Better than I was Yesterday [Yaju, Team 4]

She smiled because she knew that Yaju was put off by her skills and talent of thinking things through. This, she laughed to think, was more than most ninja had even at the level of Yaju. Although she wasn't the most adept at close combat, in fact she considered it her weak point, she could usually figure some way out of it such in the way that she did.

As he stumbled backwards and regained his footing, turning back toward her and smiling. This brought a surge a rejuvenating courage through her body as he aimed his palm toward her chest. She launched herself backwards while gathering the chakra in her hands to form her Chakra Scalpel. She used this to block his blow. Since her strength was minimal, especially when compared to his, she was flung backwards. But she was expecting this so she recovered as best she could once she stopped sliding backwards. She regained her footing in much the same way as Yaju did, imitating his smile as well.

In much the same way that she grinned at him, he would stand back and grin at her, holding up his hand and saying, "Let's take a break for a moment Reika. I think you have earned it. And besides, I have something to give you and I also want to show you something." She agreed readily, allowing herself to take less laborious breaths so as not to appear weakened  by his small blow against her. She wasn't hurt, just exhausted. He had worked her hard. As he performed his hand seal, a wolf appeared in Yaju's place. She smiled, delighted. He had seemed somewhat wolfish before, so this transformation of his had satisfied her. 

"Reika, before we continue with our future training, I want to make one thing clear: the things I teach you... will change not only your power but your attitude of me in a sense. I want you to swear that no matter what happens the power that I give you will be used for something good... or I will be having you for dinner." It was unmistakably Yaju's voice, so any doubts he had before vanished. The joking harsh smile that followed his sentiment was actually heartwarming to her. It should a lot of care and promise. She responded, confident and without hesitation, "I wouldn't dream of betraying the gifts that you bequeath onto me, Yaju-Sensei." He approached her, in his wolf form, and set his paw on her in reassurance. At this, she smiled thoroughly at him and watched as he transformed back into his human form. He responded, "Good. You are the first Kunoichi that I have recognized for their skills and the second that I have taken under my guidance to become the strongest. So to commemorate your new role and your first day as my student, I am going to give you that seal I promised you." At the mention of the seal, her heart jumped and raced ever-faster within her chest. The promise of the power and skills she would gain, not just from the seal, but from the connecting properties it would have to Yaju and the commitment Yaju would be making to her training... It was all too exciting. "I will kind of need to bite you however... If you do not mind this however." She chuckled, looking up at Yaju, saying, "Whatever it takes." 

There was a sharp pain as Yaju's fangs dug into the neck on her skin. A kind of searing followed, but was soon gone. A sort of numb feeling was left in her neck as the seal set. Her vision blurred for a second and she saw the foggy form of Yaju fall to the ground and look up at her, as if he was expecting something. She followed, folding up her legs next to him and gripping the skin on her neck with her fingernails, testing her skin's new properties. It was as smooth as ever. There were no bite marks. It was as if Yaju had never bitten her and that the seal on her neck had simply appeared and the fresh bout of energy she felt throughout her body had come from nowhere. Yaju's chakra tasted odd; like pine needles and foreign spices. It was... nice.

"Yaju..." She was a little unsure where to start. "What effect will this have on me, exactly? Like, any abilities such as the wolf one that you possess? Are there any dangers? Or, weaknesses that I should know about?" After she had begun, the questions seemed to just fall from her mouth. "I mean, if I do get some sort of animal affinity like you have, would it have to be a wolf necessarily? I just thought maybe I would be more suited to some feline characteristics..." She paused, thinking that she was digressing from the topic a bit too much. Besides, she wanted to allow Yaju a period where he could answer the questions that were pulling at her lips. She smiled at him, apologizing, "Sorry, I'm kinda barraging you with questions here."


