Welcome to Gaia! ::

Averus sat on a bench inside the academy, just inside its library. He had his arms crossed as he rested, unsure of what he needed to do. He wore a hooded coat, his hands covered in gloves, and was doing his best to not attract a whole lot of attention. Hard to do when your skin was ash grey. The academy was where he preferred to be, but he knew the time was coming that he would be leaving to fulfill his role as a Shinobi, heading into the world to complete missions. Though he wasn't dreading such a future, he preferred the calm and quiet of the academy. He had, for the most part, stayed away from the other students. His past had made him a bit nervous around strangers, though he had grown to be able to defend himself, though in Cloud he didn't need to worry about anything bad happening.

Deciding it was now a good time to just do something with himself instead of sitting around, Averus stood up with a little jump. Putting his hands into his pockets of his coat, he walked out of the library and went down the hall. He looked around as he did, seeing the various classrooms. Each held a memory of his time here, learning new skills, knowledge, and for the most part, strengths he would need in his future life as a Shinobi. Pulling his hand out, he opened a door that led outside to the training grounds, where he spotted several other students who were using their free time to train with various jutsu, or practicing their taijutsu with one another. He even spotted a small group going into a full spar, seeing them use wind and fire jutsu's while the others dodged. Averus ignored them for now, spotting one of his favorite spots to train. Walking over toward a small tree, he sat down with his legs crossed as he placed his back to the tree. He placed his hands at his knees, slowing his breathing as he began to focus his chakra.

Not long after he had joined the academy, he learned about focusing ones chakra in order to better grasp and understand how to control it in order to use jutsu. He slowly began to focus, and felt his chakra move as he felt a tingle come from his left eye.

Opening his eyes, he didn't see anything different, yet he could focus with his left eye on the various people he began to look at. The white around his eye had changed to black, his red pupil glowing slightly now as he kept the focus of his chakra. He had also learned that whatever this eye was, it had an uncanny power to focus on a target, and he knew from past experience, even use jutsu with it as well. Unfortunately, it strained him easily, and he soon stopped focusing his chakra and felt his eye return to normal. He took a sharp breath as he looked around again. He had not really poured a lot of research into the artifact that his father had gifted him with so long ago, and nor did he really care. For Averus, it was just a tool he would use to carve a path for himself in the world. But, the current thought he had was a goal for after he left the academy. He rubbed his chin a bit, thinking back a little. Many of his classmates all had various goals. Some wanted to be great warriors for the Village, others wanted to be the best medic in the countries, and the rest had the same goal of wanting to be the Raikage. Though the wish to be the Raikage did seem like a good goal to aim for, it was not what was pulling Averus toward such a goal. He had no real interest in becoming the Raikage, but he did think that perhaps he could be something close to that. He thought about how there was so much to learn in the world, and such knowledge was power in of itself.

Though he had no real idea on what he could do, he liked the idea of learning more after he left the academy. Deciding to continue with his training, he set the idea to the back of his mind for a later point to think about. Taking his hands, he held them in front of him as he closed his eyes. Soon, small arcs of electricity shot between his fingers, the smell of burning ozone filled the air around him as he began to focus his chakra into the lightning that jumped between his fingers. He slowly spread his hands a bit further apart, making the lightning jump more between his hands and farther, testing how much he could hold the jutsu and test his limits for holding it. Every few seconds more lightning would arc out in long lines, his arms outstretched as far as he could now. Once he held it for a few mintues, he slammed his hands down to the ground, leaning forward as he did. The lightning jumped along the ground and around him in a circle, jumping off the ground at times before diving back down to move along the surface of dirt and small stones.

Mercer breathed heavy as he held the jutsu, before he cut the flow of chakra off from it and lifted his hands. The electricity soon disappeared, leaving small burn marks around him in a circle made of soot. He leaned back against the tree, taking a moment to relax as he looked up at the clouds that slowly moved above the area. He watched them pass over, and began to think about the shapes they made as he looked between them all. A bit childish, but it helped pass the time as he took this moment to rest. At some points he stopped his cloud gazing and watched the other students, seeing them practicing still or talking amongst each other. He called few friends, and even then they were mostly just people he had talked to for various projects the teachers had them complete. He saw one student trying out a wind jutsu that would coat a practice kunai, and throw it at a training dummy. The kunai landed with a loud thud, the wind digging into the dummy before it disappeared, and the kunai fell to the ground. The student ran over to collect the weapon, and Averus took note of the skill to try at a later date himself.

