Chapter 1-17

"Good morning." I greeted my new sensei and languidly took the seat on the bench across from her.

It really was time to get back into an ordered daily routine. This vacation coupled with the ability to sleep in had really messed with my discipline.

"Good morning, Daiki." Kurenai returned the greeting as fresh as a daisy. "How did it go?" She asked and took a sip of what smelled like tea.

"I think I understand now why I didn't detect your little trick the first time. Opening the first gate should have allowed me to disrupt or at the very least detect your chakra, but I had used the resulting awareness to focus solely on the tenketsu responsible for the second gate. I suppose, this coupled with the extended period of time, which allowed your chakra to settle and blend in like, I don't know, mold might be the reason for my lapse." I mentally shook my head at that comparisons, I really wasn't all there yet.

"Opening the first gate at home yesterday and knowing where to look made it relatively easy to find and disperse your chakra in my system." I finished my explanation with a small shrug.

"Hmm, that's good to hear." She put the cup back on the table and her gaze became a tad more focused. "Did you think about a discipline which you want to focus on as I asked you?"

"I reasonably familiar with your skills and jutsu, but I feel it prudent to let you decide, given that you might want to incorporate them into your style." This felt eerily similar to a teacher asking to see your homework assignment, and you just knew, that it was somewhat lacking.

I leaned back in my seat and winced slightly in frustration.

"Honestly, I don't have a clue." I stated firmly and looked at the ceiling, searching for some kind of epiphany.

"On one hand I like the thought of using Genjutsu to disorientate my opponent with sounds and visuals obviously being the most straightforward methods. You know, wear them down until you can strike, but this kinda feels unnecessarily elaborate for my taste." I tried to explain my reasoning without going on a rant.

"I liked what I did to my opponent when I was tested. After a small setup, I used a subtle version of the Hell Viewing Technique to rattle the guy with a vision of him getting gutted just before my actual attack." I told her, still proud of my little showing.

Shrugging I held up both of my hands, pretending to weigh up my options.

"Wear someone down piece by piece." I held up my left hand, "or rattle someone so bad once that the chances of your strike rise significantly." And now I held up my right hand and wiggled them both up and down, showing that I was beyond undecided.

This time I suppressed the wince and went with the blunt approach, no need to beat around the bush.

"Worst of all, I can barely think of any reasons or situations where the inclusion of Genjutsu is anything but unnecessary or a needless step in between." I held her gaze, glad that this little band-aid was finally ripped off.

"Hmm." She took another sip, her eyes didn't leave mine and I honestly couldn't tell if she was annoyed, that I kind of bashed her field of expertise.

"Tell me, how would your preferred combat engagement look like?" She eventually asked.

Huh, that was easy.

"Well, I honestly don't care how many opponents I face. Either a clone or I would initiate my Hiding in Mist Technique and I would disengage with a subtle Shunshin. I may or may not use my Hiding with Camouflage Technique on top and send in one or more Water Clones to engage the opponent. I like to use Exploding Tags hidden on the clones for some quick and easy kills. Should the person survive the explosion I would use a second clone to try and trap him or her with the Water Prison Technique using the water of the exploding Water Clone." I paused and leaned back, the scenario vividly playing out in my fantasy. "While the enemy is distracted, I would use my sensing to pinpoint their location and kill them with a highly compressed and deadly version of the Water Release: Gunshot."

I couldn't help but smile as the film in my head carried on.

"In the case, that they survive, and depending on my patience, I would lure them into the false assumption that I was keeping my distance because I'm pants at Taijutsu just to step up my game in the right moment and murder them with my tanto or wakizashi." I finished satisfied and desperately tried to ignore the way my sensei's eyebrows had shot up.

I gave an embarrassed chuckle and scratched the back of my head.

"Um, should the enemy be just some run-of-the-mill shinobi I would probably go straight for the kill with whatever blade I have in my hands. That said, I really like to use my mist and go the Silent Killing route, which I'm actually quite good at."

"I see."

"Yeah."

…Awkward

"I will think of something and we can exchange some thoughts during our first mission."

Stepping out of the administration building Kurenai and I were greeted by a steadily waking population. More and more stores put their wares outside, shutters were drawn up and dozens of signs were arranged. I dutifully followed in the wake of my sensei's lively and straight-backed powerwalk and was increasingly certain, that the woman in front of me lived by the credo of business before pleasure.

The earlier the better.

Fine by me since having the morning shift always meant you had more of the actual day later, which in turn meant that I could carry on with taking my siestas on my sunny balcony.

Hooray!

Turning away from the busy main road Kurenai apparently decided to take me on a detour through one of the many parks. That said, 'park' was a generous description for most of the green spaces in Konoha proper, a handful of short and winding pathways surrounded by trees and patches of grass. A playground here, a couple of benches there, perfect little islands of calm and quiet to take a short break from shopping or for parents to let their chipper kids tire themselves out.

"Now that you've seen the mission desks, let's take another look at the scroll." Kurenai stopped in the middle of the path and motioned for me to take a seat on the nearby bench.

