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Post by Sarutobi Sio on Sept 7, 2013 23:50:54 GMT -5
Occasionally, Sio would stick her finger under Minato's nose to make sure he was still breathing. But even that much would be forgotten once their food arrived. Minato's ramen was placed inches from his face, the steam inching its way into his nostrils as he inhaled. Sio practically drooled at at the arrival of her order, carefully gathering and stacking the slices of pork cutlet in the center of the heap of noodles, to prevent the bread coating of the meat from becoming soggy.
First went the fish paste, then the slice of hard-boiled egg. Then, she began unstacking the cutlets and re-stacking them, eating the cutlet on the bottom of the pile along with a spun forkful of noodles. This was her ritual. Eat the bottom-most cutlet piece on every sixth forkful of noodles, then drink the broth, and eat the vegetables that settled at the bottom of the bowl. All the while, she was thinking about the Rasengan. The problem was in her mechanics. It was in figuring out how to adhere the katon chakra to the ball, itself. Anytime she tried to form the Rasengan with the katon chakra, it simply extinguished itself, resulting in a Rasengan that was only slightly warmer than average.
Her thoughts would be interrupted by Minato muttering. "Don't eat all the ramen..." Sio paused, fork halfway to her mouth. The cutlet piece speared on the end dropped off, splashing into the broth. The entire fork, noodles and all dropped when he flew upward, yelling.
"W-what's trying to eat you?" Sio asked, composing herself as she picked up her fork again, fishing the now-soggy cutlet piece from the broth and frowning as the breading began to disintegrate and fall apart, leaving only bright white pork on her fork.
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Post by Uzumaki Minato on Sept 8, 2013 0:01:51 GMT -5
"The ramen, it just tried to eat me...it was everywhere." His face was void of any expression, it was safe to say his mind had just been blown. Looking around he noticed where he was sitting, and where he was. He was at Ichiraku's but didn't recall coming here, or sitting down at a stool and falling asleep, either.
"Sio..." he called, itching at the back of his head. "How'd I get here? Weren't we just training?" The seriousness in his features were unmistakable. Whatever was the causing of his lapse caused him to forget the last couple minutes of his day, which was only about fifteen minutes or so. Still, all the same, it was kind of bad that he couldn't remember how he got to where he was. Although, to him, there was no better place to wake up than Ichiraku's.
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Post by Sarutobi Sio on Sept 10, 2013 18:23:15 GMT -5
Sio just stared at her friend for a moment, the pork falling off her fork into the broth once more. The ramen...was trying...to eat him? She smiled a bit, inwardly. She wondered what it was like to have such vivid dreams. Hers were plagued only with things that had already happened, none of them good. That was when she bothered to dream at all. "You should have threatened to eat it back." she offered, fishing the pork out of the broth for the last time and shoving it into her mouth.
Sio looked at him again as he spoke, picking up the bowl and bringing it to her lips to drink the broth. "Really?" she asked quizzically. "You walked in and ordered your ramen and everything. Must have been muscle memory or something. You seriously don't remember walking in?" Sio raised her arm, getting the attention of the chef and ordering another bowl.
"Seriously, you walked in, hollered out 'Beef ramen!" and then passed out. I carried you over and set you in your chair. Figured the smell of the noodles would be the best smelling salts for you." Sio began her ritual anew as the new bowl arrived, stacking her pork cutlet atop itself.
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Post by Uzumaki Minato on Sept 12, 2013 10:22:50 GMT -5
Baffled by everything she was saying he sat there, staring into the blank space in front of him. He really couldn't remember anything and he didn't know why. Breaking apart his utensils, his fingers pinched down on his chopsticks, not too low or too high, they fit perfectly in his hand.
"Well," he grinned, "I guess you were right." he chortled, inhaling the steam that drifted up from his noodles through his nostrils. They were so rich with flavor, his mouth watered as he dipped his chopsticks into the bowl in front of him. In one big slurp, he felt the warmth of the noodles slither down his throat.
"Oi," he turned towards Sio, his elbows resting upon the bar top. "about today...is there anything I can do to repay you for everything?" For some reason he couldn't bring himself to look her directly in the eyes, his gaze remained adverted.
