Kensei looked around after Luo finished giving his instructions about meditation. He saw the other students try to copy Luo's sitting style, followed by Timmy bursting in the room. Where the hell was that guy? Kensei shoom off the thought process and decided to try and concentrate. He switched from his usual legs stretch out sitting position and switched to the standard indian style position. He shortly closed his eyes and formed the tiger seal. Alright Kensei, just imagine fire....in your stomach. Yeah thats it Kensei saw a tiny flame in a dark area that changed size everytime he would breath. Even though nobody else could see the flame, it actually embarrassed Kensei a little. "So small." Kensei mumbled to himself .
He focused more on the flame and slowly began to tune the sounds around him out. As a result he could hear the crackling of the flame. He then began to inhale and hold his breath which caused the flame to slowly dim. After a few seconds he would exhale which cause the flame to drastically grow. Kensei in the "real world" felt a warm sensation around his abdomen, but this wasn't enough to him.
๑๑๑๑Instead of taking this time to fully meditate like the others, Luo used it to calm his nerves as well as sort some thoughts he had. If he were to actually meditate, Luo gathered he wouldn't be present enough to monitor the progress of the children in the room. As some of the kids seemed to protest, as well as the bursting in of Timmy, Luo didn't budge or bother to open his eyes, hearing Segare's footsteps slowly around the room. For quite some time, he contemplated using the low air pressure technique with a lower output of chakra to force the children into a drowsy state to speed things along, however after a few minutes figured the children needed to learn to meditate on their own regardless. Not to mention the fact that Segare was in the room as well.
In the time that passed, the young councilman put together his lesson plan for the next few days, having to constantly mentally throw out training exercises that were too difficult for them. Tailoring the training to children that age with little to know shinobi training was a bit difficult for someone who came from a shinobi clan, one with very high standards at that. Still, there were some things he had in store for the kids that would push them without necessarily breaking them, he just hoped they were all up to the challenges that would be put in place.
As he thought about the children meditating, he remembered the visual his grandfather and most if not all Ushio tended to use given their propensity for suiton. He had visualized a droplet of water dangling, quivering for moments before descending into darkness as he inhaled. The moment it touched a certain 'surface' he'd created in his mind, it would send out ripples that grew in size as they stretched out, exhaling at that moment. The moment he'd first accessed his chakra, the droplet had just hit the 'water' in his mind sending out ripples, however in that moment the ripples seemed to turn a deep blue, revealing his chakra's true color to him. Since then, the mindscape he'd always had involved a small island with a waterfall oasis in the middle of it with one large flat rock right under it where Luo usually found himself. He wondered quite often how the mindscapes of others may have looked, and what prompted them to be that way.
Turning his attention slightly towards the room once more, he noticed the room was not hotter than it was before, usually an indication of multiple chakra auras in an enclosed area. "I guess I can't expect them to learn this in under a half hour. I hope for their sake's they get it down fast enough though, sitting for too long can get pretty uncomfortable if you aren't used to it."
((Great job expanding on the meditation exercise guys! Just look to my posts for guidance on when you guys can go ahead and pop the cap on your chakra. If we can progress at this rate post wise and everyone is as descriptive as they can be, it really won't be that much longer before we can get this one tedious lesson out of the way!))
Shikaku sighed, letting his muscles relax as Segare's words washed over him, and he focused in on the man's quiet instruction. This process needed him to let go of reality, ignore everything around him, and that was something he had a hard time doing. He considered the man's instruction, a different focus might help. He hadn't really had a lot of experience with fire after all, and unlike some, he didn't consider himself a pyromaniac. But, thinking of what to try, nothing else really came to mind.
Sighing again, Shikaku closed his eyes, settling back into his stance as comfortably as he could. If he couldn't think of a focus, he'd just have to focus for now on the other portion of the problem. Blocking out the rest of the world.
