Dances in the Wind [T][P]

[Takara]

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SPOILER: Click to show

Mokuton Soutei Hashira (Wood Release - Binding Pillars)
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A technique where branches is pushed from the ground and wraps around an opponent.
Special: "Boar, Dragon, Ram, Boar"
Drawback: This technique is the basics of other techniques. The user must learn this technique multiple times in order for the distance of branches can increases.
Description: After using the seals the user uses the water and earth release in which branches crushes out of the ground to wrap around the user. When the user first learns this technique the user is capable of creating approximatly Six Different branches with a width of six inches, with the distance of Ten Meters From the user. Every time learned the distance may increase by an additional ten Meters. When the distance reaches up to a Hundred Meters the type of training becomes B-Rank Training. When the distance reaches Two Hundred Meters the Training becomes A-Rank. When the user reaches to B-Rank Training the width of branches is Twelve Inches if the user desires. When the Training Reaches A-Rank the width of the branches is Twenty Four Inches if the user desires. Each time learned the user is capable of creating another branch.
Limit: Must have the Wood Release

1st time learning

0/30

I awoke to a rather bland day; sometime during the night a storm had rolled in, casting the sky in depressing gray hues and bringing with it chilling wind and rumbling thunder. Alas, the rain had yet to start, and I was loathe to be outside when it started… but I had things to do, and I hadn’t yet progressed to the point were I could practice Mokuton techniques without being in the cusp of nature’s grasp.

I left the warm shelter of my apartment, clad in a simple white kimono; today I donned my red obi sash, and whenever I noticed a wayward glance or a snobby upturn of the nose, I flared chakra in my eyes, letting them glow red… and soon the looks stopped. It was petty, I know, but it was fun as well, if a bit unsettling, to watch the horror grow in their faces.

My feet carried my to the wide grassy field no less than a ten minute walk away from home, sequestered away in the corner of the village. Rolling hills stretched for miles before ending at the edge of a dense jungle, teeming with life. Venturing into the jungle would probably make my training easier – I was, after all, learning to summon tree branches from the ground itself. Being in the presence of trees would possibly help with that process, but I wasn’t one to take the easy road.

Eventually I came to a stop amidst those rolling hills, taking a quick breather to remember my purpose. Mokuton Soutei Hashira. The art of the Binding Pillars. Quite a useful technique; with it, I could theoretically bind my opponents in place and essentially have my way with them, whether it be with bladed weapon or Fuuton jutsu.

Oh, the possibilities were endless!

But first, however, I would actually have to learn the technique, and that would require much effort on my part. It wasn’t easy to create life, and that was essentially what I would be attempting to do – combine two elements; suiton and doton, and create wood, which, the last time I checked, was a living entity.

Wait, scratch that, trees were a living entity; wood could be dead… but this wood would be powered by my chakra, so in a way… it would be alive.

I went over the handseals in my head, practicing them idly to increase the speed with which I could execute them. The most difficult part of the process would be combining the two elements into one, but I had tackled harder things… this wouldn’t be a piece of cake; more like a piece of tough steak.

With a rueful chuckle, I got to work.

My eyes closed halfway as my focus went towards my boundless chakra. It came to me like a specter in the night, floating into my waiting hands. I harnessed it, shaped it, controlled it. Like clay, I molded it into the form required to complete the jutsu, willing it to life. My hands closed together to form the handseals, moving with blinding speed through the complex hand signs.
Boar. Dragon. Ram. Boar.

Upon completion of the sequence, I released my chakra, letting it flow into the technique. I tracked its progress, feeling it seep into the earth, and with baited breath, I waited for pillar of wood to explode forth from the ground just as the technique scroll had described…

All I got was a paltry twig.

“Well I’ll be damned…” I sighed. Not enough chakra? That wasn’t a problem. I had plenty.

[Takara]

??/30

Without rest or pause, I flashed through the handseals once more, summoning up a great deal more chakra. It flared under the surface, pulsing to the thrum of my heartbeat, dancing to the rhythm just as the Geisha girls of home twirled to the beat of drums. For a fleeting moment I thought I had summoned to much, as it spiraled out of my control, but I managed to reign it in, and pushed it into the jutsu, breathing the name of the technique as my hands closed together in the Boar handseal.

“Mokuton – Soutei Hashira.”

