Starting from the Bottom [Tutor|Eishi]

[Okura]

Okura couldn't lie to himself; he was quite uneasy. It's not that he didn't know what shinobi were, or what they did; it's just that it always felt very distant from him. Up until the CPSS took him from Kaminari no Kuni, life had been all about butchering and running a shop; how to skin a chicken, how to cook a pig, how to sell even the shittiest piece of meat to a passerby. As the soft rain graced his slow walk towards the Obstacle Course, he couldn't stop thinking about the ridiculous stuff he had seen so far. "Am I really expected to run up walls?", he thought to himself. It seemed like nonsense! Such a thing had never even occurred to him, living in his small home with his dad and brothers. None of them thought about being shinobi either.

The other kids seemed pretty content on being here; but then again, all efforts Okura did of starting conversation were quickly shut down. "They're all snobs, shitty snobs, yeah", he would think to himself, as some kids arrived in elegant clothing, perfectly kept hair and manners. It threw him off - for the first time in his life, he realized how sloppy he looked. These kids looked like they would spend hours getting dressed to train! "Wouldn't they sweat anyway?" Okura would think to himself. And that's how he tried to comfort himself in the fact that, deep down, he knew he just couldn't afford any of that. Neither the time to dress up nor the actual clothing. "It wouldn't be practical anyway, the fat would just get all over the robes and then you gotta wash it fast or else-", and his thoughts slowly drifted away from the harsh truth he came to realize: he wouldn't be doing any butchering any time soon.

The small bricks he carefully laid his feet in suddenly became very interesting to him, as he begun to hear even the faintest notes of melancholy in his heart. Perhaps he was already missing his lifestyle. Luckily, there was no more time to dwell on that; he had arrived on the Obstacle Course, a bit wet from the rain, but nothing that could really be noticeable. He was assigned to an "Eishi-senpai". Well, just who the hell was that? And how was he supposed to find him? There were far too many adult-ninja there. So he just walked amidst them and shouted:

- EISHI-SENPAI?! WHO ARE YOU?! -

[410 words, 2,259 characters]

 

[Eishi]

"Shut the fuck up," I responded as I took a sip of my coffee. I had gotten up a bit earlier in the day, but I still had this damn addiction morning ritual that I couldn't kick and so here I was acting as I had just woken up. I put my coffee container down as I fished through my pockets for my notebook before finally finding it in my bag and flipping it to the latest marker.

"So you're the Okura kid..." I said as I took a look at his record before nearly widening my eyes in disbelief,

"Wait, you're as green as they come, what the hell? They send me another sheep after what happened to my last six classes?" I sighed as I let that last part slip. I honestly didn't really care if he had heard me. I'd rather have him get scared and pissing off so I could just end this farce. Oh well, rules are rules and I get paid if he at least attempts the class. I'd tell him off once he inevitably maims himself to come back in a few years so he doesn't end up being my first death in a class I held.

"Alright, so you wanna be a ninja kid? Well, whoop-de-do!" I said as I twirled my hand and began reciting one of my favorite songs, but in almost serious tone as I did it.

"I have been around the block before with blockheads just like you," I said as I let two balls fall out from under my cloak as they embedded themselves into the ground before skipping a few lines of the song as they were a little context heavy.

"I'd given up hope that someone would come along, A fellow who'd ring the bell for once," The balls began to hover around me as their spikes retreated into less painful corner edges, just enough to let any mistake be felt,

"And not, the gong!" I finally said, snapping my fingers as the pair of metal balls zipped on over to hit Okura without relenting. He had best understand quickly what I was doing or he's going to be in a world of pain.

"You know, the kind who wins trophies? Who won't settle for low fees~," I finally began to hum as I got into it. I went to get my coffee a few feet behind me, pretty sure he'd live for the five seconds it took me to take a sip with my back turned.

 

[Okura]

"Wait, what," Okura said before sheer reflexes quicked in. Raised in a household full of older boys all armed with knives - he was used to dangerous objects being thrown at him. This meant, however, that there was absolutely no grace to any of his movements, and no thought either; he just moved aside, awkwardly moving hands, feet and head out of the way. The way a 10 year-old-boy who's trying not to get a stab wound would dodge a flying knife.

There was a catch though; he had seen it. Admittedly, he completely forfeited any intentions of hearing the words of Eishi-senpai as soon as he began speaking, being instead quickly entranced by the figure of the man. A missing arm - that was exactly like his father. Could it be, perhaps, that his Dad looked like this? And behaved, and talked like this? Trained young shinobi like this? And wore the same clothes? Trained using guided floating balls? That was it, though; Eishi-senpai threw them without their hands. This meant that probably by now they would be coming back to hit Okura from the back.

