Personalizing [Tutor]

Miraku · Nov 16, 2017

After his previous training with Kyo, Miraku decided the young man seemed a little too closed off. It felt to him like Kyo was leaning towards being more of a killer, the kind of ANBU who would assassinate and infiltrate, similar to himself. But no matter what, he would also have to learn how to be personable. There were times where one would need to try and find knowledge while out of their ANBU persona, and putting on a fake identity in order to avoid giving away their true identity. Along with that came the need to be able to socialize properly so that one would be able to earn trust and work others to get what they needed. From their first encounter, it didn't seem like he was quite that type of person. He was rather short on his words and spoke slightly different than everyone else. Not that the latter was an issue as long as he could fit in. Miraku had decided the best course of action would be for them to spend some time walking around, talking, and maybe interacting with other people.

A few days ago, Miraku had sent a message to be delivered to Kyo telling him to meet in the center square of the town, dressed casually like he normally would around town. Getting up early, Miraku had already put in his usual early morning training and was able to get in a bit of rest before noon hit. This would be a busier time around town than usual as people would be going to lunch, doing their shopping, etc. It made for a perfect time to socialize and blend in at the same time. Dressed in only a casual long-sleeved white shirt, plain black pants with his weapons still equipped for a worst-case scenario, he felt ready to head out. Leaving his home, just before noon, he walked towards the village center. His home was a decent distance away as he liked the peace and quiet, but it meant more walking or running to get to most places where he could buy groceries or get a bite to eat if he was feeling lazy. As he got to the center, he found a bench, and sat down, expecting Kyo to make his way here soon, spot and approach him. Of course, the young man wouldn't know what they were doing, but he'd find out soon enough.

[Marked for Training; 404 WC]

Kanagawa Nozomi · Nov 16, 2017

[col]The same bastard from last time had commanded that he come to this lesson. Probably another 'integration' lesson that he had been taking bi-weekly for the past four years. Whether it's to show him how to act like a normal human dealing with manners and common courtesies, learning how to speak words, or other things. Having spent 10 years in the wilds can really screw up someone's social life. All he needs to do now is probably the hardest thing to teach an animal who doesn't particularly care; to read and write in the common language. It was difficult enough to teach Kyo how to talk like a human, but to get him to sit down and practice words like 'cat', 'bat', 'rat', and other words that end with 'at' would be nothing short of a miracle. Writing wouldn't help him to catch food, nor would it help him to kill people. However, reading and writing would be necessary in the event he was given written orders instead of verbal orders. While it was useful to have someone in your ear at all times, technology is very primitive and can fail with the wrong breeze.

The same bastard from last time, Miraku, told him to get better at his skills in guile. That reminded him that he just needed to find someone that was good at stealth and eat their bodies. He wasn't sure if the old corpse of someone long dead would work, but that meat certainly wouldn't be tasty at all. He didn't like eating the flesh of a human and consuming every last bit of them to 'learn' their muscle memory and other traits associated with strength; he absolutely hated the idea as people just aren't delicious. The statue, on the other hand showed him that if he wanted power, he had to consume it. Was it the statue's sick and twisted joke meant to entertain them or was this the way he had to ACTUALLY do it. That will probably remain an eternal enigma.

Unlike the guile lesson that he learned last time, he was expected to meet Miraku in the middle of town. Dakota would accompany Kyo as always, walking through town with his massive escort next to him. His eyes turned when he saw a great pair of legs and a large, bouncy pair of breasts. He made no secret that he was staring at them and the rampant cat-calling probably didn't help him remain very incognito. He is a man of instinct and he had that primal urge to touch the woman very inappropriately, however, his orders were to meet Miraku at the town square, thus destroying any chance he had at pursuing that hot piece.

Kyo arrived at the square, scratching at his 5'oclock shadow and then scratching at his scraggly hair. He reeked of the ground, almost as if he was rolling around in it. Dakota's body was also covered in dirt and grass stains as if the two hadn't bathed for quite a while. Why would they when they preferred being a wild animal instead of a structured and civilized human being. His eyes spotted Miraku and his eyes darted elsewhere for a moment. "Yeah, we're here," was all he said. While Dakota looked focus, Kyo seemed to not really give a damn, thinking this is just another one of his integration classes.

