of the main family. But he had something that surprisingly most of the Chigokai family didn't have. Since he could manipulate blood he could by right become part of the main family. But would he want to?

Osu had been drowning these questions out of his head by training harder than usual and exhausting himself. He really wanted to take a nice long relaxing soak in the hot spring before going home. The hot water always made Osu's blood relax. Osu shivered a little at the thought. He had been catching himself treating blood as if it had a will of its own. A will for him to dominate. He lightly smacked his cheeks to get away from the dangerous thought and picked up his pace to get to the hot springs faster.

When he arrived he had a pleasant exchange with the obaa-san who watched the entrance. She always adored him as if he were one of her own grandchildren and he wondered if any of the Chigokai family would... no he came here to stop thinking about such things. She handed him a tray with a pot of green tea and some cups as she had for years and he went on inside to strip down, wrap a towel around himself and enter the bath.

He noticed an older man was already in the baths just a bit away from Osu's usual spot. Osu walked back and placed the tray to float in the water as he stepped in himself. He sat down with his shoulders just barely sticking out of the water and nodded politely to the older man before pouring himself some tea. Resting his own cup and the pot on the side he pushed the tray with a cup of tea lightly to where it would gently pass in front of the man.

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

"Sounds like one person. Small, probably young. Footsteps sound light and concentrated, as if he were carrying someting."<i></i> Kyōshi's perceptive skills were nearly unrivaled. He had trained for years to hone his skill of awareness, something that had saved him countless times in the field. He had assessed his current situation much like he does in the field, and was able to correctly perceive the boy without even opening his eyes. He waited until he heard the boy enter the springs before grabbing his cigarette between his fingers and bringing his head down, opening his eyes to see a small boy with a tea set sitting in the pool. Bringing his cigarette to his mouth, he took a brief drag and watched the boy. He had politely smiled at Kyōshi and silently offered him tea by pushing the tray toward him. He would accept the tray and pour himself a cup and place it on the side of the springs. Gently pushing the tray back, Kyōshi observed the boy. He had assumed that he was much to frail to be of great use in taijutsu, so his powers had to lie either in genjutsu or ninjutsu, meaning he would probably be decent at controlling his chakra. Kyōshi was now intrigued by the boy, as small and skinny people were not too commonplace in the shinobi world. He then sipped his tea and placed it back on the rock.

"Thanks for the tea, bud. Kyōshi's the name. What's yours?" Kyōshi tried not to come off as condescending, but probably failed. He had a bad habit of speaking down to people, something which he tried to avoid when interacting with young ones. He watched the boy as he responded, looking for any sort of ticks or movements that would let Kyōshi into the boy's psyche. Throughout his career, he had found that body language generally spoke louder than people's actual words to him.

So sorry this took so long, Osu.

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno gave his best attempt at a smile but he barely managed to curve the sides of his lips up leaving him with a generally blank expression, not that he realized this he was too busy thinking about the answer to that question. Before he would simply answer Koji Osuteno. Now he wasn't so sure. The name Koji simply meant orphan, and that was true. He had no parents to speak of. On the other hand he knew without a doubt that he had Chigokai in him, but he knew he would need to go and see if the main family would take him before he even thought of using that name. Inwardly sighing he said, "Greetings Kyōshi...san?" Osu was usually pretty sure what honorific to use but hesitated because he thought the man was too advanced to simply call him senpai and he was unsure if the man was too old to call onnisan or too young to call ojisan.I am Koji Osuteno. People tend to call me Osu though." It was strange because never before had Osu felt this odd empty feeling when he used the name Koji. He had never been ashamed or felt lonely for being an orphan because he had plenty of people who looked out for him. You came to the springs to stop thinking about this Osuteno! He thought to himself.

Returning his attention to the man, Osu continued trying to smile politely towards him while grabbing the tray as it floated in front of him. "It is a really nice here with the setting sun, the gently falling snow and being able to enjoy it with a nice bath and tea." Osu gazed out at the setting sun. "I finished training at just the right time for such a setting." His blood seemed to be relaxing too and he stopped having to force himself to ignore the sound of the man's blood flowing through his veins and started becoming lost in his own. The gentle current providing a beautifully calming ambiance for the setting. "Does this make a satisfying end of the day for you too?" Osu asked while beginning to use the Mystical Hand jutsu to sooth his sore muscles from his training. It felt satisfying to relax and train a new jutsu at the same time.

