Meikei Garden Training Ground

The trainer did not appear hurt but Aaron was breathing heavily. His body still was not conditioned to handle so much Taijutsu. "You'll use a dummy this time," he said. "Each failure earns you kick to your back." Aaron whimpered quietly. He really missed his scroll. Aaron turned to watch as the trainer approached one of the dummy's whose head was very flexible.

He assumed the stance and Aaron copied him facing a similar dummy. Aaron looked over to see the trainer put fabric over the dummy. He also passed Aaron to shirt, and Aaron followed suit. Taking a few steps back the trainer reassumed the stance. Aaron watched closely as he took a quick step forward extending his left hand to grab the shirt like a snapping turtle grabbing its meal. As his left hand reached for the shirt, he was already bringing his right hand around turning the cup to a fist as it made impact with the head of the dummy. The dummy's head swung back but due to the grip on the shirt the dummy itself did not move. As the head came forward the man had already brought his fist back swinging it forward again. It went from cup to fist sending the head back. Quicker now he did it again and again as the head bobbed back and forth until his hand was a blur and the dummy finally fell to the ground forcing the man to let go. Aaron saw why the teacher practiced on the dummy. A dummy was much safer than him. He shuddered at the mere thought of what he would look like after such an attack. "Now it's your turn," he said turning to watch.

Aaron did not want to disappoint. He started several feet away from the dummy and assumed the Advanced Iron Fist stance. Quick as lightning, his speed had really started to improve, he closed to the dummy and grabbed the t-shirt with his right hand. His left hand already brought back he punched the dummy and its head flew back, though not quite as far as the masters. Aaron tried to copy what he saw bringing his left arm back and going from cup to fist to hit the dummy again. He did, landing another solid impact. His arm swung back easily from the impact and he brought it forward slightly faster. However, his hand missed slightly and only partially hit the head. It was not a dead on attack and the dummy barely responded. Aaron felt a powerful kick hit his back, which brought him to his knees. "Only direct hits. I want to see at least five punches."

Aaron nodded, wincing slightly from the impact. His trainer was tough and definitely would leave bruise on him before he was done. Aaron resumed the stance starting several feet back yet again. Closing the distance, Aaron grabbed the shirt with his right hand and swung his already moving fist forward. It collided square on sending the head back. Using the momentum from that impact he went from fist to cup as his hand came back and then fist as he hit the dummy's head again. Faster this time his hand came back and smashed the dummy's face. The fourth time was an even faster hit. The fifth hit was almost square on and the dummy's head moved but the momentum was gone. Aaron received another kick to the back. "You must knock him to the ground," he said.

Aaron redid the stance and charged the dummy. He punched the dummy's head hard so that a snap could be heard. As the head slowly rebound from the strong impact he brought his cupped hand forward again and punched with a fist. Faster his hand came back only to spring forward against the dummy's soft fleshy mesh face. Quicker and quicker the momentum really did build as Aaron attacked it over and over until finally he brought his hand back and forward so fast that he felt that the dummy would nearly fall over. At this point he let go of the shirt and watched as it leaned, leaned and for a tense second more leaned back before finally falling down. Aaron had done it. "Well done," the master said. "You earned the right to know this technique's name: the Inazuma Kakato Geki. One warning if your initial punch hesitates or your opponent dodges the attack is meaningless and easily countered. Now do it again with your other hand."

Aaron sighed but he could not say no. Fortunately, he got it on his first try for he had memorized it well with his left fist. "Next attack," was all the man said in response.

Aaron was surprised at how quickly he was learning these attacks. A trainer really did help, but the impacts definitely left an impact on the body. Aaron's back was killing him and sweat poured profusely from his face. It was an exhausting day with his whole body sore. The Goken master directed Aaron to one of the walls of the garden, where earth release practice typically was. "Watch carefully," he said. Aaron nodded, suppressing a sigh. He wanted a break or a rest but it looked like he would not get one as the day wore on. Aaron watched as the instructor approached the stone wall.

From the Gouken no Kamae Bansu the instructor pushed off with his left leg jumping high into the air and towards the wall. Twisting his body he kicked off the wall with both legs extending his right leg as he headed towards the ground. The right leg made contact with the ground and the earth shook as a crater appeared. It looked like a painful attack. Using the left leg, he balanced himself as he impacted so that he was able to stand right back up as if it were nothing. It was a powerful attack. "Bring me that dummy," he said pointing to one of the dummies meters away. Aaron sighed. Powerful attack or not, it looked like he would not be practicing yet.

