Just(?) Rewards, The Two New Jounin, Properly Introduced!

[Atomsk]

Rather disappointingly, as his first new mission as a Jounin, which he'd been assigned shortly after being stabbed, was an escort mission. The mission was higher ranked; it was something going from the Raikage to the Hokage, and so nin from Kumo led it half way, and he was to remain with the Konoha nin until he had delivered a letter that the package needed. Well, he'd insisted on a quick delivery, and modified the secret path originally set out to make it just as hard to follow, and even trace the path of, whilst cutting the time in half. So, he had three days extra, which the Hokage, pleased with his work, granted him as time within Konohagakure. Not wishing to be a nuisance, he'd decided that his first desired task was to be done on his own, without asking the Kage for any assistance; who was he to ask for a favor, especially after the (unintentional) disrespect he'd shown his masked Kage. No, the matter of finding his two great foes, and perhaps rivals, Hagane Shougou and Senju Hotoke, could be done on his own.

First, he had wanted to inquire as to Shougou's odd empowerment technique, for a number of reasons. One, he'd been intrigued as to the source of the power. Did it unlock that massive chakra from within him, which seemed impossible, or was it something else? Either way, it was so rampant and wild; if Jin was right, Shougou should be able to find a way to focus it, and thus increase the already huge boost of power. Also, Jin wanted to talk to his last opponent, who'd had that honorable idealism towards his craft, who'd spoken of quality, and he very much liked that sort of personal belief. Hotoke surprised him, and he wished to speak to him again. So, given an identification for his stay, Jin started leaping around the rooftops of Konoha.

[Shougou]

God, my legs hurt. Shougou thought to himself. With his knees bent at nearly right angles, legs opened a little farther than shoulder width, and his back straight and feet forward Shougou was in what was known as the Horse Stance. A rather painful stance designed to build stamina and strength in the legs. In an attempt to garner greater control over his newly acquired fire chakra nature Shougou had been sitting in a Horse Stance for over four hours now trying to increase the amount of fire on a leaf without burning anymore of the leaf by burning up the air. During the tournament in Kiri Shougou had been forced to rethink his battle strategy. His old Iron Body techniques, utilizing bone crushing blows and massive displays of earth chakra, had failed miserably. Therefore he had decided to pursue and perfect the more subtle variations of his martial arts style, the Soft and Chinau styles. Those being the ability to cause internal damage while still conserving his strength. The combination of these styles and his already massive strength and endurance should allow him to at least outlast if not defeat his opponents.

As he continued to meditate on his new-found style the curse seal on his shoulder flared, releasing a massive burst of chakra. "Damn!" he grunted through gritted as the leaf exploded in a burst of flame. Grasping his aching shoulder with his one hand that had escaped being burned in the outburst of chakra Shougou looked out his window to see Jin, the man he had lost to in the tournament leaping by on the roof tops out side. Lifting his cramped and nearly dysfunctional legs from their positions Shougou limped over to the window before calling out, "Hey, Jin!" Now's the chance I've been waiting for. Let's see how well my new style fairs against him since he's the one who my old style failed against.

[Atomsk]

If he could have paused mid-leap, he damn well would have. However, he was limited by the damning laws of physics, and nearly landed in a way that would send him crashing through the roof as he twisted to the voice. Last minute, he twisted like a cat, and landed limbs sprawled out. Looking back to the window, he noted the first of the two he'd wanted to see. "Shougou! I've been looking for you! I'd wanted to ask you some questions!" He got up, stretched his startled limbs back out, and lept back up to low-roof next to Shougou's window. His ex-foe had been working, it looked like, and now, with his more casual training gear on, Jin noticed the tattoo in it's full glory. A thought came into his head when he saw it.

But he had to progress into the conversation. [color]"Shougou, I've been meaning to ask you about the power boost you had in the tournament. I think I have some ideas as to how you can maximize it's power, but I'd been meaning to ask you how you got such a thing. Is it a special technique? Part of your clan?"[/color] He was asking too many questions. His social skills still needed improving, but hopefully this exposure into new villages with some people who weren't just teaching you to kill would help him in developing some. Nevertheless, he didn't forget his basic etiquette; he remained bowing outside until he'd been invited inside, or been bowed to and joined. He did, however, simply turn up his head. "Uh, what're you up to, if I may ask?"

This post has been edited by Atomsk on Nov 4 2008, 06:17 PM

[Shougou]

Shougou quickly gave a meager bow before his legs nearly gave way and he fell, jarring his elbows as he caught himself on the window sill. Standing up he jumped out onto the roof and nearly fell gain as his legs buckled from the landing. "I was just practicing a new technique." he said, "And as for this," he said, realizing the curse mark was in plain view in his sleeveless shirt, "Was a gift from a...mentor of mine." I've got to be more careful with this thing. It wouldn't bode to well if some of the higher ups learned of it. Glancing over towards his apartment window Shougou noticed the burst of flame had left a smoldering leaf on his carpet that threatened to catch fire at any moment. "Shit." He swore under his breath as he once again lept and collapsed thought his window. Picking up the leaf he tossed it out the window before rubbing out the burnt and blackened area of the carpet until it returned to its original hue. Seating himself on his bed, Shougou pulled out a chair and gestured for Jin to come in. it was a cramped one room apartment and the chair was the only place to sit besides his bed and a desk behind the chair. "What are these ideas of yours?"

