Slow and Steady (Age 12)
"Tenten! Today is the first step on the next paving stone of the glorious path that is your blazing youth!"
Gai-sensei seems extra chipper this morning. Perhaps he won another contest with Copycat Kakashi.
"You see, Tenten, it is the duty of an adult to pass on their experience to the young, like a proud gardener watering a seed so that it can grow even mightier than the original tree!"
Don't look so expectant. I get it, Gai-sensei. We live in a village of trees. I get it..
"Haha, yes! Now, like a sunflower turning to face the light, this means that we teachers will inevitably shape our pupils, if only a little, in our image."
Don't remind me.
"A great deal of thought is put into these genin teams for just that reason. It's why I was assigned the most promising taijutsu specialists of your year. In fact, I hear that this year my esteemed rival will be putting his sharingan to good use training the heir of the Uchiha! No doubt the other teams will be just as suited to their sensei, fitting as tightly as a well-tailored jumpsuit."
Why do you say these things when I'm trying to zone out? I was in my happy place, Gai-sensei. My Neji place. Your jumpsuit has no place there.
"Obviously, I've worked to provide an environment where Neji can hone his unique strengths, and I've passed down my personal philosophy of physical combat to Lee. Your path, however, has been more of a challenge, which is why I'm so pleased to have finally decided on the next stage of your development as a genin."
I throw things, Gai-sensei. I flunked out of medical classes, I don't have a bloodline technique or any clan jutsu, my elemental affinity is about as strong as dishwater, and the only living genjutsu specialist in this entire village wears nothing but bandages.
I throw things.
"Don't let such thoughts dampen your youthful optimism, Tenten! My hard-won wisdom shall be the wind to drive your sycamore wings to fresh soil! Ahem."
Gai-sensei pulls a book out of his satchel, and for a dreadful moment I think he's started imitating his rival. Then he begins to read from a bookmarked page. Hard-won wisdom. Right.
"An inevitable step on the path of any weaponsmaster, however lightly trodden, is that of sealing techniques! These arcane patterns emulate a predetermined arrangement of chakra coils, allowing for the automated execution of jutsu, and even the execution of certain techniques far too complex and multilayered for a single human to manifest on their own. The majority of space-time jutsu..."
Gai-sensei trails off, scanning for the next section he wants to read from. Use highlighters to mark them out next time. That's what I do, and it's not like the academy can complain. Just saves time for the next pupil.
"Hm, well, your attitude toward public property aside, Tenten, the point is that sealing techniques will allow you to experiment with and transport a vast array of weapons, and with diligent practice, may open doors to more advanced techniques that will be the foundation of your ninja legend! Mastery of seals is a feat sure to anyone you ask-"
Like Lady Tsunade?
"-for while most shinobi have a workmanlike understanding of basic patterns, a true artisan of sealing hasn't been seen in the village since Lord Jiraiya the Toad Sage left on his quest for... uh, foreign intelligence."
I know about Jiraiya. He was a team mate of Lady Tsunade.
"So! I've decided to grab your youthful attention with a sealing technique of my own, one that I can teach you right away! You should have heard of it, Tenten. THE SUMMONING TECHNIQUE!"
Of course I've heard of it. Lady Tsunade summons slugs. She-
A white cloud of smoke envelops Gai, and when it clears he's standing atop... a turtle.
"Now, it took some persuading, but Ningame here has finally agreed, as ambassador of the Turtle-and-Tortoise Clan-"
Turtle-and-Tortoise? That's not a clan, it's a union.
"-to initiate you as an honorary chelonian, and therefore their newest eligible summoner!"
Now hold on, Gai-sensei. I'm a bit young to be signing contracts like this. I need to consult my lawyer, consider my finances, and oh yeah I already told you I'm going to learn to summon slugs just as soon as track down Lady Tsunade and she recognises me as the obvious choice for her successor.
"Pfft."
How does a turtle make that noise? He should have to purse his lips, shouldn't he?
"Slugs? Softbodied pushovers, every one. Overgrown amoeba, if you ask me. Now, snails, those guys have their heads on straight. They're no tortoises, or even turtles, but they've at least got the right idea"
Slugs are amazing. They have sandpaper mouths for feet, tentacles for faces, like eighty different kinds of mucus, and Lady Tsunade summons them. Don't badmouth slugs, shellhead. I'll mess you up.
"Kid, I'm pretty low on the clan rung. You can tell because I have to spend time dealing with children like you and Gai here. And even humble as I am, you haven't a hope of scratching my shell."
And you couldn't catch me anyway, because you're a tortoise. Shouldn't you be off eating lettuce or trying to race a rabbit? Go catch a lift with an eagle.
"You sure she's the one you were talking about, Gai? You said she was level-headed, principled, insightful, patient... all qualities suited to our clan. I'm not seeing any of that right now."
I am all of those things. Relative to Lee and Neji.
"Call me back when she's older, Gai."
Phrasing.
"Ningame-!"
When the smoke clears, and Gai-sensei's finished coughing, he looks at me with watery eyes and a stern expression. I will not apologize. Neji gets away with the silent treatment all the time, I should manage it just this once.
"Tenten... while I understand that the passions of youth burn brightly, you should always show respect to your elders. A summoning contract is a great privilege, something that many ninja will never have the opportunity to achieve. Some even take the risk of attempting a hollow summon, a decision that most often ends in death, just for the chance to meet the leader of an animal clan and plead their case. In the future, I hope you will-"
Gai-sensei keeps talking, but I don't need that contract. I can wait for Lady Tsunade. It'll be amazing.
Besides, whoever heard of a teenage turtle ninja?
v). +2 XP to do with as you wish.