After a few more minutes passed, Averus stood up from his spot, patting himself down as he looked over toward some of the students who were practicing their martial skills. He walked over to watch, though stayed far away enough to not join the group that had been cheering on the others. Two young men were having at it, who looked about his own age. One had blond, short hair, and the other had black, shoulder length hair, and both wore vests of orange and tan pants. He recognized them as the Jergum brothers, two classmates of his that were in the same class as his own. They were both the sons of a taijutsu master, and their skills were shown with how they sparred. Though they were only half-brothers, this did not stop the two from having a friendly rivalry. The older brother, with the blond hair, seemed to be the stronger of the two, yet the younger brother seemed faster than his older brother. Averus watched with interest as the younger brother would use the strength and weight of his opponent against him, yet could not stop his older brother from landing lighter blows at times. The two seemed evenly matched, and once ten minutes had passed, the two stopped their spar.

The two breathed heavily, sweat drenching them both as they slowly lowered their arms and bowed to each other. Several of the other students let out disappointed cries, as clearly some had been betting good money on either one or the other winning the spar. Averus walked away from the ring, heading over toward the door he had entered from when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Stopping, he turned his head to see who it was, and saw it was the younger brother who had been sparring. Averus spotted the older Jergum brother heading toward the fans that had watched to chat with them.

"Averus, why don't you spar with me a bit? I know you have been lacking in taijutsu, but I can help you if you want me to." The young man asked Averus, who shook his hooded head. "Grinn, thank you for the offer, but I think I'll decline. Taijutsu really isn't my thing."

"Practice could change that, you know. I know you prefer Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu, but you never know when Taijutsu could make a difference in a fight." "Again, no thank you. Besides, I am sure your adoring fans and brother miss you. You should go back to them, let them know the 'freak' didn't want to come join the festivities."

Grinn looked a bit shocked, yet sad at that. Averus moved away, and the younger brother didn't stop him. Watching Averus leave, Grinn looked toward the ground, before looking back up. "If you change your mind, stop by my fathers dojo after graduation. I'll be there getting more training done before I am done with my day." Averus didn't stop walking forward, nor make any indication he had heard Grinn. He soon opened the door to the hall of the academy, and stepped inside, then closed the door behind him. He had no real hatred toward Grinn, but he was not interested in his vain attempts at trying to be friends. Averus did that once already, and Grinn, with his brother, proved how foolish it was to trust someone blindly. Sighing, he took the time to walk the halls. Graduation was on his mind lately, which was the reason for his somber walks through the hall and watching the other students. The thought of a goal returned to the front of his mind, and he looked up a bit at the ceiling as he got lost in thought over it.

He then let out an yelp as he ran into someone, not paying attention to what was in front of him. He fell backward, and looked up to see it was his teacher, Garm Shyn.

"O-Oh, Shyn sir, sorry. I wasn't really paying attention." Shyn chuckled as he looked down at his student, reaching a hand out to the young man, helping him back to his feet. The older man wore his normal shinobi attire, his headband wrapped around his forehead as he salt-and-pepper hair poked out around the edges. Ah, no worries my boy. Hope you didn't hurt yourself too much from the fall." Averus was always surprised by his teacher. Despite his age, the man was built like a wall, large and muscular. Averus rubbed the forehead, shaking his head to the question. "No, I am alright. Just was doing some training outside, and thought about graduation..."

"Ha! No wonder you were day dreaming, thinking of your future after the academy?" Shyn asked the young man. Averus nodded, and Shyn chuckled. "Well, no worries.In fact, I am glad we bumped into each other. There was something I wanted to do for you. Here, follow me to the classroom." Shyn then walked forward down the hall, with Averus nodding and following after him. Once they arrived at the classroom, Shyn and Averus walked in, as the young man looked around. He thought back to all the days they spent here, learning new lessons and training together.

