Starring:
Enbu, Tsubaki
Date: January 10, 2015
Summary:
A Kirigakure Academy training lesson primarily on keeping control under unfamiliar circumstances.
"In Control"
Kirigakure Academy
The monsterous man had some how once again slipped in to the Academy that was essentially his second home. Even with his relatively new title as leader of the Kaguya, he did not spend time preening or making appearances or largely donig anything different. He accepted the position… and got right back to work. He would walk the line of students, handing each of them a bo staff as they would bow to him in respect as the teacher of the class. He had gotten used to the tradition, but it was still a bit strange to him.
"In your hands, you hold not a polished, carved piece of wood, but yourself. The work to produce the tool that you use to express yourself, extend yourself, and transform yourself with is only representative. The utility of it is within you, not confined simply by the size and dimentions of the object." Enbu would begin to explain as he would hand Tsubaki her own bo staff. "Do you have any questions?" was then asked, a hand being raised immediately to question how a stick could be a part of a person. "The stick will not move without you. It is nothing without a wielder. It is designed and formed for someone to manipulate it and give it purpose. Through that purpose, you define what it truly is. Whether it is used as a weapon, or used to pry a boulder from a cliff, or used to increase your height or to push something you cannot normally reach. It is all the same. It is your well manifest through the object and nothing more." He then waits for any other questions.
Tsubaki takes the Bo staff, bowing to the Kaguya when he hands it to her. She doesn't look too happy, as her Taijutsu skills (any) are even worse than her ninjutsu skills. But she listens attentively and nods a bit, not really sure what questions she could ask. All she has to do is survive this class, and then she can do what she likes. It was one of the last ones of the day, for her.
Finding that were no more questions, Enbu would hold out the staff in the middle of it before placing it in front of him, having it stand up on one of its ends. He carefully places it upon the floor before letting it go, leaving it standing before them. "Today, you will all move in a circle around this staff. You will be wielding your own staves as you do so, and you will all remain within reach of the staff in front of you and behind you. You will simply march around this staff in a circle for 30 seconds. The staff in the center however, must not fall over. If it begin to, you will use your staff to keep it from doing so, but you cannot leave the circle nor stop your march. Use the tools you have at your disposal, and stay aware of your situation. Form up!" he would then command after giving the instruction and stepping away with surprisingly light foot work. "Remember, control yourself, your tool, and be aware of the environment around you as well as your fellow class mates. When you are formed up, you shall begin on my signal."
Tsubaki grips her pole in the middle of it, examining how much is on each side so she can keep an appropriate distance from the 'center'. She waits for people to start getting in order, taking her spot so that there a step's worth of distance between her and the next person. She must tread lightly, yes? For risk of knocking over the pole.
Enbu would take measure of each student, making sure they were placed properly and setting them to face the pole they surrounded just incase some weren't quite… sharp enough to figure out that knowing the state of the pole was a large of part of this. When everything was ready, he would command, "Begin." This received a staggered response as some began to move immediately and some hesitated. Also the differing heights meant that some legs would carry further than others even at the same pace. The first stage of the exercise was synchronization of movement. Enbu watched carefully, but did nothing to stop the chaos, not even hand out advice at this time.
Tsubaki and the rest of the students begin to move, and the girl tries to fall in line. But it's difficult when everyone else is bumbling about. Eventually it causes the pole to start falling over, but Tsubaki notices this and she adjusts her pole to knock it back upright, using the fact that the group is moving to help guide the pole as well. Finally it comes to a standstill with her help, and she can't help but look a little proud.
Enbu takes notice at the intuitions of young Tsubaki. She was able to ascertain that both using her tool as well as the motion around the pole was the key to correcting the pole without having to fiddle around too much with repositioning on her own. It would hopefully stick, as it was a foundational piece of learning balance in taijutsu as well. He however did not show any form of encouragement or nod in acceptance. His face was stone and whether it was a good or bad move would not be noticeable on his expression. The students, now in line and moving about the central pole, would have to keep control of their bo staves as they kept moving. Using it as a guide while not letting it get in the way of either each other or making contact with the central pole other than to correct it. On top of this, they had to avoid each others own correction attempts or compound the issue. Several factors had to be kept in check… but only for 20 more seconds.
Tsubaki continues along, helping the others correct the pole's minor deviances from its standstill. They seem to all be working well together, though, and it has yet to actually tip over. Something good is coming of this lesson, it seems… Tsubaki makes sure to keep up with the pace set, trying not to step on people's toes or anything. So far so good.
It seemed this batch was able to cooperate and use their bodies well enough to not stumble over themselves or each other. Their timing was good, their awareness was sharp. It was all going well and Enbu would take note of this as well. However… with 10 more seconds to go, there was one last challenge to over come: Fatigue. Handling the bo staff while watching footing, keeping pace, keeping distance, and managing the objective was not entirely easy for such undeveloped bodies. The bo staff was not made lighter for them either, and its weight would be a burden from start to finish. Could they endure this challenge and complete the lesson as a unit?
No one seems to fumble or trip from tiredness. Maybe it's pure determination or maybe they're all rather strong. Either way, they don't falter in their path and don't knock over the pole except to help correct it every now and then. Tsubaki's arms start to wobble a bit, but she forces herself onward, making herself bear the challenge for the final seconds
At this point, Enbu would nod to all of the students. "Well done, you have met this challenge and surpassed it well. You have learned a bit about working together, timing, body position, and various other skills you will continue to develop throughout your time at the academy. But primarily, you have learned how to control your body even when using something unfamiliar. This lesson will extend in to your training in both armed and unarmed combat, chakra usage, and as you develop skills in Ninjutsu that are required for you to graduate. Chakra is, after all, simply another part of yourselves. Class is dismissed. Your training for the day is complete and you may return to your assigned bunks in the barracks to rest before dinner."