So he did what came most naturally; he knew that moving his head back would be sufficient time wasted, and that would mean getting hit; if he tried to jump and make a cannon-ball, they would all just hit him in the back; if he threw himself on the ground, the balls would overwhelm him. So he jumped, as quickly and nimbly as he could, under Eishi-senpai, in between his open legs. If Okura was lucky - and not very lucky, just lucky enough - these balls would, hopefully, clash into...other balls. Such was the primitive way of fighting on which Okura was raised: the fighting style of young boys.

[296 words, 1,715 characters]

 

[Eishi]

I don't know if he actually thought I'd be dumb enough to hit myself or was just trying to use me as a barrier between himself and his destiny, but I'd have none of it. It didn't really matter what his intentions were because the balls stopped in mid-air, anyway. They waiting just long enough for me to move before slamming down to where his chest was. I didn't bother looking to see if he had dodged or was currently pinned at his position. If it had been the latter and he was smart or lucky, he'd likely have something on him to stop the blow. Regardless, it didn't matter as I began to speak after taking my long overdue sip of coffee.

"I'm actually a lot more practical than most like to believe," I began as I finally let up on the pressure to let him escape if he was still trapped,

"Rule number one: Don't get hit," I said lazily as if that was the end-all answer. This kid looked like the type that ate that shit up and who was I to deny him a goal if he made something of it. I was being careful enough to adjust to what I felt was 'fair' difficulty at his current level and the fact he dodged the first attack already spoke volumes that he wasn't the type to get caught off guard. It was more than what I had been expecting from a greenhorn, anyway. I'd push him and see what he could handle, but there was always that real chance of maiming when I used these heavy death balls. Even in their blunted state, they had impaled a student in the back of the head a couple years ago. Had to get treatment and everything. Almost died of blood loss too if I remember the report correctly. Hadn't expected it in the slightest. The thing wasn't even going that fast when it pierced her barrier. Wait, didn't I sharpen the edge to pierce the barrier? Damn it, that might have actually been my fault. Yes, I had noticed myself getting off topic, but honestly, I did have that luxury. This was pretty easily managed for my part as I went about attacking the kid from all angles and it's not like I was the one feeling the pressure here.

 

[Okura]

As all the air he had in him left his lung, "How can something be this heavy" was the only semblance of a thought that crossed Okura's mind, and Eishi's heavy balls kept on pressing his chest harder and harder. "This can easily get me killed if I'm not careful", Okura thought to himself as he endured the pain, for as little as one to two seconds. He needed a moment to regain thought and act; before the balls pressed onto him again, he slid to the side, dodging them by the very edge of his arm.

"Yeah, no shit. Don't get hit", Okura said, trying to gather the attention of Eishi. He had no idea how the balls operated, but given that his tutor's one hand was occupied with coffee, they probably only demanded his attention or thought to act. Which was tricky, because he was getting pounded and Eishi wasn't even paying attention. Well. Think fast.

The balls would start coming unto Okura again, but he figured it would be too exhausting trying to avoid all of them. They were too fast, and his body was beginning to tire from the full motions he had to pull off. Instead, he started letting himself get hit in non-important areas; his right arm, his elbows, his shoulders and his back. As long as his stomach or legs weren't hit, he should be good. Obviously, he's not trained; sometimes, he got hit entirely by accident, not by his will but out of his lack of ability. That too was draining him.

This whole dance-act was carefully put together so that Okura could pretend to be trying to dodge, but actually using his energy to move closer to Eishi. "What even are these things?", Okura would say in between dodging and getting hit. "Do you do this to every new recruit?". Okura would keep spewing whatever thought came on his mind. He knew that angered Eishi, and even though that perhaps wasn't the best idea, considered he had control of these death balls, what he really wanted was for him to get distracted.

And when the time came, Okura made a quick jump in the air and landed with his feet sideways, lifting as much dust in the air as he possibly could. That fraction of a second should be enough time for him to throw his right shoe to the side of Eishi. If he was lucky, he'd distract him for only a second or two; enough for Okura to throw his left shoe at Eishi's coffe mug. "Either train me or don't, but don't half-ass me!". On hindsight, as soon as the shoe left his hand and the words left his mouth, he came to conclude that probably wasn't that smart of an idea. Not to mention, this whole act threw his attention of something very important: the balls.

