View Full Version : Peace in loss: Arata's training
Bartimaeus
06-22-2007, 06:46 PM
:cool:Kumomaru's training thread
YAY! Thanks bart :D
Character Sheet (http://forum.narutochaos.com/showpost.php?p=358979&postcount=33)
Timezone: Central
Teamate: (DonEmu)
Fights Won: 0
Fights Lost: 1
Arata (Kumo) vs. Nazo (papfles)
Fights Drawn: 0
Events: Turnament of the sun
Training Index
Day 1 (http://forum.narutochaos.com/showthread.php?p=409436#post409436)
Mission Index
D-rank: Stage Fright (http://forum.narutochaos.com/showthread.php?t=12767)
C-rank: Frozen River, Lost Treasure (http://forum.narutochaos.com/showthread.php?t=15187)
Techniques/Jutsu
Kawarimi
Bunshin
Henge
Equipment
1 Katana
1 Tanto
9 ft of Bandage Wrapping
2 Bottles of Water
28 Kunai
1 set of Iron Rings
1 set of 5 lb Training Weights
1 Backpack
2 Kunai Holsters
2 Emergency Kunai Holders
1 Tinderbox
1 Soldier Pill
1 scroll for shunshin no jutsu
Arata was snoring in the fork of a tree in one of the few forests in the mountainous area that was Kumogakurue. He had his hands behind his head to form a sort of makeshift pillow against the hard bark. Despite the conditions and area around him, he had a warm smile plastered on his face. Whatever he was dreaming was giving him great comfort. As the sun rised over the mountains and peeked through the trees, he yawned and slowly opened his eyes.
There was something looking down at him from about three inches away. It was a black raven with piercing red eyes. It let out a fairly loud, screechy birdcall.
Arata gave a yelp of surprise and quickly scuttled to the edge of the branch, as far away from the bird as he could.
However, when he realized what it was, he sighed with relief. “You surprised me there, little guy.” He remarked.
The bird simply stared at him as if he were stupid.
“Fair enough.” He laughed. The bird was startled by this and flew away.
Arata jumped down out of the tree, then crawled under the roots. There was a small compartment that had been dug out (partly by rain and partly by himself) big enough for one person if they curled up. He kept most of his stuff (aside from his katana and tanto, which he always kept on) in this little ‘cove’ of sorts under where he slept and lived. If it rained he would simply head into the main part of the village with his personal effects, and he would crawl into the area if it was simply cold.
Arata found his pack, and reached inside. He pulled out his training weights and strapped them to his legs. Then he took the iron rings he had bought out of the bag and put those on as well. He strapped the tanto to his side, his katana on his back, and his forehead protector on his right wrist. He strapped his two kunai pouches on (one on each leg) and his emergency pouches on his ankles just in case. Arata loaded them all full with kunai.
In the end, he felt like he was walking uphill, but he knew he would gear up like this if a fight broke out, minus the weights and rings. He would have to grow used to even this weight if he wanted to be faster.
In his mind, speed could overcome any lack of anything else, second only to logic, and there wasn’t much he could do about that at the moment. The fact you have little defensive power means nothing if the opponent can’t hit you. The fact the enemy is strong makes no difference, for the same reason. If you can land enough blows in a minute where it would be the more than a strong one’s single blow…
Well… you get the idea. Anyway…
Arata decided he would start by climbing one of the cliffaces around here. It would present a challenge for his endurance, and also give time to get used to the weights and rings. He ran off towards the east, heading towards a sharp clifface that rose about two hundred feet off the ground before leveling off. When Arata reached the base he took a good look up the cliff. It seemed even larger when he was this close. There was a waterfall nearby, and its loud roar didn't really help matters. He sighed, closing his eyes and gathering himself for a moment.
Then he opened his eyes with a toothless grin on his face and searched for a handhold. He stretched his hand out to a point about two or so feet from his head. He pulled himself up, then put his foot into one of the handholds that was a little off the ground. Arata grinned to himself inwardly. The fact was he was perfectly prepared for a mission as far as equipment went, but as for training, he was as green as a christmas light. He needed to be stronger in case an old friend from the Ikusa came along.
Arata reached up again, going for a little higher than before, and bringing his foot up to the old handhold. He then pushed himself up with his foot while pulling himself up with his arm. He then repeated the process for the other side, and then did it again. Slowly he began to climb up the clifface faster and faster, working his way to the top. He could feel his heart and lungs pounding as he made his way up the cliff, and blood began to leak a little out of fingers he didn't bother to check on as they scraped on some fairly rough handholds. However, what really surprised him was how quickly he was tiring. he wasn't even 50 feet up and he could already feel himself weakening... He would have to go until he felt he could continue no more.
Wait, that wasn't right either... he'd have to go until about half of his energy was gone, because he'd need that to get back down. So he kept climbing.
He continued to quiz himself as he climbed. Nothing big, just things he'd memorized when he was a kid that really teased his brain.
"Tiger..." He huffed, climbing higher up the cliff, now reaching about "Both... nowhere... Depends... Depends again... No..."
He felt himself weaking and his muscles screaming as he continued to pull himself up. The weight from before seemed to weigh ten times as much now. The sky seemed to darken, and as Arata looked up, the wind started to pick up.
A storm was coming. And it was very near.
Arata felt his heartbeat quicken, but forced himself to remain calm. If he lost focus now he would make a mistake, and then he would be caught in the storm for sure.
He stopped climbing, closed his eyes, and allowed himself to breathe deeply for a moment.
Let go, Arata-kun... let go of...
Arata started to release his hold from the cliffside-
NOT LIKE THAT!!! STOP! GRAB HOLD!! Now then... let go of your fear... your rage... your sorrow...
He felt his emotions go as cold as the ice he was told he could wield. He felt no pain. No joy. No sorrow. No shades of gray.
He opened his eyes. Suddenly the cliff didn't seem so tall, or the waterfall so loud.
He pulled himself up without concious thought to the pain he was sure he was experiencing. He simply kept climbing.
1081 words
The top was just a few handholds away now, and Arata's emotions were starting to come back. The effects of the trance were only temporary, for living longer is a hollow victory if you have no emotions to enjoy it with.
But enough with the morals.
Arata finally pulled himself to the very top, and fell over, exhausted. He felt like just going back to his tree and taking a nap... but he couldn't do that... not yet. First he would have to run into town and find some shelter from the rain, and running would also help with his stamina training.
He slowly lifted himself up, and as he did so, he saw lightning flash and thunder cracked shortly afterward as the first rain drops began to fall.
He sighed. "It's Okasa... Natsumi... drunk all over again..."
He turned on his heel and raced towards town.
To his credit, he made it ten feet before he collapsed where he stood.
He was covered in dirt that was almost mud but not quite there since it had only just started raining.
Arata felt cold, and exhausted.
Don't forget... getting past an obstacle like this makes one stronger than before!
Since when did i get this smart?
Ya always were, you just never put your brain to work!
