Genjutsu 101 Class 2 [Lesson - Hayato]

[Kamaru]

Stopping as if hearing something the young lady paused in her work on the painting she had been working on in front of her and put down the brush. Unfolding her sleeve her arm recessed into the length of the fabric. ”Prepare the room please. It seems we have at least one student.” she commented. A voice acknowledged her respectfully
before they left her to prepare the room. She had grown lonely waiting patiently for someone to come take a class. Bored was apt to the statement she thought as she moved to the small low table. Her personal area and uncompleted painting remained hidden as she sat and waited for the new arrival as her assistant busied themselves with prepping the room.

A slight inhale let her realize the tea was ready. Porcelain white fingers slide out from the folds of her sleeve to pour a cup of tea into a small tea cup with cranes depicted on it. Several darker cups in shades of grey to black rested on a small tray on the table. What would the theme of today’s class be she mused, she’d have hear answer before the wayward student got to the class.

To anyone entering the room they would see furniture odd for a classroom, the low table and setting of the room with tatami mats would suggest more of a tea sitting room then a place for strictly learning. A lady, assumedly, waited by the table dressed in a kimono sipping tea. Her face was mostly conceals behind a black veil, her black hair in an ornate bun matching her veil and kimono.

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Seeing the flickers of blue fire, Hayato began to follow, assuming that this was the invitation and guide to his Genjutsu 101 class. Upon arrival, he found himself on the threshold of a room that, more than anything, brought to mind a receiving room that should have an adjoining study or office, occupied by a lone woman. He focused on the woman, noting details, she was wearing an elegant kimono and sipping tea from a delicately patterned cup, also noting the other cups on the tray before her. The trouble was that he could see nothing of her facial features through the dark veil she wore. He paused before entering the room, giving the woman a polite bow of the head. "Forgive me if I'm interrupting, but is this the Genjutsu 101 class?", he asked, waiting for an answer and/or invitation before moving to join her.

 

[Kamaru]

The lady nodded and placed her cup down. ”It is a class on the basics of Genjutsu as I see it. You have a charm so at least you’re being lead to believe it is aren’t you. Although you might see it differently… Please come in.” she explained before beckoning him closer motioning to seat cushions around the table. There were a few in a line mostly across the table from here, one to her left by the tea set and one to her right.

If the boy choose to enter the class he’d hear the door slide close behind him. It was odd for a classroom to have a sliding door, and upon entering there seemed to be similar ones on the other three walls of the classroom if you could call it that. He’d feel as if there was a pressure behind him as well though as if his shadow was pulling in closer to him. Regardless of if the boy took a seat or not once he was in the room she would ask him a simple question, ”So what do you know of Genjutsu already young one? If you know very little in the subject…” she continued.

”Okinu-sensei…enlighten you.” she seemed to whisper from next to him by the entrance .

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Hayato stood in the doorway, regarding the woman with a calm, neutral expression. This was the academy after all, and she was a teacher, moreover, she was a teacher that could teach him some very useful skills, and upon whose good will his pass or failure of the class would depend. Looking in, he noticed that there was a matching sliding door on each wall, and he wondered what lay beyond them. He decided to enter, and as he did, he felt a gentle pressure against his back, and the door closed behind him closed with an audible rattle. He wondered idly if it had been made to happen through ninjutsu, a simple mechanical trick, or if he had simply been made to think it had happened through genjutsu. He was rather enjoying himself! As it was just the two of them for the time being, he selected a seat directly across from her. He waited for the inevitable question, and she did not disappoint. She asked him how proficient he was with genjutsu, trailing off slightly at the end, and his reply had already begun to form on his lips, when her voice - from right next to his head - murmured the last words of her sentence. He tried not to flinch away from the phantom voice, but he couldn't entirely suppress wincing a little with the eye on that side of his head. 'It isn't real, it's just an illusion, she's sitting right in front of me.', then he thought about it, 'or she really is next to me and has been this whole time'. He debated using his new ability, but he wanted to keep it secret, 'What good is a secret trump card if i let everyone know i have it by using it all the time!' he thought. If what he read was true, he thought that he could unravel the illusion through it's use, but he wasn't sure. In the end, he decided to answer the question simply. "I know a little genjutsu and am familiar with some of the skills involved," he admitted, "though even among my peers here at the academy, my knowledge is still lacking. Besides, one always has room for improvement! Just treat me like i know nothing on the subject!"


