Strike First, Questions Later: Basic Taijutsu Class

It was time to actually do some classes, that was good. Shiro knew that there had been some swithering as to whether or not they would let the Jinchuriki be in the same classes as that might cause some worrying problems but with enough of the instructors waiting in the wings, it should be fine. At this point they were around half an hour early and they opened the door to their classroom and left the door open. The place was fairly spartan, rows of desks and simple seats with a larger desk at the front and a whiteboard.

To the left of the room however was a larger open space with a sparring ring and several large punching bags set up. This was after all a Taijutsu class and Aki had been busy doing the actual combat classes so it was up to Shiro as a close combat brawler to actually deal with this class. They sighed softly and wondered how their daughter Sigurd was doing in her Tokubetsu Jonin exams before they sat on their desk and folded their legs under them.

As for how Shiro looked it was rather strange as most of their body was covered by a full length coat that went down to their ankles, the collar was fur-lined today and only a thin line of snow-white skin was visible between their headband and raised collar, their eyes were almost white-blue and had a strange sparkling, refractive quality to them. They reached into their coat and pulled out a book before settling in to read, it was a story of forbidden love between a Shogunate Legionnaire and a Pandoran Knight from many years ago, Shiro was a sucker for romance.

Hopefully the students would be timely...

Mika had been looking at the list of classes, of course some where more practical classes and she had learned that not being able to use such things basically meant she shouldn't go to those and instead she simply learned basic theory and the like about them, something that was covered in more general classes rather then the specialist classes, but now a Taijutsu class was starting up and she knew she had to be in it, she really didn't have access to much else other then that and the neat tricks her father and mother taught her about.

flying through the halls silently to get around everyone Mika had a large smile on her face as she got closer to the room that the class would be in, and she slowly wafted in looking around to see she was the first student there, she waved to the teacher as she looked for a seat "Hello" she said to the instructor as she fluttered about a bit before settling on a front seat so she could see and wouldn't have to try to look over people, also being so short meant it was easier for others to just look over her. With all that decided she settled down into the seat moving around a bit so her wings wouldn't be pinned uncomfortably, and she rested her four arms on the desk looking very eager to learn. her solid red eyes nearly sparkling with excitement

Amara looked overhead as a creature passed over her in the hallways. It was clearly a beast of some sort, with moth-like features and Amara frowned at how simple it made things to be able to just fly from location to location. Mental note: look into passive flying techniques after class. She thought to herself as she jostled her way through the crowded halls. Her first class of the day had been...interesting to say the least, but she realized she was most likely going to drop it. The proctors had been eccentric, almost to an annoying degree, but the real issue was that there was little they could teach her. For people like Tsukasa and Takata, who seemed to just be dabbling in seal work it was a perfect introductory class. Amara however was already well versed in low and mid-level seals.

Though she was far less interested in the content of this class, she also knew it would be integral for preparing her for the genin exams. It was great and all if she could utilize high level seals against her opponent's, but if her physical body was too slow to actually catch them...or worse, too slow to avoid their attacks then she was doomed from the start. Even bookworms needed to hit the gym once in awhile it seemed. So, stepping into the hybrid fighting ring classroom, Amara turned to the adult in the room and bowed. Good morning, sensei. My name is Amara Jiko, thank you for having me in your class. She turned to find a seat when she noticed the book Shiro was reading and frowned. She didn't recognize that particular text and she would know if she had read it, considering she had read the entire Academy library...twice. It must have been from a private collection of Shiro's and she made a note to see if she could borrow it before class was over.

Turning back to the seats, she saw the front row was already occupied by the moth girl who had flown overhead. This was somewhat irritating as usually Amara had the front row to herself, but she was working hard on the whole, "trying to make friends" thing, so this would be good practice. Good morning, I like your wings. She said awkwardly to Mika, dropping her books on her desk and sliding into the chair. There, nailed it. Making friends? Check.

Keid Mishura was practically skipping as he deftly navigated the narrow hallways to his next class. While the start of his Academy experience had been...less than ideal, he couldn't deny the sheer quality of the instruction he was getting. Almost by the day, the Mishura could feel himself getting stronger, smarter, more equipped to handle the confusing world after graduation. While he knew he was nowhere near prepared enough for the Genin Exams as of yet, he could tell he was growing closer to that level by the day. Sooner or later, he WOULD be a genin, and then who knows what his future would hold.

But that wasn't why Keid was so excited for today. Finally, after weeks of fuinjutsu theory and stealth craft, he was finally getting his first taijutsu class. While the other schools of Shinobi combat were fun, (and of course essential to possess a well-rounded toolkit), the Mishura missed the sheer physical thrill of hand-to-hand or blade-to-blade combat, of matching yourself against a worthy opponent with nothing but your body and wits to back you up. His occasional spars with Shou had been fulfilling of course, but the Mishura blood within Keid wanted more.

