The time arises! The sensei trains the student!

Mitsu awoke before sunrise one morning, excitement building. He quickly made breakfast silently and eat everything. He gathered his usual clothes, but left his red coat lay in his room. He didn't need it for what was in store for him. Why was Mitsu awake so early? The day before, he had met with Lady Coal, and he finally managed to convince her to train him. She told him to meet him in the training grounds, where they first met Nasamea. He had been searching for Nasa's book she had been looking for, and had found a few bits of info, but not enough to confirm anything. Mitsu left his house with a note on the table for his aunt and uncle. He was at the outskirts of the training grounds in no time at all.

Mitsu listened to the night creatures start to retreat as the creatures of the day began to emerge. The sun was just barely peeking out over the horizon, and Mitsu had just made it to the meeting place. He smiled as the bit of nostalgia hit him, remembering it like it happened yesterday. He walked over to the rock he had leaned against the first time he was there. He sat down cross-legged and folded his arm and closed his eyes. He knew Lady Coal was going to be late for some time, so he figured he would get there on time and rest while he waited for her. Beats being late.

The day drones on, and in spite of her detailed instructions on arriving just as the sun is rising, Coal is noticeably missing from the arrangement. While frogs pass off to bed and birds begin their eager morning chirping, Coal continues to while the hours away, comfortable in her bed. The warmth of her bedroom caused Coal to kick her blanket to the floor long ago, but in her deep and blissful sleep, it was unlikely she noticed, or cared. Hours and hours would pass as the sun crawled its way skywards, reaching closer and closer to the height of its noon-time positioning. Though Coal slept in, it wouldn't be quite that late that she arrived.

It'd be somewhere near 11:00am when Coal finally arrived at the training grounds. She'd be cleaned, fed, dressed, and quite happy by the time her morning stroll brought her around to the training grounds. Somehow, amid all the extra sleep, the slow walking, and the her modest breakfast, Coal still found the energy requires to add a yawn as she walked. Half lidded eyes give her the impression she didn't get as much sleep as she wanted, but the grin on her lips said she didn't really mind it. Leaves crunched quietly beneath her bare feet, though Coal wasn't going out of her way to be overly noisy. The general forest around her was full of wind and animals, and made enough noise of its own to mostly cover the wanderer's footsteps.

"Oh Mitsu-san!" She calls out, rather lacking in stealth for a ninja. Her voice carries easy enough as she walks, glancing about as she does for her student, wondering just how much of his patience she had worn down. It was rather amusing how even the most hardened, well trained, and talented ninjas can bring themselves down by getting themselves worked up. While the distractions provided by a worked up temper are minor, even the smallest distractions can prove to be the undoing of an enemy. These sorts of lessons Coal had learned when she was young, and in a much much more annoying manner than simply a tardy instructor. No no, patience was learned with a mop in hand, or with much meditation.

Coal pauses as she nears the lake she'd met her genin at for the first time, and the boulder Mitsu was leaning against. She smiles a little brighter, and slowly paces her way in his direction. "Ooh good, you're right on time." She says as he smile grows brighter. Yes yes, Coal knew full and well she was late, but no, she didn't seem to want to admit it, or apologize for it.

Mitsu sat there, perfectly still, as he awaited the arrival of his sensei. From an outside standpoint, he looked as though he were a man who was one with nature. As he waited, a bird even landed upon his shoulder for a short time before flying off again. His body was at peace and thought back on a book he read about a technique called sage mode. It was a brief thought and was soon cast off, knowing he would never be able to obtain such an ability, nor did he think he would ever need it. He started drifting off into sleep, but his thoughts kept him awake enough. He had arrived at his state of mind where he could linger off as deep as he wanted in thought as he wanted, even switching to another topic in an instant. Think of it as an extremely deep state of thought, minus the complete obliviousness of one's surroundings. His thoughts soon drifted to what he was going to train next, now that he had near full manipulation of the shape of his bones. Then his mind drifted to wondering what his sensei might teach him. He didn't learn much from his sensei yet, so he was wondering what all she could do, and what she could do for him.