Oh yeah.
He slowly pulled himself up. Even he was smart enough to know all he could do now was run straight to town. He didn't have enough energy to do anything else, and besides, it was wet and he was hungry.
He took off as the rain began to pelt harder.
Arata couldn't really remember everything that happened after that, probably due to exhaustion. He only remembered flashes...
dodging and swerving around some trees, nearly knocking someone over on the way, yelling "Gomenasai" afterwards, plunging his feet deep in mud, yelling as he heard a bear a mile or two back, and going into the main part of the village...
He grinned to himself. He'd made it. Better than that, he found a restraunt!
325 words
Bartimaeus
07-28-2007, 06:10 PM
alright...no need to post wordcount btw...it's alright
"There are many ways to a catch a fish, but if the fish will rise to a simpler bait, so be it."
Storms seemed to follow the man everywhere. It wasn't because of a bloodline, or any horrible enemies. It wasn't because he'd desecrated a grave, or was being punished by the gods. He just had a knack for ending up in the middle of huge storms, in his mind.
The man wore a long, black cloak that hid his figure from view. The head of the cloak seemed to keep the top half of his face in a constant shadow. Rain pelted his head like an avalanche, but somehow the cloak seemed perfectly dry. The man's arms were hidden by long sleeves , which went down to his wrists. His hands were wearing black leather gloves that seemed to be almost covered in oil. He wore biker gang style boots, black and leather as well. The man seemed to be almost entirely midnight black. Even his nodachi was purest black, although the sheath was deceptive of this, as it was snow white. Black hair flopped out of the hood, untidy bangs over his eyes nearly as dark as the rest of him. His eyes seemed to flash through the shadows, strangely though it was almost to see his irises (which were a very light teal).
He stood at the top of a hill overlooking the cloud village. As lightning cracked across the sky, he grinned.
The man's name was Daikage.
And he was a hunter.
"Free will is an illusion. People always choose the perceived path of greatest pleasure.." -Scott Adams
Arata was lying down on his usual spot, about ten feet above the ground, and had his eyes shut, as his mind tossed, turned, and created, in the land that is slumber. The world to him was a bright and fulfilled place, a place of castles, dragons, elves, and the occasional fish person with a spear. The clouds in the sky moved lazily along, as if they too did not wish to disturb this peace, this tranquility. The world was a bright and beautiful place.
Then he woke up.
"Aw, god d*** it!" Arata swore, getting up off the branch hurridely. "Why is it i always wake up right when the huge battle is about to take place?!"
'Cuz your luck sucks.' He snapped at himself. 'Great. Now we'll never know whether Re'Shan arrived in time, who Silara laid, and the true identity of Krolork the foul!'
"... F*** you, me." He laughed.
Arata let himself fall down towards the ground. He alighted softly on the dirt below, kicking a small cloud of dust around his feet. The sky was a pleasant blue today, with just the occasional cloud rolling in the sky.
"You'd think it'd be the exact opposite in a village called 'Kumogakurue'..." he remarked to no one in particular.
He felt his eyes shut as a yawn escaped his mouth. He reached his arms towards the sky as he did so, feeling himself slowly wake up. Arata, for once, had a plan for his training today. He had recently bought a scroll on the shunshin no jutsu, a technique used for high speed in combat. A day would be long enough to at least learn it.
He placed his hands on the branch below and turned himself around as another gust of wind swept through the clearing, disturbing the branch's stability just enough to make Arata pause for a moment. However he did not hesiate after that and let himself fall down, alighting softly upon the ground of the clearing below.
The breeze played softly across his face, simultaneously ruffling his hair into an even messier state than before. The leaves in the clearing scattered, their orange and red forms flitting across the lush green grass, tossed into the wind, never to be seen again. The brown trunks of the deep woods ahead seemed to shadow the very air, hiding all from the eyes of the average passerby. The few trees not standing were sheltering all manner of beast, critter and serpent.
Or at least that's what Arata assumed, from his nature.
In fact there was only two garden snakes, a squirrel, and the shadows of the early morning.
'Why do i live out here again?'
The peace of the morning was all-consuming, and seemed to pierce the very fiber of the soul with healing salve.
'Oh yeah.'
The path on which Arata walked was winding, and sometimes hardly seemed to be there at all. It had been carved by a power that no one could control, and Arata walked it because it allowed him to keep his pace, and still work toward a goal.
No, the path LITERALLY.
He was walking along a small path made by critters of the forest. Naturally this meant that the path was littered with various... leavings... but it also meant that he had an easy way to anywhere in the village or forest, so he wasn't complaining.
As he came upon another clearing, he reached behind him and whipped his pack around so that he could retrieve his shunshin scroll.
Why he felt compelled to wander to do his training, he did not know. Probably some tidbit from his old days in the Ikusa stronghold. Knowing how to remain undetected was not only invaluable, but neccesary if you valued your life. And routine is the easiest way to learn where your enemy will be and when.
He sat down on the ground with his legs crossing each other, and opened the scroll in front of him. It was an incredibly insightful explanation that read as follows:
Concentrate chakra to your legs and make it blow out, and you'll go faster. It's not hard to figure out, dipshit.
Arata sighed. "Why did i not see THAT coming?"
He rolled the scroll back up, and sighed. "Ok. Chakra is controlled by handsigns, one of the most basic of which is the ram seal... for all purpose, pretty much."
He calmly set his pack, the scroll, and his blade aside, took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and formed the ram seal.
Silence prevailed the tranquil, secluded glade. The wind seemed to pick up a bit, as small leaves fluttered around in the breeze, locked in a dance the the wind choreographed. The leaves fell slowly as the wind died down, only to be replaced when it began to pick up again. Arata could feel the breeze ruffling his hair, could hear a squirrel rustling through the grass, could smell fresh pine needles among the cool, refreshing time that was morning.
Chakra felt different in form, intensity and color (not sure how you "feel" that last one, but...) depending on the individual within whom the chakra resides. Arata's felt like a cold, watery form that was pale teal in color. It flowed like water, and seemed to penetrate every fiber of his being. It would flow easily one moment, and become almost rock solid the next.
Arata slowly and deeply inhaled, and exhaled one last time. Then he took his chakra and flowed it into his legs. The first step begins a journey, but it is also the most important.
The chakra flowed to his legs, slowly at first, but then...
It stopped.
Arata felt confusion for a moment before quickly silencing it. It was foolish to think you would get something right on the first go. It was great if you did, but you shouldn't expect.
The clearing's tranquility was even less noticeable than before, as the white haired boy in the clearing continued to focus. The chakra felt as if it got slower and slower with each attempt. Arata set that aside as simple resistance increase. He continued to push. The chakra flowed for a quick burst, then stopped again. Arata gritted his teeth. It would get painful soon, but he wouldn't - no, couldn't - let fear stop him from giving it a shot. As the stress increased, sweat began to break out, his breathing grew shallow and aggravated, and he began to feel burning in his thighs from the intense chakra. The flow started to flow back, and Arata gasped from relief of pain. It felt as if he'd had his foot in a campfire and had only just pulled it out, minus the lasting effect of burns. Arata took a look at the damage.
