Hostility and Sagacity [Tutor]

[Siu]

The Ancient Forest; nowhere unfamiliar for the expected arrivals, neither for the selected instructor for the day. The kunoichi would stand propped against one of the thick-trunked trees, settled under its shade on a cool day. The sunlight filtering through the high foliage reflected upon her countenance, her eyes glittering in its brilliance. Smoke wisped from the hazel-brown object nestled between her lips as she partook in her usual indulgence of tobacco.

"And here I thought it would just be a one-time thing," the older teen muttered in a light grumble. After her assignment to instruct her last student, Hirateuchi, she had figured—and hoped—that she'd be allowed to continue on with normal Main-Branch missions as per usual. However, the Academy seemed quite keen on randomly assigning her teaching positions for the new, upcoming generation these days. Honestly, it felt awkward. To teach other students? She still felt to be in the growing and development stages of shinobi-hood herself; There were a multitude of skills she still required honing in, much knowledge she still required further study and refinement in.

Today's assigned task from the Academy would also be yet another unusual request. For, it wouldn't simply be Kumogakure-bred shinobi she'd be instructing this time, yet immigrating shinobi from the Land of Fire. To claim she hadn't been interested in witnessing and comparing the techniques and mentality of Leaf-Shinobi to Cloud-Shinobi would be a lie—but so would claiming that she'd actually had a desire to teach them. The provided information, as per usual, was rather vague; even less than what she'd considered the bare minimum required to properly prepare an adequate enough class to deeply cater to the student's needs. Siu had begun to ponder whether the Academy had genuinely been so underinformed concerning those they maintained, or if they purposely kept information so vague for her for whatever reason. No matter; Regardless of her grumbling, there was no getting around her current circumstances; She still had a job to do.

Located near her and scattered throughout the forest within concentrated proximity were a number of small, wooden bases akin to cake-slice stands, all supporting a single egg atop of them. The kunoichi repositioned the cigarette between her fingers as she exhaled another plume of smoke. "I wonder what's the earliest age for retirement..." aired a musing murmur through the grey veil.

---

[Post 1/5]
[WC=394]

 

[Maikeru]

To say Maikeru was a bit grumpy as he walked towards the Ancient forest of Kumo would be a slight understatement. A bit less than a year ago he was a Chief Medical Ninja, the second highest rank he could attain save Sennin of the whole damned branch. Every day he directed dozens of medical shinobi in their day to day duties and basically ran the entirety of the hospital with little aid, himself and the Sennin being stretched pretty thin from a lack of man power. Now? Well, it wasn't exactly his ideal situation to be in.

Since he had gotten to cloud it had been training exercise after training exercise as if trying to find some fault in the teachings of leaf. Not that he could blame them mind you, there were some obvious holes in leafs education system. For example, he can't recall ever having a math class his entire time there. Which made him wonder, when exactly did he learn long division? Wait, did he actually know long division? Not that time to think about that.

Of course, even expecting the 'tutor' as it was, he wasn't exactly expecting who it was that would be teaching them. He squinted his eyes slightly as he came upon the girl, but sure enough it was Siu, the girl he had met not too long ago in this very forest. Rolling the sleeves of his long coat up to his elbows he gave her a small wave. It might have been warming up in cloud for its natural citizens, but, for the leaf refugees, it was still unforgivably cold.

"So, you're the teacher huh?" He said, raising a curious eyebrow. "I guess I was expecting a medical shinobi, but then again I think Reicheru was suppose to come here as well. So, what are we learning today teach?"

[Post 1/5]
[309 wc]

 

[Siu]

The Chuunin's reverie broken as the sound of footsteps approached, her eyes would rest upon the familiar figure; the black-flame generator she'd encountered within the very same forest not too long ago. She couldn't tell if it had just been coincidence, or if the Academy had some weird sense of humor. Probably the first—she doubted the Academy had any sense of humor.