"Ooh good, you're right on time." Mitsu's eyes flitted open at the sound of his sensei's voice. He had been sitting for a few hours, half asleep the whole time, yet awake enough to be aware of his surroundings. He smiled on the inside as he slowly began to get up. His body was stiff from sitting up for the past few hours. He was happy he got the extra rest. Mitsu then bowed to Lady Coal and spoke. "Good morning Lady Coal. I am glad you could finally join me. So, how should we start our day?"

“Mmm.. Mitsuhide-san” She says, and places her hands together in front of herself. She bows respectfully, and smiles a little sweetly. “Well, the places we begin are as numerous as the stars in the sky. The various facets of being an accomplished and skilled combatant, ninja or otherwise, are nearly infinite. There are as many traits to master as there are opponents in this world, and more still beyond those. Of course, it is not my job to teach you such things.. as the lengthy path we brave souls walk is fraught with both wisdom and knowledge. You see, while I may be your instructor, Life experience is what truly separates the elite from the novices. Consider this your first lesson…” she says, and clears her throat to speak.

With her hands still pressed together in front of her, flicking her fingers into the proper position for the dog, then tiger seal was almost to easy to even mention. With the subtle motion comes a cloud of smoke, and eventually a perfect illusion. It was certainly something strange, but Coal seemed to have lost many years. She was little more than 3 feet tall, and lacking in her typical curvature, and grace. Indeed, she didn’t look a day over nine. She finally continues on with what she was going to say, the illusion only taking a few second to coalesce. Hilariously enough, her voice is rather squeaky and mouse-ish. “Age is an illusion. One’s inner power, skill, and knowledge have no bearing on the age of the person in front of you, and is completely reliant on personal experience, and real life trials that have helped harden their edge.”

“The few fundamental skills I will teach you in these upcoming weeks, I hope, will prepare you for a life of battle, and pious wisdom seeking. After all, it should be made perfectly clear that no matter the situation, and no matter the fight you are placed in.. Victory is meaningless if you do not learn something. Do you understand what I am saying?” she asks, still maintaining the childish illusion. Mini-Coal smiles brightly, and nods, quite pleased with her own words. She still seemed unarmed, and skinny, lacking in the solid muscle that comprises her body as an adult. The smile even seems more playful than serious.. but that feature is common enough without the illusion. “Now, I know you have never seen me fight, but let me ask you this. Judging strictly from what you know, and what you see, what sort of fighting style do you think I have? Do you think I am close range, and in your face? Or am I the sort to hide in the shadows, and strike unseen?” she asks quietly, finally taking a seat in front of Mitsu.

She folds her legs beneath her into the common lotus meditative pose, and folds her hands together in her lap. Her head tips to the side slightly as she awaits her student’s answer, and enjoys the cool breeze drifting through the trees.

“Well, the places we begin are as numerous as the stars in the sky. The various facets of being an accomplished and skilled combatant, ninja or otherwise, are nearly infinite. There are as many traits to master as there are opponents in this world, and more still beyond those. Of course, it is not my job to teach you such things.. as the lengthy path we brave souls walk is fraught with both wisdom and knowledge. You see, while I may be your instructor, Life experience is what truly separates the elite from the novices. Consider this your first lesson…” Suddenly Coal changed into a nine year old version of herself, even her voice changed. She went on about age being an illusion, basically giving him a speech before training. "Yes, sensei, I understand." Mitsu bowed when he spoke.

"“Now, I know you have never seen me fight, but let me ask you this. Judging strictly from what you know, and what you see, what sort of fighting style do you think I have? Do you think I am close range, and in your face? Or am I the sort to hide in the shadows, and strike unseen?” Mitsu was paying full attention the entire time she was speaking. "Well, my first guess would be the latter, but if I were to put more thought into it, I would guess you are a little of both, but would prefer to stick to the shadows...I mean no disrespect, but could I ask that we try to hurry this on? I understand the next few weeks will be very grueling, and I am prepared for almost anything. I wouldn't be here right now if I wasn't willing or committed enough to training."