Using the breathing exercise Luo instructed them on, Shikaku slowly exhaled, reaching outwards with his senses at the same time to find the very edge of his awareness. The sounds and smells of the classroom, birds singing in the forest outside, ever so faintly the sound of wind through the leaves. And then he inhaled, just as slowly, pulling himself back in on his breath. The sounds seemed to dull slightly, the smells growing more faint, even the light on his eyelids seemed to dim. Another exhale, and his senses reached outwards once more, slower this time. All the same scents and sounds came again, but the faint sound of wind was difficult to even notice.
Again, he breathed in, dulling his senses, and out, expanding them once more. Slowly, ever so slowly, his senses pulled inwards. Minor things first, that he'd hardly notice anyways, then more, with every breath the world dimmed around him, tuning out first the birds, then the footsteps of Segare, and then finally the breathing of the children around him, until all that was left was the beating sound of his own heart. He'd hardly noticed it at first, but now with the outside world, removed, it was clear, beating a regular rhythm, slow and steady, calm, calming. And then, it too faded on a final breath, and there was nothing.
One, two, three. Shikaku counted his breaths, the only thing left in the world that he could sense, not sure where to go from here. They hadn't said what do do once everything had faded away. Four, five, six. His breathing slowed even more as he relaxed further, the lack of sensation not leaving him scared as it would in the waking world, but, comfortable, as if nothing could hurt him here. Seven, eight, nine... His counting stopped where ten should have fallen, as his breathing had slowed to where he couldn't sense even that. A spark of worry formed, as he wondered if he'd messed up, somehow killed himself. But that fell away in the peace of, nothing. If he was dead, at least death was comfortable.
Feeling even more relaxed, Shikaku slowly let his eyes slide open, and was unsurprised to find nothing before him. An infinite expanse of nothing, as if his eyes were still closed, yet different somehow, he could see clearly, somehow he knew that, but there was nothing to see. No black, no white, simply, nothing. He smiled, turning around slowly, finding that somehow he was standing, and was able to move easily in the nothing. As he reached a full turn, facing directly behind where he'd faced before, something changed. The nothing looked at him. A pair of vivid green eyes were, and they stared straight into his own silver orbs. Shikaku's eyes widened in surprise, stumbling back away from the new presence. Something behind him shifted, like wind crawling up his spine until it stopped by his ear, whispering something he couldn't hear, and his eyes opened.
Shikaku jerked backwards, nearly falling off his pillow in shock as his legs caught, tangled up as they were. Catching himself, Shikaku sat, gasping in breath to settle his now rather rapidly beating heart. Trying to understand what he'd seen, Shikaku looked down at his open hands, and blinked. Around his hands something was moving, shifting, like heat vapor on a hot summer day. Looking further, the vapor was all around his entire arm, right up to his shoulder. In fact, it seemed to surround him entirely, though he certainly didn't feel hot. In fact, he felt like there was a cool breeze in the room... Crawling up his spine... And whispering in his ear... His eyes widened again, was this, chakra? But, Luo had described it as a burst, and some older ninja talked about powerful chakra auras and how easily visible they were. This, he had to focus to even see it, and it didn't seem to make much sound at all... Eyes still wide, he watched his hands, or more specifically the vapor around them in awe.
Wasn't sure what to use as Shikaku's focus or mindscape. But this... This just felt right. Everyone who wants to master the tech this lesson should go ahead and start moving towards doing so now. You're not required to, but if you don't you'll have to either resume this during the next lesson, or finish it between lessons. We'll be wrapping this one up soon though, probably within the next few days. be creative though! Try to think of what fits best for your character as a focus, and if you want to access the mindscape, try and build it from the focus.