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Post by Sarutobi Sio on Sept 12, 2013 10:51:11 GMT -5
Sio was steadily working her way through her second bowl, but was already starting to get full. Half the cutlet was gone, along with half the noodles. Hell or high water, though, she was going to finish this HERE. Ramen simply did not reheat well. She sighed deeply after swallowing this most recent bite, looking over at Minato.
It was kind of a sad thought. That one day, these times might be less often than they currently were. She was going to have to eventually start looking for a team to join if she intended to compete in the next Chunin exams. She had a feeling that Minato and his team were looking to compete, too. If one or both of them did end up becoming Chunin, these training sessions and meals together would be replaced with missions on top of missions. If they were lucky, they'd both be deployed at the same time. If they were incredibly unlucky, one would constantly be returning as the other was leaving.
But they still had now. Here and now, and probably even tomorrow. They still had these bowls of ramen, and training until they apparently ordered food and then passed out with no recollection of having done so. And even if these times were to end in a day's time, a week's time or even a month's time, she would have these memories to relive if she came to miss her friend too much. When he asked his question, she turned to him, a grin crawling across her face.
"Actually, this has been on my mind ever since you showed me earlier. I was wondering if you could explain the mechanics behind your Rasendama. I think whatever you did to create it could be the missing bridge that my katon Rasengan is missing. Whenever I lace the katon chakra into the spiral, the spinning seems to extinguish it and all I end up with is...well...a pretty-warm Rasengan." She said the last part with a laugh. A Rasengan that would grind a pretty messy hole in a person, and leave their skin uncomfortably tingly. Entertaining, but a waste of chakra that resulted in a headache far worse than what she got out of a jutsu.
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Post by Uzumaki Minato on Sept 12, 2013 13:01:09 GMT -5
"My Rasendama..." he repeated back, an image of him performing his only signature technique formed in his mind.
His ability to use chakra, to the degree which he does at his age, Naruto once told him it was unnatural, or maybe it was an innate talent. It was something that not even his grandfather could explain really, he always said it was a trait that was passed down to him by his great grandmother, Uzumaki Kushina. He was told that he was a natural genius, who possessed talents and abilities that would one day allow him to surpass the great Rokudaime Hokage himself.
"It's not much really, all I do is release the chakra from my hands," he stated in a monotone, his voice seemed at ease. It was almost like he gave no thought to his response. Lifting his hand so that Sio could see, he started his demonstration. "Then I transform it into wind, before I change it's shape and speed up it's rotation."
Twirling in his hand was an ethereal funnel, whipping and turning in currents, a soft humming resonated throughout the shop. Clasping his palm inward, he extinguished the chakra, bursts of air erupted outward in a calming breeze.
"Grandpa said this was a incomplete jutsu after I told him I wanted to make it. He said that I won't be able to complete it until I learn and master the Rasengan." he spoke so well, so effortlessly, looking at Sio he decided to offer her a concept for mixing her elemental chakra with the shaping method.
"Maybe you should change the rotation of your Rasengan, make it spin the opposite direction. After that, why don't you just try channeling your katon around it before it fully forms into its sphere shape? That way the spinning current the Rasengan gives off will feed the fire inward instead of pushing it out." Shrugging, he lifted his chopsticks to his mouth, blowing out onto the noodles that dangled from down between the wooden vice-grip.
"I think that'll help you. I don't know much about what you're tryna do," he chuckled, "since I've only seen my Granpa's Rasenshuriken once."
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Post by Sarutobi Sio on Sept 12, 2013 22:10:04 GMT -5
It was such an obvious idea once it was spoken out loud to her that Sio almost facepalmed the moment the words were out of Minato's mouth. He was an absolute genius when it came to this sort of thing, and the world would be witness to his prowess when it came to jutsu concepts. She couldn't believe that she had basically wasted two years on something that she could have probably had finished in a matter of months. Her control was as tight as any could hope for. Virtually no chakra was wasted and seemed to almost be executed in amounts precise to the decimal, making it easy for her to adapt and modify existing jutsu. But she simply was not an idea woman. Not yet. She was a ways off from creating her own jutsu.
