Welcome to Gaia! ::

"If that was the case, why did you specifically single us out?" Jin said with a frown showing on his face as he gestured to the quiet child beside him. Blinking he scratched his head and shook it a bit. "And if that was so, why are you here talking to only me and not in front of the class where everyone can hear you and such... It doesn't make much sense to me, but you are the kage right?" And... I already don't like you. I feel as though I'm being dealt with like a child by a child... Wasn't this guy a genin recently... "I have absolutely no clue, Mr. Raikage. Where in the body is the source of Fire? Personally I thought fire was the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products... Though! If you mean Fire Chakra... Well there is no specific part of the body, it is a natural imbuned element in your chakra system that requires large amounts of chakra control to use." Jin said. His face was now hard and lacking the happy glee from before. His golden moment was dragged through the dirt and with it a piece of his pride for his kage.

Sora sat in silence, watching the childish antics of one of his fellow classmates even while in the face of the raikage. Sora let out a short hump in difiance. Where they really going back and forth over the concept of fire based chakra? Would that not be something that would be more text book based? Something that he would learn in the acaedamy either way. Why did they need to be specially trained for such a thing. The way he figured it was, if they were going to be trained by the Kage then they should be doing more advanced things rather than focusing on something that could be learned through simple book study. But this was simply the way Sora thought. There was very few things in this world that impressed him, he tried his best not to involve himself with the trivial strides and pleasures of the rest the world. As the bell rung loudly Sora stood up and brushed himself off before flicking his hair back. He walked casually up to the desk and snatched his head band, slinging it loosely and hanging it over his shoulder. "Fire's not really my thing" He said nodding on his way out and headed home.

’I shall fight to honor the name of Kaiten, the name of my father…

After the clone jutsu practice, the next up was transformation training. Much like the Clone Jutsu this was a simple, or rather simple, lesson for the Academy Students. And for Erkamina it was yet another opportunity to prove her worth to the village, to prove the strength of her father’s name. He wanted her to excel and be something more than he was, a simple genin. But she wanted more; she wanted to prove that she could be strong just by hard work alone. After all, she’d heard of shinobi that only were capable of Taijutsu making it all the way to being a Jounin just by training their asses off. She had the same goal as those shinobi but a different end in mind, the death of those that had so betrayed her and her father. First those that took him, then those that abandoned him. The Mizukage, among others, had called off the search for him, even a proof of his death would be enough for her. Some peace of mind, some justice, some solace to give him a proper burial as a shinobi deserved, even if it was a lowly one. She sighed again, she knew the handsigns by now by studying the board and had practiced them enough. They’d be asked in turn to copy the image of their sensei as perfectly as they could, details and all. She took her place as her name was called, much to less whispers than before but still the words stung at her. It didn’t matter; their jeers would soon prove their own downfall when her name became associated with power, with strength, with doing the impossible- or seemingly impossible. She would struggle, fight, and survive, until her destiny was exacted. She would accept no less than victory, at any cost. She concentrated on the handsigns and flashed through them in her mind while her fingers copied slower but still quickly enough. She thought of the image of her sensei; his facial structure, body shape, and even uniform was completely different than she was. She summoned her chakra and her form changed into his own. She nodded as she heard him write her passing grade, not caring about that much either.

… Soon I will show the world the worth of that name.’

’I shall fight to honor the name of Kaiten, the name of my father…

This class period they were asked to go outside, to the walled exterior of the building. If Erkamina was a guessing type of shinobi, she would guess that today was some form of exercise that couldn’t be done indoors, but specifics were not her specialty. The sensei caught the attention of the class by clearing his throat and forming a handsign. The class watched as a look of concentration filled his face for a split second before he ran at the wall, surprisingly sticking unto the surface in spite of the lack of a foothold on the smooth surface of wall. Most of the class chattered about something or another being impossible, that being the only word Erkamina caught that all the cross-talk had in common. She shrugged and muttered ”Nothing is impossible” while staring at the wall, trying to figure out the sensei’s trick to sticking on its surface. If she remembered correctly, handsigns directed chakra to the will of the user so all one had to do was concentrate on what the chakra needed to accomplish. She had to push her chakra somewhere… She looked at the sensei again, he was still firmly planted on the wall, as if challenging them to copy. She formed the handsign and concentrated on her chakra, the nebulous thing within that seemed to almost ripple at her thought of its structure. Slowly it obeyed her whim, moving to her feet and forming a wall in between her shoes and the ground. She ran at the wall, much as sensei had, making it a few steps up it before slipping off and falling on her backside. She heard the laughter again and growled ”if you guys think it’s funny, you try it” at her fellow students, many of which found sudden interest in the ground. She smirked wildly while standing up and wiping the dust off her butt-cheeks while glaring at the wall, wishing for it to crumble into nothing but dust and rubble. She concentrated her chakra again, this time adding more to it, before taking at the wall again, running up it enough to pass the sensei’s position on the wall and run all the way to the roof and stand on the side of it. She grinned in a ‘ha, poo on you all’ kind of manner as she stood there, gazing down at the ants that were still staring at the dust beneath them. Sensei bridged the gap between them quickly, staring down at them as well, daring them to move. Erkamina shrugged and muttered ”they don’t have the guts” to herself as a small ‘follow me’ sign came from the sensei. She nodded and they both hopped off the roof, landing on the ground beside the group. The sensei stared at the weaklings and trotted off, Erkamina following, until they reached a large body of water. ”What… What are we doing here…” She said, only to have a finger wag answer her. The sensei took out a piece of paper and held it in two fingers out to her. ”Huh?”

