"Am-" Horror filled the young girl as she stuttered out a response to having her entire life flipped on it's head. Would she truly have to live as recluse for the rest of her days? "-Am I doing it now? Exuding pressure I mean?"
"Yes." Iori said gravely, before smiling a bit," This pressure you exude, is a constant thing. It happens even while you sleep. It's your literal heart beating, something taken care entirely by your own self-consciousness."
"Then…" She hedged a sense of defeat welling up deep inside her being," How can I...turn it off? Is there an on and off switch? Some technique that allows me to atleast shield other people from it?"
"To answer your question in order," Yasaka butt in after emptying yet another cup with an audible sigh of contentment," Turning off your Divine Pressure while possible, isn't recommended. Ki is in all living things. From the plants we walk upon, to the insects in the air to the very Earth itself. It truly shines when when used internally, so controlling automatic functions in the body is mere child's-play."
Just as Kunou's large ears perked up, they fell back in place after her mother's next words.
"But, as I said. It's not recommended. There are techniques out there that specializes precisely in controlling the body to an incredibly fine degree. To the point of actual shape-shifting without the use of magic. It's considered an Unorthodox technique and long burned after the purge. But even they were wary of actually turning off their Divine Pressure. What happens to your Ki when you're sick?"
"It.." She didn't know if this was another one of her mother's trick questions or not but given how the woman didn't seem inclined to continue speaking, she figured it was for the best to just humor her," Slows? Becomes more erratic?"
"Exactly." Yasaka nodded, tails inching their way to the steaming teapot like a snake in the grass," The way your Ki flows is a direct representative of your current bodily state. Anything can affect it; getting injured or sick will all have an impact. What do you think happens when one of your organs stop working?"
"My Ki would stop flowing to that area entirely.." The young kitsune fell in thought as everything clicked into place," And because of the channels, it would be like a damn in my own energy circulation. Meaning…"
"You would," The older woman finished for the horror stricken girl, throwing her arms out wide with a somewhat cheery expression," Go Boom! And given how strong your channels are, it wouldn't take long either. Maybe a few seconds at most."
"Does that mean I'll explode if any of my organs are ever damaged?!"
Kunou nearly jumped to her feet in freight, being nothing like fox in that moment. More like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"She's using an extreme example." Iori cut in before anything else could be said," If you try to forcibly restrict your Divine Pressure, it'll put so much stress on your Organs that'll stop the flow Ki entirely. Hold that long enough and yes, you will definitely explode. But just having your Organs damaged won't fully stop the pressure it gives off. Diminishing it until it heals."
"Oh," The girl slumped in relief as his words, a mantle of exhaustion fell on her shoulders at the repeated ups and downs this conversation had taken. Now all she wanted to do was stuff herself full and pass out, leaving all her problems for her future self. But judging from the stance both the adults had taken, she wouldn't be getting out without putting some work in," Thank you Master Yamato for being so patient with this me. If I cannot turn off this...Divine Pressure, then what else can I do about it?"
"It's a rather simple method," He said," While trying to turn it off will have disastrous effects, simply restricting it's range is more than enough. It's common for most Practitioners to pull the pressure to just above under their skin in polite company and just above in less hospitable meetings. Usually leaving the full brunt of their pressure to combat situations only."
"He's making it seem like a mundane skill." Yasaka spoke up, throwing a mock glare in the immortal's direction," Our ability to retract and expel Divine Pressure while seeming simple, is only so in the beginning. Ancient Practitioners have this inborn trait to always turn anything into a weapon, and Divine Pressure is no different. Observe."
The beautiful golden tailed Kitsune outstretched a singular tail to a nearby boulder and suddenly Kunou felt immense pressure press down on her entire being for just a moment. In that moment, she could practically hear that fox growl menacingly in her ear. It's large frame covering her completely in it's bulk, silken fur rustling under the force. More like a suit of armor than anything else, she watched on as the boulder crumbled into a pile of finely crushed sand.
It happened so fast that she had just blinked once and missed the process in that split microsecond. Her lungs seized at the pure power displayed with such casual ease, a certainty that the boulder's position could easily be changed by hers. There wasn't even a hint of Ki being used from what she could tell, just pure force. Undetectable destruction.
If this was the power of Ancient Practitioners, then no wonder they were stamped out so thoroughly…
"That is something you be able to achieve with only a single Divine Organ." Yasaka puffed her substantial chest out in obvious pride," And if you train your Divine Pressure soon, by the time you get to my age there truly won't anywhere that you won't be able to go."
The power Kunou now had at her finger tips already had made her wary of her head growing too big, but it seemed she had been much too naive.
'My head's going to get soooo big…'
She could see why Iori had warned her of that arrogance, it would be a constant struggle if she could do things like that.
"I will not be teaching you that." Iori said," I will only teach you how to retract and expand your Divine Pressure. What you do afterwards is truly none of my concern."
That made the girl's burgeoning images of her standing atop the world with a multitude of supernatural races bowing to her reverence crumble into simply that. A fantasy. She looked at the man before her with an obvious question at the tip of tongue. He didn't seem like the type of person to disdain something this heavily without reason, but she didn't know if it would be considered rude or prodding to do so. While Iori had been very forefront with his teachings, that seemed a bit too valuable to her, he had been pretty cagey on his own personal life. Only really getting a peak at the who the man truly was when her mother was around and even then, a lot of things just went right over her head most of the time.
She had no idea how he would react to her stepping out of those unspoken boundaries but maybe if she could at it from an academic angle…
"Don't mind Master, Kunou-chan," Yasaka rubbed at the girl's slightly damped hair with a fond expression on her face," He has his own set of beliefs and doctrines that he abides by. You too will need them, especially when you become old like your mother. Otherwise anyone whose anyone will be able to sway and take advantage of you. And slowly, these beliefs will mold you and affect your power on some level."
"I understand." Kunou nodded in thought, not even fully registering the gentle head rubs. "I think anyway."
"It's no problem for now." Her larges fluttered slightly in the breeze, the golden rays of light hitting her hair and setting it ablaze," That's something you won't have to worry about for awhile."
Iori only looked on with a calm smile on his face, fading into the background at the touching moment of both mother and daughter. It honestly made Kunou blush in embarrassment and push her overly affectionate mother away.
"Wha-"
"What do I need to do?"
The girl interrupted the suddenly pouting blonde before she could start her little show. If given the chance, Yasaka would most assuredly blow this up into something much more embarrassing.
"This will not be a quick process." Iori warned, also ignoring the squawking woman with practiced ease. "Even the most talented of Practitioners took months to retract their Divine Pressure to an acceptable radius. Before you clear out your next organ, you need to be able to retract it to just under your skin. I will not accept anything else."
"Of course Master Yamato." Kunou bowed in place, also not wanting to accidentally killing someone because they bumped into her," I will try to meet your expectations!"
"Good." He nodded," Then we'll start now. First I want you to imagine…."