"Look, I know you are a loner, Averus, but one day you may learn that doing everything by yourself is not always the right way." Averus nodded, but stayed silent. He didn't enjoy the company of the other students that much, but he wouldn't argue the subject, as he did understand that there was strength in groups. "I also understand that you are not one for large ceremonies, and that is why I am going to give you this..." Shyn walked behind his desk, and opened the drawer, taking out a large, steel case. Setting it down, he popped open the latches and showed the contents inside to Averus. The headband of a shinobi was inside, the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Clouds engraved on the metal. Shyn smiled at his student, then slid the case forward. "As of today, you are no longer a student of this academy. You are now a full-fledged Genin of the Cloud. Wear this headband well." Averus looked stunned for words. He was ready to go to the graduation with everyone, yet his teacher had taken it upon himself to let him skip that, and graduate right here. Taking the headband from the case, he stared at the metal as he ran his gloved fingers along the engraving. He then nodded his head to Shyn, and took the armband to wrap around his right forearm, carefully tying it to secure it to him, making sure the symbol for Cloud was visible to see. Shyn smiled widely at his now former student. "Looks good. Now then, just because you graduated doesn't mean things get easier from here. You have a long road ahead for you, and you need to walk carefully, understood?" "Yes, master Shyn"

"No need for the master part, we are comrades now. Just call me Shyn, Averus. If you ever need help on anything, you are welcome to come find me. Now, go on and celebrate your graduation!" Averus chuckled, smiling at his master. He nodded, bowing his head before leaving the classroom, and walked down the hall to leave the academy.

He had so many memories for this place, but now it was time to make new ones out in the world.



[Word Count: 2344]

A loud crash of thunder boomed overhead, stirring Shun awake with a jolt as he looked around in a slight panic. Slowly he began to calm down, taking a deep breath as he came to his sense and recognized the room he was in. He had lived in Lightning Country since he was a child and still thunder sometimes would bother him. Blue eyes looked over to the door as it opened up with Kiyoshi standing in the doorway a smile on his face. “Oh, look… my slacker of a son is awake.” He teased Shun, walking into the room and to his bedside where he sat down beside him. “I know it might not mean much since I am not your father, but I’m proud of you for finally deciding to graduate from the academy today.”

Shun gazed over at his adoptive father, glaring at him as he grumbled to himself. “Only because you’re making me…” Kiyoshi looked over at Shun, tilting his head as he pressed a fist against the boy’s head. “What was that?”

“Er.. uh.. Uhm… uh.. Thanks for pushing me to graduate... I appreciate it.” Shun gulped a little as he noticed Yukiko stepping into the doorway of the room, watching the boys with the softest smile on her face. Shun had always noticed Kiyoshi grinning big like a fool whenever Yukiko appeared around him, he could tell the two were in love and even though they didn’t have any actual children… they loved him too. Kiyoshi lightly tapped the boy on the head and stood up, looking over his shoulder while he walked to be beside Yukiko. “Make sure to get dressed and come out for breakfast, we made your favorite: cinnamon pancakes.”

The door shut behind the two, leaving Shun alone with his thoughts for a moment as he turned to look outside of the window at the darkened skies. He was happy with how his life had turned out so far, he enjoyed the dynamic of his family - something he didn’t have for a long time. Shun had come to realize that the village was his family and the elder who helped raise him a portion of his life was like his mother, but he never really connected to them. It was when he finally was brought to Kumogakure to live with Kiyoshi and Yukiko did he finally feel like he found a place he could prosper.

Shun would rise from his bed and begin to change his clothing, looking over into a mirror when he completed it. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he pulled his coat over his shoulders, buttoning it closed before he took a full look at himself. “I suppose it is time for me to get going…” He stepped out of his room and stepped slowly down the hallway, training his breathing to become gradual and every foot step to be as silent as the next. Kiyoshi had trained him to move unnoticed and quietly, this helped him always sneak out of class more times than he could count; even his father was having trouble keeping an eye on him, admitting to Yukiko one night that he was almost like a ghost.

