Taking a Student (Flashback)

Ryuko dressed in the usual fancy but functional pink dress that had become something of a standard for herself over the last few days sighed as she made her way into the  office.  She had so much crafting to do that it was hard to find time to look after other matters.  Juggling all your responsibilities was tough when you were running an entire village even if it was only temporary.  She couldn’t wait for Nariko to get back so she could go back to being a mere assistant rather than having to stand in for the Raikage on everything.

So now she was attempting to multitask by doing a couple of things at once.  She had summoned Mort here in order to speak to him as part of her project to revitalize the village.   In order to do that she had to speak with many different people inside of it to get a broader perspective of things but it wasn’t like she had the time to realistically speak with everyone.

Mainly she’d been focused on other Jounin since they would knew the lay of the land and would be able to point out issues to her but it was also important to speak to some of the lower ranks as well, particularly promising individuals.   Her teammate Natsuru had spoken off handedly about Mort to her the other night, giving him a backhanded compliment of sorts.  Considering Natsuru’s personality that was high praise indeed which is why the priestess had decided to summon him.

At this point the village had done so much for her it was time to ask herself what she could do for the village.  Asking Mort what she could do to help him progress as a ninja would be as good a start as any.  The new school ship she was planning to build with Niko wasn’t ready yet so she had to do something in the meanwhile to lend a hand to the lower ranks.  Now she just had to wait for Mort to arrive.


[1]

Mort was extremely nervous as he made his way to the Raikage's office. When he got the summons, he was worried that he managed to make some high ranking noble angry, or worse, seduced the Raikage herself. Not that he thought that was a bad thing of course! She was a lovely woman with good taste in people and to say otherwise was probably breaking some obscure law that the previous raikage left and-

'Snap out of this dumbass. You may be entertaining when stressed, but a heart attack will do neither of us any good.' Right, of course their Id of all things would be right. The Genin would calm down and take a deep breath as he pushed the thoughts of stres away with how lucky he was to even talk to the Raikage for official business at his level. This was no time to panic. It was just a simple request to help improve the village. 

Entering the Raikage Building, he'd take a moment to take in the architecture. He had only been in here once before for one of those boring meetings to properly integrate the Kurama Clan into the village, and even then he didn't recall much of it, and Id wouldn’t even talk about it; something about him falling asleep due to how much official jargon that was used making it impossible to recall anything. Still, it was nice to see that little had changed from what blurry memory he had. Talking to the receptionist he’d be directed to the waiting room and, after some time had passed, was told he could enter.

Taking a deep breath, he'd knock on the door and walk in once called.

“Ah I see you’re right on time. I appreciate the punctuality, Please enter.” beckoned Ryuko just as she finished taking a seat at the desk. If anything she was the one who’d been running late getting here just before the person she had summoned to the office had arrived. It would have been pretty awkward if she’d arrived any later.

She’d had her servant set out a trey of tea and crackers too much one during the meeting in case Mort grew hungry. She hoped it would be to his tastes since it could be tough when you didn’t know the person you were entertaining and couldn’t personalize for them the way she often did for the twins or a business partner like Ayano.

“Tis a pleasure to meet you Mort.” She said gracing the slightly younger man with a warm smile. Given that she wasn’t much older then him she hoped things wouldn’t be too awkward. She knew for some people it was hard to deal with an authority figure who didn’t seem old enough for the job. The priestess was wise beyond her years but she was still just barely an adult herself which often made her wonder how the rest of the village viewed her as she ran things in Nariko’s absence.

“I am Ryuko, Assistant to the Raikage” she introduced herself just in case he didn’t know her. On one hand she was one of the most famous people in the entire country but on the other she’d been in a coma for the last couple of years until just recently so the possibility was there he only knew her by reputation alone and not by looks.

She skipped out on any obstination omitting her full name in an attempt to make him feel more at ease. If he knew he was dealing with a member of the nobility or a high ranking member of the Church of Hakken there were some things he might hesitate to speak of. Right now what she wanted from him most of all was full uncensored honesty.

Whatever he had to say, good or ill she had no intention of punishing him for it. How could she when she was literally asking for his opinion? That would only insure nobody would feel safe being frank with her in the future.

“I’ve asked you here today for something simple. I want to hear what the village is like from a layman’s perspective. What are we doing well? What can we improve upon? Those sorts of things.” She explained

“Of course I intend to compensate you for your time. Please tell me if there’s something that I can do to help you advance towards becoming a Chunin. A Jutsu I could teach you perhaps or maybe a new piece of armor?” she suggested. She didn’t necessarily have the leeway to hand out much extra funds at the moment but that didn’t mean there weren’t other things she could do to help improve his situation.

[2]

OhthankgoditwasjusttheRaikage’sassistant. Letting out the breath she took in slowly, he’d make note of the sweets & tea (a shame it wasn’t rooibos, but he’d live) as he’d let out a soft ”Thank you.” after she greeted him. His mind was still a bit frazzled by both the relief of not possibly making a fool of himself in front of the Raikage while still nervous because she was a high ranking official that he had heard of, though his shock would wear off as she explained why she had asked for him.

She wanted to hear his opinion. Him. His opinion. What did I just say dumbass? Right. All heroes started somewhere, even if it was a simple ‘layman’, and public speaking was a critical part in that. After all, how else would he make big and cool speeches if he couldn’t handle one simple talk with an assistant? Taking a more professional stance by straightening his back, he’d start. [color#dfd728]”Right, ways to help.”[/color] 

He’d think back to his talk with Irui, and what they had said about each of their clans. ”Well one of the big things I think is that there’s not much motivation for a lot of the smaller clans to be a ninja around here. Sure we have some of the greatest defenses & strongest shinobi around, but what good is that if what used to inspire the younger generations isn't working anymore?” A brief thought about an old stadium he had read about. ”If I recall correctly, isn't there an arena outside of Kumo? That could be used for Genin Exhabitionist Matches. Hmm.”

Gah, what else could he provide? He didn't keep up much with Kumo's sociopolitical sphere, he just wanted to become a mighty warrior! He'd stand there, trying to come up with something else, anything else, but nothing. Defeated, he'd slump his shoulders and sigh.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here. I know you're trying to help, and I'm really grateful that you asked for me specifically, really! But outside of what I said, I don't know much about what the other genin are going through. All I really focus on is things that can help me become a warrior, like swordplay or genjutsu or wind jutsu or how to take down a god, not what Zee and his team are struggling with when it comes to trying to recreate the Raikage's legendary techniques.

Mort seemed to relax a bit once he realized he wouldn’t be dealing with the Raikage herself today. If he recognized who she was he was graceful enough not to let make a big deal about it, at least on the surface. Because of who she was and her reputation people rarely treated her as a regular person. It was hard having to live up to inflated expectations all the time.

“A lack of motivation and inspiration is it?” asked Ryuko as she mulled over what Mort had just said. Certainly he had a point, a big part of the problem she was facing right now was the general lack of capable subordinates. The village had a lot of rank and file troops but few stood out that she could trust with more difficult or sensitive tasks. Getting even the smaller clans to sign up more of their people to the academy might go a long way towards rectifying that problem.


“You are correct, the stadium we built for the Shinobi world tournament has been sitting fallow for the last few years. I’ve been thinking of ways to put it to use again. Exhibitions matches are as good an idea as any.” said the priestess nodding her head in agreement.


Looking at Mort she thought maybe she could put him to use. If they were to start holding exhibition matches they could also be used as a form of propaganda to win hearts and minds. She was having Natsuru set up some new radio towers all across the country and she’d need new programs to broadcast on them. The tale of a hero of the arena who had risen up to prominence from nothing had a nice ring to it and might inspire more people into following in his footsteps.

As he was now Mort was someone who had potential but much of it was untapped but with a bit of polishing he could go on to become a cornerstone of the revitalized nation. If she was hurting for talent then the simplest solution was cultivating more even if she had to do it herself.

“Shouldn’t be here? Nonsense. You’re the exact kind of person I’ve been hoping to speak with.” said Ryuko as she stood up with dramatic flair and put a hand on Mort’s shoulder to reassure him.

“Seeking further strength as a warrior is not a bad trait to have. No matter how far one goes they must never stop seeking further heights. The biggest limit to how strong you become is how much effort you’re willing to put in to reach beyond where you stand now.” said the priestess wisely.

Letting go of his shoulder she reached down from her behind her desk and pulled out her sword still in its sheath just so she could show it off to the younger man before her. As a Buki specalistic she was no swordmaster but she did know a move or two she could teach him.

“If tis training you seek I might be able to help some in that regard being a battle-priestess of some repute myself. Tell me Do you know anything about the ways of Hakkin?” she asked. This wasn't’ out of some attempt to convert him towards her religion so much as checking to see what baseline education he’d had to this point.

What was taught at the academy was mediocre at best. The teaching at the monastery she had trained at had been much more thorough about many topics such as tactics and psychology. If he was a fellow believer he might already be formulary with some concepts which would allow her to begin with a more advanced program rather than from the basics.