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

Kyōshi looked at the boy as he introduced himself. His face seemed strangely conflicted. Perhaps he had some sort of internal struggle? The jounin looked at the boy and smiled, hoping to put his mind at rest. He cleared his throat, the steam loosing phlegm caused by smoking. "A name is just that, something you call yourself. It matters not to anyone but yourself. Perhaps for clan reasons, but what's more important is what you think. Call yourself what you like, whatever makes you feel best. I recently regained my identity, so I have done some deep thinking on the subject." Kyōshi chuckled a little, being sure to keep a good-natured look on his face to soothe the boy. He looked to the sky above, and took a drag on his cigarette. He turned back to Osuteno-kun and took the cigarette from his mouth. "Tonight is a spectacular night for a soak, you are correct. It is a very satisfying end to a very difficult time. Are you a medical shinobi? A bit younger than I thought they accepted, no offense of course. I'm impressed with your level of chakra control at such a young age. Medical techniques require a level of precision that far surpasses your experience, once again no offense. You intrigue me, buddy. What else do you know how to do?" Kyōshi was very impressed and intrigued with the boy, as his progress rivaled that of his own when he was a lad. The ex-ANBU leaned forward in the springs, analyzing his pint-sized comrade. He liked this kid, though his rude demeanor may have masked this fact.

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno nodded at what the man said, though it was one thing to hear good advice and another to take it to heart. Osu started rubbing the back of his read when the man began asking his questions. "Well no I don't belong to the medical branch... yet. I am still an academy student though I will get to take my Genin exam soon. I hang around the hospital a lot and I was taught in passing by nurses, and no offense taken, it will be a few more weeks before I turn 9 so I am inexperienced." He looked up at the stars that were starting to come out as the sun had set.

The man next asked Osu what else he could do. "Well... The best way would be simply to show him. Not getting up the 8-year old turned around towards the forest and used the Aqua Fang jutsu but had converted it into a "Blood Fang" making it considerably more powerful. With a glance back at the man he made a giant shuriken out of blood and tossed it high into the sky, and shot it down with a blood rifle. He looked back at the man watching him and gave a slight bow to indicate he thought he was done, while wondering if he had done well or not. At least he had managed to make sure all the blood went over the forest rather than in the bath house area.

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

Kyōshi watched the boy during his display. The jounin noticed a few things. The boy's chakra control, though impressive for his age, required some work still. Obviously. He had just started training in the shinobi arts, so clearly he had a way to go. The 'Aqua Fang' performed was a little sloppy. With some fine tuning of the shape manipulation, the boy could really turn that into a powerful ability. He really needed to focus on condensing the water into a spiral to get the full effect. As it was performed now, it was more of a spiraling tendril instead of a drill. Time and experience would help him in this aspect. The next thing was that his water jutsu turned to blood. This immediately caught Kyōshi's attention. An advanced element at such a young age was indeed rare. Was this boy some sort of ninjutsu-prodigy? Kyōshi scanned for the answers and it was found in Osu-kun's eyes. 'Ah.. there's the cause. Chigokai. Nasty opponents..' The boy's eyes were red from blood, typical of the Chigokai clan. As they were natives in Kumo, Kyōshi had had a few run-ins with them before. The ability to control blood was hard to combat. Kyōshi smiled subtly. This boy was indeed special. The third thing Kyōshi noticed was the boy's affinities for ranged weapons. He could have shifted his blood into any shape he wanted, a spear, a sword, literally anything the boy dreamt. He chose two ranged weapons. Kyōshi nodded. He could understand the love for distance. He was partial to senbon himself, and only used chakra blades when things got too close. There's something about picking off an opponent without detection that gave Kyōshi chills to the depths of his being. The shinobi nodded, giving a slight 'impressed' look. Sure, it wasn't the most spectacular thing he had seen ever, but the boy was very young still. This show from a child was a feat of strength that Kyōshi was not going to ignore. "Very impressive, Osu-kun. You don't mind that I call you that, I hope. With that power, I'm sure Kitsune-sama would be more than willing to let you join her branch. To manipulate blood into your water jutsu as well as into two different weapons.. that's an impressive feat for such a young Chigokai. Hah, I hope you didn't think I wouldn't notice, your eyes were a dead giveaway. Well, that and the blood. Something that piqued my interest was your choice of weapons. Why a shuriken and a rifle? You could have chosen anything under the sun, but two ranged weapons? Though I can't say I blame you, it fits your frame. Going toe-to-toe with an opponent requires a bit more.. oomph. Don't worry, you'll grow into it. I was a small boy once upon a time, too. That's why my favorite weapon are senbon. Hard to dodge what you can't see, no?" At the end of his sentence, Kyōshi brought the cigarette to his mouth. The potential in this boy was astounding. Were all of Kumo's academy students like him?