Kyo was dressed in his usually raggedy vest with his well-chiseled body exposed behind the loosely fitted vest. His pants were also quite raggedy, only holding onto his waist with a single string. The pants only went down to the top-half of his calf leading down to some very primitive slippers, having yellow stained toe-nails that were cracked. Nothing about him seemed very appealing at the moment. He put his pinky finger into his ear and poked around, scratching the ear canal for a moment before pulling his finger out and examined the tip of the finger. He balled something up and flung it away from him. "What are we learning today? Math? Manners?" he said before another beautiful woman crossed his path only for him to whistle at her, eyeballing all of the parts of her that he found attractive.|

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Miraku · Nov 16, 2017

As Kyo finally approached, Miraku noticed him early on. Watching him approach, looking dirty and slightly worn. It seemed like a tough task for him to become civilized from what he was currently. But if he couldn't, it would definitely limit the number of missions he'd be able to take, in case they required a more personalized touch. It was easy to assume he almost never went anywhere without Dakota. They seemed quite close. Though it seemed like Dakota was the more driven one of the two, where Kyo just seemed to enjoy the thrill. As they arrived, he became curious about what he would be learning today, before losing focus and staring at a pretty girl walking by, unable to control himself, and whistling at her. Miraku couldn't help but sigh a bit, resisting the urge to face palm himself, as he stood up, placing his hand in his pockets as he stood before the bench.

"Well, today we're just going to hang out, walk around and chat. It's highly apparent that you need to work on your social skill, at no fault of your own. But for your job, sometimes you'll need to blend in, or make friends in order to gain info." He told him, as he began to walk a few steps, waiting for Kyo to follow so they could begin their little excursion around town. "I'm sure you're sick of hearing stuff like this, but it's definitely important for you. I'm confident you'll be able to learn it with time and practice though." he continued, as he walked down the street There were a few stores and restaurants scattered around. Nothing like the Susukino District, but enough to be busy and have people walking around.

"Taking that girl you were interested in for example. Girls don't usually like being objectified like that. This isn't the wild. People like talking, getting to know one another first, seeing if they're compatible." He stopped, not that he was one to talk, single himself, though he'd had experiences. "Anyway..it's a complicated subject, but having some self-control is a good thing, you don't want to rub people the wrong way. If you do, you won't get any information from that person." He finished as he looked towards the man as they walked down the street, heading towards a more populated area.

[391 WC]

Kanagawa Nozomi · Nov 17, 2017

[col]The objective for today is to hang out and talk with Miraku? What was this--some kind of a joke? Kyo looked at the man for a moment and raised a brow. "I'm fattered," he said mistaking the word 'flattered' for something else due to his still limited knowledge of the language. "But I'm not into other men," he finished. He didn't catch his wording mistake as the man continued to outline the objective of today's training session. The idea of making friends bothered him, finding no affinity to other people and feeling more comfortable around beasts than he does man.

Of course, the big 'it's for your job' came up, causing the man to grit his teeth and go with what he was expected to do. He grumbled and slouched his shoulders, a look of defeat was on his face. "Fine, but I won't do anything weird with any guys," he said, being extremely adamant about that point. He had absolutely no interest in guys and will not participate even if it would be a splendid way to assassinate someone. Kunoichi can perform that job if necessary. As the man named Miraku started to walk, Kyo kept pace with him, keeping 1 step behind and to his right, taking a similar position that Dakota would normally take when following him. This was merely a sign of hierarchy in the pecking order he was in. Sadly enough, since he is learning from this Miraku person, he would be considered a step or two higher than himself.

He was then lectured about how to properly speak to women. He knew they didn't particularly care for it, but his lack of empathy made him apathetic to their plight or discomfort. Air was sucked between the gaps in his teeth making a 'tch' sound with Kyo responding with "Fine." He didn't particularly like the idea, but if it's for his job he has to learn. Then the idea of interrogation comes up, Kyo laughed in a jovial manner before placing his hands upon the back of his head, lacing his fingers together. "Can't you just drag them somewhere and torture them? That's a good way of getting information for me. That or threaten to eat their family if you don't get the information you are looking for," Kyo stated lightly.