[WC: 852]

Yaju laid there for a moment and recalled the promise that Reika had essentially sworn to and it made him smile greatly. A heavily devoted student, and another whom would both carry on his power and legacy whenever he kicked the bucket was a good thought. For now however, his yellow eyes would stare up at Reika's form and admire it for a moment more before answering her question," The seal will grant you greater mobility and when i get around to teaching you lightning release techniques, it will make your lightning red. Another thing it could do is make a small veil of red lightning around you that you could project as a small blast, but the only downside is that you shouldn't over do it...or activate it in the shower," he chuckled for a moment at his own bad joke, hoping it brought a small smile to his students face.

Now when she asked about his wolf transformation and if she would be able to do that he sat up and looked her in the eyes for a moment, searching for something deep inside of them before poking her cheek in a friendly matter," You are racing for the finish line aren't you Reika i dont want to harm that beautiful body of yours with this technique, but if you want that type of power...well your going to have to live with the wolves so to speak. What i mean is that power specifically you will have to read on the clan that made the technique, i just perfected it. But in time i will show you how to do it yourself but if you want to, are you prepared to spend some time with your sensei?," the question sounded overly weird and almost something a pervert would say to an unsuspecting woman, but this wasn't quite the case.

Shaking his head, he would smile at Reika before laying back down," I do not mind you asking questions Reika, its actually the first time in a while that someone has even considered asking me about things so i take it as a good thing," his eyes would close for a moment as he took the smell of the air and the slight breeze of the wind across his face.

"The seal will grant you greater mobility and when I get around to teaching you lightning release techniques, it will make your lightning red." That particularly ability she became excited about. Red Lightning? That's the kind of thing stories and legends and written about. The fact that Yaju was likely already known for his Red Lightning, and that she would also possess the ability, it would obviously show that she was an accomplished student of his. The prospect sent bolts of electricity through her psyche. He continued, "Another thing it could do is make a small veil of red lightning around you that you could project as a small blast, but the only downside is that you shouldn't over do it... or activate it in the shower." At Yaju's joke and the smile that followed she loosed a light chuckle, but really the thing that interested her was the halo of lightning that this seal came with. It intrigued her, and she thought offhandedly that she would need a situation to test her new power in sometime soon. But, she pushed the thought aside for now. There was nothing she could do about it immediately, but she would need Yaju there when she tested it. She would feel a lot safer that way.

The conversation seemed to change a bit as soon as she mentioned Yaju's transformation into a wolf and how it applied to her own power. "You are racing for the finish line, aren't you Reika," he commented, seeming amused. But, seemingly unbeknownst to him, she was dead serious. "I don't want to harm that beautiful body of yours with this technique, but if you want that type of power... well you're going to have to live with the wolves, so to speak." He paused in her mind as she thought what the implications of the power could mean. Specifically, if his wolven form gave him the same tracking and sensory abilities of a wolf or even the enhanced form of a wolf. She thought about how this might translate to more feline creatures, but stopped before she got ahead of herself. Stay in the moment, Reika, she advised herself. "What I mean is, that power specifically, you will have to read on the clan that made the technique. I just perfected it." She smiled then, knowing that reading up and researching on a subject was definitely one of her strong suits. Also, the fact that he perfected the technique have her hope that he could help her put her own spin on the transformation. Still, questions nagged at her. "But, in time, I will show you how to do it yourself. But if you want to, are you prepared to spend some time with your sensei?" At this question, she truly laughed, gripping her stomach and squinting her eyes at the joy. Gasping through her chuckles, she responded, "Well that's a stupid question! Of course I am, sensei!"


Well after that matter appeared to be settled, she decided to return to her interrogation of him since her questions were not yet all dried up. "So, Yaju-sensei, what does this bond with wolves empower you to do specifically?," she dared to ask. The question might have come a little too soon, but her curiosity was piqued. Besides, she needed to know if this power was something that she wanted to strive for so that she could plan ahead. So, she decided to explain herself a bit. "I don't mean to get ahead of myself. I know that my body and the powers I have aren't yet ready for this technique. But, I feel as though a variant of your technique could be useful to me, but I don't know if a variant of your technique is possible, or even worth it, at my current state of my education on the subject. That is the only reason I ask such a question," she assured him. She searched his face, making sure that she wasn't delving in too deep where she ought not be searching. Still, she was confident that Yaju had faith in her and wouldn't doubt her intentions.

