Kagerou's Time-Skip II [post-Kogarashi War]

[Tenshuyami]

.xChakra: 855 xxxx Stamina: 855. xxxx Bloodline: Raiu xxxx Classes: Buki/Buki xxxxProfile
Ｍｕｓｕｎｄｅ　"Ｓｏｒａｒｕ"　Ｈｉｒａｉｔｅ　皆殺し
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The surprise on Soraru's face was when he examined the blade she handed him was the first display of real emotion he'd shown so far in their meeting. It spoke volumes about its wielder without the green-haired woman needing to utter a single word. Her choice in undergoing training in Tetsunami Ryu was undeniably fitting for the path she chose but was she aware of that? Was it intentional? It'd make him pleasantly surprised if that were the case. While aggressive styles like Tetsuishi Ryu or Kakumei no Hono Ryu placed more of an emphasis on cutting through opposition, Tetsunami Ryu was a defensive style that utilized chakra control to approach situations without needing to apply lethal force. It wasn't uncommon for both new and seasoned practitioners to learn the style without that knowledge. Many used its techniques supplementally to enhance their cutting techniques and didn't make use of it as its creators intended. The Zen Buddhist monks who created it refused to take life in something as fleeting as combat, so utilizing the art with a blunt blade was a very appropriate way to approach training.

"I won't lie. My experience with Shinobi made me think you'd be inclined towards using something more...fatal. " He said with the same detached tone he used earlier, though there was the smallest of smiles on his lips. His eyes hadn't left the blade, and he used his free hand to slide his thumb across the polished edge. He was certain that it could still cut with enough force but the blunt damage would far outweigh whatever shallow wounds it inflicted. It carried a stronger message than a reverse blade, which could still be flipped over to cause fatal damage. How interesting. He sheathed the katana and held the weapon back to its owner, waiting for her to retrieve it before he continued.

"I've seen swordsmen who refused to take lives. It's much rarer to come across one that happens to also be a shinobi with a mindset like that. Tell me about yourself. Not as a defender of your village, but as a person. Nothing too long, and your name would be a great start." Soraru's eyes finally sought hers out again and unlike the other times he spoke, his tone carried an evident degree of interest. Normally he'd have just asked for her name and then started working on a training regimen, but the weapon she put on display for him left him curious about the woman in front of him. Knowing her stance on killing would also assist in the direction he took her training in.

HeadlessKoko

 

[HeadlessKoko]

"Kiritani Kagerou," giving her "full name" accompanied by a bow, Kagerou paid respects to her potential teacher, but withheld her real last name out of a cautionary habit. Her voice, smooth and melodic, did not stumble in surprise or difficulty upon being inquired as to who she was as just a person. She had found it to be a common request in her experience.

She merely paused a moment to collect her thoughts, hand gliding down the sheathed blade she had retrieved from Soraru. She did not know him well, but she did not need to understand why he eyed her sword for so long. He had openly spoken so much of what was on his mind, after all. He appreciated her choice in blade, and that surprised Kagerou. She had been ready to placate him for being insulted. Insulted that she had brought a dull mockery of a blade. Insulted that she thought herself good enough to not need a proper blade. There were a lot of ways to miscontrue Kagerou's intentions with her sword choice. However, this master took none of them. For his appreciation, he had already earned Kagerou's appreciation.

Such appreciation, in fact, that she felt a little guilty. Though, the guilt did not move her eyes away from Soraru's gaze. The new spark of interest she read in his eyes, in particular, inclined her to be honest with him as much as it flattered. To temper and correct whatever image he may have of her in his head, Kagerou tackled the topic he seemed most interested in, "There is a lot I could say about myself, but I noticed your interest in my choice of sword. Please do not misunderstand my virtues. Yes, I dislike endangering others, but I only brought this particular blade with me because I came here to train. I am certainly not some saint who knows and seeks only nonlethal arts, and I certainly carry around deadlier tools than a dull katana. I am a shinobi, and a shinobi uses all tools at their disposal to accomplish their goals. My goal just happens to be a little off in that, as much as possible, I want to cause as little harm as possible, to all sides in a fight." Her voice stayed steady, unchanged as she thoroughly explained to the interested party.