Once the new school was ready that sort of thing wouldn’t be a problem. She’d instill a higher form of education into her gennin that went beyond anything most other village’s teached which would serve the dule purpose of providing higher quality chunin in the long run and keeping children off the battlefield and in a place that better suited their age.

She was the shorter of the two to the point that if they were standing face to face the top of her head would only come up to his chin but there was an air of authority to her that demanded respect. Ryuko wasn’t built like a bodybuilder but a fellow combatant would be able to tell just by looking at the way she carried herself that she was stronger then she looked.

“I too am looking to take down a god. Tell me Mort for what reason do you seek such power? Do you desire fame and fortune? Or simple power for power’s sake?” she asked, wondering just what his answer would be. What she taught him and how much depending on the answer. Lying to her would do him no good as she activated her calm mind technique to enhance her perception to super human proportions. As she was now she might literally be able to smell if someone were to fib to her.

“Also please tell me more about what these friends of yours have been getting up to. I wasn’t aware that there were any lost techniques to be recreated” she said feeling confused. She’d meet the first and second Raikage in person and while they had both passed they had left behind their knowledge in scrolls that currently rested in the restricted library. Just what sort of legendary technique were these kids trying to mess around with?

[3]

Ryuko’s dramatic flair helped calm him down a little. If she was willing to act a bit like a fool, even in a more formal meet such as this, he should be a bit more confident in himself. Plus the more relaxed state of the meeting meant he didn’t need to be so wound up. His eyes would glisten with excitement as soon as he saw the sword that was pulled out from behind the desk, but he’d immediately tense up as soon as Hakkin was mentioned, though not out of hatred. No, it was a distrust of religion in general. He’d seen what Jashins could do, and while he knew those of Hakkin weren’t predisposition to violence, there was something about organized religion that didn’t appeal to him. Even his own belief in the will of lightning was less of an idea and more of a placeholder for one to form later.

"I have heard of the religion, though I try not to get too much into religious topics too often so I hope you can excuse my lack of knowledge on their beliefs. I find that those who talk about it get rather...heated about it all with too many biases thrown in, even if their intent is good.” He’d take a moment to take a sip of the offered tea, thinking about what to say next. ”If you're offering to train me though, I won’t say no to that though. Biases or not, to deny myself in expanding my bases of knowledge would be foolish.”

It was interesting to hear that she was looking to fight a god as well, and he was curious as to why she herself wanted to, but her question threw him off. Why did he seek power? It certainly wasn’t for fame or fortune, both of those would come naturally once he became a warrior, and either way those didn’t really interest him. They were useful, sure, but he didn’t want to get too big in the head.

"Why do I seek power? I...I don’t know. I know that power isn't everything, and that to seek it for no reason can be just as bad as having an unjust reason. However, there are things that just aren't possible without it, and to become a mighty warrior I know I need power.”

But what was a warrior? Sure he had daydreams of becoming a powerful hero, but that wasn’t the same.  A hero wasn’t a warrior. But why? Why did he want to become a warrior so badly? What was it inside of him that just screamed, begged him to take up that mantle??? It wasn’t Nova, it never wanted him to become a hero, just to disappear and let it take over his body.

A boy came to mind, a few years younger than himself. He had brown curly hair and green eyes just like him. He had a dopey smile on his face, the same one Mort would give to everyone else. His palms had what looked to be some sort of mouth kekkei genkai on them, and surrounding the eyes looked like what he assumed was chakra flowing out of them. He knew this boy from somewhere, but nowhere came to mind. And yet this kid was the reason, and his gut was saying it was better not to ask why. To only do so would bring pain, as already a migraine was forming as he kept visualizing this person. He’d dig into his pocket and pull out a white pill, downed it with some tea and the migraine went away along with the image.

”I just know I need it, but I can say from the bottom of my heart it’s not for malicious reasons. It’s probably not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.”

One question left, and thankfully it was an easier one on his mind. "Anyways, as for the recreation of jutsus, it’s not so much lost techniques, but more a desire to prove that they could master them without the need of a teacher. It’s kinda how a child sees an adult making a work of art and the kid tried to recreate it to show how skilled they are despite not knowing the foundational basics. If it weren’t for my lack of a lightning affinity I probably would have tried to join in with them, but like I said I’ve been focused on other things.”

Her theatrics had gotten the boy she was speaking with to loosen up a little just like she had intended.  The way his eyes sparkled when she showed him her sword which was one of the most prize relics of her church was refreshing.  She herself generally viewed weapons such as this as a means to an end so it was kind of fun seeing someone get exciting over one.  Apparently a lot of men were into flashy weapons and tools which is where the phrase boys and their toys came from.

Seeing him tense up again at the mention of her religion she sighed.  Lately she’d seen that sort of reaction a lot and it was making her worry since most of the power she had as a vestal came from the people.    The more followers that a religion the more authority is wielded.   Considering how much the peace and stability of the region depended on the Church she had reason to be concerned about a potential decline.

“You have my sincere apologies. Tis seems that some of my fellow believers have gotten a bit too enthusiastic about things.” said Ryuko who then did something that was sure to shock the boy.  She went and bowed her head, something that someone of her station was not supposed to be doing.

“I want you to understand that though I am a priestess of Hakkin I wasn’t asking out of some desire to convert you to my beliefs.  Though I would be dishonest if I said I wouldn’t be happy if you did choose to follow in the end.” said Ryuko emphasizing the choice part.  She had no intention of forcing a set of beliefs on him.

“In any case Hakkin is a god of wisdom and war. As a warrior you might find reading his scriptures enlightening even if you find the need to devorce the religious aspects of them. “   she advised.  Mort stood to learn a lot even just by skimming books like that.   If he was serious about becoming a top of the line warrior it was just as important for him to develop his mind as it was to train his body.

“And yes I am seriously offering to train you regardless of your beliefs or lack thereof.  My best friend is a Jashinist so as you can see I’m quite capable at getting along with people despite our differences.” in other words she wasn’t going to hold the fact he was an atheist or agnostic against him.

“You see Mort despite my age I am one of the most senior members of our forces and yet I’ve never had a student for longer than a week. Don’t you think tis high time I began cultivating the talents of those who will follow in my footsteps?” she asked him rhetorically.   She wasn’t sure about if this made them a direct master and apprentice or if this would make him one of her squad members but she had enough free time available that she could spare him some lessons at the very least.

“That was a bit of a trick question.   There really isn’t any particularly right or wrong answer to it. That said your honesty is appreciated. “  she said, giving him a smile.   “Many people seek strength in order to make ends meet. That isn’t necessarily wrong as long as they don’t get greedy.  Tis much the same for other reasons.  The important thing is never to grow too conceited or complacent from the strength you gain.” Ryuko said sagely before turning her back to him.

“I often find myself asking why I still seek yet further strength when I am already at the precipice of what can be considered normal for a human to possess.  Hakkin knows I have more money than I’ll ever need to live a comfortable life.  And what point is there to gaining further fame when I’m already a celebrity?” she said with a sigh as she turned and gave Mort a melancholy grin.

What did she care if her name went down in history?  Given a long enough time frame everyone would be forgotten in the end and it wasn’t like she would be here to see it.  What she was seeking was so ephemeral it was hard to say if it would ever be possible to be grasped with hands as small as hers no matter how strong she became.


“Well I suppose as long as they exercise caution while experimenting there’s no harm to allowing them to continue. That said I better not see any of them in the hospital because they got carried away trying to imitate Nariko.” said Ryuko out of a desire to not see any of them hurt because they were screwing around too much with things they shouldn’t be.  

She knew what it was like wanting to impress the adults in your life and couldn’t bring herself to get in their way if she didn’t absolutely need to. The fact that she was addressing the Raikage without the use of an honorific just went to show just how close she was to the top of the village’s power structure.

“To start with your training I can impart the Cloud style of swordsmanship a bit earlier than usual.”  suggested Ryuko brainstorming what she could do for him outloud.  Normally one couldn’t freely learn that in the village until they became Chunin level so while it wasn’t the same as teaching him a restricted level technique it was still quite an honor.

As she’d stated earlier she hadn’t really done much teaching before and wasn’t really sure where to start other than some physical training to improve his basic stats and maybe making him some better gear.  He’d need to look a bit more stylish if she was going to use him as a face for exhibition matches after all.   She had a couple more vague ideas in mind for him but wanted to see his reaction to what she’d said so far first before proceeding.  She had to be careful not to blindly plow ahead and scare him off from overenthusiasm.

[4]

Mort would stay silent as he took in her words. Religious or not, at least she was aware of the trappings, which was more than a fair amount of those in Kumogakure. Their eye twitched at the mention of the Jashinist, but they wouldn’t act on it. Shimiko, for all her lack of an ability to teach basic interrogation, didn’t shove the cult’s teachings down his throat either, so they could agree with the priestess to an extent. They  did wonder if it was Shimiko, seeing how famous and high-ranking the woman was.

”Religious choices aside, I’d be honored to be taught the Cloud style of swordsmanship. To be taught early, he felt extremely honored to be given the option. If anyone were to ask about it to him, he would’ve admitted he’d had his eye on it for a while, wanting to see how he could adapt it to his own style of fighting. ”If possible I’d also like to meet someone with in-depth knowledge on Genjutsu. My clan has taught me a lot of good things over the years, but a lot of the techniques the clan had made over the years were lost during the many movements.” If it ever got out to the elders that he had asked for genjutsu training, well he would rather not know what would happen.