A human's safety was at the very bottom of his list of priorities. If he didn't have a target to protect, the lives of others just didn't appeal nor matter to him. A person could die right in front of him and Kyo would be completely indifferent of the person's death. There were no humans in this village that he cared for. The only people he cared about were himself and Dakota; if you could count Dakota as a person anyway.|

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Miraku · Nov 17, 2017

Walking along down the street, Miraku listened to the responses he got from Kyo, and they were definitely slightly funny to him. At first, he wasn't sure if Kyo was serious, but he kept insisting he wanted nothing to do with men, causing Miraku to chuckle a bit. "Don't worry. It's not about doing anything like that with a guy. It's just about being friendly, disarming them from holding information back from you, at least as much as you can." he told him, as he looked around for somewhere interesting to head inside.

"As for torture and kidnapping. You can't really do that to our citizens. They have some rights. As little as they may be, they're still people. Unless they're targets of your mission. You just can't be kidnapping and torturing innocent people for information." he told the young man as he slowed down a bit, turning his head to look around as they walked. "What you're looking to do is be nice, act interested, don't be hostile and offer information or conversation of your own so they don't feel like they're being questioned by authorities. If you do those things, it'll go a long way to improving your social game." Miraku continued, as he couldn't find what he was looking for yet. Continuing to walk at a more normal pace again.

Deciding it would be better to practice first, Miraku turned down an alleyway where the two of them could be away from others for the moment. He stopped in the alley, leaned against the wall and turned his head to look at Kyo before smirking. "So before we go put this into practice, I want you to test your skills on me. Act like you've just approached me, and try to be friendly, and strike up a conversation." he told him, curious how he'd take the idea, and how he'd perform. Depending on how it went, they could possibly try it with regular people.

[327 WC]

Kanagawa Nozomi · Nov 17, 2017

[col]Kyo let out a sigh of relief. The answer given wasn't in the same vein that Kyo was digging for, nor hinting at, but he received his answer all-the-same. The idea that he had to make friends made a sour and bitter taste well up in his mouth. He didn't find humans to be reliable nor did he find anything less than savage barbarians who kill and take whoever and whatever they want. Even as savage as Kyo can be, he only killed if there was a purpose behind it. He didn't kill needlessly, even if he wanted to out of anger and frustration because he wished to seek vengeance for the slaying of his wolf mother, but a needless death is needless. Certainly, he and Dakota may have been guilty for slipping from time-to-time, letting instinct and rage take over them and getting the better of their judgment, but they had ways of apologizing to the planet for the needless killing. Humans, however, were unforgiving and unrelenting in their pursuit of the 'good kill' and other irrational and beyond-beastly behaviors.

Kyo raised an eyebrow about the entire idea of kidnapping innocent people. He had no intention of picking up some random 'Joe' off of the street and causing needless pain to them. He had to have, at the very least, probable cause to take someone and torture them for information. All of these rights are what made Kyo think the shinobi and those associated with them soft and unreliable. Too many restrictions. While Kyo had his own code of ethics that he developed while being back, the shinobi code of this village certainly clashed with his own ethics. Whatever. If he needed to learn this skill for his job, he'll pay attention and perform.

The practical portion of this exercise finally kicked into full gear. He had to try to 'butter up' Miraku to try to extract information on him. He was so far out of touch with people, that even small-talk might offend or disinterest people. He shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat. He turned to walk away for a moment before strutting towards Miraku in an exaggerated fashion. He didn't walk like normal people, either having an exaggerated and laid back walk that spoke to someone that he didn't honestly care about what others thought or he usually had a cigarette and/or a gourd of soju up to his lips. So for the sake of demonstration, he walked up in a very exaggerated manner with exaggerated arm-swing and with a fake, yet creepy, smile upon his face. He tried his best to emulate the 'hello there, neighbor' persona but fell flat due to his abominable acting skills.

