Pokénin 023

Fortunately for Tekai, one search through Zinnia's pockets revealed the slip the Clan Elder had handed to her. 

It turned out that her apartment was just a room below his. 

Dropping Zinnia off in bed, Tekai wiped some drool off his shoulder, and walked out the front door. 

“Listen, Tekai.”

“About earlier.” 

Clair and Tekai started to speak at the same time, then paused, waiting for the other to finish. 

“Yeah, we made it out alive, and we have room to improve. Today was our first day, and Cynthia Sensei still has more to teach us. Friends?” 

“Sure, friends. But you listen here, Tekai, that wild boast you made in the bar. I won't lose to you!” Clair turned around, and flourished her cape as she departed. 

Tekai shook his head, a small smile beginning to form across his face. 

Leaning over the railing of the apartment building, Tekai breathed in a crisp breath of cool autumn air, and looked up to the moon. 

After a moment, Tekai realized he still had to get a manual for his staff, and shurikens. 

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to go buy himself any shurikens, as he had filched a dozen from the shinobi's tool bag. That just left a visit to the library. 

Grabbing some ink & paper from his apartment, Tekai took a carriage from the noble district up to the castle. After passing through several checkpoints, he eventually arrived at his destination. 

As a former, longtime resident of the castle, and active sweeper, he knew the place like the back of his hand, and had entered every single publicly accessible room, as well as a few restricted areas. 

Hence the ease and confidence with which he entered the library. 

Entering a grand hall, it was a 3 storey offshoot from the main tower. Despite its size, the room felt small and cramped due to the countless book shelves. 

Bright azure braziers lit the room well, and a squad of retainers stood guard at the entrance. 

This was the ‘public’ library, open to all Ranked Officials, and meritorious individuals within the Land of Dragons. 

There were less than a dozen people in here this late, but Tekai did recognize one of them. 

Paul Hellgar was busy burning the midnight oil, and was rapidly taking notes on something. 

In fact, the reason Tekai had brought paper and ink was for a similar purpose. The books and manuscripts were kept within the library. Anyone who fit the criteria could read them, but not just anyone could withdraw them. 

Finishing his appraisal of the library, Tekai approached a bespectacled old man. The balding elderly librarian was reading a book behind a teller's desk. 

Tekai waited for his attention, as there really was no need to force rank in such a situation. Besides, who knew if he was more than the harmless old fellow that he appeared to be? 

After a couple of minutes, the old man left a bookmark, and peered at Tekai with tired eyes. Raising an eyebrow, the old man silently gestured for Tekai to speak.

“I require a beginners manual on staff and shuriken throwing techniques.” Tekai said, flashing his token. 

“Section W, rows 5 and 13. When you're done, return the books here.” The old man tiredly replied, then went back to reading. 

Collecting the books, Tekai found a quiet corner out of the way, and cast the Shadow Clone technique once. 

Whilst he could have made two more, his chakra still wasn't back to 100%, and he also didn't want this secret training method getting out. He figured if he split from his clone, it wouldn't look overwhelmingly suspicious. 

However, if there were four Tekai Tatsushiro's running around the library, that would be impossible to hide. 

With that done, Tekai wordlessly pointed at the book on shurikenjutsu. 

“Who knew you would prioritize rods? Are you telling me something? Please keep your hands to yourself.” Clone A shivered, and backed away. 

“Just shut up, take this paper, and study in some corner.” Tekai shoved the studying supplies into Clone A's hands, and sighed. 

It was a long day and he really didn't want to put up with this shit. 

“Yeah, learning how to throw a kunai from a book. Why don't you just use that salary, and hire a ninja to show you how it's done? Fuckin dumbass.” Clone A shook his head, yet moved off and cracked open his scroll. 

Tekai blinked at the clone, and slapped his own forehead. 

He really could just hire a ninja. They were practically always lounging around Blackthorn looking for work. 

…Well, he figured he would see how much he learned from self practice first. He was in no real hurry to master shurikenjutsu, as advancing his Dragon Rage, reducing chakra costs, and mastering the staff took priority. 

Speaking of the staff, Tekai cracked open the manuscript, and got to taking notes. 

Spending three hours painstakingly taking notes, and drawing pictures of moves, Tekai felt his hand cramping, and decided to turn in for the night. 

Smiling to himself, Tekai had learnt a lot. 

It turns out that spending more than 8 years sweeping, and mopping had actually paid off. 

The actions depicted in the manual were mostly the basics, such as stabbing, sweeping, etc. But it all seemed like stuff Tekai was capable of, all it would take is a bit of training, and he was confident he could master the basics of his staff, and move on to the intermediate book within the week. 

As for shurikenjutsu, it didn't seem overly complicated. He still needed to practice, and he didn't think he would ever achieve Itachi or Kakashi levels. However, all he really needed was to use the weapon as a distraction, or to help run away/close gaps. It's not as if shurikens would be his primary means of attack. 

Overall, this was a positive study session. 

Scooping up the books, Tekai deposited them at the front at the same time that Paul was returning his books.  