Posted: Tue May 27, 2014 1:23 pm
___________A L I S E ___ D O N E T S K __________________________________________ _________[ Academy Student ][Unknown][16 Chakra][9 Silver - 80 Copper]
She made no effort to hide the fact she was getting nowhere with this, she was surprised though that none of the teachers had told her anything about it though. Picturing the fire, that was something she hadn’t done before, she figured it was worth a try. Slowly she got back into position, placing her hands in the sign that they had been instructed, aligning it with the center of her chest, breathing in and out slowly. There was something Sergei said, about picturing something that one could easily remember, that one could easily picture, feel and see, that couldn’t be that hard, right? That should make it easier, or at least, more enjoyable.
She steadied her breathing and pictured her home, her old home. It wasn’t a village like this; people made their own small tents and huts out of wood and whatever they could find. They would always gather around the fireplace, the men and women would stand watch as the children ate and played. Alise never had the chance to actually work with her family, she was too young while she was with them, but at least she enjoyed the good company. Every night she sat close to the flames and watched the embers raise and fall all around, lighting the people in the depth of night. It was relaxing, to say the least. One night the men were discussing making their own village, their own haven for people; that was back when they had sustainable enough numbers of shinobi to actually run something like the village they had here.
She found herself staring at the flame in her mind, thinking about how she longed to be back there, with her own kind , not with these strangers that could wrong her at any time, any moment, for any reason. Even with this burdening her mind, her eyes were still on the imaginary fire, relaxed feeling safe, but she still hadn’t unlocked what it was her teachers wanted her to unlock, but at the same time, she was also fairly close.
It was safe to say that Michiko was getting absolutely nowhere. Sure, like a good girl, she had resumed the exercise with closed eyes after looking around for a little, but her mind was quickly distracted by the feeling of hunger, followed by a rumbling tummy. Michiko was so aware of everything but what she was supposed to be focusing on that even though Shikaku didn't really fall, the woman had heard and felt the slight displacement of wind at her friend's sudden jerk to realize something had happened with him. Eager for some action, the blonde student opened her eyes and immediately focused them on the silver-haired boy.
Like Shikaku, Michiko saw the haze embracing his body. It was there, but just barely. Although, with how bored Michiko was, her eyes easily picked up on this new object of interest, even if it had no color or visible form beyond a visual distortion of what existed behind it, and she didn't have to exert much conscious effort at all to keep track of it.
Of course, seeing wasn't going to be all Michiko did about this. Wanting to share the excitement, the girl, without moving her eyes from the heat haze surrounding Shikaku, gave the only other person sitting next to her, Kensei, a quick jab in the ribs to get his attention. She didn't even take the time to realize that her jab would cause him to break out of his concentration and if it did, broke it quite unintentionally. Really, all Michiko wanted was someone else to get excited with her.
Posted: Wed May 28, 2014 10:45 am
➸➸➸RhodesDe'Cartes➸➸➸
➸➸➸ --- ➸➸➸
Upon entering the Academy he noticed a deep quiet that usually was filled by a teacher's garble of words or children's voices. He neither and began to wonder if they were in fact having class. Sticking his head through one, he saw there was no one within it, and turning around to stick his head in the other where it looked like his classmates were... sleeping? He canted his head curiously at this, before noticing most where sitting in a similar stance. That of which looked very uncomfortable to simply be sleeping in. Was this meditation? He grimaced a little as these were the types of things he never enjoyed. Growing up in a scientific home, anything talking about spiritual power would be hit with scrutiny; he wasn't even going to bring up the history of the Shinobi.
Guessing he could at least give this a swing since he walked all this way, Rhodes would use the type of quiet "abilities" granted to him when he felt like sneaking down stairs to see his parent's experiments. True, most of their notes made little sense, but seeing the liquids and glowing vials intrigued him in what could have produced them. Pushing the door as carefully as he could to the side so that he may not interrupt the class and slide it back, he crept towards the back as quietly as he could. Venturing for the mid-furthest seat he could find before planting his bottom in the seat. Relinquishing his weapons and with the same steady slowness, had them distributed upon the floor where he'd make an attempt to close his eyes and attempt this... "meditation". Though to be honest... What the deuce was he to be meditating for?