”Concentrate your chakra into it. You have a good handle on chakra control so I want to see what you can do with it. Just do it.” The sensei answered, his gruff voice was only used for admonishment but came so easily when explaining things.
Erkamina took the paper and obeyed, concentrating her chakra into it. Within a few seconds the paper became damp and soggy. ”Eh? It turned all soggy, gross!” She said without thinking, dropping the paper-thing unto the ground, only to have the sensei sit on the ground and write ‘Water’ on the dust below. ”Water? Like the lake?”
”No, that’s your chakra nature.” He said quickly, picking up the soggy mess of goop that had once been paper. ”This paper is chakra specific. When chakra is pushed into it, it reacts accordingly. For water, it becomes soggy- as it did for you. It’s fairly common in our village but other elements are common elsewhere. Such as the Leaf. He took out another paper and pushed chakra into it, it caught fire and burned to a crisp ”it has a good deal of Fire Chakra Natured persons living there, as it is in the Land of Fire this should be expected, although others have presented themselves. There are five elements; each has their weaknesses and strengths against one another. Knowing your own gives you that much more of an advantage over your classmates. I have seen the change in you. You’ve become determined yet at the same time exceedingly confrontational and violent. Something happened… I’m not sure I want to know what but it has to do with your name, doesn’t it. The reason you’re so determined… You want to outshine your family name, the name associated with disaster."
”My father was thought of as a failure. I want to show the world that being a failure doesn’t mean you can’t excel…” Erkamina said simply as the sensei stood again and formed a handsign while concentrating his chakra to his feet. He quickly walked into the lake, his chakra keeping him afloat in spite of his weight. Erkamina’s eyes went wide as she saw this and copied the handsign, concentrating chakra as well. She took one step, then another, then she fell face first into the water. She struggled to get to the surface only to realize she couldn’t swim and began to panic.
”Stand up, you’re not that far out. It’s only maybe a meter deep where you are…” The sensei said in a ‘Captain Obvious’ tone, causing Erkamina to stand and rub the back of her neck sheepishly while turning away to hide a blush that was threatening to embarrass her. ”I didn’t expect you to even get two steps the first try. This isn’t like wall walking. You have to constantly change your chakra to accommodate for the flow of water beneath you. As a water chakra nature you should be used to this flow. Try again…"
Erkamina walked back to the shore and tried again, this time making it the two steps while constantly shifting her chakra to match the waves’ ebb beneath her. She took a few more steps and eventually reached the sensei in the middle of the watery area. She smirked as she stood on water, a feat not few could do outside of shinobi. The sensei nodded and walked back to the edge of the shore, Erkamina followed. ”Now what?”
”The final exam. It’s a battle between you and another student of similar grades. The victor will be considered a genin and awarded their headband by the Mizukage. The loser will be sent back to the Academy in shame. Rest up… You’re going to need it…”

