Drift Fleet: IC Inbox

[everydayhero]

[A catch-all for privately contacting Hiro outside of posts on the network.]

Comments

[everydayhero]

yeah. the way it goes here, you start going to school at 5 and you're there until you're 17. then you graduate and you can either start working or go to college/university. i graduated when i was 13.

[ino]

[ Oh, right. She thinks she heard something along those lines before. School sure is confusing in other places! ]

Ours is a little different. We start at 5, too, but you can test out of the Academy at pretty much any time. Most people are done by 12 or 13. By then you're a genin -- an official ninja -- and you can start working your way up the ranks by taking missions.

[everydayhero]

ninja school sounds better than normal people school. i want to go to ninja school.

[ino]

[ Ninja school is not as fun as it sounds, Hiro ]

That reminds me, we were going to do some chakra experiments, weren't we?

It'll be like ninja school, and I'll be your sensei. Sort of.

[everydayhero]

i don't think you understand how awesome those words in that order are.

[you are blowing his fucking MIND, INO, YOU DON'T GET IT.]

[ino]

I can't guarantee much. Like I said, the longer you wait the more difficult it becomes to learn. And you definitely won't be able to learn anything more precise like healing.

But, it's worth a shot?

[everydayhero]

anything is possible. i'm going to learn this.

[it's just a text, but the determination is palpable.]

[ino]

Just let me know when. Or we can do right now.

[ She's sure he's a bit antsy about Tadashi. Maybe this will help distract him.

Plus you're totally getting a boobhug when she sees you next no matter when that is, so. ]

[everydayhero]

i will literally never say no to ninja training.

[ino]

Well then, I'll be over soon.

[ Just give her a bit to shuttle on over aw ye ]

[everydayhero]

[HELL YEAHHHHHHHHHHH he's totally waiting and preening at the blue alarm light that means someone's docking. it's silent, though.]

[ino]

[ Good because those other ones were loud as fuck. But she'll step on to the ship with a smile! And ... immediately pull him into a hug. Enjoy being shoved right into her chest, there. ]

[everydayhero]

[Okay he has to admit that there is appeal in that beyond being hugged by his big sister figure, but the latter is what he's focusing on right now because he wants this hug. He's realizing just how lucky he is that he's made all the friends he has; today would have been so much worse without Steffa, Ino, and Tim.

[So he hugs her tight, and lets go when she does, giving a very appreciative and fond smile.]

[ino]

[ He gets a fond smile back! Cutie pie. And she'll push her ponytail over her shoulder & get right down to business. ]

Now ... where's somewhere comfortable to sit? It's important you're able to concentrate.

[everydayhero]

Uhh... There's room over in the library.

[And he turns, going over to said room. Bless you, Krista, for giving them a quiet place to be with chairs.]

[ino]

[ Library? Damn. Though she guesses every ship has its perks. The Three Twins being ... the "salon" of sorts, she supposes?

Either way, she'll follow him on over. and, after pulling two chairs close together and facing, she'll sit down cross-legged in one (and pat the other one, if hiro hasn't already got his eager butt in it). ]

All right, I think this will work. I'm gonna need you to close your eyes, too.

[everydayhero]

[(eager butt: check.)]

Alright. [Deep breath, and he closes his eyes.]

[ino]

This shouldn't hurt at all, but if it does, I want you to tell me immediately, okay?

[ She presses a hand to his chest, and he'll feel an unusual tingle run through his body, flowing like blood might ]

Do you feel it?

[everydayhero]

[He slows his breathing down and his eyebrows furrow. It's obvious he's feeling something.]

... It feels a lot like it did when we were jumping.

[ino]

Mm-hmm.

[ He'll feel the tingling gather to the middle of his chest, and then move back and forth -- up and down his arms and between his hands in a slow, rhythmic motion ]

Chakra has its own system, not unlike your veins, where it chooses to flow naturally. Eventually, the goal is to be able to "feel" where that is and be able to concentrate it at will to a certain place.

[everydayhero]

[He nods, shallowly.]

... Why is it harder for you to learn the older you get? This is always here, right?

[As always, his mind takes over where it should be calm.]

[ino]

[ Boy, you are gonna have a hard time doing your ninja homework if you can't clear your mind a little bit. ]

It's there, but -- asleep, for most. [ She pauses, before jabbing him lightly in the chest. Now, there's a new, slightly different sensation -- his own energy! ] If you don't start learning while you're small, it's not nearly as natural ... and more often than not, it becomes more and more difficult to "wake up" as time goes on without using it. In the case of shinobi, it's important that we're able to use it just as easily as we breathe, so we can react instinctively in a fight.

[everydayhero]

[Clearing his mind is going to be one of the hardest parts for him to learn.

[This new sensation is... not as powerful. But it's there, he can feel it.]

I can feel it... This is so cool.

[He's grinning ear to ear, trying not to giggle like an idiot. It's only half working.]

[ino]

[ She moves his back and forth, now, in the same motion as before. It's a good thing his eyes are closed, because GOD DAMN IT HE'S SO ADORABLE SHE CAN'T HELP BUT HAVE A BIG GRIN ON HER FACE TOO. ]

I want you to concentrate on this feeling, okay? Try to memorize how it feels when it moves.

[everydayhero]

[He nods, and... well, he can't help it. He tries to move it, maybe send a wave of it down his arms. That's part of him, he can do whatever he wants with it, right??? Right. That's what he thinks, anyway.]