➸➸➸ --- ➸➸➸
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 12:45 am
Enryu || E-rank ||
Padded footsteps would resound within the ears of the more perceptive individuals within the hut. Or at least those not deep within their meditative slumber. The source of this disturbance would pause at the entrance to the hut, eyebrows knitting together warily while dark brown eyes flitted about the perimeter. No sound resounded from within the hut and that set off alarms within Enryu's mind. Caution sharpened his senses and his lackadaisical pace became a measured toe-heel approach into the classroom, dramatically reducing the sound he made.
His great shadow cast itself into the room before his large frame filled the doorway, fresh gi and all. He took the strange scene of meditating students in stride though the thought of learning alongside little brats tightened his jaw. Shinobi ordinarily learned young but he expected at least some of them to be out of their teens. To add further insult to injury the teacher was the very young and quiet founder of the village. While he knew age was no indication of skill, the idea of calling a teenager sensei made the war veterans blood boil. He decided in that instant he would do whatever it took to overtake the man in skill as soon as possible, preferably before he escaped his teens.
Moving as quietly as he could Enryu made his way to the rear of the classroom and adopted the same stance as his 'classmates' occasionally glancing at their form and emulating it himself. While it was clear they were meditating he had no clue as to what they were meditating on but rather than draw attention to himself as seek the boy-teachers aid he closed his eyes and...waited.
Soldiers didn't meditate. There was no time when the enemy could be over the next hill. If you had time to shut your eyes for any extended period of time you slept and took all the risks associated with that hazardous disassociation of one's surroundings. In those instances, sleep was too often filled with the faces of dead friend and foe alike to attain any true rest. Enryu rested through a series of brief power naps throughout the day, to both enhance productivity and avoid the terrors associated with deep sleep. Now when faced with the concept of meditation the soldier had no clue what to do or even think about and so, rather than draw himself into his mindscape introspectively, he trained his senses to any ambient stimuli. It was a simple and familiar exercise that imparted a sense of calm onto his usually paranoid and tumultuous mind with the additional benefit of training his senses. It was through this exercise that Enryu's demeanor would mimic that of the other students as if he were actually meditating when he was as far away from his mindscape as he ever could be.
Statistics Chakra: 15/15 Jutsu Crafter || Combo Wellness: Prime
Equipment:
Short Sword: [<1>] - [] Small Scroll: [<1>] - [< Right pocket>]
As the minutes passed, Segare made his way back to his desk, leaning against it once more and simply watching the room. After the first few incidents most of the students had quieted down significantly, and most seemed intent on their meditation now. Time passed slowly in the room, and silently, besides a couple more students filing in, very very late. The man frowned at that, unsure how he wanted to deal with the problem. Sighing and shaking his head, he decided to leave it for later. They chose to arrive late, they could pay the price.
Finally, a good forty five minutes into the class, and after nearly twenty of total silence, the first flare appeared, inciting a ripple of excited whispers from those around the student, who obviously weren't as focused as they should have been. A few moments later another flare appeared at the other end of the room, starting another series of whispering. Within the next five minutes several more students had successfully produced chakra flares, and most of the rest had abandoned their attempts, instead looking around the room and watching those that had succeeded. Shaking his head, Segare gave an amused smile and stood, clapping his hands once more for attention. It was unlikely anything more was going to happen in this lesson, and he was sure at least a few of the students were as bored as he was now.
"Alright kids, let's call it here for today, shall we?" he called out to the room. "Congratulations are in order for those who successfully produced an aura. Well done! For those who did not however, don't worry too much. It often takes several attempts to even reach a meditative trance, much less draw out your chakra. I want everyone, including those who pulled it off, to keep practicing at home. Next lesson we'll be testing you, and I'd like everyone to be able to produce an aura within less than a minute of meditation."