Reverse the direction. That would draw air in toward the center of the spiral, rather than spilling it out. And putting the katon chakra in the center as suggested would feed the flame with the air cycling in from the chakra's motion. By completing the containing shell with fire chakra, as well, it would amplify the burning effect of the spiral sphere. "YOU'RE A GENIUS!" she practically screamed in the crowded restaurant, throwing her hands up. She was sure this was what she needed, and would hardly be able to sleep that night with the excitement of starting training anew tomorrow. Reversing the direction of the chakra would not be difficult. By starting in the initial direction, she would work at rotating the entire sphere in her hand before coating it in the spherical shell. Maintaining the katon while feeding the normal chakra would be the challenge for her, as it had been the challenge thus far, and she practically cringed at the thought of having to use a Kage Bunshin and eventually having to wean herself off it's use. But she needed to know that the idea worked before she went about toiling to learn to perform it on her own.
Realizing her outburst, she settled down into her seat, tucking her face into her scarf before quickly recovering and looking down at her bowl of noodles. Suddenly, her appetite was back, and she began eating with a renewed fervor. "We're gonna be great one day, you know, Minato." she said through a mouthful of noodles. "When our Rasengan are finished, we should work on a combination jutsu. Imagine what fire and wind could do together."
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Post by Uzumaki Minato on Sept 13, 2013 10:53:58 GMT -5
TRAINING FIELD AREA 36, TWO HOURS LATER Five digits wrapped around the rubber ball clenching it into the folds of his fingers, chakra flowed visibly into the crease of his palm and around the ball. Forming into a lime mass of spiraling chakra, as he concentrated, the speed of its' rotation began to form increase as it began to condense down into the rubber ball's boundaries. His glare buckled. He had a train of thought that was eerily calm and relaxed; the correlation between his mind, his point of focus, and his ability to envision and execute, kept his mind at ease. It was always like this when he got lost in his thoughts, trained, or practiced on his jutsu. While he worked, so did Sio. After their conversation at Ichiraku's shop, it seemed like Minato's supposed concept on how to merge chakra-natures with the chakra shaping method lit a fire in his dear friend's kettle. She was inspired, and so was he. They pretty much discussed everything on their way back to the training field, and since then they'd been hard at work. Practice makes perfect he thought to himself, his lips began to part as the whirling sound of chakra resonated loudly in his mind allowing him to picture the Rasengan vividly. It would take a little time, it would take a lot of effort and thinking; but ultimately, he knew it'd be worth it all in the end. TRAINING FIELD AREA 36, THREE DAYS LATER Deep in the forest's green, surrounded by all of the canopies around him, the spiral-ninja's smirk grew wider as he drew closeer to forming his chakra into what he had been tiring to form it into for three days. He had already obtained an extent of competency with altering the speed and rotation of his chakra, he could manipulate it almost at a whim now. The tedious part that was barely alluding him now was finding various ways to condense and shape the spiraling chakra into a sphere itself. He was aiming to learn how to use it with varying sizes. He thought, if he worked on these two things individually, that once he applied them simultaneously, he'd just do them in tandem and this would allow him to complete the second stage of the Rasengan. It seemed so clear to him. "Okay!" he breathed, cracking his knuckles. Reaching down into his bag he retrieved the allusive rubber ball. Looking at the center of his palm he smiled as he retraced the emoticon that Sio drew in his hand when he first started this stage of training. Some how, some way, it revitalized him and gave him a serene state of mind - which was more nonchalant than the norm. "Let's do this," uttered Minato, predisposing his goal. His eyes shut. "YOU'RE A GENIUS!" Flashes of the exclamations Sio said just days ago raced through his mind-- "We're gonna be great one day, you know, Minato."He could feel, hear, and see her word and her vision of the future. And he agreed. It fueled his passion further. "You're right, Sio..." his tired voice panted with anticipation, his slender digits wrapping around the rubber ball. Concentration made everything become silent within his mind - he recognized this feeling, he had it once before when he completed the Rasendama. As his chakra wrapped its' form around the rubber ball and began to spin, within moments Minato made his chakra shrink down as it began rotating within the ball itself. With a steady mind he refined his chakra, and its' speed began to increase drastically with a buzz to exclaim the Rasengan's perfection - thereafter, in the most abrupt manner possible, the rubber balloon popped. "...we will be great one day." TRAINING FIELD AREA 36, 9: 42 AM NOW "The past couple of days were crazy," he admitted aloud to Sio with a chuckle. Reflecting on the last couple of days as he lifted his backpack up off the ground and slung it across his shoulder, he couldn't help but feel accomplished. Minato and Sio did a lot in these four day. It was nothing but back-to-back training exercises, sparring, and conceptual exchanging. It was like an unspoken regime almost; the things they just did at certain intervals of their day. They even made sure to stop and take breaks, or to go grab lunch every so often. Minato's house was practically down the road, so they had easy access to whatever they needed. "I think we shouldn't tell anybody about the jutsu," he told her as they crossed over the greenery and walked away from the training field. "I don't want my dad asking me who taught me the Rasengan since he's still against me learnin' it. I wanna avoid as much hassle as I can. Besides," he turned, looking at Sio. "I wanna see the look on everybody's face when we bust these jutsu out during the Chūnin Exams since Masa-sensei said they'd be starting soon."
