Sometimes, I don't really have anything to say.
Enjoy the chapter.
~NRK~
His hair flung about as he went through the kata once more, the dark energy blade cutting through the air with no resistance.
'I need to get a haircut soon,' Obito thought as his lone white bang flashed passed his face.
His time in the hospital had left him with unchecked hair growth he was supposed to have cut sometime before but ignored in favor of other subjects.
Obito's eye strayed to the side where Liz and Patty were, the older sibling helping the younger shoot at a couple of targets on the range.
Inosuke's grunts from his side were a familiar sound Obito had gotten used to, the wild teen running through his own self-taught kata and flexibility exercises.
The brunette looked at his Scroll, the item a meter and half away, the monitor registered the weighted bans on his arms and legs at '30 kgs'.
Each band weighed that much and he barely broke a sweat.
He walked over, slid the dial under the number up to 50 and went back to his katas.
Each swing pulled on a history of muscles and scars that, ironically, kept his form perfect. Each step forward was a perfect small dash.
Each swing was a smooth slice.
Each crouch enabled him full power the second he chose to come back up.
And he had to thank Kojiro Branwen for all of that, unfortunately.
He was truly the complete opposite of Minato. The 4th Hokage had not been an idle teacher and worked with Obito as a child to grow.
He missed him as much as he did Rin, Kakashi, and Naruto, strangely enough.
Blondes had deep effects on him, he supposed.
His thoughts were halted as he was going through these motions for a couple of extra minutes before a flash of yellow caught his eye.
Turning his head, he saw a yellow-haired young man moving through the center, eyes moving every which way in awe and confusion.
Obito watched the teen for a few more moments before he allowed the energy blade in his hand to dissipate.
"I'll be right back, Inosuke," Obito called, getting a grunt from the young lad.
Walking over, Obito could see one of the practice weapons, wooden replicas for those without their own, under the blonde's arm.
"Okay, okay, I'll start with the uh…. What is that? That doesn't look like a treadmill… Ah, man, I'm so confused."
Obito raised his eyebrow before he stood behind the young male and coughed into his fist, catching his attention.
"Huh? Oh!" he jumped a bit as he turned to see Obito standing there. "Oh! Um! Do you- No, I'm sor-"
"Stop," Obito said, hand raised, getting the blonde to close his mouth. "What is your goal?"
"Huh? My goal?" the blonde frowned. "I want to be a Huntsman."
"Okay, but what's your goal for today?" Obito specified, getting another confused look from the lanky blonde. "Are you trying to work on your form? Pure exercise? Trying out a new weapon? Working on basics?"
The boy blinked at him as he nervously said. "All of them?"
Obito stared at him, the younger man fidgeting in place as the brunette's eyes narrowed.
"Okay… Then work on basic forms with that sword and shield, there are tons of CCT videos for that."
"Oh!" the blonde's eyes were wide as he nodded along with everything Obito said. "Yeah?! What else?"
"I'd personally suggest getting four forms down," Obito continued with a curious eye. "An offensive form, a defensive form, an evasive one, and finally a neutral."
The blonde frowned. "Neutral?"
"Yes, a form or stance that can flow into the others," Obito explained with a raised brow. "Most fighting styles have forms like these, though some specialize."
"Right, uh-huh… I'm Jaune?" the blonde held out his hand, a nervous smile on his face. "Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."
Obito shot Jaune a flat look as he shook his hand. "I get the feeling you've never been on a date before."
"Grk!"
"Be that as it may, it's none of my business," Obito made to leave. "Focus on what I told you, from there you can branch out." he threw over his shoulder as he walked back over to Inosuke.
Jaune watched the older teen go and looked around…
He shuffled after the boy with the black tattoo.
Obito wasn't expecting to be dealing with a blonde, much less as his instructor.
"I'll have you know, I've only just started learning to do all this myself."
"Really? Me too!" Jaune seemed to relax at this fact. "I thought I was the only one trying to get into Beacon late."
