Kakesu had become aware of the number of shinobi moving in and out of the area. It was a strange occurance to see all the different headbands, some familiar and some not. He wasn't privy to why they were all gathering or why they weren't killing each other, but it seemed like a once and a life time event. He had little left to peddle though, except for his skills.
He had tried his best to make a sign, but had to get help from another commoner. The writing nailed to a tree read
"Watur Lesins for cheep"
For him it seemed perfectly fine, the random characters meant nothing to the illiterate boy. He was gathered near a small pond near a crossroads that he kept observing people with headbands pass by. He had not had any takers yet, he had hoped to make money off of practicing suiton, so that he'd kill two birds with one stone... but people just laughed as they walked by, leaving him in low spirits. He sat with his back to the tree, with the sign above him.
"So what's this?" the dark-haired jounin asked curiously, squinting at both the illegible sign and the person sitting beneath it. An observant person would've been able to suss out what was being advertised, but the Inuzuka didn't care much for tiny details. She simply found it odd and walked right up."Beggin' for water?"
Quick blurs of motion zoomed by.
A loud series of splashes followed her question as several ninken jumped into the pond, flinging water at bystanders without shame. Water sprayed everywhere except - conveniently - toward Makoto. The dogs may have been kicking up a storm out of sheer excitement, but their antics drew more than a few disapproving stares from passing ninja.
Ignoring the playfulness of her hounds, the Kiri Jounin reached to her side and produced a small canteen from her belt. "Here. If ya need it so badly. " Makoto tossed the item over to the stranger, none the wiser to what he was really doing beside the pond.
“Wha-ffff!” Kakesu yelped as unexpected muddy water touched his face, interrupting him from a pleasant daydream. He looked over at the pack of dogs and then back to the stranger, reaching up to catch the object she threw at him with confusion. He clasped his hands together too slow, and the canteen pressed into his chest with a light sting.
The boy stood up and began forming a few hand seals, in what was probably the sloppiest looking form the jounin would have ever seen. Somehow though, he managed to pull the water from his face and clothes to dry himself.
“Ahhh!” he yelped again as the dogs did a second round of shaking, undoing something he had used his precious chakra on. He gave up and rubbed the spot on his chest that had been hit with the canteen, and then his eyes met with the dark-haired woman who had thrown it. His eyes bugged out a bit for a moment before he averted his gaze and stumbled back a few steps.
“W-What’ddya do that faer!?” he whined, still clutching his chest. His usual attempts at hiding his rustic accent falling flat. He picked the canteen up off the ground and stared at it for a good long moment.
What did it mean?
Last Edit: Sept 13, 2021 5:10:59 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
Here she'd gone out of her way and done the boy a favor but he was getting all jumpity like a newborn hare. Didn't he know generosity when it hit him in the face? Err, chest. "The sign says ya needed water or somethin'," she added sternly. Pointing down to the canteen that he now held, the Inuzuka urged him to indulge himself in almost threatening tone. "So drink up. Or I'll make ya do it."
Makoto's attention then shifted elsewhere for a moment, icy blues scanning the surroundings as she rolled her shoulder in readying a fashion.
"Where's yer parents anyway? I'd like to give 'em a piece of my mind, forcin' a kid to beg for water in a place like this." Her assumptions were misplaced but her intentions were nothing but pure. Makoto couldn't stand people that left kids to do the dirty work, which was why she always threw herself into the line of fire for the younger generation. "Or is somebody else forcin' ya?" she asked with a leer.
“Ah is that what that says?” Kakesu said scratching his head looking at the sign. He decided to go ahead and take advantage of the free water and started sipping it down, then wiped his lips with his sleeve before capping it back off. “Lady, my parents are a country away from here. I’m grown enough to take care of myself you know.”
He took more time to clean himself off from the mess, then looked back at the Inuzuka and then at her hounds. Other passerby ninja started to keep their distance away from the scene, undoubtably trying to avoid the messy dogs themselves.
“The sign was supposed to say that I’m teachin’ how to do that water magic stuff,” Kakesu said making a few more clumsy seals and getting a little tendril of water to raise up out of the lake and wobble around for a moment. “But thank you for being nice enough to help someone you thought was in need. I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you a discount on yer first lesson.”
He started walking towards the ninken near the water. Even though he was a bit grumpy at first that they got him messy, they were adorable, and he decided to get brave and reach out to try to pat one on the head.
Water magic? The phrasing made Makoto chuckle. So what, did that mean the kid was a street performer? Not quite. The kunoichi's gaze glued onto the sight of his hands as soon as he started making familiar patterns with fingers. When all that popped up was a tiny bit of water, it left the Inuzuka both at ease and intrigued.
"That's...a neat trick."
Makoto was left sounding uncertain. Her ninken were more excited about the development though, taking Kakesu's approach as an invitation to play. One of them started tugging on his sleeve and trying to drag the boy into the water. Another nudged from behind. The third was just...chasing its own tail.
"Well, these bozos love water."