My chakra drained into the earth beneath my foot; ten meters away, the grass began to part, making way for four thin pillars of wood to rise forth from the bowels of the earth. I experienced a bout of joy at my success, until I remembered that there were supposed to be six pillars. Not four. Still not enough chakra? That couldn’t be right – I’d used enough for two Daitoppa’s… maybe my control wasn’t right. That usually happened when you possessed chakra wholly incomparable to your tiny frame.

“Let’s try again, shall we?” I spoke to myself, taking a brief moment to work on my chakra control. Instead of attempting the technique for a third time, I executed the ram seal, molding my chakra and focusing on making just enough to complete the technique.

The process was much more difficult than it sounded.

I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding, and with that exhale, my chakra came to life, animalistic and uncontrollable like a wild horse. My jaw tightened, my brow furrowed, and I squeezed, slowly but surely putting my chakra under control. A thin line of sweet collected on my brow, but I pained it no mind, totally entrenched in the task at hand. It was tough going, shaving off the excess chakra down to a malleable amount, but I was sturdier than I looked, and eventually, I had what I thought was the correct amount for the jutsu.

Hurriedly, I completed the handseals, not noticing that I fumbled up on the dragon. When I invoked the technique, speaking its name with my soft voice, nothing at all happened. Not even the pitiful single twig of my first technique. The wind continued to blow and the world continued to spin… but no pillars.

”Dammit!” I cursed. Something had gone wrong, and I couldn’t figure out what… I was certain I had used enough chakra, and the handseals…

The handseals.

So focused on controlling my chakra, I paid little mind to the handseals, and as a result, I’d fumbled through them, killing any chance I had of completing the jutsu. There was nothing to do but try again, and try again I did.

[Takara]

??/30

I would give it another go, not wanting to end the day on such a negative note. Alas, I was getting closer and closer to my goal – I felt I had discovered the amount of chakra needed, and I’d proved with my earlier failures that I could execute the handseals… now it was just a simple matter of putting the two halves together to create a whole.

With a calm and cool disposition; cool to match the weather, and calm to match, well… nothing, I tried the technique again, splitting my focus equally between the handseals and controlling my chakra.

The rumbling roar of thunder grew to a blazing crescendo, threatening to kill my concentration, but I persevered, even as thin droplets of rain began to fall against my face. My chakra flared uncontrollably as I summoned it, but with an iron will and a steel-fist, I reigned it under my control, taming it. I found the perfect level of chakra needed for the technique; slightly more than what I had thrown into the technique before, but nearly not as much as one of my earliest attempts. Hopefully, it would be enough, and not too much.

At the same time, my hands flitted through the handseals, executing each from memory, forming them as quickly as possible with bumbling through them and messing them up. My chakra responded to the handseals, pulsing with each seal, until I ended with Boar, and spoke the technique.

“Mokuton: Soutei Hashira.” The words slipped from my lips, my breath taken away by the growing intensity of the wind and the storm it carried. Over head, lightning streaked across the sky, but I didn’t let it deter me.

I released my chakra, pushing it into the technique. The three – handseals and chakra and affinities all molded and morphed together to become something entirely new. The power to create life was formed, seeping into the ground and changing the earth into sixe separate branches of wood, each six inches thick. Like a throng of slithering snakes – like vines come to life, animated by mystical magic, the branches broke forth from under the earth, swirling and writing, searching for something to latch on to. I had no opponent; no enemy to speak, so the lively branches had nothing to grab.

I released my hold on the branches, allowing them to sink back into the depths from wince the emerged. They left upturned dirt in their wake, and my mind reflected upon the suddenness of the technique – they had exploded forth from the ground with no warning, simply emerging with all the subtlety of a raging bull. Combined with other venomous technique, and I had quite a vicious ability indeed.

But as always, more could be done. I could it faster, more efficiently, without such effort. I was a perfectionist, and even it the sky fell down on my head, I would practice until I had mastered the technique.

Call it my nindo.

[hotaru]

+30

[Takara]

SPOILER: Click to show

Mokuton: Kasui No Mokuzai Reizu No Jutsu (Spikes of Wood Raising Technique)
Rank: D,C
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Spikes raise up from the ground at the user’s command to stab the enemy.
Special: Handseals “Ox” “Tiger” “Snake” “Ram”
Drawback: The “D” level training allows the user to raise wooden spikes from the ground around them with a radius of five meters. The “C” level training allows this jutsu to be lengthed by ten meters.
Description: The user gathers chakra and sends it into the ground, at first the user can only extend this chakra fie meters away from their feet in circle around them. After the user does the next level of training, the distance is lengthened by ten meters. The spikes rise from the ground diagonally to hurt an opponent.
Limit: Mokuton Jutsu

0/10

Another morning dawned with the same subtelty as the day before, clarity brought forth by the morning bustle of Kusagakure; the thin beams of sunlight streaming through my window, the faint calls of mothers and fathers as the ushered their children to school... these sounds and sights awakened me from my slumber, fading away as a mighty yawn escaped my stretch lips, back bones cracking pleasantly as I stretched from my position perched in my bed.

