Seeing Through Glass Eyes (Training)

[lash]

This post is going to be the training post for Hitogoroshi Lash. I'll use it for multiple purposes. I will do any and all training here (besides in missions). As such, I will post what I plan to be doing currently in Bold Italics[/i] at the top of the post.

The Calling of the Mirror of God [/i]

Lash walked back into his Clan's territory the night after graduating from the exam with exhubilance. He was an official Shinobi of the Hidden Village of Cloud, and was now officially an Adult of the Hitogoroshi Clan. He was excited- more so than he had ever been. Because he was an adult, he would now be taught how to summon the Kagame no Tenshu, the Mirror of God, and to master it's power. He would finally begin his true training as a shinobi. He would finally start on the road to power.

He walked into his home displaying his headband with a smirk on his face. Several members of the Clan were waiting inside with a surprise party- they had not doubted that he would pass his exam. They cheered and threw confetti. Food and drink were served, and merryment insued. The party lasted well into nightfall and by the time that everyone left, Lash felt exhausted. Wishing his family good night, he went to sleep.

He was awoken at first light by his father. "Son, it is time you are taught the secrets of our clan. You are to be taught to summon the Kagame no Tenshu. Now, hurry. Get dressed. I'll expect to see you in the Fields of Lightning within an hour. That gives you time to eat and prepare yourself. This wont be an easy day for you." With that, his father walked out of the room.

Sitting up in his bed, Lash stretched and yawned for a few moments before rolling out of the bed. Landing on the toes of his feet, he almost lost his balance until a not-so-graceful arm flailed out and grabbed his dresser. He threw on his usual garb, except this time putting on a dark blue robe. "I graduated- I can wear this now without it being a special occasion. And isn't this a special occasion, anyways?" he thought. He still had his regular clothes on under it, just in case things began to get too rough.

He had watched as his brother had gone through this training. It was grueling. First, he would have to spar with several members of the Clan. "The mind cannot work when the body is not prepared." That was one of the main mottos of the clan, and any bit of training always started with Taijutsu training. Then, after he had been proficiently beaten with wooden Wakazashis, he would be forced to endure the testing of his Kagame no Reikon against Genjutsu. He would be forced to master the Kai technique here, or to prove that he had mastery over it. Lash was confident at this part though. At the Acadamy he had been the best at fighting against Genjutsu. And then, finally, after all of that, they would begin training in the seals that would create the Kagame no Tenshu.

Shaking his head, Lash walked into the kitchen and sat down. His mother hurried over with a plate full of bacon and eggs, toast, juice of several varities, and fruit of the kind of oranges. Lash smiled. He knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His mom would always cook for him, but she wouldn't ever prepare such a feast again. Chowing down, he reached the end of his plate in a few minutes and thanked his mother.

Standing up, he stretched again before walking to the door. Before exiting, he grabbed his wooden Wakazashi from the closet door next to the main door. Walking out into the very early morning light sent shivers down Lash's spine. He hadn't come out this early very often. Taking a note at where the sun was, Lash panicked as he realized he had thirty minutes to walk about ten mines. Deciding that he wasn't going to risk it, Lash takes off in a jog towards the Fields of Lightning. He interchanged jogging with sprinting, alternating as his body became accustomed to the moving and the workout.

He reached the Fields with about six minutes to spare. He spotted several of the adult males of the Clan, and one of the females. Not many females were fighting members of the Clan. There were some, though, and they sure as hell weren't about to miss their chance to see the newest member of the clan in action. Lash smiled and waved, and then lowered his hand slowly as nobody waved back at him. He caught somebody whispering to his father, "Are you sure that he is sane? Your other son was crazy. That's what got him killed..."

"Shush. He can hear you," my father replied. Smiling at me, he said, "Welcome, Lash. You're a little bit early. I think the only person we're waiting for is..." He was cut off early as a flash of lightning struck and a member of the clan fell down from the sky. Hitogoroshi Ryoka, the master of the Wakazashi Kagame style. "Well, it appears that he's here. He always enjoyed making a flashy entrance."

With that, all the members of the clan were assembeled. Ryoka walked towards Lash and bowed to him. "Welcome to the Clan, Lash. What you will learn today could perhaps be the most powerful and the most dangerous thing that you'll ever have to learn. We will teach you to fight. We will teach you how to maximize your Kagame no Reikon, and we will teach you to use the Kagame no Tenshu in the strongest ways possible. As I am the elder of this clan, you will spar with me first. You have your wooden Wakazashi, correct?" Without waiting for a nod, he continued. "Good. We will be using those to spar with. Take good notes. I am the Master of the Wakazashi Kagame style, and if you screw up, you could end up dead, even with wooden swords."

Lash gulped. When he heard the words, "Pull out your wakazashi, now," he complied instantly. Ryoka wasn't a person to piss off without good reason. Bowing slightly, Lash waited for a return bow before gripping the hilt of the wooden wakazashi with both hands. Ryoka clicked his tongue in frustration. "No, no, no, boy! Are you an idiot? You only use both hands if you're in the middle of a long stream of offensive manuevers- something you're not even close to being ready for! Grip it with one hand, and hold it loosely. You want to be able to move the sword about if you have to block."

With that said, Ryoka suddenly had a wooden wakazashi in his hand. As suddenly as the weapon appeared, it was flying towards Lash's face and struck him there. Chakra flashed out of the wooden blade and Lash screamed in pain before flying backwards. Touching his right cheek, he felt blood. Ryoka looked down at him and says, "Now you have the marks to fit your name, Lash. Three lashes to the face. They arn't that big, so don't worry. You need something to remind you of your dedication, though. Now, let the true sparring begin."

