Wealth in Many Forms

Letting out a sigh of relief, Koutaku nodded in response to Travin’s assent, and so placed his own hand down on the seal. Focuses a moment, Koutaku utilized chakra infusion, flooding the seal with his unique signature. As he did so, for the briefest of moments he felt almost a click in his being, as if something were being locked into place, affixing to the mechanisms in the Iouchiryo Seal. After another moment the glow of his piercing blue chakra faded and he looked up, meeting Travin’s eyes. A moment passed, and then he slid the notebook across to the Rentei heir. He hadn’t known before that the man was the heir to the clan, but his mother had changed that.

The book slid across the tabled, stopping before Travin as Koutaku spoke up, “Place your hand on the middle of the seal and use chakra infusion on the notebook until you feel a shift in your energy. You’ll know when to lift your hand.” When Travin inevitably placed his hand on the seal it would feel almost as if an energy from within it were reaching out and entwining with the pathways of chakra up through his arm and into his chest and core. When he channeled chakra into the seal, those pathways would seem to somehow flash in his mind, before settling into a complex series of indecipherable symbols and runes. As the process completed, the sensation of binding would fade, replaced only by a slightly sense of Koutaku’s chakra signature, which would swiftly fade. Then it would seem like some part of Travin’s mind would open, as if ready to receive something totally new. That awareness would settle into the back of his mind, unobtrusive, but clearly present, before the seal would flash blue, black, purple, gold, and then black once more before it would bleed off the page and onto Travin’s palm. Swiftly, it would vanish with a brief sensation like slightly uncomfortable warmth on his skin. Koutaku would feel it too and once it had faded, the young genin would shake his hand and chuckle slightly.

“They told me it would sting a bit, but that is...hmm, really damn weird.” Once the phantom sensation had faded, Koutaku would look back up at Travin and smile. “Welcome to the creed, friend. Now, what were you saying regarding your greatest secret?” He grinned and there was that same curious flame in his eyes as before.

Spoiler:

Smiling as they shook hands, Koutaku felt a welling joy in his chest, a connection formed. Unbidden a thought popped into his mind.

‘I made a friend,’ and as Travin replied and bid Koutaku follow, he realized that he couldn’t quite stop grinning. Taking a moment to compose himself when his friend turned away, the young man rubbed his hands over his grinning face and took some deep breaths as he headed after the Rentei heir. How surreal that was, the first friend he’d really made was someone in power.

His mom would be proud.

Shaking that thought from his mind, Koutaku, now only with a small satisfied smirk, followed. Occasionally he’d eye a particular piece of decor with interest, but typically his attention would quickly move elsewhere or withdraw entirely. He was in one such withdrawn state when Travin stopped before a particularly elaborate depiction of a man on a battlefield. Admiring the craftsmanship, Koutaku frowned slightly, flexing his senses. Something felt faintly off, but he wasn’t sure precisely what. Then the jounin spoke, explaining who the portrait depicted. The historical data was something that he stowed away for later consideration, particularly the details regarding the Seigan.

He figured it was something he ought to learn more about.

Moving on quickly, Koutaku’s host drew a symbol upon the portrait’s surface, and soon the genin recognized it. A moment afterward, a passage opened and Travin led on. Intrigued, Koutaku raised an eyebrow and followed, stepping into the elevator alongside the jounin. He’d never really seen one before, they were particularly common in the village at large so when the chamber lurched downwards Koutaku’s first instinct was to utilize the surface walking technique to affix himself in place, before bracing a hand against the wall. With a single handseal his hand adhered to the wall, its flat surface under the effects of the Sticky Paper Adhesion technique. With his stomach in his throat, and a brief look of betrayal shot in Travin’s direction, the young man thought that perhaps he was about to die.

However, as the elevator’s motion became more regular, and his body acclimated, Koutaku swiftly calmed down. Feeling rather silly, he let the chakra flowing through his feet and into the ground dissipate entirely, though he kept a hand on the wall.

“You really ought to warn the next person….”

The words were said almost sternly, despite the fact that Travin technically outranked him. Shaking his head as the elevator stopped, Koutaku hopped out one step ahead of Travin, before letting his friend pass. Relieved to be off of the unfamiliar contraption, Koutaku’s eyes widened slightly at the cavernous nature of the chamber that they’d just entered.

Wandering further into the chamber, Koutaku found himself smiling and considering the possibilities as Travin explained his intent for the cavernous room they now stood within.

“Count me in,” the genin said almost absently as he turned to take in more of the chamber’s expanse. Eventually he met Travin’s eyes, “This is incredible.”

Koutaku resolved to show Travin more than just one technique. If not today, then in the future, when he had something truly special to share.

