ʭ next day [AD#2/Rael]

[KEITH]

SPOILER: Click to show

Name; Kunai, Smoke Bombs, Makibishi , OH MY! ^#1
Rank; D
Description; We heard you were heading down to the Academy, well, while you’re there do you mind teaching the kids a little something about ninja tools. Just your basics and proper usage for the lot, we knew we could count on you ^-^.
Reward; 100 experience, 500 ryo

Name; Little Wizard ^#2
Rank; D
Description; How adorable, it looks like your being sent to our academy to teach the youngsters a little about ninjutsu. You only need to teach them one D rank Ninjutsu but remember most are under 8 years old so you need to be slow, concise and very understanding.
Reward; 100 experience, 500 ryo

^#1Today, I wouldn't be as late as I was before, I would make sure that I was on top of my game and that I had made it to the Academy before Rael. I was up and ready an hour earlier than last time, wearing clothing that was similar to yesterday. Since I was early, I felt that I would be able to go out and pick up breakfast, rather than simply getting some toast and heading out. With that, I left, in my mind; I had thought about all the things that I would be able to pick myself up to eat.

My growling stomach didn't care what had went into it, but I had a particular taste for something delicious, maybe some Nattō, it was his favor thing to eat for breakfast. After I would get my food, I would continue to make my way toward the Academy, still about thirty minutes early, and apparently, not a soul in sight. I would happily wait while I ate my Nattō, wondering if Rael would also be coming early toward, then thought about the lesson today.

[Hm, well, I suppose that today we can go over weaponry. And then, I can let Rael-san lead them with a lesson of his own.]

I would think out loud; enjoying the delicious taste of the Nattō.

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[Lang]

Blinking the last vestiges of sleep out from his eyes as he locked up his residence, Rael stifled a yawn as he dragged his feet towards the Academy, stopping only to purchase a cup of warm soy milk that he drank along the way. His attire was very much the same as yesterdays, the latter in the dirty laundry hamper with a giant footprint on the back. His back still stung a bit from the Jounin's kick, but a good night's rest just about cleared it up. With any luck, he wouldn't be subjected to the same treatment in today's lessons. He was uncertain what Yokumaru would have lined up for the students, but he'd take it in stride once it came. In fact, as the contents of a large burlap sack he'd slung one shoulder behind him clanked together in a metallic screech, he idly wondered if perhaps they would get to use them today.

Arriving roughly forty minutes before class began, Rael made his way through the still mostly-empty hallways towards yesterday's classroom, responding appropriately to the few greetings by other instructors who were early. His inquiries about his Jounin partner's location were negative, meaning he was still the first to arrive. Swinging open the door and greeted by the sight of a barren classroom, he dropped the sack he brought along with a loud clang near the teacher's desk, working out kinks in his arm.

Pulling up a chair as he sat facing where the students would later be seated, one ankle over the other and arms folded, the Genin began making his own plans for what to cover later that day. Basic taijutsu was already covered, leaving him with genjutsu and ninjutsu as possible choices. Unfortunately, he had no experience with the art of illusions, and so that left only traditional ninja techniques. There was also a matter of the tools he brought along for either today or tomorrow's class, which could used for a lesson in itself. Finally, there was the option of explaining offensive and defensive positions when in the field, but that would take significantly more time in comparison.

When the classroom door next opened, Rael would turn his head and rise to give the other instructor a customary greeting.

"Good morning, Yokumaru-san."

[KEITH]

I would enter into the building after waiting a bit, making my way through the hallways of the Academy. I felt good today, and I carried a smile upon my face, along with a gentle presence, despite my true personality. I walked pass many of the other Academy instructors, who would nod and bow to me as I walked pass them, but only returning a wave of my hand to them. Once I would come across my destination, I would shake my head, preparing myself, and then stepping into the room, where I would find myself being greeted by Rael.

Despite me believing that I would have made it here first, he was already there. It had been a bummer for me, but I still felt good about today, and I had known that today was going to be good. I would then smile gently, before continuing my advancement toward Rael.

[Good morning, Rael-san. It seems that you beat me here again, I was sure that I would have been first. But, oh well.]