Strolling in shortly behind Amara, Keid would incline his head toward the instructor with a quick "Good morning Sensei" before sliding into a second-row seat and retrieving a green-colored notebook and pen from his bag. Only then did the Mishura realized that unlike many of his other classes recently, he actually knew people in this one! "Oh hey Mika! Good to meet you again. And you're that girl that was watching me and Shou a while back right? I don't think I ever got your name?" Keid asked, his voice open and friendly. The Mishura was eager to make at least a few friends in this Academy, surely not everyone was an asshole like that Kirsi.

He was rather disappointed to see who was instructor the moment he entered the class. Maxi had hoped that after their prior meeting he wouldn’t have to see his face again but life was never that kind to him. Still, he would have to push back his distaste for the man so the class could go as smoothly as possible, though, in all honesty, he would rather be elsewhere. It was a pain but he had to suffer through the academy and the people inside so he could graduate and then leave this prison. There was also that other thing he had to accomplish so there was no time to loaf around.

As he made his way to his seat, he’d notice that Mika was in his class but before he could say hello someone else had cut him off. Instead of waiting around for them to finish, he’d just take a seat in the far right of the class next to the window where he could stare outside silently hoping the class would be over already.

For the first few minutes, Shiro didn't move or acknowledge anyone that entered the room. They simply sat there and read their book. Once everyone had came in, they hopped down, put the book away in their coat and then closed the door over before stepping in front of their desk and scanning around the room. Their gaze was almost dead but they made sure to give a small nod to Maxi as someone they had at least met before. "Hello, Students. I am Shiro, I will be your instructor today. This is a Taijutsu class, something that I specialise in alongside Nintaijutsu. Taijutsu is something that all of you will utilise in some manner or another and is a universal form of jutsu with all known races and even beasts being capable of something close enough to be called Taijutsu."

With that they turned and pulled a sheaf of papers off of their desk, flicking through it for a few moments before nodding and looking around once more. "Today I shall be asking some basic questions, learning where everyone rests in their knowledge of Taijutsu. Then we shall move to the other side of the classroom and we shall do some basic physical exercises so that I can ensure you are acting in a safe manner and will not harm yourselves when you attempt to spar or fight. We will not be doing spars today, I will save that for a later class." They said fairly simply before walking around and handing out a piece of paper to every student.

"On this paper, I would like you to note down your name, your clan if you have one, the physical abilities available to you and any taijutsu styles you wish to train in specifically. If it is a personal style, I also expect a small paragraph about the capabilities of the style. Additionally, I will point to certain students and I expect you to tell me of either a well known Clan Taijutsu Style or a Republic Taijutsu Style, things you should know well by now." With that Shiro returned to the front, gave it a few moments before pointing at Keid, Maxi, Amara and Mika to answer the question that they had posed.

Mika was sitting happily waiting for everyone to arrive, making sure she had everything and over all just looking eager to learn what she could. Then someone spoke to her and she looked over, her solid red eyes looking up at the taller girl as she mentioned her wings and Mika smiled and waved to her with one of her four arms ""Thank you I grew them myself" she said with a giggle at her own little joke, and a friendly smile "I'm Mika nice to meet you" she said to them her antenna twitching gently.

Then her attention was called by a voice sitting behind them in the next row and Mika looked over and smiled to Keid waving with another arm "Hey there Keid nice to see you again!" her eyes still having that friendly sparkle to them as she wriggled a bit in her seat to look over at him better, her antenna also wriggling a bit as she faced him. "How have ya been?" she asked before she seen Maxi scooting off to the back.

On seeing her friend the smile on her face grew larger and she called out to the boy "Max! Max!! there is a seat up here next to me! Come on up lets sit Together" she called energetically to him happy to have one new person, a person she met once before, and now a friend in the same class as her, her joyful manner of addressing the boy likely making it clear to their instructor that she had no bloody clue he was a Jinchuriki as she nearly hopped up and down in her seat to make sure he seen her... also rather oblivious that even if she was small she stood out like a sore thumb by the simple fact she was basically the only Faunus in the whole class, and likely the whole academy.

Though whether her attempts to get Maxi to change seats or not where successful eventually class started and the teacher addressed them all and went over who he was and what the class was all about. Mika had kept her attention on the teacher and listened intently to what he had to say as the explanation of he classes Itinerary was made. It made good sense to figure out where everyone was in their training before doing sparring, last thing Mika wanted was to be paired up against someone here who's whole clan likely specialized in Taijutsu and had all sorts of special training, it would be a little embarrassing for her to be used to wipe the floor on their first spar, but then again it was maybe a likely outcome just from the differences in family background.

As she got her paper she continued to listen to the instructions by the teacher, and she started to fill out her full name, she didn't fill out the place for clan as she wasn't part of one, and she started to list her abilities that she knew about through her personal solo training, using her own training regime to validate the claims, as well as her best approximations of weight training she has done, highlighting the fact that the school had run out of training weight sets, likely due to other students using them and so she increased the weight she would train under through the simple expenditure of weighing rocks and the like and filling bags with them to add more weight, both for running, walking, climbing, flying, and going through her own little training course she tended to make out on the school grounds.