Lash stood up and ignored the pain, gripping the wakazashi in a loose one-handed grip. Ryoka came froward with a slow slash, and Lash parries it. They dance about, faster and faster, back and forth, until Lash is nearly blinded with sweat. Still, Ryoka looks unphased. "You have some serious work to do on your stamina, Lash. We'll continue this until you can fight me without tiring."

Lash shook his head. They'd be fighting for a long time, then. Probably what Ryoka wanted. For hours there was block after block, dodge after dodge, with Lash never even getting close to being able to put up an offensive front. He played the perfect defensive position, or as perfect as he could make it, and yet at the end of the session with Ryoka, he had bruises all over his body.

"That was actually very good, Lash. You have the potential to be a skilled user the Wakazashi Kagame style... with a lot more training. You probably pass as at least as good as the beginners of the style. That's impressive, considering you've had no training. However, you don't know how to predict or dodge effectively, so we'll have to work on that on a later date. Honestly, I haven't seen potential like yours since..." Shaking his head, Ryoka stops talking and bows. "I'll see you later. At least, I'd better." Narrowing his eyes at Lash, Ryoka took a step backwards and said, "Next!"

His father walked up to him and said, "I think you've had enough taijuts practice. You spent five hours with Ryoka. I doubt that even my stamina would last that long. Then again, he was going easy on you. So, I'll be here to test your Genjutsu. I've heard from the Acadamy that you were the best at dispelling and resisting Genjutsu. Not surprising, considering your Bloodlimit. But how well can you resist them? That's something I need to test. You need to be able to fight the techniques. Let's see how this goes."

After enduring and canceling the techniques Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu, Narakumi no Jutsu, and other not-nice techniques, Lash's father stepped back with a bit of sweat on his face. They had been at it for about three hours themselves, and Lash was on the brink of exhaustion. He fell down onto his knees, breathing heavily, as his father spoke to him, saying, "Lash... that is one of the best displays a new Hitogoroshi has put up in years. You have a real talent. You could become on the best. Don't ever give up." With that, Lash's father walks away, still breathing heavily.

Now, a female of the clan known as Tersa walks forward. "I have been asked to teach you the art of the summoning. The Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Kagame no Tenshu. Why me? Because I'm known to have the most powerful Kagame no Tenshu of the clan, besides Ryoka. So, here's the deal." Tersa draws out a kunai and knicks her finger. "The seals for the technique are as follows: Dog, Dragon, Horse, Ram, Pig, Monkey, and Tiger. Then, throw in a little blood and..." Tersa slams the ground with an open-palm thrust. Tiny black lines full of writing extend outwards, and there is a large puff of smoke. Before Tersa stands a giant mirror with silver chinese dragons worked around the edges. The mirror is glowing a pale blue, and Lash shivers.

Tersa looks over to Lash. "Your turn," she says. Lash takes a kunai from his belt and knicks his thumb. Then, forming the seals Dog, Dragon, Horse, Ram, Pig, Monkey, and Tiger, she slams the ground and proclaims, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Lash felt chakra exit his body and shivered. It was a lot. But he was rewarded.

From the ground in front of him, a rising mirror began to appear, until it towered over Lash at 12 feet tall. The silver around the edges was unworked except for a singular eye at the center top of the mirror. There were gasps, even Tersa took a step back. Nobody had ever previously summoned their mirror on a first try.

Lash caught a whisper, "He is even stronger than his brother, who summoned it in two tries. Let's just hope he isn't as crazy. And let's just hope that if he is crazy, somebody strong enough to counter him arrives." Lash shook his head. What were these people talking about? He had never had a brother. At least, not one that he'd ever seen, talked to, or heard about.

It didn't matter to him, though. He looked into his mirror. And he saw the reflection of somebody that looked remarkably like him, but wasn't his reflection, looking back at him. He spoke, and nobody but Lash heard him. "Hello, kid brother."

[lash]

“Hello, kid brother.”

The words jumped out at Lash. Looking into the mirror’s depths, he saw somebody that could be his brother. “Who are you?” Lash asks. The reply astounded him.

“Who else would I be, kid? I’m your brother. My name was Hitogoroshi Daimo, and I was a Shinobi of the Hidden Village of Cloud. I can show you the past, through the eyes of glass. Would you care to see it?

Lash nodded his head slowly, suddenly aware that it seemed like the rest of the world had stopped. He looked into the mirror again, and his brother gestured towards him, telling him to come closer. “Step into the Kagame no Kuni, the land of the Mirror. And see the world as it was mine. Come see my final moments”


“Daimo-kun! Hurry up!” A girl’s voice cut through the air. Daimo smiled. That was Soira, his lover. Running to catch up with her, Daimo stopped once to admire her beauty from behind. Hearing her call out again, Daimo takes off running once more and doesn’t stop until he reaches the girl. She giggles when he grabs her hand and smiles. “Daimo-kun, you’re so loving. Thank you for coming out here with me today.”

“You know that I’d go anywhere with you, Soira. You’re my life.” Nodding, he and she go walking around the Clan’s section of the Hidden Village of Cloud. Soira wasn’t a Shinobi, but she chose to stay in the village because it was her sister’s dream to become a Shinobi and Soira would always support her sister. Daimo had asked once, “Why do you not wish to be a Shinobi?” The answer had surprised him. “I don’t want to be responsible for the killing of the innocent.” Daimo had shaken his head then and replied, “There are no innocent. Everyone has done something wrong.” Soira just shook her head and kept walking.