”And you really don’t need to apologize. My...lack of good will towards religion has been something I’ve been trying to improve on, and when I spoke of those being heated I did not just mean those who follow Hakkin. Damnit, abort abort! He was heading into territory he wasn’t ready to talk about yet.”A-anyways, I would like to take a look at those books you mentioned sometime. Maybe you could show me once you have some time off!” He’d give a grin, trying to shift topics.

He’d make another sweep around the room with his eyes, noting the tea. ”Oh, I know this is a bit out of left field, but is this your favorite kind of tea? I find that rooibos helps me calm my nerves before I have to focus for a long amount of time, but the flavor of this one is diff-” Something about what she said earlier didn’t click right.

”Wait, you have problems trying to find reasons to keep growing strong? I don’t quite get what you mean. Human limits or not, shouldn’t we keep striving to try and surpass ourselves?” Her viewpoint didn’t make sense to him. To stop going was to stagnate, to become rigid and lose all achievement that one had made. While eventually even he would die, wasn’t it good enough just to keep going? Did...did others need reasons to do things?

Ryuko saw the  way poor Mort’s eyes twitched when she mentioned her rival religion.  Maybe he’d had some experience with them. She wouldn’t be surprised given the still recent civil war hadn’t taken place too long ago.  Honestly if Shimiko wasn’t her best friend she would have personally considered starting a crusade to purge the entire religion from the country after the stunt they had pulled, but for the Honey badger’s sake she was willing to give them once last chance to act respectable.   She was not so mercifully and kindhearted that they would be getting a third.


“Well, I’ll see what I can do. I’m afraid I can’t promise much in that regard as genjutsu specialists are few and far between.”   It wasn’t like she wasn’t willing to arrange a meeting for him but a question of if she would be able to even if she wanted.   It was worrisome than when she thought of in-depth specialists that she might have on hand to call upon, nobody came to mind.   That skill was certainly none of the Thundercat forte.

As a bit of a renaissance woman Ryuko could perform them a bit herself but she was far from an excerpt on the subject.  She knew more about recognizing high level ones and breaking out of them then casting them in the first place.

He went on to say she didn’t have to apologize but she didn’t see it that way.  She knew religion wasn’t for everyone but the fact that someone from her own might have been at least partly responsible from putting him off of it saddened her.  Everyone had a hole in their lives they needed to fill somehow.  She filled hers by following the will of Hakkin, she could only hope he’d found a constructive way to fill his and hadn’t turned to more illicit means like hard drugs.

“Tis would be my pleasure.  Speaking of books I have more than just religious texts.  The private library at my main residence contains rare volumes on a board range of subjects from philosophy to history and even physics.  I don’t entertain guests often but I’ll have to have you over so that you can study up to your heart's content.”  said Ryuko innocently not even realizing that technically that constituted a date.  She was too happy about his eagerness to learn to consider such trivial details.

The public library the village contained was nothing to sneeze at but a good chunk of it was fictional.  Whereas Ryuko’s was mainly practical focused  at least outside of the smaller secondary room full of her collection of romance and action novels.

It was questionable how much use Mort would be able to get out of it since she herself was capable of both reading and writing in several languages including English, French and her native German  and had imported many volumes from overseas, but at least she owned enough in Japanese that she figured he’d find it worth his time to take a look.

“Tea huh?” Ryuko said blinking in surprise from the sudden shift in direction the conversation had taken.   If It was a bear she’d be able to answer without too much trouble but the problem was that as a noble woman she often had to attend tea parties on her off time which meant she drank a lot of different brands.  It was hard to pick just one when she was put on the spot like this.

It didn’t help that usually someone like her lady in waiting Sophie or another maid made the tea for her.  Her brain was stuffed with so much information about other things like tactics that she tended towards not remembering littler things as easily.  

“I guess if I had to pick one it’d be imperial golden tips”  replied the priestess after a long moment forgetting that it was a brand of fancy rich people tea that a normal person would likely rarely get the opportunity to try.   “How about you?” she asked, wanting to make sure she had something he liked in stock for when he came over to visit.

“Ha ha ha, no that’s not quite right” Ryuko chuckled in response to Mort misunderstanding what she’d been trying to say about seeking strength.   “I was merely pondering about the reason why I keep trying to grow stronger.  Tis a question I have to ask myself when I don’t quite fully understand my own motive for always training so hard.”  she said as she glanced towards the door.

“Since I began learning the ways of Hakkin at the monastery hardly a day has gone by when I haven’t tried to improve myself in at least some fashion. Be it physical training or studying I worked hard, reaching highetes further than anyone ever expected out of me. I don’t think I could ever bring myself to stop reaching further at this point.”  the priestess admitted as she stretched lightly.

“Remember this Mort. If one becomes strong they must also be weary of their own power less they become much like the very villains they are trying to defeat. ” She warned.  She’d wanted the ability to oppose Honiko the leader of the Society and now she had it in spades.  If she managed to master Rafaela she’d become so mighty that she’d be able to devastate an entire city in one blow.  

Considering the reforms she was quietly enacting behind the scenes right now she was very much worried about the possibility of her becoming a tyrant if she let such power get to her head and corrupt her.  Strength was a substance that was very easy for one to become drunk off of if they weren’t careful.

[5]

He was being offered to take a look through her personal library? Sure he wasn’t a big bood nerd, but the chance to browse through tomes that could assist in both his genjutsu as well as kenjutsu. He didn’t even see her offer as a date as dates to him were supposed to be...well not that. Dates were complicated affairs that, while he knew he’d need to learn someday, were not something a fledgling warrior such as himself needed to know yet. ”You’re too kind, really. I almost feel like I’m overstepping by taking up your offer now.”

He was extremely glad to see his super skills in changing the subject had worked, and while he didn’t quite know what ‘imperial golden tips’ was, he knew he had seen it once and the pricetag it had. Though he wasn’t quite a believer of ‘higher price, higher quality’ as he had watched some poor lobster farmer’s prices fluctuate over the course of a month during his hunts for food (It was truly a sight to behold when it hit the thousands for 5 minutes), he was still interested in trying it. ”I’m a fan of rooibos tea. While I don’t recall how I was introduced to it, I’ve found that it help me relax in times of stress as well as focus my mind for the day. Actually-” He’d dig around one of his pockets, knowing the packet was somewhere in-aHA!  ”I have a few packs that I keep on me in case of emergency. I know It’s a bit odd, but if Chunin can go about worshiping logs, then I should be fine in carrying around a basic urban survival kit.” It was the same reason why he always carried around 2 sticks of deodorant as well as a sewing kit. Sure he didn’t expect to actually need them, but it was better to have them on his person then not at all. He’d offer one of the packs as he thought about her recent answer, one that didn’t quite make sense still.

To become wary of our own power...that didn’t quite jive with him. As a future warrior the thought of having to fear one’s own power didn’t sit well, almost like an affront to his goal. But he also knew that she wasn’t trying to attack his ideal, more just a casual clash often anything.. And yet a part of what she was saying did make sense. TO become a shadow of one’s former self, to become the antithesis of a warrior was something he’d never want to become. Yet, her comment on not knowing why she kept going some days was probably something he’d never get. For him, to need a reason was just unnecessary. ”I’ll keep that in mind.”

Mort called her too kind which the priestess found puzzling. All she’d done was offer him the chance to read some of her books. If he was going to be under her tutelage it was literally the least that she should be doing for him. It would be hard to give him round the clock attention the way a sensei was supposed to be when she’d be busy running a country. It made her wonder how the heck had Nariko found so much time to dedicate to the Thundercats training sessions.

“Save your thanks for when you become one of the village elite. No student of mine should remain an ordinary gennin for long.” remarked the priestess dryly revealing her intentions of where she wanted this to go. If she didn’t have enough talented subordinates in the administration then she’d simply just have to raise some herself.

In addition to Mort she was also currently mentoring the higher ranked blacksmith Niko who was already an A-rank Jounin. She was hoping that soon Niko would be able to take on her own students. She estimated that it would only take a few years at most to get Mort to that level. If all of her students went on to train students of their own the overall skill level of the village could grow exponentially in as little as half a decade.

It was something she was greatly looking forward to seeing. Maybe if she did a good enough job she could hoist the Raikage hat off onto somebody else and worry about her own affairs for once. That said Nariko had held the village on her shoulders for years and now it just happened to be the priestess’s turn. She could only hope she managed half as well as her predecessor.

With a snap of her fingers the Priestess’s lady in waiting Sophie appeared slipping so quietly into the room that it might almost seem like she had teleported in if one hadn’t happened to be paying particular attention to her entrance. Dressed in her maid uniform she looked like a cross between distinguished and cute as she gave Mort a half smile and a quick bow of the head before taking the profereed tea bags from him.


“Sophie please prepare a cup from the kind gift that has been offered to us and a cup of my favorite for our guest and bring them to the private training yard along with some light snacks.” ordered Ryuko.