Coal laughs softly and shakes her head some. "Now that's a silly question. What were you expecting? That I would just start fighting you, and somehow make you learn from it? No no, dear there is much more too it than that. You are most correct in thinking that I am a little of both, for while I have not specialized in any particular form of fighting, I have quite a bit of talent in all areas. I am equaly suited for combat both excessively long in range, up close, and at the more common Medium range most ninja tend to fight at. I don't specialize in any certain distance, and can move between the ranges with ease, and little notice."

"There are many facets to being a ninja, but one of the most important is the ability to understand, feel, and control your own chakra. I know you have a base understanding of chakra, but do you really understand what it is, or what it comes from? Do you know why it is, or how to feel it inside of you? I know you are able to use jutsu, which means you possess at least a rudimentary understanding of how to force chakra to both change in nature, and manifest itself outside of your body, but such a base understanding will always leave you very limited in how many jutsu you will be able to use, as well as how powerful in general you will be. It is no coincidence that those with immense chakra supplies often acheive both fame, and great glory for them selves."

"So, tell me, what can you do with your chakra now?" she asks, and contines to just sit as she was. Apparenty she didn't intend on fighting.

She spoke and he listened. Just as he did before, plain and simple, so no need to repeat the detail. She asked what he could do with his chakra at this point. He thought of all he could do. This sort of made him realize that he didn't need a large amount of chakra if he could precisely control his chakra, and not waste any when using jutsus. If he could figure out how much chakra did what with his jutsus, he would be very efficient and fast with them. "I have never been asked that, it seems like a hard question. But...I can surge chakra through my bones easily, and I'm currently developing another ration technique. Along with two bone techs I hope that I can learn while with you. But I don't know exactly what I can do. I have an understanding on how to walk on water, and to climb trees, but I've never really done it before."

"Well, at least you have some understanding. Chakra is something few people, even ninjas, bother to master fully, where as most people are just satisfied with understanding the basic principals, which allow them to walk on water, or form chakra into a jutsu. Of course, there'sa million other things that chakra can be used for, but we can come to that in time. For now, however, I think we should spend a little time trying to get to know ourselves. You are lucky that you already have a natural affinity for connecting your chakra to your physical form, but beyond the special talents of the Kaguya clan, any person, ninja or not, is able to acomplish such a feat. Even as I sit here I can push my chakra into my bones, and make them harder. In just the same way, I can force Chakra into my flesh, and cause it to become as hard as stone. And I do not simply mean the Earth Spear jutsu that numerous ninja in this world know." She says, and nods just a little.

"I grew up in a monastery, and while I was growing up, I learned numerous valuable things. The first of my talents I would like to help you with is the empty hand, open fist style of martial arts practiced at the Open Lotus temple. It is known as Tai-Chi, and is actully a very common practice around the world? I am sure you've heard the words Tai-Chi before, so I am also pretty sure you know it is not one of the most offensive of styles. But it is not meant to be. The purpose of Tai-Chi is to draw ones self into full center alignment, and to allow you to access your chakra network, as easily as your access breath. You see, those who master this style, can control their chakra perhaps better than any other ninja. Like the Hyuuga, who's martial style is very similiar, once mastered, you can physicaly move your chakra from one place to the other, without wasting a single drop of it. To even begin learning this, however, comes with great concentration, and effort. You looked liked you were meditating.. so for your sake I do hope you know how."

"Meditation is key to this, because controlling your chakra is more akin to walking, than it is to writing. It is a completely natural movement, something we are all capable of, but something that must be mastered through practice, patience, and trial and error. .. Now.. Go ahead and close your eyes. Relax your body, and calm your mind. I want you to try to physicaly feel out the source of your chakra. Feel where it grows from, and how it completes you. Let your mind's eye imagine your physical self, and then try to imagine what your chakra network looks like." she says, her voice growing a little quiet. She pauses here, wiaitng for Mitsu to seem like he's playing along.

