Recent Posts

Just a little uneasy of what this day meant for him, especially after receiving the ambiguous note detailing the location and time of his scheduled exam, Rael consumed a light snack and packed another before setting out from his temporary living quarters, making sure to double-check that he brought the necessary tools (pen, pencil, eraser) in case they were not provided. There was no guarantee his upcoming test would even include a written component, but it never hurt to be prepared just in case. As a last minute thought, he also deemed it necessary to include his carry-on satchel, fully loaded in case he needed anything on the way there. Should the ones in charge forbid the examinees from bringing the aforementioned equipment, he could always leave it outside the premises, or hand it over to someone in charge until the test was done.

Still, Water 7 seems a rather strange place to be holding an exam.

And indeed it was. Rael figured the test would be held at least somewhere in Kirigakure, considering how only people that were Genin and up could participate. The naval town was not under the Mizukage's jurisdiction, but instead governed by the Water Daimyō, despite however much the general masses seemed to believe their town was perfectly neutral. In any case, it took him roughly an hour to arrive by foot, the extra time spent first asking for directions to the hospital (being his first time here), then getting to know several of the town's 'hotspots' before heading on over to the correct location. He had wanted to ask if any of them knew about others participating in the event. but eventually dropped the idea since, being civilians, it was unlikely they knew anything about it either.

Although, that being said, maybe I should have.

The reason for this sudden questioning of his previous idea was the fact that, simply put, it was completely dead here. Rael knew he was somewhat early, scheduling everything so that he arrived here with nearly half an hour to spare. However, there was neither hide nor hair of another living soul elsewhere in close vicinity. Could he perhaps have gotten the place wrong? It seemed impossible, the Genin checking with two different individuals, both giving him the same instructions on correct routes to take, according to their respective locations. Unfortunately, the heavily-secured front doors suggested otherwise; it seemed a bit more extreme than a regular classroom door that was locked before students were finally allowed in. What strategies could he come up with, or clever maneuvers to get in via other means, with 'Dr. Nara' supposedly waiting all the way up on the 9th floor? He walked straight up to the front doors, rapping thrice on them before calling out.

"Hello? Dr. Nara, are you here?"

Sometimes the simplest solution was also the most practical.

HEALING POST

His words were lighthearted, but inwardly, Rael was deadly serious as he analyzed the extent of Jett's injuries, hoping his coldly-efficient call and the other Genin's brash actions wouldn't spell an early fate for the older boy. Fortunately, the retractable wrist blade prevented the grizzly bear's claw from directly gouging into his arm and slicing it to bloody ribbons. However, the force of the swing had instantly snapped his wrist, and from what he could tell, cracked the carpal bones in multiple locations. All in all, Rael was damn impressed his Genin counterpart hadn't panicked after taking some pretty hefty damage. Either he was someone able to completely focus on the objective regardless of personal well-being, or the teen had suffered similar wounds in the past.

Placing both palms over the injured limb, Rael set to work on repairing the bones first. 'Shousen', as well as all medical ninjutsu, wasn't something you just turned on and it magically solved problems, especially ones you didn't understand; he had to guide the healing chakra in performing exactly what was required. Osseous tissue in the form of cortical bone and trabecular bone began to form at a greatly accelerated rate. At the same time, Jett's body began to produce marrow far more quickly than it normally ever would, combining with the previous tissue into new 'soft' bones that fused together with the old ones. At the same time, the newly-created tissue began to work on the three bones located in Jett's arm as well, seeking out the ulna, radius, and humerus in respective order. Rael would've taken this moment to give the other male's body a complete tune-up, but an operation of that scale would take much longer than they had the time for.

Next, it was time to work on the skin and flesh. An enormous, ugly bruise colored black and purple already spread across Jett's entire arm, indicating just how many of the capillaries were broken beneath the skin, leaking blood out of sight. The ruptured blood vessels were mended, and the bodily fluids that were spilled but invisible from view were filtered through the rest of his body, even as more red and white blood cells, as well as platelets, were created to replenish the body's regular amount. Before their eyes, a healthy hue returned to the Genin's arm, as the mess of colors it'd been retreated before vanishing completely.

"There, good as new."

The entire procedure took under half a minute to complete, but Rael knew he had to be even faster in order to fulfill his duty as a combat medic. Every extra second he took gave an active opponent time to end his life while in the middle of an emergency operation, and then neither nor his patient would be in a position to help anybody. Luckily, their quarry this time was a single being, and not even an enemy nin at that. There would be time later for guilt in allowing Jett to be injured in the way he'd been, but not now.

"I agree. If that also means you're up for skinning this thing as proof, or taking its head back with us, be my guest.

[Exit]

A Raiton user hm?

This could definitely work towards their advantage, especially if Jett knew several high-level ninjutsu of the corresponding element. What a pity their grizzly bear wasn't situated in the water to begin with; they could've ended this in an instant. Fortunately, Jett knew better than to toss the lightning orb in a manner that might have landed in the lake with him. A low or mid-rank Raiton technique might not kill him outright, but he'd be stupid to think it wouldn't at least come close to incapacitating him. As Jett's 'Raikyū' smashed into the slumbering bear's shoulder, Rael's body rose up out of the water, wading through the last few meters into position directly behind the target, a blue aura similar to electricity surrounding his palms.¹

However, instead of waiting that extra second he needed to end the thing's life, the grizzly let out a thunderous roar and charged towards the advancing Genin in front, its movements seemingly unhindered by the slight wound as it closed in on all fours. For something that weighed nearly half a ton, it was ridiculously quick as the distance between it and Jett dropped to nearly zero, swiping out with a mammoth-like claw towards towards the Genin's outstretched arm, just as the latter released the lightning bolts directly into its face. On the plus side, the bear was instantly blinded, howling in primal rage as it jerked backwards, slumping down to furiously bat at its own eyes. However, its debilitating injury didn't stop the grizzly's paw from smacking into Jett's limb with enough force to instantly shatter multiple bones and send the teen flying nearly a dozen feet away.