I would make my way toward the teacher's desk, where I would place my things and food. I had placed a large bag on the desk, which would have been similar to the one of Rael's, though mine might have been a tad bit bigger than his own. I would go through the large bag, taking out shuriken, kunai, makibishi, and all other types of shinobi weaponry. They were all wrapped up into their own personal packaging, only because they were brand new, having bought them last night before I had gone home.

I would carefully set the weapons upon the desk, organizing them along it in specific formations.

[Today's lesson will be about shinobi tools and how to properly use them. I am thinking that it shouldn't take long, but you never know with kids, right? With that said, let's make today an enjoyable day for them, since the other day was a bit of a downer for them. Let's give them a reason to want to become stronger.]

With me finished with organizing the tools I would be using for today, I would look toward the clock, and it was just about time for the students to start coming to class. I had hoped that they would be happy to see us again today, it was nice to be wanted after all, and it means you're good, usually. My thoughts would then turn toward Rael as my eyes would turn toward the door, and I leaned against the dry chalk board, waiting for the students to come in. I and Rael were assigned to be teammates, a mentor and student type of relationship would eventually be established between us, but first we need to have someone on one time for that.

It would be important that we got to know each other, but it would have to wait for now.

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[Lang]

Rather than the awkward tension that might exist between Head Jounin and Genin, as the two were worlds apart in their militaristic society, Rael no longer found no such unease being in vicinity of the room's sole other occupant. It was sometimes strange how the powers above worked, how soon after their first joint mission the two were assigned the same two-man cell. Given the man's resume, no doubt he worked alongside a great number of other shinobi in the past, and had his expectations. It was something Rael would have to strive to meet, as he could not allow his own inexperience to bring down the team. No, he would have to up his training regime, and quickly.

"What can I say, I'm an early riser by nature; I'm sure you'll get here before me one of these days, Yokumaru-san. And please, just 'Rael' is fine, especially when the students aren't here. After all, I imagine we'll be working together for quite some time after this." He watched idly as the older male set the bag he brought onto the desk and began pulling out various shinobi tools of the trade, all brand-new by the looks of their packaging; wonder if the Academy coughed up the funds, or if Yokumaru had spent his own money. In comparison, the ones Rael brought were in much poorer condition, but considering how he obtained them and what he planned to do with them, that was irrelevant.

"Tools, hm? It shouldn't take too long to explain their uses and get them acquainted with the items, though I believe it will take much more than just this lesson for the students to become proficient in using them. My feelings are the same as yours," he added, referring to Yokumaru's last statement, "wouldn't want to break them this early. Would we everyone?" he said the last line more loudly, not even looking to whom he was speaking.

As if on cue, the door creaked open, and several young faces peered through to look at the two of them, wearing sheepish expressions as they trickled in. The rest of the class soon followed, many of them greeting the pair as they dropped into their respective seats while Rael moved his chair out of the way and moved to stand next to Yokumaru. Paying attention to the childish faces looking back at them, he observed how most of them seemed slightly more downcast than the previous morning. "Good morning everyone. I hope none of you hurt yourselves too badly yesterday after jump-kicking each other all afternoon?" He got a few small assortment of laughs and snickers for his effort, and he flicked his eyes to his partner, letting him take charge as per his position.

[KEITH]

It was nice to see the Rael had shared his sentiments about changing up the tone of the lessons today. Also, it would appear that his attitude was a bit different than it was the other day, yesterday; he had seemed a bit sterner. He must've taken something from yesterday, and it made him a bit more excited to be here, or something. Whatever it was, it was nice to see, and as he spoke, he would have foiled the students attempt to eavesdrop upon me and Rael's conversation.

Soon, the children would come into the classroom, looking a bit warn out, probably trying to perfect the Dainimikku Entorii. I supposed that would have mostly been my fault, I probably made it sound really good and cool, so the students would believe that if they had mastered the technique quickly, they would be upon my level. I couldn't help it, I felt bad, and I would look at them with gentle eyes and an expression that would show how sorry I was.

[You all look pretty worn out, and that's my fault. I should have reminded you guys to take breaks in between training. Taijutsu can be really taxing upon the body, you have to make sure you're in the best of shape to do it, before you go out and use a Taijutsu technique. Hone your body, and then hone your art.]