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Post by Sarutobi Sio on Sept 13, 2013 16:29:28 GMT -5
Sio was going to be great. She knew now what it was that she was supposed to do with her life. Some were meant to be Kage. Some were meant to lead thousands upon thousands of successful missions, bringing their villages honor and glory. Some would be meant to mold the future generations of shinobi as Academy teachers, as Jonin-sensei. But Sio wasn't destined to be any of these. She wasn't confident enough to be a Kage yet, nor was she exceptional enough to be a combat leader. And while she had all the makings of being an excellent teacher of chakra control and management, it simply was not what she wanted. Sio was determined to be a Sage. She didn't know how, yet. But it was going to happen. She would not stop until it did. There were so many who believed in her, who entrusted so much to her. She had to uphold that. She had to become wise. And she had to uphold her word to Minato.
"We're gonna be great one day, you know..."
She knew he'd have no trouble. So it was up to her now. She would have to hold up her side of the claim. And she would begin here and now. Sio began the Rasengan, the core of swirling energy growing in her hand. As she formed it, she began manipulating the forming sphere with her fingers, physically rolling it until the chakra was spinning in the opposite direction. Observing the motion, she studied it until it was ingrained in her memory, prime for mimic, and ready to be attempted for herself. Closing her fist and allowing the energy to dissipate, she began anew, this time spinning the chakra counter-clockwise. It started shakily, occasionally halting as she fought her own normal chakra flow to spin the chakra backward. She felt as if she was learning the jutsu all over again.
TRAINING FIELD AREA 36, THREE DAYS LATER
Sio's hand shook lightly as she held it outstretched, eyes cut as she stared into the empty space in the center of her palm. Let's go... The chakra began to build, spinning effortlessly to the left. But this time was different than the others. It took on a pinkish tint, darkening deeper as the flame chakra began to build, tightening and spiraling faster, lightening as normal chakra encased the katon, finally shelling over with red chakra. The ball was perfect, shimmering red and Sio gritted her teeth as she kept the rotation, stacking on chakra to keep the cycle contained. It was warm against her hand. Warm...now she couldn't feel anything. Suddenly, her palm grew searing hot. "Ow!" she yelled, thrusting the Rasengan into a nearby tree. The ball seared clean through the bark, leaving a smoldering hole through which flame flickered. The entire medium-sized tree quickly became engulfed in flames, falling over at the point the Rasengan had bore through. "SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!"
TRAINING FIELD AREA 36, 9: 42 AM NOW
"I know, right?" she responded, looking down at her blistered palm. Her brain was as well-worked as her hand, chock full of information that she would be using on her new path to greatness. It was really a shame that Minato already had a team...the two of them together with a third and a sensei would be simply lethal and too much for the shinobi world to handle. But it wasn't meant to be, and perhaps that was for the best, somehow and some way. Besides, they worked just fine this way, too. "Okay...that's cool." she agreed to his proposition. It would be all the more suspenseful when they debuted their new abilities at the upcoming Chunin exams. She wasn't sure how she was going to get in, but she was. If she had to henge three Kage Bunshin, she was getting into those exams.
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