Almost immediately I was up an about, preparing for another long day of training. Undergarments first, then kimono, then sash... shoes, hair tie... and last but not least, a technique scroll procured from the Shinobi library. Scroll clenched in hand, I exited my apartment building, taking the scenic route to the vast clearing on the edge of town.

- - - -

The morning was mild; thin wisps of clouds floated languidly across the sky, blocking out the sun in random intervals. A slight breeze came in from the east, carrying with it the faint chill of the vast sea hundreds of miles from my village.

In the field, the stalks of grass grew tall - tall enough so that I could duck down and get lost amongst them. I didn’t venture to the grassy knoll today, instead coming to a stop just a scant ten meters from the edge of the village, since I’d surmised that this jutsu wouldn’t take long to learn.

Hopefully.

Delicate fingers pulled the scroll taught, and dull red pearls - eyes, normal mortals called them – scanned the paper for the description of the jutsu I’d set out to learn.

Mokuton: Kasui No Mokuzai Reizu No Jutsu.

At my level, this jutsu would allow me to force sharpened spikes of wood from the ground in a five-meter radius. Quite useful, should an opponent venture to close to my person. I would have to push my chakra into the ground, utilizing Mokuton affinity, and will, or rather shape, the spikes up out of the earth in whatever pattern I determined. Not exactly rocket science, considering it was similar to a technique I had already learned, but certainly not elementary math either. I had failed simpler endeavors by allowing my pride, instead of my head, to guide me.

Keeping that planted firmly in the forefront of my mind, I went over the handseals for the technique. There were but four: Ox, Tiger, Snake, Ram. With steady hands, I moved through the handseals, increasing my speed with each repetition, until I blazed through them in near a second, each coming swiftly and naturally, as if I had been born with the knowledge. Now, came the hard part.

I executed the handseals once more, drawing forth my chakra and letting it flow into the technique. It responded readily, rushing into my grasp like a starving man to a bowl of rice. I directed it into the earth beneath my feet, feeling it zoom into the ground, coalescing with the earth to form spikes of wood. That was only half the battle, however; I then directed those spikes upward, like pistons, to explode from the ground with dangerous velocity. Starting at five meters and moving in gradually, spikes of wood rose forth from the earth, angled away from me, as if they were defending me from an incoming attacker.

[Leonov]

+10

[Takara]

SPOILER: Click to show

Shokubutsu Kaishuu (植 改) Vegetation Conversion[100TP]
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Changes anything substance into grass.
Special: Ox, Tiger, Ram, Boar, Snake handseals.
Drawback: Can only create grass, not trees.
Description: Changes a fifty-meter area around the user into grass. Can not create trees. This technique re-vegetates an otherwise non-vegetated area so that the user has grass to work with.
Limit: Grass Nin Technique. Must have Mokuton no Jutsu.

60/100 (60TP leftover from BD)

I had ventured to a wasteland for the practice of Shokubutsu Kaishuu. It was early morning, at the cusp of dawn; I had arisen even before the sun itself had graced the heavens with its holy light. A soft breeze assaulted the land, but as it was devoid of any life; plant or otherwise, to be effected by the breeze, I was alone to face the whisping winds, as they fluttered through my billowing kimono, causing it to flap here and about haphazardly.

Within my possession was a technique scroll describing the process of learning, and using Shokubutsu Kaishuu. The scroll was long and detailed, as it took quite a bit of skill and ingenuity to call grass into existence in an area previously devoid of it. It would take more than mere handseals and an abundance of chakra. I would have to release my chakra into the earth itself, and, using my Mokuton affinity, manipulate the components deep in the ground to invoke the birth and growth of tons and tons of grass. I could not use the jutsu to create trees, or any other type of vegetation outside of grass. The limits might seem too restrictive for some, but coupled with my vast knowledge of Mokuton techniques that all required the use of grass, this technique would allow my to become a veritable god.

Onigami indeed.