He would say in a calm voice to the class, letting them know that they shouldn't forget the most important part of training. The time that you rest after you training, not only does your energy begin to restore, but you gain new strength along with it. Hopefully my words were heard by them, and I wouldn't have to repeat these words to them. With that, I would continue onward to announce the lesson, raising my right arm to draw attention to the weaponry upon the teacher’s desk.

[Today, we will be going over the usage of weaponry. I and Rael-sensei will teach you about the weapons and how to use them. How good you become at using them depends solely upon you and your dedication toward your shurikenjutsu. Rael-sensei, once again, could you lead the children to training grounds? I already have equipment out there that will be used for training.]

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[Lang]

Rael looked at him and slowly nodded, motioning for the students to follow as they repeated yesterday's process of filing out towards the training grounds. As they were going to be learning about the many secondary weapons shinobi used on a constant basis, the Genin herded them towards field no.2; the ranged field. Unlike the taijutsu-oriented enclosure, which stressed open space for students to spar and hosted a number of wooden dummies to practice on, this second patch of land was specifically designed with projectile training in mind. An orderly row of adult-sized targets lined one edge of the field, while on the other, a series of boards with five concentric rings stood upright. Of course, there were other amenities included for the tools that didn't require the above, but those would be mentioned later.

"Rael-sensei?" he looked over, indicating he was listening, "Why did Yokumaru-sensei call it 'shurikenjutsu'; are we only going to be using shuriken?" He shook his head before clarifying the term for them.

"No, the word 'shurikenjutsu' is a misnomer; it actually refers to one's skill with all projectiles or ranged-type weapons we use. People needed a general term while mentioning all such tools, and so they chose the one most heavily identified with shinobi: the shuriken. Why they didn't choose something such as 'kunaijutsu' or 'senbonjutsu', I'm afraid the answer is beyond me. Though, it does roll off the tongue better, don't you think?" he asked everyone with a straight face, prompting a round of sniggers and differing opinions. Rael smiled a bit inwardly at their carefree and relaxed countenances, when compared to yesterday's somber ambiance, then continued on.

"We'll be covering the basics of kunai and shuriken, since they're our staple secondary weapons. Depending on how much time there is afterward, a quick explanation of makibishi and senbon might occur as well. Later on, Yokumaru-sensei and I will discuss the usage of less common tools, such as strategic uses of exploding notes and smoke grenades, both defensively and offensively. We will be supervising you," he raised his voice a bit, as their excited voices grew in volume, "to ensure your own safety, and that of your classmates. The last thing I want to do is explain to your guardians why their child is missing a finger or has their eyebrows burnt off." More chuckles, but some a bit nervously this time.

"And of course, we will teach you about the strongest weapon you all have at your disposal. That, however, will come at the end. For now, I want all of you to listen and pay close attention to Yokumaru-sensei. He'll be the one responsible for making sure you have a good foundation to build on later."

[KEITH]

I had let Rael take the children to the field first, while I would open the packaging of the weaponry I had recently purchased. They were for the kids to take home and train with, I thought that I would give them a little gift for the hard work they will be doing today. With all of the weaponry upon and out, it would only miss minor things, like explosive tags and smoke grenades, but those had been things I would have liked to avoid so early on. Especially since I didn't want to train them on how to use it, under my supervision, those kids could do anything, like lay the tags on each other and set them off.

With horrible images of this in mind, I would carry myself out into the field where Rael and the students would be, talking about the safety of the weaponry, something we had both agreed on. Good thing they wouldn't be throwing their weapons at each other, like how they had to practice their Taijutsu. I would walk up to Rael and stand beside him, as I looked onward toward the class, my violet hues were gentle, and my expression was gentle.

"Well, guys, I am sure that Rael-sensei had told you guys more about what we will be doing today. It isn't the hardest thing to do, but it most certainly easiest. Using secondary weaponry like; kunai, shuriken, and makibish requires accuracy, patience, and most importantly, concentration. If you cannot focus on what you're doing, you could end up hurting your own teammate. Though, this can be applied to any style of shinobi arts. If you want to become proficient with these weapons we are going to teach you how to use, listen carefully to what we have to say, and make sure you practice it."