To his surprise, there was nothing. Not a single mark, or burn, or cut, or even a scratch. All that was there was that stinging pain, and of course, his flesh.
Arata had heard of tales of chakra burns and exhaustion. The ninja was literally unable to do more than the mind did without concious thought. The burns were not just felt, they were REAL. The tenketsu sometime were ripped open from force. The tears would only add to the pain, and even though he could feel the pain, he could not see what caused it.
He sighed. All he could do for now was try again, and sooner or later he would probably need to walk on his chakra control. Arata knew of a way to try it, but it was both dangerous, extremly risky, and also very stupid.
So he'd try a tree before he tried a cliff with sharp rocks at the bottom.
Arata sighed, and started again. It was gonna be a long, long day.
After about ten tries, he found that he could actually push farther than what he percieved as his limit before. The pain increased, but going to levels below it became less painful to fill up. Arata guessed he could probably do it six more times at this level.
He tried it twice more. Pain seemed to redefine itself with each attempt, as if it were amused with his frail, pathetic attempts to actually DO something with himself.
'It and everyone else.' Arata thought. He chuckled at himself, though even he wasn't sure why. Oh well, like he was gonna complain about light invading a dark day...
Arata frowned. It was way too dark outside. Was it even miday yet? He'd only been there an hour or two, by his reckoning.
He looked up. The sun was still high in the sky, and there were only a few wispy cirrus clouds, floating miles above, as if their existence was barely corporeal.
And yet it was definetly getting darker. The shadows of the trees seemed to deepen, and his own shadow seemed to have faded almost entirely. It was as if some force had come and stolen the light from the very air on which it rested. What was going on?
Arata's blood run cold. "Oh dear lord..."
An amused chuckle came from behind. "You only just now noticed? Wow, i must be losing my touch. Unless, of course, you've been slouching in my absence?"
Arata whipped around, eyes flashing, his blade's hilt already in his hand.
A single man stood alone at the entrance to the clearing, his grin plastered on his face like pain on a porcupine. His blood red eyes stared out of eyesockets that seemed almost designed to drain hope from one's heart. The black nodachi at his side only added to the grim atmosphere he portrayed. His hair was midnight black, with flaming red streaks running through it. The white fur on his jacket seemed to only enhance the appearance of his eyes, surveying the world around him with cynical amusement. He wore black leather gloves, and was leaning against a large oak tree with his arms folded. The darkness seemed to center on him, and swirl around his legs like mist.
There was a reason the man's chosen name was Daikage, after all.
"Hello, my little gelding." He grinned. "Want to talk?"
"Do you even know what a gelding is?" Arata asked automatically, before he could stop himself.
"There's no time for old pleasantries, i'm afraid." Daikage sighed, bringing his right hand down to his blade's hilt.
"Fine by me." Arata snapped, all traces of his former aloof and relaxed attitude gone, as if they had never existed. "I could use some more excercise, and a rest from this shunshin crap."
Daikage chuckled. "Anything worth having must be worked for, m-"
"Shut up. You're too highly skilled to be the one sent after me." Arata spat. "So what brings you here... Ikusa Daikage-sensei?"
Daikage grinned even wider. "Ah, can't we have a fight first? I've been itching to slice some flesh ever since i arrived here..." The shadows around his legs seemed to quiver with delight.
Arata didn't answer. He was already charging, his tanto in one hand, his katana in the other.
"That's a new one." was the last thing Arata heard before the shadows around Daikage grew expondentially, and shrouded the world in darkness, and making the next few scenes incredibly easy to describe.
"Let's get started."
A laugh devoid of amusement echoed around the clearing.
OOC: I'm sorry if daikage's technique seems a little strange, judges pm me and i'll give details.
The dome of shadows was Arata's greatest fear. Not because of the darkness itself, but the memories they brought back. Daikage used the shadows like an old friend, almost like the Nara, but with one twist: he created the darkness he controlled.
Now, the results were in front of him. A dome of darkness so total, so complete, that all he could truly see was about half a foot in front of his face.
Arata jumped up, grabbed onto a tree branch with the hand also holding his tanto, and nearly got on top before it broke off the tree, and brought him crashing back to the ground. Arata looked at the end of the branch in the little seeing area available to him. The end was not frayed, it was sliced clean.
So. Not only had Daikage worked out the bug in which he couldn't see, but had apparently become far faster than Arata remembered.
"Ya know..." Daikage's voice came, "When i saw your name entered into the turnament of the sun, i nearly asked if it was a typo. Yes, you changed your name, but don't you think you made it too obvious? 'Fuyumi'? What kind of name is that?"
"The same as 'great shadow'."
"Hmm... Touche. Then again, only a fool goes into battle with a fighting style they have yet to master, and even those fools know to try and learn it."
Arata felt something sharp slice across his shoulder. Arata knew that the blade had been there, but the blade was so black, and the speed so quick, that he had not seen it.
"You charged me with a tanto-" Arata jumped back from the swising through the air "and a katana-" FWI- CHUCK! The blade sliced into Arata's shoulder. "-And you haven't even learned how?"
Arata said nothing. He knew how Daikage's game worked. One wrong word from him, and his mind could and would be turned inside out.
"It's like a broken record with you. You think you know what you're doing, but you've never done it before, so you have no idea. You ran away, but then what? You had nowhere to go. It worked out fine this time, but-"
"Didn't you say there's no time for idle chatter?" Arata paid for that one with a backhand to the face.
"I said no time for old pleasantries."
Arata frowned. "And yet, you use our old training method... why? You usually don't use your bloodline so... promptly."
"Would you have believed i was Daikage unless i did?" he pointed out.
"Who else would be stupid enough to say they were someone i wanted to kill, and tried to fight even before he reached his goal?"
"You." Daikage chuckled.
"Fair enough."
Arata felt yet another slice from Daikage's blade. He had cuts all up and down his arms, but fortunately they were all extremely shallow. Unfortunately, Daikage could have ended it any time he wanted. He was merely toying with Arata, messing with his head.
The dome of darkness still encompassed the clearing, except now it was more like a starfield, as small holes had opened up all over the thing. Pretty reasonable, considering this had been going on for hours.
"I've grown tired of our... little game." Daikage sighed. "Time's up."
Arata felt the blade stab his leg, his right shoulder, and his knee in rapid succesion. Arata's blade fell from his hand as he felt his knee collapse. Without anything else to hold it up, he crashed to the floor. Now all that was left was the tanto in his left hand.
Daikage chuckled as the darkness began to lift, like mist in the morning. "You lose. If it had been anyone else-"
"-then i would have actually been able to see and fight." Arata snapped. "Didn't even one of my swipes come close?"