Her explanation continued into listing the Jutsu she trained, her beast arts she had been working on since they were all physical abilities, next was her listing her gate training and what gates she could open and for approximately how long, quickly followed by her own custom made fighting style as well as the Goken fighting style she was learning.

As she finished she looked up to answer the question the instructor asked, standing up to be better seen... not that it helped her height overly much, "I haven't been in the republic long enough to learn to much about any specific village style, but I do know that Goken is one of the most widely well known styles in the whole republic, to the point that every village has practitioners of it and that they are all capable of training their ninja in it, though I am trying to change my knowledge on the other more specific styles sir" she answered as she then sat back down, hoping her answer was correct.

Amara and you too. She said with a pleasant smile, really getting a hang of this whole socializing thing. When Keid appeared, Amara tilted her head with some amount of surprise. The boy had shown a true proficiency for the physical arts, surely he'd wait for a more advanced class to take place. Then again, she was the last person to be judging someone for reviewing the basics, Hello Keid, I'm Amara. Sorry I didn't introduce myself the other day, but you were otherwise occupied with our friend Shou it seemed. You both put on quite the...show. She said with a smirk, mentally patting herself on the back for that little pun.
That was terrible. Terrence said within her mind.
Oh hush, what do you know? Amara thought back, annoyed.
Enough to know that that was terrible. Terrence concluded, but Amara had already decided to ignore him.

Amara regarded Mika's exuberant energy with a curious look before flipping to a certain page in her weathered notebook and jotting down a few personality notes on the girl, keeping the front cover up to avoid prying eyes and closing it once more when she was done. Like the other students, Amara began filling out the form that Shiro had given them with her name, clan surname and various other relevant information. She frowned when she found herself done but Mika was still scribbling away. It made sense though, Amara lacked any real physical abilities and was mostly here just to get faster and better at drawing her shapes. There were no fighting styles or specific jutsu she was interested in, although if Shiro-sensei somehow possessed a style that incorporated co-ordinate shapes or sealing into it, now that would be something. Though, looking at the person at the head of the class, Amara was confident she was no Inkan so that hope was rapidly dwindling.

Amara cleared her throat when Shiro-sensei pointed at her and reached back to the filing cabinet of her mind. Many clans prided themselves on keeping their fighting styles mostly secret, but the Republic styles were open to anyone and regularly shared amongst shinobi. It had been easy enough to study up on each and even see them in practice throughout both the academy and the republic itself when she traveled home. Right then, each village within the Republic specializes in a specific fighting style that is related to an overarching style of boxing. Each have a slight variation that excel in areas different than the rest. The Vanguard Fist style of Dipugakure for example is meant to assault the target with an overwhelming number of blows, putting them off balance and thus opening them for further attacks. Meanwhile, the Lupine Fist style of Kohaigakure prides itself on its ability to create space and manipulate the opponent by knocking them in various directions. Similar results, different paths. She was ready to continue if Shiro-sensei wished, but didn't want to draw too much attention to herself or take up more of the answers in case other students were struggling to come up with something. She was intelligent, not a smarty-pants.

Amara's Paper:

"I've been doing pretty well. Lots of training of course to prepare for the Genin Exams, hopefully I'll be able to give everyone a decent challenge by that time! Yourself?" Keid said modestly, eyes focusing in on the winged girl, while he hadn't seen her fight on their mission, Keid had no doubt that anyone assigned to such a potentially dangerous mission was ordinary in any aspect. The Mishura made a mental note to start gathering information on his potential competitors' capabilities, it wouldn't do to get blindsided by something like Shou's anti-Dojutsu style in the middle of the Exams.

Keid's plotting was soon interrupted however by a voice coming from the seat next to Mika, someone who looked vaguely familiar to the Mishura. Absently, the boy snapped his few fingers a few times before comprehension dawned on his face. "You were the girl that ambushed us in the middle of the session!" Keid said triumphantly, sticking his hand forward in an attempt for a handshake, "Nice to meet you for real Amara. Really got me there with that choking cloud jutsu you had going on. Would you be interested in joining in the spar next time?" Keid asked, his voice friendly.

The budding conversation was soon cut off by the voice of their instructor, Shiro was his name. Most of it was your standard introductory bullshit, but Keid dutifully took down notes anyway, you never knew what could be useful in the Academy. While Keid hadn't had the chance to specialize in a Taijutsu style as of yet due to his intense training in Kenjutsu, he had a solid foundation and physical power, and Keid was confident that he would be easily able to fold a Taijustu style into his toolkit when the time came.