"The purpose of Tai-Chi is to draw ones self into full center alignment, and to allow you to access your chakra network, as easily as your access breath. You see, those who master this style, can control their chakra perhaps better than any other ninja...To even begin learning this, however, comes with great concentration, and effort. You looked liked you were meditating.. so for your sake I do hope you know how.... Let your mind's eye imagine your physical self, and then try to imagine what your chakra network looks like."

Mitsu had read about tai chi before, and had briefly studied it, but he did not know the capabilities of it. He followed he instructions and closed his eyes and imagined staring at himself. He had seen pictures and diagrams in books about the chakra network, so he knew it started in his center, branching out like roots throughout his body. He was never really good at imagining things while conscious, only while dreaming for the most part. He thought with his thoughts rather than pictures, and when he did think with pictures, they seemed transparent and never got a full picture. So this actually took him more time than one would think. Once he got enough concentration to get a full image, he began focusing on feeling his chakra. Where it was going, where is was looping back to, where it started. He was pretty sure he had it down when he mentally compared it to what he had read. It took him a bit of time to be able to concentrate and speak at the same time as well. "I...I think I have it. Now what?"

“Good..” Coal smiles softly. “Now try to seek out the source of your chakra. If you try to find the single point from which all of your chakra flows, you will find it almost impossible. Like your own breath, the existence of your chakra is both within, and outside of you. Chakra is a natural manifestation, a single thread that bonds all things in the universe together. It is this chakra that binds us all as one, though we seem to be separate beings. In reality, all of us, we are little more then brief thoughts, filling out the tapestry of life. Many people will speak of gods and spirits, and insist that chakra is some sort of divine power granted unto heroes and villains from the powers of dark and light, but that is not so. Even trees and rocks possess chakra, similar to your own.”

“If you can still feel your chakra, I want you to imagine it as a great flowing liquid. I want you to try to stir it, and feel it moving inside of you. See if you can push your chakra into one area inside of your body. Lift your right hand in front of you, and see if you can gather your chakra into the single point of your finger tip. Try very hard, and push as much chakra as you can into that area. Be careful, and do not let your control slip, or the backlash of the chakra could be destructive. But it is the power of chakra I want to teach you about.” She continues, and then falls quiet. She watches with interest, wondering how long it will take Mitsu to catch on to the simple techniques.

Mitsu listened on to her but his attention soon phased out when she began slightly rambling. He knew that chakra was the life force of everything and was literally everywhere. He knew of the sage mode technique, and that was the understanding of the natural chakra. He focused on following the flow of his chakra while she spoke. His attention was re-attuned to Lady Coal as she began giving instructions. He had a basic understanding or chakra flow and controlling it, otherwise he would be unable to surge his bone swords with his ration chakra. He thought this would be somewhat simple, but he wouldn't take anything for granted since she mentioned that loss of control can cause destruction. He did as she told him to and raised his hand. He focused on controlling the flow of his chakra into a single point on his index finger. He could feel the force of chakra grow as he focused it. He chose to do it gradually as to help, so it took longer than if he had done it normally. He wanted to not make mistakes, get it right the first time. Master the basics quickly, and then spend time on the difficult ones. Mitsu slowly but surely compressed the chakra into his finger as much as he could. When it seemed like he could no longer continue to build chakra, he held it there. He had no idea how much time had passed. "A-alright...I have done all I can to focus chakra to this single point...What is next?"

Coal smirks slightly. "mmm, you think it is so simple to gather what you believe to be all your chakra in one point..and yet, even now your entire body is still full and pulsing with stray energy that you did not capture. Come, stand up. Let us put a practical application to gathering even more chakra than you think. I suppose I can begin with a visual demonstration of my own. You see, my level of chakra control is far beyond that of most people. My chakra is like a third hand, an extension of myself, which moves however I order.." Coal rises herself, brushing her bottom off for a moment as she turns to face some of the trees. She takes a small breath, and then tries to clear her mind some.

"It is really a simple technique. You gather up all of your chakra.. force it into one point." she says.. and draws her right hand up over her head. She makes a small fist. "Then with all that energy, force your hand, and the chakra into one, very powerful punch.." A moment later she focuses her chakra into her first and leans down. She slams her fist into the earth below her, and causes a massive crack in the ground to tear open. The entire world shakes for a moment as rock and earth cracks and crumbles, and a moment later the pair are standing on little more than a pile of loose dirt, and broken ground. Coal just grins, and nods. "It's powerful stuff... Think you can come close?"