“Kain, it’s your turn now so give it a try.” The instructor spoke in a loud and demanding voice. Kain got up, but wasn’t feeling confident. So far, no one in the class could completely get the water walking technique correct. Kain made his way down to the water and watched its flow. He tried to remember the fundamentals, it wasn’t like the tree climbing jutsu. Waters position was unstable compared to solids, so a constant stream of chakra was needed to balance correctly. Kain took one step on the water, so far so good, another step and Kain began to lose balance and before he knew it he sank in the water. Kain climbed out of the water soaking wet. The instructor tossed him a towel and said “That’s ok, I didn’t expect you to get it on the first try.” Kain began to think to himself. Great… that’s the second time she’s said that now. Kain remembered earlier, attempting to climb a tree only to reach it halfway and then flipping backwards on to his stomach. Kain sat down as the next student tried. Man… what kind of ninja can’t even get the fundamentals right. As class continued more and more students began to master the art of water walking, but Kain was falling behind, still unable to keep his balance. When the day had ended Kain felt exhausted and defeated, he had been the only one unable to complete the art of water walking. Kain began to walk down the street of mist, his head hung low. Maybe I’m just not cut out to be a ninja… for some reason I just get exhausted too quickly and I can’t even transform yet. Without a home to stay in, Kain found an inn and slept there for the night, however he spent most of that night trying to focus his chakra. When the next day arrived, Kain made his way back to the academy. The instructor held the class outside again, but this time instead of focusing on technique, the objective of today was taijutsu. The first assignment was laps. They weren’t Kain’s favorite exercise, but he found that although he was not the fastest student, he was able to maintain a steady pace the whole time. Next came the weaponry practice. Kain wasn’t sure why, but he was able to perform with weaponry very easily, his aiming was almost perfectly accurate, it came dangerously close to the Hyuga in the class. Finally was a contest of strength and Kain easily overshadowed the class in physical power. Today Kain felt like the star student and he was even asked to stay after the class for a few minutes. Kain approached the instructor at the end of the assignment. She looked over at him and spoke “Kain, you did exceptionally well today, I can tell that you were made for taijutsu.” Kain looked down, almost in disappointment. “It’s strange… I’m a Mizu aren’t I… shouldn’t I have an unnatural talent with chakra…” The instructor could tell he was disappointed. “Look Kain… everyone has their own special abilities, I think your failing to see the gift of taijutsu you have been given.” Kain looked up, realizing the obvious truth behind her words. “Hmmm… I guess you’re right.” The teacher nodded and Kain was dismissed.

Kain walked down to the edge of the water, somewhere on the outskirts of mist. There was a lake filled with almost crystal clear water, on the other side of the lake was the Eluryh woods which he had read might have held some kind of special power within. Kain picked up a small flat rock and chucked it in the water. The power of a Mizu… I should have the ability to control water… I should also have that ability to mold that water with the power of wind to make ice… If only I knew how… Kain looked up and had a short realization. You want to be a Mizu, you want to do the things a Mizu is capable of, then you MUST learn the basics. Kain nodded to himself and began to focus. Kain began to throw punches in the air wildly “THAT’S RIGHT!!! ITS GO TIME NOW!!!” Kain hopped up on a small boulder and began to focus his wild punches into quick straight punches, all while trying to focus his inner chakra. Suddenly, a large crash threw him off balance and he hit the floor. Kain heard a loud scream followed by an “OH MY GOD, HELP!!!” Kain struggled back on his feet. He looked across the river to see a tree had collapsed and a young girl stood a few yards away yelling for help. Kain thought to himself. Someone must have gotten trapped underneath… man… this isn’t good, there’s no one around for a few miles. Kain figured the girl must have known this as well because she sat next to the tree and began to cry. Kain began to run, but as soon as he saw the water he panicked, but Kain continued to run, he shut his eyes tight, focused his chakra and began to run across the water at a high speed, he tripped and stumbled a few times, but he continued to run to the other side of the river, he began to lose altitude as his legs began to sink in the water. He was almost there, so close he was only a few more steps so he jumped and hit the land on the other side. The girl, startled at his awkward entrance, yelped. Kain tried quickly to get back on his feet. When the girl saw him clearly she cried “Oh please help me!” Kain looked over to a man who was under the large trunk, still breathing, but visibly weak. Kain said “Ok, I’ll go see if I can find help!” The man coughed and said “I’m… not going to… make it…” The girl screamed “NO DADDY!!! PLEASE!!!” More tears spewed from her eyes. Kain’s heart began to pound. The village was too far away. s**t! What the hell do I do! Panicking and now functioning on instinct Kain ran over to the man, gripped under the trunk with both hands, and with all his might lifted the trunk almost a foot off of the ground. “RAHHHH!” He yelled as he utilized all his muscle strength in ripping the tree up from its position. The young girl pulled her dad out from under the tree and Kain dropped it as it hit the ground with a thud. Kain let out a light sigh and sat down, his back against the tree trunk. “Phew…” The man began to turn a normal shade of color and said rather weakly “Thank you young man… you saved my life…” Kain who was panting from what was probably adrenaline loss said “No… problem… sir.” The young girl nodded and said. “I can’t believe you lifted that tree… that was incredible!” Kain momentarily forgot that he had actually lifted a tree to save this man. “Don’t mention it.” After conversing for a little while longer Kain walked back across the lake to his previous position. I think I’m finally getting used to this stupid water walking thing. His balance was improving as was his ability to stay that way. Kain spent most of the rest of the afternoon practicing his water walking technique.