To be frank, it was simply in their nature. Her dogs were accustomed to raging seas and rocky beaches, but even tiny streams or puddles made them giddy with thoughts of home. A faint smile creased the Inuzuka's lips as she considered the prospect, then decided to join the boy at the water's edge.
The scrawny boy was quick to stumble forward when one of the ninken pulled his sleeve. His knees lowered into the water as he was nudged and he fought with the dogs for his sleeve back, but he let out a hearty bit of laughter. He kind of forgot what he was doing, more enthralled with playing with the dogs than his economic goals. “Ahwh he licked me,” he said after getting a large slurp in the face and pulling himself free. He got up out of the water, dripping now and a bit exasperated from the excitement. A toothy grin on his face as he took a few deep breaths.
Finally, he would address her question.
“You just have to do a few fings with your hands,” he explained. “Like this!” He started making more hand seals that weren’t proper form. He grit his teeth as he tried to pull the water from his clothes, but this time he didn’t get a response.
“Err wait, no it went like…”
A few more botched attempts, and he finally managed to mould his chakra haphazardly enough to get the water to start moving off his clothes.
“There we go! Pretty cool, huh lady?”
Last Edit: Sept 21, 2021 3:39:17 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
Now that she witnessed it up close for a second time, the Mist jounin could say for sure that those were indeed hand seals. Messy fingerwork maybe, but still hand seals. Although it rose the question as to who taught him such a sloppy technique, there was no need to pry him for that sort of info.
Seeing how the water reacted at the kid's command, Makoto offered a smile of approval. "Sure is. Ya got a real special talent." The praise was genuine. And so was the happy wagging of tails coming from her companions. They all seemed to appreciate the spectacle even if it was rough around the edges. "Call me Makoto," she went on to clarify. Better than 'lady', she figured.
Whereas she was quite skilled in the physical aspect of her abilities, Makoto rarely saw fit to indulge in much ninjutsu. Other than the stylings of her clan, she barely had any grasp of techiques that incorporated chakra. Elements too were something of a mystery.
"How 'bout I give it a shot, eh?"
The Mist ninja decided it was worth the effort if only because of the child's kind attitude. She had no reason to show him up, but with the knowledge of chakra at her disposal she should've already been a few steps ahead. Wading lightly into the water beside her hounds, the kunoichi took a quick breath to focus and looked down to both hands. Ungraceful and hasty, her fingers wove a few of the symbols Kakesu had displayed before she placed her palm on the water's surface. And soon enough...
Kakesu closed his eyes and smiled when Makoto gave him both praise and her name. He watched as she began making the secret gestures needed for the spell, but alas she wasn’t successful. There was never a look of doubt or worry on his face for her, it wasn’t something that he thought she’d be able to learn on the first try.
He brought his hands up and tried to show her how he was doing it again. The shapes he made with his hands were often a little bit off. He didn’t actually manipulate the water again; he knew overdoing it was something that was forbidden.
“It might take a while yet, Makoto, but you can do it!” he assured. “I had esperience with working with dirt before I did water, but it was a challenge for me even.”
He paused for a moment and scratched the back of his head, watching the woman idly while he tried to remember something he might have forgotten.
“Oh, my name is Kakesu,” he said. He tilted his head back over to the animals still enjoying the little break by the pond. “How’d you get your family to let you have so many dogs? My ma would never allow it.”
Drawing her hand away from the lake while wearing a look of dissatisfaction, the Inuzuka didn't know what went wrong. Not that she expected to be summoning tidal waves with a mere touch, but the boy had made it look so easy in comparison. Her amateurish attempt saw nary a ripple cross the surface of the water, giving rise to no shortage of doubts running through her mind.
Makoto scratched her head in confusion. "Heh. I bet it's...just the water! Yeah, I'm used to the sea, not this cool, calm stuff." Although a blatant excuse, it was the only thing she could attribute to her failing. No way could it be the fact that her hand seals were poorly woven or that she never put much concentration into controlling her chakra. Yeah, it was definitely the water's fault.
Glancing back to her energetic ninken, she shook her head with bemusement as they began to chase one another amid wild barking. "Mm? Don't let those fuzzy snouts fool ya. They are family." More so than any typical pet, anyway. Her dogs were the closest thing she had left to actual kin and their bonds of loyalty and love went deep - deeper than most connections Makoto had ever felt with people. "Just 'cus they run around on four legs don't mea--" her words trailed off before she finished, a brow crinkling in thought. Wait. Could it be that simple?
She had to try.
"Y'know, they say yellin' the name of a move gives 'em a special power. Like magic! So ya ever think o' namin' that lil' talent of yers?"
“Hmmmmmm, I never named nothing before,” Kakesu said rubbing a finger under his chin in thought. He had pulled the water from his clothing, which was something that happened when he hung his clothes up to dry usually. His train of thought led him to kyoho, a sort of grape, that he let dry out to preserve them longer on the road.
“Water Style: Instant Raisen,” Kakesu said with a smile, seemingly thinking that the name was clever enough- for him anyways. He giggled after a moment. “I should name some of my earth magic some time.”
“You said you are used to the sea?” he asked. “I met a feller from the sea not too long ago. I don’t know why so many folks are travelin’ around these parts but it’s been pretty good for buis- busidn- for work.”