"Tell me your thoughts and how you would proceed."

"Uhm, seems pretty straightforward. A courier mission to deliver a payment to a charcoal burner outside the village. Pick up the money at the designated civilian bank and get the scroll signed by the mentioned recipient upon delivery." I told her and looked up for some clues.

"And how would you do it?" She asked me instead, and now I definitely had the feeling I was missing something.

"Well, I would get the money, get going, and be done with it as soon as possible?" I told her, my tone conveying to her, that I knew that there was probably more to it.

Obviously, she picked up on it, because she brushed off my concern with a tiny wave of her hand.

"It isn't something you could have known without experience or a sensei telling you beforehand. It isn't so much what is written in the scroll, but what isn't. It's a very basic d-rank mission, there's no mention of a certain timeframe for the completion of the mission or other specifics. You can basically take all the time that you want, within reason of course." She began to explain, and I listened. This was the stuff I had to know if I wanted to progress in the regular forces.

"That said, there are basically unwritten rules with missions like this, for example, you should take some time. The customer didn't pay for premium delivery, so he doesn't get premium delivery. Furthermore, it is somewhat frowned upon to rush through these missions just because you can. There are many older Genins that depend on the payment these missions bring, and the more capable shinobis are expected to aim for missions more suited to them anyway." She paused her lengthy lecture, her gaze had been unblinkingly on me the whole time and I felt the need to nod now, signaling I was still with her.

"In the end, you usually don't have to think about it, because your regular missions also depend a great deal on the chunin manning the desk you are waiting at. He might recognize you and present you with a choice of missions that suit you and your team, sometimes you don't get a choice at all. But if you are particularly friendly with one, they can even reserve missions for you." She said, and I caught the subtle nod at the scroll in my hands. She basically invited me to come to my own conclusions regarding her ability to wrap those poor sods around her dainty fingers.

Those eyes, those lips, and the bare arms…yeah, I wouldn't judge any of the chunins.

Hands in my pockets, eyes closed, and with the late morning sun warming my skin I couldn't keep in the content sigh. At the leisure pace we were currently going we would reach our destination in roughly one hour, a sedate shinobi pace back and we would be in Konoha right on time for some lunch and some training afterward.

I dimly heard Sensei open a pouch of her west and opened my eyes to glance curiously over.

She unraveled a small scroll and over her arm, I could see that it was littered with various little storage seals. Curiosity now definitely piqued I watched her tap a non-descript array and catch the appearing smaller scroll.

"Here," She handed me the tiny scroll. "These are my notes and a description of a rather interesting Genjutsu we are going to work on when we are back."

I wordlessly took it and opened it. 'Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique'

"You told me, that you had used a Demonic Illusion to fool your opponent with just a visual. For a beginner and in your situation, it was adequate, but what if your opponent had truly felt his guts spill out of his stomach?" She asked me this almost rhetorical question, which I answered, nonetheless.

"He would have been more than just rattled." My eyes returning to the scroll I could see where she was going.

"This technique in its most basic form is visually rather heavy-handed in my opinion, but" She emphasized the 'but' which made me look up again and meet her gaze. "its ability to fool the perception of the victim regarding the heat makes it an ideal introduction to body perception."

"Body temperature, vertigo, and pain." I injected suddenly remembering a section of my textbook, that the old cripple gave me all those years ago.

"Exactly." Kurenai gave me a winning smile, glad I was getting it and I couldn't help but smile in return.

My happy grin, however, was slowly giving way for consternation as Kurenai's smile didn't falter in the slightest, quite the opposite, in fact, it grew as her gaze was still firmly on me.

Suddenly a shiver went down my spine, I could feel goosebumps sprouting along my arms. It felt like my feet were drenched in ice-cold water and…

'Kai'

And now I was enjoying the sun again. I closed my eyes in defeat and concentrated my sensing inward. Sure enough, a minuscule portion of my sensei's chakra was slotted neatly into place again.

"When you handed me the scroll." I said, eyes still closed I could hear her chuckle.

"Indeed." Mirth dancing in her voice. "I also wanted to demonstrate something peculiar about Genjutsu, and to a lesser extent Ninjutsu as well. A hundred shinobi could do the same jutsu and you would get a hundred different versions. I just used the Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique, changed a couple of variables and the result was cold instead of heat." She paused, mirth gone, she was back in teacher-mode now. "There are no 'Genjutsus', simply different applications of your chakra in the victim. You don't make paintings with a stamp; you use hundreds of brushstrokes."

'Whoa!' This might have been the most passionate I have ever heard her be.

"I…wow…I think I understand." I told her.

"I know you do." She retorted instantly and with confidence. "Just think about what you told me about your usage of the Water Release: Gunshot. It's the same principle."

"There is a second reason why I think this might be a good fit for you. I have a couple of different ideas for later, but what do you think about giving your mist a freezing texture." She asked, a bit of cheer returning to her voice, perhaps because she finally sensed my growing enthusiasm for her art.

"I would like that."

And I really did.