I viewed the handseals for the technique - Ox, Tiger, Ram, Boar, Snake. It was a very short list for an exceeding useful technique. With my sealing speed, the five handseals could be completed in less than a second. i would commence them now, blazing through the set in scarcely a breath. The name of the technique was not spoken, however, as I sought to extend my chakra outward slowly and deliberately to begin the process of converting the dead terra into lush vegetation.

My spiritual energy extended outward in waves, forming a translucent barrier around my form. As if governed by the rules of gravity, my chakra began to sink into the ground, filling the many crevices gouged into the dry wasteland with the entirety of my life-bringing chakra. My insight allowed me to almost view the dead floral cells underneath the ground; but perhaps that sight was just my overactive imagination manifesting.

The chakra released was of the Mokuton variety, capable of effecting the creation and growth of life. As my chakra seeped into the ground, it would too congeal to form tiny balls of chakra to cause the grass to form with roots deep in the soil. The chakra would do more than simply create grass; it would also have to fortify the soil itself, and make it fertile to support the life of the grass without the continued use of chakra.

[Takara]

??/100

My cursory chakra aided inspection of the land provided my a plethora of information to discern from. The state of the wasteland was beyond desolate, and I feared that it was beyond my ability to manipulate. I would only obtain that information if I actually executed the technique, however, and so that was my subsequent course of action.

I allowed the chakra I’d ejected to dissipate; to most that would seem absurdly wasteful, but I carried within my tiny frame an abundance of chakra that most would die to replicate. There weren’t many who could claim to carry within them chakra as bountiful as I. The chakra I’d released evaporated like water in the face of searing heat, disappearing from existence without a hand to guide it.

As if summoned by the release of my chakra, the wind picked up speed, elevating to a level far above that of a simple breeze. The wind tossed my hair about, and if I could view the mass of swirling black tendrils, they would certainly remind me of images of slithering masses of snakes. My kimono was also splayed by the wind, but with my body enraptured in the fabric to keep it from fluttering away, it only served to marginally upset my balance. That problem was rectified by my pushing chakra out of the soles of feet to latch onto the ground and keep me from loosing my footing to the erratic gusts of wind. Perhaps a storm was coming...

My hands clasped once my balance was regained, the five digits upon each hand embracing to form the handseals for the technique. Only six were needed, and then my chakra was released from my still form, pushing out into the ground beneath my feet for a massive radius of fifty yards. With such control over life, I could possibly compare myself to mother Gaia herself, though such a braggadocios claim would never spew forth from my lips. The name of the technique would be invoked, however, to better allow me to concentrate and visualize the effects of my jutsu.

“Shokubutsu Kaishuu.” The words issued forth from my lips with the subtlety of a creeping mouse, my voice swallowed entirely by the winds surging around my still form.

Immediately I realized that some form of mistake was made. Though my chakra seeped into the ground, it only caused the growth of a very small ring of grass around me, extending for only a few feet. There wasn’t a large amount of things I could’ve done wrong, amongst them visualization and chakra expendage. Regardless of me speaking the technique, my thoughts had been wondering to subjects not pertaining to the jutsu, and of course, I often underestimated the chakra required for the completion of certain techniques, and I was sure that other shinobi often encountered that particular problem.

No worries, I thought with a smile. I would just repeat the technique and avoid those mistakes. If success still eluded me, then I would know that neither of those conclusions was my problem.

[Takara]

??/100

I considered the angle that both concentration and chakra expendage were the breadth of my problems. To combat those issues, I envisioned what I sought to accomplish with Shokubutsu Kaishuu.

I closed my eyes to the hellish environment I’d found myself in, using my imagination to view the proper completion of the technique. In my mind’s eye, I completed a short string of handseals, eliciting the birth of millions of blades of grass. As it was released, my chakra would be directed into the earth beneath me, seeping into the soil and changing its very composition, allowing it to support the existence of flora. My chakra would to jumpstart the growth of the grass itself. The blades of grass grew forth from the ground in an instant, their growth sparked by the proper application of the perfect amount of chakra. Thin and intensely green, the grass grew to the height of my calves. Not particularly tall, considering I was only five feet tall myself.

The grass erupted from the earth within a fifty meter radius, effectively changing the landscape from one of a barren wasteland - the charred remains of a once lush jungle - into a grassy field that could and would give birth to a plethora of grass and mokuton techniques.

Then, my eyes opened, and reality set back in. There was no field of green, no chakra had been wasted. All that stood before me was the flat, broken ground, the jungles that had sat upon it burned to the ground long ago by a battle long forgotten. Without trees to effect the span of the wind, it had not lessened in its intensity during my moments of visualization, and thus when I rejoined reality, I rejoined it to the continued feel of my hair whipping around in the wind, and my kimono fluttering against my frame.