He waved to Miraku and flashed his deep yellow grin. His teeth were crooked and his fanged canine teeth showed very prominently in his smile. "Hello there! Have you seen a massive deer around here lately? I heard they were running around the village. Boy would that be a good eat!" he stated in his best faux smile and faux attitude, trying to be friendly. The idea of coming up with a topic that was relate-able was stupid to Kyo. Well, it's either that or he walks up to someone and says 'Nice clothes, give them to me'. He doesn't have a lot of knowledge on how to initiate a conversation nor did he hold a vested interested in maintaining a conversation.|

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Miraku · Nov 18, 2017

As he stood there watching Kyo, he seemed to prepare himself, walking away a bit before turning around and walking up to Miraku in an exaggerated way. It wasn't so fake that it looked like he was pretending, more like he was the type of person trying to look cool but uninterested in others at the same time; that type of person definitely existed, but it was out of place. As he smiled and then attempted to start up a conversation, his topic of choice seemed amusing. Considering they were in the thick of the village, it seemed unlikely people would have seen many deer here, but again, it was possible people who lived more near the edge would visit a place like this too. And besides, Miraku never gave specific instructions on where this imaginary conversation was to take place, or what it was about; things like that would be obvious on a mission. There would be an objective, and specific information he would be looking for.

"Alright, not a bad start. You didn't say anything offensive, and you were able to create a conversation without anything to go on. On a mission obviously, you'll know what kind of info you're looking for and be able to try to create a conversation that could lead to that info." He told him, standing back straight, moving away from the alley wall slightly before turning towards Kyo again, facing the exit of the alley to continue. "Honestly, you can use your appearance and demeanor to your advantage; play yourself off as a farmer or nomad of some kind who does manual labour. Don't worry about trying to be over the top like that. Just a little bit should work. The most important part is not offending people and being generally friendly, at least to the point where people will be okay talking with you." Miraku figured it'd be easier for him to stick to the kind of person he was and just make slight changes to his personality than try to completely change himself.

Nodding to Kyo and Dakota, looking towards the exit, Miraku began walking once more, leaving the alley to head back into the main roads of the village, looking around as he spotted a grocery store that would be a good target. Heading towards it, he walked inside and looked around. There were a few people walking around the store. Miraku would turn back to face Kyo, talking quietly, almost at a whisper, "Alright, try starting a conversation with someone in here, maybe use a similar subject to what you tried with me; but maybe more about where to get some deer meat or something." He hoped this would work out. He would shadow Kyo so he could see what happened.

[463 WC]

Kanagawa Nozomi · Nov 18, 2017

[col]Kyo tilted his head. 'At least you didn't say anything offensive' was used as 'bonus points' to Kyo's approach as if it was a huge accomplishment. This started to grind his gears, most probably taking it the wrong way. While he might be primitive and wild, he wasn't exactly stupid when it came to detecting snark, regardless of how subtle it was, when a person spoke to him. His teeth grinded upon one another, making an audible sound like someone slipping upon a leather sofa. Moving on passed that point, Kyo continued to listen about how his mission would have a directive; yeah yeah yeah, he knew.

It was then that Kyo was told that his appearance would work very well for a farmer or a nomad. A bunch of lower-classed individuals. Kyo stepped up and placed hands upon his vest and opened it up to fully expose his chest and mid-section. "Yes, because your normal farmers have scars like this," Kyo said in sarcasm. His torso was covered in bite scars, a relatively nasty looking stab-wound in his gut, quite a few slashes across his chest from claws and other assortment of natural weaponry by the animal kingdom. He never remembered encountering any farmers with this large amount of scarring on their bodies. Sure, there might be a few with a little bit of scarring due to having to fight off wild hunters like himself and Dakota from time to time, but he didn't expect to see anything to the same degree as what he has.

He closed his vest to let it freely hang upon his body once again. Acting wasn't his strong suit and he was told to 'roleplay' a nice person. While Kyo could do quite a few feats most people would never want to perform or he could do some things most people wouldn't dream of, acting is like performing a miracle. Kyo can't perform miracles. At that point, it would probably behoove Kyo to just remain silent if he was to roleplay as a farmer or whatever other low-grade and low-classed refuse of society that Miraku suggested they play. Kyo could dress for whatever part necessary; even if that means to wear more of the rather uncomfortable human clothing. He has more than enough human clothing to last him for the rest of his life thanks to his father's wanton lifestyle; buying all of the clothes he wanted thanks to the power and influence granted by the dragon statue.