[WC: 382]

 

[Kamaru]

The lady regarded him putting down her tea and watched as he sat. Suddenly placing her elbow on the table and resting her chin on the open palm of her hand she simply stared at him. She frowned slightly and cocked her head to the side as if beckoning something, the pressure behind him seemed to subside as a figure of a man ‘ popped’ into view behind and off to her left. It was unsure to Hayato if he had been hiding there or if he just hadn’t noticed him until just now. Hayato was almost certain though that the woman had muttered students now a days weren’t as fun to tease.

”Genjutsu in theory mostly boils down to the application of chakra. Instead of using various amounts of chakra to strengthen, toughen, heighten, or speed up one’s body to perform Taijutsu or manipulation of chakra to form Ninjutsu through a manifestation Genjutsu attacks the target’s senses and mind directly. Invading and taking control of people. The flawless the attack, the less like the victim knows what has happened.“ she began going into a lecture mode immediately mostly just explaining things before pointing at the boy.

”You know you’ve been hit by a Taijutsu attack or Ninjutsu since you feel pain usually afterwards. This is usually an immediate. Knowing you’re under Genjutsu though is more complicated. While you are under a Genjutsu you may or may not know or discover it due to small and/or sutle differences around you. Plus understanding it though is an entirely different situation. You might 'think you know' and this in and of itself can be a trap that can prove dangerous. Also what if Genjutsu is combined with something else? A hidden opponent so you don’t know where to attack? Or an obvious seen opponent that is really an illusion standing on a hidden pit? Exceptional usage of Genjutsu is not only the application of the art itself but the secrets bound behind, though, and around it to further confuse and misdirect your target.” she continued putting two fingers on the table and moving it.

Hayato would blink finding himself sitting next to the instructor off to her left. The man behind them was a bit obvious to him even without being able to seem him.

”Now if I use my chakra to attack your senses and mind and steal their control from you how do you try and take it back once you realize you’re under a ‘spell’” she would lean in and ask before running her fingers across the table in the opposite direction.

Hayato found himself sitting directly across from her again, her head cocked to the side waiting for a response a slight smile on her lips.

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Hayato leaned forward and his elbow thumped lightly as he set it on the table, resting his chin in his palm as he thought over the woman's words. 'She said that with ninjutsu and taijutsu, the target feels the effect immediately upon being hit by the technique, but because of genjutsu's nature, unless it's over done and obvious, done sloppily or unskillfully, or it is intended to be noticeable, the target would not know if they had been placed within a genjutsu illusion.' In a way, it reminded him of the brain itself, managing the task of sensing injuries for the rest of the body, while at the same time being unable to sense injuries to itself. 'And she was right, while in an illusion, the subject would be at great risk of injury from unperceived environmental dangers, for example, if an enemy wished, he could make the subject believe that they were heading down a long road, but in truth, allow them to walk off a cliff and never notice until they hit.'

He shuddered at the thought of falling, totally unaware of death racing up to meet him as he fell. Abruptly, his perspective flickered, now he was facing the space where he thought he'd been sitting and the woman was immediately to his right. That time he couldn't repress his reaction, he all but jumped out of his skin, spinning to face her, trying to keep the surprise and chagrin off his face. As he did, he glimpsed a shadowy figure. Assuming he would be revealed at the appropriate moment in the lesson, Hayato gave her a slight bow in acknowledgement, and a sheepish smile as he settled to continue listening to her explanation of genjutsu.

She then asked him, if she were to ensnare his mind with an illusion and he were to become aware of the fact, how he would break free. After being asked the question, his perspective snapped back to it's former position of sitting across from her. This time his reaction was reduced to a sharp intake of breath and a widening of the eyes. Calming swiftly, he thought to himself, 'Well, i haven't really had a chance to test this, but here goes nothing!' Feeling that this was the most appropriate response to her question, he formed the hand seal for the ninjutsu he had just learned, "Cancel", and without much in the way of hope, tried to dispel the illusion cast over him.

[WC: 413]

[OoC: sorry for the delay, been a little busy]

 

[Kamaru]

[OoC: No worries]
As the jutsu took affect the young boy pushed out his chakra purging his senses and mind of invading chakra. The instructor smiled her michevious quite smile still looking like a predator of sorts eyeing prey. He looked around and noticed the room. Well the room was the same, the teacher looked the same, the man in black was still in black. He was more noticeable though. It mostly looked the same. In the silence he would have thought it out trying to piece together what had happened, until he realized the background noise of what sounded like gears from below them. The young woman held up four fingers.