These physical occurrences wouldn’t server to deter me of my purpose, though. I would assume the same level of concentration attained in my vision, blocking out the localized chaos surrounding me. I called forth a massive amount of chakra, more so than I had ever used for any technique, overshooting the need by my estimation. However, my estimations so far had been to weak, so maybe by overshooting, I was actually summoning the correct amount.

My two hands clasped before me, twisting into the six handseals of the technique in the space of a blink. As I invoked the technique, however, the gusts grew to near hurricane strength, ruining my concentration just as I released my chakra into the ground. Because of the costly distraction, the jutsu did not form as it had in my vision, though this rendition was more of a success than my previous attempt. Whereas before only a couple feet of grass had formed, in this instance twenty meters of grass grew around me, the jutsu completed with only half the required components. This mild success afforded me the knowledge that I had summoned enough chakra. I only had to supply the concentration and focus to match.

[Takara]

??/100

It seemed a storm was coming. A light drizzled joined the strengthening wind. Every second I spent outside put me closer and closer to the likelihood of being caught in the storm, but as a proud kunoichi, I wouldn’t allow mere nature to dictate my actions. Instead, I held my ground, fortifying the chakra heading to my feet to keep me glued to the ground in the event the storm reached me before I could finish my training.

Intense concentration was achieved by simple strength of will, to block out all that existed around me for the amount of time required to complete the technique. I thanked the storm, for the distraction it provided was marginally similar to the confusion I would face in a battle against a living, breathing shinobi.

I envisioned the technique before I executed it, completing the process swiftly, much more so than my previous dip into my imagination. My vision would soon gain sustenance, and my hands once again closed to form the handseals, all six of them accomplished expeditiously. My chakra was summoned and released within that same span of time, as I was familiar with how much was required from my prior attempt at the jutsu. It left me upon the ending of the handseal set, seeping into the ground already even as I spoke the name of the technique.

“Shokubutsu Kaishuu.”

The chakra that was ejecting from my form and seeping into the earth gained direction in that moment, coalescing into what would become the food from which the grass would gain nutrition, which would in turn inspire its growth. Seperate strands of chakra started that process, pushing up from the ground in thin lancing spikes, changing from chakra to grass as it touched the air. Roots were formed as well, latching on to the tiny chakra balls and drawing sustenance to have continued life without the interruption of further expended chakra.

Like the ripples formed from a pebble dropped in a pond, the grass grew forth in a wave centered around my form, extending outward for as far as fifty meters. It grew rapidly, almost in a blink, as one second there was nothing and then in the next, like magic, there as a field of grass.

I did not celebrate my assumed success, as time would only tell if the jutsu was formed perfectly. After all, the grass would have to last more than a few seconds for it to be usable by any form of Mokuton jutsu, and to ascertain that information I would have to wait to see if the grass retained its life and form. For now, the jutsu was out of my hands.

Instead, my attention was captured by what once seemed to a storm. Due to my concentration upon the jutsu, I hadn’t witnessed the death of the storm. Somehow, the winds had changed, carrying the storm clouds off of their previous path. Their vacancy was taken by the sun as it rose to its throne in the sky, shining down upon the grassy field created by yours truly.

[Masakuni]

+40

[Takara]

[Exit to Red Eyes]

[Takara]

[Enter from Red Eyes]

Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Skill)
Rank: "C" Rank
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: A Skill where a user uses the water around them to create a massive mist to fill around the user.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: A skill which creates a very dense fog that descreases the surrounding visibility to near zero. It produces an environment perfect for a silent assassin who follows an opponent through sound. This mist can not be blown away by any type of Wind Jutsu.
Limit: Water Release

0/20

It was morning.

Early morning, just after the birds had awoken, but before the village rose out of its slumber. The streets were mostly vacant, peppered only with the earliest of risers. Food places were heating up their kitchens for the expected onslaught of breakfast eaters, and merchants of all shape and color swept leaves and dust from their welcome mats. A single hawk flew through the sky, the note tied to its taloned foot signifying that it belonged to someone.

For my next bout of training I visited a small pond in the rear of the flower shop. Several minutes were spent visiting with the woman who ran the establishment - she was an old woman, having retired from kunoichi-hood even before I was born. She was another mentor, outside of Yukata, and had served to provide me with many scrolls of various Fuuton jutsu. She had long white hair, tanned wrinkled skin and a face wrought with small lines, indicating a seemingly happy life. She had told me on one occasion, that she had been and still was a bit of a sociopath, so most things she had done as a kunoichi didnÕt effect her as they would someone like me, who felt intensely the sorrows of others.