Aaron struggled to drag one of the more fleshy dummies to where he pointed, on a patch of earth next to the wall. "I'll show it only once more," he said. Aaron took a few steps back as the man formed the Advanced Iron Fist stance. The man lunged forward kicking off with both feet this time headed straight for the wall. His height was high enough to be twice the height of the dummy. Using both legs, he was showing another way to do the attack, to push off against the wall he twisted his body around so that as he came down to the earth his right leg connected with the head of the dummy. The crack was the loudest Aaron ever heard as the dummy splintered, pushed into the ground. The impact was great enough to create a crater. The dummy was now worthless as the man spun and landed nearby. "To master the Ryuujin Kyaku will prove your ability to advance in Goken. Now move that dummy and begin practicing."

Aaron felt exhausted and every muscle hurt. Perhaps he could stop after this move. He gathered the pieces of the dummy and moved them out of the crater so he could practice. Not yet ready to grab a new dummy, he assumed the Iron Fist stance (Advanced). Smashing a new dummy without practicing could lead to a massive injury on his part. From stance to kick Aaron lunged up into the air kicking off with both legs. As he hit the wall, he emitted chakra to his feet so he could steady himself. Kicking off he spun his body so that his left leg was extended and going to collide with the earth in a big impact. His landing was a success and the earth shook but no crater formed. "Failed," the teacher said. "No chakra in your attack. Do it again."

Wilting, Aaron looked helplessly at the instructor. His stern face made Aaron quickly turn away. Guess he had no choice. He resumed the Advanced Iron Fist stance. Kicking off he collided with the wall and using the leverage charged head first into the ground landing with a resounding thud; an epic failure. Again Aaron kicked off the ground and hit the wall with a massive impact. With no chakra he kicked off turning his body around and extended his leg. He crashed down creating a slight impact. It was a little progress. Aaron would try repeatedly over the next couple hours making slow but steady progress until finally the instructor, "Bring over a dummy."

The teacher seemed to enjoy forcing Aaron to do everything so Aaron took a dummy, brought it to the crater and assumed the stance. He jumped forward, high into the air and hit the wall. Spinning his body he turned to see the dummy come at him as he brought his leg down in a massive impact. It forced the dummy to kneel, which was not as splendid as the master's attack but still impressive. Had it hit a real person, several bones would have broken. Aaron would try several more times over the next hour, practicing against the dummy until he could attack it in his sleep. His attacks were not getting any stronger, however. Finally the trainer said, "Enough. You know the move but lack the strength. When you train your body, your attack will grow."

"Yes master," Aaron said.

"I am here once a week. Be here if you want to learn true Goken. Now rest," he said quickly and emotionlessly.

Before Aaron could utter a reply, the trainer disappeared in the blink of an eye. Aaron could not deny the benefits of the trainer. He had learned several new moves but his entire body ached from his toes to his head. Taking a big breath, Aaron fell to his knees no longer able to stand. Only his pride had kept him from collapsing when the trainer was there. Crawling on hands and knees he worked his way to his gourd and the plethora of flowers. Was the master worth it? Yes, he was. Still Aaron would prefer not to be at the breaking point. He thought it was time for a break from Goken for a while. Aaron drifted off to sleep where he lay without eating. At some point he would need to eat more honey for strength. A real meal would be better as he had not had one in weeks but honey sustained him due to the bees that dwelt within him.

Day turned to night and night to day as Aaron slept. When he woke it was mid-day, and he realized his body could move if he took it slow. Recalling all bees in the garden he picked up his gourd and headed for the mansion.

[Exit to Mansion]

[Enter]
The garden looked the same as when he left except new dummies stood where the destroyed ones used too and the cratered earth had been repaired. He hoped he would not get a bill for the damages. Aaron could only imagine if he had practiced Honey Clone here. The whole garden would be engulfed in honey and no one would be able to train.

Alone, Aaron sat next to the beehive. It was supposed to be empty but it looked like some of his gourd bees had migrated over when he had not been paying attention. Interesting. At the rate bees were being planted, he would amass an army in no time. Leaving the hive bees alone, he called forth a bee while biting his right incisor. The bee stung and the blood dripped on the scroll seal at the same time. After a pause the scroll unraveled. He still had not been trapped in a genjutsu. It made him proud of his ability. Reading the scroll it revealed:

(0 / 30)

Another honey jutsu. Well at least this one won't make the room unusable. Aaron looked at the dummies choosing his victim carefully. The one on the far right had a smirk on its face. It would be his target. Aaron read the scroll some more. Four handseals – Tiger, Dragon, Ox, Tiger – were required. Aaron would at some point need to find out why a jutsu that starts with one seal would end with the same seal. Still the seals were basic enough. Aaron would try several dry runs of the jutsu without chakra.

"Tiger, Dragon, Ox, Tiger, Hachimichi jutsu," Aaron spoke quickly as he formed the handseals. His fingers slipped as he moved from dragon to tiger seal. It was a good thing he had not used chakra. Missing a seal could lead to awkward results, and Aaron did not intend to find out what those results were. He formed the seals again. This time flawlessly. Aaron would continue to practice the four handseals until he could do them in his sleep. It would take another couple dozen formations and verbally speaking the seals before Aaron felt he had optimized the speed. How fast one cast a jutsu could determine life and death in battle, and Aaron would much rather live.