"… I'm not trying to get into Beacon," Obito corrected, getting a confused look from Jaune. "I'm a police officer but due to some… circumstances in the past two weeks I've gained Aura and have these children teaching me."
He pointed out the Thompson sisters and the contorting Inosuke to Jaune, the blonde gulping at the intense training from the other male teen.
"They're in Beacon?"
"They're combat school students, we've been working on an assignment with them when I gained my Aura." Obito shrugged.
"… Really?" Jaune wilted at that, Obito raising a brow at the drop in attitude. "I guess they really are far ahead of me."
Obito stared at the downtrodden boy, the image of a familiar-looking blonde and Obito's younger self overlaying on Jaune for a moment.
… Dammit, Naruto.
"Just because they're this strong doesn't mean they were always like that," Obito offered, getting Jaune to look at him. "What makes you strong, Jaune, is perseverance and dedication to the art of battle."
"You don't have to be the strongest fighter, you can be the smartest. You don't have to be the smartest but you can be the most stubborn. No matter what, there's a style you can use that could push you above your peers if you put the time into it."
The blue-eyed blonde stared at the brunette before rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"I get the feeling I'm making a bad impression…"
"You're young, it's going to happen," Obito shrugged. "You just have to keep trying and put your best foot forward."
"Yeah… Yeah!" Jaune hyped himself up. "I get you! Thank you!"
"Oi! Who's this?" Came Inosuke's aggressive tone, scaring Jaune. "Hmph, hmph… ignored."
"Ah!" Jaune slumped at the disregard before chuckling slightly. "I guess I do look that way."
The boar mask looked at the blonde for a moment before snorting with a nod. "Hmph!"
Obito rolled his eyes at the younger teens.
"Come on," he said to both of them. "We'll practice some swings with weights on."
"Oh yeah!" Inosuke was all for it.
"…Yeah! Let's do this!"
"Life is pain~"
"Hmph, ya gotta get muscles!" Inosuke said as he pinched Jaune's left bicep, causing the blonde to whine.
"You need to go at your own pace, Jaune," Obito said with a shake of the head at the flat on his back blonde. "You need to work your way up otherwise you'll wreck your muscles from going too fast."
"Bugh! R-right," Jaune agreed with a gulp. "I've never done this before."
"Most don't seem to," Obito added. "Usually people are just focusing on Aura empowered techniques or Semblances. That or they're just focusing on their weapons."
Jaune blinked at the brunette, eyes squinting. "Right, you said something about that… Aura?" he asked.
Obito's eyes narrowed in on the tone.
Wait… "Jaune…" the fourteen year old jumped at the tone.
"Do you know what Aura is?"
Both Obito and Inosuke looked at the blonde, the youngest of the three males began to sweat at their intense gazes.
Obito's accusing gaze disappeared altogether with a sigh as he brought the blonde to his feet.
"Inosuke, awaken his Aura when I say so," Obito said, getting Jaune to snap his head up at him.
"What?" he said as he looked at Obito. "R-really?! I didn't even know what it was! I thought… I thought you were disappointed in me for not knowing…"
Obito shot the boy a surprised look.
He wasn't the boy's father, why was he so upset?
"Jaune, I'm not your father," Obito crossed his arms. "I don't have the right to be disappointed in you for not knowing something… somehow," the former ninja added with a frown.
How did the blonde NOT know what Aura was if he wanted to be a Huntsman?
"O-oh…" Jaune stumbled, fingers coming together before dropping his head. "It's just…Hahh, no one believes in me."
No…
"My dad doesn't, mom says she does but I think she's just being nice…"
Don't…
"My sisters keep saying I can be other things, not sure how, I'm not that smart."
Good god.
"So having you help me, even for a bit, means a lot to me… Sorr-"
"Stop," Obito said with a sigh, fingers massaging his nose as he made a decision. "… Inosuke, how good are you at teaching?"
"I'm shit."
"But you can help Jaune become more flexible, right? I know you can do it but if you can't…"
"Grk!"
"Knowing that... I apologize, Inosuke. I didn't mean to put you up to bat like that."