Therefore, when Shiro handed him his paper, Keid quickly noted down his name and clan, as well as his general physical abilities. Shooting a quick glance at the instructor, Keid choose not to include the full extent of his speed on the form, only noting down what he could accomplish with the basic activation of his Kyougan. Information, after all, was a Shinobi's greatest asset, and Keid saw no reason to reveal more of himself than he had to even in such an innocuous setting. For his Taijutsu style, Keid choose the Vanguard Fist. It was fast, strong, and folded in well with his existing regimen, making it the obvious choice.

Just as he finished the paper however, Shiro spoke again, asking for the general details of a Taijutsu style. These teachers really love calling on me dont they. Is it because I'm a Mishura? Or just bad rep from my Ninjutsu class.Keid wondered, before standing, "Unlike the other two examples, the Shinken Gai Kata doesn't focus on raw physical damage or creating space. The primary objective of the style is to get in close enough to land quick taps and pokes, injecting Lightning Release chakra into the opponent and messing up their body. The exact details are a clan secret, but that's the gist."

Paper:

Once everyone was done, Shiro walked around and collected all of the papers before returning to their desk and putting them down without really looking at them, seemingly. They then scanned everyone once again, pleased with the answers they had been given but it definitely didn't show on their face and a simple look made sure that Amara knew she had given enough information. They didn't want to bother Maxi more however and simply moved onto another student who mentioned the use of Titanic Fist specifically which had been what Shiro had been expecting.

"Very good everyone. Taijutsu is a versatile type of fighting and through the use of styles, one can add specialised effects to their strikes or just increase their base parameters. I myself specialise in both Sun Chaser and Moon Chaser Styles, Taijutsu styles that I have learned from my summoning contract. There are many sources of Taijutsu but at its most basic level training in it will allow you to enhance your base physical parameters, depending on what your genetics align you towards this could be enhanced speed, enhanced strength, incredible reactions or even a mind of steel." They spent a few moments quietly, watching people to see if anyone had any particular questions, if they didn't Shiro would then move on.

"I will now ask three questions, whoever raises their hand first can answer them. However if you believe someone's answer to be wrong or lacking information, you may raise your hand and answer it yourself. I will then take the answer as the accumulation of all information I am given." Shiro didn't mention that this was also a bit of a team-building exercise to see if anyone would work with others to gather all the information necessary.

"Question one; Name all baseline physical parameters, also known as tiers, and tell me which type of people are capable of the most tiers simultaneously and the least tiers simultaneously. Question two; What is the general name for the energy source used to power Taijutsu and what conditions can cause an alteration in just how much of that energy source a person has. Last question; I would like you to tell me, as a consensus, the three worst types of people, sometimes known as Classes, to use Taijutsu against. You all have five minutes before I begin asking for answers." Shiro nodded and sat on their desk once more, taking their book out for a few more pages. Once the time was passed, they would simply glance up from their book to see if anyone had raised their hand to begin answering, one question at a time of course.

Tsukasa had been pacing endlessly, questioning why she looked to sign up for this class when clearly the superior style of melee combat was the one of the sword. Why would she want to bother with hand to hand?! What's sharper the blade or the hand slapping, right? And yet... she felt the drive. Her dive in to learning of the Golem Path, and what she hoped to achieve in the long term, it had given her some pretty cool ideas. At least, she thought so anyway. And ... well this would be training the body right? Maybe it wouldn't... and then she realised she was running late.

With a lightly bowed head for the respect to teacher, she carefully opened the door to step in, and finding a quick seat. In a rather vein attempt at hiding, not letting people know the 'kenjutsu prodigy', a name she had called herself many times just because of her upbringing, was taking a taijutsu class. Though of course this was done by wearing a cardboard 'helmet' made to look like a knight's visor. And Tsukasa bragging about one day being a 'valiant knight'. It wasn't the best disguise.

Sun chaser and moon chaser huh? I didn't know you could get Taijutsu styles from a summoning contract, thought it was just summoning the contractors and fighting alongside them. Interesting. Keid thought, instantly thinking of his own clan's contract. While he hadn't made contact with his own familiar as of yet, the Mishura was confident it was only a matter of time at this point if he continued his current rate of improvement. Would his familiar grant him new abilities like Shiro was implying? Keid filed the thought away for later. For now, he had to focus.

The questions this time were slightly more challenging, spreading across a wide variety of topics and knowledge groups. Keid was fairly confident on the first answer, a mischevious grin adorning his face at the thought of pulling one over on his teacher with technicalities, but his face fell more and more ass time went on. While Keid did consider himself fairly well read, he was also just on the beginning of his shinobi journey, and had a lot to learn as far as the specifics of racial and clan-based abilities. Nevertheless, when Shiro looked up again, he was ready.

"For the first question, I believe the baseline tiers include Strength, Speed, Endurance, Defense, Reaction, Barrier and Chakra. I think I heard mention of a few more, but I'm not entirely sure. Ronin and cyphers are capable of the most tiers simultaniously, while people like ninja or souless are capable of the least."Keid said quickly, sitting back down. He was willing to answer the rest too, but didn't want to hog the floor.

