Welcome to Gaia! ::

At first, Notwen felt the pain of the needle entering his neck, but that was soon replaced with a sense of euphoria. He opened his eyes, the black pupils now slightly dilated.
"I feel......Great!!" Notwen got to his feet slowly, enjoying the dulled pain his stitches produced. "When did i get these?" he asked, half speaking to Sai, half speaking to Soba. Notwen began humming to himself.

Soba watched his student frolic around with his bare stitched chest, and thought about all the promises he failed to keep. Ten years ago when he was eleven years old, Soba made a promise to his mother to succeed in retrieving his older brother Genzu, who had defected from the village in order to join a terrorist group in search of power. Genzu was two years older than Soba, and way more experienced. When Soba caught up to Genzu before he could rendezvous with the terrorists he was met by his brother, who knew Soba was following him.
"Go back little brother, this isn't the place for you to be."
"I can't go back without you, big brother! Mom is waiting back home for us!"
"I'm afraid she's waiting for me in vain, Soba. There is nothing keeping me tied to that slum of a village, always on 'High Alert'. And if you think you can beat me and take me back, you are greatly mistaken."
"Then i'll try! I made a promise to someone i hold dear, and i'm gonna keep it!!"
"Oh brother, you were always annoying."
The skirmish had lasted for half an hour. Both Genzu and Soba were tired but the battle took more of a toll on Soba. He was breathing hard and hunched over. Genzu began walking away, but Soba began chasing after him, reaching out with his right arm. In a flash Genzu appeared next to his brother, sword in hand. Soba had no time to withdraw his arm.
"If i were you little brother, i wouldn't reach for something i would never be able to grasp." and with that he brought the katana's blade down between his elbow and shoulder. The severed arm fell onto the sandy ground, while the stump began bleeding severely. Genzu then brought the hilt down harshly on Soba's head, knocking him out.
When Soba woke up, he was in the Sand Village hospital. He felt the pain at the stump of his arm, and remembered the promise he failed to keep. A day later he was discharged. He hurried home because his mother hadn't gone to the hospital to visit him in the hospital.
Once Soba got home, he didn't find her there. There was a note on the coffee table. It was the same table that Notwen left his ten years later. It was written in his mother's neat penmanship read:
"Dear Soba,
I am so sorry for putting such a burden on your heart. Please forgive me for not being a good mother. I didn't even have the strength to keep our family together. I can't bring myself to face you again in this life, or your father in the next........"
Soba couldn't bring himself to read the rest because he knew what had happened. His mother had committed suicide. I could have prevented this if i was stronger! I could have brought our family together again! he thought, crumpling the note and falling to his knees sobbing brokenheartedly.
"I swear to you, mom and dad, i'll train hard from now on. I'll become stronger so that i'll never have to break a promise to anyone again!"

It was five years later when Soba met Notwen for the first time. It was at the playground, a place Soba went to a lot when he was younger. He was walking to the tree he usually sat in when he noticed a flash of orange. He turned to see what it was and saw a boy playing with a younger boy and girl. It reminded him of how he and Genzu used to play together when they were younger, and it brought a sad smile of longing to his face.
The next day was the first day of classes at the Academy. It was Soba's first day on the job. He had been placed there because of his handicap, and he hated it. I want to be fighting in the war he thought, this is boring. At that moment the new academy students started walking into his class. Close to the end of the line students was the orange-haired boy he saw at the park the day before. His eyebrow raised. Thats odd.
When they were all seated and had quieted down, Soba began the roll call. "Notwen Uchiha-Mataza?" he called after a dozen or so names.
"Here!" answered the orange-haired boy. So Notwen's your name, huh? thought Soba.
"Who can tell me what chakra is?" a few students raised their hands, and Soba called on each one of them.
"It's what ninjas use to do jutsus!"
"I think, its something we all have."
"Isn't it what people use to walk on walls?"
"You are all right. Chakra is essential to even the most basic jutsu; it is a mixture of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience. Notwen, can you tell me what the most common way to channel chakra?"
Notwen blushed, not liking to be the center of attention.
"By making hand seals?" he answered.
"Correct." said Soba with a smile and continued. "By mixing different ratios of the two energies, new types of chakra can be formed. The most common product is elemental chakra, which is used to perform elemental jutsu. Most ninja have a natural affinity to one type of chakra, but they have the capacity to create elemental chakra apart from their own affinity. Who can tell me the different elements chakra can have?"
"There's earth, water, uh...."
"Also fire, wind, and lightning."
"That's right!" The day continued with chakra molding lessons. At the end of the school day all the other students had gone home but Notwen stayed back.