Yuuki smiled. She was surprised by how many people had crowded into her house.
"Thank you all for coming! I really didn't expect this." she said, trying to keep her reddening face from smiling too hard. "But until later on today I'm still an academy student." Her parents detached themselves from the crowd of proud, smiling faces.
"Fuujihime, you are too modest, just go with the flow for once." said Mama. Papa nodded his head.
"Your mother is right, Yuukihishiro. Why don't you just relax. We're going to the all-you-can-eat to celebrate." Yuuki frowned. Her dad was the only one she knew that didn't call her by her nickname. Sometimes she wished he could just go with the flow. Then again, it seemed she inherited her stubbornness from him.
"Well, i guess that going out to eat with you guys would be okay-" Before Yuuki finished her statement, everyone let out a loud cheer and left the house. "Uh..."
"Don't worry about them, Fuujihime. They're just excited." said Mama. She turned to get a wrapped bundle from the table. "Here. This is for you." Mama handed the parcel to Yuuki, who held it in her hands. "Go on, open it."
"Okay..." Yuuki pulled at the string that kept the wrapping paper sealed. As the string fell away from the parcel, the wrapping paper lifted up a little. Yuuki carefully lifted away the paper until she was able to see the contents of the parcel, then gasped. She looked up at her mother. "Mama! This is your-"
"I know, Fuujihime, but i want you to have it just like my mother wanted me to have it. I have no use for it now, anyway." Yuuki rushed forward and hugged her mother. Tears of joy were running down her cheeks.
"Oh, thank you Mama! This means a lot to me!" she said, snuggling against her mother.
The parcel contained her mother's most prized possession. It was a perfectly preserved jacket that was worn by Mama's great-great-grandmother. This jacket was passed down to the first daughter of each of its wearers, signifying that they would begin training in the family's Dual Fan Style. Now it was her's to protect and, her responsibility to preserve.
"Try it on, Fuujihime." said Mama excitedly.
"Okay. Can you help me put it on, Mama? I don't want to damage it in any way."
"Sure. Let me hold the jacket." Yuuki gave Mama the parcel carefully. Mama took the parcel and removed the neatly folded jacket, moving behind Yuuki as she unfolded and opened the jacket. "Slide your arms into the sleeves. Don't be afraid."
Yuuki slid her slender arms into the cool sleeves. The fabric felt amazing against her skin. It caressed her and relaxed her muscles on touch with every slight movement.
"This feels....amazing!" she said in pure enjoyment.
"And it's a perfect fit!" said Mama triumphantly, "Truly a good sign."

Later on in the day, Yuuki had arrived at the academy with her parents, who had gone to the guest seating area. She made her way to the classrooms to greet her friends and fellow graduates.
"Yuuki-san! Over here!" Yuuki turned her head ans potted her friend Megumi waving her over.
"Hey Megumi, what's up?" she asked, hugging her pink-haired friend. Megumi was the first friend Yuuki made in the sand village. They had shared many experiences. They even had the same birthday.
"Everything! I heard they are going to have a live music performance by The Zards!!" replied Megumi, letting out one of her famous fan-girl squeals.
"No way!" said Yuuki in disbelief, eyes wide.
"Way! Here's the invitation." said Megumi. She pulled out her graduation invitation and gave it to Yuuki. Yuuki had forgotten to pick one up after school the day before so she had not seen it. Taking the invitation from Megumi, Yuuki pored over the fine print and found what she had been doubting.
The Zards will perform for our graduating students and guests. Yuuki let out her fan-girl squeal. The Zards were a rock band composed of four popular chuunin guys on guitars.
"I can't wait for the ceremony to start. I wonder where the Zards are." Megumi nodded then noticed Yuuki's jacket.
"Yuuki! That jacket is sooo cute! Where did you get it?"
"Oh this? It's a maternal heirloom. Nice isn't it?" said Yuuki smiling.
"Yeah. Can i feel it?" asked Megumi, putting her hand out to feel the fibers. Yuuki was about to say yes, but remembered what her mother had told her before.
"Ummm, sorry Megumi." she replied, "My mom said no one other than me can touch it."