Spoiler:

Mitsu listened to her go on about how he could do so much more, and that what he did was barely scratching the surface. She made a fist and punched the ground, letting the built up chakra release all at once, turning the area around them to dirt and cracked ground. Mitsu almost lost his balance from the shaking and was amazed at such a power. This could indeed prove useful to him, and chakra control would increase as well, and advantage he needed for the methods he eventually had in mind. He wasn't sure if he could do something like that though, but he would try. He nodded, knowing he wouldn't come close the first try. He looked around and spotted a tree. Okay, a tree isn't so bad. I can punch a tree and not end up hurting myself.

Mitsu walked over to the tree and took a stance. His legs were apart, and his hands as fists at his hips. His left foot was in front, and he raised his left arm to full extent, his right hand's palm facing up. He then concentrated packing chakra into his right fist. He closed his eyes and focused. He guessed how much he needed. Releasing it all at once was the hard part, but he thought he might as well try. He opened his eyes and then slid his right foot inward making contact with the inside of his left foot, then continued moving forward and slightly out. Once the foot made contact, he pulled back his left fist and punched with his right, twisting it a full 180 degrees. As soon has his fist made contact with the tree, he forced the chakra out all at once. He had his eyes closed again, hesitant to see the result. Suddenly A spike of pain shot up into his brain, causing him to immediately retract his arm grasping it my the wrist. The tree was also unharmed. YOU IDIOT!!! you NEVER punch a damn tree like that! It hurt, sure, but Mitsu was able to shrug it off. It gradually started to fade into a throbbing pain, his hand still red. He was pretty sure something was fractured, most likely his whole hand. He got an idea though, a small joke to play on his sensei. He walked over to Lady Coal again and spoke. [color=blue]"Umm, Lady Coal? I'm pretty sure I just fractured by entire hand. But uhh, don't worry, I think I got this. He placed his index and thumb on his middle knuckle, like he was pinching it. He then began to pull, and hit hand was coming along with it. It was a slow process, because he wanted to use a slight bit of cartlidge at the joints of the bones he was removing. It took about two or three whole minutes, but Mitsu had pulled out a skeletal version of his hand. He was right, there were fractures throughout it, but the cartlidge he made kept it together. The pain stopped. Sure he could have just melded the bones together again, but where was the fun in that? "Ahh, there. Much better" He then held out the hand in front of Coal by the middle finger's tip.

Coal snickers just slightly, and takes his previous skeletal hand. "Well, I suppose that's always something on it's own. I've never fixed a broken hand by pulling all the bones out. I do admire your courage, but it took me years and years of study to pick up the concepts behind the one in punch. You see, the display I showed you was nice enough, but still relied on movement of the body, and physical muscle and strength. Truly, you need none of those things when you can move your chakra just right. The one inch punch, for example, is a famous maneuver mastered by only the most diligent and awe inspiring of tai chi masters. The very idea of striking someone, without moving at all, is a complete paradox itself, and yet also easy once you have mastered perfect control of your chakra.... of course, that is neither here nor there. You did pretty well. You can, at the very least, gather up a good amount of chakra."

"Come over here with me, we're gonna work on something a little different. Gathering up a huge amount of chakra is useful, but not quite the hallmark of chakra control. No, no, being able to use only what is needed.. being greedy, and not wasting a bit. Really, the primary reason we all seek to control our chakra, is to be able to use it in as small a quantity as is possible each time we are forced to externalize our chakra." she says with a little nod, and wanders away from Mitsuhide. Just a few meters away was the Lake they'd all fought above the first time the team was gathered. Coal paces out onto the surface of the lake, and wanders out towards its center.