Twitch.
"I should have known better," Obito shrugged before turning to Jaune. "We'll find someone else, I know so-"
"ARRRGHHH! YOOU WANT FLEXIBLE!"A vein pulsed in the younger teen's head as he jumped into the air in an angry tantrum. "I'll MAKE HIM FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO SUCK HIS OWN D-"
"Okay!" Obito squeezed the mask's snort closed, the struggling teen rampaging against his hold. "Jaune, do you live in Vale?"
"Um, no?" the blonde answered. "My family's visiting right now, mom's a small-time writer and she got a prize at a local bookshop."
"Do you have a Scroll?" the blonde nodded before looking at Obito's outstretched hand.
"Oh!" he handed his Scroll over and Obito opened it with a groan as he dropped Inosuke.
"Bastard!"
"Jaune, please remember to put a lock on your Scroll."
The blonde flushed slightly. "R-right, sorry."
Obito added his number to the blonde's contacts before looking at Inosuke. "Inosuke, do you have a Scroll."
"Eh? Nope!" the boar child folded over himself with a grunt of confusion. "Tanjirou's got one though!"
"Hmm," Obito handed the Scroll back to Jaune. "I'll talk to Tanjirou about it, for now, focus on what I told you."
The blonde looked at his Scroll in surprise. "I-I… I don't know what to say…"
"Then don't say anything," Obito finished. "Sometimes, you should just take the chance and not question it."
"Yeah but… Why?" blue eyes locked onto dark silver. "Why help me like this? I mean… you just met me."
Obito looked at the blonde and before turning back to the training center proper. "Because I know what it's like, let's leave it at that. I understand."
Jaune stared at him before nodding shyly. "Thanks, I mean it. I never did get your name-"
"Jaune!" came the call of a girl coming towards the trio.
Medium length blond hair contrasted Jaune's short one, large circular glasses sat on her face with freckles on her cheeks.
She was older than Jaune, Obito guessed, with a pair of tan-colored khakis along with a light blue turtleneck that was finished off with white tennis shoes.
"Sarcelle?" Jaune said as he looked at her. "What are you-?"
"It's three in the afternoon," she responded, looking at him and then Obito and Inosuke. "Hm, who are you two?" her eyes glared at the boys, slowly placing herself in front Jaune.
The wild boy with the mask was bad enough but that brunette with the long hair looked like trouble, his hidden eye made her nervous.
Also, a tattoo, really?
"That's none of your business-Ack!" Inosuke began to say but an elbow in his side shut him up.
"Don't mind him, we were training together," Obito said simply, getting a suspicious look from Jaune's sister. "Nothing more, nothing less."
"Right…" she said as she eyed the cop up and down before adjusting her glasses. "Why don't I believe you?"
"Because yer instincts are shi- AHA!" Inosuke started before jumping away from Obito's jab. "Can't stop the Almighty Lord Inosuke! Kuhahahahaha-Gah!" Obito pushed the boy over with a finger and a roll of the eyes.
Sarcelle's eyebrow twitched as Jaune laughed nervously.
"Sar, seriously, it's fine-" She turned on him. "W-we can just l-leave, hah, ha?" he turned away from the demon-like visage of his older sister.
"Tsk! Jaune, you know you have to be careful of city-folk," she shot Obito a glare that the brunette rolled his eyes at. "Ya don't know what some of them are planning."
"…" the younger blonde didn't say anything.
"Now that's not fair," came the voice of Elizabeth, her and Patty walked up to the group with raised eyebrows. "Obi here's a cop, the upstanding type."
Sarcelle looked at Liz with a doubting look before turning back to Obito. "Most policemen, I'd assume, are older."
"Of course," Obito agreed, causing her to blink. "I'm simply an anomaly, I started early thanks to recommendations."
Now, Sarcelle looked at him with… more approving eyes? This girl had a protective streak it seemed.
"You were training my brother to be a police officer?" she said, tone less accusing and more curious. "Did he actually take my advice?"