[WC: 690]

Yaju's eyes would look up at Reika, her answer was as unexpected as the way she had presented it...although he did not know that she would answer it with a yes. He had not even offered this sort of chance with Hunter, whom he had already taught so much...then again he wanted her to have something different that him. He now pondered on when he would allow her to come and stay with him, it was an interesting chain of thoughts although first he needed to see when she wanted to," So seeing as you accept the invitation, when would you like to being...i do not want to pry, but shouldn't you speak with your parents first...or if you are a rebel then that works just as well," a rebel..just like himself in the old days. Refusing to remember the days of his past, he would look up at Reika who had just asked him what he had obtained through his wolf transformation he found it better to simply show her.

As he was laying down his body would begin to transform back into that of his wolf form, the steam rolling off of his body as he decided to quickly transform into it. His body was a mass of black fur with his mane in a sense being red, his leering yellow eyes looked up at Reika before he had yawned showing his teeth. On his paws or more specifically his front paws were bandages, but that was a different story for now. Shaking for a moment he would walk over to Reika," Well as you already know i can speak still and i also gain all other benefits of a wolf although my senses were already that of a wolf, they are simply enhanced ten fold," he would move his head in the direction of the same tree that Reika was sitting under when he had first arrived and looked at it for a moment. Opening his mouth, a large concentration of lightning would amass and fire off at the tree, hitting it in its base and causing it to fall.

The tree would fall towards the both of them, but before the tree could fall any lower Yaju had leaped into the air and sliced it into many pieces with his claws. Landing just to the side of Reika, Yaju would try his best to smile," Reika one thing i have learned is that anything can be done as long as you put worth the effort, if you want to make this ability work for yourself you can do it, but just know that it will take your own dedication," his body would have slowly shifted back into his human form as he stood upright and placed his hand on her shoulder," I believe you can do it and make it better....so we are going to do that alright. So what else you got for me?," he said with another smile, although if she was paying attention she could see his natural teeth which were no different than a wolf's and a scar going across the bridge of his nose.

She had almost completely forgotten that most of the Genin of the Hidden Cloud Village still lived with their parents. She was taken aback for a second after Yaju's statement, but she quickly recovered after reminding herself that she was far from the typical living situation. "So seeing as you accept the invitation, when would you like to being..." Yaju seemed hesitant, continued, "I do not want to pry, but shouldn't you speak with your parents first? Or if you are a rebel then that works just as well," Yaju commented, seeming entertained. She laughed as well, taking him in good humor as she responded, "Oh, no. I don't live with my parents." She thought about explaining her situation to Yaju in its entirety, but it seemed like too much of a drag. It was a weighty topic, not really for the kind of conversation they were having at the moment, so she decided to ignore it for the time being. "It's rather a long story, perhaps one for another time." She smiled at him, jading it perhaps a bit too much. Besides, if they were going to be 'living together' as her sensei says they will be then there'd be plenty of time to discuss things such as her past and her family ties.

As the subject passed, Reika looked onto Yaju and saw him begin to transform again into the wolf-like creature she had seen before. It wasn't in the form of any other wolf she had seen; not of the same grey, stony texture. It was much too colorful to be found naturally or mistaken for a breed that wasn't endowed with special powers. Above all, its form reminded her of Yaju's human form. Laughing, she thought this fitting. "Well as you already know I can speak still and I also gain all other benefits of a wolf although my senses were already that of a wolf, they are simply enhanced ten-fold," Yaju said. Seeing Yaju and hearing him speak this made her think about the abilities she might gain and everything that she might accomplish. But, she thought off on a tangent that her specialties were really in Medical Ninjutsu and not as much in the physical combat sector of ninja life. She might be more useful if she really concentrated on her Medical prowess instead of much else. She grimaced, but decided that thinking these things wouldn't help her in either direction. If she could do both, and she believed she could, then trying her hardest now would leave her there. Stay in the moment, Reika.