[23 sentences]

Tenshuyami

 

[Tenshuyami]

.xChakra: 855 xxxx Stamina: 855. xxxx Bloodline: Raiu xxxx Classes: Buki/Buki xxxxProfile
Ｍｕｓｕｎｄｅ　"Ｓｏｒａｒｕ"　Ｈｉｒａｉｔｅ　皆殺し
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Soraru remained still and listened. He'd been dealing with apprentices and novices for so long that he had grown quite impatient in his reading of others. "Right. That was just me being assumptuous. You have an air of peace about you, and I applied that to both you and your profession. A bad habit from an old life." He waved a hand dismissively. The insight he received from his abilities as a Hakemoto monk was rendered useless when he decided to forsake himself. Just because he could quickly pick up on accurate impressions didn't mean he could read people to the same extent anymore. "Your distaste for harming others interests me far more than your choice of weapon. Those in your profession typically find killing to be an inevitable path. They train in styles like the ones I teach to make it easier for them." He looked down for a moment, trying to find the words to explain his next point best. He didn't want to mess up again.

"I think we're around the same age. We've worked in the same field and probably participated in the same war. I've reached a point where I find it too easy to take lives. You, on the other hand, would put your own life on the line to protect an enemy if killing them wasn't the only option, wouldn't you? To cause as little harm as possible, to all sides of a fight...it's incredibly idealistic, yet you've made it this far." He recalled the night in the wilds of Kumogakure during the barbarian assault. Citizens were being mutated in pods by shamans, and he was tasked with assassinating them silently along with Kaileer. It was his first time killing anyone, and it was followed by the deaths of many more on that mountain. It was a slippery slope that led to Looking back; I would have liked to help those people without killing enemies I didn't understand. I wonder how she would have handled that situation.

Re-establishing eye contact, Soraru gave a small nod. "It's interesting to me, and that's why I want to know more about you, Kiritani-san."

HeadlessKoko

 

[HeadlessKoko]

She smiled, as she always did, but through this particular smile, she wished to convey that he need not worry so much about having slightly misread her, if it could even be called that. For a first impression, his observation had been surprisingly accurate, and he certainly didn't deserve to feel like he needed to speak with additional care. Unfortunately, outright saying, "You may speak comfortably to me," would sound presumptuous no matter what, so until Kagerou thought of a better way of phrasing it, she was stuck with trying to convey the feeling through her eyes and smiles.

Silence followed for a short time after Soraru finished. Thinking, most likely, but though her smile's encouragement was easy to read and it was obvious that her peering eyes were reading his reactions, catching sight of the brief flashback that played through his mind, there was little else revealed. When he reflected on those many others who trained so that they may be better harm, was he reflecting on himself? Green hair rustled like leaves in a breeze as Kagerou gave a small shake of her head. "I am flattered," when she finally answered, she flashed her teeth in a bright smile, "but also afraid that I will not live up to your expectations. It won't do to be so hard on yourself. We're all stories, in the end, and the world would be a dull place if every story was the same. My story just happened to let me take a childish dream and, as my aunt used to say, 'See how far you can go with one big leap.' The leap is bound to end, but that's okay. What matters is that I took that leap and ended up somewhere new. Heh. Though, of course, my uncle would always add that I should make sure to look before I leap if I was going to take Auntie Mochi's advice." The laugh, somehow, subdued the smile compared to when it was big with flashing teeth at the start of Kagerou's recollection, and a moment of silence followed the small memory.

Lost in her thoughts, the kunoichi's gaze had since slipped to the ground, unintentionally. When she realized, she simply and smoothly raised her sights back up to the face of the teacher she had been attempting to curry favor with. Curry favor, huh? Since when did she feel like she should start reminiscing about old times? What about the individual in front of her could have brought up that old memory? Eyes first moved up, then the rest of head also raised. Returning to the original point she wanted to make, before winging it took her off course like a petal blown adrift by a stray breeze, the medic added, "No story is perfect. You may find my determination admirable, but just as my refusal to kill may have saved lives, it has also shoved the burden of taking a life onto another's hands, or even... caused harm unto those I care for most. At times, even death." She hoped, with that said, it would both satisfy her prospective teacher's curiosity and persuade him what he found unique was merely the same as any other individual, basically just a reskin of the same problems. In the end, it was the same, she and others. They learned and practiced and trained to become shinobi so that they would be strong enough to protect those they cared for while following their desired paths.

[29 sentences]

Tenshuyami