Namikaze Minato - 003

[wind_upon_waves]

Who: Namikaze Minato
Where: Espoir, field
Style: First
Status: VERY OPEN! COME AND BOTHER MINATO!

[Minato had found a spot in a field, and was starting to go through basic taijutsu maneuvers. It felt good to be outside in the crisp, spring air.

And it had been a while since he'd been able to just relax like this, letting his body go through the

Comments

[wind_upon_waves]

"Martial arts is something almost anyone can learn. I'm sure you'd do well," Minato answers. But the shinobi arts?

The blond is quiet for a long while, because there's many things he has to consider. The shinobi arts are useful to protect, but in the end they are killing arts, and teaching them to just anyone - even a boy who seems to have good intentions - is not something he can easily do. He brushes a hand through his hair and hums, a noncommittal sound.

The Yondaime's expression is serious now as he continues. "You could learn martial arts from another teacher; there's seems to be an abundance of them here, but the shinobi arts cannot be taught to just anyone. In fact, in most cases, unless the person in question is a member of the same village, he can't be considered as a trainee." He pauses then to gather his thoughts.

"Loyalty and determination are mandatory, obviously, but a Shinobi must have the will to kill and be killed for his goals, his duty, and for the sake of his village and comrades. And I'm not so sure that's what you're looking for, Danny." His gaze is a bit more compassionate now, but no less serious.

He hopes the boy will understand why Minato cannot teach him without Danny proving himself, even if he does have noble reasons for wanting to become stronger.

[phantomfenton]

Danny's hopeful look fades, but he clearly understands what Minato is trying to get at. The whole 'willing to kill and be kill' seems to have sobered him up more than anything, as though the ideas of doing so are something he's managed to avoid up until now.

"Okay..." He goes for a grin, trying not to let his dissapointment show. "I guess that makes sense. And you're right, I'm not really... looking for ways to kill." He's never needed to, and hopes to continue never needing to: his only serious opponents have almost always been dead already.

In spite of the fact that he logically knows exactly why Minato can't teach him the arts, he still can't help but wonder if he could find some other way to learn them. After all, all martial arts are technically designed for injury/killing. Maybe he could keep watching and try a few things out on his own, or maybe he could find someone willing to show him a few moves--just a few! Hmmm...

[wind_upon_waves]

Minato stifles a sigh.

He can already see the scheming look in the boy's eyes. Well, he has tried to let him down easy, but it seems that will not be enough.

The Yondaime will just have to be extra careful not to do any particularly dangerous moves in front of Danny. In fact, the blond will probably either stick solely to taijutsu - the lesser kinds - or run away altogether.

Like student like teacher, eh, Kakashi? He thinks, because it seems Minato is also going to be playing cat and mouse across Somarium if Danny is as stubborn as he seems.

[phantomfenton]

Poor Minato.

After all, Danny may be awful at lying, but he has several advantages to sneaking that some others might not; for example, he can turn intangible, and become invisible. (True, it might not keep his presence completely covered, but at least it's a start.)

This will certainly be interesting.

"So..." Danny starts to say, meanwhile. After all, just because Minatos not going to teach him doesn't mean they should stop talking, right? "Are there lots of other shinobi?" Hopefully he got the name right this time.

[wind_upon_waves]

Something tells Minato there's a challenge coming his way. He shakes the eerie feeling off and lets his shoulders relax at the change of topic. Unfortunately, disclosing information on his shinobi is something Minato will also have to censor.

"There are a few of us around. You may see us flitting around from time to time." Like over rooftops or underground, but there's no need for the Yondaime to tell Danny that. "Many more are arriving as time passes. Those of us that are friendly are thinking of banding together to form a shop, so you may see us on errands later."

Minato muses on what more he can say. His expression is grave when he continues.

"There are a few that aren't safe to be around. They're what we call 'missing-nin.' Traitors to their villages and unconcerned with the well-being of innocents. If you see a shinobi with a hitai-ate -" he points at the metal band with the swirling leaf insignia on it that he wears on his forehead, "- then he's safe to approach unless it's slashed through. Otherwise, you should be extremely cautious."

He hopes Danny will take his warnings to heart. The Yondaime would hate for the boy to get hurt by approaching them - perhaps out of some ridiculous notion of learning the shinobi arts from them since Minato has refused.