"So you're the student, huh?" Siu would playfully mimic back, lazily straightening herself upright from the trunk, stretching her elbows back and chest forward to awaken her body from its previously lethargic state. "Really, there's no telling with these higher-ups," she'd additionally comment with a somewhat strained sigh, completing her stretch. Taking a final drag of her cigarette, she'd flick it into the dirt, snuffing it out with her boot.

"Today's lesson will be on warfare." The kunoichi's arm extended to introduce the base and egg closest to her proximity, "Using these eggs." A yellow butterfly fluttered near the gestured object, perching upon one of the forest's angelonias. "The exercise is simple; I have three eggs scattered about my side of the forest, and you have three eggs scattered about yours. I want to protect my eggs and destroy yours, and you desire to protect your eggs and destroy mine." The arm dropped back to her side. "My last student was quite clever with this exercise, so I've refined it a bit, adding some additional rules. Rule number one:" —a finger simultaneously rose—"No preserved barriers around the object; only reactive and short-lived ones. Rule two:" —her second finger rose—"No moving the base and egg; Where they are is where they stay."
The music of the woodland's various and abundant birds pleasantly echoed throughout the serene grounds as the kunoichi allowed time for the shinobi to ruminate upon all the information.

"Whenever you're ready," she'd inform. And indeed, whenever the shinobi had proven himself to be, foliage atop a nearby tree would suddenly rattle as a replica of herself came dashing from their cover, kunai in hand, headed straight for one of the Uchiha's eggs.

Tutor Startoooo!!​

​

---

[Post 2/5]
[WC=286]

 

[Maikeru]

"Alright, sounds fun to me." Maikeru said, letting his coat fall from his form to reveal the red long sleeve shirt underneath it. Rolling down the sleeves, he brought his fist up in a defensive stance, for some reason assuming this would be a one on one fight. "So, how seriously are we going? Should I- oh, clones, alright."

Focusing chakra to the optical nerves that ran from his brain towards his eyes, his blue eyes change into the famed three tomoe Sharingan of the Uchiha clan. His lips curled into a small smile as he flipped backwards in the air, a blue, spiritual looking longsword appearing in his hand as he landed in a crouched position. Sticking the blade in the ground and quickly running through hand signs, he surveyed the scene around him. Red eyes quickly flickered between the clone and the girl as lightning chakra began to form around the boy before flowing down to the blade in his hand that he had ripped from the ground once more.

"Let's go, Susano!" He yelled aloud, swiping his sword in a long strike horizontally in front of him.

As the sword went around its arc, several needles-like substances would shoot from the lightning that had begun to form behind the blade. Their targets were split, a few heading for her clone, and one directly at the one who had created them. Pushing off, Maikeru would push his momentary momentum, swinging his blade in a small arc as he got closer to the woman.

Coming to a sliding stop, he would feint a blow aimed for the girls neck, before spinning on his heels, attempting to slide around her and pass her, before letting the sword once again disappear into dust inside of his arm. Landing on the tiger sign, his Sharingan spun wildly in his pupils.

"Fire Style: Mythical Pheonix Flame jutsu!" He said as he finished the jutsu, taking in a large breath, before exhaling two aimed at two of the eggs, and one at the other.

[Chidori Control used.]
[Fireball jutsu, Mythical Pheonix Flame special action used.]

 

[Siu]

Tutor Theme:
​

And So The Exercise Intiated...

The Chuunin's pupils trailed the Uchiha's form as he launched into the air, quirking an eyebrow in response to the appearance of the ethereal-like blade; intrigued.

..Oh?

That was a new one.

Her eyes slightly narrowed to study the unexpected assault of chakra headed both for her and the replica. Tarrying, as if awaiting for the lightening-infused needles to finally close in a certain distance, her frame would, rather sluggishly, slightly tip to the side as her weight shifted in preparation. Her long figure would eventually be witnessed flinging sideways; hair flapping over her eyes as she performed the somewhat clumsy cartwheel.
Meanwhile, the kunoichi's replica, upon witnessing the projectiles, immediately swung an arm outward; releasing the metal object with a flick of the wrist near the end of its outstretch. An audible 'fwoosh' wisped through the clearing, followed by the subsequent ring of metal penetrating through air as the kunai soared to greet its intended target; the single egg settled atop its base.

