An initial meeting

It had been a long... time period.. for Natsuki. She had made it. The war of the Ryuzoji was finally over and she could finally focus on the peace of the clan and restoring what bits had been lost. but what she thought had been a decisive blow merely made the cower and hide and bide their time. Then they struck and the Ryuzoji ate its self once more. Natsuki wasn't even sure how many of her clan members were left, but she did know that it wasn't many. By the time she had finished fighting and licking her wounds she returned to Kumogakure to fine it destroyed and overtaken by Kirigakure, so she became a double refugee from the infighting of her clan and the devastation that struck Kumogakure.

After the fallout, Natsuki had been instructed to head to the mainland of kiri and there she would be taken care of as a refugee but over the weeks of lonely travel it took, Natsuki realized she really had nothing left. She was no longer the head of the clan, as her clan had been broken beyond repair and what few souls remained likely wouldn't still follow her after she failed to protect them from the ambush, and the ties she'd worked to build to establish her clan into Kumogakure faded into oblivion in that time as well. She was useless, and so Natsuki decided to offer her sword to Kirigakure instead. Not to pledge her clan's allegiance but solely to build her own power and strength to prevent that from ever happening again. So when the boat arrived on Hozuki island instead of following the other flocks of refugees making their way into their new homes. Natsuki registered herself as a ninja of Kirigakure, and swapped her cloud headband for one of the mist. She was essentially assigned a sensei on the spot and given a date for them to meet. Well today was that day.

Natsuki sat in the assigned training ground, arguably way earlier than she needed to be. the mist looming over the dewy morning as Natsuki simply sat leaned up against a training dummy, the butt of her scabbard sat in-between her legs as the weight of the sword rested against her shoulder. Natsuki sat cross legged and eyes closed focused on an entirely different sense. 10 meters around her. That was all she could manage at the moment. It had been so many years since she'd unlocked her sense that she almost certainly should have improved by now, but there she sat only a little further than it had been when she'd unlocked it. Maybe it was the turbulence in her life until and she hadn't meditated enough. Maybe she wasn't as gifted as her father had hoped she'd be. Not at any of it mattered now, the only thing Natsuki had to care for now was herself. She let out a sigh attempting to focus her mind, feeling the passive current that flowed through the air, the ground, and most notably the life around her. the current that ran the neural system of every living animal she could feel around her. Their ebb and flow. Natsuki sat in perfectly calm, clad in her traditional kimono with the ryuzoji clan emblem embroidered on the back in meditation waiting for her new sensei.

Natsuki heard the footsteps approach long before the woman entered her range, when she finally stopped before her, and only then, is when Natsuki opened her eyes. Standing to greet the woman she presumed to be her sensei.

"Hey. You that Natsuki girl? I'd be your sensei, Raika, leader of the Ryuutei clan and current wielder of Kabutowari."

In response Natsuki would give a respectful bow "Yes ma'am, Ryuzoji Natsuki at your service. Thank you for taking the time to come out here and teach me. As for your weapon, Kabutowari... is that a sword?" Natsuki would say with an even and collected tone, coming up from her bow holding the scabbard of her sword casually in her left hand. She'd offer a pleasant smile at the woman "It would be nice if my Sensei was also a sword wielder such as myself." She'd then shake her head slightly "Still whatever you can teach me I'd be more than happy to learn anything you have to teach, even if it's simply bettering my physique and chakra control." Natsuki would smile once more. It seemed the woman before her at least in part didn't want to be here. That much was clear from her demeanor and her sentence structure. Still if they were to be training together, Natsuki didn't want to have a bad relationship with the woman. Amicable to say the least. Still she'd hoped her Sensei would have been more... enthusiastic?

There's not much that Natsuki could really do about it though. If she was going to put up a fight the whole time Natsuki might simply have to go back to the administration building and request a different sensei. Though they might not even grant that given that Natsu was previously a Kumogakure ninja. Maybe that was the reason for the woman's general apparent apathy towards the situation? If so maybe Natsu would be in a worse position than she originally considered. Did that kind of preduice even exist in kiri? At the very least Natsu hoped that she would at least take the girl on missions. Training was one thing and if it came down too it, Natsu could figure out her own training regiments and systems, she doubted the girl would be able to help her with kekkei genkai training anyways. Even if natsu told her the ins and out of her clan's ability, which she wouldn't, her clan might be mostly dead and gone but it was drilled into the girls head as taboo from such a young age that she doubted she could even try, the practice of improving one's ranges came mostly through ones own self reflection and trial and error, not even clan members could really teach other clan members how to strengthen or manipulate their ranges. It was something you have to figure out on your own.