Well, the moment was full of surprises. As she returned her attention to the actions of her Sensei, Yaju turned to a nearby tree in his wolven state and fired a large amount of the lightning style, amassing in his opened maw. She looked on, concerned, and watched as Yaju took the tree down with a single blast and splintered it into a thousand pieces with the combined power of the blast and his own wolven prowess. The power and speed of his attacks left her wide-eyed. Landing beside her, Yaju would smile. Granted it wasn't the most reassuring smile, seeing as it was coming from the fangs of a wolf, but she knew Yaju was behind it and she was satisfied knowing that. She smiled back. 

As if responding to the war waged on the tree and surrounding foliage, Yaju spoke about power and the means to attain it, "Reika, one thing I have learned is that anything can be done as long as you put worth the effort. If you want to make this ability work for yourself you can do it, but just know that it will take your own dedication." Observing, she saw Yaju's body slowly shift back into his natural form. She understood what he meant. She would have to be sure that she wanted this power if she ever wanted to acquire it. He continued, "I believe you can do it and make it better... So we are going to do that, alright? So what else you got for me?," posing as to what other questions she might have about the subject. Which was all well and good, because her urge to understand the matter completely still wasn't satisfied.

"This should be the last thing, Yaju-Sensei: How do I form this bond that you have?"

[WC: 732]

So she didnt live with her parents...maybe she was like him? or maybe she was an orphan...he would indeed ask her as time went on and she had stayed with him, but for now he would leave her be as per her wishes. He was rather happy that Reika enjoyed the little display of his power, but deep inside even he wondered what would happen if she perfected it and took it to another level. All of these thoughts ran through his head like a wildfire until he had finally figured out something important. When Reika asked her last question he would smile and rest his hand under her chin, to where he could softly lift her head up to look into his eyes," Reika you simply have to life and never regret the decisions in your life. You will see as you stay with me and experience my lifestyle," his smile would be different than the others, his eyes showed how he was feeling as well.

[Sorry for the short post, i have been a little busy with work.]

For the one and only question she had asked, admittedly, she was expecting a lot out of Yaju's answer. But, unfortunately for her, she didn't exactly get the amount of satisfaction that she expected. Sensei's answer was foggy at best, filled with plush words like 'living life' and 'experiencing' a new lifestyle. As Yaju gripped her tenderly by her angular jawbones, looking into her eyes and saying, "Reika, you simply have to live life and never regret the decisions in your life. You will see as you stay with me and experience my lifestyle," Reika looked back at him with a cocked eyebrow. Curious as it was, the answer really didn't come to the definitive conclusion she was wanting. To her, it all sounded like  bunch of waiting around, which was far from satisfying especially for someone like her. She thought about shoving all those emotions down as she usually did because she knew that saying anything wouldn't change the situation, but at least  now she knew her words had some semblance of power to Yaju. So, ultimately, she decided to speak up.

"Um, Yaju..." For a minute she was lost on what exactly she wanted to point out. She knew she was unsatisfied, but she didn't know how to express it. "How exactly does 'living life' and 'experiencing your lifestyle' create the desired bond with the desired creature?"

[WC: 229]

[OOC: Lol it's understandable; I've also been busy as you can see from this pitiful wordcount >.<]

Yaju had stood there for a moment in silence as Reika's question hit him like a brick, he didn't quite understand that what he had said wasn't self-explanatory. Although as he thought about it, his words were vauge and quite honestly empty. A moment of silence would go by as Yaju tapped his chin while staring into Reika's eyes, she could tell that he was troubled by this question a bit. It wasn't because she had asked it, it was because it was the first time anyone had asked him this question. After awhile of silence he would look at her and rest his right hand on her head lightly in a way he would be softly patting her head," Reika you are truly a smart girl, stumbling me in my thoughts and causing me to delve deep in order to find an answer for you. The answer to your question is simple, yet...not simple at the same time. I lived my life, or a greater portion of it with the wolves in Kumo's mountain when my father had thrown me out of the house...they took me in and i learned from them...by the way if you want to know if that little ear scratching thing that you do to dogs works on me, yes it does regrettably and no i don't pee with my leg up," he sighed for a moment as he looked around for a moment.

