An Ode to the Future [Lesson]

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

| Spoken Text | Spoken Text | Spoken Text |

Currently it was unfathomable that the masked student would be able to defeat a foe of a higher caliber, merely based on rank alone created a nearly impossible task. Courage was important for one to possess, but having intelligence was far more important to utilize in such extreme situations such as these; knowing when to retreat and potentially regroup was far more ideal. Furthermore Yoshihisa’s assumptions were spot on, in fact there was not a single notion within his mind at this stage that wasn’t correct; however to take the risk was borderline insane.

“He seems keen on taking you in.” the coral hair youth would call upwards towards her captor. The males face would grow from a wicked grin to that of a look of puzzlement, “Do you think so?” he shrugs his shoulders removing his foot from upon the kunoichi. “You sure have some guts, kid.” he calls out before kneeling down to aid Keiko to her feet and allowing her to her feet. “Knowing I could end you at any moment, yet risking everything on an assumption is risky and more than likely can back fire.” he continues to explain as he steps forward with the female striding beside him with a grin, though she was a bit bruised and tattered.

“That just means he has a bit of intelligence about him.” she offers, “More along the lines of recklessness. We are fortunate he didn’t attempt to cause a cave in down here.” the blond cracks his neck. “Lesson of importance, always observe for the slightest signs.” a pause, “For instance if you had taken notice of my liquidification you would have realized lightning jutsu are ideal - instead of attempting to recklessly harm both of us in the process.” he explains before letting out a sigh, “I must play a horrendous villain.”

“You do!” a light fit of laughter followed by a light jab against the males side.

From the shadows the ANBU would arrive, masked still intact and clearly having more than a single. “Kodoma Yoshihisa, you have a lot to learn.” A quick interjection would follow suit, "He has a lot of time to learn!" she protests, "And if he wishes to, I give him a pass to take the ANBU in Training exam when he comes of age."​

<i>​

</i>

 

[Kodoma Yoshihisa]

Realization kicked in much sooner than Yoshihisa had anticipated, soon enough being left dumbstruck by this fact, one which could only imply that the most unfathomable of choices had managed to pay off in the very end by providing him with the one solution he needed. And while claiming to be triumphant in a scenario such as this was an overstatement he couldn't afford if he was going to be looking out for his own security as well as those of others in the future, for an academy student he had always tried to keep a tight grasp on the ropes. Perhaps even too tight as one could notice soon enough, because with the ascent to these heights came the descent as well, coming to the surface in the form of bright crimson streams bubbling forth from the boy's being.

"I wouldn't want to rain on your parade by including several safety measures I had taken to prevent any unnecessary casualties, but at the cost of probably being a casualty myself."

It was the harsh face of reality, where molding the chakra required to keep everyone else alive was shown to be a forceful process unlike any other there had been in his life up until now. But even then it all had come down to a huge gamble, for as Yoshihisa's body was already showing the signs of mild inner decay the various sculptures too crumbled along with their creator and it wouldn't be long before their last traces left were only to be seen as a swirling pile of debris. So too did the brittle argil breastplate soon join them in the collection of falling defenses, only to give way for a slipping Yoshihisa.

"I'll most certainly think it over.."

A meager smile playing on his face was the last sign of consciousness shown as the youngster collapsed in a fine mist of blood and clay, at least knowing that he had been given another chance was plenty of good news for one day.

 

[Tsukasa Mikasa]

Upon the initial collapse of Kodoma Yoshihisa, the academy student had been transported from the depths of the sea to the medical ward. The boy would find himself awakening to that of an infirmary bed, ivory sheets covering a majority of his form. A grand portion of the self-inflicted wounds had been attended towards and leaving behind a few dressings upon various locations upon his form.

Nearest his bedside table would he find a single letter addressed to him, in fact two!

Greetings!

Despite what the elders may say about your mock mission, I feel you did fantastic . . . minus being reckless. It is admirable that you were willing to protect the life of another so willingly despite our meeting not being that lengthy!

Unfortunately before I could give my thanks you fell flat out of exhaustion! I am not the ideal person to be writing letters as I am getting a considerable amount of aid in doing so at the moment. I would very much like to give you my personal thanks face to face if you are willing to meet with me once more.

Wishing for your speedy recovery!

- Keiko

PS: That is my actual name!

The hand writing was indeed quite shaky, but was able to be deciphered without any difficulty. The second letter containing the following.

Kodoma Yoshihisa,

Fortunately you have passed your lesson, however I regret to inform you that if I were to give you a proper grading you may have not passed. In the event you were to pass it would have been by the skin of your teeth for your reckless performance.

Needless to say there are a grand number of items I wish to aid you with and if you find yourself seeking guidance this letter will act as the required notice to take the ANBU in Training exam once you achieve the ranking of Genin.

Regardless of where your path leads you, I thank for taking an interest in our branch.

Best of luck in the future,

- Cardinal

[OOC: Lesson completed! Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to have this thread with you. In the future, if you so choose, there won't be such a time discrepancy between each one of my posts. With that in mind, Topic Left]​

<i>​

</i>

 

[Kodoma Yoshihisa]

The presence of both letters was lost to the bedridden Yoshihisa during the majority of the following days where he wasn't able to keep count of nor even became fully aware of his own presence in a conscious reality to begin with. That said, most of his waking hours were part of an ongoing struggle to return to the present, only to find this to be next to impossible with the grievous aching of his severed chakra coil system and thus making even the smallest of mental commands seem like an achievement by comparison. But despite his eyelids remaining shut and seemingly being dormant to the outside world as the days went by, it wouldn't be very long until the maws at the palms of his hands were the first to give away major signs of activity in the form of wads of clay being shaped into caterpillar-like entities, soon enough causing them to swarm the bed.

For days on end, the seemingly famished caterpillars were created for their unknown purpose in life, thus far having done nothing more than exploring their environment like their real life counterparts would probably have with the vague hopes to find themselves something to feed upon. Their journey soon enough took them outside the walls of the hospital room, spurred on by their primitive drives. With that the circle became considerably more complicated, now including the scavenging of the minuscule insectoids which operated with the same amount of dedication and temerity like their creator had shown before them, without question answering his beckoning commands as the mobile extensions of the fallen boy. Sheer resolve at this point was keeping him going, calling out to the tiny pockets of compressed chakra until there was very little left to see of Yoshihisa's body beneath the wiggling masses that would by all means be the fuel of nightmares to those unable to cope with insects, fake or no.

"Giiigigigii..!"

More than ever was the call of the mouths unnerving, as for all that it was worth it, their efforts so far only seemed to be out of concern of their own self-preservation, making it all of the sudden seem like it wouldn't be a far fetched claim to label them as anything but haughty at a point like the present. But a phenomenon similar to the one that followed raises a considerable amount more questions than it apparently answers to most, with the wound dressings slowly unwrapping to give way to what might have been an amount of life sustaining fluids in the scenarios where there was no chance of survival whatsoever. Instead the greasy liquid stirs for a moment, only to lash out with the energy of a ferocious beast making fierce attempts to feast upon the gathered clay caterpillars. Their thinning numbers spell their inevitable fate of annihilation as much as it does bring back the color to the young Shinobi's face.

The road to recovery is cut short.

[MFT]

[Topic Left]