Welcome to Gaia! ::

Meitei observed the area. He hasn't been around this much negative energy since....well, since ever. Meitei could sense evil at every corner and surprisingly, his body yearned for it. Normally, Meitei would feel awkward around negative energy, being uncomfortable. But ever since he became a shadowbeing, things were different. The aura felt warm, inviting him to use the dark magic in the air. He sighed. Still getting used to the perks of being a shadowbeing, I guess. Orin, the leader of the shadowbeings, told Meitei to get into his fighting stance. Seems they were going to start their training now.

Meitei looked around once more before getting ready. He bent his knees slightly, keeping his weight on the balls of his feet so he could move quickly. He outstretched his left arm in front of him, while he stretched his right arm a little, keeping it approximately the same height as his shoulders, in case he needed to block any attacks. This was a standard beggar fighting stance, nothing fancy or anything. Just enough to get the job done.. "I'm ready."

OK, that hurt. Meitei struggled to lay on the floor, recovering from the attack just landed on him. He didn't have to kick me like that. Meitei grew agitated as he stood up. He hated being made a fool of, especially in fighting. Orin laughed. Meitei was growing more and more angry. One of the mottos he grew up on was "never get hit twice by the same move". After clearing his head for a moment, he looked over the Tenma Ninjutsu style in his head. I guess that's good bye to the Drunken Style. He sighed, almost disappointed.

Its obvious you need to have speed to use it. He began to search in his memory banks to the stance Orin was just in. Another unique talent of Meitei's. After seeing something once, it stuck in his brain like wax. He crouched slightly, which must represent movement. Or power. His legs were strong as hell. Meitei continued to think to himself, putting together bits and pieces of everything he saw in those few amount of seconds. Although the style seemed difficult, Meitei was a fast learner and was up for a challenge.

After a few moments of deliberate thinking, Meitei believed he understood it completely, at least that specific stance. He imitated Orin perfectly, from the degree of his arm to his breathing pattern and rate. While still a bit new to Tenma Ninjutsu, Meitei could predict what some of the movements would be like. He grinned, knowing that even the strictest of teachers would be amazed at his amazing ability. "Like this?"

Meitei was surprised at the speed of Orin's attack. Will I be able to do things like that in the future? He didn't have enough time to dwell on the question for too long. He needed to act fast. Meitei used his legs to spring to the right, moving as quickly as possible. Thanks to the stance, he was able to perform this rather quickly, his movements unnaturally smooth. Unfortunately, he still wasn't quick as Orin and got grazed on the shoulder with the energy ball. Damnit.

Meitei got up and decided it best to use magic. He casts one of his favorite illusions, the illusion of clones. While they wouldn't do any physical damage, they would be a good distraction. Four clones will be enough, he thought, as he put in the necessary magic to cast the spell. After a few seconds, four exact replicas of Meitei appeared, having the same features as Meitei down to the smell. They surrounded Orin at all sides, leaving little space for him to escape. Meitei grinned. Perfect. He joined the clones and got ready to attack, hoping that Orin would focus on one of the clones, giving Meitei the chance to strike him. After waiting a few seconds for dramatic effect, Meitei was ready. He charged, aiming for a left kick to the back of Orin's knee. The clones also charged, each aiming for a different body part: The throat, the lungs, the spine, and the groin. Let's see Orin get through this.

Meitei was pissed. You didn't have to kill me. He was almost certain that he had struck Orin, his expression showing fear and surprise. But he should have known it was an illusion. Nothing is ever as it seems with shadowbeings. Although slightly disappointed, he knew he shouldn't have left his guard down. Another perk of being a shadowbeing, I guess. You get A-class treatment. Meitei turned over only to discover scrolls laying by his head. He observed the scrolls left for him by Orin, quickly glancing over the main basics contained in each scroll. His interest was suddenly peaked when he saw that various contained information about summoning. He continued to read, lost in the words for what seemed like hours. After realizing what he was doing, he set down the scrolls, kicking himself for losing track of time.