[phantomfenton]

Danny listens attentively, trying to keep his expression steady. He's picking up on the fact that most of what's being said is vague, and probably loaded with phrases that would tell him a lot more if he knew the whole story, and is understandably annoyed over it. The news about the shop is helpful, though; if he can watch different shinobi, and see their styles... Assuming that he keeps his interest for that long, then Danny might be a very, very busy teenager.

Danny nods solemnly, studying the hitai-ate. "Okay." He's already deciding to keep an eye out for them and decide for himself, unfortunately. After all, this is the kid who goes out fighting ghost crimes every night: potential foolishness is practically a given.

"I'm guessing that since they're traitors, they wouldn't like the idea of meeting anyone from their village, or anyone on friendly terms with them," Danny states. Okay, maybe not entirely as foolish as he seems. Just rebellious.

[wind_upon_waves]

- and in one ear and out the other. The Yondaime resists the urge to smack his face in exasperation. What is it about teens that makes them to be so willful? But it's not like Minato can force Danny to comply, and he most certainly does not have the time to shadow him everywhere to keep him safe. The most he can do, then, is to impress upon him the direness of the situation.

"The 'missing-nin' that are known were members of an organization that had the power to bring the world to its knees. Fortunately, the means of accomplishing that here are gone, but they're still extremely dangerous. You need to understand Danny-kun, to you, the extent to which Shinobi are capable of fighting might as well be magic. I have, at one point, torn apart two halves of a soul and sealed it away. I have even summoned a god of death. Do you think you can defend yourself against that?"

We play by entirely different rules.

If this doesn't work, well, there's not much he can say to deter Danny. There might be the slightest chance that if the boy doesn't aggravate the 'missing-nin,' they might not kill him, but Minato doesn't put much hope into that notion.

[phantomfenton]

When he first starts talking, Danny is remarkably unmoved. They're part of an organization designed to destroy the world? Not a problem. They're very dangerous? Same as usual. They've got amazing fighting skills that might as well be 'magical'? Whoop-dee-doo. The ninja telling all his to him is barking up the wrong tree, if he thinks he can impress Danny with these descriptions. Danny faces ghosts who make attempts at world domination every other week, all of these finding such new and creative ways of doing so that they've left the merry lands of plausibility, and are now stomping the land of 'magical wtf-ery' to pulp.

Then Minato starts talking about what he's personally done, and reminds Danny of one fact that the kid still seems to have trouble processing: with trained killsers such as these, even Danny could die. Not just die partially and be inconvenienced for the rest of his eternal soul's life, but die die. He lowers his gaze and thinks about this, and remembers that while he might have all sorts of priviledges with death, people around him don't have the luxury.

Shinobi arts could probably be useful for a lot of things, but they're designed for killing, and the people who use them are ready to kill. Danny's shoulders slump a little, and it's pretty clear the wind is gone from his sails.

[wind_upon_waves]

He doesn't like talking about death and danger, purposefully trying to dispirit someone, but it's necessary, so the tenseness of his shoulders ease when Danny seems to have accepted the truth.

Having a desire to grow stronger, to protect something - they aren't things that Minato wants to discourage. But the boy will have an easier, safer time learning something that is not synonymous for killing.

"I'm sorry, Danny-kun." Sorry for not being able to teach you, sorry for letting you down.

[phantomfenton]

Danny shrugs and grins half-heartedly, before trying to make the smile a little more sincere. He knows intellectually that it's not Minato's fault that this is the way things are. He's also aware of the fact that it's pretty good for him to learn this now instead of the hard way.

He thinks that part over, before remembering that he should be saying something a little more'in Fenton character' right now. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I should be fighting anyway." Even though he'll keep doing it whether he should or not.

That's always the bottom line of everything, isn't it? There's a job that needs doing, and he's the best one for it. What he wants in the first place is something that could make that job easier. Why was he suddenly so convinced that taijutsu would be the magic solution? (He puts the images of Minato executing perfect manouvers from his mind as firmly as he can.) Danny'll keep fighting, and he'll keep looking for other ways to improve. If he re-discovers the shinobi arts and finds someone someday who will teach something that fits his purposes? Well, he'll just deal with that when he gets to it, won't he. Making sure that ghosts don't hurt anyone is the goal. Whether he uses shinobi arts, slap-dash street fighting, or--or even kung-fu-balletisn't the issue.