While he spoke he picked up a stick shaped like a ‘t” from off the ground and tossed it towards the road, watching in anticipation of the dogs going after it. He had seen some boy in a town do it with a dog once, so he wondered if these dogs also liked fetching sticks.
Makoto was still chuckling at the name of the kid's jutsu when her ninken went blitzing by and chased after the thrown stick like their lives depended on it. In an instant they disappeared down the road in a chaotic blur, barking wildly and crashing into bystanders without remorse.
Seconds later, the swiftest among them brought back the stick, tail wagging with excitement. Another dog sprinted up beside the first, carrying what looked like a woman's purse in its jaws. The last of the beasts to arrive was dragging an entire log behind itself, creating a muddy path in its wake. All three objects were then, of course, deposited at Kakesu's feet as the ninken anticipated another toss.
"Careful now. Hope yer throwin' arm's ready for a workout." Makoto stifled a mischievous laugh, knowing exactly how demanding her pups could be. With all the sticks one could find laying around the Fire Country, those savvy canines had a limitless supply of entertainment at their disposal. "They won't stop 'til ya drop."
Confident that the boy would have his hands full for a little while, the Jounin looked back into the water and smirked at the murky reflection. "Inuzuka Style." Following a low growl, Makoto crouched down and planted her hands into the cool liquid below. Admittedly, nothing felt much different than her last attempt, but she began to flood her body with chakra by tapping into her bestial side.
The method she devised was none too efficient, wasting energy in spades. Yet the increased flow of power sent rippling sensations down her arms and legs, giving her hope it was possible to at last exert some force. Closing her eyes, the Inuzuka concentrated hard.
“Inya Zuwha?” Kakesu muttered as he looked down at the purse that had been left at his feet by the dogs. He glanced over, noticing that Makoto was preoccupied with the pool of water, he bent down and reached into the purse. He fished around in the contents until he felt the familiar clink of coin against his palm, clutched it quickly and stuffed what he had retrieved into his pocket.
He stook a step back, looked up into the canopy above them and whistled a bit. He then glanced back towards the woman.
“Wow! You’re doing so good Makoto!” he said, giving her a thumbs up. He bent down and picked up the stick again. With a cartoonish windup he tossed the stick as hard as he could, watching with anticipated delight of seeing them dart away again… perhaps hoping for more treasures to be returned.
He forgot what he had asked that went unanswered. He trotted towards her, he probably had one more demonstration left in him for the day. He stood next to her and performed sloppy hand seals one more time. The water began to dance upwards in a little spout that curved around.
“This one is like a noodle!” he said.
Last Edit: Oct 1, 2021 21:12:45 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
Admittedly, Makoto was concentrating too hard on her chakra to pay much attention to her surroundings. The power that suffused her body was a fickle thing to control, requiring every bit of effort she could spare to make it bend to her will. Usually she had no issues doing that when her instincts took the reins, like when her life was on the line, but this was different. More deliberate.
Gnashing teeth together in a show of exertion, the kunoichi collected more energy around her palms and the soles of her feet. Although she had a simple idea in mind to test her aptitude, the strain was already wearing down on her body. "C'mon!" Doing things with brute force just came naturally to Makoto, so she was about half a second away from punching the water into submission. That is, until she felt her body slightly raise up, fingers clutching onto the surface of the pool like it was solid rock.
With a desperate hop Makoto wrenched herself from the shallows and planted her feet atop the water. Not into the water - onto the water. Looking as if she had landed on an invisible platform, the kunoichi wobbled and splashed around for a moment with awkward footing. The sensation was quite new, making a task as simple as taking a single step a calculated challenge.
"Well? Whatcha think?" she asked with a chuckle, eager to see Kakesu's reaction to a different sort of magic. "May not be as flashy as yer tricks but this's kinda fun." Makoto ventured another step forward and her foot nearly sunk beneath the pool, only for her to draw back and concentrate again. "Harder than it looks too..." she muttered after a sigh. Keeping the right balance of energy was more taxing than she predicted. At least she wouldn't have to worry about using the skill under pressure.
Kakesu gave her a thumbs up, mustering just enough energy to walk onto the surface of the pool in a wobbled stance for a few seconds before he too started to sink.
“It really is pretty hard!” Kakesu said. “It took me a good number of days to get it to where it is now, more’n I could keep count of really. Just have to keep practicing.”
He leaned down into a crouch looking at their reflections in the water and stirred it with his hands. Letting the ripples ruin the mirror as he let the cool liquid flow between his fingertips as he churned it counter-clockwise.
“Sometimes I think it is kind of silly to mess around with it, using it too much makes my head hurt and I can just splash it. My grandpa told me there is a secret kinda magic I could learn if I understood the earth and water better.”
He let the water settle again and then quietly splashed the surface. He kept checking over his shoulder for the dogs, or worse a lady looking for her purse. He’d pocketed enough money from it that he might be able to finally visit the big city in the west.
Last Edit: Oct 7, 2021 22:59:05 GMT by Kakesu Aoki