“At once my Mistress.” said Sophie. Pausing just long enough to give Mort a flirtatious wink the black haired maid quickly exited the room as quietly as she’d entered it. She’d been serving Ryuko for so long she was the perfect model of efficiency.

“Do you have your sword on you or will you need to borrow one?” asked Ryuko as she stood up and gestured to Mort for him to follow her before leading him away from the office to a small courtyard that had been tucked away behind the administration building in a well shaded area out of the public eye. It wasn’t that expensive and you couldn’t do anything too flashy or powerful like in the public training grounds, but it was a perfect place for the higher ranks to get in a quick workout without much scrutiny falling on them if they happened to slip up and make a mistake.

“Keeping a survival kit on you is a good start. I happen to have a full medic kit on me myself. People sometimes ask me why I bother carrying it when I can heal most injuries with chakra but one never knows when such a thing could come in handy. If my chakra ever ran low over the course of a long champain it could be the difference between saving a life or letting it slip away." Ryuko remarked as she patted the large supply pouch attached to her belt by her left hip.

It was likely that Mort hadn’t fully understood what she’d meant about being weary of having too much power. It was a difficult concept to grasp when you were still fairly ordinary as such things went. For someone like Ryuko who had already taken leave of her humanity it frightened her at times to think about the sheer destruction she could cause if she ever snapped and broke bad.
She’d only reached the base of the tower and not the peek and already she was one of the two most dangerous people in the country having surprised her own sensei. The only think Nariko had over her was the use of Lightning Charka mode and Black lightning but the fact she was still A-rank while the Priestess was on the cusp of X spoke volumes to just how hard Ryuko had worked to come so far.

Drawing her sword Ryuko took up the classic beginners stance for the Cloud style of sword fighting making sure she was going slow enough that Mort would be able to see her movements and then hopefully copy them. If she went full speed she could draw and swing faster than the average human could blink. That wasn’t movement she could expect a gennin to be able to keep up with.

“To begin I will demonstrate the basic forms. Please copy me as best as you are able. Do not worry about making mistakes as I will help guide your form though repetition until you have it correct. Once that is done we shall have a light sparring match so I can access your current level of skill which will allow me to better tailor future lessons for you” instructed Ryuko as she started by showing him the simplest move of the cloud style, the Front Beheading technique.

[6]

He'd give a small nod in response to her saying he didn't need to give thanks, and as much as he wanted to give another 'thank you' he'd hold it in. He didn't need to get into a spiraling mess of thank yous and don't thank me yets. He comment on him becoming a village elite though...he wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that. Sure he wanted to help get the Kurama clan their own district, but outside of growing up in Kumo he didn't actually want to rise in rank here. if anything it'd hinder his ability to travel the world in his mind.

Mort failed to get the meaning of Sophie's wink, thinking it was just something in her eye. Instead he was a little surprised that there was going to be more tea. I mean sure he was a fan of Red Rooibos, but several pots of tea in such rapid succession wasn't something he was used to. Maybe it was a royalty thing?

He'd motion to both Excalipoor and the wooden bokken at his sides when asked, and felt a little silly as he probably should have let them at the door, but he'd grown so used to them there he'd practiced the art of chair-sitting with swords at the side. "That I do, never leave home without them." He'd stand up and follow her, taking a small moment to take in the sight of the courtyard. Sure it was simple, but it was more then what he was used too outside of the grounds.

"Exactly! There was this nice elderly woman who had taught a class and said the same thing. I think lesson was about chakra poisoning from too much Yang Energy when that was brought up, but thought that the idea was a waste. Not that I'm trying to imply you're old, nono."

He'd draw his bokken and follow along with her movements, trying to grasp the basics of the Front Beheading technique. Watching Ryuko's movements the first time around it was a fairly simple technique, and he had to wonder why it was restricted to Chunin shinobi and above as from his viewpoint it was a simple sword swing. He'd mimic her movement, taking advantage of her slowed movements to grasp the finer points that were needed as much as he could, though it would take him a few swings to get down the most basic parts of it. Still, he'd follow along and continue to practice the swing when a thought popped into his head, one that he hadn't thought of asking earlier but one that may help.

"Oh yeah, there is something else that you may be able to help me with. Do you know anything about natural chakra? Nature chakra? Something along that name. I stumbled across it in some old clan documents, something about it being used with Juinjutsu and it being involved to compensate the the Kurama's lack of physical strength." It was a long shot, but as a higher up with more access to information she might be able to help. "I'm thinking of looking more, but outside of a fairy tale I can't find much documentation on it in the library, and anyone in the clan that I've asked has said that those documents were only around as a reminder, but, well I know if I want to become a better swordsman I need some edge in combat, and whatever this document was talking about might be what I need."

---

Front Beheading Technique: 127/200

Ryuko was paying more attention than she’d let on. She saw Sophie’s wink and Mort’s reaction to it or rather his lack of reaction to it. She still sometimes had a hard time dealing with the opposite gender and she’d asked her maid earlier to flirt with him during the meeting just to see how’d he’d take it. The fact that he was the dense type when it came to those type of things was immensely reassuring. She wouldn’t know where to start if he was the casanova type willing to hit on practically every woman he came across including her.

“Good, you’ve already learned that lesson as well. Always make sure to keep a weapon handy if you can. One never knows when they might be called into battle. I myself always keep a knife on me, even in the bath.” The priestess admitted readily. Admittedly it was a bit of a pain in the ass to make sure it didn’t rust but she felt the added security was more than worth the trouble.


“Later I’ll be showing you how to conceal things like a blade on your person so that you can be armed without seeming like it to an observer. But that’s a lesson for another day.” she went on to say before beginning the demonstration as planned. She raised an eyebrow at his remark about too much Yang energy but said nothing for now. Empty words and speculation could sometimes be poison. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that old comment considering she was barely a full fledged adult herself.

“Tis appears simple at first glance but remember this is just the most basic move. The style overall is restricted to Chunnin because it features a lot of sleight of hand that would be much less effective if the enemy were to know exactly how it works. A genin using it is much more likely to slip up, especially in the exams” explained Ryuko. She wanted Mort to know why Gennin weren’t generally allowed to know these moves, and just how much trust she was placing in him by making an exception.

Watching him mimic her she grinned. It seemed he was a natural. His form was near perfect from the very first swing. She wasn’t going to have to adjust his stance much, the rest would be more repetition to make sure he had it nailed down more than anything.

“Almost, you just need to hold your arm like this before swinging.” she said as she stepped in and adjusted his right arm slightly so that it was in the proper position to draw out the maximum power of the slice. It was a very minor difference but it was enough to decide the outcome in a duel so she corrected him just the same.

“Oh Nature chakra huh? Wasn’t expecting you to have heard of that one.” replied Ryuko with a mischievous glint in her eye. It’d taken her a lot of research and digging to find that term and she couldn’t help but wonder where Mort’s clan had come across it. Then again considering that the village had at least 2 nature clan users in the past that she was aware of maybe that had something to do with it.

“Sure, I know a little something about Nature chakra.” admitted the priestess. To be exact she was a sage which made her something of an expert but she wasn’t the type to brag about such things. It wasn’t something to just teach anyone either even if she was trusting him more than usual.

“I’m not sure how much what I know can help you through. It CAN enhance physical abilities for those who know the right way to harness it, however the way I was tough focused more on converting it to a special kind of elemental release.” she said trying not to get the poor boys hopes up too much.

“Tell me Mort, how much do you know about Ijutsu?” she asked. Depending on his answer she might be able to tell him only a little or quite a lot. With any medical skill her Sage mode was about as useless as tits on a canary. Still at the very least she could teach him the basics of meditation and such and he might be able to find his own way from there to a sage mode of his own given time.

[7]

Ah, slight of hand, that's what was missing! Outside of chakra illusions, physical illusions such as slight of hand was not one of his forte, though he'd been improving on that over time. Heck since she was going to train him in concealing weapons slight of hand would be really critical there. "That's good to know. Up until now most people've been teaching me basic, upfront and obvious strikes, but I can understand why slight of want would need to be used. Taking her advice of both some slight of hand as well as his adjusted arm, he'd try to apply it to his sword swings, and while it wasn't immediate, after the first few tries those with a more perceptive eye then his own would see he was slowly grasping the idea.

Even with her teaching him Kumo's unique brad of fighting, he was just as happy to hear that, while she knew only a little about Nature Chakra, the fact she knew at all meant his search wasn't fruitless, though his Id had other thoughts. Why was she surprised that he knew about it? Thankfully a part of the question was answered as he listened to her explain what she knew. Her emphasis on the CAN made him actively wonder how dangerous it was. Sure he knew Juinjutsu could be dangerous if not handled properly, but so could a sword or fist or even an illusion.

"Nature chakra used for a specific elemental releases? It didn't say anything about that, though that sounds extremely useful." And she didn't say anything about Juinjutsu either, so perhaps his clan had found a different method of drawing upon it's power? Still, her confirming that it could enhance his physical abilities if he figured out the right procedure was a good sign. "Well, any information is good information, and that alone has helped me immensely." Sure, he didn't know how to gather the energy yet, but just knowing it could be done was helpful.