SPLAT

A decoration of yellow painted the air as desecrated yolk splattered about, myriads of eggshells littering its surroundings—one down, two to go. And so the clone dispersed in a cloud of smoke, willingly receiving its assault; its purpose complete.

Siu's demeanor slightly awakened as she recognized something charging towards her. Weight shifting upon the back of her heels, her form tipped backwards to avoid the feigned neck-strike; akin to the way a ship might begin to tip over just before sinking into the ocean. The whole motion, like her cartwheel, also hadn't been the most graceful.

Two eyes darted behind her as she observed the male's arms suddenly combining into a seal.

"Hah!" emitted the single exclamation, a smile presenting itself as if amused from the shrewdness of the tactic. The kunoichi's long limbs twirled as she pivoted around, air audibly parting to make way for the launched kick; a shin aimed for the student's neck. Whether the strike connected or not, upon completion of her rotation, two hands could already be observed formed into a Ram seal. Afront one of her egg bases, sheets of white paper manifested and rapidly amassed into a dense, tall, chakra-reinforced wall. As expected when fire met paper, the barrier held for a time, smoke rapidly accumulating, before completely disintegrating into soots of black. Siu reckoned there were quite a few shinobi who would've heavily disapproved of her selected element choice, and even more whom might've made fun of her for it had they witnessed it—yet, fortunately, they weren't witnessing it. While not the most efficient of elemental oppositions against fire, the wall still managed to get the job done well enough.

Her other egg, however, had not been so fortunate...

The engulfing flame left an aftermath of burnt, smoldering wood and soil. Siu hadn't witnessed exactly where the egg had disappeared to in the midst of its assault, yet considered it safe to assume it was far past fried or even edible by now.

Familiar rattling of foliage once again echoed from the trees— a second clone. Like the first, its form darted for yet another of Maikeru's eggs, kunai in hand. Meanwhile, the Chuunin's hands reached behind her into her shinobi-pouch. Hira-shuriken settled between each knuckle, an arm swung forward to launch a set of four towards the Uchiha. Pupils tracking his movements for a bit, four more would launch from her other hand after a delay.

With another clone headed for his eggs, and an assault headed for himself, how would Maikeru respond?

Only time would tell...

---

OOC Info:
Abilities/Jutsu Used: Paper Clone, Loose-Leaf Wall

Egg Scoreboard:
Siu: 2/3 Remaining
Maikeru: 2/3 Remaining

[Post 3/5]
[WC=598]

 

[Maikeru]

The rush of combat and feel of adrenaline rushed through the body of the young Uchiha, causing his eyes to once again evolve, forming the unique pattern of his particular Mangekyo Sharingan. The familiar sensation of the kekkei genkei affecting his optics filled him once again, the entire world slowing down around him. The main weakness of the Sharingan was also it's greatest strengths sadly.

Even as he saw the girl's leg whipping towards his head there was little his body could do to deal with it. The best he could manage was bringing his rock like right arm up to block the blow, sending him sliding back an inch or two, his feet digging into the wet grass beneath him. From across the field he saw the egg cracking, every ounce of yolk exploding and falling in extreme slow motion.

From the girls hands, shuriken whistled towards the boy, leaving him little time to react. His Sharingan seemed to glow with a red light as blood ran down from his left eye. From behind that eye the strongest fire jutsu in existence would form, hellish flames that never extinguished, no matter how hard you tried. The only clan who could control this unwieldy, great power was his clan, the Uchiha.

"Amaterasu!"

Black flames hit the Shuriken in the air, causing all but one of them to disintegrate, which bit into the shoulder of the Uchiha.

The added in stress of the clone heading towards his second egg caused a voice to rile up from the back of his head, the Mark of the King on his left arm burning with scorch like intensity. The release of the King's presence on him also caused his curse mark to activate, sending black streaks across the Uchiha's body. His teeth grit as he fought the urges the voice was cramming into his brain, clenching his fist as it came back behind him.