"I trained him to do whatever he pleased," Obito countered, holding her gaze before she looked away. "Whatever he chooses to do with it, I hold no weight in his choice.
"It's his life, not mine," Obito emphasized, staring her down before softening a bit. "We've all got to make our own choices eventually."
Jaune stared at Obito, digesting his words before he stood up straight.
"I was asking them to train me so I can go to Beacon in two years," Jaune said, shocking his sister.
"Jaun-"
"I want this!" Jaune interrupted. "I WANT to make sure I don't disgrace our family name, I want to be a hero you all can approve of."
"But we…" Sarcelle stared at him before looking away. "We want you to be safe, Jaune."
"For how long?" he countered with a frown. "You guys can't protect me forever, I'm going to have to deal with the real world like everyone else."
"I get it, alright?" Liz added as Sarcelle looked at her. "We want to protect them from everything, you name a danger and I'd never want Patty near it… but…"
She threw an arm around her younger sibling. "That's no way to live! Protecting someone from everything is only going to hurt you all in the end, trust me, I had to learn that the hard way."
"Damn right you did!" Patty said with a stern expression that caused Liz to roll her eyes.
"You see?"
Sarcelle looked around at the others, the teens all blinked as she shied away a bit with a quickened breath.
Too close, Obito noticed.
"I'll deal with this, you all go get cleaned up," Obito ordered, getting confused nods from the others.
Sarcelle watched them go with a nervous breath as Obito spoke.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, bowing at the waist, catching her attention. "We don't want to gang up on you, I didn't realize how this looked from the beginning and I apologize."
Jaune nodded with a smile.
"I… Jaune has gone through a lot of phases," Sarcelle started, getting an annoyed frown from the person in question. "How do you know this isn't one of them?"
"I don't," he admitted to her. "I don't know him like you do nor his history but I could see one aspect of him that aided my decision."
She gently removed her glasses, worried blues eyes peered into cool dark silver. "And that was?"
"To prove something," Obito said simply. "A strong drive, a drive that likely would have had him go to Beacon regardless of if I trained him or not."
Sarcelle turned to Jaune, the younger sibling looking away from her wide eyes.
"Jaune!"
"Thanks," the male blonde mumbled.
"Jaune may not have talent but he's stubborn," Obito stated, regaining Sarcelle's, irritated, attention. "He just needs actual guidance to see it through. Tell me, in his other endeavors, was there anyone who gave Jaune actual instruction?"
"… We bought him a guitar-"
"Which I still play," the brother stated before shrinking from Sarcelle's flat stare.
"That he, admittedly, plays but… we don't really have money to pay for instructors that he might not care for in a week."
Jaune's grumbling was ignored by the cop. "I understand but I can assure you, actual guidance in an activity can make a world of difference for someone like Jaune."
After watching bits and pieces of Naruto's life through the mental scape, Obito couldn't scold Kakashi enough.
Ignoring Obito's 'condition' of Madara, why did Kakashi leave Minato-sensei's child to his own devices?!
"… We'll see," she caved, looking down on her glasses.
"Sarcelle, come on, I know you guys love me… but I need you to believe in me," Jaune admitted, causing her to wince. "That's really all I want, to not be a failure."
"You're not," she stated, turning on him, blinking at his shocked expression. "Maybe we should have believed in you more, maybe push for some actual instruction for at least a month to see-"
"Sar, I get it," Jaune scratched the back of his head. "8 kids can be a lot to pay attention to, I kind of learned, so I didn't really blame you all."
Jaune looked at the two in shock.
Eight!
Sweet hell, who popped out that many children?! Why?!
"I'm sorry but you two are two of eight?" Obito had to ask, staring at their nods incredulously.
"Seven girls," Sarcelle started before pointing to Jaune. "And a boy, same mom."
"Jaune, you're the youngest?"
"What? No!" the blonde shot him a flat look. "I'm fifth oldest… I don't really want to think about it, dad was always too eager to get the 'Birds and the Bees' out of the way, way too quickly."