Now, Daimo understood. She didn’t want to be a part of those who killed for money, against people who had done nothing to harm him. There was strength in his work, and he had always admired strength. However, there was no heart, and that was something that he felt he needed. His mirror had reflected Sairo’s heart, and he felt determined to grow his own. No matter the consequences.

Grasping Sairo’s hand with more determination, Daimo walked her towards her house and told her good-bye. They kissed, full of passion and love. When they broke the kiss, Daimo looked her in the eyes and said, “Thank you for showing me your heart.” He turned around and walked away, compassion in his heart for the first time in forever.

He reached his Clan’s homes and walked towards his house. Upon reaching it, he entered through the doorway and shut it behind him. He noticed his mother pregnant with her second child. He smiled. He would have a brother. It was then that his father cornered him. “What is this I’ve been hearing? You told the Kage that you were quitting being a Shinobi? You’re the most powerful Shinobi that we’ve had in forever. You summoned your mirror in two tries. You have the potential to be even stronger than Ryoka. And you’re going to throw it all away? What, on some girl?”

Daimo’s fists clenched. “Yes, I’m going to ‘throw’ it all away on some girl. I love her. She actually has compassion. Her life has a meaning. She has trust, and she has love. That’s more than I’ve even received here. Everything in this clan is about becoming the strongest Shinobi. It’s all for the glory of the clan, the strength of the clan. I want something more than that in my life. I want something peaceful. I want to be able to stay at home without having to worry if someone is going to assassinate me because I’m growing too powerful. You know that the other Clans do that. Potential rivals are murdered quickly. What makes you think it wont happen here?”

“It’s simple, you idiot. Everything here is about the glory of the clan. You said it yourself. Do you think that we’re just going to let you throw away all the potential that you have? You’re the strongest we’ve had and the strongest we probably ever will have. You are essential to our growth and strength. Remove you from the picture, and we are back to yet another worthless Clan unable to defend even themselves. Would you have us all die because of your selfishness?”

“Dad… Ryoka is stronger than I’ll ever be. I have advanced jutsus, yes. I’m an ANBU, yes. I taught Ryoka the secret of Kagamame, yes. I know all of this. I know that the entire clan’s hope rests on my shoulders. But why should I have to shoulder that burden? I can teach others the techniques. We’ve seen that they can learn them. All it takes is for someone to show the way. The Kagame no Reikon recognizes it all. It reflects all. It is the spirit of unity within all of us. But that doesn’t mean that I actually have to fight. I’ll teach the techniques I know, but I won’t develop another one. I’m done with being a Shinobi.”

With that, Daimo’s dad storms out of the room and slams a door behind him. Walking to his room, Daimo sits in his room and quietly contemplates his choices.

“Three months pass. There are arguments. Hatreds are created and flare as everybody in the clan, even mother, turn against me. You know how fiercely loyal to the clan they all are. However…”

“Daimo! Come quick! Your mother is giving birth!” The words are screamed at him as he walked down an alleyway. He had taken to solitude lately, developing jutsus in secret. He knew for a fact that it was going to come down to a confrontation. He hadn’t even gone to see Sairo, even though he knew that she had wandered into this territory looking for him. Everybody hated him now. Everyone but Sairo. But he couldn’t bring himself to see her. He knew that he had fallen from the morals he had gained with her. He didn’t want her to see that. He lived for one thing now- vengeance.

Daimo runs with the fastest speed towards his family’s home. He arrived to see his mother in labor. She was breathing heavily, panting. It appeared that something was going wrong with the pregnancy. His father turned around and screamed at him, “Look! This is your fault! I know it is! You’re using on of your secret jutsus to kill my son! Damn you!”

Daimo’s father turns about with a wakazashi and jumps forward. Without thinking, Daimo activated the Shunshin no Jutsu and moved about ten feet backwards. “Bastard!” Daimo yells to his father. Withdrawing his wakazashi, he looks about him to see everyone else in the clan’s wakazashis drawn.

“I can’t fight them all… they’ll win.” Daimo thinks. Stabbing his wakazashi into the ground, he formed a few seals and slammed his fist into the ground, proclaiming, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” A 12 by 10 ft. mirror appeared out of nowhere. Forming a few more seals, he activates Kagamame no Jutsu, his eyes obtaining the seals of the Wakazashi.

With that complete, Daimo turns around and finds Ryoka with a wakazashi stabbing through is gut. “What the…” Daimo asks.

“We wont let you betray the Clan, Daimo. If that means that you have to die… then so be it.” Daimo coughs once, and blood spurts out of his mouth.

Dropping his wakazashi, Daimo forms a few steals and mutters, “Kagame no Kuni…” His body melds into the mirror. “You know that I wont come out… which means that you can’t kill me. But don’t think that I wont come back. I have my vengeance to complete.” Forming a few seals inside of the mirror, the mirror itself begins to fade away. Within minutes, the mirror fades away completely, not even leaving an indention to say where the mirror had been.

The moment the mirror faded, there was a shriek that came from Daimo’s mother. Another second, and another shriek is heard. The cry of a baby. She had given birth.