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno shook his head with a small smile, “I don’t mind at all Kyoshi-san, but I know it was not very impressive at all. It has taken me most of the week to figure out this much about the Chigokai abilities from the descriptions I have read. I have yet to actually go and meet with them, mostly because I am afraid they might not take in some random orphan.” He did not really mean to push his problems onto the man so he changed to a different topic.

“To be honest I think Kitsune-Sama might be a bit too eager to have me. The few times she has met me, she caught these weird bursts of confidences. Last time in her class I even openly declared that I would take her job one day.” Osu ducked under the water for a moment from embarrassment. Coming back up he said, “So I am sure she thinks I am like that all the time. As for the ranged weapons…” He raised his arm high out of the water as a thin spiraling lance appeared, covering the length of his arm. “It isn’t that I do not know how to do other weapons, but well…” He hoped he would not get a weird look for this. “They have better suited techniques for making the opponent bleed than most melee weapons do. Though I do use this lance or a variant of it. You are right though on the fact I am pretty small. About as thin as your senbon, maybe they won’t see me coming.” Osu joked with his stoic face.

Osu stared at the man and closed his eyes before nodding twice. “Do you work with students Kyoshi-san? You are good at offering encouragement, though most teachers I know don’t smoke… Or at least they don’t it where we can see them typically. They think it is a bad influence.” Osu took a sip of his tea to punctuate his sentence.

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

"One week, Osu-kun? One week and you've figured out this much? If I wasn't impressed before, I sure as hell am now. Don't sell yourself short, bud. The fact that you can control your bloodline at such a young age is amazing. The Chigokai are a proud people, ones who don't care what your last name is, especially since you are male. From my few interactions with them, I am sure that they would not push a young man like you away. You have some real potential." Kyōshi nodded, as if agreeing with himself. As he listened to the boy explain his interactions with the prestigious Kitsune-sama, he laughed. The boy has seemed to give a false sense of confidence to the sennin. When the boy raised his arm and showed him the lance, Kyōshi nodded. Apparently this boy likes to get up close and personal, then. It was pretty characteristic of a Chigokai to favor bloodletting weapons, so his reasoning was logical. After a brief pause, Osuteno asked the ex-ANBU if he worked with students, and then criticized him on his smoking. Kyōshi let out a chuckle and took another drag of his cigarette. He looked at the boy in the eyes. "Well, I haven't taught before. I am kind of.. between careers as of now. I recently left the ANBU after Raikage Shin died. There was just too much on my mind after that. Too many questions. The ANBU is very taxing on one's mind, and actually why I developed smoking. So as of now, I am just a jounin. Nothing special. Though, I have been enjoying this interaction more than I predicted. No offense, once again. Now, to change the subject back to your future, if you feel confident in her presence and learning from her, maybe it wouldn't be that bad to let her 'have' you. If it brings out your passion or drive, it's worth looking into. And I hope that you didn't think I meant you could only do ranged weapons, Osu-kun. I was just commenting on your tendency toward them. It implies something that is kind of important to your life as a shinobi: you are more comfortable at a distance. This means you would be more apt to using ninjutsu or genjutsu rather than taijutsu. And you're right, ranged weapons can definitely inflict some bleeding. But in the world of shinboi, not seeing you coming is a clear advantage." Kyoshi returned dry humor with the same rhetoric. He then paused briefly, long enough for him to gather his thoughts and take yet another drag of his cigarette. "I'm glad you think I'm good at encouragement. I don't actually have experience in these sorts of interactions, ANBU is much more direct and emotionless. You have orders, and that's that, really." Kyoshi smiled at the boy, and continued on. "And I guess I'm not most teachers then. I'm who I am, with my vices and flaws, such as smoking. I know it's not good for me, but it relieves the stress and it helps me clear my mind. I definitely don't want you to start, but I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. Let's try something out. What, do you feel, are your strong points and your weak points as a shinobi? Or hell, life in general. It's a pretty straightforward exercise; simply what are you good at and what do you feel like you should work on? Shinobi are well-rounded and should be able to adapt to any situation, so knowing yourself is extremely important. For example, I am extremely observant, but I am not the best hand-to-hand fighter."