Obito just chalked it up to Remnant weirdness, if not self-preservation, and kept the conversation focused.
"The point is," Obito set a hand on the older Arc's shoulder, the girl jumping at the action. "Just show a little trust in him in this, should he continue, Jaune will have training that can open the doors for a lot of opportunities." That said, Obito removed his hand and nodded to the siblings.
"I'll take my leave."
Jaune saw his family waiting by the front, him and Sarcelle walking towards the doors at a slow pace.
"… I guess you're not exactly happy with me, huh?"
"… I'm not mad at you, maybe I, we, should have given you a little more of a push. All of picked up something and stuck to it from the get-go… maybe that's why we treated you differently."
"Maybe… but I'm glad you're my sisters, no take-backs," he grinned.
Sarcelle rolled her eyes but smiled back at him.
"Whatever, just make sure to listen to Mr…? I didn't get his name," she realized.
"Well, in my Scroll he's 'Obito' so I think that's his name, I'm sure I heard the others calling him that, I think."
"Obito… At least he seems to be a good influence on you. Yeah, a proper man leads, teaches, and ensures the young have a proper future." She muttered as she pulled out a small notebook from her pocket and scribbled into it. "Hmm, strong, cool, and masculine…" she blushed a little as she wrote something else down.
Jaune raised a blonde brow as he shot her a question.
"Wait, do you have a crush on him?"
Sarcelle burned red as she turned on Jaune.
"I have no crush-!"
"What's this about a crush? Hmmm~"
"Ahh! Mom!"
~NRK~
He sighed as their members slowly disappeared from the room.
"That's the second meeting with the middle ranks, now that only leaves."
"Negrandel," came the gruff voice of Collbrande as he walked up to the Orichalcum leader. "Any leads on the bastards hittin' our crew?"
"Unfortunately, no," the cloaked man rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I have an Acolyte looking into it."
"We gotta get these bastards before they come back with more murderers, speaking of," the large man's frown turned into a snarl.
"Seriously, what the fuck?!" the floor cracked beneath Collbrande's feet. "Who invited that blonde bastard?! How did he get into the group?!"
"… That is a very good question," Negrandel leaned back in his seat with a frown. "That man, I recently received another relic from him and Loki of Mistral said to be weary of him…"
"And you didn't listen?" The giant man shot the leader an incredulous look that had the man slumping further into his seat. "She's supposed to be this grand master of yours! Why didn't you listen?!"
"I was trying to give him a chance!" he responded, shooting up in his seat. "Just because someone is troubled doesn't make them the enemy!"
"And look at where that got us!" the redhead shouted back. "I had to have these civilians moving bodies! Do you realize how fucked up that is?!"
"I'm perfectly aware!" Negrandel said before dropping in his seat and putting both hands on his face. "Yes! I know! I messed up!"
"I'm trying to do what's right!" Collbrande huffed before crossing his arms with a curse.
"You have to be more strict on your standards," the larger male said. "Sure, it's gonna suck for a bit but we're gonna bring magic to the WORLD. A little bit of mean isn't going to kill anybody."
"… Perhaps, hahh," the leader sighed before looking at the floor. "Is there any good news?"
"Nothing I can think of, we got another newbie though. I saw him myself, so I can tell ya he's clean… Big ass Sin though."
"Is that so?" the fully cloaked man perked up a bit before humming. "Should I take an apprentice?" the cloaked man said aloud, catching Collbrand off guard.
"Whoa, whoa," the larger man put his hands up. "Let's think about this, alright? Why would you want an apprentice? Ain't you too busy fer that?"
"I might be but with this recent development, I want to ensure there are more like-minded people in Orichalcum and that those people have enough power to protect the others. You couldn't get to everyone, I don't want that situation to happen again."
"Hmph," Collbrand leaned against the lone table in the room with a grunt. "Well… as long as we can do our jobs, what's an intern, right?"
"Thank you," Negrandle said as he got up and held a pair of fingers to his forehead. "I'll focus on our current situation for now but I want to ask Zero if she has any candidates."