Natsu looked forward at her Sensei, she was over thinking this way too much, whatever was about to happen was about to happen, and how her Sensei interacted with her was soon be shown. She'd simply have to adjust as the time came. There was no use worrying about the ifs or hows of anything right now. So Natsu steeled herself. Readying herself for whatever sort of things Raika might throw at her. Simply adding at the end of her sentence. "It's a pleasure to meet you Raika-Sensei"

"Don't get used to bowing to me, all right? You won't be allowed to do so during missions, that's all."

Natsuki simply nodded as to the request. She wasn't sure why she shouldn't bow to her superior or as a form of greeting but she'd take the note none the less. there at the very least seemed to be a reason for it as she stated it was specifically banned in missions, but honestly Natsu couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was just due to her general lack of experience, but she'd follow the order regardless. Her Sensei then took out a piece of meat and proceeded to chew through it. The sharp fangs that hung in Raika's mouth where immediately noticeable. If she didn't know better it would almost seem like she'd filed them all to a point, but that didn't seem to be the case, or if it was the case Raika had done an exceptional job at making them look strikingly natural. Was this perhaps her own clans abilities? Was she tied to some kind of animal, and were there more animalistic traits to the woman? Only time would really tell, until then Natsuki simply listened to her sensei's next words.

"Kabutowari is the Helmet Splitter, one of the seven swords of the Mist Village... But it's not what most would really consider a sword."

A puff of smoke revealed the large weapon, and to say Natsu was surprised would be an understatement, however the only emotion that surfaced on her face was a small cock of the eyebrow as she looked over the massive weapon. "There's a lot more to teach than just physique and chakra control, but no worries. You'd be surprised about the similarities you might find in several weapon styles. But it's nice to meetcha, too."

Natsuki would nod, glad that her sensei intended to teach her more than simply those things, though she was curious to see how much similarities would exist between the Ryuzoji and specifically Natsuki's sword style and how one would weidl an axe and hammer. "The seven swords of the mist. I've heard about them... Although this seems more an axe, I take it this is a bit of unique spin on 'sword' either way it makes you an incredibly potent and powerful individual in the village in the mist Sensei. The seven swordsmen of the mist are almost world renown to the extent even those not from villages are aware of their status. I'm honored to get such a respectable sensei." Natsuki would go to bow once more but stop herself short. That command would definitely take some getting used to, Natsuki might not look it but she had been a small political figure for a while and bowing for respect was almost second hand to her at this point. She letting out a sigh at the awkwardness she now found herself in she stood herself back up.

"I can at least start cha off with a good Kenjutsu technique. All you have to do is follow along; I'll be going at half-speed so you can keep up at first, but I'll gradually speed up to maximum speed for ya. After I see how ya do, I'll pull a few missions for us to complete, together. That'll give me a good baseline on where ya need to improve..." A Kenjutsu technique straight off that bat. That could certainly be useful, and the promise of missions afterwards? that was certainly getting exciting. The girl would then turn to one of the training dummies take a deep breath and blitz forward with incredible speed. Not something Natsu couldn't keep up with, but definitely a step beyond what she could do... without using chakra that was. Her Sensei would then return to her position.

"The strike is simple, but the real secret is building up the power in your leg muscles to maximize your dash speed. Let the momentum build before you launch." Natsu would nod and then turn herself to the second dummy, and close her eyes taking a deep breath before reopening her eyes and taking on a sharp focus. Natsu would start with her basic Kendo stance before she began to lean forwards similar to how she saw Raika doing, as she did so she began to build chakra in her legs, leaning further and further until she felt she was about to tip over and all at once she launched herself forwards and unleashed the chakra stored in her calves. The technique almost felt somewhat akin to a taijutsu technique, Natsu definitely gained speed over what her maximum would have been, but how much it was would be hard to say, still she reached the dummy and quickly unseathed her blade and in a single fluid move cleaved through the wooden dummy. Normally her sheer strength wouldn't have been enough to break the dummy but the blade that marked her as the head of the Ryuzoji clan was more then sharp enough to let her slice right through it. It felt like she was cutting through butter as she cleaved through the dummy pausing after the slash to let the dummy fall to the ground before she stood back up fully and flicked her blade as if blood were on it before sheathing it once more. It was an odd practice, but her father had always taught to train as though she were in a battle even if it felt silly, it built muscles that became accustomed to the actions you would use. Natsu however would slightly frown as she turned back to her new Sensei "That was only half of the speed right? I'm not sure I managed to draw out even half of half of the power of the technique." She'd sigh "Any advice before my next run?" She'd tilt her head slightly. Listening and attempting to incorporate whatever her sensei would have to suggest before she'd make another go at things. She'd do this as many times as it her Sensei would continue to instruct her, never once talking back, just simply trying to incorporate the suggestions, and even if her Sensei would get tired of correcting her mistakes, she'd try and make adjustments until she mastered the technique. This was the first thing that her new teacher was attempting to teach her and if Natsu was going to master anything, it was going to be this. Here and now. She wanted nothing more than to prove she was capable as a student. With determination in her eyes, the Ryuzoji would persist.