Whatever he does, he has options. Lots of them.

He doesn't look quite so dispirited as he did just now, because a thoughtful look is trying to elbow it aside.

[wind_upon_waves]

It seems Danny has reached some conclusion on his own; Minato can feel the boy's determination returning, reforming in a stronger, more resolute way.

Though his verbal response is a bit incongruous, because the blond has a feeling that the boy plans on fighting in some fashion anyways. But the thoughtful expression on Danny's face tells Minato that he's a strong young man, capable of pulling himself up.

"I see," he responds.

[Edited post]

[phantomfenton]

It probably doesn't mean anything good for the next person he decides to try and learn from, unfortunately. His determination might even mean bad news for Minato, if Danny changes his mind later. (Though that doesn't look like it'll happen any time soon.)

Danny nods, shrugging. "I guess it probably sounds wierd to someone like you, what with you having been at it and all. My town doesn't like anyone fighting. Law enforcement's available, so we're able to turn to it." He's warming up to his facade again, which he had relaxed slightly at the idea of learning something new.

Re: [Edited post]

[wind_upon_waves]

He must have lived in a relatively peaceful place, if he's unconcerned with fighting, or he was confident in his world's law enforcement, the blond thought. Except, in Konoha, Minato was the law, and fighting was a career and a means of survival.

"Not at all," he replies with a gentle shake of his head. But he feels that Danny would do better if he was himself -- it seems the boy has some weight on his shoulder, and feels that he needs to present some front to the world because of it. He just hopes that Danny won't fall under its weight. Sometimes, a facade can do more harm than good.

Then again, it is a bit hypocritical for a shinobi to be saying that, when his own profession is all about masking the truth.

[phantomfenton]

The kid is blissfully unaware that Minato can see so clearly through his front. Since the man isn't saying any of that out loud, none of the useful advice reaches him, and he keeps on trying to lie to a master-lie-detector.

Danny nods and says, "Does that mean you have cops and stuff too?" Erk--well, of course they would. "I mean, who watches the shinobi? Other shinobi?" His eyes flicker up to Minato's hitai-ate, as though wondering if it might have something to do with the subject at hand.

[wind_upon_waves]

Minato considers how best to explain the shinobi military structure to the boy. It's probably completely different from the governmental structure of Danny's world.

"Well, Konoha had Military Police at one point, but not anymore. The shinobi fill that function now. There are several branches among the shinobi. Some work as guards, as doctors, as teachers, etc."

He purposefully does not mention ANBU, the professional black ops assassination force, or the Hunter-nin.

"Shinobi all answer to their appointed leader, the Hokage, who is generally kept in check by a Council made of clan leaders and previous advisers. At times of military action, however, the Hokage is the only authority in the village."

Minato hesitates on revealing that he is the Hokage. No real need to reveal that fact anyways; there's no village and he's not looking to exert his authority as the Yondaime unless a dire situation arises. He also notes Danny's attention on his hitai-ate.

"This metal plate," he taps his hitai-ate, "is a symbol that you are officially a shinobi. You don't get one unless you attend the academy and pass a series of tests. When you have one, you are considered an adult by the village -- no matter your age -- fully capable of killing and ready to be killed. The symbol in the center shows what village you belong to, and if it's slashed, that means you are a traitor."

[phantomfenton]

Danny listens carefully, and since it's simple enough he's able to follow it all. He's intuitively picking up on the fact that there's a few things not being said, but unlike last time it doesn't seem to bother him. After all, as far as he knows, Minato's probably just filtering out the boring and needlessly complex parts that would otherwise leave Danny hopelessly and completely confused.

Danny's eyes study the metal plate a little longer, before he nods seriously. "Sort of like a police badge, except I'm pretty sure you can't get into the academy until after highschool..." He says, more to himself than Minato.

"In my world, my town's just a small part of a really, really big country. We have police to handle crimes, hospitals to handle the sick people, schools to teach... People don't usually mix fields like they seem to do where you're from."

"We actually don't have our own military, either--my town, I mean. The government's sent a couple of operatives to look at--you know, some wierd things that've been happening. They haven't been able to do much."