Mitsu chuckled along with her. He even cracked his new knuckles. "Its easier when you are a kaguya. making new ones is really easy, although I could have made the repairs to that one near instantly. But there isn't any fun in that." Mitsu nodded and walked over to the lake with her. He stopped at the edge, but she continued onward. He expected that would happen, and then guessed what they were training. Mitsu had to somewhat shout. "So I'm guessing I'm learning to walk on water next? Mitsu then leaned down towards and edge and placed a finger in the water. He wanted to test how cold the water was. Not too cold, and since the rest of the day was ahead of them, it wouldn't be too bad. Mitsu took off his pouch and the kunai holsters on his thighs and placed them next to a nearby rock. "Wouldn't trying to climb up a tree be a better start for chakra control? I read that for walking on water, it has to fluxuate, while tree climbing only needs a constant supply."

"Hmm.. you mean you can't even walk up a tree yet? I was only skipping that part cause I thought you could already do that. No no, we'll get to the easy stuff later." She says as she walks back over towards the shore, and her student. "I had expected you to follow me, but I suppose I will have to start with something slightly more basic. I wouldn't really compair walking on water to walking up a tree.. no, I mean, walking up a tree is more similiar to walking on the ground than on water. This is something completely different, that only shares in the basic principals of tree climbing. It's very tricky at first, but it will become easy, in time. Soon you'll be sprinting across water like it was a grassy field."

"The first thing you must do is gain an understanding of your feet, how you walk, and how you stand to center your balance. Balance is a very important factor in this, but above all is chakra control. If you do as you did before, and use a huge amount of chakra, you will only disturb the water beneath you, and fall through the surface. So, what you must do is feel for the chakra that pushes the water away, but gently. It is all more of a feeling in the body than it is a moment in the mind. Take your shoes off, too, it makes it much much easier if you can feel the water on your feet. Amazingly, walking on water actually leaves your feet quite dry, when done correctly. Stay there on the shore at first, and just meditate on your feet. Try to feel a good connection between your mind and body, then put a foot forward. Don't step, just reach out and place your foot against the surface of the water. Just so that a tiny little bit of your foot is in the water." She says and nods a little. "Then keep pushing chakra into your feet until you feel the water start pulling away from your feet. Remember, the key is to only use exactly as much chakra as you need to use. So start off with as little chakra as you are able, then slowly increase the concentration."

Mitsu nodded to her to show he understood everything. He knew that tree climbing is usually done first to give a good idea of chakra control, but Coal wasn't going to change her mind, she was just trying to convince him that he didn't need to learn tree climbing first. He actually didn't, but he knew this would take longer than if he had done the tree thing first. He sighed as he sat down and began removing his shoes. He then removed his socks, brushing and picking off the lint and fluff that was left behind, clinging to his feet and in between his toes. He then slowly stood back up and walked up to the shore. He had no idea how deep the water was, but he knew he wasn't going to put full weight. But Mitsu was a careful type, he was probably going to waste chakra being careful and taking his time, but he wasn't thinking that way. He lifted his foot and hovered it above the water. He lowered it gently, barely touching the surface. Alright, focus, put chakra into your foot, little by little, until the water starts pushing away. Mitsu did just that, little by little, and very slowly, he began directing his chakra flow into his right foot. He kept taking it slowly, resisting the urge to speed up the process. It took him a bit to get it to work, but he eventually felt the the water slightly begin to repel.

"You know, really, shoes are over rated. They only protect your feet from growing tough enough to walk on their own. I can't even remember a time when I still wore shoes. I mean, granted the odd peice of broken glass can be irksome, but the feet are amazingly tough things, that were never meant to be covered in thick layers of leather and metal. Of course, having gone so long with shoes on, I doubt you could just start wandering through the forest barefoot." says the lady with a soft laugh and a shake of her head. Still looking much like a child, she was clearly speaking out of context. Such sermons from someone so young might have seemed comical to some, but it was quite clear Coal was under the impression that she knew well what she was talking about. Coal paces around in a roaming sort of circle, idly filling the clearing with her voice, and keeping an eye on Mitsu's progress. "What with all the twigs and little rocks and acorns and what not. Probly wouldn't make it more than a couple steps."

