Chapter 7 Petty Fledgling
What a wonderful introduction, to this seemingly epic tale which would now include THE hero's Journey And her Epic Quest to get Stronger, you say? With a brand new combat system with the world has never Seen before?
Pfftttt, Shikaku just decided to continue throwing rocks at me while I was blindfolded and dodge in a "non-beautiful" way, while my genin squad got to run through the same obstacle course over while getting to laugh at my misery. What a...Petty Master to Learn Pettiness From. Sike,
"What the fuck is this?!" - Miho exclaimed. Aren't you supposed to teach me something new?!
Shikaku with all his glory, laying down in an EXACT replica of the lawn chair of yesterday, seemed to have Seen the Question genuinely and calmly answer with: "I don't Know".
I replied with: "What do you mean you don't Know?"
Shikaku:"What I mean to say is I'm just as Lost as you Are. Individual combat systems formed from the 7 Master Swordsmen from Kiri, Mifune from the Land of Samurai, or Lord 3rd as the Professor of Ninjutsu would likely have somewhat of a Path laid out for their students to run through. I'm just honest enough to See myself a Strategist at the end of the Day".
Miho: "Then what about that profound Lesson I got just before this."
Shikaku: "Ah, I didn't 'Expect' you to pick up on it so soon you know. Usually, that's the sort of lesson ninja end up being grateful for when they're chunin and their instincts save them from a high-level opponent they otherwise would have given up in despair over like if you met a Jounin unexpectedly. That was what I Calculated would happen. But it seems Life works in Mysterious ways..."
Miho:..."Fuck."
Shikaku, who's suddenly turned back to his complaining self in my previous life: "Hah...Troublesome gaki...as a petty fledgling, and not queen for you're just starting out, let's see what ultimate trump card is as a 7 year old. I feel like it can't be that big a deal, since...you're 7 kid..."
Miho: "What a blatant form of manipulation"
Shikaku: "What a petty response from the fledgling herself. Still it's nice you dropped the Mask you've been carrying. It must have been Heavy upholding it with who your father is".
Miho, chuckling ever so lightly: "Yeah, you're right... so now what?"
Shikaku:"I don't know about Mastery, for everyone's got to start Somewhere even lord 3rd and Mifune had to Create on their Own to Forge their Destiny and the so-called Titles that came with it. Perhaps it starts with you sitting Where you Are, rather than going Here or There."
As you take in his words of wisdom he starts to add:
Shikaku: "Your physical conditioning and basics might harden to stone-esque patterns if you're not careful. So I guess all I can do is try to get Out of the Way while you explore your path.
That being said I'm also in charge of 2 other gakis in the squad, which I'm going to try to make less of a political side-show and more of a well-functioning unit too. So while you search for potential creativity, all I know is that can potentially sharpen your Quiet Instinct. The non-fancy way of potentially saving your throat by 2 millimeters from being cut from a fast fucker, or catch your breath a millimeter before you Fall into well-placed Trap/Pit in the form of an Ambush. I have no doubt you'll likely lead this squad so I've got make sure the others aren't a liability to you along with Training them to Stand on their own 2 Feet as competent Chunnin in their own Right."
Miho:"That makes sense, make sure I tag along with coming up with team/jutsu ideas and combinations. I've got some ideas already(more like past life experience, but no way I'll tell him that".
Shikaku:"Got it, think fast kiddo...", as he proceeds more rocks at my feet. Petulant fuck.
And just like that, over time our ironic but professional chemistry started to build as a genin squad. With them laughing at me on a daily basis while I mock their conditioning and Friday team talks about combinations and jutsus and hints I dropped both Roja and Asuka for ideas for their jutsus.
Although no professional rivalry this time, I still gained a grudging respect from Asuka for pretty "decent" ideas of bug formations(Never mind, how much she gloated the first around when we used to spar and tie, though I usually won out 60-40 back then). We also went out to Yankiku's every other Friday. Shikaku said it was an Ino-Chika-Sho tradition and my pettiness made sure that man was footing the bill every time as a "responsible" "Sensei" "should". Those 3 in quotations definitely pushed him over the edge but he made up for it, by talking about unconventional and crazy he has Seen and talked about throughout his lifetime. As we usually talked formation and strategy, I definitely got sharper and more decisive with the hypothetical situations he was able to lay out in front of me.
As for me, I didn't want to end up like an Impulsive Beast, but I knew Strategy wasn't the Way either. When it comes to combat, my favorite has got to be Azula from Avatar Aang. The beautiful blue fire specks she held, the plotline of her tragic brainwashing for the approval of her father, and the lighting point that I thought I wanted to base my jutsu and copy and paste from like a mini thunder bolt as Fire Princess that I was trying to copy and paste myself to be without using the sharingan, but doing so anyway, and only ending up with a puny but likely paralyzing Kunai instead. Sigh, at least I can be petty with it in combat, ironically enough. But once it's known, and an enemy survives, their wariness keeps me bitterly confused other than the basics I've honed.
A Lost Petty Fledgling Indeed...perhaps I can ask about mind games from the old Goat Shikaku himself. I don't Know where to go from Here.