I didn't mean for them to practice it all night and day, like they did with the Taijutsu training, but hopefully the kids would get that message. I would look across the crowd of kids at all of their faces, making sure that he would have their undivided attention. Anyone who would not be listening fully to what I was saying would no doubt be the fuck up in the group. Failure wasn't an exception for shinobi of Kirigakure, and if I were to see one of them messing up because they wouldn't have listened to Rael's or my instructions, they would be severely punished.

I would then proceed to a large crate where I would have shuriken and kunai, though there was another next to it, but I haven't bothered to open it, let alone look at it. I would reach into the crate, and draw two kunai and shuriken from it, holding the pair in either hand.

"So, these here are kunai and shuriken." I would say to the children the names of the items respectively as I had called them out, in a calm tone of course, with a playful touch to it. "I am going to demonstrate to you all how to properly wield the said items, and then, how to utilize them." I had then placed the two shuriken upon my fingers, allowing them to go through the holes of them, this would be the first item I would show them how to use properly.

It might be different from the way Rael had learned, but he could surely show them, if he had wanted to. After penetrating the holes of the shuriken, I would then close my fist, allowing the shuriken to be taken into my palm, layering each other after my thumb would scoop them off of my fingers. I had moved my hands as slowly as possible so that the children could see it, where the crates had been was about three meters away from the kids. After I would securely hold them between my fingers and thumbs, I would--- "That's how you hold onto them, and this is how you use them!"

I exclaimed, I faced one of the many targets around, one of the concentric round ring targets. Quickly my arm would lash out twice, firing the two shuriken off at the target. They had moved quickly through the air, cutting the wind with their sharp, metallic, edges, sounding off as they would. Both shuriken would hit the red dot in the center of a round ring target, only five meters away from him.

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[Lang]

The children were impressed; still confused, but impressed by the "oohs" and "aahs" they were making. Plucking one of the many shuriken he carried out of his satchel, Rael held the throwing star up in clear view of the students, steadily shifting it so they could see it from multiple angles. "There are several ways of gripping the shuriken, which depend on whether you are executing a vertical or horizontal throw," he intoned, wrist following the appropriate words with their respective motions. "For the vertical throw, you can grip one edge of the shuriken, pinching it between your index finger's knuckle and holding it on the other side with your thumb. Holding onto one of the four sides like this, you can then follow through with an overhand throw."

Locating the next closest and untouched target, Rael followed his previous instructions to the letter, this time letting his fingers release the projectile weapon at the correct position in front of him. The group watched as it spun through the air before sinking the center-most ring with a dull thunk, one edge embedded deep into the wood. Satisfied, he pulled out another four-sided blade, continuing with his explanation. "For the horizontal technique, take an edge of the shuriken, and carefully wrap your finger around the tip, again holding it in place with your thumb and pointer finger. This way, as you come through," he brought the weapon towards his chest, then made a horizontal throwing gesture, "you flick outwards, like you would with a frisbee." Doing the same as before, he idly threw the shuriken into his previous target; slightly off from a bullseye, but still inside the inner ring.

"It will take time for each of you to determine your preferred throwing method, along with details such as how far to hold it from your body and when to release it. Later on, we will teach you how to adapt to other factors, such as moving targets, and accounting for heavy weather conditions." It was a balmy day outside, so no practicing today with heavy winds, rain, or reduced vision from heavy fogs.

"Remember this. Nine times out of ten, the shuriken is used as a tool to distract, rather than outright kill. Striking your target in the eyes or throat can be deadly, but such specific opportunities are rare, and can be done more effectively with other tools. In the end, its serves best as a tool that is meant to force enemies into ducking or moving to avoid them, taking their attention away from you."

With a quick look at the sun's position, Rael determined they had just about enough time left over to demonstrate and give a short lecture on kunai; explosive tags and grenades of various effects would have to wait until another day. A swift look to the other instructor, Rael passed him the reins before drawing slightly back, causing the students to shift their focus back to Yokumaru once again.