Coal smiles just slightly, teasing as she was, but keeping her back mostly to Mitsu as she does. It was not as thought she thought such simple tactics would really sway her student to her side of things, but she really did love to test people. Coal stretches for just a little bit, then bends forward, placing her hands against the surface of the water and kicking her feet up over her head. She cartwheels pretty easily, and continues on walking after it's done. The small acrobatic maneuver, though simple enough for school children, was still enough to send a shimmer of fine ripples across the surface of the water, disturbing it's previous pristine stillness. After a few slow steps the young Coal tumbles forward with another little cartwheel, and adds more waves to the small lake.

In time could have been easy becomes quickly more difficult as more waves begin churning the water and lapping at Mitsu's bare foot. Appling the right amount of Chakra now would be close to impossible for the untrained, and only very difficult for skilled novices. Coal makes no mention of the waves herself, and just continues to wander along the surface of the water, as though it was the easiest thing in the world to do. Of course, for a jounin it sort of was. Sleeping on water was still difficult.. but walking? Coal even giggles to herself at the thought.

Mitsu was just about ready to place more weight on his foot so he could then increase the repulsion for more weight, when suddenly ripples disturbed the water near him, and Mitsu's foot got wet again. This struck his curiosity and so he looked up. Lady Coal was prancing about the water doing cartwheels and what not, sending the ripples outward, disturbing the water where he was, making it impossible to keep the right amount of chakra. This aggravated him, since his sensei was supposed to be helping, not making it worse for him. But this only fueled his mind, he wanted to astound his teacher. He knew that water walking was based off of the fluctuation of chakra, the ripples were just a more severe version of that fluctuation. Mitsu then watched the speed of the ripples, feeling them hit his feet as well. He began counting the delay between each ripple, then began to focus his chakra. Every time a ripple would hit, he would slightly lower the amount of chakra in his foot: the necessary fluctuation that was needed. He knew how much chakra was needed to get the right repulsion he needed with the weight he was using on his foot at calm water, but didn't know the amount that was needed for the ripples. This took him time to figure it out. Once he did, he added a bit more weight. Letting off the amount of chakra became easier once his natural timing was tuned to the spaces between the ripples. He was determined to get this right. He would repeat the process of adding more and more weight, until he was ready to risk his own balance.

"Mmm, so far so good, huh?" she says, to break the lingering silence that had fallen over the small lake. Coal prances ever closer to Mitsu, increasing the size of the waves for a moment, then eventually stopping right beside him. While she'd be standing still, the distractions never end as Coal continues to ramble on for a few moments, only making his task more difficult. "The basic principals are all pretty easy to grasp, just balance and moderation, but this isn't the hardest thing to do. Walking on the ocean is harder, but even that. Where I grew up, we didn't have a lot of lakes. We had a lot of trees, but not a lot of lakes. Learning to walk on water though, came pretty easy for me, but I learned about walking on rocks." she says, and nods knowingly.

"When you're done here we're gonna go for a little walk a ways from here, up closer to the mountains. We're gonna try something much harder than climbing a tree, and a great analog for walking on water. It's actually a lot more difficult, but once you've mastered it, walking on water is like climbing a tree. It's also a great work out for the legs and back. You should get a real kick out of it." she adds as she continues, then finally shuts up. She'd done her best to disturb her students concentration while he was practicing, but she'd give him some moments of peace to actually apply it. With a subtle hop Coal sends herself back to the dry land of the shore, and some how manages to send not even a single ripple across the pond in the process. She crosses her arms and waits there, giving him a shot at the jutsu.

Mitsu was starting to get the hang of the process. He didn't have enough control to put decent weight on it to trust his own balance, but he was getting there. But it seemed Coal had other plans. She made larger ripples while prancing over to him, making many more and larger ones as she grew closer. This ruined the pattern Mitsu had going and he had to stop himself. She then began rambling on about this stuff, how easy it is. This was only somewhat distracting to him, and he was able to ignore it for the most part. The good news was that the ripples were soon gone, none more to be created. Mitsu sighed inside and began focusing where he had left off. This was actually easier than with the waves by a great deal, and Mitsu was able to add hit entire leg's weight to the water without fail. He was happy and then got even more excited when she mentioned plans for for him in the mountains. He had never gone to the mountains, but he knew he would enjoy the nights, the skies would be much clearer for stargazing. He became nervous when Coal jumped out of the water onto the shore, but was quite relieved when she didn't make any waves. He was ready to switch feet.