[Pokémon Natures] [Sowing Terror] [Happy Memories: A Chansey's Tale] 

Tekai raised his eyebrow at this odd combination of study materials. 

“Happy Memories, huh?” Tekai mused with a half smirk. 

“To break the strong, I must know what motivates them.” Paul simply stated, then walked away. 

Tekai happened to be leaving in the same direction, and silently walked side by side with the slightly older teen. 

After about 10-15 minutes of walking, they reached the carriage waiting area, and were about to split off when Paul suddenly spoke to Tekai. 

“I heard that you were ambushed by shinobi at the Lake of Rage. Can you tell me their appearance and abilities?” Paul paused in his step, and said in a quiet, intense tone. 

Tekai stopped, stunned. Just how many people knew about that? It had probably only been four or five hours since dusk! 

Apparently Tekai's brief silence was all it took to trigger another dialogue option from the taciturn teen. 

“Of course such knowledge won't be for free. I saw one of your books was regarding shurikenjutsu. I can offer a training session this week in exchange.” 

“Hm, why do you want to know?” Tekai questioned, cocking his head to the side in curiosity. 

“I suppose saying ‘it's a personal matter’ wouldn't be good enough?” Paul crossed his arms, and took a defensive stance. 

Tekai briefly considered pressing the issue, wanting to see just how far his Ryu street cred could take him. Yet doing something like that wasn't his style, and it wasn't like he was really curious. 

“Nah, keep your secrets. I accept your trade. Here's what I know…” Tekai waved off Paul's intense glare, then explained the fights. 

After half an hour, Tekai finished speaking, and was feeling rather sleepy. 

“Fascinating. This is the second time I've heard of these ink-like chakra constructs being sent to battle. To finish it all with guile and audacity. Perhaps you have some Hellgar blood in you, Tekai. I look forward to working with you.” Paul put away his notepad, then handed him a piece of paper with an address on it. 

“Send me some correspondence, and we'll discuss an appropriate date for your training session.” Paul said in a level, neutral tone, nodded, then departed. 

Watching the tan, purple haired teen leave, Tekai didn't know how to feel about the encounter. 

Paul was the guy who had brutally murdered his own subordinate so that he wouldn't draw any heat from the Ryu Clan, or earn Tekai's ire. It spoke to both his ruthless character, as well as the state of the world that he felt the need to do something like that. 

In an age of carnage & deceit, attributes such as brutality and honesty were rare commodities. 

Sighing to himself, Tekai figured he should be happy such guys were part of his nation. 

It was because of the Fire-Dark attributed Hellgar Clan that he could rest easy knowing that the pesky Ice & Psychic + Ghost types couldn't run rampant over the Land of Dragons. 

As Tekai was musing over his deal, and was about to leave for home, he was accosted by several Ryu Clan retainers. Each one wore a mask covering their faces, and a white haori, signifying that they belonged to the internal clan law enforcement division. 

Noticing that they were also dressed in purple-azure painted samurai plate armor reserved for the Ryu Clan's elite soldiers, Tekai knew that something was up.

“Tekai Tatsushiro, Elder Ichi requests your presence.” The retainer at the lead said-in a familiar voice-and curtly nodded his head, motioning for Tekai to follow. 

Tekai felt the corner of his lip twitch. Whilst he never was one for antiquated customs, a little respect would be nice. After all, he was recognized by the Clan Lord as an adult Ryu. 

And request? Psh, yeah, Tekai wasn't an idiot. He saw that this group of four were surrounding him in a square formation. Each one of them was at least as strong as a Chunin, so fighting his way out wasn't practical. 

If he didn't comply, he wondered what would happen? The Elders weren't a governmental position, but within the family, they carried a huge amount of clout, and were responsible for maintaining group cohesiveness, and Ryu Clan values/culture. 

Technically, Tekai was leagues above these retainers in terms of social status. While he wasn't about to blow off an elder, he might as well press these guys’ buttons to let them know he wasn't very happy with their late night ambush. 

Feeling a little mischievous, Tekai took a step closer to the elite retainer in the lead, and silently stared him in the eye. 

The moonlight reflected off their armor giving it a sinister gleam. 

Tekai's ears twitched as he heard the men behind him shift in their boots, as if they were expecting action. 

Armor jingled, and an intense atmosphere began to form. 

“I recognize you. Black Mark, that's what you called me the other night. What is your name?” 

“A magikarp does not make one a dragon.” The man replied, and stared dismissively past Tekai's shoulder as if he were air. 

‘Kill. Murder. Destroy!’ Gil raged. 

“You're a funny guy, Nameless. You talk a big game, but can't stop a petty thief from infiltrating our most sacred sight. Anyway, I know the way to Elder Ichi's office, I'll see myself there.” Tekai replied, then put his hands behind his head, and grinned up at the man as he moved back towards the castle. 

As Tekai made his way back to the castle from the courtyard out front, Tekai noticed that the squad of retainers were following him, but he paid them no mind. 

Upon climbing several flights of the massive pagoda tower, Tekai had arrived in front of a large sliding door. 

He then turned back to his retinue. 

“Well, Nameless, introduce us, will you?”