Once he had stepped into the dining area, he smiled over at Yukiko who was just serving up the pancakes and Kiyoshi who sat at the head of the table with a book in hand. “Here you are, Shun.” Yukiko said to him in a soft, dulcet tone as she finished arranging his breakfast just the way he liked. Shun beamed a faint glimmer of happiness, his stomach growling once he had taken a better look at the food. He came to sit down at the table, pulling himself up to it. “Thank you, Yukiko.”

She only nodded her head as she sat beside Kiyoshi and the three began to eat; this was one of the things Shun enjoyed about his family, the times they got to spend together. This was the main reason why he did not want to graduate from the academy - it was a good constant in his life that he didn’t want torn away. Unfortunately for him he knew better, his goal in the very beginning had always been to become a ninja like Kiyoshi and one day he would track down his parents and learn why they abandoned him along with where he came from.

It would not take long for Shun to have completely devoured his meal, looking up to see Kiyoshi stand and lean over to kiss Yukiko. “I’ll see you later, honey!~ I have a patrol this morning and have to pick up a couple things from the market.” Yukiko nodded with a soft smile as Kiyoshi pointed directly at Shun. “And you… do not skip out this time. You are such an intelligent ninja and you have the potential to become great… don’t let us down, but most importantly: don’t let yourself down.” Shun took the words to heart, knowing that Kiyoshi meant every word he had said. Kiyoshi walked out of the dining room, making his way outside and to his assignments.

Shun started to help Yukiko clear off the table, cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast before he felt both of her arms wrapped around him. “Thank you, Shun.” She held him for a moment before letting him go, finishing with the dishes. Shun blinked a little with a nod, pushing in the chairs and started toward the door. “Shun? Do you think I could walk with you to the academy?” He stopped and was quiet, wondering if this was part of their plan to make sure he actually went to class this time. Part of him wanted to tell her no, but he didn’t want to disappoint her and he thought it would be nice… he didn’t get a lot of time to spend with just Yukiko. “Sure, you can come.”

The woman seemed to dance her way down the hall to walk beside him as the two left their home, making their way to the academy. Yukiko hummed softly as they walked, Shun noticing that she seemed unusually happy. When he turned his head to look over to her, she looked down at him. “Why don’t you want to graduate, Shun?” The words hit him like a pile of bricks, one after the other. He knew why he didn’t want to graduate, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell her unless she already knew. He was quiet for several long minutes before a sigh escaped his lips and he looked down. “I.. never had a family before.. I don’t want that to change..”

Yukiko placed a hand onto his shoulder when he finished speaking, stopping him from moving. He turned to look over to her and met himself with a small kiss on his forehead. “We will always be your family, Shun… you’re my son and you being a ninja will never change that.” She pulled him into another embrace much like before, holding him close to her. He was a near foot taller than her, but he never tried to escape her hugs… he remembered the last time he had and never wanted to experience that again. s“You’re an Ihikawa, you’re a member of the village we took you from and you still have parents out there… somewhere. We all are your family.” Shun sniffed as he listened to her speak, starting to lightly sob when she looked up to him and brushed his cheeks. “Come on… let’s get you to class.”

Meanwhile, Kiyoshi hadn’t actually been on patrol, he had stopped by the academy before going to pick up a gift for Shun. The shinobi had went to meet with Shun’s teacher, Yazanagi, before the class begin. Yazanagi was sitting behind his desk, feet up in the air and arms behind his back with a small number of folders sitting on his desk. “I can’t believe you got Shun to actually graduate... kid has more potential than most of the others in this class… hell, he’s probably one of the smartest ninja of his generation...” Kiyoshi nodded, sipping a cup of coffee. “I remember meeting him… I had never seen the ingenuity of the traps he put together before even if they were poorly placed. I’m not sure why he isn’t very motivated.”

Yazanagi adjusted himself, sitting up slowly in his chair and flipped open Shun’s file. “From what I’ve observed it’s been a slow, downward spiral. I remember him too… kid traced us all the way to the camp… he’s a bit too smart for his own good.” He flipped a few pages, going over the information quickly. “He has some of the highest marks we’ve seen at the academy in years and to be honest.. He doesn’t even need to take the exams, he’s passed everything we’ve done to test him.” Kiyoshi smirked, finishing his coffee and started to walk toward the door. “A real prodigy we found, eh?”