“You use whatever you need to dear,“ She’d said to me as I entered.

The pond was just large enough to bathe in. The water was a lush crystal blue, and seemed more man-made than natural. It was framed by a copse of bamboo reeds, each stalk cut evenly at about five feet in height. I surmised that it was to serve the purpose to keep away peering eyes, though I wondered what type of man would wish to peek on such an old woman.

I sunk to my knees beside the pool, pulling a scroll out from within the depths of kimono. I unrolled the scroll, revealing the name of the jutsu I was to be learning. Kirigakure no Jutsu. It was a technique nearly synonymous with the shinobi village of Mizu no Kuni. In fact, it was synonymous, considering that the village was called Kirigakure as well. By using the air present in the pond, I would be able to invoke the birth of a dense mass of fog that would kill the visibility of my opponents whilst leaving me relatively unaffected, considering the abilities of my doujutsu, It couldn’t be upset by Fuuton either, so once I learned the jutsu, I would have a very useful supplementary jutsu to add to my repertoire. I literally salivated at the implications of the technique.

I studied the handseals for but a moment, using the lull in action to memorize the string of seals needed to complete the jutsu. It wasn’t a very advanced jutsu, despite its usefulness, but even still I would visualize myself completing the technique before I embarked upon its practice.

[Takara]

??/20

I could see the jutsu forming around me. It was nigh impenetrable by normal vision, forming a thick haze of mist around my form. The mist stretched to the back wall of the shop, and even to the edge of the forest around me. Even I could see nothing in the mist; not without use of my eyes. I imagined it as like the haze of a dream, yet even thicker, obscuring everything from view. For the amount of visibility the jutsu granted, I might as well had been blind.

So that is was success looks like, I thought, as the vision slipped away from me and my eyes opened to witness the reality of the situation; I had been but imagining the technique, to better help me visualize the jutsu when I decided to embark upon its completion. My imagination had afforded me a vision of success, and I would use that emotion, that feeling of completion to help me when I attempted to execute the ninjutsu technique. Indeed, I had learned the correct way to applicate the jutsu, and I would commence to replicate what I had envisioned in my imagination.

I abandoned my position on the ground, standing up from my knees to climb to my feet, absently dusting a bit of dirt from my kimono. Only a few seconds had been wasted, and thus the morning was still young. I turned away from the pond, putting my back to it and my front to the flower shop. Immediately, my hands clasped together, my fingers twitching and bending together to form the few handseals for the technique. Each was performed perfectly, and though the technique usually called for twelve handseals, I was able to complete them in only eight, due to my ninjutsu proficiency.

Even before I had completed the handseals for the technique, however, I had reached within myself to call forth a moderate amount of chakra, dipping into the deep bowels of my chakra reserves to only withdraw a shallow cup of energy. That very same energy was directed into the jutsu, guided not only by my will, but by the handseals as well, that essentially served to call the technique into existence.

As the set of handseals were ended, I released the chakra into the jutsu. It left me, falling into the water and my back and serving to pull thousands upon thousands of tiny water particles into the air. The chakra thickened the water until it seemed but a low lying cloud, thick and impenetrable by normal vision. Just as it had done in my vision, the thick set mist spread far and wide, brushing up against the wall of the flower shop and extending to the forest behind me. I stood in the center of the mist, concealed in its depths, unable to see outward, save for the activation of my doujutsu. I did so, as that had been the purpose of learning this technique in the firsts place. I directed a small stream of chakra to my eyes, and they began to glow red. Before me the mist became transparent; I could see everything. It was like it wasn't there at all, like I had imagined everything. But, as I deactivated my doujutsu, the mist took form again, and I knew that I had succeeded.

[Masakuni]

+20. =)

[Takara]

Shinkaku (Divinity)
Rank: A
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Coats the user in a thick layer of their own wondrous chakra, successfully allowing them to cut the damage of all attacks in half for the next five turns.
Special: Ninjutsu and taijutsu both affect the user less, fifty percent less to be exact. Only S ranked techniques can do regular damage to the Onigami, as the power of an S ranked attack bypasses the chakra shield. However, this does not damage the shield at all. Doujutsu cannot see the shield unless it’s been hit by an S ranked technique.
Drawback: Heavy chakra usage.
Description: Whenever too much physical pain is inflicted upon the Onigami, an instinctual technique kicks in, the Shinkaku, covering the user in a thick, invisible layer of their powerful chakra, successfully repealing most attacks. A fight or flight jutsu emerging when danger is high, this jutsu should be used only as a last resort, for the chakra toll his grand.
Limit: Must be part of the Onigami BL. Can only be used once per battle.

