In My Own World [T]

[Natsy]

//Enter

The soft moonlight cast a warm glow over the village on this chilly night. Stars dotted the sky like thousands of fireflies covering a field. I could see the milky way galaxy looming in those stars and the sight was actually breathtaking. Despite it was a chilly night, I did not feel cold. In fact, I felt troubled. My mind refused to dispel this thought that consumed my mind ever since that afternoon.

I round a corner, stepping off the main village street and entered into a small alcove approximately twenty minutes away from my home in the village. I was not going home, no. I was moving restlessly toward the field behind my estate so that I could train in peace. The thought that continued to bother me needed to be hung out to dry. Now, perhaps you must be wondering what my thought is; well a few days ago I had met someone in the village and we had fought briefly in the form of a wager.

Now, I will not go into the details of the fight. Instead, what bothered me aside from losing said fight, was the fact that once he had me bound, I could not perform any seals to defend myself in combat. I could have easily crystalised the bastard.. If only I could have performed my handseals. I stop walking, pausing in the middle of the street and glanced down at my hands. I wanted to negate the usage of handseals and enhance my fighting ability by cutting down the time-consuming handseals.

Years ago, I recalled the four Kamyuja - my mother included - using one-handed handseals in order to bind me against my will before storing me beneath the ground for one hundred years. I watched her as she moved gracefully through those everyday handseals with one hand while holding a scroll in the other. I wanted to learn how to do that. But how? I knew all twelve handseals; they are taught to all ninja at the academy. And my mother’s one-handed seals looked like half of a handseal.

Moving again, I reach my estate in less than five minutes and cross the lawn out to the field I had mentioned earlier. The wind picked up my hair and tickled the little hairs on the back of my neck causing me to shiver. I sit down in the centre of the field cross legged and once again stared down at my hands, recalling my mother’s movements as I did so. I will never forget that day, not for as long as I live. So if she could use one handed handseals, then I will too…..

[Natsy]

My first thought went to the Monkey handseal. Ideally the original seal required the ninja to place both their flattened hand upon each other while their thumbs laid flat beneath the pinky fingers. I casually perform the Monkey handseal with both hands first and felt the stir of power inside me. The feeling was so familiar that I barely paid it any attention. But this time, I raise my right hand and flatten all five fingers as if I were to palm the ground.

I feel nothing. No familiar sense of power. Again, I perform the handseal, closing my eyes and picturing my Mother’s hand as she held it out in front of her. But instead of holding it palm facing the ground, she held it vertically as if she was going to high five the person beside her. I frown, but wasn’t the handseal supposed to be done sideways? To test the theory, I attempt the seal again exactly as I had previously.

All five fingers flattened and my palm hovered above my legs as if I were to palm the ground. Yet again, I feel nothing. My thoughts went to trying it Mom’s way. So I close my hand into a fist for a moment and raise it so it’s just beneath my chin. I then open my hand, flattening all fingers so that they point skyward and my palm is facing to the left of me. I hold my hand there for a few moments, just getting the feel of it and that’s when I feel it. That familiar sense of power.

Opening my eyes, I stare at the handseal and close my hand into a fist once more. The sensation disappeared until I performed the seal again. All five fingers flattened and tips pointing skyward. The sensation came back again and this time I felt it becoming stronger. Was my body getting used to the new seal? Or was it my imagination? I drop my hand to my lap and take a few deep breaths to relax myself and to clear my thoughts.

Yet again, I raise my hand and flatten all five fingers. The movement came a little faster this time. It was a simple seal after all. And as if on cue, that familiar sensation of power started to build within my chest and spread throughout my body. This sensation felt right. As did this handseal. The Monkey handseal was a simple seal, and was quite frequently used for jutsu as well. I close my hand into a fist and smile.

0|70

One-Handed Jutsu
Rank: "A"
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: User learns how to perform Jutsus with One Handed Handseals.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Jutsus are normally performed with the use of 2 hands. A Stilled One-Handed Jutsu can be performed with Handseals using 1 Hand. Jutsus without Handseal components are not affected. Jutsu Handseal/Chakra Increase: 0 Rank.
Limit: Must learn from Universal NinJutsu.

[Natsy]

After spending a few more minutes going through the Monkey one-handed seal, I decided to attempt the Dragon handseal. Both my fingers slip into the handseal at once. Swiftly sliding into place as if it were the most natural thing a person could do. Both my pinky fingers were pointing down toward the grass while my thumbs were facing skyward. My left thumb was resting on top of my right while the index, middle and ring fingers were interlocked together. A simple handseal.

Now to half it. I drop my right hand onto my knee and raise my left. To put it bluntly, my fingers cramped up when I attempted the handseal with one hand. My pinky felt stretched as it pointed downward and my index, middle and ring fingers curled inward as if I were clawing someone’s eyes out. My thumb on the other hand remained pointing skyward and was the most unaffected part of my hand. I did not like this handseal at all but I held it for a decent amount of time before wiggling my fingers.

At first I didn’t feel anything. Not like I had when I performed the Monkey one-handed seal. My fingers moved accordingly once again. My pinky facing toward the ground and my inner fingers curling inward and spaced apart slightly. The strain it put on my wrist was unpleasant but it had to be done. My thumb continued to point upward while I held the seal and tried not to think of how uncomfortable it was. A small amount of that feeling flickered to life, but went out almost as quickly.

Well that was better than nothing I guess. Once again I wiggle my fingers, loosening them before repeating the handseal again. I was patient and I was determined to learn this. My pinky moved accordingly, the uncomfortable feeling barely there. Three times does the charm alright. My thumb just seemed to stay where it was, even when I was wiggling my fingers. But it was the three inner fingers that had me feeling icky. Spacing them out and curling them slightly inward and holding the seal firmly was still unpleasant, perhaps that was why the sensation didn’t stay for any longer than a few seconds?