"Um, Soba-sensei?"
"What's up Notwen? Shouldn't you be going home? It's a nice day out." Notwen blushed, twiddling his thumbs together.
"I was wondering if you could spend some extra time teaching me chakra control so i can teach my younger brother and sister." Soba smiled. Notwen reminded him of someone from his past, but he couldn't put a finger on the person.
"Okay with me. Leave your stuff here and follow me to the training area." Notwen did and two minutes later they were standing outside in the sun. "Okay, use the Ram Sign. It's the basic sign used to mod chakra. Remember, feel the chakra coming from yourself. If you don't get it now, you'll get it next time."
"Yes, Soba-sensei!" After half an hour of molding chakra there was a spark at Notwen's fingertips, which then expanded to become a blueish-white aura that surrounded his hands. "I'm doing it! I'm molding chakra!" he said, breathing heavily out of fatigue.
"Good job, Notwen! Let's call it a day, you're exhausted and it's getting late." Soba went to get Notwen's bag from the classroom. When he returned, the boy was talking to a woman with red-orange hair.
"Mom, my sensei was taught me to mold chakra today, look!" and he replicated the process in a minute. Soba was very impressed, and so was the woman.
"That's nice N! You'll be making jutsus in no time!"
"Here's your bag, Notwen. Hello Mrs. Uchiha-Mataza, your son is doing exceptionally well in class." he said, handing Notwen his schoolbag. The woman turned around, and Soba's jaw dropped.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my former student! How have you been Soba-kun?"
"Naomi-sama!? eek You're a mother? I saw the resemblance in his eyes and hair. What happened to you all these years?" Naomi chuckled.
"I was on a ten-year long mission. It's confidential, so i can't say where i traveled, but i got back a few months ago. I had to keep a low profile."
"So many things have happened since you left." said Soba, with a slight look of regret in his eyes.
"I heard about what happened, and I offer my condolences. The village sure has changed." replied Naomi with a very faint hint of sadness.
"Yeah."
"Say, Soba-kun, what do you think about being Notwen's guardian in my absence?" wink Soba looked at his former teacher in the eyes.
"Really, mom?" said Notwen looking up at her, his hazel eyes alight with joy.
"Yes." she replied smiling. "As my former student, i believe he can take care of you while i'm on a mission."
"Please say yes, Soba-sensei, please?" Soba looked first at his former teacher, then at his new student. My teacher is entrusting me with the well-being of her child.
"Naomi-sama, i promise to protect Notwen, and if need be, put my life on the line for his sake!" said Soba, crossing his heart.

Presently Notwen was putting on Sai's shirt, which was about two sizes bigger. Soba listened to Sai's instructions keenly, wondering who else from the wind country had come to the island.
Suddenly Sai began speeding off towards the mountain.
"Oi!! Wait for us! Come on, Notwen, let's go!!"
"Yes sensei! HERE WE GO!!" They followed swiftly after Sai, veering off to the left, and Notwen moving slightly ahead of Soba.
"Notwen, take it easy! You'll rip the stitches open!" shouted Soba to be heard.
"Okay, Soba-sensei! I hear you."

Turning his head slightly to the side, Sai glared dangerously at the both of them. "Grow the ******** up and shut the hell up, or I'll shoot you both now... You'd think you've never been trained to go on covert missions before..." The man growled in a hushed voice, the veins in his arms visibly pulsating all the way to his tightly clenched fists. It was taking a large amount of will power for him to not kill them at the moment. Their complete immaturity was pressing on his nerves greatly... It was as though one day they had just decided to play ninja after watching some cartoon and thought it was all fine and dandy to go running around shouting. It was stupid s**t like that, that would get them killed by a hostile and worse off get him injured or killed as well because they were drawing attention to him... The two were very rapidly proving to be not useful to him.



Sai growled slightly to himself as he sped through the town's streets, whether Notwen and Soba were still with him barely forming a notion in his mind... if the two couldn't keep up then he'd just come back and kill the duo later. If they did... kudos to them. But regardless of that, the situation was rather irritating. There was boulders and other large pieces of debris falling all across the town and it was constantly slowing him down as the main route to the forest was being cut off. He had only two choices; take the long route around everything or go through/above the rubble which would definitely bring everyone's' attention to him.

With a sigh the man veered off to the side of another road block and hurdled down the nearest street. The long way it would be for him. In the end it would more then likely be better this way. It would allow for the other shinobis in the area to get to the mountain before him and that would give him the advantage of coming from behind, rather then giving them his back and having to worry about what was also in front of him. However the only main problem for him right now was where exactly was Vyrin?