0/100

I began the day in the same mold as any other, awaking from blissful sleep to the bland decor of my modest apartment in the midst of Kusagakure. Outside my window I could hear the bustling village awake as well, as scores of farmers and merchants made their way through the streets. Their children ran along behind them, laughing up a storm, only existing to cause a ruckus. I longed to ignore the sound and return to oblivion, but no matter how hard I tried, sleep eluded me. Eventually I abandoned my useless attempts at falling back asleep, and evacuated my position in the bed, rolling my hair into a negligent ball as I cut a brisk pace to the bathroom.

Minutes later and I was abadoning that front as well, cleaned, refreshed, and clad in a traditional white kimono embroidered with spiraling red vines and flowers. My hair was tied in a complex knot, held in place by an ornamental hair tye. I wore plain gata on my feet, made of wood and tan in color. A wrinkled scroll was the last to join my list of accessory’s - it had been given to me by a dieing man named Yukata, who I had discovered carried within him the same divine blood as I. He left the scroll in my position to learn from... it contained not only the history of my Dojoutsu, but within its curled pages were nearly a dozen techniques that could be utilized by someone with my Kekkai Genkai. The scroll was a veritable godsend - without it, I wouldn’t forever remained ignorant of my history and heritage.

I vacated my apartment to come face to face with the morning breeze, holding in a chilled shudder as the cool air brisked through my hair and carressed my skin, easily seeping through the thin silk kimono. I ignored the chill, however, continuing on my way with an upturned chin, pride showing clearly in my features. I didn’t often feature, nor exhibit such obvious pride, but on this day I felt I had a right to do so. I was Onigami, and nothing or no one could take that away from me.

My feet carried me to the inn, but the doors and windows of the establishment had been boarded up, indicating that the inn was closed. Based upon the aged appearance of the wood, and the putrid, peeling paint, the inn had been abandoned for some time. If that was the case...

Who was the man I’d met in the inn? And the scroll... where did it come from?

[Takara]

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I considered the notion that the entire charade had been but an illusion, but if that were the truth, then I would not be able to feel and smell the scroll held in my fingers, nor would I be able to learn from what was written upon it. Something smelled foul, like decaying death... but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Instead of allowing my mind and thoughts to linger on the subject, I simply dropped the matter, effectively erasing it from my mind until the incident in which it gained pertinence. For now, I would learn from the scroll and not question its origins. Perhaps it had been an episode of divine intervention... and act of Kami himself.

I left the inn with that thought, my body naturally traveling along the path to the rolling hills and stretching grassland that bordered the western outskirt of the village. With all the knowledge she needed documented in the scroll, I wouldn’t need Yukata’s help anyway...

Though it would have been greatly appreciated.

I happened upon the vast grassland, immediately regretting my decision. With no sort of obstacle to block or at the very least reduced the rate if wind flow, the grassland proved to be several degrees colder than inside the village. Alas, for as far as a normal eye could see, there was nothing but grass and grass and more grass for miles and miles. The grass was tall, however, cut in natural even stalks that extended up to her mid calf in some places, and in others, almost to her waist. Even still, I would not allow mere discomfort to effect or ruin my goal. I simply drew my kimono closer around my form to fight off the wind.

I held the scroll taut in both hands, unrolling it until its end. There was a number of techniques that caught my attention. My eyes seemed to have been created specifically to battle other doujutsu. It made for an interesting set of family jutsu, the most interesting being Shinkaku. The jutsu was invisible even to the Sharingan and the Byakugan, and capable of cutting a techinques power in half. This was the technique I sought to learn, but as my eyes scanned the scroll I realized that the technique was exceedinly complicated and very chakra draining, despite its rather straightforward effects. Still, I would endeavor to learn the technique - call me sentimental, but because of the scroll and the jutsu, I felt that much closer to the mother I had never known.

With my resolve reverberating throught my being, I began my personal instruction. Everything began to fade away as my focus was consumed by the technique, leaving room only for the involuntary impulses to blink and breath. Every other faculty would be abandoned in the face of Shinkaku.