“And that, my brother, is why I am here. I have existed within the mirrors for fifteen long years, waiting for you. I knew that you would be the strongest in the clan so far. So I’d be here, waiting for you, to teach you what you need to know. The gifts of the Kagame no Tenshu are many. You can master them all. You can be the Lord of this clan and so much more. It is your destiny. There is only one other who could stop you, but he has yet to arrive. There is little else you can do. Become strong, and when you need something, call on me. I will give it to you.”

The man in the mirror fades. Lash shakes his head one, twice, three times, and suddenly everything is back to normal. There is congratulations, jubilation, exultation.

Lash isn’t in the mood to celebrate. He de-summons his mirror, the mirror with the singular silver eye, and pretends to be happy, but instead walks back home early. “I’m tired,” he explains. And he had a right to be. He had just done more than any other member of the Hitogoroshi clan had ever done before him.

[lash]

The Next Day- Personal Training: Kagame no Jibun (Mirror of Myself)[/i]

The next day, Lash awoke with a start. The sun was rising again. This definatly surprised him. It wasn't often that he awoke at dawn- however, he got the distint feeling that he was going to become used to waking up this early. Sighing, Lash got out of bed and took a quick shower. Walking back into his room, he grabbed a pair of regular training clothes and his wooden wakazashi. He sat down at the breakfast table and looked up. That's when it hit him- he was alone in the house. Obtaining a disgrunted look on his face, Lash walks over to the pantry and grabs a pot. Putting some water in there, he walks over to the stove and sets it to boil. Placing the pot on the stove, Lash walks out into the living room of his home and notices a box wrapped and the word "Lash" written on it in his mother's flourishetic handwriting.

"I wonder what they got me..."Lash thought. Reaching over, he unties the ribbon around it and rips the paper off, revealing a box. He shook it gently- whatever it was, it was pretty heavy. The box's dimensions were about three feet by one foot. Opening the lid slowly, it reveals a true wakazashi. Withdrawing it from the box with reverence, he obsered the black satin that was inside of the box and made up the interior. Then he stared at the black sheathe, glinting in the light. The hilt was wrapped in black cotton. Slowly and surely he unsheathed the blade and stared at it in wonder. It reflected so much. It reminded him drastically of the mirror which he had summoned earlier.

"Do you like it?" His dad's voice rang out throughout the room. Startled, Lash jumps up and almost drops the sword, but he catches in just in time. His dad shakes his head. "They let you get through the Acadamy with your guard like that?" Lash gulped and tried to explain, but was cut off. "Yes, I know that it's a beautiful weapon. It was mine, before I was injured back... well, back in a time not so long ago. It was then when I wasn't able to fight anymore. But that's not a story to get into.

I want you to train diligently. You will become excellent with that wakazashi. You will become the best. I want nobody to be able to beat you, not even Ryoka. I know that you're the one who the clan will rely on to take out the rest of the weakling shinobis. Now. After you eat, go out and train."

Suddenly Lash realized that he heard the water boiling on the stove and he takes off running to that general direction. Turning the stove off, Lash grabbed the pot and took it off the stove. He went back into the living room, but his dad was nowhere to be seen. Shaking his head, he went back into the kitchen and made oatmeal. When he had finished eating, he grabbed his Wakazashi and went out the door.

He took a run straight through the town, doing laps around the walls. He stopped at the Village gate and took off running towards the Fields of Lightning. About twenty five minutes passed and he was still running when he reached the Fields. Sitting down for ten minutes, he decides to meditate on what his brother said and to try to make sure his chakra was at the highest level it could be at. The ten minutes pass and Lash feels chakra levels like he had never had before. Obviously summoning the Mirror of God increased his ability to gather chakra.

Standing up, Lash stretched to make sure that he wouldn't have muscle cramps. Then he molded his chakra into his hands and formed the seals: Dog, Dragon, Horse, Ram, Pig, Monkey, and Tiger. Slamming his open palm into the ground, he proclaims, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" There is a large puff of smoke and the Kagame no Tenshu appears before him. There was no dramatic exiting of chakra this time, either. "I guess that it was a one shot thing." But now Lash felt energy pulse around him, and he noticed a dark bluish tint overcome every corner of the mirror.

Above the mirror, the silver eye blinks once, twice, and three times. Lash looks back into the mirror, and there is his brother, Daimo. "Hey, kid. What do you want?"

Lash shakes his head before answering. "Will you be here everytime that I summon the mirror?"

"Yes, I will be be. Unless you don't want me here."

Growling, Lash says, "Well, I don't want you here. All you do is cause trouble. I know that dad knows that you spoke to me. They think that I'll go crazy like you. They think that we arn't meant to have the kind of power we do. I don't want to learn your techniques. I'll make my own."

Frowning, Daimo speaks. "Well, if that's really how you feel, kid... just know that you can always reach me within the mirror. I'm always here for you, whether or not you want me or not." With that, Hitogoroshi Daimo turns about and walks into the recesses of the mirror. At this point, Lash looks back into the eye at the top of the Mirror of God and a realization suddenly strikes him.

The seals come instantly. Rat, Tiger, Horse, Ram, Goat, Tiger. Sticking his hand into the mirror, Lash pulls out his reflection. Shuddering, he feels the immense amount of chakra exiting his body and gasps for air. The reflection does the same. It stares at him with the same eyes, the same face, and the same everything. "Are you me?" Lash asks between heavy breaths.

"Yeah, I'm you. I'm your reflection from inside the mirror. Go ahead and take a look." The second Lash says. The first Lash takes a look into the mirror and almost does a double take. Indeed, the reflection is gone. Instead, here is standing himself. Lash asks his reflection, "So, what do I do now?"