 

[Osuteno]

Osu began to think hard about what exactly were his strengths and weaknesses. He probably should start with the weaknesses. He knew he had plenty of those. “My genjutsu is terrible, I only know a couple and I am only any good with one. I am only really getting the hang of water jutsu. I know a couple wind but everything else just seems out of reach. I am unable to make my face move hardly at all, so I can’t show people when I am really happy or upset. Even before I knew I was a Chigokai I was weirdly obsessed with blood and even though it makes more sense now that doesn’t change the fact I have had these dark feelings where I feel like the blood I hear running through the veins of those around me is mine. Sometimes when there is a lot of blood around I lose it and my bloodlust gets out of hand. The reason I wanted to become a healer in the first place…”

Osuteno paused for a moment, “I once happened across two ninja who were sparing and it got a bit out of hand. One of them threw a few kunai and cut the other pretty bad. The sound of his blood dripping off a kunai embedded in a tree near me and that of the blood running out of his arm was almost too much for me. I took the kunai and just felt the blood in my hands, and I wanted more. I thought how dare he spill blood that belonged to me.” Osu shuddered. “I took the kunai, walked over to him and tried to bandage him up to stop the bleeding so I wouldn’t want to hurt him.” This was only the second time Osu had ever told this story and it was hardly any easier on him. His eyes were still bloodshot, and he had noticed every time that more and more of the whites of his eyes were gone forever to be replaced by the blood red.

He shook his head and continued once more, “I get too violent when I fight, which does not sound right I know but some piece of me cuts loose and tries to get out of hand and reckless. That is part of the reason that things like genjutsu or puppets just don’t work well for me, I can manage a little genjutsu to start with but I eventually just get out of hand.” He was slowly gaining more control over his urges now that he knew where they stemmed from, but his progress was not as quick as he would have liked it. “I suppose I am better with ninjutsu especially healing jutsu than most my age. That and my blood jutsu and weapons are tougher than their equivalents but that is not because of me but my ancestry. The only thing I have that I can credit myself for is that I have good aim with ranged weapons but I have practiced for hours every day to get that far. I am not very socially adept because I train or study around 10 hours every day And I typically only meet people during my lunch breaks, while training or here.” Osu took a long sip from his tea. He hardly ever spoke this much.

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

The man observed the boy intently as he spoke. He watched the mannerisms of the boy, giving him further insight into his psyche. Generally a cold and calculating person, Kyōshi found himself oddly fond of helping this boy realize himself. Kyōshi watched as the boy began to list his weaknesses. It was very typical that a person list more weaknesses than strengths, however the ratio was astounding to the jounin. However, this shows that the boy thinks about improvement, which is never a bad idea, even for a high-ranking shinobi. Osuteno avoided eye contact and looked up, pausing frequently. To Kyōshi, this showed deep thought and actual analysis. The boy was taking this seriously, meaning Kyōshi was actually teaching him something. The ex-ANBU cracked a slight smile, but immediately went deadpan again. He took a drag from his cigarette, bringing it to an ashen state. He put it out on the rock beside him, and pulled a new one from his pack. Showing emotion was something he didn't do frequently. Emotions were a foreign concept to him, and something he had to get reaccustomed to. Connecting with this youth was therapeutic for him, and hopefully the boy would benefit as well.