When asked about what he knew on Ijutsu, he stiffed a sigh and "I know a little about Ijutsu, as what progress I've made on learning that craft has been rather slow. Unfortunately there are next to no Kurama that use Ijutsu, and those who are often married into the clan. It's believed that it's due to those born into the clan not having a good affinity for Yang Chakra, they can't properly heal others physically. Though that's more superstition since I know the two aren't that related, but even with that I don't have an aptitude for it, though an aptitude certainly isn't the same as an affinity in this case." He had known his Kenjutsu wouldn't be enough, and while he wanted to become a warrior, nothing said a warrior could also know a healing skill or two. Combined with his weak frame, he wondered if she was trying to nudge him in that direction instead, and he was curious to know why.

---

Front Beheading Technique: 271/200

“Heh.” laughed Ryuko lightly as Mort talked about how people were mostly only showing him the basics.   She could understand the desire to learn more flashy and complex moves but there was a good reason it took more time to get those.  The fact that she herself had less than a handful of S-rank jutsu under her belt spoke volumes at how difficult they were to learn.  

“You’d be surprised how useful the basics can be when used right.  Even the academy jutsu can be absolutely devastating in the right hands but hardly anyone bothers to remember they exist after graduating.  Master the fundamentals and you’ll have a solid foundation to build yourself upon. It’ll give you a big edge against those that neglect them.”    lectured Ryuko lightly.

“Tis true that the front slash might be simple, but in this case that simplicity is a virtue as that allows it to be more easily combined with other jutsu including itself."  Moving her foot she gave a small pebble the size of a dime on the training ground a light kick knocking it into the air.   In a flash she drew her blade and sliced not once but twice in the blink of an eye using nothing but the jutsu she had just taught Mort.  Stowing her sword back into its sheet she watched as the pebble split into four evenly cut quarters.  

The sheer level of skill to hit a target that size with that amount of precision and speed was off the charts.  If Mort kept practicing this simple technique he would in time find his own speed and precision would improve.  

“The biggest secret to the Cloud style is that tis not an actual true style at all, just a grouping of otherwise unrelated techniques.   Tis possible to combine it with an actual fighting style to take it to entire new levels.” at this she took the stance for the Sprint Chant,  the signature fighting style of her crush Nozomi.

Nozomi had likely discovered all sorts of interesting ways to use the style but Ryuko hadn’t been slacking in developing some of her own. It was a fighting style focused on coordination and she’d pushed it to the absolute limits to the point it had evolved into a new technique she had christened Spring Chant: Blossoming after how a flower blooms during that particular season.

“Watch carefully.” she said as she repeated her slash thought she very much doubted that Mort would actually be able to see it at the speed she was now going.   It was the same technique, the same slash but the difference between the normal version and the boosted one was stark enough to make it seem like the first had been nothing more than a slowed down training demonstration despite it still being perfectly deadly in it’s own right unlike the true demonstration she had first started with.

She’d told him they were going to spar after she taught him the first technique but he was doing so well mastering it faster then she expected that she didn’t see the harm in starting on the second one. If nothing else it would be a nice homework assignment to give him that he could work on in his free time after their training session today was complete.

“Remember what I said about Academy jutsu?  The Deception beheading technique makes use of them.  Basically you use the body replacement technique to feign an attack on you has been effective and then you strike using the microsecond the opponent lets down their guard to land a devastating blow.”

The hardest part was the timing.  The body replacement technique almost never fooled anyone for long. Even Ryuko could only maintain the illusion for about 30 seconds or so after being stuck before it would disperse into a cloud of smoke revealing the object that had taken the damage for her.

It was a simple dirty trick but that was a ninja for you.  Saying that an attack was dirty was practically a complement.   Fighting fare in a dispute between two members of the church was one thing but doing it in a literal battle of life and death would be foolishness to the highest degree.  

Of course there were still rules that even ninja had to follow at least most of the time just to keep things from getting too brutal when engaging in all out warfare but otherwise almost everything and anything was on the table.  If anything Ryuko was a bit of an odd duck when so many of her attacks revolved around capturing an opponent alive which was exponentially more difficult then simply killing them.  

“Yes you are correct, Nature chakra IS extremely handy but remember that using it can also be a double edged sword.    Without the proper training to balance it one could quickly find themselve turning to stone from intaking even the slightest amounts.” She warned.   It wasn’t something that one trained lightly.

“I can show you how to gather nature energy, but alas I can’t teach you the method to harness it.  Without extensive medical knowledge tis simply won’t work for you.”  explained Ryuko as she took a seat cross legged on the training ground and motioned for Mort to sit beside her.  


“But first you must SWEAR to me never to attempt this without supervision until I tell you otherwise and also NOT to spread this information around.” she said firmly.  If he couldn’t promise either then she would tell him nothing further on the topic.  If the method to gathering nature to ever become public she couldn't imagine the sheer chaos that would cause.   The amount of people that would die attempting to become a sage would be staggering.  

(Gathering 10 Nature chakra)

[8]

Mort would slow down and listen to her lecture, having learned long ago trying to both listen & practice was not his forte unless the practice was actual combat. At the same time though he didn't want to quite cut back on practice. He'd fully bring it to a stop when she decided to demonstrate the technique, and he could barely keep up with the movement, really only catching a glimpse of before, the two impacts, and after she had moved. "I'll admit, hearing that the Cloud Style is, at least simplified, a hodgepodge of ideas is a bit disappointing, but hey, if it works something must be right."

He'd listen intently to Ryko's explanation of the Deception Beheading, but try as he might, something wouldn't quite connect in his mind. Sure he could preform the Body replacement technique, and he could more or less pull of the following strike. But when he tried to mimic Ryuko and combine the two, it just didn't seem to line up right. Maybe with some more practice he could get it down, but even he though he knew the fundamentals of it, there was some step he didn't understand in it yet. "I think I'll need to spend some more time on those fundamentals before I get this one down."He'd give a small grin, trying to not let his disappointment in himself show.

Mort would stay silent as a Ryuko explained some of the finer details of nature energy, and while he wasn't exactly thrilled that she couldn't teach him how to apply it, just the fact that he could potentially learn how to gather it was more than enough for him. Still, when she asked for him to swear not to use it without supervision or to spread the information around, he couldn't help but frown a little. It wasn't that he would spread it, no he could see that she was taking this really seriously and that it clearly wasn't something that a person shouldn't just casually mess with. No, problem was that she wanted him to swear to it. To ask someone to swear to something, or more accurately in his eyes to give your word meant that whatever nature energy was, it shouldn't be taken lightly.

"I...I swear on the wings of my freedom I, Mōtimā Midori-Okō Kurama will not attempt this training without supervision or permission nor will I spread it. As he spoke, a small black brand would appear on the back of his arm, though even at a glance it was clearly an illusion. "Huh. never seen the genjutsu do that before. And before you ask, it's a bloodline thing, we think." It was probably a sign in case he broke his word, not like he planned on doing so.

---

Mort cannot learn Cloud-Style Deception Beheading yet as it requires either Ninjutsu or B Int

“You’d be surprised how many innovations are merely just combining random ideas and seeing the result.” said Ryuko sardonically. As far as she was concerned if it worked then don’t mock it. At the end of the day hodgepodge or not the Cloud style was extremely effective at its job.

“Tis fine if you can’t do it right away. Rome wasn’t build in a day. As long as you keep putting the work in you’ll get there eventually.” said the priestess trying to sound encouraging when Mort said he couldn’t perform the second move she’d tried to show him right away She had meant it to become his homework after all. “I too was like you once upon a time. My teachers at the monastery always told me I’d never be more than average and yet despite that I wanted to become an amazing ninja anyhow. In the end I studied and trained my butt off. “ Ryuko added with a light giggle.

“And while, I’d like to think I became something of one?” she asked, speaking modestly. She was going to become the next Raikage soon, even if Mort wasn’t aware of that fact yet. If that wasn’t amazing she wasn’t sure what qualified for that label.

She nodded in satisfaction as Mort swore to her conditions. She’d been calling him by his nickname so far but she’d been tempted to say his full name before she’d laid those out just to underline how serious she was being. He must have picked up on that.

“Hmm interesting.” she muttered as she gave his new marking a curious one over with her eyes. She couldn’t really move much right now if she wanted to keep gathering nature energy herself. The fact she could even still talk while doing so just went to show she was a master of her craft. If it was something that even he didn’t know about it might be worth researching.

“Gathering is simple enough. One must simply sit still and reflect upon the environment around them. Meditate and feel the flow of the wind, the vitality of the earth and the warmth of the sun. Every drop of water you drink, every breath of air you breathe is part of nature and by becoming one with it, so too do we gain nature’s power.” explained the priestess.

As a martial artist she had extensive experience meditating. She even had a technique that used in mid battle to expand upon her perception. Learning the proper way to sit still and gather energy had come like second nature to her and she wondered how Mort would fare.