Daikage sneered and spread his arms wide, to indicate he was completely unharmed. "Does it look like it hit to you? If you had half the training in your mind that i actually f****** gave you, you wouldn't need to see, and you wouldn't have gotten in that fix."
"Maybe if you got and Okasan stopped whoring every once in a while you wouldn't have been fixed." Arata shot back as dark clouds began to gather. Apparently a storm had decided that now that the fight was over, it was safe to continue hounding Daikage's ass.
"Touche. The fact is, you were unprepared entirely because you ended your training, and decided to practice the blade instead of mastering actual combat techniques. A blade technique is a blade technique, but battle techniques-"
"'are for every weapon'. I remember the c***** lecture-"
"Then why the h*** did you slouch? If you were HALF the level you were when Miyu-chan died, you'd be able to find me and at least give me a reason to withdraw. But nooooooo, you decided to do things completely different from the way you were taught."
"'The way i was taught', as you put it, nearly got me killed! Ikusa style techniques are so recognizable, i figured if you ever saw me fight like that, you'd figure there's no way it could be me!"
"I might have, if i didn't know you as well as i do. You always go your way and ignore what tracks you leave behind. I mean seriously, it was easier to see your twitching than a squirrel that got high..."
"Hey, excuse me for trying to keep from going down the road you did and actually having a life!!"
Daikage laughed. "When your past is not only hounding you, but actively snapping at your heels, you can't afford to stand still. Getting your own life would come later. I do not deny i made mistakes, but when i decided to finish the fight, i stayed on track until it was done."
Arata groaned. "Dammit, now i've gotten into a word game with you... i know i'll lose, so let's cut to the part about morals."
Thunder rumbled overhead and Daikage sighed. "And that, Arata, is why you will never escape the Ikusa. It is also why..." Daikage smiled. "I'm here to help you."
Whatever Arata had expected to come soaring out of the word train filled tunnel called Daikage's mouth, it certainly wasn't that. "Say what?"
Daikage deadpanned, sighed, and leaned closer. "Hard of hearing? I'm. here. to. help. you." he repeated, enounciating as clearly as he could.
Arata simply stared off into space, surprise so all-consuming he didn't even notice the rain begin to fall.
Daikage's voice held no amusement, nor hate, nor warmth. Only solid fact. "You're surprised."
Arata nodded. Lightning flashed, and somewhere, a wolf howled into the lonely night, and was answered.
I wonder why Daikage's looks and his actions are complete opposites...
Day Complete
Chakra pool increase
Viseres
02-15-2008, 12:58 PM
I'm not going to write out a full explanation like pap does.
Basicly you need to watch your spelling and grammer mistakes. Try after writing the post, come back an hour later and re-read it and see if it makes pure sense.
I'm giving you 2 xp mainly because I can't remember where we left off at.
Arata sighed, looking off into the distant sunrise, listening to the pounding of the waterfall beneath him. Kumogakurue was mostly mountains, hence the name, but the mountains themselves were far from bare. There were some trees, hence his forest home, but mostly there were cliffs, hills and mountains, along with the occasional waterfall. That's where he was at that moment. The top of a waterfall, legs crossed, eyes peering over the cliff to the river far below. The roar of the waterfall was great enough to pound Arata's eardrums with bloodlust, as if it were a war drum in the thick of battle.
Arata sighed. Sometimes it was almost not worth it to be trained young to recognize such sounds.
Daikage had taken residence in town, renting an apartment and earning his keep as a bounty hunter. He had offered Arata lodging, and Arata had accepted, until he walked in on Daikage and his latest "girlfriend" by accident.
He had since gone back to the forest, and still lived in relative peace, a waterfall in front of him, the silence that enveloped his mind, and a calming, rejuvinating sense that he was home.
Arata sighed, and stood up. He had no reason to do anything today besides joking around as usual, but he wanted to do something more... productive, today. Like the shunshin. Either that or learning to suppress his emotions without killing them outright.
Since the latter was never going to happen, he decided to go with Shunshin.
"Ok..." Arata muttered under his breath. "Simple enough in concept... chakra to legs and up y-"
"Hey dumbass."
Arata yelled, jumped, and swung his blade out of it's sheath all in one motion.
Daikage grinned as he looked at the blade a mere three inches from his face. "Impressive. If you were seven."
"Shut up!" Arata laughed. It was almost like old times. A surprise, an attack, and, of course, the insults. Aside from the fact that spaghetti was usually served at dinner at the Ikusa compound, the one thing he missed about his old life was the routine with his sensei. Although, he was surprised that Daikage hadn't tried to kill him (in the metaphorical sense) for his failure in his last mission. True, it had been a partial success, but that did not excuse Arata's carelessness and stupidity.
In order to take down the jutsu dragon, he had ran his hands through the spikes lining its neck in order to work his way to the eyes, which he had deduced was the weakest part of the body. He remembered climbing up a second time, but beyond that it was a vauge blur. It had left gaping holes in his palm. Fortunatly the holes weren't too big, and he'd managed to bandage them on the way back to Kumo.
His thoughts were interrupted in a rather shocking way. Apparently Daikage decided it was time to start training for a battle in a water-filled enviorment, because he chose that moment to give Arata a hard shove into the waterfall.
Arata stumbled backward, flailing for balance, before Daikage pushed his foot into his stomach. The extra force sent Arata careening into the river that led over the cliff.
"Save your hide, kid!" Daikage shouted. "Think fast!"
Arata yelled something back that is both uneccessary to type, and would have to be censored, as he fell over the waterfall.
"Touche!!" Daikage called back.
Arata whipped out his katana and plunged it downwards what looked (to him) like a 30 degree angle from the ground into the cliff. He felt his arm suddenly jerk, as if it were going to be pulled out of it's socket, and then he stopped, pain coursing through his right side. He gasped, trying not to resort to his usual habit of killing his emotions. It was the only weapon he had that Daikage was not, COULD not be, aware of.
"Very nice!" Daikage shouted with sarcasm from fourty feet above him. "Just one question! How do you plan to get down?!"
Arata thought for a moment. The he deadpanned. "F***." Arata swore
Daikage laughed. "This is exactly what i was talking about. You never think things through."
Arata ignored him, placed his feet on the wall, and tried to pull himself up, using his katana as leverage.
"There he goes at it again..." Daikage muttered, just loud enough to carry down.
Arata ignored him, and continued to pull himself up by moving the hilt of his blade lower, using it as a lever. Unfortuneatly using your blade this way hits one little snag: sooner or later, it starts to slide out.
And that's exactly what it did.
Arata felt the blade sliding before it actually did. The rocks seemed to quiver in anticipation for his long fall to certain death. Arata's eyes widened, and he could've sworn he saw his life flash before his eyes - no, wait, that was just Daikage taking a picture so he could cheer himself up with this moment whenever he pleased. Honestly, Arata didn't blame him. It was just too comical!
Arata's blade slipped out. As Arata's grip released from the blade's hilt, he felt the urge to scream in exhiliration. Fortunately for the nearby birds, he chose not to. The few pebbles from the blade's sliding transistion from rock to air knocked against his chest.