With a groan, Kyo and Dakota followed Miraku towards the exit back into the main street. He was given a task and with a single command to Dakota, he told her to stay put next to Miraku. He formed a couple handseals before a puff of smoke enveloped him, changing his form slightly. His base appearance stayed the same and one could still recognize that it was Kyo, but he appeared more cleaned up and actually looked like a human. Kyo shook his body, as if repulsed by the fact that he had to take on this skin. "I don't understand how you people can dress so uncomfortably," he said before performing his duties.

He walked up to a young woman carrying a child in one arm and a bag of groceries in the other. He gave her a brilliant smile and asked in a polite manner. "Hello, ma'am," he said in the same broken-sounding common manner. "Do you know if this store sells any deer meat? And if they do, do you know if it's any good?" he asked. He tried his hardest to remain in Kayfabe during this entire incident. His face maintained a smile, which felt unnatural when he's smiling about something he honestly isn't caring for; especially for the feelings of someone who has never met. However, a job is a job. His eyes turned towards the child and he waved at the little boy in his mother's arms. "Your boy is adorable. He's going to grow up to be a strong shinobi, isn't he?" he said with the most amount of sincerity he could muster. This acting crap is hard.|

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Miraku · Nov 19, 2017

Kyo definitely didn't like the kinds of things Miraku asked of his, but he always bit his tongue and did it anyway. This time he tried to go above, using a transformation jutsu to change his appearance to that of a more casual member of the village. As he walked up to the woman, Miraku stood in the next aisle, pretending to look at food as he listened in. It sounded like things were going well, as the woman replied to his questions, telling him that there was deer meat near the back of the store and that it was decent if it was pretty fresh. Kyo continued by giving small talk about her child as she nodded excitedly to his question before thanking him for the compliment and wishing him a good day as she headed to go pay for her groceries.

Walking out of the store, Miraku waited for Kyo to return out from with him and Dakota, a smile on his face. "Good job. You did well. I think maybe the others are too hard on you, judging you only on what they see. You're certainly smarter than what they think of you." He told the trainee, as he placed his hands back in his pockets. "I think that's enough for today then. You don't seem to need my help with this anymore. Though you might have some more fun with stuff like this if you lightened up a bit." He said with a chuckle as he turned off to the side, facing the roadway back the way they came. "I guess we'll leave it at that then. Try to have a good rest of your day." Miraku finished, as he started walking to leave, unsure how Kyo would take what he said.

[Topic Left]
[296 WC; 1881 Total WC]

Kanagawa Nozomi · Nov 19, 2017

[col]After speaking to the woman, Kyo kept a smile on his face, waving to the child as the two went away before leaving the store not long after. He went back into hiding before dropping the transformation and made his way towards Miraku. There were praise sent towards him and his work and Kyo just listened to the words given about his 'smarter than you look' and other things. He simply didn't know how to react except to give a nod and a shrug. Those were the first real positive words he had been given since returning to the village 4 years ago. Certainly, he heard things along the lines of 'good work' in terms of a mission, but anything else beyond that was non-existent until now.

He didn't know how to feel about the situation. Being treated like a human and someone actually giving a damn about him. He simply watched as Miraku bid his farewell and went on his way. After Miraku stopped looking, he cracked a small smile and raised a hand as if to wave 'goodbye' to him. With a little whistle, Dakota appeared next to him. A hand was placed upon the wolf's head before jumping up onto the creature and the two rode out.|

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Personalizing [Tutor]

Miraku

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Kanagawa Nozomi

Active Member

Miraku

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Kanagawa Nozomi

Active Member

Miraku

Member

Kanagawa Nozomi

Active Member

Miraku

Member

Kanagawa Nozomi

Active Member

Miraku

Member

Kanagawa Nozomi

Active Member