Spoiler:

“It’s more than a big hole in the earth,” Koutaku replied, turning his gaze upon Travin--a smirk on his lips and a gleam in his eyes.

“It’s endless potential yet to take form,” and there was a strange reverence in his words before he turned away and pushed off the hard earth in a sudden full speed dash. In a blur, he arrived on the other side of the cavern, where he swiftly inspected the walls, ceiling, and floor. Bending down he ran a finger over the surface, considering the material. The next moment he was moving again and had arrived on the far left side from Travin’s position. He did the same as before, then moved on. Finally, he rejoined the jounin, nodding his head absently at Travin’s statement about his technique, Koutaku followed him into the elevator.

The ride up was far less jarring, though he still held onto the rail on the side, his eyes distant. He was envisioning the sorts of things that one could build in such a large chamber. A special set of testing rooms outfitted to deal with experimental techniques without worry for anyone’s safety. Virtual Reality tech, surely. Research Equipment.

He smirked again at the thought as he remembered Travin’s titanic library and then the equally deep collection beneath his own home. Granted, there was drastically less...physical space to the Iouchiryo library that his family kept tightly secured. His fingers tapping against the metal, Koutaku only came out of his reflection as the elevator stopped and Travin’s silhouette left his field of view.

Glancing up, Koutaku noted his friend’s position and followed, taking one hopping step to catch up--briefly accelerating to a fraction of his full speed to do so, before returning to a casual walk. When they came across Bruce, Koutaku looked at the man, nodded his head respectfully, and then turned to Travin. “Let’s meet later today. I want to check a few things first, you’ve been a fantastic host and I’ll be glad to visit again in the future.”

Then, he bowed, both to Travin and Bruce, feeling that both were owed considerable respect for the hospitality and service. Staying in that position, Koutaku--in light of the coming tournament--decided to take a small risk.

“I hate to ask, but I've entered into the genin tournament. Would it be terribly inappropriate for me to ask for you to sponsor me?”

That said, Koutaku remained in the bowed position, hoping that he hadn't insulted his newfound friend or overstepped too much.

Spoiler:

His eyes widening fractionally as he stared at the floor and saw the reflection of Travin’s hand held out with the bills, Koutaku smiled and replied.

“Many thanks, one way or another I’ll make sure you don’t regret it,” Koutaku said, dipping slightly lower in his bow before half rising. As he did so, Koutaku met Travin’s gaze and grinned. Receiving the offering graciously with one hand, Koutaku gave Travin one last tidbit before he made his exit.

“In regards to the technique, chew on this until we meet at the training facility. It’s called Sokumen Henkou(Aspect Alteration). Maybe you can guess at what it does in a few hours when we meet”

Then, with that said he fully rose, a single handseal on display, before he vanished in a blurring flash. Papers and portraits rustling slightly with his passing, Koutaku moved at 240 speed down the hall and out of the estate itself.


Reappearing just outside the gate, Koutaku exhaled once sharply, his eyes bright, before dashing off at 140 speed towards his family’s home.

Before he met with Travin, it was time to devour some books.

---

So it was that when he arrived home he ignored any attempts to distract him and rushed--at speed--through the house and down into the basement. Once there, and alone, Koutaku placed one hand against a nondescript wall and focused. Channeling chakra up through his arm, he infused the wall, and the glow swiftly spread as he felt the Iouchiryo Seal flash against his palm. Moments afterward symbols and lines of intense blue chakra spread outwards in complex arrays until they overtook the entirety of the cellar's walls. Swiftly the seals became blindingly bright, and a moment later all was dark and his vision blurry despite having closed his eyes to ward off the light. opening them once more, Koutaku noted that he'd successfully been shifted some distance forwards. There was a bookshelf behind him, and everywhere he looked. Occasionally there was somewhere to sit, but mostly there were just shelves. It was a cozy place though, not daunting with vaulted ceilings like Travin's library. The difference, however, when it came to the font of information held here, was vast.

Searching through the shelves, Koutaku snatched a book on Architecture, and another on Fuinjutsu. They weren't precisely tilted though, as if they were generic placeholders, rather than real tomes. However, when he opened them and turned their pages it was like they never ran out of them. Flipping through, Koutaku searched for various details on designing a space, on warding it properly with seals. He wanted to know precisely what he'd need to do to create truly secure testing chambers. Beyond that, the layout would be important. He had no idea if Travin would be open to his suggestions, but he would be making them regardless. In this way minutes, and then several hours passed. Eventually, Koutaku would rouse himself to go eat and head off to see Travin at the facility, but by then it would be evening and it would be quite unlikely that anyone besides the two shinobi would be in the facility.

Just how Koutaku liked it.

Spoiler:

Approved.

Claiming 104 Bonus AP from 5220 WC.

Approved!