Mika sat there listening to the instructor go over answers they gave him, though she did notice that it seemed like he didn't bother to look at the papers, but she figured since they were not doing sparring at the moment he would look it all over later, that made sense best to figure that stuff out later and devote class time to teaching and the like right? so she sat there smiling and taking little notes on what he said as well as the answers everyone gave from the first set of answers, then the new questions popped up.

Though Mika noticed someone sneak into the room at that point, and Mika waved to them rather openly, before going back to what the instructor was saying, he mentioned two styles and she noted them down, and where he learned them, so Summons could teach styles as well? Well it's not like she could summon anything really she was pretty sure you needed to be able to utilize chakra for that, so it was unlikely she would be learning that any time soon, though she should likely take the class if there is one so she could learn about them, though the basics might be the best she could hope to apply for.

Then the Instructor started to ask questions for them to answer, and she sat there looking a bit confused, the first question wasn't one she was to familiar with, all this stuff in the academy was rather new to her after all, the second question held the same issue, she knew it was stamina... but she wasn't to sure what it was that affected how much a person had... training maybe? and as for the last question she had no clue of that ether... and it showed in her body language as she sat there and tilted her head to the side and her antenna twitched a bit, but after some time Keid stood up and answered the first question, she did note down the answer he gave though and then stood up to answer the second one, her antenna drooping a bit and her wings doing the same as she was a tad uncertain, even her tail was twitching a bit as she spoke. but her expression was still bright, despite her uncertainty, nothing was gained if she didn't try after all, and if she was wrong that's what school was about learning.

"I believe the name of the energy source is Stamina, and I think what can affect it are physical damage, blood loss.. and umm.. Age I think affects the total amount as well" she answered hoping she was right and as she sat down she looked at the others sitting around her.

"I suppose we should also try to reach a consensus on which umm... classes?.. are the worst to use Taijutsu on... though I don't have much knowledge on that stuff, so I will listen to what you all have to say on that" she admitted with a smile though her antenna and tail were still twitching a bit from her uncertainty

Hmm perhaps next time. My skills aren't really intended for a fair fight as you and Shou had. Though, it was quite fun to watch. Amara said to Keid with a soft smile before piping down as sensei began to speak once more. Amara listened carefully to Shiro's next line of questions, these were dramatically more difficult and specific than their initial set of questions had been. She waited patiently while others answered, not wanting to jump the gun and come off as a know it all. She needed to walk a fine line here that showed her knowledge but didn't paint a target on her back, or worse, annoy her fellow classmates and make them shun her. A fight she could lose, but social ostracism? That would be absolutely horrific. She flipped through her notebook, knowing she didn't have exact answers to all of the questions, but hopefully jogging her memory a bit.

I agree with Keid's list, sensei. However, I'd also like to add Nature tiers, which I believe are gained through some sort of relationship with a summoning contract or the summoning world in general, though I need to look into this topic more. Also, there are Spirit tiers, but I know almost nothing about those other than a few brief mentions I've read about. She paused, mulling over the second question a bit and Mika's answer. The moth girl was right as far as Amara was concerned and did a great job listing out various things that impact stamina, however, there had to be more factors. I read about the recent Tokubetsu Jonin exams the other day and noticed the final fight involved an Erojutsu user who also specialized in Genjutsu. This leads me to believe that techniques can obviously increase the amount of stamina an opponent burns and I imagine various status effects as well. If an area is made hotter for example, that will cause the body to work harder, thus burning more stamina. It was mostly a guess, but at least it was an informed guess.

The three worst classes to use Taijutsu against? Amara furrowed her brow in concentration. It seemed like such an easy question, but in truth it was quite challenging. An obvious and easier question would be what were the three worst classes for using Taijutsu. One seemed obvious to her, due to their natural intangibility, but the other two would almost entirely be guesses. Even as she flipped through her notebook it was difficult to really find anything worth noting. The first type of person that would be difficult to use taijutsu against would be Entity due to their natural intangibility abilities. From there, hmmm, perhaps Ronin would also be a bad matchup due to their abilities to mimic physical techniques. They'd be able to adapt quickly to anything you threw at them.  For the third, I honestly am not sure. Perhaps a Cypher due to their natural reaction abilities? She sat back, annoyed with her lack of confidence and presenting a somewhat uninformed answer before a sudden realization crossed her mind. She was used to Gin and Kin's ridiculous, loophole-like questions and wondered now if there was a bit of trick to the first questions.

Sensei! Amara said, sitting straight up again with her hand in the air, I'd like to add to my answer to the first question. While I agree with Keid that Ronin have the most possible tiers, I believe Samurai have the least, particularly a Samurai who has not yet learned a style. They gain a trainable physical trait like strength, speed, and so on through the mastery of whatever kenjutsu style they choose. So a Samurai who has not chosen their style yet is incapable of any tiers.