'KILL HER!' The voice rang, controlling Maikeru's body like a puppeteer pulling the strings of a show. 'RIP HER HEART OUT! WIN WIN WIN!'

Lightning formed around his palm, crackling and sparking more and more intense with each passing second. Struggling, fighting, constricting his muscles against his own wicked impulses. Roughly he bit down on his tongue, tasting the familiar iron taste in his mouth as blood rushed into it. The fog around him cleared for a minute, and he shook his hand to disperse the cloud of lightning that had formed around it.

"Sorry for this.. but I don't lose." He said to her, his Sharingan spinning wildly in his eyes. "Tsukuyomi!"

As he felt the genjutsu release, he would turn and begin to run towards the girls final two eggs, racing against the girls paper clone. Slamming his hands together in a hand seal. He smiled softly for a second, remembering the insistence on which the boys had hailed the validity of this jutsu.

"Let me show you the pride of the leaf village," He said, sliding to a stop on the wet grass before inhaling. "Earth Style: Stone Bullet!"

Spitting four times, he sent two boulders at each of the girls remaining eggs. Sure, he was sacrificing his own eggs, but, it was what he had to do. He hadn't expected the girl to be this cunning, and stealth had never really been his top skill.

[Tsukuyomi used]
[Earth Style: Stone Bullet used]

 

[Siu]

Tutor Theme:
​

The kunoichi's brows furrowed as she studied the various changes within the Leaf shinobi's optics; Surprise coloring her features as she witnessed the sudden trickle of blood from his eyes. What was—

"Amaterasu!"

The black flames consumed her steel projectiles whole, as if they'd been nothing more than flimsy paper; completely disintegrated. Siu became intrigued to further understand the mechanics behind the handsignless-jutsu she'd previously witnessed some time ago within the very same forest from the Uchiha; now being used offensively, rather than simply for a campfire to keep others warm.
Another unfamiliar technique revealed itself, one which consumed the male's body in streaks as black as the flames he'd materialized. Compared to his previous jutsu, however, he appeared to....struggle with this one. The following violent release of lightning was preparation Siu was not wholly unfamiliar with; it reminded her of the technique she'd learned from a previous mentor of hers. She'd crouch in caution, preparing to evade when necessary, yet, it appeared the male wouldn't actually execute the jutsu for her to compare. Instead, his optics again performed their foreign workings, seemingly spinning.

Then, the unexpected occurred....

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, the Chuunin's world began to gradually darken, abnormally slowing to a crawl—and then to a complete stop. Initially, there was confusion—then, a cold touch inched up her spine.

"....I," she mused within, somewhat disquieted, "....I know this feeling."

Genjutsu.

The rapidly encroaching chakra worked to pervade the crevices of her mind, aspiring to imprison her into a familiar dark realm she desperately desired not to return to—the realm of her own mind. There had only been one other individual throughout her entire shinobi career whom held enough capability in the art of illusion to infiltrate her mind so swiftly and severely; a phenomenon which had not occurred for over four years. A surge of alarm did indeed traverse through the Chuunin, as her previously nonchalant demeanor awakened; She'd have to respond swiftly before the jutsu completely conquered her senses.

The afflicted female's bottom lip curled inward, and she bit—blood began to trickle.

In the realm of reality, the kunoichi's form, or rather, her very state, appeared to alter; appeared to change; appeared to distort. Solidity faded into transparency, though her mass appeared the same—as if she were fading into an apparition; a being of reality, yet parted of it; transcended of this realm, yet still bound to it. The burden of this phenomenon indeed enforced its weight upon the kunoichi's system, evident from a strained vein protruding from her forehead underneath a bead of sweat.
Narrowing eluding the mental struggle which elapsed far longer in her mind than in reality, her eyes darted to the side; The Uchiha hadn't left a wide window for response, did he? Indeed, the shinobi played his pieces shrewdly, and swiftly—as he should have. And like his opponent in a game of chess, the Chuunin would also respond like any formidable player would; sacrifice for sacrifice

What followed next was pure destruction—yolk and eggshells splattered and scattered all about the clearing. Stone bullets collided into and burst apart the defenseless objects upon Siu's side, leaving not the slightest glimmer of hope for survival. An airborne kunai and sweeping heel ravaged the others upon the Uchiha's side; Brutality at its finest.