“Go ahead and try. I will monitor to ensure your safety. Should any unbalanced occur I can drain the energy from your system before you come to harm.“ She’d charged up enough now that she could use her kata in an emergency. She didn’t exactly like the fact it would drain some energy from herself to do it but since she’d be able to get it back in the process at least she’d be coming out even in the transaction.

“Tell me Mōtimā what do you think a sage is?” She asked as a sort of philosophical exercise. She already had her own answer of course, she just wanted to hear his first so that she could compare them.

[9]

Gathering 10 nature energy, Now at 20/160

The teen was glad that Ryuko understood his plight at least a little. Sure he wasn't religious nor was he told that he'd only be average, but her comments on her own journey mirrored what he had gone through up to this point in life, so he'd take what she said not quite to heart, but it'd certainly be close to it for safekeeping. "I'd say you've become a teacher, seeing what we're doing right now. or do you mean an amazing Ninja, cuz that'd to would fit the bill seeing as to where you are in life right now."

By now he had stopped attempting the Deception technique as it was clear to him he wouldn't figure it out today, focusing now on his statue-like teacher. He was a little confused by the fact you'd need to be still and try to become one with it, not because that didn't sound cool, no that was practically a requirement in his mind for any proper wandering warrior. No, it was more just how simple it sounded for a person to gather it. "Meditation and becoming one with nature? I think I can do that, though I can't guarantee I can do it right on the spot. Gotta get into the right mindset." Sitting down, he'd unhook excalipoor from his belt and place it in front of himself, as having it in front of him often helped him focus. However, there was one thing he'd have to confront first: his Id.

Inside his mind, two personalities bickered.'Okay Id, I know you aren't the biggest fan of it, but if we're to learn how to get this nature energy down, you have to actually cooperate for once.' 'And? It was you who wanted to learn this, not me. As far as I care this is just a bunch of wank.' 'Back to name calling now? And you were so nice earlier.' 'Not as nice as that lady in waiting's a-' 'Don't you fuxking dare finish that sentence Id, I swear to god.' 'Look, you want me to cooperate? Either flirt with one of the handsome handmaidens or hell, give her a little peck on the cheek. I don't care, I just want some chakra and you need to get laid? 'No I don't! That's just your...well you talking!' He couldn't help it, the more he tried to meditate, the more his Id would interrupt and the redder his face would get as it kept trying to get Mort to do something...well not polite. He wouldn't even manage to gather a little energy, as his mind was in turmoil.

Without much warning, his shoulders would slump over and his face exacerbated, his attempt at reasoning with his Id having reached a standstill. "*Sigh*, of all the days they'd act up. I think I'll need to...wait for the rooibos tea first. If I'm going to do do this, I'd like to reduce the amount of factors that could cause me to slip up first." He'd wipe off the small amount of blood dripping from his nose, wondering if it was from an old would reopening or if it was from his own bloodline harming him. "Yeah, I think I'll have to look a little more into Ijutsu if these nosebleeds keep happening, it's honestly a bit annoying."

He'd shift how he was sitting into a half cross legged/half knee up, finding cross-legged to be uncomfortable. "Anyways, as for what I think a Sage is..? Well I'd say they're a Warrior of the mind. Instead of using mostly physical strength, they'd prefer to use their cunning mind to outwit their opponent, though if I recall what was taught most shinobi sages have more of a balance of both might and mind."

Mort had a point. She supposed she was a teacher now. The question was could she actually do a proper job of it this time. Her prior attempts at mentorship had ended miserably. She’d caught Seid trying to sneak out of the village not to become a missing ninja but seaking adventures and taken him under her wing for a short while but only managed one lesson before he’d wandered off mid season out of boredom. She’d meant to train him more to make sure he’d do well in the chunnin exams but falling into a kumo had cut a lot of things short.


“Tis sounds simpler to say than to actually do. One must be able to manipulate chakra in the first place to attempt this and then remain still both in body and in spirit. Reflecting the nature around them like a mirror.” advised Ryuko as he sat down to begin. The only reason she could even still talk was because she was smart enough to do a little parallel processing inside her head.

“You might find it more difficult at this time since your capacity to control nature chakra must be balanced against your existing stores. The lower your stamina the less you can hold.” She warned trying to keep him from getting his hopes up too high. If he actually managed to grasp it on his first try he would be a prodigy beyond her wildest expectations.

“You’ve been experiencing nose bleeds?” she asked her eyebrow raised in concern. There was a myth about them being connected to perverted thoughts but she somehow doubted that had much to do with the situation. “Want me to give you a quick examination after we’re done training?” she asked.

If nothing else she wanted to check for signs that he might be infected with the plague, if caught early enough it was now possible to prevent someone from falling into a coma. Her good friend and teammate Natsuru had just fallen victim and was in the hospital now and she was cross with herself for not noticing any of the signs before it was too late.

As if on cue after Mort said in a roundabout way that he needed a break Sophie silently appeared carrying a cup of still steaming tea on a fancy looking but modest wooden tray. Just because Ryuko was wealthy didn’t mean she liked to flaunt it by being too obsentacious. The only thing was the tea wasn’t rooibos like Mort had been expecting at all but rather Imperial golden tips.

The reason was simple enough Ryuko wanted to give him a chance to sample it since it was something he usually wouldn’t have the opportunity to drink. One cup alone was worth more than his entire monthly salary, a fact she wasn’t about to tell him while he was sipping it for obvious reasons.

“A warrior of the mind huh…. I can’t say you're wrong but I was speaking more in a general sense not about combat prowess.” said Ryuko with an amused grin. Indeed Calling a Sage a warrior of the mind was an apt description indeed.

“Many people are under the mistaken assumption that sages are near omniscient. But to be a sage doesn’t mean to be someone who knows everything. Just having knowledge only makes you knowledgeable. To be a sage means to be wise. To be able to look upon the unknown, the impossible, the unfathomable and to use your power to discover how that works instead of turning away.” said Ryuko with a wink.

[10]

Gathering 10 nature energy, Now at 30/160

Her advice on how to proceed was, well helpful, but so long as his mind wasn't able to calm itself, he wouldn't be able to proceed. And even if his mind was calm, he was no protege in any field except for, annoyingly for him, genjutsu. When she showed concern over his nosebleed, he'd wave it off.

"I don't mind either way if you do, but the nosebleeds are something I've had since I was a child. We've had those at the hospital take a look, but best we can guess it's a side effect of my bloodline. But if you feel the need to check, well I won't say no to a free checkup." Guess was quite a bit of an understatement. He knew fully well that it was a side effect, but while he didn't mind sharing that his Id had a mind of its own, he didn't enjoy sharing the fact that the namesake of the primal part of one's mind wasn't for show.

He'd hesitate a little when Sophie offered him a drink, the deal with his Id still looming in his mind. All he needed to do was something flirtatious. Something spontaneous. Something that would easily get him some foreign chakra into his system and shut his Id up. But if he wanted to learn it, he'd need to suck up his pride and indulge Id. Yet, he couldn't, he couldn't betray his teacher like that right in front of them. He'd take the tea, making sure not to make any hand contact with the lady in waiting in case his Id attempted to prematurely steal some of her chakra.

'You didn't even try to touch her hand. Are you trying to make it harder for yourself?' 'Look, you want your stupid fix? Wait till we do the mock battle. I'll...well I'll take some of her chakra and...' 'And?' 'And I'll...'accidentally' slip and fall into her bosom.' 'HAH! She'd never let you make such a simple mistake! But if you manage pull that off, I'll cooperate, hell I'll even try to help! But if you don't? Well, you either have to try while she's doing her checkup on you, or I'd advise you sleep with one eye open again.' 'Deal.' Somehow, despite not the Id not having a body right now, he could feel it wiggling it's eyebrows at the mention of the checkup. It was a feeling one couldn't really put into words unless they were a mother with eyes in the back of their head.

Taking in a small whiff of the tea's fragrance, he'd realize that this was not in fact, red rooibos and his mental war had even distracted him from the color. Recalling now that Ryuko did ask for both his tea to be made as well as her own favorite. He'd shrug as tea, no matter the kind, shouldn't be wasted. Blowing to cool the top off, he'd take a small sip. It was good tea, and while the taste didn't exactly gel with his nebulous recollection of the price he once saw, he could taste and smell why someone of higher stature would enjoy it. It was still too rich for his taste though, both in cost and in flavor.

His smile would fall slightly as he heard his answer wasn't quite on point, but it'd quickly fix right back up since it wasn't exactly wrong either. Her comment & wink at the end though...he didn't know what to make of it. "Heh, omniscience. You make it sound like the average person think sages are like gods." He could see the line of thinking one would take to get there, it just didn't make sense in his mind. "I guess you're trying to reach that point then, or mayhaps already have become what many would consider a sage?"

Another thought popped into his head, disconnected thoughts having proper pathways now that he had more information on Nature Chakra. "Ryuko, you said that intaking nature energy without knowing the proper balance could turn someone to stone and that the ability to gather it is limited by one's chakra capacity, but what if someone were to collect and store it in a seal? That might explain why Juinjutsu was listed in the document." There were more questions, like if one could inject nature energy into someone or the ways one could apply nature energy other then nature transformations and physical 'toughness', but he didn't quite have the words for them yet.