"There's still a way out, Fuyumi-baka! Think!!" Daikage shouted. "I ain't savin' your ass! Straight!"
Arata groaned as he continued to fall. The fall would end in maybe three seconds. Even if there was a way out, he couldn't possibly come up with one this quickly...
Wait a minute...
Arata turned himself through the air, pointing his head straight down. Then (ignoring the jagged rocks below and how close they were) he placed his hands above his hand into a flat paddle perpendicular to one of the few places in the water that he couldn't see giant rocks.
He hit the water with the giant FFlaa-booooooububu that always accompanies these dives. Fortunately for him the river was deeper than it looked, so he had time to slow down before his hands hit the rocks.
It still hurt.
Arata looked up towards the surface of the murky, greenish water churning around him for a moment. Then he flipped himself over, bent down, his feet planted solid on the rocks, and pushed himself straight back up to the surface.
He burst from the water, a grin on his face for a moment, before it filled with surprise as Daikage grabbed him by his shirt, lifted him up, and looked him right in the eye.
"No time for a swim, Arata. We have pain to inflict."
Arata grinned nervously. He had a feeling he'd be getting most of the pain, and Daikage would get most of the inflicting.
"Ok Arata..." Daikage grinned, looking straight into his eyes. "You've gotten down to the bottom of the waterfall mostly intact. Now then... Are you ready to continue? Too bad." he laughed. He effortlessly reached back and threw Arata like a baseball into the nearest tree. Arata fell to the ground, coughing up blood from the sheer force of the blow. Amazingly, the tree remained intact.
"Let's excercise your mind a little. A bear walks by a house with all four sides facing north. What color is the bear? Make sure you answer well, now." Daikage grinned. "Or you'll end up in the hospital."
Arata wiped the liquid off of his mouth, and looked up, one of his eyes half shut. He barely managed to groan out "ya friggin psychopath..."
"Wrong answer!"
"Oh f***" Arata groaned.
Arata quickly ran it through his mind. If all four sides of a house faced the same way, it was just a really long wall, right? So the bear could be anything... black, brown, white... possibly yellow. He groaned again. Daikage didn't present impossible riddles. He just didn't, especially not as a training session. There was a clue, so small it could be missed by anybody, and yet so vital, it must be said to even give a chance of solving the riddle...
Daikage drew closer, midnight black blade drawn. The shadows were back around Daikage's legs, still quivering with excitement. A slightly maniacal smile found its way onto the man's normally either cynical or resolutely serious face.
Arata tried to think faster, if that's even possible. The house. The house was the key here. What had he said? All four sides facing north...
North...
Arata had an apiffany. (OOC: Yeah, i know that's spelled wrong. Not sure how to properly spell it.) If the house had all four sides facing the same way, but was still a house, it had to be wrapped around one of the poles. If it was at one of the poles, that ruled out all colors except one.
"White! The bear's white!"
Daikage laughed. "Try again, dumbass. You're headin the right way, but then you took a wrong turn... now turn again before you crash into the proverbial fuel plant..."
Arata gasped, and tried to scramble for words. "But... all four sides are facing the same way, so it has to be at one of the poles! The only bears there are white - Polar bears!"
"That so?" Daikage laughed. "Let me tell you the answer..." Daikage stopped, one foot away, and lifted Arata into the air.
"There is no bear." He said simply. "If all four sides are facing north," he said slowly, his blood red eyes staring straight into Arata's cold teal ones, "Then it must be at the south pole. There are no polar bears at the south pole."
Arata could feel his brain swimming in confusion. Come on Arata... think!
Then something clicked. Arata had no idea if this was true (he sincerely doubted it) but it was something Daikage told him, so maybe he could trick him with it...
"But magnetic south is at geographic north..." Arata pointed out, cocking an eyebrow. "Riiiiiight?"
There was complete silence for a moment, except for the rusing of water and the occasional bird call. The leaves seemed to swirl around the area near the river, treating them all to a nice, peaceful aroma as Daikage's brain processed this information. The utter stiffness in his body nearly made Arata think he had become a statue. In fact, if anyone happened to walk past at that moment, they would have, had it not been gripping a teenager by his shirt and pushing him against a tree.
OOC: NOT DONE
OOC: I do not own the Artemis Fowl Series. Everything that is from there is highlighted.
Daikage's laugh started somewhere in his kneecaps and grew in intensity and volume until it finally burst out his mouth as a loud, hysterical breath disruption like an elephant bawling and sneezing at the same time (as far as volume goes >.> it actually sounded more like a.... well, human's laugh.)
"Well done, Arata." Daikage chortled. "Brain seems to be in fine working order for now... Now then," he lifted him up "back to physical excercises."
Oh crap... Please just a tree or something...
Arata suddenly felt himself flying through the air, and almost immediately slamming into a tree.
Thank you for your consideration.
If there was an answer Arata didn't have time to hear it. He immediately threw himself to the right as Daikage's nodachi came piercing down exactly where Arata's torso had been a moment before. The blade drove deep into the bark as Arata landed on all fours a few feet away.
Daikage turned towards Arata, reached out with his right hand and pulled on his nodachi to try and get it out of the wood, but had to duck away as three of Arata's kunai came flying through the air, sounding as if they tore the very air itself asunder. Of course, perceived events are usually not far from reality, but still off. In truth the kunai simply whipped by extremely close to his ears, and probably would've drawn blood if not for the sloppy throw that had caused the kunai to spin. The handle part was actually what had seemed to rip past Daikage's eardrums.
There was a slight 'thuck' as Daikage drew his blade out of the wood, immediately followed by a 'WHIP' as he threw it towards Arata in a whirlwind of blade and black!
Arata couldn't stop his grin from spreading across his face. As part of his training, his emotions were still intact, but even he knew that Daikage's blade couldn't move on it's own. Once the blade was away, Daikage was hopeless at blocking just about anything, but that usually wasn't a problem because that was where his bloodline usually came in. But Arata didn't give him time to form the shell of darkness. Instead he threw himself to the left, whipping out three kunai as he did so. He rolled himself to his feet, drew his arms back, and was just about to throw when-
THOCK!!!
The blade pierced his left shoulder.
Arata stared numbly at the blade poking out his shoulder for a moment, then looked up at Daikage. There was a small tendril of the dome's darkness connecting his index finger to the blade.
Arata's eyes widened. "Hey- how'd you- when'd you- why-"
"Will you be finishing a question anytime soon?"
"SINCE WHEN COULD YOUR DARKNESS BE SOLID?!"
"Doesn't matter. Remember: Never assume something is impossible."
Daikage gave a pulled back with his index finger, and the blade came out of Arata's shoulder, allowing the blood to freely soak his clothes. Daikage opened his palm, catching the nodachi with apparent ease, with the tip of the blade pointed straight at his student.
"Get ready. Now's where we use the Kurotengai..."