Yazanagi just waved as Kiyoshi stepped out through the door to continue on his ‘mission’ and barely miss both Yukiko and Shun as they showed up at the entrance to the academy a few minutes after him.

Yukiko looked down at her son with a proud, radiant smile across his face. “Do me and your father proud… wear your headband with pride.” Shun just nodded as he stepped away, sliding the door open and entered inside of the building. It was oddly quiet inside of the building, it seemed much quieter than it had in weeks -- maybe it was just him. He shrugged his shoulders and started up the stairs to the second floor, heading to his classroom. His eyes fell upon the door, noticing it was cracked open and peered inside of the room.

Shun carefully pulled the door open, shifting his attention and focus into the classroom as he took a step inside of the room. Where was the teacher… Shun began to wonder, stepping further into the room toward the table with a single headband and a letter sitting on the desk. “Yazanagi-sensei..?” He whispered, looking down once he reached the desk and took a better look at the headband. A thumb gently caressed across the symbol of Hidden Cloud, wondering why this was just sitting here. The male lifted up the letter and broke the seal, looking into the envelope which was empty. “Wh… I see.”

He set the empty envelope down and looked around the room, noting various changes to the room from the last time he had been there. Shun hadn’t thought that this was going to be his test, he figured he would at least have to pass a written and practical exam… but realized that this was the best way to test his prowess. His eyes darted back and forth, calculating various scenarios and outcomes before he walked over to a wall and stared at it. “Yazanagi-sensei… you really can’t expect me to hide from me…” He brought his foot back, looking as if he were going to kick it against the wall in front of him.
The moment Shun swung his foot forward, his left arm flew back and a hidden kunai launched from underneath the sleeve of his coat across the room and slammed right into the wall. A camouflage sheet slowly fell down with Yazanagi glumping behind it. “H-How did you know..?” Shun looked over to his teacher, turning to face him and slipped both of his hands into his coat pockets. “The wall itself… there are 32 1 foot boards that make up that wall specific… your sheet added one extra.. And there is a small hole right next to the window from three weeks ago when you were showing the class the proper ways to throw a kunai.”

Yazanagi rose a hand up and scratched a finger behind his head, walking slowly over to the desk and signaled Shun to come before him. When Shun stepped toward his teacher, he heard a clapping to the side and looked over to see Kiyoshi and Yukiko standing in the back of the room. Shun turned his head and looked away from them, feeling somewhat embarrassed before he turned his attention back to his sensei. Yazanagi flicked Shun on the forehead causing the ninja to flinch back a little. “W-What was that for!?”

Yazanagi grinned. “Because you didn’t slack off today.”

Shun glared up at the man who chuckled along with his parents as Yazanagi handed the headband over to Shun who tied it onto his upper left arm. “And now you’re a true nina of the Hidden Cloud Village… even if you’re just a genin - you’ll make us all proud, yeah?” Yazanagi grabbed Shun and laughed rather heartily, hugging the boy as Kiyoshi and Yukiko joined them.

“S-Sure..” His voice was a little shaky, the warm wishes of the people he was closest to making him feel rather happy. Deep down he was relieved it was over, he was finally a ninja but he wasn’t entirely sure what to do now or where he would end up going. Shun was pretty positive both Yukiko and Kiyoshi’s families would come together to celebrate his becoming a ninja, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be around so many people. Part of him thought it would be too much of a drag and he would end up being too lazy to want to do anything with them.

Once everyone had stepped away from Shun, Kiyoshi looked down into his son’s eyes and gave him a thumbs up. “Take the day for yourself and learn everything you can about your home and the surrounding area now that you’re a full fledged ninja!” Shun stared at him, a little surprised that he hadn’t mentioned anything about a party. They usually would have a rather large family get together as it seemed to be tradition any time someone from either side of the family graduated. “What about--”

“... We can celebrate later this week, once some of the family returns from the Fire Country.” Yukiko added, almost reading his mind as Shun just nodded. “I will be going then..” The boy stepped away from them, walking to the door of the classroom and turned to wave goodbye. He stepped out of the classroom and sighed to himself. “Now that I’m finally a genin.. I guess I can look around the village.” Shun nodded, not entirely sure if he would actually go look around the village or go find somewhere he could sleep until night rolled around.