[490 words, 2,728 characters]

 

[Eishi]

He hit me in the face with his shoe before I could even register what it was. Unfortunately, it was so pitifully underpowered I hardly even flinched outside of closing my eyes. I sighed about as loudly as I could muster when the tyke tried knocking the coffee out of my hand. I just lifted it up slightly, avoiding the blow before taking another sip in one fluid motion. I took a larger gulp than usual as I debated whether or not to explain it out for the kid.

"Kid, do you think a recruit like you have any right to question the bull I put you through to test and push your limits? Most Academy students fizzle out as they go jack off into irrelevancy, so why the fuck would I give you special treatment until you prove yourself to be more than just another nobody? Think I didn't have to go through the same stupid shit as an academy student? Hell, instead of complaining, why don't you work harder at not getting hit and learn to counter for once," I said as a pair of kunai fell to the ground in front of him. Whether or not he went to pick them up, the death balls would start coming in once again only moments later as I walked slightly away again. I wanted to make sure this was challenging, and pretty soon Okura was sure to feel the burn. At first, it stayed roughly the same velocity as before, but every time he started doing well, I'd ramp up the speed and ferocity by just a slight bit more over and over again.

It was true that I was still a little pissed about him trying to go for my coffee, but I was keeping my rage in check as I continued to barrage this kid with balls just slightly faster than what I thought he was capable of. The kid needed to show some real focus or he'd be knocked out with another minute or two for sure. I'd probably still pass him at this point, but It'd be one hell of a rough recovery. If I could make a guess, even with medical jutsus, he'd likely be sleeping for a day or two straight.

 

[Okura]

Well, that he could respect. Okura paid no attention to the kunai being thrown on the ground; instead, he stood completely still in front of Eishi, barefoot, knowing full well the balls would be coming for him. He couldn't feel the hurt from any of the blows he had been dealt, nor the blood that started to run down from his bruises; instead, he narrowed his eyebrows and stared deeply into Eishi. Shut his lips tight, stretched his arm out. A thumbs up!! Yeah, that was the shit - being acknowledged! "I'll do my best!", Okura proudly stated, just before reality would set in again.

Of course, this small moment in time would have its cost, and as soon as the balls came back hitting him, once again he was left breathless. As the ball started to leave his stomach to float and re-plot their course again, Okura stumbled, regaining his breath, while also cooking up his plan of action. It seemed simple enough; the balls were spiky, but he needed to get truly deeply cut once. He kept on the dodging routine, trying to do his best, dodging just by moving his limbs. Dodging by jumping or moving too much would get tiring quickly; and so, he kept on slightly adjusting his body, to always be in a near-miss from the ball's path. Eventually, there would only be one course the balls could take to hit him.

Then came what he was expecting: a ball directed towards his stomach. He flinched, held his muscles tight, and as soon as the ball hit him, closed his arms around it. It was heavy, and the spikes quickly pierced his skin, but that was the moment of clarity he needed. His hands were stuck deep in the small spikes of the ball, but he was holding it with fierce determination. And so he watched and waited for the second ball to come; as he had planned, he would move out of its way in the last possible second and strike at it with the ball he held.

He was completely unsure if they could be turned off or not, but he needed to, at the very least, break some spikes off of it. The balls were heavy, and he couldn't hold them for much longer; but as the second ball came fast towards him, he stepped out of the way, stretched his arms up and came crashing down with the ball stuck in his hand.

[415 words, 2,233 characters]

 

[Eishi]

The hell, kids gonna break his hands... I mean that's learning, right? I thought to myself as I watched the kid catch one of my spiked balls and tried to wrestle me for control. I would honestly say the move was foolish, especially when he had no idea how strong my grip actually was on those metal objects, but I had no intention of telling him anyway. Regardless I wasn't going to stop him as I made the ball in his hand thrash about wildly. I finally sent the second ball screaming right at his chest after a few more moments as I watched him put the ball he was holding up to block. I could feel his arm tense up as the two metal balls bounced off each other with a loud clank. I added a little more 'zip' onto the free ball right before the two had hit, so I'm sure his arm was already partially numb as I went in for another couple times to see how well he could both control the untamed ball in his hand along with the free moving one still buzzing around with redoubled efforts as it kept going in over and over.

"Keep it up kid, last another..." I said as I looked at a watch I had stolen earlier that day from one of my pockets as I looked back over,

"two minutes without fainting and I'll even heal all your wounds, cause I'm such a nice guy," I chuckled as I let my sardonic grin fill my face. I guess two minutes was pretty arbitrary, but I felt it was fair enough for someone who had shown this much spirit. If nothing else, it should be enough to push him harder than he's ever been pushed before. Though, if his arm was going to last all that time was another story.