The reflection smiles. "Well, I'll fight for you. I'm not quite as strong as you... yet. Give me time though. I'll be able to perform the skills you do, and fight beside you like a master. This technique is a secret of the Hitogoroshi Clan. None but the most powerful have been able to master it, but at the same time, no other clan has ever seen one of the mirror reflections. You'll be the first to actually use me in a fight. I can feel it."

Hours go by in the Fields of Lightning, with sessions in understanding incoming taijutsu attacks. Using the reflection as a model, Lash studies how his body moves. He notices the arms bending, legs moving, how all the bones moved about the body. By the end of the day, Lash had memorized the basic movements of the body.

"Tommorow, I'll summon you again. We'll go through the Wakazashi forms. It's too late to start that now. Thank god that I'll have a training partner, though." Lash says to his reflection.

"I'll be waiting for you inside of the mirror."

Lash performs the seals Tiger, Goat, Ram, Horse, Tiger, Rat and the reflection fades back into the mirror.

Stretching a bit, Lash runs back home for a nice long sleep so that he would be prepared for tommorow's activities.

[dragonfire]

hmmmm.....Okay, I've got it!
Mirror of God post:
+2 tai
+3 gen

Personal training post:
+1 tai
+2 gen

[lash]

((OOC: This was brought up for Katsuro to read ))

[lash]

Even Kage's Have To Train, Too

[/u][/center]

Lash stood up from his chair, yawning with effort from having to do so much paperwork. Sometimes he felt like if he had known all of this was going to happen this way, he wouldn't have taken the job. In his heart, though, he knew that it wasn't true. His family had long since determined to take control of this village and make it into the most powerful ninja village, and that's what he was currently working on. He was hailed by his family, the Hitogoroshi, as the strongest of the clan, even stronger than the almost-dead Ryoka, who for a long time had been master of the Clan. It was rumored, too, that once Ryoka died that Lash would take up the spot as leader of the clan.

That thought shocked Lash; having to lead the clan as well as the village seemed like a bit of burden to him, but he would take it if he was appointed. In the Hitogoroshi, you live for the clan, not the other way around. Sighing, Lash put his pen down on the desk and walked over to his wakazashi that hung on the wall. It had been forever since he had used it, but now wasn't the time for that, either. Shaking his head softly, Lash knew that he needed to learn and master some elemental ninjutsu. He had tried to stay away from it for a very long time, because he wanted to be a pure Hitogoroshi shinobi. He knew, though, that the time would come where having knowledge of the elements would be an immense help to him.

He knew from his birth that he had a natural affinity towards lightning- who born in the Lightning Country didn't? But he also felt a strange longing for water and wind. He was sure that if he tried, he could use those jutsu, but he had never even considered the concept of doing it before. "Well," Lash thought, "better late than never to begin working on it."

Pulling his Wakazashi off the wall, Lash walked to the door of his office and pushed it open. Walking out, his sandals making a soft 'click' noise every time he stepped, he turned and closed the door and began the journey outside of the small area that he had claimed as his own. Moving outside into the sunlight was refreshing- there were very litle days that the sky overhead wasn't covered in gray, ominous clouds that fortold strong storms. Lash's blue robe fluttered in the wind as he walked, and his kage hat alterted people as they came and went.

He waved to them and assured them that all was well, he was just taking a walk to stretch his legs. "I really should do this more often," he thinks to himself, realizing that it had been months since most of the people had even seen him. If he didn't come out and meet his people from the village, they would be worried every time he stepped outside of his secure estate. Lash understood that this was unacceptable- he was sure to lose some of his fighting ability if all he did was sit around day after day and focus on tedious paperwork.

Finally, he reached the gateway of the village, a single gate in the wall surrounding the village. Walking out slowly, he felt a shift in the wind that alerted him that a storm would be coming. He sighed, feeling betrayed by the glorious blue sky above him. "Why couldn't you have lasted longer?" he thought to the sky, not really expecting an answer back.

He continued his walk, outside of the village, towards the Fields of Lightning that had been his training place as a child. While he was walking, he thought over in his head what he would like to practice. The wind around him seemed particularely alert today, so he decided on a whim to practice the wind jutsu.

He knew from studying techniques in his office some very basic wind jutsu. He knew the handseals, memorizing them in case he ever saw them being repeated, he would know how to counter them. That was all part of his training within the wakazashi kagame fighting style. He thought about it for a moment, and he decided that he would like to begin working on the technique:

Fuuton - Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough)
Rank: C Rank
Description: This is a Ninjutsu which utilizes the Wind Element. After bringing their hands to their mouth, the user will blow a large blast of wind capable of leveling almost anything in its way.
Limits: Elemental to Fuuton.

It could be used for both offensive and defensive purposes, which would fit his fighting style perfectly. It was simple, only a C ranked jutsu, and he was a Kage, an A ranked shinobi. He knew the handseals and the theory, all he had to do was put it into practice.

He stood there for a moment with his eyes closed, relaxing his body, removing any and all tension. In his mind he could picture his crystalline blue chakra racing throughout his body. He felt it begin to build up within his system, felt it expand his lungs and relax his muscles. He was entering his fighting calm, where he could act and react at near instanteous speeds. His eyes snapped open and he felt his hands moving together at a rapid pace, forming seal after seal as chakra blazed within his system.