Shiro sat and listened to the answers given to them, nodding to each person as they raised their hand and began answering the questions before adding more information on. That was good, they understood that the purpose was to work together for the best answers. Their answers were also very good, there were a few things that Shiro was honestly surprised that they knew but an advanced learning base was always a positive thing. Once it seemed like everyone was finished, he had noticed one mistake that they had made but just before Shiro decided to speak, Amara had put her hand up and finished off the last bit of information causing Shiro to smile under the collar of their coat, the first show of emotion they'd had.

"Very good. Lets review. The baseline parameters are Reaction, Defense, Endurance, Barrier, Strength and Speed. These are innate physical attributes and can be easily expressed by some peoples or expressed in a more difficult fashion through the expenditure of energies by others. A Ninja, though normally only capable of Speed and Endurance, is able to spend chakra to grant themselves reactionary abilities on par with a Cypher for a short period of time. There are then three further Tiers, though these are far from baseline and in fact I am somewhat surprised that you have heard of them. These are Chakra, Nature and Spirit Tiers. Little research has been done into them as they are only manifested by very specific peoples or sects. Be careful with any rumours you hear however, people are manipulative." Shiro said, leaving that ominously hanging for a moment before moving on. "As for access to the most of these tiers? You are slightly wrong, Keid, though very close. Ronin are capable of the most at four; Strength, Speed, Defense and Endurance. Cypher are capable of three, those being Reaction, Barrier and Speed. As for the least... Thank Amara for shoring up your knowledge, indeed it is Samurai. If they possess one of the primary six styles, they are capable of only one Tier, if they choose to fight styleless they are capable of none naturally. A difficult and strange quirk of Samurai practices."

"Onto the second question. The energy source in question is Stamina also known as Fatigue, a measure of your ability to perform physical efforts without overexerting your body. While yes there are techniques that are capable of increasing the loss of stamina, they do not alter the baseline. Age, however, does. It is shown that those who are very young and very old have lower physical reserves. Additionally, anyone that is incapable of molding chakra tends to have the body adapt to enable them to utilise more physical techniques before tiring. Lastly, Race can have an effect, as it is shown that Zireh are able to exert themselves further than Humans or Nova for example. I find it quite interesting." Shiro looked across everyone and made sure to keep an eye on the ones that had been answering well, maybe they would make a name for themselves.

"Lastly. This was almost entirely a personal opinion. While yes Entity are annoying to utilise Taijutsu against, these days not all of them are intangible. Ronin are difficult to face due to their ability to mimic your Taijutsu, it's true but they are usually far less suited to ranged attacks and seem incapable of copying shurikenjutsu. Cypher have advanced reactionary capabilities but so do some Weaponkin alongside them having the immense physical defenses of Ronin. Some might argue that Samurai are a poor choice to use Taijutsu against due to their speciality in physical attacks using a weapon, something that can be dangerous to block using your body. I simply wished to see which choices you would make." Shiro chuckled quietly before nodding. "You all made fine work of my questions. Please move to the other side of the room and find someone to pair up with, this won't be a spar, it's simply better to have someone able to move the pads to get you accustomed to hitting moving targets." They gave a wave over to the side of the room with a ring and a pile of boxing pads.

As Shiro stood up and began to move, they stopped and turned to look at Tsukasa. "Oh and hello Tsukasa. Next time, please present yourself at the front if you are to be late. I shall let you off with it this once due to it being some of your first classes." They told the strange figure in a cardboard helmet before turning and walking to the other side of the room, leaving frosted boot prints in their wake.

Information:

Though Amara did not look at Shiro when they praised the class, a faint smile graced the Academy Student's lips. It was exciting receiving praise from a superior, she would not be embarrassed by that. She had been so focused on Shiro and their questions that she hadn't even noticed Tsukasa enter the classroom. She looked at the young swordswoman with her head cocked. The two had only met briefly, along with the one-tails Jinchuuriki. Then, she had been in Amara's sealing class as well, though she had been mostly quiet there. Amara made a note to look into her more, this was a perplexing change in the attitude she had displayed upon their first meeting. Hopefully, everything was okay. However, it was time to move on to the next part of the class and Amara rose from her seat to join Shiro and the others on the other side of the classroom. This was the part she looked forward to the least and her stomach knotted with anxiety. She had very little physical capabilities so having to display those in front of others would be nothing short of mortifying. Still, a book wouldn't teach her how to run faster or punch harder, so here she was.

Taking a deep breath, she spotted Keid and approached him before someone else could, Do you have a partner? I was able to see a lot from your spar with Shou a few days ago, but I'd love to get a thorough assessment of the Kyougan up close and personal if it's alright with you. She picked up some pads and tested their softness and ability to resist impact by giving them some light squeezes while she waited for Keid. They'd muffle the blows of most Academy Students, but anyone who went hard enough or was strong enough could go right through them. She hoped the unnatural strength possible with the Kyougan wasn't something Keid had mastered just yet.