”Traps when using Genjutsu are sometimes not just illusions.” she stated slashing down with her fingers again pressing something on the table unseen on the smooth surface, he did hear an audible click and felt his body moving on the area of the ground counter clockwise around the table towards the instructor. It wasn’t in the blink of an eye such as last time but it was still quite fast. A mechanical device that moved the platforms the seat cushions were on. Adjusting the lower part of her robes over her legs fully be smiled as he approached from around the table the trick partially revealed. ”Shinobi don’t have the luxury sometimes to set up a fun house of tricks and traps. Some enemies do.” she began holding up four fingers again, ”Observation, Creativity, Ingenuity, and Deception, that’s how to place a Genjutsu, the skill alone is never enough usually. While it is powerful in situations and more deadly than either Taijutsu and Ninjutsu at times it still needs the user to think. It still needs a setup, otherwise it’s just another blocked punch, a slow kick, or ninjutsu matched by conflicting element. It could be an attack or a trap, or a setup for something else.” she continued putting an elbow on the table, ”So which parts were real and which parts were illusions from the first time around?” she asked pressing an unseen button on the smooth surface of the wooden table.

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Hayato's chakra surged out, presumably unraveling the illusion. The man in black was more visible but that was about it. He puzzled over it for a few seconds, assuming that it had only partially taken effect, when the woman demonstrated how his displacement had been, for the most part, achieved through mechanical trickery. She activated a hidden mechanism and rotated his seat, only more slowly. He could hear the gears at work beneath the table that made this trick possible. His eyes widened as he understood what had happened and he burst out laughing, delighted by the cleverness of it. What he gathered from her following words, was that the best illusions were often only partially achieved through genjutsu, that it was best used to distract or disguise what the real trickery was. She then asked him to identify which aspects of the illusion had been genjutsu. Thinking over the whole of the lesson, he reviewed everything he could recall happening as well as everything he knew about genjutsu. Speaking slowly, he began outline his theory on what had happened, watching her for her reactions.

"I assume the pressure that i felt compelling me into the room was the result of genjutsu. As was the voice i heard as i entered the room." He spoke slowly, thinking carefully before speaking. "The man in black( * OoC: fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.) was being concealed from me, though i would bet it was deliberately done a little half-heartedly so that i would glimpse him, for the purpose of reinforcing the notion that there was genjutsu at work." He paused thinking for a moment, "The sound of the gears was hidden from me as well, and my perceptions might have been altered in such a way as to make it less likely that i would notice the rotation of my seat until it had already occurred." He thought some more, longer this time. "That's everything i can think of, what did i miss?" He stared at the woman, openly curious and obviously enjoying himself, though, his expression was a tad rueful.

[WC: 331]

[OoC - * - it's a quote from the first novel in the "Dark Tower" series by Stephen King, titled "The Gunslinger"]

 

[Kamaru]

The lady nodded as he pieced things together. He was observant which was key when being attacked and attacking regardless of which shinobi art one used. ”That’s about it.” she stated nodding a bit. She began going back into a lecture it seemed. ”Genjutsu isn’t just used to distract and confuse one’s opponent, it’s not just adversarial, a user can could invade their own body and mind as well to boost one’s abilities through augmentation or that of another if working in sync with other shinobi or group. It can be used in support of one's self or their team as well as breakdown possibly the opponents tactics at times.” she added.

Motioning around the room with an arm hidden within her robed sleeve she continued. ”Now, if you had to wait in this room and mask your presence to surprise someone who entered what would you do in general terms?” she asked, ”You’re free to inspect the area a bit if you like before you answer.” she added before a hand and forearm extended out from her sleeve to grasp her cup of tea and sipped it quietly while she waited.

The room has a door on each of the four walls. Decorative furniture is mostly void from the room besides two large cabinet on the wall to your right. Either could fit a small person. A large vase is placed on the ground next to the door behind the instructor and assistant. She was curious what the boy would do to hide in a room with very few places to hide.

(OoC: My apologies on the wait)

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Hayato was pleased that he'd gotten it all right, and listened attentively as she began expanding on the use of genjutsu, not as a means to disrupt your enemies, but as a way to enhance yourself and your allies. He had never considered that notion before, and he quickly realized that it was well worth consideration. She eyed him and gestured to the room at large and asked him how he would hide in such a place for the purpose of hiding from and surprising any who entered.