The boy paused, showing hesitation. Kyōshi noticed a slight shift in demeanor when he began to explain his bloodlust with an anecdote. Kyōshi's face showed no shift when Osu-kun described the bloody scene. He had heard worse, and seen much worse. However, it did allow Kyōshi into the boy's head a little. He just nodded and listened to the boy continue, watching the boy struggle through his memory. Kyōshi felt it was important to face your demons alone, and also saw Osu's current identity crisis as an obstacle for him to overcome and grow from. Such obstacles were good in Kyōshi's mind, and he saw his current situation as a demon of his own. But at the end of his self-assessment, Osuteno had only named two strengths that he had. Kyōshi looked at the boy, and watched him take a sip of tea. Does he not see the potential that Kyōshi sees? He stared at the youth for a while, not saying anything.

After an unnerving amount of time, Kyōshi broke his gaze and looked toward the center of the pool. He took his new cigarette, currently dangling from his mouth, and lit it, breathing in the toxic fumes and exhaling them towards the clouds. He turned back to the boy. "Osu-kun, skills will develop over time. Genjutsu and ninjutsu are mere incarnations of chakra, and once you learn to control it, they will follow suit. An ability to not show emotion is also highly valued in the dangerous life of shinobi. In the ANBU, they taught us to remove all emotion. It makes things easier. A poker face is not a disability. So what if your face can't move? It makes it harder for your enemies. Your bloodlust is something I see as an obstacle for you. Obstacles help you grow. Once you tame that side of you, you will become an excellent medical shinobi. Though, I would handle it before entering the Medical Branch, since you will be seeing a lot of other people's blood." Even through his joke, Kyōshi remained deadpan. "I am glad you shared that story. What I got from it was not your bloodlust or possessive feelings toward blood, but your willpower to cast those thoughts aside and help the shinobi in any way you can. As I said, an excellent trait to have for a medical shinboi, especially one in the field. Your violence will subside with your bloodlust, and give rise to your ninjutsu and genjutsu. And you can credit yourself to more than just good aim or healing jutsu. You're very self-critical, and can easily identify what you need to improve, a skill that arrogant shinobi lack. You have excellent willpower, and the ability to fight urges that naturally run in your blood. Most people I know give into those ideas and prolong them, not see them as a problem and try to fix them. You aren't as bad as you think, little man. Can you walk on water yet?" Though his face wouldn't show it, Kyōshi was enjoying talking to the boy. It let him get his mind off of his own thoughts.

 

[Osuteno]

Osuteno really did not know what to say about Kyoshi's assessment. While Osu could not really disagree with what Kyoshi had said, he also thought that his faults might have been painted in too positive a light. Osu inwardly sighed as the assessment went on, becoming slightly embarrassed with the man's assessment of his character. It was all too positive and Osu just did not have the self-confidence but to think the man was just misinterpreting just how uninspiring an individual Osu was.

Osu began to nod when he was asked if he could walk on water yet, but then decided to shake his head "Almost, but not consistently. If I am walking I am usually fine but if I am running I sometimes mess up and slip in. That and I have trouble getting on top of the water when I am already in it. Osu had recently begun the exercise after getting the tree climbing step down and was making decent enough progress, but had a lot of work to go into it still. Thinking a demonstration was in order, Osu placed his hands on top of the water and started to lift himself to where he could get his feet on top. His hands were doing their best to slip around and he was trying to get a good grip. After a few seconds he managed to get his feet on top, but it was a rather weak display altogether. "It was rather sad to watch wasn't it?" Osu sighed.He sat back down on top of the water and finished off his cup of tea.

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

It appeared that the boy had a low self esteem. When Kyōshi's analysis had been made, and words of (what he perceived as) encouragement were spoken, the boy looked away and his cheeks flushed slightly. It was apparent that he was not fond of being under the spotlight, or in this case, under Kyōshi's fine-toothed analytical comb. He was about to address the embarassment, but stopped himself from speaking. He decided the best course of action would be to not make a point out of his shy behavior. He simply took another drag of his cigarette and breathed out the fumes. This relaxation method was turning out to be one of Kyōshi's favorites, aside from drinking of course.