"Fuuton: Diatoppa!" He felt the chakra within his system escalate and move forward as the words escaped from his mouth. Breathing in rapidly as he finished the final handseal, the chakra within his system pushed forward, escaping in a large burst of air from his lungs, amplified by his chakra. He had already spent years in endurance training, trainigh with his fighting style to the point where he could almost be called a master. What came out of his mouth was almost like a bullet, and it pushed out of his mouth so rapidly that it almost knocked Lash off of his feet.

"Damn..." he thought, changing his footing so that he remained balanced, "that isnt' what was described within the jutsu book at all. That looked more like an offensive air bullet, not a giant crashing wave of air.... Hm.."

Calming himself, he realized that he was utterely and totally in excitement. It hadn't taken very long, but already he was able to shoot an air blast. All he had to do was work on stretching it out, increasing both length and width of the jutsu. He decided that he would focus on length first.

In his mind's calm, he pictured a long, stretching wind escaping from his mouth, covering the immediate line in front of his with a continous blowing wind that would maintain the same concentrated strength that his previous attempt had done.

Forming the handseals again, Lash closed his eyes and yelled, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" once more. Chakra burned within his system as he released a deep breath of air, continously pushing it out while the chakra within his system enchanced it. He saw from his eyes the wind come out of his mouth, stretching and stretching forward as the grass underneath him whipped straight into the air before falling to the side, creating a clear, distinctive path of the jutsu. The wind blew in a straight line for probably thirty meters before Lash felt his breath catch and stopped releasing chakra.

He stood up straight again, realizing that he had slumped his shoulders and leaned forward to blow the air from his mouth. He took a moment to catch is breath before relaxing his body once more. He knew now that he could elongate the jutsu, but how much more work would it be to stretch the jutsu out, make the width increase dramatically? It couldn't be too difficult, for this was a technique that he knew quite a few people know. However, he was determined to use it in strengths not seen before, as to surprise his opponents, and in order to do that, he would need to ensure he increased the strength of his jutsu, stretching it both further and wider until he could level a small area with it.

He begin his mediatative state once more, achieveing it with much greater alacrity than before, since he had already effectively used the jutsu. All he had to do is change the picture in his mind from the long, spearlike wind thrust to a wide, crushing, overbearing wind push. The picture in his mind, he began forming handseals, becoming even faster at them since they were not a complicated series, and he began the chakra molding process within his body. Breathing in, he mixed chakra within that air as well instead of just escaping air, and then breathed out, using less for propellant to try and increase the duration of the jutsu. The chakra would handle the strength of the attack, not how hard he blew out of his lungs. That might increase the distance, but as it stood, thirty meters was fine enough for Lash.

What came out surprised Lash. He was forced to apply chakra to feet to prevent himself from getting knocked over as the blast escaped from his mouth. The grass in front of him immediately flattened to the ground, spreading out the further it got from him. He was making a cone-type attack; not exactly what he wanted but it definately had increased in strength and potency, as well as obtained a much larger radius.

Lash shook his head. He should leave his hat in the office the next time he went out walking and training, especially if he was going to continue working with the wind jutsu. It was going to get lost, otherwise. Sighing, he closed his eyes and jumped immediately back into his meditative state. Chakra in with the breath, hand seals, eyes open, lean forward, propel air with chakra, breath out slowly, and WHAM. It was a good thing Lash hadn't removed the chakra that was holding his feet in place, because he wouldn't have had time to re-place it. The wind that escaped from his mouth was immense. The grass that his eyes could see without turning his head had all completly flattened. Looking out, he could see that the jutsu had managed to extend itself to forty meters, an impressive strength, but one that could be increased if he really felt like working with it.

He continued his breath for almost twelve seconds before letting it die. When he did, the grass didn't move back up as it had before. It would take some time to right itself, and that's when Lash decided that it was time to call it quits for today. He thought in his mind that he a fair grasp of the jutsu now, but with some additional training he could probably turn it into something more monstrative. Tonight, however, he would go home and read some more books on wind jutsu, perhaps try to learn something slightly more challenging that the Diatoppa. Smiling, he turned on his heels and released the chakra from his feet. Making sure his hat was still attached, he started walking again, back towards the village that had truly become home.

0/10

[||Yuuku||]

+10

O.O

((10/10)) Jutsu Learned

[lash]

The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind

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It had been a day since Lash had gone outside to practice, but since that day he had been very unable to sit still. He could feel the wind blowing in the distance, it seemed- his affinity to wind had grown stronger since mastering even just one of the jutsu under its banner. There were some other basic jutsu that he was itching to learn, and he thought of a very practical one as he read from a book entitled, "Wind Jutsu: The Secrets". It told of a jutsu entitled Kazeya, or Wind Arrow, which allowed the user to propel a small arrow towards a target made out of a wind from their mouth. It sounded remarkably similar to the one that he had just learned the other day; indeed, his first attempt at the Fuuton: Diatoppa had been a small air bullet. How hard could it be to master an air arrow?

Standing up and stretching, Lash takes a look and is dismayed at the amount of paperwork that had piled up in just one day of training. Well, the world would have to get by without papers. Lash could already tell that he was out of shape and practice for having to do so much to learn one simple C ranked Jutsu. This one he would be learning, though, was a much lower rank, a D rank, and would probably take no time at all to master.

Grinning boyishly, for he hadn't worked to gain techniques like this since he had become Raikage, Lash grabbed his Wakizashi and started out the door. Frowning, though, he decided to leave his hat inside, because he had proven to himself that even learning low ranking wind jutsu could make him lose his hat. Placing it inside of his office, Lash then rushed out the door, closing it softly before running outside into the overcast day.