Before the sun rose Anton ceased to rest, his body was recovering and it was best to begin his training simply before reporting to the academy. Sitting up his eyes opened as he felt his bugs burrowing into his body and moving with difficulty through damaged pathways. Ignoring the pain that wracked his body he began his training in the simplest manner forming hand seals. By not using his chakra he was able to still retrain the movement and the speed. His mind was still damaged as was much of his body and chakra so for now he could only focus on simple movements and not true techniques. Tiger, ox, dog, rat, bird, boar, dragon, hare, serpent, horse, ram, and monkey. Then repeat over and over, faster and faster, accuracy over speed. This was the premise of practice, to do over and over until the body remembered more than the mind. There would be no hesitation because in battle there could be no hesitation. To pause was to slow and to slow was to die. Last time he had been to slow and ‘died’ before he even knew who the opponent was. Yet he survived and even now was living. Since he was alive he could learn and if he could learn enough next time he could survive and win or retreat instead of being defeated so simply.

I cannot be a useless weapon. If I am discarded I will no longer have a purpose and if I have no purpose then I am already dead. As he thought this Anton kept pushing himself to form the seals faster to the limits of his injured arms and hands. It was ironic that this was the training that placed the least stress on the body but also involved the parts of his body that were given the most attention during his torture. The hands were so sensitive and had so many small parts. Whether it was the bones being broken bit by bit, his nails being ripped off, or his tendons, joints, and ligaments being strained and snapped he now knew that the pain he experienced in the past was nothing and his thinking he had some tolerance was foolish. Even as he tested himself by letting his mind wander the hand seals continued uninterrupted as he began shuffling the order randomly. Dragon, tiger, bird and serpent were followed by dog, rat, ox and hare. The shifting seals contained no chakra yet were very familiar, as he worked his way through them he felt a hint of a memory related to his past techniques. His hands had a habit of following certain patterns in the hand seals as he ceased thinking about it and those habits told him what he needed to know. He had a tendency towards combinations of seals that suggested an affinity with earth.

This thought began to trigger a chain of thoughts and realizations, his skills were in earth and something else but earth was what he could best sense. The stable strength beneath his feet and the eternal patience filled his mind as he calmed himself from a rare moment of emotion. His path was to sever emotion and live for others because he did not have a true sense of self. Without a past how could he have a future? Instead he could only exist in the present that was his path and the reason he choose to wear Daoist robes so often. Rather it was one of the reasons, the ability to conceal weapons and his insects were also a heavy influence to his choice of style. At this point he paused and realized he really had lost everything. His body needed time to heal but he also had to regain his skills, knowledge, and even tools. He was now on a long path and the end was far away but he was not even sure how far he had walked on it to begin with so his sense of loss was not overly severe.

As the sun began to rise Anton also rose to his feet finally stopping his hand seals and after eating some bread made his way out of his room and towards the academy for his first day of retraining. There was much to think about as he walked, his path had been severed and his body broken so he had to start once again from the first step and there were many considerations such as how should he train, on what should he focus, what weapons should he carry and use, what role was he best suited for? As he arrived at the academy he saw a figure waiting for him, it was a man nearly the same height as him but slightly heavier and a good bit older. Anton, welcome back. I heard what happened and I was asked to be your personal tutor since I was your teacher and first team leader. Follow me I will be in charge of your training regime until you are in sufficient health to move on to the chuunin exams.

As the man spoke some small fragments of memory became clear as he said, Instructor Jiang. I thank you for your guidance both then and now. With a simple nod Jiang led Anton into the building and said, There is no reason to waste your time in the academy, you will learn faster in the field so I am petitioning to have you moved into a genin team with me tutoring you between missions as we see how much your body remembers and how many memories are repressed instead of gone. Consider this the most efficient method.

Anton merely bowed slightly as he followed Instructor Jiang and began to find his footing on his way once again. Yet behind his dull appearance his mind churned as he asked himself, what is the ideal weapon? How do I become the best weapon I can be and move to where I should be?