Coal stretches out just a little bit, then is engulfed in a small cloud of smoke. A moment later she stands there as her normal self, older, curvy, and quite enjoyable to look at. She takes a few steps away from the small lake and pauses under a tree to lean. She places a shoulder against the tree and waits quietly, watching Mitsu build up his chakra, and confidence. She bites her lip when she almost starts to speak, and just stands there. Cursed patience. After so much action she didn't much want to stop moving. Acting like a kid again had given her some energy, but she was forced to just stand there.. and shut up.

Still.. Patience was a virtue Coal possessed in spades. As her students had done no doubt, Coal just stood there and waited. In no time the energy of before subsided and she just returned to her typical happy, calm, and centered self. She keeps quiet, and gives Mitsuhide the time he needs to concentrate. Really, if he could pull it off, it'd be quite impressive. Most genin started with trees, after all.

Now that the ripples had calmed down, the process was definitely easy. Since he was already used to the right foot, adjusting to the left foot was almost no challenge at all. He soon was able to put full weight on it. Now was where it got risky, especially if the water wasn't shallow, and was a straight drop-off into the depths. He had to do what he was doing to his left foot to his right foot at the same time. He was glad Lady Coal was being quiet as well as not distracting him. He was ready to take the risk and at least stand on the water. He soon had his full weight on his left foot and he almost struggled for balance when he lowered his right foot. It was almost as if he had to start over, testing the chakra for what weight, because he had to focus on maintaining chakra to the other foot as well, He knew the amounts, but the maintaining the two feet at one time was the problem. He overcame this feat quickly though, and had sucessfully stood on the water. But he dared not stop the flow in excitement, no, he did NOT want to plummet into the lake. He simply turned around to Lady Coal and smiled.

Coal grins just a little bit more. "That's pretty good, Mitsuhide, I don't know of many people who have walked on water their very first time. Esspecialy without practice in climbing the large trees around here first. This must be some sort of testimate to the value of having an excellent teacher. I suppose we will put that to the test soon." Coal grins, and opens her palm. With just a little chakra she connectes to one of her essence seals, and calls an item from home. With a little puff of smoke what seems to be a simple soccer ball appears in her hand. She gives it a little spin, then tosses it to the other hand. She tosses it back to her right hand, then gives it a gentle toss in Mitsu's direction. It was a nice and slow toss, very easy to catch, but deceiving on it's own. The ball was a not for kicking, but for strengthening the upper body. The coloration of the small medicine ball was merely coincidence.

"Tomorrow, I will show you too a true challenge. It's going to be much more difficult than this, but a little easier to master. It is something that just about anyone is able to do, but doing it correctly is what is important. I would advise you spend the rest of today resting, and eat a good dinner. Get a good night's sleep, and meet me at the gates at sunrise. And, I won't be late. It's a good walk, so we need to get moving early."

Mitsu watched as his ex-sensei was impressed by his quickness in learning the jutsu. He was a bit confused when she tossed him the ball. Why is she tossing a soccer ball at me-OOF! Mitsu caught the ball, and the weight change was alarming to him. Not only was the new weight now not enough to support him, it also broke his concentration and caused his feet to break the water's surface. Thankfully for him, he was in shallow water, and that it was not a sudden drop off. He merely sank into the ankle-deep water and almost fell on his ass. He smirked at the little gag Lady Coal had pulled. But he was glad the water was not deep, like he assumed it might be.

He got excited that Coal was going to be teaching him tomorrow as well, and something else too. Maybe then I'll be able to start training my new jutsus! He thought with glee. His smile widened and he walked back onto the shore and put back on all his gear, except his shoes. For some reason, he felt like walking home barefoot.

End of Topic