He examined the room, and the only word that fit was sparse. A couple cabinets, the table, a vase next to one of the doors, there just wasn't much in the room. He thought about it some. "I could transform into a vase to match the one next to the door, but on the other side, or a decorative mat for the table. Or i could transform into any innocuous object that wouldn't seem out of place in such a room." He thought some more, "But no matter where i hid, in such a room, even a cursory inspection would reveal me. Or i could attempt to gain access to the spaces that must be beneath this room to house the machinery. Or i could hide and wait for someone to enter and hit them with a genjutsu to prevent them from seeing me before they notice me. That's all i got for now haha!" He focused more intently on his instructor, "What would you suggest i do, and what would you do personally?". He waited for her to answer.

[WC: 268]

 

[Kamaru]

She watched as he took in the information on the other usage of Genjutsu, beneficial versus detrimental. As she gave him another thinking exercise he pieced through his thought process as he walked through what he thought he could do and she nodded. ”Mmm well most of those would work for someone of your size and experience. Paying attention to the details of the room would be important, the smell, the look, the sound, even say not having a slight layer of dust on the item could give you away though hiding in plain sight. All of this is fine if you’re looking to be caught or making it seem you are in one place while hiding in another though. I wouldn’t take the time to get into the machinery and hide though unless you are part contortionist. Getting stuck up in it’s gears would probably not be the way to be found out.” she would comment leaning back. ”As for me… well I’d probably go with something simple, when the door opened have an illusion triggered for another door to look like it was slamming shut quickly and I’d mimic the shape of a wall scroll close to them of a woman warrior or statue.” she commented, the fact she thought that was simple seemed abit much and spoke to her mental thought process since it meant using several smaller things and having them all succeeding to pull it off, which in truth didn’t seem simple. ”Granted transforming into a servant in the house and looking surprised and pointing to another door would work if you wanted to readily attack them as well I guess.” she added thinking with a shrug. ”What would you do if you came into the room looking for someone and you were on the other side of the situation? Where would you look first?” she continued.

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Focusing on his instructor, Hayato listened to what she had to say. He began to mentally add stuff in to his mental plans of attack and stealth. Covering the senses was a more basic notion that he'd already had fixed in his thoughts, but he hadn't really considered the idea that others wouldn't think of such things. He couldn't help a slight smile over the mental image of getting tied up in the gear works and getting squashed. Hayato considered the question, thinking about it from a few angles. "Well, it depends on how thoroughly I would be sweeping the room, if i would give it a cursory once over and move on to the next room, or if I would be searching the room down to the smallest detail. If I were just quickly passing through, I would check the cabinets, and beneath the table while listening for movement behind the other doors. And if i felt uneasy, I would use cancel just in case. If I were going to give the room a more complete search, I would check the same places, though I would also look for inconsistencies, much as you described them, I would examine any objects that did not look entirely natural to the room and attempt to discern there authenticity. As for the objects looking more like they belonged there, I would check to see if they not only went with the room's decor, I would look to see if they had flaws in the finer details, things like dust levels matching the rest of the room, or if they carried a foreign smell, look for anything that doesn't add up."

[WC: 277]

 

[Kamaru]

She explained things to him before asking him another question of what to do in the opposite role. As she listened quietly and nodded she thought it odd when he realized the dangers of being stuck in gears apart from being comical in part but maybe that was part of the plan to guise off incompetence using a clone to be shredded. As she listened to explaination what he would do to search the room he head moved slightly from one side to the other piecing it together as she looked around with his thoughts coming out in his verbal answer. His catch all answer at first elaborated on what he really meant and she in turn offered up more insight as the instructor.

”It’s really a tricky question in truth, take to long and you’re liable to give someone more time to escape if it was a distraction or to setup an ambush in another area. Genjutsu is also about the psychological battle that one puts on their opponent. Sometimes it is to trip them up for another technique or trap, Others is just to seed doubt. Such as not have someone under a Genjutsu you want until it is known they think they’re safe. It’s that mental collision of doubt or possible doubt versus trusting in one’s gut that plays with the minds and the very life of some shinobi when Genjutsu is involved. Granted this is taking into account other underhanded tricks may or may not be used. Besides illusions can cause just as much chaos and fear and damage as reality in some situations.” she would state simply pouring another cup of tea.

”Besides doubt or getting a specific idea planted in someone’s mind what makes Genjutsu so dangerous to be attacked by from your point of view? And which sense is the most frightening you think to steal?” she would add staring intently into his eyes interested in his response.

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Hayato nodded, listening to his instructor. He liked what he thought she was saying, that in a genjutsu fight, it's not just about mastering a bunch of jutsus and throwing them at your foe. You had to out-think your opponent, to guess what they would do in a given situation and that it was more of a battle of creativity, ingenuity, and insight into your opponents mind.