[Atomsk]

The fire almost made Jin laugh out loud, but he resisted, and was quickly in the window and the room before the indicative inviting hand had dropped. Obviously, Shougou had been working very hard on this focusing technique, trying to control that fire. Flashes of the tournament, the fire burning and bursting in his face, all came flooding back, and Jin shook them off before seating himself and smiling. "I hadn't thought of it until just now, but it looks a lot like some seals my Kage used on me once. They were made to seal an area, one on each of the walls and ceiling, and they made focusing chakra within the area really difficult; it drained a lot. I was thinking, the energy you got from the seal didn't taste entirely like yours did... I could taste it in your blood, before you ask... and it just occurred to me that, if you wanted to focus it like I'd been thinking you might be able to do, my Kage could probably tell you more of how to do it, if you're interested. I've no doubt that I cxould probably buy it off of him..." Wow, new thought on the fly, but it's more of a built argument.And maybe the Raikage could help, or even tell Jin about how he could develop one himself, perhaps. He HAD helped him develop the two new angels, and those chakra blades he'd acquired, his new companions on his hip's thickest belt.

[Shougou]

"Hmm, I'll think about it." Shougou said. I'd rather not show this to any Kage, much less one a different village. he thought to himself. Clearly Jin didn't know much about the seal himself so any further discussion on topic was a waste of time. Then again, unless he happened upon Akira once again the chances of him being able to advance his control and understanding of the seal were pretty slim. Pushing himself up off the bed and attempting to stretch his legs without falling over Shougou said, "You know what? Why not? If you let me I'd be grateful to be able to accompany you back to Kumo to meet with the Raikage. Although until then I would have favor to ask of you." Swallowing his pride and looking up from his feet he asked in a quieter tone, "Would you uh... mind helping me with my Genjutsu resistance since you beat me with it more or less." Images of the genjutsu induced dream, falling up endlessly into the sky, the wind tearing his legs to shreds flashed through his mind. Never again.... he thought to himself as a vertigo induced shudder knocked him back down onto his bed.

[Atomsk]

For a second, Jin was taken aback. "Genjutsu..... o-oh, certainly! Sure thing! It's really.... the best way to get rid of genjutsu is to disbelieve, but I'll help you through some meditational skills to try and experience how genjutsu affects the patterns of your own chakra." It was even better if he could bring back Shougou in two days time when he left. He wasn't good prey, so the Kage could make this an open agreement as a sort of "transfer student" to heighten country relations. It made the tournament's outcomes look even better for Kumo, so he'd go for it, especially if it was on the emergency insistence of Jin. "But, uh, you might wanna wait until your energies are back in full swing. You seem to have been working pretty hard on... heheheh, setting your bedroom on fire. Oh, no offense meant, just..." Jin snickered a little looking back at the bit of the rug that caught fire. He stepped towards the window. "I leave for Kumo in two days, so whatever paperwork I need to sign as a rep, lets get it done before then. Tomorrow morning, I'll put you under. That's a term used in genjutsu specialty training; basically, we subject you to genjutsu, then probe your mind, leading you to the source of the jutsu, so you slowly become more naturally aware of how to detect the genjutsu's contact point on you, and thus snuff it out. But you'll need rest; when we do that, you'll be suffering through the genjutsu's effect. It's a nice combination of physical and mental torture, and training to make sure noone can do it to you again. You up for it?"

[Shougou]

Issuing a faint, "None taken..." at the comment about the fire. Lifting his head up from the folds of sheets on his un-made bed Shougou looked over to Jin, poised half in half out of the window he wondered why he was in such a hurry to leave. I'm sure he has other business in Konoha besides chatting with me. Propping himself up on his elbows Shougou said, "Tomorrow morning it is then. There's a small clearing in the forest a few kilometers straight north from here, I'll meet you there." With that he collapsed fully back onto his bed with a sigh of resignation. With his increasing ability in fire manipulation, his new taijutsu technique and now once his genjutsu resistance is built up Shougou was getting closer to being able to once again seek out Akira. A wave of shock passed through him as he realized he hadn't even thought about Akira since after he received the seal. A new strength flashed throughout his body at the thought of once again fighting Akira, the determination spreading throughout his body as if a wildfire burned within his very veins. Leaping to his feet Shougou quickly returned to his previous attempts at fire manipulation this time merely standing so as not to risk permanently damaging his muscles.

[Atomsk]

"Good good, the morning will be excellent! I haven't gotten to do this in a while, and it's really good control training and genjutsu training myself. I can't wait." He pushed himself a little higher up on the sill. Stopping for a second, he wondered what exactly his Kage would say about this. He spoke without moving, still facing out, as if in mid leap time had stopped. "Shougou?" He turned his head now, and a seriousness that had not even been seen during the tournament surfaced. It was the look of someone who thought people were going to die, a cold stillness that a soldier has before the battle. Or like an agent has when he's warning his contact. "Don't tell a soul, even hinting, what it is we'll be doing in Kumo. Not even your Kage may know. My kage... has a penchant for secrets. Not even his best kept secrets, apparently, knew his face until recently.

Don't even think about it."

With that, Jin left Shougou to what appeared to be more training. He liked him, but once again, he had a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it. Making a checklist for himself, he knew he had to request the appropriate papers for the trip and entrance to Kumo, contact the Raikage with a carrier falcon, and try and accomplish the mission, all in one fell swoop. Oh, and find Hotoke, he'd almost forgot. But much needed doing. As if he was early by coincidence; he had to be careful about the Hokage...