"Not feeling too generous, huh?" Collbrand said with a grin.
"It's as you said," Negrandel shrugged.
"I need to be a little stricter."
~NRK~
She frowned as she gently lowered the pair down onto a cottage with the wave of a finger.
"Hmmm, get some rest. You two have been through a lot," she whispered to the boy as his eyelids fluttered closed.
Nodding to that, she turned to the girl, her blue eyes locking onto the woman's own.
She smoothed out the girl's orange hair and smiled at her.
"I promise, you're safe."
Their gazes stayed locked until the younger woman slowly allowed her eyes to close.
"Thank you…" the girl fell to the sandman's dust and was asleep in seconds.
She stayed for a few moments before turning and leaving the room, gently closing the door.
Her expression dropped immediately and she flew through the cave system with a frown.
"Damn it!" she shouted as she shot out the cave system entirely, floating above her group hideout. "Tsk! This is all my fault…"
She pressed two fingers against her temple, already sure there was nobody in the vicinity, and closed her eyes.
'Mer-'
'Zero?' she jumped.
"Negrand?" she muttered. 'Is something wrong?'
'… Yes but we can talk about that later, it seemed like you were trying to reach someone. Something wrong?'
She thought it over before frowning. 'I messed up.'
'… In what way? Master-'
'What'd I tell you?'
'I know, I know… did something go wrong? Were you attacked too?' she squawked.
'ATTACKED?!' she screamed mentally. 'You guys got attacked?! By who?!'
'We don't know but, from what I've heard, someone else has magic Zero.'
'And they have an apprentice.'
~NRK~
It was Marrone who he'd been training with today, the male Faunus more than happy to 'help with Aura'.
That's why they were going at it in hand-to-hand, the two brunettes' fists crashing into one another before either receded from another set of clashes.
"Thankful the others aren't here, huh? Or, at least, the ones that don't realize anything," Marrone said as Velvet stood on the referee's platform.
She watched them, her ears free of her beret for the first time they'd seen it by her own power, revealing her Faunus features. The trio were back in their workout clothes as they decided today they'd work on hand-to-hand while the others were out.
She seemed to be gaining confidence, Obito noted. Good, she'd need it for her days as a Huntress.
"D-Draw!" she stumbled out, calling their match to a close. "G-Good job, you two!"
At least it was a work-in-progress.
"So, when will I see you in full form?" Marrone said as Velvet jumped down from the descending platform. "I get that the idea is to keep it low but I can't help but hate you holding back on me."
"Maybe one day," Obito said as the three walked off the arena. "Doing it in Vale would defeat the purpose if anyone saw and/or said anything to the others. Though…"
"That list on who knows is probably larger than you think," Obito admitted getting a raised brow from Marrone.
"Wait-"
"Sup, short people," came a voice from the wall to their left.
"Huh?" Marrone said as he looked at the dark blue wall tiles. "Where'd that come from?"
"Uuh, hello? Up here?" came the voice again and the trio looked up to see a smiling face. "Sup."
"… How much juice do you drink?!"
"ALL the juice."
"… e," Velvet's ears flopped on top of her head as she gaped at the man's ridiculous height.
He looked like he could bite her head off!
"Hello sir, how can we help you?" Obito said as Coll scratched the back of his head.
He was in a workout outfit not unlike them, just a dark blue muscle shirt, shorts, and shoes. One could mistake for him a basketball player.
"I remember what you kids were out here test him," he pointed to Obito. "Heard he just got his Aura, right? He any good at summoning it?"
Obito raised a brow at that question before his eyes widened as Marrone began to speak.
"He's pretty dec-"
"I could use a couple more pointers," Obito interrupted, catching Velvet and Marrone off-guard. "What better help than a Huntsman?" Obito offered to all, everyone else getting a different meaning out of it.
"You know what, he's right!" Marrone said with a nervous chuckle.
"Hm!" Velvet nodded.
"Alright, let's hit the bleachers for a little lesson," with that said, Coll led Obito away.