The boy demonstrated his chakra control for Kyōshi by standing on the water. He had a hard time getting out from the water, but successfully stood after a while. The boy sighed and said words of self-deprivation, and sat on the water. Kyōshi's eyebrow raised at this. He watched the boy sip some tea, finishing the drink, before he cleared his throat. "Yeah. That general display was weak. But this, this is not weak. You're passively sitting on water. That requires a larger surface area of chakra than standing, and more control to keep the distribution even over that wider area. As you would know from your tree exercises, distribution is one of the harder aspects of control. Too little, you fall off the tree, dangerous. Too much, you fly off at high speeds, probably more dangerous. Just right, you climb the tree with ease. Same rules apply here. It seems to me that you lack in actively controlling your chakra, but excel when you don't think about it. Ironic, don't you think?" Kyōshi took a sip of his tea, as he was getting dehydrated from the heat. The sweat loss was making him thirsty.

 

[Osuteno]

It hadn't occurred to Osuteno that he was sitting on the water. That simple thought almost caused him to fall under the water but he calmly forced himself to stop thinking about it. "Act the same as if you were on the ground Osuteno." Osu thought to himself. And he did he laid down on his back while still on top of the water. He was not trying to actively control the chakra flow anymore. He simply started thinking of the water as solid ground. Then he stopped even thinking about that. He rolled sideways until he was on his back again then flipped onto his feet. "I wonder what would happen if I thought of the surface as liquid again," Osu mused shortly before falling under the water.

Seconds later his head popped out of the water gasping for air completely surprised from falling in. He went to the side and started coughing outside of the water and refilled his tea after he recovered. He sat back down where he originally sat and closed his eyes while he drank his tea. His face was still emotionless but one of his eyebrows was raised a bit and he made a long humming sound as he drank giving the impression he was thinking. Osu lowered his tea before nodding twice and opening his eyes. His head turned towards the man and tilted his head a bit to the side. "Do you think like when I lose myself, this might be a product of instinct?"​

[MFT WC: 253}

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

Another drag from his cigarette. The man couldn't (or wouldn't) help himself. With the realization of Kyōshi's last statement, Osu-kun seemed to understand a little bit more about chakra control. He watched as the boy wobbled a little when the metaphorical light bulb clicked on. Regaining his stability, the boy slowly lowered himself into a supine position, testing the new concept. The jounin stayed submerged, watching the boy experiment with the chakra, rolling around on water and eventually getting back to his feet. That was when he messed up. By asking the question, he had replanted the thought of standing on water in his brain. Kyōshi emitted a slight chuckle as the student promptly slipped completely underwater, shinobi humor that never seems to get old.

As the boy regained his wits and poured himself a new glass, Kyōshi observed. It seemed as his mood was shifting to a slightly more inquisitive state. Kyōshi nodded in affirmation when the boy equated his instincts to chakra control. "I think it is very much like that, Osu-kun. If you don't think about this being a liquid, it becomes easier to stand on. You're still using chakra of course, but the imagery of the ground being solid is a great way to learn. You don't think about walking on land, do you? Just apply that here, it should make it easier. Shinobi, at least from my experience, subconsciously distribute chakra in all sorts of fashions, and this is one of the more important ones. We can't jump from tree to tree simply on strength alone." Kyōshi flashed a smile past his cigarette. He was getting a little too hot, but needed to figure a way out of the springs. Standing up would be illegal, as he is naked and a child is present. He looked at the boy. "Hold your breath, also cover your tea." Soon after, Kyōshi made a ram handseal, took a big drag of his cigarette, and gathered chakra. All at once, Kyōshi exhaled, covering the springs in a thick cloud of smoke. Under the smokescreen, he hopped up and stood on the water, quickly wrapping his towel around his waist. While remaining on the water, he dispelled his smoke screen, leaving no sign of the toxic fumes in the air. He picked up his teacup and took a final sip. "You're good now, just needed to get out of the water." Kyōshi pulled the remnants of his cigarette from his mouth and ashed it, leaving it next to his other one for now. He shook his head. "That's the downside to that jutsu.. Uses almost my entire cigarette.." Kyōshi picked a new cigarette from his pack. His mouth felt naked without the small death stick dangling from his mouth.