Looking back to her he would smile," In order to become the animal you want, you need to study it, learn its biology, and most of all adapt like it. So looks like we are getting you a kitty my dear," although the thought of living with a cat would be a bit tedious he would have to allow her to do her studying within his home while studying the animal itself.

"Reika you are truly a smart girl, stumbling me in my thoughts and causing me to delve deep in order to find an answer for you. The answer to your question is simple, yet...not simple at the same time." His answer gave her pause. Perhaps it was the way he had looked at her before answering; lost deep in thought and maybe even dedicated to finding the answer that she was looking for. Or, maybe, it was the way that he had ended his statement with that contradiction that brought question to what she had asked and if it was really all that complicated of an answer. But despite Yaju obviously seeming troubled and maybe even confused, his answer was actually quite clear as he explained, "I lived my life, or a greater portion of it, with the wolves in Kumo's mountain when my father had thrown me out of the house. They took me in and I learned from them... By the way, if you want to know if that little ear scratching thing that you do to dogs works on me: yes it does, regrettably," At that, she laughed and the joy in her eyes continued even as he added, "and no I don't pee with my leg up." That was the final nail in the coffin. She clutched her stomach as she doubled over laughing. The image of Yaju, overjoyed as his leg scratched was dwarfed by the mental representation of him peeing on a fire hydrant with his leg up. It was just so crude and absurd that she couldn't help giving herself in to the absolute joy of the moment. 

After her bout of laughing had subsided, Yaju continued, "In order to become the animal you want, you need to study it, learn its biology, and most of all adapt like it." This proposition caught her attention the most simply because it seemed the most exciting to her. There was nothing she wanted more than to live life like a cat. The thought sent a rejuvenating rush of energy through her body at Yaju's smile and doubled evermore as he added, "So looks like we are getting you a kitty my dear."

The prospect was so overwhelmingly tempting that she couldn’t wait to get started and decided, then and there, that she would begin immediately. Smiling, her canines gleaming up at Yaju, she said, “Then I know just where to begin.” With that, she dashed off toward the shopping district where she knew she would find what she wanted. If Yaju followed, she would continue down the streets until she found the old building that seemed untouched by the surrounding villagers. She would smile as she entered the dusty palace, already hearing the patters of tiny paws that would spell certain doom for an outsider. Had Yaju successfully followed her here, she would turn to him and hold out a bough of catnip she had plucked from the recesses of the village the other day. Smiling, she would say, “Here, take this. You can use it to-” she would smile as she paused, adding the phrase dramatically, “protect yourself.” Maybe it was because a shinobi of Jounin rank or higher would need to protect himself from a bunch of mangy cats, which she would find so overwhelmingly comical. But before she could do what she came here to do, she knew that she would have to greet the Head Cat first. A few felines would had approached them, which she suspected was more to check out the unknown intruder who may have followed her here than to greet her. Greetings were something for lesser beings, not cats. But, seeing that curtain the designated the Head Cat’s dwelling, she would approach it and prepare herself to duck in. Thinking better of it for a second, she would turn to Yaju and pause for a second saying, "It may be better if you just stay out here. It's better we respect Him and His customs." At that she would push aside the moth-eaten barrier, not really having to duck underneath the fabric at all, and enter the small room where the Head Cat sat like a King upon a throne. 

He seemed to recognize her, his tail still tapping happily by his poised feet and his whiskers remaining relaxed. The intelligence in his green eyes would seem to search behind her as though looking for the distant form of the intruder, Yaju. She would hear a few cats more stride gracefully into the room and approach Yaju. She smiled, hoping he would put the catnip to good use, but soon returned her full attention to the Head Cat whom she would have dotingly begun calling by his name instead of his title.