Fuyu continued to follow Oasis through the forest, weaving in and out of the tree's right behind her. As they ran, something was comming from them from the mountian side. He didn't know what it was, but it sounded big enough to hurt so he stopped for a moment and continued to run. It wasn't until a minute or two passed that he realized that he didn't know where Oasis had vanished to. He quickly stopped and started to use his chakra control to climb up the side of a large tree. Finally something he was good at. He'd practiced this on stone walls at home, so climbing up tree's was easy. Once he reached the top, he re-focused chakra onto his eyes and scanned the area. Oasis was taking a break on a trail on the mountain side. He nodded to himself and ran right to her once jumping off the tree and rolling as not to injure himself too much. The landing stung a bit, but nothing he couldn't handle "Hey... Alright, so how do you want to approach this? Last time, my idea got Hatsuma lost so let's try one of your idea's." Fuyu stated to her once he'd gotten close enough and paused himself, also to catch his breath a little.

Notwen and Soba both saw Voir emerge from the street. As it flew into the sky, Soba got serious. There was only one way they could both catch up to Sai, and that way was by splitting up.
"Notwen, remember that technique we worked on a few weeks ago?" said Soba as both kept running towards Sai, still a small shape down the long street.
"Yeah, why?" replied Notwen, who was now begining to breathe heavily .
"We're gonna need to split up if we're gonna catch up to Sai. You use that technique to get you there as fast as possible. I'll catch up. Go now!"
"Right!" Notwen clapped his hands together, channeling his chakra to the soles of his feet as he ran. At first nothing happened, then the bottom of his feet began exuding an orange light. "Suzume Koumyaku!!"
Soba watched as Notwen 'skated' away down the street, gazing down at the scorch marks left in his wake.
"He's gone far with that jutsu... Well, it's time for me to make my move." Soba began making hand seals similar to those he used to summon the Three-Gear Shield. Once again, Soba brought his left hand to his right shoulder, this time after jumping onto the roof of a small house. "Weapon Summoning: Divine Gear Cannon!!" A cannon barrel a little longer than the length of his left arm grew out of Soba's right shoulder. The cannon was studded with gears at key points to conduct chakra to the opening at the end. It was a heavy thing, and he needed to bend his knees to support it.
Soba quickly calculated his trajectory and measured how much power he would need to accomplish reaching Voir, who was now dipping back toward the ground. "Here goes nothin'! Daisen Hi-to: Calormen Endan!!"
The gears close to the shoulder began to spin rapidly, then the ones at the middle, followed by those at the end. An reddish-orange beam that was Calormen Endan exited from the mouth of the barrel, and hit the street with an amazing force, destroying what was left of the other houses. Soba's body was launched into the air, and continued rising due to the thrust the jutsu was generating. Soba got high enough to see Notwen's progress. He was almost there. Good thought Soba, Now to get to that dragon.
Soba redistributed his chakra so that he began to level out. Once he got to the point where he was a few feet above Voir, he looked down and saw that Sai was already on his back, and beginning to fly away. He brought his left hand back to his shoulder, cancelling the summon, and fell right behind Sai. Soba Looked down at the town as it grew rapidly smaller. Notwen hadn't made it in time...
After landing in the rim Soba turned to Sai.
"Lord Orasaki, please wait for Notwen here. I am sure he's seen us fly over the rim."