Technique Chosen:

Tsukasa grumbled as it seemed she was completely caught out. First a peculiar little Faunus was waving far too enthusiastically for someone who had never met her before, then Tutor Shiro called her out for her late entrance. Alright, that last one was honestly fair. But with a sigh, she pulled the box from her head and set it aside. Even if she still felt naked without her sword. But this was not the class for that. She turned back towards Shiro with a slight bow of her head, "My apologies,"

Knowing she was seen, once the class was requested to move to one side she would give a slight wave more directly at Amara as it was certainly not the first time meet them. She let them be though as they already looked to pair with someone else, which as she did not know any other, she climbed herself to a portion of the ring, not entirely sure what to expect from the others in the class. And yet, a slight smirk crossed her legs as she cracked her knuckles. All her secret training, and there was no repercussions this time to learning this branch.

Keid shrugged at his error, he was, after all, primary a Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu specialist, and was most familiar with the tiers associated with those arts. Tiers beyond his immediate grasp were good to know certainly, but neither were they essential with the current him. What he was mroe concerned about was the answers to the second and third questions, the responses to which he carefully noted down for future reference. If his training continued at this current course, it would be time to be going on more dangerous missions sooner rather than later, and he wanted to be prepared.

Just as Keid finished his copying, Amara's voice caused his head to shoot up, an easy grin spreading across his face. "Of course Amara! I'd be happy to show you what I could do." He replied, swinging under the ropes and into the practice ring with casual ease. After some stretches, Keid took the Vanguard Fist's opening stance, hands held loosely in front of him even as his eyes bled to blue. The increased visual acuity the Dojutsu granted him made Amara's tense anxiousness all too clear to the Mishura. Therefore he began relatively ease, deliberately pulling most of his punches so as to not blow completely through the practice gloves with the sheer physical might the Flame Eye granted him. Despite this, Keid's physicality in this state was no joke, especially when boosted by the Vanguard Fist's tyrannical nature. For now however, Keid's focus was on feeling out the intricacies of the Vanguard Fist, firing punch after punch into Amara's guard.

Spoiler:

Mika noted down the answers as she sat there listening to them, though when the point came up that those unable to mold Chakra had larger reserves, she stopped for a moment and looked up, she didn't really know this, but it was good to find out, maybe that's why she never seemed to really run out of energy? or perhaps she was thinking to generally about this, Regardless she nodded slowly as she took more notes.

With the notes finished she looked up as the instructor said they should all move to the other side and pair up, Nodding Mika hopped out of her seat with a flutter of her wings and flew over to the other side of the room, looking at everyone present wondering who to pair up with, a smile on her face as she landed next to Tsukasa, Mika's Solid red eyes looking up at the  taller girl her head tilted to the side as her antenna twitched a bit with curiosity, all four arms behind her back. "Hello there I'm Mika! Nice to Meet you. Did you need a partner?" she asked with a smile on her pale lips, the small moth was at least two feet shorter then the girl. Her little Moth Tail wriggling as she talked to the girl.

Spoiler:

Once everyone seemed to have teamed up, Shiro stood nearby and took a look across everyone before slowing panning their head back to stare at Keid. There was a flash as their arm slid out from under their coat and a single gleaming red marker flew out like a kunai out of hell at Blinding Light speeds, aimed directly at Keid's forehead. It wouldn't do any actual damage, it would only hurt as it bounced off his skull. As Shiro brought their hand back under their coat it'd be obvious that there was a large array of whiteboard markers hidden under there where kunai and shuriken would usually be stored. "Keid, at what point did I say that Dojutsu were allowed in my class? I am teaching you about Taijutsu, the benefits of your ancestry do not apply in my classroom, do you understand?"

After giving the boy a moment to listen and comply, Shiro cleared their throat and then spoke to everyone else. "Keep it simple with each other. I would like to see fifty punches of any form, then fifty kicks and then swap over and repeat. Do three sets of this. Keid, once you are done with your sets, I would also like you to do fifty push-ups and fifty sit-ups as your punishment." This was another of Shiro's little tests but they weren't going to make anything about that obvious. "If you have questions or wish to practice a specific style alongside your punches or kicks, then you are free to do so or to ask me your questions. If you actually hit your partner at any point, the entire set is considered failed and you must repeat it, learn to co-ordinate or at the very least match your tiers so that you aren't going overboard on them. Also, only Taijutsu is allowed, if your ancestry allows for anything additional, do not utilise it, focus and suppress it. Now, begin." Shiro said and sat down, pulling their book out once more.