"It's been awhile, Hedo." Hedo would twitch his whiskers at her, responding in his deep mew, "Sure enough. I figured you'd drop by eventually to acquire a partnership." She'd blink up at him, surprised by his intuitiveness. As if responding to her surprise, he continued, "You aren't the first to seek a bond with the Ninneko of Kumogakure." "Really," she inquired, evermore impressed and surprised by the Head Cat. He nodded down at her, but it seemed he decided to put the subject to bed and leap to a nearby perch that was hear eye-level for her. "Who have you come seeking?" She chuckled, both amused by his intellect and glad that he was in such a fine mood. "Is Aieu here?" It seemed it was Hedo's turn to be amused, as he flashed his canines in much the same way she often did and replied, I should have known. I've kept him nearby ever since he has been watching you train. Almost at the mention of his name, the black sheen of Aieu's coat would appear behind Hedo's highest perch and would hop down to rub his cheek against Reika's calf. Smiling, she would bend down to stroke the fur on Aieu's back as his crystalline blue eyes searched her. "Would you like to accompany me?" After a slight pause where Aieu would look up shortly at Hedo and consequently back at Reika, mewing shortly, "I suppose so." With a chuckle, Aieu would hop onto her shoulders and wrap himself delicately around her neck. She would stand, bowing to Hedo as she retreated to the common room where Yaju would have been waiting.

Emerging with Aieu wrapped around her shoulders, she would approach Yaju to introduce the two, saying, "Yaju-sensei, this is Aieu. Aieu, this is my Sensei, Yaju." Aieu would shift on her shoulders and be flicking his ears, the more ragged of which moved more dramatically and caught more attention. His form would be cautiously sniffing the breeze that brought Yaju's scent and twitching his nose unpleasantly. "I'm not the biggest fan of wolves, Reika." She would laugh, perhaps a bit nervously, as she thought about the short argument that may ensue. Although she doubted it; she couldn't really see Yaju involving himself in such a petty argument as this. But, then again, she had really only known Yaju for a short time now. The fact that Aieu could already discern Yaju's wolven bonds upon first smell would continue to impress her and promise good for the future of their partnership as both companions and fellow shinobi. Regardless, she would have faith that things would work themselves out. They always do; fate leaves no other option.

[WC: 1245]

When Reika had mentioned she knew where to start, at first Yaju had thought she was referring to the pet shop which would have made this even easier for him. Shrugging he whistled for the boy whom had came with him to come on, before telling him to go back to the house and clean it up for their newest guest. The boy only nodded and ran off to the house while Yaju had quickly caught up to Reika and stopped behind her.

The building the two would stop in front of was weird in a sense, the fact that Yaju had never even seen this building before was amazing and he had thought he'd seen most if not all of Kumo by now. Shrugging he would enter it slowly to look around the seemingly desolate place, but the smell of it was...now he had seen why she had came here. Looking at the little thing she had given him, he would chuckle," Very funny Reika, and i shall stay out here...at least for my own sanity," as she walked of he plopped onto the ground sitting with his legs crossed, danging the little thing in front of him.

His eyes remained on the other cats checking him out or rather surrounding him for the most part as he continued to slowly dangle it in front of him. Only one came over and played with it before he yawned and sat there silently. What would seem like moments later, he would see Reika walk out with a cat on her shoulders, it would seem as if she had found her partner and for free no less. Yaju looked at the cat with an expressionless face, knowing that this...might not be the most pleasant of experiences for him.

When the cat had spoke, Yaju laughed and looked at it with his yellow eyes," And cat's aren't my favorite species either, but its nice to meet you. Reika if you are done with your business here we can leave for my place....unless there was something you needed to do?," his eyes sat on her carefully as he waited for an answer. If she had no need for anything he would walk out of the building in front of her and began to slowly walk to his home, hoping she had been following. It would only take them a few moments to pass out of the village and into the mountains, and before long they would have found their way into one of the secret caves hidden in Kumo.

Yaju walked with a slower pace as he looked around his "door" to the house that he lived in, but his true lodging was just around the bend. Soon the two would come face to face with a house inside of the large cave, the door slightly open as if someone was waiting for him. Opening the door fully he would wait for Reika to come in and smile," this is where i stay and for the next...well until you learn and master the technique, this will be your home as well," he said with a smile waiting to see her reaction.