---

Gradually fading back into tangibility, a hand lifted to comfort the Chuunin's forehead, veiling half her countenance as she uttered a light groan. The clone remained stationary, a hand rested upon its hip; its deed fulfilled. Like conflicting irony, the warble of birds echoed from the surrounding trees despite the mayhem accommodated by the woodland. A comforting breeze passed, cooling the kunoichi's adrenaline-heated skin.
Arm dropping back to her side, she stood upright, eyeing the Uchiha in the stillness with a curious expression, as if contemplating his very presence. A slight smirk slowly curled; "Good job," aired the single praise, seemingly pleased. Hands again motioned behind herself to draw yet another highly significant shinobi-tool from her pouch—tobacco.

"You maintained focus upon the objective, over combat towards me," she'd outline, "This states much about your mentality; It's in the right place." Tobacco sprinkled upon the thick, hazel-brown paper as the kunoichi languidly prepared her the cigarette.

"And where you recognized low opportunity, you sought exploitation elsewhere. That was one of the intentions of this class; To show where there is overfocused offense, there is also usually an exploit in defense—and vice versa, where there is overfocused defense, offense is usually lacking.... A special balance is required depending on your individual strengths and weaknesses, as well as your opponent's." The kunoichi licked the tobacco-filled paper to seal it, then nestled the finished work between her lips. A lighter lifted in one hand, while the other acted as its cover. "However" —and the spark sounded.

The substance infiltrated her lungs, comforting her with its soothing chemicals, then released before her face in a cloud of grey. The handiwork was temporarily pinched from her lips to clearly speak again. "Restraint—this you require. You wield impressive jutsu which many people here may not be familiar with, a great advantage for you. However, I imagine" —a finger gently pressed underneath the kunoichi's eye, before pointing back towards the Uchiha, gesturing the blood beneath his own—"like all powerful techniques, yours also come with a price.

"This was a goal-oriented exercise, and therefore short conflict. However, you never really know how long a battle will last, and therefore I'd recommend conserving your chakra through utilization of shinobi-tools or taijutsu more often. I lost nothing but a few shuriken in comparison to the amount of chakra you released for those black flames of yours. Though, that Genjutsu was very well utilized—and I admittingly haven't witnessed one that potent in a very, very long time.... Just remember—every movement, every jutsu—should have an even or advantageous trade compared to your opponent, whether in chakra or injury."

Finishing her lecture, the kunoichi indulged in another drag from her cigarette, allowing the words additional time to seep into the Uchiha's mentality had he been paying attention. Then, she'd present an inquiry.

"Also, Maikeru-san—can you guess why I used eggs for this exercise?"

---

OOC Info:
Abilities/Jutsu Used: Temporal Step

Egg Scoreboard:
Siu: 0/3 Remaining
Maikeru: 0/3 Remaining

[Post 4/5]
[WC=1041]

 

[Maikeru]

"If I had to guess, it was a simulation for teams in missions." He said simply in response to her question about why she had used eggs, brushing his pants off as his eyes fell back to their blue color. "You have to calculate the loss of life for your team in accordance with the damage you're going to do to the enemy. Eggs were used to show the fragility of the lives of your allies, at least if I'm correct."

He had listened to the rest of her lecture, agreeing with her at certain points. At least she had kept the talk brief unlike the teachers he had back in the leaf village, that much was a blessing in disguise. As the girl reached for her own cigarette, Maikeru pulled a small flask out of his jacket, pressing the cold metal to his lips as the girl took a drag. It was a terrible habit to pick up, but, he didn't have many other option in his mind.