(OOC:not done)
Daikage swiped his blade in a half moon arc, from the left side of his body, 180 around his front to the right side of his body. A cloud of darkness seemed to explode outward from his blade as he did so, covering the clearing in shadow, darkness and fear.
Arata could feel his heart pounding. He'd faced this technique in a weaker form the day before, and hadn't even given his sensei a scratch. The Kurotengai was a name with many meanings, and plenty of them applied to the technique.
'Kuro' meant black, which of course referred to the darkness swiping through the clearing like locusts in a field.
Tengai, on the other hand, could refer to an enourmous amount of things, including beyond the heavens, farthest regions, horizon, distant land, skyline, heavenly shores, canopy, dome, priestly minstrel's reed hood...
Well... the point was that the word 'tengai' referred mostly to the total fludity of the technique. Even before Daikage's dramatic reveal with the blade, Arata knew that it was all over the moment he drew it out.
Arata's heart pounded like a Halo 3 mauler was in his chest instead of an organic pump, but he forced himself to calm down, to think. The Kurotengai formed a dark cloud...
"Ok Arata. We're gonna try another mental excercise. Find the secret to my technique. Of course, just because no one else has ever solved it before doesn't mean you won't. I mean, after all, you have seen it more often..."
The darkness began to spread like fog over Arata... the shadows consumed his sight, his mind in turmoil...
Ok, think... Daikage could make it solid...
Daikage laughed. "Hope you're better prepared this time, child."
There is total fluidity...
Feet crunched grass as Daikage moved towards the teal eyed, white haired boy...
The only method i know for escape is shot, since Daikage can now, apparently, see through the dome.
The first strike of Daikage's blade was, once again, superficial... painful but manageable. It dug into his left arm... He'd probably have to go to the doctor soon enough if he wasn't careful... He was sure that was the fourth time he'd been stabbed there...
His speed has improved drastically... Think, Arata! There has to be a way he's doing all this...
Daikage's voice came again. "Arata, you really need to try and do something if you ever want to win."
And once you find that out, take it out, and you're in the clear for now...
Arata gripped his blade tighter. No problem.
It was one hell of a problem.
The dome itself simply refused to collapse, but more annoying than that were Daikage's constant jibes, not because they were annoying Arata at all (he had completely tuned him out when Daikage had started talking about growing up old and alone with his virginity) but because they were uneccesarily loud. Sound seemed to be much louder in the dome, like that was any-
Arata grimaced as another hole opened in him, this time in his right thigh. He would probably need a hospital visit, unless of course Daikage had gotten any better at medical jutsu since-
Another slice.
They were coming faster and more frequently now. No time to think, only act.
Arata knew that Daikage was utilizing his jutsu for this.
Daikage then said something that immediately caught Arata's attention.
"Boobs! I only said that so you'd listen to my hint."
Son of a bitch.
"Now then. Here's your hint: Sound travels faster through solid objects. It is possible to see what's going on inside from the outside."
Arata's confusion only redoubled, so he shut him out again. This was difficult enough without annoying b-
The dome began to dissipate into that strange, black mist.
"Hey what the crap?"
"I just realized... you haven't learned anything. All that's happened is i've beat the crap out of you." Daikage laughed. "Oh well. It was fun."
"Asshole."
"Thank you." Daikage laughed again.
"So now what?"
"I dunno about you, but i'm gonna get some coffee."
"WAIT WHAT THE HELL?! That's it? No training, no experience, just you beating the shit out of me?! WHAT THE HELL WAS THE POINT?!"
".... I cast flare."
Arata stumbled around the clearing confused and temporarily blinded. Daikage left the clearing, laughing like an idiot on crack. As the sound of Daikage's footsteps faded away, Arata remebered that the spell 'Flare' didn't actually exist and then also remembered that Daikage was a master of psychology. He slowly sat up, and brushed the dust off his clothes. One of these days, Daikage would have to shape up... Unfortunately, he couldn't turn in Daikage. That would cause too big a stir, and bring an even worse enemy to his proverbial doorstep. In reality, he knew why Daikage picked that method of training.
It wasn't actually an attempt to make someone stronger, what it did was help the person in question (in this case, Arata) become resistant to panic and hasten thinking while actually paniced. The bad news was, it was very painful. The good news was that it was very helpful against the worst kind of opponent: a sadistic madman.
Well... at least it's over. Until tommorrow...
Then he heard Daikage's voice calling back.
"Remind me tommorrow, we'll start with Chakra training."
Arata groaned. "Great, just perfect. I know EXACTLY what you're version of 'chakra training' is."
"We'll use your mother's method."
"NO! ABSOLUTELY N-"
"The OTHER method."
"Oh, well that's b- wait, weren't you far away?"
"Shows how much you know."
Arata made a sound somewhere between a laugh, an angry shout and a groan.
OOC: Ok, i'm done.
DAY COMPLETE
Viseres
06-25-2008, 01:47 PM
Your writing is seeming to get better kumo. Aside from the few grammer mistakes (forgetting letters mainly) it has vastly approved from when you started.
Your character is showing growth in battle along with understanding how narutoverse is working (atleast in this training). Overall though the training was a little too predictable and simple.
In the end you recieve 3xp. Enjoy and go do your chakra training
Arata could feel the heat pushing against his skin like a physical force. It was almost unaturally hot, like a demon's gaze upon his back. The pain that accompanied the heat wasn't exactly welcome, either. The snowcapped peaks of the mountains seemed so far away... how could it possibly be cold enough ANYWHERE to snow on a day like this?
The village was burning. There were cries of death and destruction everywhere. There was the occasional scream of one's final breath, but he kept pushing on. The Ikusa fighting style was off limits, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could go without it. The very idea of staving off much more of the enemy waves was daunting to him. He had already had his right arm ripped to pieces like an animal in a trap, but he doubted it was broken, since he could feel every bit of it.
Of course, the fact that the invading ninja all weared viking helmets and carried sledgehammers labeled "DA ROFLHAMMER" pretty much proved to him this was a dream.
Arata groaned. He knew he'd have to wake up now. Daikage would probably want to start the training for chakra control immediately, and knowing Daikage, 'immediately' meant "If you ain't up before me, i'll f****** kill you. Metaphorically, of course. Literally comes on offense number 2."
Arata groaned as the dream melted away, but the heat seemed to intensify...
His teal eyes slowly opened, staring straight into the sky.
It also showed Daikage, with a large grin on his face, holding a giant mirror to reflect the sun in his face. The bright rays of the morning had been reflected onto Arata's face to give the impression of searing heat, such as from a fire. It was clear from the look on Daikage's face that he was just barely holding in his hysterical laughter.
An angry tick mark appeared on Arata's forehead as his mouth started to twitch.
"ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Daikage fell off the branch he was standing on because he was laughing so hard, but Arata wasn't satisfied with that, so he jumped on his stomach.
"OW!!!!"
"SERVES YOU RIGHT, DOUCHEBAG!!"