__

OOC: Kendo Technique used (-5 Chakra)

"Okay kid. You're naturally talented, I'll give you that. But always remember that talent only does half the work. That said... No need for me to show it to you at full speed. The technique is called Secret Sword: Moonlight." Natsuki would nod and give a smile after ""Thank you for the kind words Sensei. I will continue to work on the technique to fully master it and it's applications in the coming days."

"All right. I suppose I ought to talk to you about the bowing thing. I don't mind it so much, it's just not something I'm accustomed to. That said, we don't do it on missions because if the enemy sees you initiating the bow and me return the bow, what does that tell them?" Natsuki would nod along to the first part. had she noticed the girl have to stop herself before the she bowed again? that's a little embarrassing but still she was glad they were going to be discussing it because honestly Natsuki had no idea what it was about. It seemed it only made her a little uncomfortable which didn't math out as to why it was strictly banned, but her sensei it said had something to do with an enemy? she honestly couldn't figure it out but thankfully she didn't have think long about it as her Sensei told her straight up the answer "It tells him who the supervisor and who the subordinate is. Now he knows to avoid me, and that you might be an easier hostage. So we don't bow on missions." Natsuki would nod, So that was the reason! it made a lot more sense to her now. The issue could also arise where it might make her sensei more of a target at the beginning of an ambush, if they swarmed her and took her down first it'd leave lost and weaker me alone so even if they took injuries ambushing her sensei they'd still more likely to handle the weaker one. "I understand and will take more active measures to ensure our safety during a mission sensei. With that said... what now?" she'd tilt her head a little bit. If she did well with the technique were they going to go on a mission now, or was the plan to train more techniques, or was there meeting over for the day. If it was over for the day Natsu still had some techniques she would try and practice on her own as well as seeing if she could perfect Moonlight, but she was honestly really hoping that they'd get a mission to go on, as Natsu wanted to test the power of this new technique. "we still have the whole day ahead of us, and I hadn't really planned anything for the day... not that I really have anything beyond being a shinobi any more..." Natsu would shake her head a bit, getting away from that depressing thought. "So really, whatever you want to do... assuming you have time, I'm more than happy to do whatever it takes for me to get stronger." Natsumi would then patiently await the reply.

After Natsuki asked her question there was a brief moment of silence as her sensei seemed to ponder her question for but a brief moment.

"What are your other skills? I only know about your skill with a blade because you have one. Surely you have more than your blade to rely on, right?"

Natsuki would nod in response to her sensei's question. ""Absolutely. I am skill in Taijutsu as well as the very basics of ninjutsu, and as with most members of my clan i have a powerful affinity for raiton chakra." Natsuki paused for a moment at the mention of her clan. They were gone, she honestly wouldn't be surprised if she was the last Ryuzoji, it felt weird to say most members of her clan with such knowledge but it felt like she was conceding the idea that there was no other survivors if she spoke it out loud so she merely continued. "I also plan on pursing the foundations of sensory techniques in the future." This would give Natsu some cover for her bloodline trait when it would seem she could see out of the back of her head, but also she really did plan on learning the basics of sensory as it would allow her to delve further into her bloodline's abilities and make techniques that only she would be able to use, setting even her apart from standard Ryuzoji. "With all of that said however, I am most comfortable with a sword, I can still remember the times before my clan officially became shinobi and began using chakra to the way the ninja villages do. Before that we were samurai, and dedicated ourselves to the blade." Natsuki would give a small nod as she finished talking. Hopefully that was all of the information her sensei was after.

The purpose of the question at hand at the very least seemed somewhat obvious to Natsuki. She was trying to see if she could teach her anything else and if their specialties would align potentially even more than they had already. If Natsuki was being honest she really didn't mind if they didn't, she was already glad that her teacher was one of the seven swordsman, that in it of its self was a huge boon especially considering that was Natsuki's main area of focus. Anything beyond her the two of them sharing Kenjutsu would simply be a bonus, however if they were to align, Natsuki hoped that it was in their natural element. At least as far as Natsuki was aware everyone out with a preferred element they could use, though maybe that was just an assumption she made based off of her clan's relationship with Raiton. Any which way she was honestly just glad her sensei at the very least, so far, wasn't somebody she absolutely couldn't stand, and she was excited for whatever was coming next.