“Medican is far from an exact science.  Sometimes all a doctor can do is give an educated guess.” Lamented Ryuko.   They didn’t even have a cure for the common cold let alone more deadly things like cancer.  She was one of the best medics in the entire village and yet she didn’t have time to do much other than treatments and checkups.   It was no wonder why Mori had retired so that he could dedicate himself to more advanced research in order to push the science further.

One of the curses of running a nation is that she didn’t have the time to pursue every avenue available to her.    She could have become a world renown doctor if she wanted to but instead she had chosen to become a politician and a monarch.

“How is it?” Sophie asked Mort, rewarding him with a bright smile.  She wished that everyone could have a chance to taste fancy tea like that at least once in their lives and knew her lady was working hard to improve things so that luxury items like that would become more affordable to the common masses.

The woman had more wealth then some minor nations and instead of trying to hoarder more for herself she was actively doing her best to raise the standard of living for the entire country and all the domains under their control.  

Sophie had nothing but respect for her lady and was tickled to see her taking an interest in a student, especially one that was male.    Ryuko still wasn’t entirely comfortable around men she didn’t know well her own age so it was surprising to see that they were getting along well.

If either Ryuko or Sophie had known that part of Mort was thinking about getting fresh with them they would have had very different reactions.  Ryuko would have warned him sternly about the danger he would be putting himself in and be disappointed while Sophie might give him a disgusted look for targeting her lady and not her.

Ryuko for her part wanted to hurry and charge up already so she could actually move and drink her own cup of tea.  Luckily there were some things she could do even without moving like channeling chakra to the crystal on her neck which would cause two magical glyphs to appear beside her from which a pair of 16 inch tall (when standing on their back legs)  3 headed Hydra to appear.

With scales glistening like Platnium they both gazed at Mort intently.   It must have been something to have 12 pairs of eyes looking at you unblinking all at once.   Finally they each turned one head towards Ryuko and bowed it to her in a show of respect to their summoner.

“Is this the one you wish to become the next hydra sage?” asked the first Hydra named Irah.  
“I didn’t expect you’d pick one so soon.” said the second who was named Ngova. The twin hydra were nearly indistinguishable from one another and yet Ryuko seemed to know which was which with nothing more than a quick glance.

“Not quite. Just teaching him about how nature chakra works in general for now.  Would you mind helping me quick charge a bit here?” asked Ryuko causing the two hydra to slither up her on either side and attach themselves to her back.   Each had one head sticking out from over her shoulder, watching the proceedings with mild amusement as they gathered Nature chakra and feed it to the priestess.

The pair might be small and look weak because of it but appearances were often deceiving. The twins were some of the most powerful Hydras that Ryuko could call upon from the contract second only to the big boss himself, Ghidorah.    But summoning a literal kijuu into the middle of your village wasn’t something someone did casually and he wouldn’t be able help Ryuko reach a full charge quicker so that she could demonstrate what a sage truly was capable of.

“Well they can certainly seem godlike when you see one in action.” Ryuko remarked. She would know having first hand experience.  The day Honiko had roasted an entire village alive still sometimes haunted her in her nightmares.

“Would you care to find out for yourself?” she asked Mort teasingly to his question about if she was what one would consider to be the classical definition of a sage rather than the more physiological one she had been speaking out earlier.  If she fully unlocked Rafaela’s power then there was no question that using them would make her seem quite divine.

If it wouldn’t have interfered with her concentration she would have drawn upon that power by the smallest extent possible and shifted her hair gold just to show off for dramatic effect.  There was no doubt he’d be pretty impressed though if she did that later layered on top of her normal sage mode.

Pausing for a second she considered the last question Mort had asked her. The implications of what he was saying were staggering and already her mind was spinning with ways to discover and exploit the idea he had come up with.

“Theoretically speaking it would be possible to create a sort of faux sage mode that way.  Thought you’d have to understand how the nature clan itself works to accomplish that.  Lucky for you we’ve had at least 2 nature clan users in the village in the past and I have access to their medical history charts.”  said Ryuko with a fierce grin.   It wasn’t a full history by any means seeing as one of them had gone missing, but it was more than enough to get an idea behind how the clan itself functioned.  

[11]

Gathering Nature Chakra 50/130

Jutsu used:
20 - Summoning  Irah  
20 - Summoning Ngova

280/320 chakra remaining

Irah and Ngove are using Sage Art: Reptile Technique to bolster Ryuko's nature chakra intake

He'd give a small nod in an attempt to seems like he understood Ryuko's lament about medicine, though he didn't have the slightest clue about the struggles a physician or healer had to go through, only guesses. He'd turn his head to Sophie. "It's quite good. I assume this is the imperial golden tips?" He'd take another sip, and it was about the same as before. good tea, but not quite up his alley. He was still quite oblivious to the ongoing of the lady's mind, and probably for the better. Even if he was interested in someone, he would rather get his own mental conundrum in check first as not to make things weird, or worse, a dead body because Id through a hissy fit.

Speaking of a conundrum, the teen would raise an eyebrow as two glyphs that were somehow now from himself formed behind Ryuko and out came...Hydra. Actual. Hydra. Mort would blink a couple of times to make sure his passive genjutsu wasn't acting up again, but no. there were actual multiheaded lizard-snakes looking at him. He had seen some strange things in his life, mostly through his clan sharing memories through genjutsu and a few mental assaults to train his mind that may have affected his mental faculties, but this was new.

"Oh my god, I'm actually seeing two mythical creatures and for once it's not my bloodline acting up." Sure he had goals of defeating a god, but that was different. He had tried to create a genjutsu to recreate the look of several mythical beasts such as these, but while his was certainly more fantastical and unrealistic, seeing the real thing just didn't compare. "If you don't mind me asking: who, how, and may I hug yooowait. I can't fanboy here. That's a 'for later' question after they've done their job. His eyes had refocused, the sight of two mythical beasts having briefly unfocused them. Still, that wouldn't stop him from thinking outloud.

He'd take another sip of tea and noting he was mostly through his cup now. "I won't deny I'm a bit nervous, but yes. Yes I would, no, I need to find out." Teasing or not he took the question fairly seriously. Sure he didn't understand fully why people saw sages as 'godlike', but if he were to witness something akin to a god in power, he'd have a minimum baseline to work towards. "To say no to such an offer would be an insult to the ideal I strive to achieve."

He'd choke on the final bit of tea, and hit his chest a few times as his body tried to move the liquid down the right pipe. "Wait, the nature clan I real? I mean, I shouldn't be that surprised seeing as I'm next to two mythical beings right now, but it's still a bit of a surprise." He'd wonder what else was out there that he thought was a myth but could possibly be real. Dragons, aliens, a secret donut black market, or even...an alpaca. All were now ever closer to the realm of possibility to him, and while he'd hold onto hope that alpacas weren't real, the thought concerned him, for they were too fluffy for their own good. "I would like to take you up on that offer though, although I might need you to explain a thing or two as you're the expert on medical knowledge, and my sealing knowledge is still a bit fresh." Fresh or not though, he had already made a few theoretical seals that should work, and another one relating to nature energy was already mostly formed in his head.

“Yes, you’ll find that it’ll revitalize your stamina quite quickly.”  replied Sophie smiling even wider before that Mort had been able to figure out exactly which kind of tea he’d been served with so little context clues.  She’d dealt with more than a few who hadn’t realized the switch even when they’d been told straight to their faces that was what was going to happen ahead of time.

The buff it provided wasn’t much to write home about but anything is better than nothing and if you had enough of them they could add up over time.  That was the real reason it was so expensive beyond just the taste.  Ryuko might be rich but she wasn’t so bourgeois that she would spend that kind of money on food that served no practical purpose.

“I’ve bought you a slice of chocolate cake to go with your tea! Enjoy ” added Sohpie as she offered Mort a plate with a fancy looking cake on it that she’d baked herself.  She knew the phrase of a  man’s heart being though his stomach and figured this was a good attack of sorts to make since who didn’t like cake?

“Heh. You’re getting worked up about little old us? I’m touched.” said Irah.  “If seeing a couple Hydra is blowing your mind kid wait until you run into a Unicorn.”   teased Ngove as the two hydra chuckled at Mort’s reaction to them.

“You can play with them after our training for the day is done.   If I’m going to get even 10% serious  we’re going to need to move to a bigger training ground.  I wouldn’t want to wreck the administration building by accident.”  said Ryuko with a straight face indicating she wasn’t joking in the slightest.  

She was an X-rank ninja after all. Forget sage mode, even just her base from was more than enough to devastate large swaths of a city if she started going all out.  When you had attacks that could blast apart a building with one strike of your fist it was all too easy to become a one woman demolition crew.

“Most of what you’ve read about myths are real. It’s just a matter of finding them.” said Ryuko sagely.   Extraterrestrials, cryptids, ghosts there were all sorts of things from legends and mythology out there in the world to discover, some of it much less hidden then you would think.