He had to think about her questions regarding the worst aspects of being attacked by genjutsu. Choosing his words carefully, he gave his answer, "The worst part of being attacked through genjutsu, to me, seems to be the fact that if they are skilled enough, an opponent could defeat, capture, cripple, or manipulate you without you ever being the wiser, if it's done smoothly enough." He paused to take a breath, letting it out in a long, gusty sigh. "As for which sense would be worst to loose, well, all of them can be used to perform devilishly tricky deceptions. That aside, the two areas of genjutsu that seem the most threatening to me are visual and will. Humans are sight oriented from birth, seeing is believing, right? As a whole, our species relies on the sense of sight the most. As for the will, if someone can erode your will, why would you continue to fight? They use it to weaken your mental defenses and fill you with doubt. Though as i say, all the senses are incredibly useful tools, and in the right hands, they can be as lethal as a blade to the heart.”

[WC: 263]

 

[Kamaru]

She listened to the boy’s opinion although his mindset seemed a little dark she could put stock in his words. They weren’t training students in the business of making rainbows and feeding rabbits. ”Not knowing in some situations panics and pulls the will to fight out of ones. Not knowing one is under a Genjutsu or not seeds the mind with doubt. It can break down a man or a team’s cohesion.” she explained. Although she was still talking in the same manner her face seemed to be dripping with the reliving of a past event as the corners of her lips curved slightly as if remembering something. Looking at Hayato she continued, ”Regardless of how good you are in Genjutsu some think that the most beneficial skill is being incredibly lucky with all variables that can go wrong between timing, environment, conditions, and the like. I would agree to some point it’s not the easiest thing to master and maintain but make no mistake it is quite deadly. No other art boasts of getting enemies to kill each other while you watch on. It is that part of Genjutsu that lends itself to a tool for psychological warfare that some learn it. Some learn it to protect themselves better some prefer to use it in their style of fighting. To some extent the will to fight is a powerful thing in a war of attrition unless it is made fragile and if fragile broken. The deception to have them think they are safe is the blind spot one attacks from in Taijutsu or the trumping element when Elemental Ninjutsu collide.“ she mused.

”Since you are the only student in the class and you seem to grasp the basics we’re mostly done what do you want to be able to do with Genjutsu specifically out of curiosity…” she suddenly asked off the cuff staring at the boy taking another sip of tea.

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

Hayato was pleased that she said he'd grasped he basics. He already had an answer, before he had taken this class he'd had an answer, he just added to it with the info he'd gained. "I want to be unseen! To move across the field of battle with impunity! To make my foes fight and kill each other and themselves down! To bolster the abilities of myself and my allies! I want to become a hunter for the Guardians, and capture our village's missing nin, or become an interrogator. Illusions will be useful in both fields."


[WC: 96]

 

[Kamaru]

The woman would listen intently to his comment and start to smirk before bursting into laughter getting the covered man in black to snap his head in her attention. Covering her mouth with a long sleeve only her pinky peeking out from its folds she apologized while wiping away a tear. ”You want a great many things it seems but I’m afraid for many of them I only have cryptic advice…” she began still chuckling slightly as she caught her breath. ”Being unseen could be a combination of skill and techniques what you prefer might vary. The easiest way to move on a battle field with impunity is sadly not being in the battle… battle regardless of size can tough us all in some way…” she began her voice trailing off. ”To have your foes fight and kill each other takes a large amount of deception, trickery, and a streak of wickedness at times, this isn’t necessarily something one does in battle though. To bolster your own abilities and your allies you really have to understand yourself and them to some extent. Being a Hunter for the Guardians or Interrogator are both fine professions. Illusions would be useful in both I’d agree. Mindgames are still the most fun though where you go.” she concluded smiling.

With a flick of her hand a marker appreared in her hand that she inspected, ”You may go… the class is done. We will see that the token is returned.” she stated adjusting her robes about her again readjusting the area covering her legs completely.

[Class Completed - Hayato Passed. Use this for reward verification (500 yen and +5 stat bonus)]

 

[Wakahisa Hayato]

He smiled and nodded along with her as she laughed, he did after all want an awful lot. Most of what she said was expected though, he couldn't rely solely on genjutsu, it was only a tool, a useful tool for certain, but just one among many. It would also take a fair amount of skill on his part to make all these things happen, but he meant to build those skills. As she dismissed him, he gave her a respectful bow, and thanked her, "Thank you for your time today. I will remember your lessons."

[topic left - Thank you ]