[KEITH]

I had watched Rael as he would go on to explain the various other ways how the children should hold the shuriken, and how to throw them. He had gone into far more detail about it than me, but that is what he was hearing for after all, my lack of detail and explanation was to test him. Within two days, I would be able to gauge Rael's level of knowledge and vaguely assess the level of his shinobi skills. But, maybe it was knowledge and skill that all of the Genin who had recently possessed and it wasn't anything special at all, perhaps.

With the attention of Rael and the students turning back to me, I knew that it was my turn to continue onward with the next part of the lesson. I figured that kunai wasn't too different from the shuriken, besides it being a knife. I wanted to teach them how to use makibishi, since it wasn't the type of weapon that one would use directly in combat; it was something that would require you to distract your opponent for them to fall into it. Makibishi wasn't one of my favorite types of weapons to use, though, especially since I was a Taijutsu user, and having to be close to my opponent and using them would result in me stepping upon them and being hurt as well.

But, I digress, I took the two kunai that I had carried and tossed them into two separate dummies tied to a wooden pole.

"Okay, the next thing we are going to teach you guys how to use is makibishi." I said to them as I would make my way over to the other crate I had previously ignored. I would remove the top cover from it, and inside of it, hundreds of shinobi pouches had been within it, and I would simply take out one bag, and proceed to where I originally stood. I open that back, and retrieved a few of the small spiky iron caltrop. With it, I would begin to speak about what I had held within my hand. "These are makibishi, they are weapons that have been used by shinobi for a long time.

Typically, they are used to slow down pursuers; these things are so sharp that they could pierce through thin sole, and into the feet of the pursuers. You can use them while on the run, or set them in advance and lure someone into them. Not only can they be used that way, but like a shuriken or kunai, they could be used as a distraction instead of placing them upon the ground, they can be thrown at an attacker, letting the makibishi pierce into their skin, though not as deeply as a shuriken or kunai." I had taken the few makibishi I had gathered up from the pouch and threw through around the base of the wooden pole, one of the dummies had been at, and they spread around it, all within a meter distance of it.

Then, I had taken a few more, and through them into the dummy, aiming for his eyes, throat, and face in general.

"The only thing that sucks about using them is that...well, you should probably use some sort of equipment to protect your hands so that you don't injure yourself." I said to them all, and revealing the hand I had used to throw the makibishi to them, with wounds from them all over it, and a little bit of blood coming from the wounds. But, I treated it as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

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[Lang]

^#2Yokumaru's change of plans into showing them how to use makibishi was a welcome one. Unlike the students, some crying out in alarm at seeing the tiny pricks of blood on their instructor's hand, he was not unduly worried about its condition. The only part where he may have cut himself was while reaching into the small bag, instead of carefully tipping a small handful onto his palm. Makibishi didn't require any particular grip to be scattered thoroughly or even in a specific area, so there was no need squeeze them tightly before throwing. He fished around in his side pack for a thin strip of cloth and wordlessly held it out to the Jounin, if only so that he didn't accidentally smear it on one of their students later.

"Sensei?" asked one of the students, "why aren't we covering kunai?" The other students turned to look where Yokumaru had thrown his pair of kunai into the two training dummies, then back with inquisitive faces. "Kunai are used in many ways similar to shuriken, but also have much more versatility. It would take too long to cover all of them today, so we'll have a class next time going specifically over using them." Checking to see that they were all appeased for the time being, Rael decided to move onto today's next subject, lest they all wanted to stay here until well after school hours.

Clapping his hands once to regain their attention, he continued. "That's everything we'll cover today for tools. Since we still have some time left, why don't I wrap things up by teaching all of you a new jutsu?" The children's eyes immediately lit up, and he inwardly shuddered before going on. "I was thinking about what would be a good technique for all of you to learn for this lesson, and finally came up with an answer yesterday after class. In fact," he glanced over to where the Head Jounin stood, one corner of his mouth slightly turning upwards, "Yokumaru-sensei helped me with this one."

¹Rael lifted his arms, hands forming the signs for ram and hare before finishing with the tiger seal. Close by, one of the small, nearly dried up puddles left over from yesterday gurgled, as its water content began to rise up, eliciting surprised sounds from his young audience. The water in midair began to coalesce into a roughly humanoid figure, before flattening, stretching, and pulling as his chakra worked with the liquid base to create the jutsu. Distinct features formed, a mop of what looked to be white hair formed atop its head, and portions of water thinned as they changed into what would resemble the clothes he wore, even down to the Kiri plate sewn on his sleeve.