I'm supposed to train, eh? He looked around, observing the scene. The place still had traces of dark energy, noticeable to any mage that had the misfortune of wandering through the area. He started to stretch, deciding it best to get started before Orin comes back and "kill" him again. There were 10 scrolls left by Orin. 3 for summoning, 2 for Tenma Ninjutsu, and the rest for Dark Magic. Meitei wasn't sure when Orin would be back, but he organized a stable training system that would allow him to learn enough of each material. In 5 days, he would know all the material on the scrolls. In 10, he would be able to perform everything with relative ease. In 20, he would be considered a "master" at Temna Ninjutsu and Dark Magic. In a month, he would be able to stand a chance of defeating Orin. He grinned, but stopped when he noticed something odd. There were no supplies, no food, no shelter. Meitei grimaced as he realized the truth. I'm supposed to do everything myself.....

Meitei got started, not wasting anytime. He wasn't sure how clean the water was, so he tried to purify it with the little Light magic he had. It felt strange to him, his body acting as if it were foreign. After a couple of minutes, he found that the water was not safe to drink on its own, so he decided to boil it. At least he wouldn't get infected, at least with nothing serious. He decided on finding food in the river and was delighted when he found a fish. As he started to reach it, he imagined a spear of some sort. something that he could stab the fish with. He sighed, knowing it was not possible. He struggled to reach for a fish for a while until something strange happened. His left arm....... his left arm had transformed into the shape of a spear! Meitei was in disbelief, wondering how on earth he was able to perform that. Another question for Orin. After a few hours, no more than three, Meitei had been able to create a makeshift tent for shelter, have two adult fish cooking over a a stable fire, and had collected a few berries that seemed edible. Not the most pleasant of dinners, but it would do.

As he waited for his dinner to cook, Meitei began to look over his scrolls. He decided to start his training as soon as possible, even if he was exhausted. He picked up a Dark Magic spell first, deciding that would be the simplest way to start. It turned out that dark magic required Kuro Kotogara, or dark matter. After struggling to gather the necessary magic to form this black matter, he decided to practice after dinner. After eating his meal, he took another crack at it, determined to get this down before the day's end. He was able to get it after a few minutes practice, figuring out the need of "darkness" in your magic. He worked all night mixing his magic with a "dark aura", assuming that all the spells would be made easier if he was able to do that. He didn't think about sleep, focusing on getting this before the nightfall came. He eventually fell, darkness surrounding him before he could get the thing down, although he wasn't sure if it just wasn't the location. After a few hours, he seemed to be able to mix his own magic with "dark aura" and he was almost positive that he could pull dark aura out from his surroundings. He grinned. This could be useful. He looked over one of the Tenma Ninjutsu's stances, struggling to understand the motions and movements desired from the style. He wasn't aware that he had drifted off to sleep, resting outside his tent near the fire.

Meitei awoke to a loud noise in the middle of the night. He jumped up, suprised by the sudden scare. Darkness filled his eyes and he couldn't really see his surroundings properly. He spent a few minutes rubbing and adjusting his eyes, trying to get the best vision he could manage. After satisfied with his results, he went outside, wondering what had created the noise he had heard earlier.

Meitei glanced around, searching for anything that seemed strange. He wasn't really in the mood for this, but he would rather solve the problem now rather than get eaten by a vicious rabbit bent on revenge. Meitei laughed at his own joke, clearly amused. After a few moments of a half-hearted search, Meitei turned to return to sleep, convincing himself that it was most likely just his imagination. When he turned, however, he almost had a heart attack, seeing something that he would have never expected.




Standing there, growling at Meitei, was a hound. Meitei had to keep himself from screaming like a little girl, startled by the sudden appearance of the creature. The hound stood perfectly still, as if awaiting for an order. Meitei sat no the floor in disbelief. What the hell? Where this 'thing' come from? did it smell the rabbit? did I do anything to attract........ Meitei stopped, answering his own question. "I summoned you, didn't I?" Meitei didn't expect an answer, knowing that he had. When he spoke those words, he had summoned an actual creature! He jumped up and down, temporarily forgetting everything. I summoned a hound! I summoned a hound! He continued celebrating for a good while, not paying any attention to the hound sitting there. After a while, he stopped. "Now....what to do with you?" Meitei was puzzled as to why the hound didn't appear at first. Did I do something wrong? Was I wrong in the pronunciation? He continued thinking when the hound suddenly snarled, impatient and irritated. Meitei was about to say something when the hound vanished, leaving a cloud of smoke. Meitei sat there, stunned with shock. Did he just....did he just leave me?