Following his statement, Segare grinned, leaning back against his desk again and eying the class. "You'll all be happy to hear that with the next lesson, we'll be moving fully into practicals. That means we'll be practicing a new jutsu in every class until your final test. But, you'll need your chakra for that, so keep practicing until you've got that aura ready! Now, if any of you feel you need more information on the technique, come to me on the way out and I'll give you a scroll. Any questions, see Luo Sensei." he smiled, holding both hands out towards the other man. If the kids actually started bugging Luo for answers it'd probably drive the younger man insane, and Segare was sure he'd be paying for it in their next spar, but it was too fun to pass up.
"One last thing, then I'll let you go." Segare added, turning back to address the class and letting his face turn serious for the moment. "Since we're working on practicals now, we will not be explaining things twice to the same class. Anyone who comes into class late and misses the instructions, will not be learning the lesson's jutsu. This class is the only exception to that rule. Furthermore, your final test and grade will require knowledge and competence with most if not all of the jutsu we'll learn from here on out, so if you don't learn the jutsu, you'll have to drop down a class. So, don't be late to class." Segare finished, fixing the room with a stern glare for several moments, before his expression brightened. "Now get out of here! Go enjoy the rest of the day, and remember to practice!" he called out, grinning once more and waving towards the door in a shooing motion.
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❖ Chakra: [72/72]
Alright guys, I'm calling the lesson there. If you wanted to succeed during the lesson, go ahead and do so in your next post before leaving. If not, just make sure to do so before the next lesson, or you'll be expected to meditate in class again, and that's no fun.
Now, just to be clear for everyone, whoever is officiating these lessons, be it myself, Luo, or Hikaro, we will be posting in such a way as to leave anything that has not yet been specified by the other RPers vague. Such as how in this post I referenced several people throughout the classroom achieving their flare. One is obviously Shikaku, but the rest are wide open for any of you, or none of you, and it can be NPCs. Basically, our posts cover the state of the entire class, and you can choose to be part of that whole or not. In this class, the two who came in late could have, and arguably should have, played as if they had been in the room from the very start of the lesson when I specified that everyone was present. From now on, I recommend that anyone posting after the start of a lesson do that, unless they actually wish to be late. Of course, if you don't post in the class at all during the lesson you'll be considered to have missed class entirely and won't even have the benefit of instruction to learn on your own later. The classes are set up to move along quickly and efficiently, without losing anyone if at all possible. Whether you're present or not is up to you.
Of course, if your character is in another thread you should at least travel to the academy before claiming to be present.
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:16 pm
Timmy hadnt made it more than a few minutes before he gave up the first time. Every time he pictured a flame it would begin flickering wildly, as if in the wind, before it turned into a dinosaur or fierce warrior. Things went downhill from there. Eventually Timmy just gave into the daydreams, despite the several pokes and snarls he got from those around him. For Timmy liked to do his own sound effects for his daydreams. Nothing too loud, but it was easily enough to disrupt those around him. He was well into his daydream about alfredivostein the third and a halfth king of great mundania when Segare spoke once more. The man explained that class was excused, and that everyone could go their own way. He also explained that Meditation was a mandatory skill before continuing Ninjutsu training. That troubled Timmy, for ninjutsu training was his sole reason for staying this long.
Calmly, ignoring the angry stares of those aroung him, Timmy stood and brushed his shirt off. After assuming his most proper of postures, Timmy walked towards Segare and Luo before speaking. "so. This isnt going to work for me." It was quite possibly the most sane thing the boy had said in his life. "Perhaps, there is a less.... sitty way that I can learn the chakra thing?" There was no way meditation would work for Timmy, and even if it did, he would fall so far behind the rest of the class that Shikaku would be leading the village before Timmy could learn any jutsu.
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:27 am
In Kensei's "meditation world, he stood in a moonlight covered field with his flame floating in front of him. He could clearly feel the warmth coming from the flame around his entire body. This gave him a relaxing feeling that felt similar to the times he would take naps in the training fields. The boy felt as if he was ready for the next step of the meditation process.