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Tsukasa was mostly just spacing out, looking towards the window whilst running little drills in her mind. She would occassionally look back through the room, and in such a short space of time, she suddenly had someone right up next to her. She was admittedly a little taken back. Especially as it was the same Faunus girl who was waving ecstatically when she tried to sneak in. "It's... very nice to meet you Mika." She unfolded her own arms, and instead crossed them behind her back, unable to break the old habits of formal meetings with her back straight and her gaze perfectly level with the smaller girls'. "My name is Tsukasa Sakurai, the Valiant Knight to one day serve the people of this Republic. It would be my honour to spar with you today and see my future prospective Companions abilities. I must warn I am..." The stoic attitude very gradually began to melt as a blush crept across her cheeks, nervously scratching with her ring finger. "... not the most proficient with taijutsu. However I am most certainly eager to learn from others."

Mika smiled as she looked up at Tsukasa her large red eyes almost sparkling, A knight? was that like a Samurai? She would have to ask some other time, or maybe while they did this exercise, though when the girl said she was honored to spar Mika's antenna twitched a bit as her head tilted to the side "Oh we aren't sparring today, I think the instructor said it was moving target training I think using these pads" she said while she rushed over and grabbed two sets slipping all four on to her hands and making sure they fit before returning to Tsukasa, then she heard the teacher mention the exercise they were meant to do and she nodded a bit before looking back to the taller girl.

"Okay so fifty punches and then fifty kicks, then you take the pads... oh also what's a Knight? is it like a Samurai? Sorry I don't know overly much about the republic my family only moved into it not to long ago. Oh and don't worry about not being proficient it's why we are here in the class to learn right!" she finished with the same always cheerful tone as she moved a bit away to give her room to take her swings and the like, as her four gloved hands spread out so she could match her strikes.

Amara cocked her head to the side with a smile as Keid agreed to practice with her. Excellent! She said, retrieving some sparring pads for her arms. The first few hits surprised her and she let Keid know this with a few grunts as he struck her padded hands. Interesting. So even at a young age and relatively unpracticed level of Kyougan use, there's still a considerably noticeable uptick in the user's strength. Amara thought as she moved her hands about to create new targets for Keid to react to. Those could be useful. Terrence interrupted her thoughts with some of his own. The same predatorial, almost hunger-like tone in his disembodied voice. She shook her head, ignoring him as best she could just as Shiro sensei launched a projectile at Keid. Amara hadn't even seen it coming. One moment they were sparring, the next Shiro had said something and then Keid was struck.

Amara suppressed a snicker at the overall comedy of the situation. She didn't want to see her friend hurt, though she doubted it had really hurt anything more than his pride, but a marker being used as a projectile had a certain level of hilarity to it that couldn't be ignored. She managed to suppress her giggles to a simple smirk and glimmer in her eyes. Oh! Shiro-sensei? As an Inkan, my natural tiers rely mostly on my shape-weaving abilities. How should I train that if we're not allowed to use techniques other than taijutsu? Specifically, I'd like to increase the speed at which I can create my shapes.

One second Keid was happily sparing with Amara, and the next moment his forehead was stinging something fierce as a dry-erase marker struck his head at a speed that defied physics itself, far beyond anything the Mishura could hope to react to even at his maximum output. Something flickered deep in Keid's blue eyes, hints of repressed anger arising before the boy pushed them back down. "Apologies Shiro-sensei, I didn't hear you say that in the instructions. I will do as you say from now on." Keid said simply, giving the man a quick half-bow ashis eyes returned to their natural state.

Despite the potential for sarcasm in his words, the Mishura seemed perfectly sincere, and only in his thoughts did he dare to complain about the unfairness of it all. If the man didn't want the activation of non-taijutsu-based boosters, then why didn't he say so in the first place! On top of that, forcing the students to only work only on their Taijutsu application while neglecting the actual abilities they would use it alongside on the battlefield seemed like a stupid practice to the Mishura, something even more harmful than the slight unfair advantage such abilities granted in the short term. Despite these thoughts, Keid would obey, in the moment.

After Amara got an answer to her question, Keid would gesture at the pads, "By my count I'm at 15 punches and 3 kicks, should I finish off or do you want a turn?"

"Even Inkan baseline abilities are actually based on your physical abilities. By simply training your physicality you'll be able to naturally enhance your shape-weaving abilities. So for now you train like everyone else, you'll find that you will actually gain benefits from it." Shiro said to Amara, seemingly already done with dealing with Keid, after all there was no point in hammering home the punishment, he had already acquiesced to the demand and that was enough for Shiro. Everyone seemed to be doing well enough and they gave a nod and went back to their book until everyone was done. This was all they really had planned for today and even though it seemed like Shiro wasn't watching they were actually taking in everyone's base abilities to help them in later classes.

"Once you are done with those first two sets, I'd like some solo exercises. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, anything like that. Two sets of fifty once more. Once you're done with that feel free to wrap up and leave the class, I have seen enough for now and we'll expand on things a bit more in the next class." Shiro said with a thumbs up to everyone before focusing intently on their book, they were getting to a really good chapter.

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