"Well well, doesn't he look familiar?"

---

1. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu

[Lang]

Though it looked every inch the same as the original, Rael's water clone was distinct in that it lacked any recognizable facial expressions beyond 'apathetic', standing stock-still as though awaiting orders. Its features were completely neutral, even when some students waved their hands in front of its face, trying to coax a reaction out of the construct. Hiding a slight smirk, Rael shooed away their overeager arms and addressed the students in a calm manner, just as the clone finally started moving from its starting position, walking over to stand next to its creator.

"This, everyone, is known as 'Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu'. It is a staple technique of nearly all Kiri nin, and when used properly, can substitute as a semi-competent sidekick. The number of them you can have at one time varies by person, depending on your mastery of Suiton-based ninjutsu. Personally," here, he looked a tad embarrassed, "I can only form one at this time, having just learned this technique; perhaps some of you will show greater promise when starting out.

Although they have physical bodies, unlike regular 'Bunshin', these clones do not have any self-awareness, meaning they cannot perform any actions unless mentally ordered to by their creator. In a fight, you can't depend on them to watch your back while facing the other way; you must direct them yourself, and so the ability to multitask is of utmost importance, especially if you plan to create more than one on the field. However, you'll find that their pros far outweigh the cons.

Even with just one clone, if you specialize in taijutsu, you are essentially doubling the number of strikes you can perform in an instant, forcing the enemy to choose which they should block or evade, all while looking for openings to exploit. Furthermore, it retains your natural strength and speed, which is a giant improvement to its predecessor. In the past, 'Mizu Bunshin' only had one-tenth the physical abilities of the user, making them little more than cannon fodder unless created by an exceptionally powerful individual." As he continued talking, Rael's water clone slowly began walking away from the group, not being hasty and giving its creator enough time to finish.

"However, the water clone shows its true value in the hands of an experienced ninjutsu specialist. Not only is it capable of replicating weaker Suiton techniques in your arsenal, they themselves can be used as a medium for stronger jutsu that require a water source. As very few of us are capable of initiating higher-level water release jutsu without said source, anything that facilitates our ability to do so is absolutely essential." Just as he finished speaking, a loud popping noise came from the side of all those assembled, and Rael looked in the direction where his clone suddenly burst into water, now back into a puddle just like before.

"Always know where your clone is situated, and keep them within a field controllable by your Suiton nature. Otherwise, if they venture beyond that perimeter, they will instantly break down into their base form, wasting your chakra." Everyone cast their attention on Yokumaru as the Genin looked over to where he was standing, getting him in on the discussion.

"Anything you would like to add to that, Yokumaru-sensei?"

[KEITH]

I would accept the cloth that Rael had handed out for me, using it to gently press against my hands, trying to stop the blood flow. As I would have done so, I would simply watch as he would take over the class, by starting up his lesson about Ninjutsu. Hopefully he wouldn't have planned on doing some sort of complicated technique for the kids; something that they were used to seeing would be something more preferable. I listened to everything he had said, and nodded in agreement to it.

But, once he had begun to mention the Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu to the children, Rael would look back at me, with a smirk upon his face, and I wouldn't be able to help but return it back to him. As the time had passed, Rael had seemed to tell them all that they had needed to know about the jutsu, there wasn't anything else to tell them really, even I could admit that. Or perhaps, I was simply being lazy; it could be either one of the two.

"Hm, I can't think of anything to add to it particularly, I think you explained it well. Covering all aspects of the technique. So, with that, I believe the lessons of the day have finally come to an end. In the classroom for you all, you had seen the weaponry I had brought to class, right? Well, while we were out here today, I had one of the teachers prepare a seal bag with all of the weapons we've used today and extra. I wouldn't advise you to use any we haven't showed you, so just ask one of your teachers or parents. And, that is all, class." With that, the lessons for today was over, and the missions finally completed.

Complete!

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[Messatsu!]

+60@ Both!