Notwen had seen Soba while he was in the air and used him as a guide. Picking up speed, he activated his Sharingan, which reduced the tunnel vision effect of moving so fast. Instantly Notwen noticed a wall a couple of feet away that had broken off in a curve. Then the gusts coming down from Voir's wings pushed him down. Notwen looked up in dismay at the figure of the dragon as it flew through the debris and disappeared over the crater. This is just great, they left me., he thought.
Notwen stopped and took stock of his surroundings. Ahead of him the village gave way to the forest, behind was the area of the village still being pelted with debris. The boy deactivated the technique on his feet, enabling him to touch the ground. He looked down.
"No! The sandals i got from Soba-sensei are gone! This is not my day." Notwen continued running, barefoot now, out of the town and into the forest. He noticed a great change as he crossed the tree fringe. The smell was something his nostrils had never experienced before. The ground was made of hard-packed soil, not shifty sand. All around him were huge wooden trees. Notwen had seen trees before because his mother used to own a bonsai, a miniature tree that grew in a shallow pot. He never expected them to be as big as these gnarled-trunked behemoths. An idea came to mind.
Notwen ran at a tree, concentrating his chakra to the bottom of his bare feet, and ran up the tree's trunk. The fact that he perfected his chakra control on buildings made of sandstone, made Notwen's going up the tree smoother than he had anticipated. He broke through the canopy, and moments later was at the top of the tree.
The view was amazing. The mountain was much closer now and Notwen could see the raining debris as it rained down from a smoke column. The town was a mosaic of flames, rubble, and luck. Any building that had survived the initial destruction from the debris would eventually be consumed by the spreading fire.
Notwen set his gaze on the mountain again. He cocked his head to the side. His sharingan picked up on the chakra that seemed to radiate from the mountain.
"What the hell...? This is waay too weird. I have to reach the mountain, and fast." Notwen dropped to a lower branch, releasing his sharingan as he did. He found it faster to move using the tree branches. While propelling himself faster, vaulting acrobatically, and flipping to the branches ahead, Notwen discovered his love for being in trees. The way the bark felt on his bare feet, the smell of the foliage, the feeling of being wild and free. This was an adventure he would remember for a lifetime.
Suddenly the air got heavier causing Notwen to slow down. This is something he couldn't comprehend. Shaking off the feeling, he continued through the forest, breaking through to the mountainside a few moments later.
"Suzume Koumyaku!!" said Notwen for the second time that day. The chakra blazed beneath his feet as he assumed a racer's 'ready' position. "HA!!" Notwen sped off up the slope, using the balls of his feet to prevent himself from sliding downwards. Soon he started wincing in pain because the rough mountain surface started cutting his feet.
As the rim of the mountain came into view, Notwen gave a last effort and launched himself over the rim, narrowly missing the jagged edge. He rolled downwards over sharp rocks that made small cuts in his skin. Suddenly he stopped.
"I knew you could do it." Notwen opened his eyes and saw Soba smiling down at him.
"Soba-sensei..." was all he could manage before passing out due to the fatigue and pain of running up the mountain. Soba summoned a mechanical right arm, the Divine Gear Medikka and began cleaning Notwen's feet with a disinfectant spray that came from the index finger. Next he applied a rapid healing ointment onto the balls of the feet, which suffered mild damage that would have been major if Notwen hadn't been using chakra to protect them. Finally Soba wrapped up each foot carefully with bandages. He pulled a scroll out of his bag and unrolled it. Making five quick hand seals, Soba tapped the circle in the middle. A pair of ninja shoes appeared out of a small puff of thin, gray smoke. Te took the shoes and carefully put them on Notwen's feet, then un-summoned the medical arm. He slung Notwen over his shoulder, then brought him over to Sai.

Soba listened to Sai's instructions, memorizing every detail. He dipped his hand into his pack and pulled out a Soldier Pill, which he popped into his mouth. It tasted like a mix between bananas and apples, and had the consistency of hard cake. Immediately after swallowing it, he felt re-energized.
"Right, Lord Orasaki." Soba slid down the mountainside after Sai and followed him to the mine shaft. After walking the few yards to the shaft he turned to face it. "Weapon Summoning: Divine Gear Fist!" Another mechanical arm, this time equipped with bulging knuckles and defined musculature sprouted from Soba's shoulder. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!!" He curled the metal fingers into a fist, which began glowing with thermal energy, and proceeded to punch the ground.
If Successful: The blow sent a controlled explosion along a crack that expanded at the mouth of the shaft, where the energy was released, causing a hole to open up. A pathway extended into the mountainside. He un-summoned the arm and caught up to Sai.
"The entrance has been opened."



Above in the rim of the mountain, Notwen regained consciousness. He sat up and looked around, but saw only Vyrin and Voir, who he had been resting against. Still feeling a bit dizzy from the chakra pressure, he remained seated for the time being.
Notwen was not a person to strike up a conversation with strangers, and the memory of the incident in the desert was still fresh. But he tried it anyway.
"Where are Soba-sensei and Lord Orasaki?"

Vyrin lifted his head lazily from his chest, his blood red eyes peering curiously at Notwen. "They've gone down the mountain to a shaft opening. No worries, just relax a little bit, we'll join them soon enough." The young man said quietly, his body shifting agitatedly against Voir's hide. With a sigh he let his head rolled back down to his chest.

[Damn... I really have nothing to post xD]

Sai grunted in distress as Soba blew the mine shaft open for them, his arm quickly raising up to his face to cover his nose. The smell of death and blood loomed heavily in the air and regardless of the amount of times Sai came in contact with the smell it never got any better for him.

Letting the dust die down and settle from the explosion, the man allowed his hand to lie back down to his side for the moment. "I swear... That's a smell I will never get used to don't matter how many times I encounter it." He muttered quietly to himself as he readied his hand gun to his side and entered the shaft tentatively. His blue eyes were crimson red as the sharingan swirled into existence in his iris and he turned his sights to the walls of the shaft. Everywhere and everything was scribbled on with a strange writing.

But his attention was quickly stolen by the sound of an inhumane cry. Gulping down hard he turned his eyes to the disturbed body of the human crafted worm. "What the s**t is this... a remake of a bad scifi novel?" Sai muttered to himself with a shiver, his eyes quickly glancing at the talismans on the wall. The symbol was familiar but he couldn't place his finger on why, not that he had the chance to... With another cry, the worm broke free and quickly swung it's tail at him. "Hmm? Baby, wanna play?"