"Shit," cursed the white-haired boy, who'd begun sprinting towards the pair as soon as the grizzly began its charge. Coming up on the temporarily-stunned animal's backside, he slashed along its hind legs with his bare hands, dropping the creature as it instantly lost control over the usage of its limbs. Their prey would try to retaliate, but its inability to defend itself or rend the boy to pieces couldn't stop the next attack, a quick palm thrust towards the heart² before Rael danced back and sidestepped, letting the lingering effects of his technique slowly finish the job. With the immediate threat out of the way, Rael rushed over to where Jett lay, quickly assessing the extent of his injuries.

It was probably totally uncalled for, but he couldn't resist. "Looks like he gave you a break," he quipped, before kneeling as a green, glowing light began to emanate around his hands.³

---

1. Ranshinshou [Chaotic Mental Collision] // B // [x1 Mid]
2. Chakra no Mesu [Chakra Scalpel] // A // [x1 Mid]
3. Shousen no Jutsu [Mystical Hand Technique] // S // [x1 High]

It wasn't exactly hard to figure out Jett was a person with history behind him; the way he answered Rael's simple question, almost copying what he'd said a week ago without revealing any specifics, confirmed it. The older boy had obviously been somewhat trained before coming to Kirigakure. Otherwise, who would think to enroll in the Academy shortly upon arrival, then actually have the ability to graduate in the same year. Indeed, he was curious about the teen, powerfully curious. However, Rael also respected his fellow Genin's desire to keep the past under wraps; he didn't have the right to be prying into other people's business anyway.

"Haha, sounds a bit like me. I didn't come until well after my seventh birthday, nearly two years ago now. We've all got a bunch of circumstances that either hold us back or push us along faster than we'd like to go," he chuckled lightly, sharing a bit of his own previous situation to lessen the distance between them. "In the end though, things turned out more or less alright, so for that I'm thankful."

Whatever else Jett was willing to divulge, Rael would quietly accept with a patient ear. It wasn't long after that they finally came across the makeshift camp mentioned in their report. There wasn't hide nor hair of anyone still left around, and if it wasn't for the lack of dried blood, notched blades, or even just a dead body or two, he could've swore a raiding party had swept through. The hastily-erected tents and tables once laden with food were practically torn apart. The identity of the culprit was evident by the huge, and he meant huge claw marks gouged into the shattered benches; a creature with paws that size could easily envelope his entire head with the same appendage. Rael would've liked for some recent light rainfall, since it would soften the earth just enough for any tracks to show up, but not so much it would completely wash away the trail it left behind.

Maybe they were lucky then, that Mr. Bear obviously never read 'A Guide to Stealth' and didn't give two-shits about hiding its tracks. Not far away, the dense underbrush was practically uprooted heading towards the northeast. Impossible to tell if the beast left just moments ago, or it departed immediately after wrecking havoc with the poor civilians.

"Looks like we got our lead. You want to take point?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Mountain Bear
Rank: C
No. of Participants: 2
Details: A massive bear is roaming the countryside. Find it and kill it. Or tame it - the choice is yours!
Rewards: 200 EXP & 1,000 ryō

Following his impromptu therapy session with the three wayward academy students, Rael underwent a five-day dry spell with regards to missions. He couldn't recall the last time he'd gone without at least a D-rank in two day's time to preoccupy himself with, let alone nearly a full week. He never actually got around to finding out more about his partner on his most recent mission, and originally believed it would be a long time before they crossed paths again. A bit ironic, finding out this morning at the mission's office who he'd be duoing with this time around.

I guess I'll be the one on standby, in case that bear isn't nearly as nice as the ones in children's storybooks.

Even on a good day, Rael sure as heck didn't want a 700-lb grizzly smacking him in the face with one of its paws; he'd take any opportunity to engage the thing from a distance. As long as Jett had any form of ranged ninjutsu in his arsenal, odds were they had little to fear. Checking over his equipment a second time, the Genin made certain his explosive notes were all accounted for. The wild animal they were going to put down was tough enough to be peppered with kunai and shuriken, and it'd still have enough time to bite their faces off.

Waiting outside the village gates for his partner to show, Rael began to map out the course they would need to take in order to reach the site where their quarry was last spotted. It'd attacked a small group of merchants roughly four miles to the north, and reportedly frightened off the civilians, leaving their food packets and other rations behind. Maybe if they were lucky, they'd get a chance to scavenge for some leftover usable goods as well.

With this in mind, the levels of consumption are relative to each other and directly effect the next level above or below them. As of now, your chakra can be measured as such: two lows are equivalent to one mid; two mids are equivalent to one high; four highs are equivalent to one massive. Numerically speaking, it would look like this: 32 lows = 16 mids = 4 highs = 1 massive.

The above is from the site's Chakra & EXP thread. The problem is that the written form and the equation form don't match up.

1 Massive = 4 High, 1 High = 2 Mid, 1 Mid = 2 Low

Based on that, it'd be 1 Massive = 4 High = 8 Mid = 16 Low, not the equation that's quoted. Unless you change it to something like 1 High = 4 Mid, or 1 Mid = 4 Low, you can't get 32 Low.