When he tried to reach to reach out for the flame he felt a slight breeze that suddenly grew into a gust of wind. This wind was powerful enough to put of the flame and knock Kensei down. However the wind was concentrated around his ribs. As soon as he hit the ground in his world his eyes shot opened and he was suddenly gasping for air. He looked around him and saw Michiko's arm returning to her while she looked at Shikaku. He sighed in disappointment, he couldn't believe that she would do that. "I almost had it." The boy mumbled to himself. He shook it off and got ready to try again, but Segare announced that the class was over. He hung his head down in shame and once again sighed.
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Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 4:11 pm
➸➸➸RhodesDe'Cartes➸➸➸
➸➸➸ --- ➸➸➸
Rhodes truly wasn't that bored. In fact, since he was failing rather miserably in the meditation process he thought of other things so that he could assume the act of meditation. Thinking about what book he was going to read or watch his parents create and conduct their experiments. Or even better yet, work more on his archery. The little ectomorph may not be able to throw a punch to save his life but he could snipe a deer from a close distance at a decent amount of accuracy.
When Segare's words broke the "concentration" that Rhodes had to listen he "water-dropped" slightly at speaking about being late and that they'd have to show their competency in this form of meditation. Rhodes could, read a book about it or at the very least ask his parents. They knew enough about the shinobi arts to give him something to work with. After all, he's seen his father manipulate the world around him rather well with his chakra. If he can get taught over night, maybe Rhodes will not have to linger too long on it and instead work on his favorite things; tests! Something that he could read, study, increase his knowledge base and of course come back with a high grade. Nothing better than studying and tests! But the worst part of it all, was Rhodes would still have to pass the other things to get to the bountiful glory of test taking.
The very circle his mind was going through was starting to give him a headache and decided that it would be best if he just went ahead and gather the things that his parents requested of him. At least then, he won't have to worry too much. Gathering his things and pulling out his list of items his parents had given him, he began to head out of he classroom, then the Academy himself. Hastening his speed a little as the sound of thunder began to loom in the distance. "With as far as I live, I do not want to be caught up in the rain." He thought to himself as his pace picked up some.
[Exit]
➸➸➸ --- ➸➸➸
Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2014 4:52 pm
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Segare sighed as Timmy immediately approached him. The boy hadn't been focused at all on the class, and even the sticky pod had only dulled his noise levels. It was easy enough to tell he'd gotten nothing from the lesson so far. Perhaps he'd have the dubious honor of being Luo's first meditation apprentice then.
The boy's actual statement and question drew another sigh from the man, and he palmed his face for a moment before shaking his head. "There are only three commonly known ways to first access one's chakra. Natural inclination, in which case you'd be capable of chakra manipulation with no training at all, meditation, in which you draw it out through the act of clearing your mind of all other things, and near death experience. Of the three, the first is rare, and the third, assuming you don't actually end up dead, has only about a twenty five percent chance of working." Segare spoke levelly, fixing the boy with a lazy stare. "Some argue that a single minded focus works just as well as meditation, and that through that you can draw the chakra out by force of will. In my experience, that merely ends with a bunch of constipated looking students turning red in the face, and the occasional odorous accident. Regardless, if you wish to attempt any alternative method you may. All I require is that you produce a viable aura before learning further ninjutsu. I do recommend that you attempt the meditation further though. It can be highly useful at times."
Segare gave the boy an amused smirk at that observation. If Timmy actually pulled off the higher grade meditation, and was able to order his mind for faster access to information as some ninja did... He could only imagine it ending in chaos of some kind. Especially since Shikaku already seemed to have pulled off the first stage, and the two plotting together with that extra edge...