He stood up and stretched, being sure to not expose himself to the boy. He walked over to the teapot and looked at it. Crouching down next to it and turning to the boy, he raised his brows. "Can I have another?"

 

[Osuteno]

Osu heard Kyoshi say to cover his tea and hold his breath. Worried that something might ruin his tea he took it down in a gulp and slipped under the water and watched a smokescreen appear. Osu hid under the water until he saw the smoke dissipate and came up a few seconds after that to see the man out of the water having wrapped his towel around himself. Osu had know idea what possessed the man to make sucha display just getting out of the water but decided tit would be rude to ask. He came over to where Osu was and asked if he could have more tea. Osu being the person he is simply nodded and refreshed the man's cup because that was just good manners.

After a while Osu simply stared at the man and said, "Did you not spend much time with other villagers while you were in ANBU? I don't mean to pry and it is probably classified, but you just seem like you are not all that... comfortable. Particularly with all that chain smoking, you must be quite stressed." The eight year old's blood red eyes met Kyoshi's looking altogether dead and emotionless but his voice at least carried his concern. He did not hold any feelings of trying to figure the man out, he simply heard the man's unusual blood flow in his veins, and was concerned for his health. He unconsciously touched his ears as he listened to the man's blood.​

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

Kyōshi was a little caught offguard by the boy's next question. Apparenty, the ex-ANBU gave off vibes that he was a bit solitary, a loner. Vibes that are completely accurate. Kyōshi tried to do his best to suppress these behaviors, but one cannot simply deny their inner self. The boy was observant, and also picked up on the frequency of his smoking and related it to his mental status. Kyōshi nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah. I was a member of the Raikage's guard, we generally are pretty separate from the rest of the village for security reasons. We still did missions and things, but very seldom. And yes, I have been pretty... preoccupied by my own thoughts and have used my smoking to help calm myself. Good eye, Osu-kun. I am not a comfortable person, and always keep an eye out for potential events. Living like this pretty much forces someone to be uncomfortable. You could say I'm not quite capable of being comfortable yet. Though, this is something I am trying to work on." It had seemed that the tables had begun to turn. Where Kyōshi was always a loner, but his time in the ANBU had exaggerated this flaw of his, and capitalized on it. Kyōshi looked at his cigarette, pondering the reasons he smoked. Everyone had their vices.

 

[Osuteno]

Osu simply nodded after Kyoshi. He could understand feeling the need to work on social capabilities. He looked up at the moon and figured out the time as he gathered the tea set together. It was pretty late. He needed to wake up a bit earlier the next day than usual. He was planning on camping out and training for a few days and he needed to go shopping for provisions and equipment without it cutting into his training time. Setting the tray to the side he gave a bow towards Kyoshi. "My bedtime is approaching so I need to be getting home soon. Thank you for your comments and pointers tonight, they have been very beneficial to me." Osu gave the man his best attempt at a smile, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "I will do my best to apply what you have relieved to me tonight in my training. I look forward to our next encounter." Osu picked the tray back up and waited briefly for any parting words before making his way to the changing room and heading home.

OOC: TLUS

 

[Akuro Kunashi]

Kyōshi finished off his tea quickly as he watched the boy gather his tea set. Handing him the cup, his eyes followed Osu's as the gazed at the moon. It had gotten late, and Kyōshi had spent a significant portion of his night here. But, he made no motions indicating movement.Though it was soon to be Osuteno's bedtime, the 29-year old had no such time constraints. In fact with his absence to the ANBU, he found himself with much more time. The jounin nodded at the boy, recognizing his intent to leave. Kyōshi gave the boy a small wave and sat down on some rocks in the spring, dangling his feet into the hot water as the boy packed his things. "It was nice meeting you, Osu-kun. Thanks for talking with me for such a time. Hopefully I'll see you around again." Kyōshi flashed the boy a quick grin, and then leaned back on his arm, and took a drag from his cigarette. This was an odd night for him. Different, but good.

Topic Left, thanks Osu