"M-more importantly..." Daikage chuckled slightly, speaking amazingly clearly, considering he had just been hit with the combined force of gravity and a 16 year old boy, "Time to start the training, huh? Yesterday i just beat the crap out of you. We didn't really do anything that you could call 'training', unless you count the ability to break every bone in your body."
"Ok... so what are we gonna do?"
Daikage grinned, an old fire coming back to his eyes.
"We're gonna climb trees without using our hands..."
Suddenly Daikage reached up and grabbed Arata's left arm. He gripped it tightly with both hands, and then moved one hand violently downward while keeping the other still. There was a snap as one of the bones in Arata's arm broke.
Arata roared in pain. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"... while keeping that arm in alignment, so there's no pain."
"W-wait, what?! Yesterday you said we'd use Mother's method! That was to run up a tree blindfolded!"
"She would've changed it when you were ready for this." Daikage replied as he got up and brushed off imaginary dust on his cloak. "Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of the many years required for you to grow. We may have a decade, but we might also have less than a day. Of course, i doubt that your mother will realize i'm gone for a while, but we have no way of knowing. So let's start the training!"
"... So why the hell did you break my arm?"
"Hmmm.... You know, i don't remember needing to do that."
"WHAT?! YOU BASTARD!!" Arata roared, raising his fists in anger. "YOU CAN'T JUST- wait a minute..."
He looked down at his fists. They were, indeed, rasied in anger, but more than that, what surprised him was...
It didn't hurt.
"Hey... how the-"
"Kuronui." Daikage replied, walking off. "First aid ain't what my techniques are designed for, but it certainly works, as long as i stay alive while your bone heals. Now come on. I was joking about the broken arm, but i can easily switch it... Oh, do you have your headband?"
"Yeah, why?" Arata inquired, running off after him.
"You'll need it." He replied. "We're going over to my place. It's got a tree in the backyard cuz the previous owner was obsessed with the enviorment, and after you're done with the tree, we'll move up to the wall."
"Great. More 'lovers' coming in the night, huh?"
"Just for that, you'll be sleeping in the tree!"
"Why not? I do that out here!" Arata snapped, slipping on his weights.
Daikage suddenly vanished. He reappeared behind Arata, pulled the blade out of the sheath, and then showed up on the other side again. "And i'll take away your sword until you master the technique."
"Shit." Arata muttered. Just what i need. I'm heading into a crazy sadistic pervert's backyard without a sword, then i'm going to willingly put on a blindfold and run up a tree until i collapse from exhaustion.
At least a party with Micheal Jackson doesn't usually involve ninja...
Arata faced forward, straight towards the old oak tree. It was very tall, with dark brown bark and deep green leaves. The drops of dew on the ends of the leaves glistened in the morning light. The wind blew a soft melody through the air, and the tree swayed to the beat. The leaves that flew from the green foliage danced in the air, falling outside of the chainlink fence that marked the backyard. The clouds in the sky seemed to roll by lazily, as if the world needed them elsewhere.
Of course, Arata saw none of this, seeing as how his cloud forehead protector, usually around his right bicep, was now wrapped around his head. This wouldn't have been unusual if it hadn't been covering his eyes with the metal.
"Why is this my blindfold again?" Arata asked, his tone making it very plain he was frustrated
"It's more protective than cloth. And you'll need your eyes later."
"And why am i wearing watermelons on my feet?"
Daikage looked down. Indeed, the large green fruits were, indeed, on Arata's feet. The red juices covered his ankle and-
Enough describing useless crap! Get back to the training dammit!!!
Daikage looked up, a confused look on his face. ".... i don't remember telling you to do that."
"... you didn't."
"Uh... so why-"
"I dunno. I thought you would."
Daikage sighed. "Now that we've had our daily dose of stupid AND our daily dose of bad movie refrences..."
Daikage pointed to the tree. "Run up the tree with your chakra focused in your feet. Too much, and you'll launch away, damaging the tree. Not enough and you won't adhere in the first place. This excercise is for-"
"Yeah, yeah... chakra control and stamina, i know."
"Go ahead, give it a shot."
"Ok."
Arata put his hands into the ram seal, circulating his chakra around his body, into his feet. He felt the power build up, making him feel as if he could fly. Arata was surprised to find that he was already breathing hard, despite how little chakra was actually in his feet. He probably only have a few seconds before he lost control. He quickly rushed forward.
The second his foot touched the tree bark, the bark erupted in an explosion of wood beneath his feet.
---
Somewhere, miles away, someone got an urge they couldn't control. For reasons known only to him (and anyone who reads this passage) he suddenly shouted, "LOOOOOGGED!!!"
---
Arata flew backward in an explosion of tiny pieces of wooden shrapnel. He slammed into the soft, grass covered ground below, and skidded to a halt at Daikage's black leather boots.
Arata looked up into his sensei's face, a sheepish look on his face. "So... how'd i do?"
"Ummmm... Try again, but don't suck this time."
"Seriously, douchebag."
"Don't put so much into it, dumbass. Too much chakra and the surface's own energy repels you. Too little and you won't adhere. Now try it again."
Daikage reached his left hand up to his mouth and bit his thumb. He then did the same to his other thumb. He then used the two to draw blood markings that curved from the sides of his eyes to the sides of his mouth, and then went straight back up and curled in on itself. Daikage went through several hand seals.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
He slammed his right palm onto the ground. There was a small 'poof' and a cloud of smoke about a foot or so tall and half a foot wide appeared on the ground.
When the smoke cleared, in it's place was a small panther cub. It was midnight black, with an untidy cloak that seemed to spike up like a porcupines in some places. It's eyes had the normal black pupils, along with the abnormal black sclera, but oddly contrasting to the expected sickly yellow, they were a dark blue that seemed to practically merge into the sclera and pupil (if that makes sense >.>). Though it seemed like it wasn't long out of the womb, it's strangely large, rough and gnarled claws suggested otherwise. They stood out simply because they seemed like they belonged on something far bigger.
The cub immediately started cheering as soon as the smoke cleared and it saw where it was. "YAY! Dai-chan, it's been so long since we played do you wanna play tag or hide and seek or scrabble or clue or catch phrase or Warcraft or-"
It stopped a moment, seeing that the kid it had assumed was Daikage was staring at it like it had lost it's mind.
"Wait a minute..." The cub frowned. "Dai-chan had black hair... where is he?"
"Back here."
It turned around, staring up into Daikage's red eyes. It gasped.
"Holy s*** you've gotten bi- OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"
Daikage had grabbed the cub's ear between his thumb and forefinger and pulled.
"No swearing. You're too young."
"You're not exactly the epitome of human aging yourself, dilweed."
"Ah... Touche. Anyway... i didn't call you here to play, Hodari. I need you to keep an eye on my student while i'm gone."
"Oh yeah?" Hodari looked at Arata, an eyebrow rising as he looked him up and down. "Yeah... you need work on... well, pretty much everything."