Meitei sat on the floor, trying to make out what had just happened. He was exhausted and tired, but his interest was peaked. He couldn't just go to sleep. It wasn't in his nature. He looked through the scrolls. He wanted to find which one he summoned. He found what he was looking for, the scroll he summoned for earlier in the day. He read up on the creature it summoned, trying to found as much as possible on it. It was a hound, a very basic hound. They were obedient, obeying everything their masters ordered. Meitei continued to read, slowly understanding what went wrong. He didn't expect to summon anything, thus not putting in enough magic to summon it in the correct location. The hound, however, still managed to find its owner, eager to be at its masters side. Meitei felt foolish. His first summon was a complete failure. After kicking himself a few times, he decided to go to sleep. He was too tired to continue in his investigation. He would continue it tomorrow, after he rested.

Meitei spent the next day solely on Tenma Ninjutsu, not eating or resting for the whole day. While it might have seemed odd to anyone else, occasionally Meitei did this. He would train or read for a whole day, focused solely on understanding the material. but he hasn't done that in years. It was as if something were pushing him. He wanted to quit, wanted to get something to eat. but his body wouldn't budge, wouldn't move. It would just perform the techniques, perform the attacks. So Meitei followed, taking note of each movement, each motion. He barely noticed as the time passed, trying out all the difficult techniques of the style. He practiced on a tree, his hands and feet bruising more and more. He didn't feel the pain. He didn't feel the exhaustion. He didn't feel anything. his mind was set, his whole body focused on one goal. The stars were out when he finally stopped. He didn't go to sleep until late, continuing reading on Tenma Ninjutsu. I have been training for about 8 hours. wow! He was proud, showing dedication. He smiled, but feel alseep, his body finall getting the rest it deserved.

The next day, Meitei awoke later than usual, getting some well needed rest. He wasn't hungry in the least, his stomach getting used to not eating after all his years of begging. Still, he went in the waters, searching for some breakfast. Not wanting to become sick by the waters, Meitei held up his hands, prepared to perform the only wind Spell he knew. "Oxygen Tank!" A small bubble formed in his hands, but quickly grew in size and surrounded him in under a minute. According to the spell, he had 10 minutes to search for food, more than enough time. He jumped in the waters, thankful that he didn't have to breath in that blood infested water. The waters were contaminated, and they felt thick to swim in. The bubble still surrounded him, giving him fresh air to breath. He could, however, still feel the waters surrounding him. normally, someone would be disgusted and uncomfortable at the feeling. But Meitei was used to being uncomfortable and found 2 fish rather quickly.

He cooked the fish over some fire, eating them before starting any training. It was about noon when he stated his exercises, beginning with Tenma Ninjuitsu. The style had become familiar to Meitei, his body getting used to the similar stances and movements. The first few days, his body was sore at the unnaturally quick and sudden movements. But he adapted quickly, and it was like a second language to him. He was satisfied after a while, wanting to work on that Dark Spell he tried before. He summoned his Dark Matter, absorbing little by little as the time went by. This put a strain on Meitei, trying to take in the dark mater necessary. He believed he was at 60% when he stopped, exhaustion taking over. He rested for an hour or so, not wanting to over exert his body.

Meitei got up and took a walk. Bored of training, he took a summon scroll with him, reading up on the ability. He practically knew all the scrolls front to back, for he liked to read. But, just because you memorized something doesn't mean you understand it. So he walked around, reading on the hound he "summoned" a few nights ago. It was a rather weak creature, but loyal. Meitei continue to walk, going in no specific direction, letting his mind wander. I wonder if I could summon it correctly this time. It would be so epic if I had like 20 at my side. Its been a while since Meitei was able to just think, for the events of the last week were crippling. The food was terrible, the people were mysterious, and the training vigirous. Hell, it even hurt to walk. But Meitei knew what he was getting himslef into when he agreed to travel with the shadowbeings. So he took the pain, faced the hunger. At least I'm not dead.