“Fair enough.  I’d like to see what you can come up with so I don't mind lending a hand. The only question is how to test the seals ethically.” said Ryuko, looking a bit concerned.  Who knew what sort of side effects putting such a seal on someone would cause.   As a doctor she knew it was a dangerous enough idea that they couldn’t just test it out on anyone.

“I suppose we’ll have to ask condemned prisoners if they wish to become test subjects in exchange for sentence reductions.” she mused thinking out loud.  If they slapped it on someone in death row and the prisoner died as a result then it wasn’t really any loss to society.   Those types mainly went to the Jashinist so that they had a supply of people to tortuture to keep them happy but she was sure there was enough to go around.

Ethically it was a shade of grey so dark it was nearly black but some evils where necessary in order for a nation to properly function.  By Ninja standards Ryuko was practically a bleeding heart but in the end she was still a ninja. She was treating the lives of criminals as nothing more then another resource to be used.

[12]

Gathering Nature Chakra 70/130

His eyebrows would raise with a small intrigue with the new fact. It wasn't often that he learned cool tea facts, and this certainly fit the bill for it. But, that though could be put on hold, for something far greater had appeared. "Thank you very much!" Chocolate cake, the forbidden snack. While chocolate by itself was one of the few candies he could eat without much worry due to some compound in it reacting well with their bloodline, chocolate cake was a rare exception to the rule for some as-of-yet unknown reason and as such he only had it once. Not that that would stop him now. He'd graciously take the cake, still making sure not to cause hand contact and take in the chocolate's sent.

He'd take his fork and break off a bit of the cake, noting the spongy insides and layered icing slowly coming apart as the fork pierced the confection. He'd then make another quick jab to hold the cake on the fork when he noticed Ryuko hadn't received any cake yet. "Ryuko, are you not a fan of cake?" He wasn't sure if she didn't like cake or if Sophie just hadn't gotten her a slice yet, and was a little uncomfortable eating without knowing first, so he'd hold off on taking a bite in an attempt of not seeming rude, though his need to resist was hard, and he'd fail to notice a small amount of drool forming out of the side of his mouth.

"There are unicorns as well? Holy heck." A part of him was still reeling over the fact that yes, hydra were real. But thankfully the amazement high was wearing off as Ryuko mentioned they'd need a bigger training field. Guess that meant practice time was over, but something was nagging at him in the back of his mind, and for once it wasn't his Id.

"I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds by asking, but is there anything I could use to, well, even the odds a little? Not that I'm implying you don't have restraint, nono. But at the same time, I doubt Excalipoor and the Bokken will be able to handle even 5% of someone such as yourself, let alone even leave a scratch." As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that his weapons wouldn't survive a mock battle against someone who regularly worked with the Raikage, let alone a real battle, and he couldn't let them be annihilated in such an unjust way.

He was a bit divided on her comment about using prisoner's as guinea pigs for the seals. On one hand she herself had said that not knowing how to regulate nature energy could kill someone, but on the other, it would be volunteer only. "Well, you're already teaching me how to maintain nature energy, and while letting people who don't have the proper training might be good test down the line, I think the most ethical way would be to test them out on myself. After all, if anything goes wrong I should be able to quickly dismantle my own seals without much worry about the nature energy once I've gotten the basics down as well as a backup seal in case too much energy is released. It's not exactly the first time I've had a seal put on me, and given my bloodline it probably won't be the last. He'd unconsciously shudder a little as he though back to the Evil Sealing Method that was used to temporarily restrain his Id when he was younger. While he still agreed that it was necessary, having a part of yourself sealed away, even one you didn't like temporarily, felt hollow.

The priestess quietly watched the antics going on between her Lady and waiting and her student. She’d be shaking her head in amusement if she could move the moment but the more she squirmed around even the slightest the longer it would take her to charge up to a full tank of nature energy.

Not that she really needed a full tank to make a demonstration but it was better to play things safe than sorry. She’d drained it training her new Poison release jutsu and hadn’t hit upon a good moment to refill it until now and wanted to make good on that chance while she had it. You’d think sitting around doing paperwork would be a good opportunity but she had to move her hands around a lot filling out forms and such.

After being thanked for her delivery of the cake Sophie gave Mort one last smile and took off. As a dedicated lady in waiting she had a lot of work to do and little time to stand around flirting. No doubt she was already planning her next avenue of attack to get the dense boy to notice her. Ryuko for her part was internally debating if she should say anything.

A small part of her, the part that was bitter about being so alone wanted to mess with them a bit but ultimately the part of her that loved to play matchmaker won out and she decided to give her servant and dear friend a slight hand.

“I love cake actually but I never asked for her to serve me any. Sophie must fancy you quite a bit to bring out some unprompted.” she suggested. If Mort still couldn’t take the hint when she was being that direct about it then he was simply hopeless, like one of the many oblivious protagonists of a romantic comedy harem manga that Ryuko sometimes liked to read in her spare time.

They were something of a guilty pleasure. She was well aware as an intellectual they were pretty trashy but everyone needed a little bit of junk food now and then as it where to keep life interesting. If all she did was read serious books all the time she’d lose that playful spark that made her more than some stuffed shirt bureaucrat who was all business and no pleasure.

“Yes Unicorns, Pegasus and Spinx oh my” case in point as the Priestess listed off the names of several mythological creatures which were all real in a singsong voice. Of course just because they were real didn’t make them easy to find. There was a reason they were largely relegated to the stuff of legends. She imagened like her Hydra they had been more numerous at one point and then driven to near the edge of extension for some reason or another.

It was probably for really stupid reasons like someone thinking that a Unicorns horns give them more virilatiy in the sack and other such nonsense. It was too bad she had a country to run as it would have been fun to take her student on a world tour of sorts showing him all sorts of previously known sights and sounds. Maybe one day once her vision for a better country was more solidified and things were stable she could pass on the Raikage hat to someone else and do just that.

She envied the freedom that people like Mort had to be able to do something like that. The greatest problem that came with having more power was the responsibility that came alongside it. It was like heavy shackles tying her down, a gravity that prevented her from being able to fly.

“Good point. If I lend you some better equipment and change the rules to make it more sporting we might be able to stay here after all.” She mused as the Hydra on her back began using their extra heads to take some of Ryuko’s equipment from the holsters on her belt and then plopping it before Mort.

“For now you can borrow some of my gear.” She said the unspoken implication being that she needed no such things to beat him. Given the disparity between them that was likely more than true but she wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate him either. If she got sloppy there was a small chance that Mort could get the better of her. Even if the possibility was less than one percent there were some people she knew that had an uncanny ability to seize it.

“As I said earlier today that Sword is Hakkin’s Fang, a relic of my church. It has a powerful enchantment on it that can weaken a foes constitution when it connects. Those are a special type of Fuma Shuriken known as Windmill of shadows, when thrown they are harder to perceive.” All told they were top of the line A-grade class equipment some of the best around given how rare it was to get your hands on anything higher so she doubted he’d complain much.

The only weapons she was leaving for herself were her signature Batons. Given that Mort was training to be a swordsman she doubted he’d be able to make much use of them anyhow. The truth was she didn’t really need those either. Her greatest weapon had always been her own flesh and blood body all along.

“As for armor I can have Sophie bring out some of my old gear if you'd like. I’m not sure how much would fit you without having to make some adjustments but it’d still be better than nothing.” she offered. She herself didn’t seem to be wearing much in the way of armor at the moment but looks could be deceptive.

Her full ArchAngel battle gear was pretty obvious when it was worn and she was saving it for her Kage debut in a few days but that was only when it came to the external layer. The stuff she wore under the hard metal armor was much easier to conceal as part of her normal outfit and right now she had almost her full angelic set of gloves, stockings and body suit. The only thing missing was the base which was meant to be worn as a skirt over the metal parts.

“You know we should do something about your gear. Do you have any requests for the type of armor you’d like? I’m something of a renowned armor smith so as my student I’d be happy to whip you up some.” she suggested off handedly as if making custom gear wasn’t a big deal. Before Damian had come along she would have boasted about being the best in the country but hey second best wasn’t anything to sneeze at either.

“The rules will be simple. You’ll try and take this key from me.” she said as Irah flashed a fancy looking bronze key which was attached to a small plush sakura petal keyring. “During the match I will be barred from attacking you directly. That should make things a little more even no?” She asked to see if he was comfortable with that stipulation.

As far as she was concerned this would make for some good training for using the armor Rafeala could grant her since going on the offensive while wearing that would cause it to break. She couldn’t train it directly since it was taxing on her soul so getting used to dealing with people without being able to punch or kick them was the next best thing.

“Tis real, I’d even introduce you to my friend Akame if she wasn’t in a coma….” said Ryuko somewhat forlornly as the topic switched over to the Nature clan. She had a feeling that as fellow students of the sword the two of them would have gotten along quite swimmingly.

“Can you promise me testing it on yourself would be safe? I can only drain so much chakra at once so if it causes a spike I’m not sure I could protect you from turning into a statue. I haven’t unlocked the ability to bring back the dead yet and even If I had I’m not sure it’d work on something like that.” Ryuko said seriously as if the fact that she believed she was going to gain the power to resurrect someone was no big deal.

[13]

Gathering Nature Chakra 90/130