"This'll be quick, so if you guys want to watch, eh," the giant man shrugged as Obito turned to the two Faunus.
"I'll be quick, go get cleaned up," Obito said with a wave, getting curious stares from the two before they nodded.
"Alright, see ya later."
The two Faunus leaving, Obito and Coll went to the very end of the bleachers.
"Good kids, so let's get this underway," Coll said. "You got a feel for your mental energy yet?"
"Yes, it's the thinner power, it feels like the wind in my body," Obito explained, getting a nod from the redhead.
"That's good, so first push it to your skin," Coll instructed, watching as Obito closed his eyes and a thin film of black flickered off the brunette's skin. "Alright, now, push the physical energy into it."
Obito's eyes opened as he stared at Coll. "That… is a more complex action. I believe that energy is directly in my muscles, it's resistant to my call."
"Hm," the long-nosed man scratched his chin before grinning. "You don't know how it works, physical energy flows with intent and action."
"Pretend you're trying to catch your mental energy, reinforce it, and make it solid."
Obito stared at him, mulling over the instructions before focusing inward once more.
Physical energy felt like plastic on his muscles, pulling on it was like revealing his muscles to the environment and made them feel airy and vulnerable. He nudged it and the film dragged before going back to normal.
He frowned as he allowed his spiritual energy to flow, the dark tint appearing over him once more, before prompting the physical energy to cover that as well. The reaction was intriguing as the physical slowly moved to the mental, wrapped around a single part and then spread over it. He packed it into layers, the process of blacksmithing running through his mind as he mentally did the procedure with the two powers.
Coll watched as the tint became darker in color and grinned as it flashed over Obito's form, the spiky-haired teen opening his eyes and looking at his hands.
"Now, I need to make this clear, while it looks like Aura, it's not the full deal," the giant man said, catching Obito's attention.
"How so?"
"Unlike Aura, this thing doesn't have a healing factor to it. That's more mental stuff and I ain't proficient in it so you have to be careful still."
"Hm," Obito nodded before raising a hand and looking at it.
Through the gaps in his fingers, he could see Coll grinning.
"Though," he began. "No one said it doesn't have its own benefits." The man walked forward and removed a knife from his back.
"Watch," he said as he covered the knife in yellow energy, physical energy, the blade glowing before transforming.
The normal combat knife now had a flame-like edge, the color changing at the same part to an orange. The handle was now bright red with the guard compacted into a long ended diamond over the top of the handle.
Obito stared at the knife.
What had that been?
"Aura is the power of the soul," He showed Obito the side of the knife. "That said, it's still a spell that people have imprinted on their very beings. So I've played with it.
"What happens when you project your entire being, your soul, into a weapon?"
The dagger grew in size, enough so that Coll held it over, and rest on, his shoulder with one hand.
A large flame-like great scimitar held in the giant's hands.
"You get something that becomes stronger than any manmade weapon that incorporates everything you are into it. Doing this makes it the catalyst for your magic and anything that comes from an item of actual worth to you, through time or even sentiment, it becomes stronger."
"I imagine a good example would be a blacksmith?" Obito asked, getting a smirk from Coll. "If he made a blade that borne all his resentment and used it-"
"Anything that comes from it becomes twisted by his soul and more powerful because it runs off his anger. Plus, if anger were his Sin?" the giant chuckled, the sound reverberating through his wide chest. "It'd become something that could beat anything."
Obito never knew where all of Kojiro's strength came from before all this but now?
He was in for the long haul, he was learning everything he needed to know.
For, by his twenty-first birthday, Kojiro would come to find him.
And that man would only find death.
~NRK~
And here we have chapter 15, introducing Jaune and two other, obvious I believe, characters into the fold. Will they play a bigger role before Canon? Maybe, definitely not ALL of them.
Words: 5.4k+ and one of the shorter ones but I'm keeping consistent.
Chapter 16 is actually finished but I'm still reviewing it. Can't have it come out without my personal seal of approval.
Take care, I still have work since it's counted as "essential."
Stay clean and safe.
~NRK Out~