After traveling for what seemed like hours, Meitei took one more look at the scroll. He was going to give another try at summoning, not able to stand the temptation. He muttered the same words as before, but put magic into them this time. He could feel his voice being amplified somehow.

Pol Mir Tik Joop
Wex Dij Bil Koop
Sev Quj Min Noop
Flap Ta Ger Hoop!

This time, a shadow hound appeared almost instantly. It looked around, searching for the reason it was called. After finding no one, it glared at Meitei, finding its owner. Meitei smiled. "Uh.....sit boy?" Meitei didn't expect anything to happen, but he didn't want to stay silent, not again. He was surprised after seeing the hound obey, sitting on its hind legs. Meitei grinned. Sweet! He spent a few hours commanding the hound, from playing dead to attacking a tree. The hound obeyed each order eagerly, not showing the slightest hint of irritation. It sounded crazy, but it looked as if it enjoyed Meitei! Having to battle almost everytime summoned, it enjoyed being able to just roam free. Meitei trained with it briefly, trying out his Tenma Ninjutsu. Although he held back for fear of hurting the hound, it was a worthy opponent. It was quick, jumping in at the moments Meitei was left defenseless. It was difficult to fight, though Meitei was thankful for the company. Anything was better than training alone. After walking back to his camp, the hound left, probably for the lack of magic Meitei had left in his system. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, actually enjoying his day with the hound. Let's hope tomorrow is as good as today.

Meitei took a deep breath, channeling energy throughout his body. In an instant, a demon hound lunged at him, teeth baring. Meitei moved left, aiming for a kick to the side. But the other hound was already pouncing on him. Meitei struck with his elbow, restraining himself from seriously injuring the hound. He fell on the floor, howling in what seemed like pain. Meitei instantly felt regretful. However, the first hound scratched Meitei in the back. He turned around swiftly, kicking the hound with a side kick. It backed away before getting hit, drawing dust from the floor beneath it. These hounds are getting difficult.

He skipped back, forming some distance between the hounds and himself. He called forth his Kuro Kotogara, and brought it up to his chest. By now, both hounds were up, staying near each other to prevent any surprise attacks. Meitei attacked this time, sending a blast of Dark Matter at the already injured one. It jumped, but Meitei was already focused on the other one, sending an uppercut to the inside of its stomach. This gave a chance for the hound to bite into his Meitei's arm, drawing blood. "Illusion of Pain!" Meitei numbed the pain in his arm, his newly learned Dark magic enhancing it. He connected with a kick, sending power form his arms to his legs. He added a hint of Drunken Style, his movements becoming unpredictable. He grinned, sending the hound flying towards the water. At this instant, he jumped towards it, grabbed it, and landed on a safe place of solid ground all in under 7 seconds. He marveled at his speed and agility, giving both the hounds a look of contempt. They both neared him, bowing to their master.

Meitei sent them away, but not before giving them a treat. He passed them each a piece of meat. "Good boys! you guys did good today. Really good." They vanished, leaving Meitei alone again. He tried training, but didn't have the heart for it. So he walked, absentmindedly playing with his Black Matter. He stared at it in wonder, moving it around in the air. It calmed him, although he still lacked entertainment. Meitei thought back to the day when he was taken by Grell. He had transformed, though he still didn't know how. When falling from the window, he had wished that he had wings and they had appeared. On his first day of training, he had wished he had a spear to hunt fish, and his arm had transformed to one. It didn't take an idiot to see that the things were connected. So Meitei decided to test this theory, thinking of a simple object. He settled on making his hands slightly bigger. It didn't take long before his hands grew. Meitei experimented with shape shifting all day, starting with only the arms. But before long, he was changing his whole body at a time, changing specific things of his body. Wow.....This is really cool. He walked back to camp, continuing to shape shift, his mind wandering on numerous topics.