Shaking his head, Segare dismissed those thoughts, looking up to survey the class again. He'd expected to have been approached by their two latecomers by now, since they would only have a vague idea of the lesson plan. So, he was rather surprised to see one of them already halfway out the door. "Rhodes!" he called out, just loud enough to be heard over the slowly rising ambiance of the room, with the kids forming cliques and chatting. "I'd like to speak to you before you leave." Why the child was leaving so quickly he hadn't a clue. With only a vague idea of the lesson, and no instruction nor manual, he had no chance of achieving an aura before the next lesson. Maybe get close on hearsay alone, but that wasn't enough to satisfy.
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❖ Chakra: [72/72]
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Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:46 pm
Enryu || E-rank ||
The older man's eyes opened at the sound of clapping and frowned slightly at the interruption. He stared lazily at Segare though due to the perpetual crease along the brow he appeared to be glowering. With the entirety of the classroom rising to leave Enryu instead took his time getting to his feet, towering over the majority of the students.
Of course, a few students flocked to Segare after the lesson for questions and concerns. Enryu stood apart from the group with his arms at his side but clearly intent on speaking with the man. When he called out to to another student the man suppressed a sigh, intent on escaping the confines of the building and immersing himself in other pursuits for the day.
Statistics Chakra: 15/15 Jutsu Crafter || Combo Wellness: Prime
Equipment:
Short Sword: [<1>] - [] Small Scroll: [<1>] - [< Right pocket>]
Shikaku sat, staring at his hands, turning them over this way and that and watching his aura unblinkingly. So immersed was he, that he didn't notice Michi's reaction, or that of anyone else who had noticed him, though it was likely few. He could barely see it himself, from this close up. Finally, he was jarred from his inspection by Segare's calling the class to an end, making him blink and look up, failing to notice his chakra fade away as soon as he took his attention from it.
Segare's words sank in slowly, and Shikaku found a smile crawling onto his face once more. He'd been worried about failing this class. He was already failing Luo's classes. He was quick and precise, yes, but when it came time to spar he just couldn't seem to hold up to anyone. He'd done well in the theory for this class, but that was just information, words on paper, and he'd always had a good mind. But he'd been completely prepared to be just as bad at the practicals as he was at the taijutsu. But hearing Segare's words, it sounded like he was ahead of the curve for once! He might actually be good at this! And that was plenty to bring a smile to his face.
With class dismissed and the students either leaving or forming clusters to chat, Shikaku stood, waving at Michi and making his way towards the front of the class, where Timmy had immediately gone to talk to their teachers. He had a question of his own, he wasn't sure what he'd encountered in his meditation, since he'd never heard of anything like that before, but he didn't want to ask in front of the whole class, so he hung back along the edge of the students, to wait for Timmy.
His foot stopped on the dime when he heard his name called; though then again, he would rather have it called by Segare than Luo. Not that the man was bad but... well honestly both were rather difficult teaching wise. It seems his plans of retracting slowly back to his introverted self and dive into books of knowledge would be halted temporarily. As would his attempt to beat the storm booming it's way ever closer. Curse his parents not procuring his body to be a more fit mesomorph so that he could speedily race towards his home!
With a slight mental sigh of the possible impending teacher-level fussing that could probably occur he'd turn around. Though with the growing line of students, maybe he could blend in and slowly go... "poof" from the situation. He's oddly found it quite easy to just..."disappear" or maybe people simply didn't pay enough attention to him, and by the time they did he was already gone. Or maybe he was never apart of any one group that he was positioned close to in the first place and the group simply took a notice of only his presence, and by the time he left and they chose to give his presence further attention did they find his "disappearance" odd. Or... Maybe he was too quiet, and- "Stop!"
Rhodes forced his mind to close out on all of the hypothetical conclusions brought on by situations that he has gone through as it was only bringing a constant barrage of "what ifs?". Rubbing his temples briefly, Rhodes would look up to Segare and give a simple nod, moving towards the back of the line that seemed to be awaiting for his attention. Waiting, if not observing to see if his usual silence amongst the crowd of boisterous students and rigid stillness amongst the bustle of other children would have him slowly fade amongst them.
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