By practicing seals without chakra, Aaron could conserve it building his chakra reserves. It was a genius idea or so he thought. The clan would be proud. Thinking of his clan made him miss having a teacher. It was difficult learning jutus by scroll alone. A teacher would make things faster and more efficient, but he was out of luck. The clan was to small and scattered now. Shoving aside the dreary thoughts Aaron resumed training. It was time to try the Hachimichi with charka.

Sitting peacefully on the soft ground while the warm sun and blowing breeze blew across the garden Aaron enjoyed the quiet. The ramen and sandwich were delectable. Aaron had a new plan of training as he finished his meal. He would remain seated while performing and speaking the seals. Putting aside the tray Aaron sat Indian style. Why had he never thought of this before? Aaron merely shrugged at his thought as he formed and spoke, "Tiger, Dragon, Ox, Tiger" releasing chakra. Two bees emerged only to look like honey again. Aaron sighed. Guess he would have to stand when he cast the jutsu.

Aaron stood up and moved away from the tray. It was good food. Aaron looked hard at the smirking dummy only partially covered in honey. Obliterating that smirk would make Aaron enjoy the beautiful day even more. Forming the four handseals Aaron called forth the bees to see them once again look like honey, not bees. Directing the bees away Aaron was now steamed. He wanted to enjoy the day, not fix the honey looking bees. Perhaps he missed something in the scroll.

Looking at the scroll again, Aaron was unable to come up with any ideas on why he had that one early success. With an irritated sigh he looked at the dummy, that irritating smirking dummy. He would have to think outside of the box. How did the jutsu work? Aaron focused hard on what was happening when he performed the seals. Time passed and the sun moved across the horizon as it came to him. The bees were coming from his body filled with honey rather than poison, which meant the handseals and chakra were designed to change the bees themselves. That might be it. Aaron thought it through once again, and it seemed to make sense.

This time he knew he would succeed. Forming and speaking the handsigns, Aaron emitted his chakra differently. Before he was releasing it outward as the bees emerged. For some reason when he did that they would be all honey. By focusing his chakra specifically on the few bees before they even slipped out the holes in his skin, they would hopefully be normal looking bees. Aaron was not disappointed. The five bees he produced were identical to normal bees. Now it was test time. Directing two to the neck, one to the groin, one to the abdomen and the final one to the smirking smile of the dummy, Aaron had them charge at full speed. Impacting in bursts of honey the bees splattered the dummy in sticky goo. The amount of honey released was greater than when it was a honey looking bee. If that dummy were a real person it would be in extreme discomfort.

{14 / 30}

Taking a breather Aaron thought it through. He had emitted a massive amount of chakra in the prior successful release. Large chakra emissions were not his style, however. He had to repeat his new style to make sure it was not a fluke. Forming the "Tiger, Dragon, Ox, Tiger" handseals and speaking them clearly and quickly, Aaron directed chakra to envelop several bees before they emerged from him. The bees looked ordinary as they emerged. Seeing the gooey smirk on the dummy Aaron directed all five to crash into the smile. The resulting honey splash was not only large enough to cover the entire dummy in honey but it splattered the dummy next to it. Aaron finally smiled, looking at the dummy. His method was vastly superior in chakra conservation than his first method and produced better results.

With a low chakra level Aaron knew he had enough for only one more try. It was time to deceive the enemy with the jutsu. Aaron took several breaths and stood straight up. Aaron formed the handseals, and as he spoke the last, "Tiger," concentrated his chakra on the several bees that would emerge from his sleeves. As he did so, he also opened his mouth releasing a swarm of bees. The secret honeybees emerging from the sleeves blended with the bees coming from his mouth. Impossible to discern the difference, the enemy would see handsigns and an armada of bees. It should confuse him and make him think that they are all special. Aaron sent the honey bees forward with half the swarm letting a real bee sting the dummy. Recalling that one a honey bee impacted and splattered the dummy. Aaron nodded his satisfaction. With different variations he would be fooling many people.

His chakra was to low to carry out anymore jutsu. Aaron had to sit down. Several bees, however, remained in the air. They were the honeybees and couldn't be recalled. Since the dummy was satisfactorily sticky and dunked in honey, he let the honeybees fly up and out of the garden to impact on the first non-mansion thing they encountered. Lying down Aaron heard someone scream. Uh oh. Aaron whistled innocently as he went to lie next to the flowers. He was sure the woman was okay. He just would not think about it. Outside, unknown to Aaron, a woman who had just come up to the mansion would be splattered in honey unable to move right outside. Aaron had peaceful dreams as he lay among the flowers.

|.Learned.|