As I hold the handseal, I close my eyes and concentrate. That mystical familiar feeling was there, it was faint but definitely there. I felt that I needed to keep performing this handseal until it no longer felt awkward and unnatural. The bottom section of the seal was alright. And so was the top; it was just the centre part that had me feeling like my fingers were being pulled in awkward directions. I knew that this handseal was not going to be one I will use regularly.

??|70

[Dr. Neuro, RN]

+20

[Natsy]

The Rat handseal. With both hands, it was perhaps one of the easiest handseals to perform. Alone it reminded me very much of the Ram seal. I raise both my hands together and curl in my ring and pinky finger while leaving my thumb on the outside. My other hand is used to cover my index and middle fingers as they remain pointing skyward. That’s the handseal with both hands. Now to attempt it without the left hand.

That familiar sensation of power surged through my body while I held that handseal. And as I drop my left hand to my lap, I wiggle the fingers on my right hand before curling in my ring and pinky fingers into my palm. My index and middle fingers remained facing skyward while my thumb stuck out facing my chest. It reminded me a bit of a makeshift gun that I was blowing off after firing.

Lucky for me, I began feeling that familiar sensation creeping up within my core. The sensation was more prominent than with the other handseals I’ve performed, so maybe I was doing this one correctly? Breaking the handseal, I attempt it once again while closing my eyes. The sensations that wash over me feel wonderful whenever I get that power surge. It feels like a miniature electric shock before it dies out into a small yet steady hum.

I point both my index and middle fingers heavenward while my thumb points out toward my chest. I hold my actual hand out in front of me and study it as my ring and pinky fingers curl inward into my palm. Such a simple move, yet something that could quite easily trigger some of the most powerful jutsu known to man. I enjoyed the sensations my chakra provides whenever I perform a handseal and even with one as easy as this.

The sensation floats through my body and surges straight from my stomach. I could feel it pulsing through my chest and entering my arm before pooling around in my hand as it remained in the Rat handseal. And as I hold the seal for a few more minutes, I smiled and dropped my hand into my lap once again before moving on to the next handseal in the list. The Bird seal.

20|70

[Dr. Neuro, RN]

+10

[Natsy]

So the bird handseal consisted of all fingertips touching except for the ring fingers as they curled inward to the palm between both hands. Seeing the handseal with my own two hands enabled me to remove one hand so I could see what the one-handed seal looked like. So I wiggled the fingers of my right hand before straightening my index, middle and pinky fingers so the tips pointed semi-skyward and my ring finger curled inward to the palm.

The surge of chakra moved through my body at the handseal which told me my body was finally understanding what I was attempting to accomplish. With a smile I move onto the Snake handseal which was perhaps the easiest seal out of them all. I didn’t even bother attempting the seal with both hands and instead changed my right hand - which still held the bird seal, and curled all five fingers inward like that of a claw.

A pretty simple handseal indeed. The answering chakra surge moved throughout my body was enough for me to move onto the next handseal, the Ox. With both hands, my right hand was facing vertically while my left hand was horizontal, fingers splayed open. My ring and middle finger on my right hand folded inward and rested upon the back of my left hand. So I remove my left hand and leave my right hand in position with the ring and middle fingers still bent inward.

30|70

[Natsy]

Dog. Another easy handseal. All I had to do was a fist with my right hand and hold it horizontally. Whenever my chakra surged through me, answering the change of the handseal, I began to recognize the different changes in my chakra according to the handseal. The surges move throughout my body and start sometimes in different places. So as I switched from doing the Dog handseal to the Horse I paused briefly to remember what it looked like.

My index finger remained straight while my middle, ring and pinky fingers curled inward like that of a claw. My thumb remained bent inward as well but closer toward my index finger. As uncomfortable as the handseal felt to me, I felt the surge of chakra move through my veins before I quickly relaxed and wiggled my fingers. “Monkey, Dragon, Rat, Bird, Snake, Ox, Dog and Horse.” I muttered to myself. This meant I had Tiger, Boar, Hare and Ram left to do.

Holding my right hand out before me, I curled my ring and pinky fingers inward while leaving my thumbs, index and middle fingers pointing skyward. Now if I were to do this handseal with both hands, my first three fingers would form a pyramid. So half that and that forms the Tiger handseal. Pretty simple. As my chakra moved through my body yet again, I knew that I was now past half way to completing them all.

??|70

[Natsy]

Boar was always a strange handseal to me. Curling all fingers inward so that my fingertips were all touching my palm. My thumb would also curl inward and rest against the side of my index finger. While my wrist would pivot around, turning my hand as it did so. Now that my knuckles were facing toward the ground, my right elbow stuck out to the side while I held my hand closer to my body.

Yet again, that familiar surge coursed through me, urging me onto the next handseal. For the Ram handseal, I curl in my pinky and ring finger so that the tips are touching my palm. My middle and index fingers point upward and my thumb rests beside my index finger, also pointing skyward. I hold the seal for a few moments, allowing the chakra to recognize the handseal before I release the handseal and wiggle my fingers.

And last but not least, the Hare handseal. Aside from my pinky finger, all of my fingers were curled in gently, resting horizontally just before me. So with all twelve handseals done, I wiggled my fingers and stretched my arms and stood up. I had been sitting here for at least an hour, going through each handseal and needed to stretch. But to truly master this little technique, I needed to do them all after the other just to make sure I remember them.

??|70

[Skulking Shinzu]

+30 TP.