The wind was blowing hard even as he stepped outside of the door and into the village, and Lash noticed that there were far fewer people in the area than there had been yesterday. He supposed that they, too, had been outside to enjoy the rare sunshine. He greeted everyone he saw once more, though, letting them all know that he had decided to make a much more personal role as a Kage than he had been previously. He wanted people to know who he was, to make it more difficult to allow an impostor to sneak into the village.

He made it outside into the Fields of Lightning at record speeds, though. He was excited and ready to begin his learning of the new technique. This one required much less will power and chakra force, but required much more finesse and chakra manipulation than the previous one had. The book had said that it was a basic jutsu, and that the amount of handseals that it had been required to use was only three. Lash remembered those and began practicing forming them in solid combinations, each time increasing his speed until he could do them all almost instantaneously.

Closing his eyes, Lash slipped into his meditative state and pictured the chakra within his body rising up and becoming alive. It wouldn't take a lot of chakra to perform this jutsu, but it was something that he had to be sure he could do correctly otherwise he could be launching lop-sided arrows that wouldn't harm anyone. He pictured the chakra shaping the air inside of his lungs into an arrow, about a foot long, with a sharp, pointy tip and three fletchings around the sides. Once he had the arrow picture firmly in his mind, he took a deep breath and began forming the handseals that were a part of the technique.

He finished the handseals quickly and opened his eyes, breathing outwards while remembering not to use too much chakra or else it would be too big. What came out was something very similar to the air bullet he had created the day before, except that it was slightly longer. He knew from instinct that this wasn't the correct shape, and watched as the arrow flew lopsidedly away from his target- a small patch of grass that had yet to correct itself from his experiments the day before. Forming the tiger handseal, he dissipated the chakra that he had placed into the wind arrow and watched as the arrow became nothing before his very eyes.

Performing the handseals once more, he breathed in and molded his chakra, feeling it shape the wind inside of his lungs before breathing out once more. It produced the same effect as his previous attempt, and that began to bother him some. Stopping for a moment so that he could think, he pondered what he was doing wrong. Yesterday, he had molded his chakra together precisely while breathing in, while holding the air inside of his lungs, and while breathing out. Perhaps that was the problem with this technique. It was a lot weaker than the one he had been trying to learn yesterday, and maybe it only needed to be molded once instead of having chakra melded into the air. Instead of forcing the air wave into being a chakra-enhanced air blast, he only needed to shape the arrow and have it keep its shape, not otherwise.

Determined to this time see improvement, Lash formed the handseals again and breathed inwards, consciously preventing himself from molding chakra in with his breathing air. Breathing out, he allowed his chakra to shape the arrow just as it began to escape the mouth, picturing once again the foot long arrow and three fletchings. This was greeted with a much bigger success, as what came out reminded Lash immediately of an arrow. It still veered off course, though, but it was much closer to the area and an obvious improvement.

Again the handseals were formed and again the breath was taken, and once more the arrow was shaped as Lash breathed outwards, except this time creating a smaller arrowhead. What was produced nearly hit the target, and Lash could tell that he now had the technique almost in his grasp. Handseals, breath, escape, form chakra, and release! He did it again, the arrow moving to the left a bit more than previously, making it land within the circle, but not in the bullseye.

All it would take was a few more tries. "Fuuton: Kazeya no Jutsu!" Lash screamed, handseals forming rapidly and chakra building. The air was breathed in and released within seconds, evaporating the calm that he had built within himself as he released the breath from his mouth and the chakra to shape that breath. What came out was perfect- the arrow flew straight and true directly into the center of the circle, creating a small dent in the ground where it landed.

Smiling, Lash fingered his Wakizashi's hilt and decided to go back home. He had, for the first time, mastered a purely offensive technique, and it felt good. Whistling, his steps became jovial as he realized that he needed to come out here with some of his fellow shinobi and start practicing with them. They were never going to get stronger unless they fought against stronger opponents.

0/10

[||Yuuku||]

+10 TP

((10/10)) Jutsu learned, add to bio

[lash]

Don't Let The Wind Stick Ya

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The knowledge of an offensive jutsu fed Lash's mind for days. He sat in his office, continuing the ever-futile attempt to catch up on paperwork, his mouth watering and hungering for another wind jutsu that would give him even greater attack ability. He liked these small jutsu, however- they required very little chakra and could be repeated with great effect. In his mind he was already thinking about how he could change some of the wind jutsu he had already learned, but as it stood, he secretly flipped through a book of wind jutsu, searching for another simple jutsu that he could use to great effect.

It was about a week later that Lash discovered the Kaze Senbon no Jutsu. The creation of tiny needles that he could use to attack rapidly using wind, giving him a never-ending arsenal of weapons, even if his ran out. He could use such a jutsu, especially if the village was attacked. He could use it to supply himself and be able to further defend the village. The technique didn't look too complicated, either. The only true complication was the creation of wind that didn't come from his lungs. He would have to grab at wind or create it.

Feeling slightly acrobatic today, Lash decided to instead copy the shinobi Hotoka and jump through his window, landing on the ground with a soft thud that was practiced. He had to be ready to escape and defend the village, after all. He smiled as he ran down the streets, saluting the few that were out, ready to brave the always-storm atmosphere, who saluted right back at him. They liked this new Lash, who would come out and see them, talk to them, reassure them that everything was going okay.