"You need work on size."
"Ha! Never heard that one before." Hodari snapped, sarcasm dripping like syrup. "And what will you be doing, Dai-ch-"
He turned around and realized no one was there besides him and Arata.
He groaned. "Great. Another night of whoring, i gu- OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!"
"Daikage-sensei said no swearing."
Hodari looked up at Arata, venom in his voice. "You do realize," he said slowly, extending his claws, "that Otou-sama and people whom i respect, which at the moment is just Daikage, are the only ones who can do that without getting a scratch?"
".... Aw fuck."
OOC: Not done... and if you recognize the movie reference, give yourself a cookie :D
Two hours later, Hodari was fast asleep, his snoring practically shaking the mountain in pure sound intensity. It certainly was shaking the tree.
Or maybe Arata's eyes were just unfocusing. It certainly would explain the fence and several mountains in the distance suddenly multiplying.
For the aforementioned two hours, Arata had done the same damn thing over and over to the point where typing it every time would've just been boring and stupid as hell. First, charge up the tree. The bark would always explode. Then flip down. Repeat.
At this point, there was no outer bark about six feet up the tree. Arata was keeping track of whether or not he could get past his last highest, but at this point, he wasn't sure if he should continue. Although he was indeed sticking longer before the surface's energy repelled him, he was still having extreme difficulty keeping it low, though he wasn't sure why that still held true after so many times exceeding the amount needed. He was so drenched in sweat, someone walking by might mistakenly think he'd gone for a swim. The bloody cuts all over his legs from Hodari's rampage didn't help either. (He was amazingly strong for his apparent size and age)
Arata wasn't completely sure why he wasn't on the ground dieing if he had used so much chakra on each attempt. Maybe this tree was close to death, or ;pw on nutrients or something? It certainly would explain why he couldn't bring his chakra levels low enough to actually stick to the damn thing. He seriously began to ponder at that moment why the hell a tree would be harder to stick to than, say, oil.
Maybe he was going about this the wrong way... He sighed, and put a knee on the ground, thinking.
So far, he'd been charging his chakra before he actually made it to the tree, and then lowering it as much as he could once there. The problem was, it exploded before he could lower it significantly. Now his amount was only moderate, and with this current break, he figured he'd have one more shot like that, maybe two or three if he was lucky.
So... what other ways were there to stick to a tree?
Besides glue, Dumbass side of my brain. BESIDES GLUE!
He thought for a moment. He had some time before the surface of the tree repelled him, so he'd have that time to adjust his chakra to whatever this tree would require. Arata suspected that little to no power put into his feet, then pushing some out, would help a bit.
He waited a couple of minutes to catch his breath, then looked up and the half barkless tree.
"...You're going down."
Arata shoved his feet another inch into the dirt and spread his hands on the ground in front of like an olympic track runner. (OOC: Just giving an idea of the position...). There was a small 'whooosh' as a breeze blew through the backyard. Arata's snow white hair ruffled in the slight breeze, giving the impression that he was underwater. He could feel himself pumping with energy, which was odd, considering he'd been wasting it all day. He supposed he'd rested longer than he thought. He gave the tree one last, dark look.
Then he ran.
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him towards the son of bitch that was a barkless, half dead tree. He slammed his foot down, not even putting a bit of chakra in yet...
Then, as the foot connected, he channeled his first bit of chakra...
His foot sucked onto the tree. he took a second step, trying to balance the same amount of chakra into his other foot. It, too, stuck.
Arata felt a brief moment of triumph before the emotion sent his chakra raging out of control. He was blasted off of the tree once again, crashing into the grass about ten feet back. He groaned, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up again. He looked at the evil tree with a look that said, "Seriously, what the f*** is it with you?"
"Well..." Hodari landed on Arata's shoulder. "you've certainly made progress." Hodari laughed.
Now, take into account several things. One, Hodari had landed on his shoulder silently, without warning, and immediately started talking as if he were still thirty feet away. Second, Arata's attention was so focused on the tree, he hadn't noticed that Hodari's snores had stopped, and therefore he thought he was still asleep. Fourth, Arata was too shocked to stop himself from doing his next action.
Finally, Hodari was small, even for a panther cub, and was very easy to throw into something. A tree, for instance.
TRAINING DAY COMPLETE
BASIC CHAKRA CONTROL
SLIGHT STAMINA INCREASE
i_feel_tiredsleepy
08-31-2008, 02:49 PM
Chakra control approved and stamina increase approved
4 xp, well written Kumo, although I still hate your real life references in a naruto rp lol.
Ask any spy or security agent: Routine is a much greater weakness than being weaponless. It tells the enemy where you are at that moment, and where you WILL be. It opens you up to the mercy of your enemy's plan.
And an enemy's plan has no mercy.
Ikusa Haruko did not like rain.
It was so damn useless! First it climbed its way to the top, looking down on all those below, and then it floated for a while, just passively observing, and then, after doing absolutely nothing with it's incredible power, it just plain fell and pretended to assault her. How pathetic! But of course, she didn't really have much of a choice. The compound was in the middle of an assault drill, and since she would have tipped the balance decisively in favor of whichever side she was on, she'd been disqualified. Too bad Daikage was on the hunt, or he could've balanced the...
She sighed and turned into a nearby bar. She noticed the eyes following her, but she was used to males staring at her, so it wasn't a real problem.
It hadn't been a long time since Daikage had left the Ikusa compound, but the place still seemed to ring with his absence. He had been a part of what little order the clan had, and now he was on the hunt.
At this point Haruko doubted he would return. Daikage wasn't the sort of person to hold back on his prey, and even if he did, he never lost. He never stopped charging. He had never, up until now, failed to tell his superiors (in rank or power, either one) about what he found. So unless he'd managed to run into a week-long battle (not likely) his report should have come in a long time ago.
She scowled. Daikage had been the hunter sent after her son, Ikusa Arata. The Snowcap Ghoul.
She chuckled. Such an ironic name, now. He had recieved that name merely weeks after he had recieved his Ato no kiritsu, in showing not only his prowess as a fighter, but his utter ruthlessness. And yet, after that incident, he had also become a bit more like his mother: A joker, a playful sadist. Even in combat, the only time where a person absolutely MUST be serious, he was a playful little brat.
She sighed. He'd turned out like her in many ways, but like his father in so many others.
Miyu's death hadn't been much of a deal for her, but for some reason it had driven Arata nearly to the breaking point. She had decided to imprison him and execute him at his next birthday.
She didn't know how he had found out, (although she had her suspicions) but the fact remained that somehow Arata had managed to sneak out of the compound without running into anyone. He had then used the rivers of the grass country to get out as far as he could.
Haruko sighed again and drained her vodka in one gulp. All she needed was one hint. One clue. Then she'd go after that little bastard and consume every last bit of flesh he had.
OOC: This is for intrique, and to remind myself later... it's part of how i'm gettin to konoha... gimme a while to work this out...
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