"As for that Genjutsu, it's not surprising you haven't seen it. That was the Tsukuyomi, and you have to have my eyes to use it." He said, pointing lazily towards the cerulean orbs in his head. "In my right eye I hold Tsukuyomi, and in my left I hold Amaterasu, the black flames I used on your kunai. It's part of the kekkei genkei of the Uchiha clan, two of the many things these eyes can do with enough mastery over them."

Taking a few steps, he crouched down to examine the shattered remains of one of his eggs with a small grimace. This hadn't been his most successful training exercise ever, and even though he had completed the objective, he was slightly worried. He was getting reckless, much more than before, and far more willing to use the Mangekyo Sharingan on an ally. Why had he used such a dangerous Genjutsu for a practice? Shaking his head, he rose back to his feet.

"I'm surprised you managed to fight off the Tsukuyomi, though. I've never seen that before. Even when I fought a Rikudo Senin he couldn't use his visual prowess to escape from it." Taking another sip from the flask, he replaced it within his jacket, before continuing. "But, is there anything else? I'm worried that no one else showed up to this, I was sure that my... roommate was suppose to show up."

 

[Siu]

A pleased smile curled upon the kunoichi's countenance as the Uchiha answered her inquiry. Her eyes examined his own again as he gestured to and explained their mysteries. To be able to perform such powerful jutsu simply through the use of one's eyes without handsigns was a powerful ability.

"That would be it," she'd answer pithily, motioning into her back pocket to reveal a folded paper nestled between two fingers. "And ditching is not uncommon of shinobi these days." The kunoichi suddenly flicked her fingers forward, launching the folded paper towards the Uchiha with great speed.

"Today it was just eggs you lost. However, another day it could be the very lives of your allies if you're not cautious.... You're spot on in your assessment." Her tone had become more solemn as she'd aired the words. "I do not know much about your clan, but you're definitely making a strong impression for them. The Tsukuyomi of yours is powerful. Yet, like all jutsu, it still follows the rules of reality.... I stepped out of reality."

Finishing the final drag of her cigarette, the Chuunin flicked the object to the dirt, stubbing out its light with her boot. "Well done again, Maikeru. Welcome to Kumogakure.... Until next time." And with that, her clone would suddenly disperse in a cloud of smoke as her figure disappeared into the trees.

Whether he'd caught it or not, if Maikeru unfolded the sheet, he'd find a free meal coupon for a selected number of restaurants around Kumogakure to choose from.

[Post 5/5]
[WC=255]

 

[Maikeru]

Catching the piece of paper between two fingers, he raised a curious eyebrow at the girl. Listening to her words, he laughed slightly, shaking his head as she described her assessment of the Tsukuyomi. It was incorrect, but it should have been. His mind cataloged that little tidbit for later, he'd have to find a workaround for that little ability of hers. With a flick of his fingers, he moved the paper from between them to between his palm.

"I'll have to keep that in mind in case we ever fight for real, or when I need your help." He mused aloud, slowly unwrapping the paper she had flicked to him. "The Tsukuyomi is supposed to be instantaneous, that's why it's the most powerful genjutsu in the shinobi world. Most Uchiha can't even block against it, so the fact that you could is... well, miraculous is probably a bit high praise, but it's close."

Looking down at the coupon, he laughed loudly. The girl had taught him a small lesson and she bought him a meal, all Maru had ever given him was a migraine. When she got to the part of his clan, he grimaced a bit, giving her a very serious look.

"Don't lump me in with the Uchiha. I've yet to meet a good one outside of my immediate family. It's safer to shoot first, ask questions never. Aim for the eyes, we're kinda useless without our Sharingan. Well, they are." He said to the girl, before giving her a two finger wave at her rather hasty exit.

Sticking his hands into the pockets of his coat, he followed the same path as her, though at a more leisurely pace. Maybe he should go get Reicheru, they hadn't had a date since the gate incident, it might be nice to get together again. Then again...

Shaking his head, and sighing, he continued his way back to the warmth of the city.

[Post 5/5]
[TWC:1935]