He reached the fields of lightning and shook his head in dismay; he really didn't have anything to practice on. That's then the thought hit him. Pulling a kunai from inside of his robes, Lash made a small knick on his thumb, the scars from him doing this in his childhood re-opened. Blood began to flow, and Lash began to form a few handseals before slamming his hand onto the ground, saying, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The red lines spread across the ground rapidly before creating an indestructible mirror from nothing. The mirror itself began to glow a soft blue, the light coming from the glass. The edges were made of silver, somehow matching with the mirror's indestructibility after it had been placed onto the mirror. At the top of Lash's mirror was a single closed eye.

Running towards the mirror, Lash jumped sideways and began a two-footed kick against the mirror. Right before he landed on it, he applied chakra to his feet, making them stick, before crouching his legs and then pushing off from the mirror, converting the chakra that held him in place on the mirror sideways into force with his legs, so that he would propel further, his back facing the ground. As he began to descend, he extended his hands and twisted his body, performing a back-flip and landing on his feet. Smiling at his acrobatic self, Lash then decided to set to work.

Entering the meditative state came easy to him now, since he had been practicing in his office when the paperwork became overbearing. His eyes closed, his muscles relaxed, and his mind became clear almost instantly. In his mind he could see the raging blue fire that was his chakra and a smirk filled his face. Training and meditating had awakened a feeling in him that he hadn't felt in a very long time. His chakra system, which hadn't been used very much before his training, now began to reactivate itself easily, which would certainly make training much easier.

His mind thought back to the book, which listed the handseals, and he brought them to memory. The series was more complicated than the Kazeya even though it was of the same rank, adding another handseal into the mix and being a little more tricky to form rapidly. It would take some work before Lash finally felt confident enough to form them at a decent speed. When he had completed that, he decided that it was time to get to work.

Fuuton Kaze no Senbon (Needles of the Wind)
Type: Ninjutsu
Rank: D Rank
Description: The ninja gathers air with his hands and mixes it with chakra, by doing this he transforms them into sharp and deadly needles. The needles are almost invisible so it is hard for the enemies to see them. Because the needles are made of air they cannot be blocked or deflected. The only way to ensure safety is to dodge them.

He began by performing the handseals, which focused chakra into his right hand. Making a swiping motion, he extended the chakra into the air and tried to grab tiny strings of wind that would become the senbon. He was surprised when the wind responded to the affinity within his body and mind and he grabbed a solid mass of air. He felt his chakra melt into the air and begin to mold it into place, which caused him to gasp. He stared at his hand and saw solid air. He was so, surprised, in fact, that he immediately let go of the air and watched as his chakra left, dissipating and allowing the air to flow freely.

The shock also took him out of the meditative state that allowed him to use his chakra effectively. Quickly regaining himself, he put himself back into the state, feeling his rapidly beating heart began to slow and relax once more. When he had full control of himself, he began the handseal series once more, moving chakra into his right hand. He then sweeped out, grabbing a mass of air and immediately forcing his mind to mold the chakra into tiny needles. The chakra within the air complied, forming two large needles between his index, middle, and ring fingers. Smiling, he tossed the needles into the air, towards his mirror, only to watch them dissipate mere seconds after they left his hand.

Frowning, he performed the handseals again, grabbing into the air and pulling out the mass. Shaping it into the same two needles as before, he also made them slimmer and easier to control. The remaining air remained in place, and he attached it to his arm. Putting additional chakra into the air needles as he moved his arm back to throw them, Lash then released the needles as he forced his arm down. He watched as they traveled much farther, staying on course, but they still didn't reach his mirror.

"Hm... this seems like a lot of chakra to be using for a D rank jutsu..." Oh well, it was an offensive jutsu and he couldn't really complain. For a D rank, it was a lot, but for the amount of chakra that he had at his disposal, it wasn't a lot. Remembering that he had the extra air that he had forced to not dissipate, he moved the air upwards into his hands, this time forming three needles, smaller and thinner, so that they were about the size of a regular ball point ink pen, they formed between his index, middle, ring, and pinkey fingers, leaving his thumb free. He pulled his arm back and applied a little extra chakra to the senbon, he released them with a flick of his arm and was surprised when they reached his mirror, quickly dissipating as they reached something solid.

Repeating the same process, Lash smiled as he obtained similiar success. "Now, to try something a little more difficult." He performed the handseals once more, this time mixing the chakra with two hands, grabbing out into the air and grabbing two solid masses. Splitting his concentration into the two hands was difficult, but he formed four senbon, two in each hand, and threw them at the mirror. They reached the mirror and quickly dissapeared.

Doing it again, this time he created six senbon, three in each hand, and threw them. They didn't quite reach the mirror, so he tried it one more time, adding a little extra chakra when he threw the needles, ensuring that they reached the mirrior, which was about eighteen yards away. He knew that he had basic mastery of the jutsu down, but now he would have to practice with it to get finesse.

He performed the handseals again, grabbing additional amounts of air with his sweeps, forming eight senbon needles, one in each finger crevice for both hands, while maintaining a small amount of air that he wouldn't have to gather after this. He threw the senbon towards the mirror, and without waiting to see if they would hit, gathered the extra air he had grabbed earlier and formed four more senbon, launching them at the same time.

The first set hit, but the second ones didn't. Frowning, he repeated the procedure once more, this time both sets of air needles hit the target. He was sure that he could increase the amount of times he could perform this jutsu without having to increase the number of handseals, but at the same time, he was okay with just two. He would practice more later and ensure that he could do it perfectly with three or four volleys.

0/10

[mozou]

+10 tp ((10/10)) Add to your bio.