[Takara]

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The technique had originated as a natural reaction to excessive danger. When an Onigami such as myself was too badly damaged, bruised and beaten by unforgiving fists, our bodies would expel our chakra in its purest, most divine form, streaming bountiful spiritual energy from every tenketsu. The energy expelled was a mixture of both chakra and pure life force, and thus was invisible to the vision of chakra viewing doujutsu. The concoction of energy would then serve to form a barrier around my body, drastically reducing the strength of attacks that would wish upon me immense bodily harm. Because of the nature of the chakra and the effects it could exude, the technique was drastically draining, and useful only as a desperate last resort. My brain supplied several other scenarious in which the techniique would be useful, but those scenarios would require me to be dependant upon the powers and abilities of other shinobi. Even still, despite the blaring drawback of the technique, it would also allow me to learn the usage of other Onigami specific techniques that were far more useful and easily applicated.

Knowing the difficulty of the technique, and the certain possibility of failure, I hesitated to try my hand at Shinkaku. There were many factors I hadn’t considered as of yet - just how much chakra would it take to cause the technique to take shape? Without handseals... how would the technique form? According to the scroll, the technique itself was intrinsic to those with blood as fierce as my own. But, if that were the case... one would have to be in a situation where death could be a conclusion, and not many found themselves in such a situation... perhaps that particular statement had been a mistake. Or perhaps that had been how the technique was discovered in the first place, and once its creation had been deciphered, the Onigami clan had begun to teach the abiility to its members.

Still, with no real grounds to start with, save for the detailed explanation of the technique, I simply sought to sink into my mindscape and learn to summon the amalgamation of modern chakra and my life energy. Hopefully, in the process, I woudn’t accidentaly end my existence. That would be unfortunate indeed. To better aid the transition from reailty into the metaphysical, I feel gently to the earth, holding back a chuckle as the tall, thin stalks of grass tickled my flesh. Due to my small stature, the grass nearly swallowed me whole, hiding my sitting form from anyone who would seek audience from me. I closed my eyes, the wind dancing through my hair, and slowed my breathing to a mild, steady rhythm that made the transition that much smoother. Soon, the sensations began to fade, as the wind dissappeared and the grass faded away, and my perception shifted, allowing access to the innermost workings of my psyche.

[Takara]

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I opened my eyes to view glistening halo’s of glowing white energy forming a rows upon rows of circles for as far as my eyes could see, the halo’s positionws against a vast backdrop of a dark, bluish gray void, like the early night sky in the face of a storm. I was in the midst of the spiraling white energy, splayed in the center of the halo’s, my eyes capturing everything that happened around me. Colors, like seperate bullets of the rainbow, blinked in and out of existence, decorating the void with wacky hues of yellow and orange and red and green. Everything was so chaotic... nothing was planned, nor did the happenings follow any sort of beat or rhythm. I couldn’t discern any rhyme or reason to the rapid appearance and dissappearance of the colors, and slowly I began to realize that I would have to control those happenings... I realized that I would have to inflict my will upon the colors, my chakra, but to what end that would result, I didn’t know...

I considered the avenue of standard chakra control to impose my will upon the sparkling colors. By concentrating my efforts through thought, I was able to feel the unsettled, vibrating energy coursing through me, enabling me to attach another sense to the chakra besides mere sight. This would allow me to better control it, when the time came. I sought to control the energy through thought as well, using proverbial mental walls to close in on the chakra, to restrict its movement. I might as well had tried to carry water in my fist. The chakra simply darted around the walls, zipping erratically about my mindscape, wild and untamed. After that failure, I decided to simply observe the chakra, hoping that some sort of rhythm would reveal itself over time. Then, I could possibly focus my efforts upon one section of the bountiful chakra, and, if a rhythm could be discovered, I would be able to better control each individual section and ultimately learn the technique.

Still floating in the massive void of chakra and life energy, I watched my chakra zip to and fro like birds dancing in the air, my eyes seeking to catch a pattern developing. For the longest time, the chakra only manifested in erratic patters, and I soon began to doubt my chances of success. But then, after what seemed like hours, I slowly began to notice a developing pattern. It was faint, and nearly impercetible, the chakra blazing too fast for normal eyes to catch, but finally I noticed it. The pattern was long and drawn out, with dozens of separate factors and arrays that would prove insanely difficult to isolate and control. I focused my attention upon one section, and the white halo’s that spiraled around my prone body began to vibrate harshly, serving to ruin my concentration. It seemed that I would have to split my focus between both.

[Masakuni]

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