Kaien's Training (Final Part 3 Included)

(Training: Strength and Leaf Whirlwind)

As the bright light peaked through the night sky, the sounds
of shouting could be heard echoing through the forest. Hearing this, the newly
awakened birds would fly away, not wanting to get involved with whatever was
happening. The noise was coming from the center of the forest, where there were
scarred trees and a damaged landscape. In the middle of it all stood a short
boy, panting as he released a blue chakra around him. It was Kaien, a new genin
of the Neko Clan.





He'd been in the forest all night for taijutsu
training. The idea had came to him earlier yesterday. At the time, he was
wandering through Konoha as he was heading to the store to buy some fish.
Shirayuki meowed happily from the top of Kaien's head, eager to dig into the
fresh fish. "Hurry and get the fish Kaien," Shirayuki meowed,
pointing forward with her paw. "Full speed ahead!"





Nodding, Kaien would speed up as he approached the store.
Opening the glass door, Kaien would look around for the fishy treats. He found
them in their normal place, beside all the other frozen items. After buying a
few, Kaien would step out of the store and sit down on a nearby bench.
"Here Shirayuki," Kaien said, handing the white cat a raw fish.





Taking it, Shirayuki happily began to gnaw on it, meowing in
thanks. "We'll save the rest for later," Kaien said, standing up.
Making his way home, Kaien would pass by a trio of shinobi making there way
towards the training grounds. Kaien wasn't one to eavesdrop, but he couldn't
help but here them speak about taijutsu training. That reminded him...when was
the last time he did any training.





The last he could remember was before the genin exams. That
was weeks ago. Maybe it was time he got back to training before he started to
get rusty. "Shirayuki," Kaien began, "how do you feel about
doing some taijutsu training?”





After paying a visit to the library, Kaien would be ready to
start his training. Walking into the forest, Kaien would look around
momentarily to make sure nobody was close enough to be hurt by his training.
That and he'd be too nervous to train if someone was here with him. After
making sure that he was alone, Kaien would reach up to grab the still eating
Shirayuki, putting her on the ground so he wouldn't have to worry about her
either.





"I won't be using the berry this time Shirayuki,"
Kaien said, turning away from the small cat. "I-I'll be using my own power
for this. If I rely on the berry too much…something bad might happen." Walking
forward, Kaien would approach a tree in front of him as he decided to use it
for training. All it needed was a bit of tweaking. Taking out a kunai, Kaien
would begin to carve a target into the tree. “There,” he thought, stepping back
and putting away his kunai. Getting into position, Kaien would aim a hard kick
at the tree, trying to measure its strength. His foot hurt a bit so he knew it
was sturdy.





“Was that it?” Shirayuki asked between a mouth full of fish.
“Not very powerful.” Kaien shook his head, squatting to the ground. “I wanted
to make sure it was hard,” Kaien said, looking back to the cat. “It would do
much good if I accidentally broke it in my training. An instance like that
would hinder my training. Now that I know, I can actually begin the real
taijutsu training. Please make sure to watch my movements closely.” Jumping up,
Kaien would aim a spining kick at the tree. However, that was all that happened
as he made contact with the tree.





Falling to the ground,
Kaien would put his hand to the floor as he lifted his body up and aimed his
foot at the target. This time, the kick missed the bullseye and hit below the
target. Kaien quickly knew that he wasn’t doing this right. He had to keep trying.
As he continued to attack the tree with kicks, it wasn’t long before Kaien’s
foot began to get numb and sore. Fortunately, he was building strength.





Shaking off the pain, Kaien would limp backwards to sit
beside Shirayuki, resting for a bit. “I don’t think I’ll be able to use this
leg for a while,” Kaien said looking down at his bruised foot. Letting out a
sigh, Kaien would reach in his pocket and pull out his chakra berry. Shirayuki
looked at it in surprise, thinking that Kaien wouldn’t be pulling that out.
“I’ll have to use this,” Kaien said, lifting the berry up to his mouth. “Please
make sure I stick to training, Shirayuki.” Shirayuki nodded as she watched
Kaien swallow the berry whole.





“Do whatever it takes,” Kaien put in before his chakra spiked.
At that moment, his cat ears would sprout from the top of his head and the
brown tail would come out from behind him, ripping a hole in his pants. Looking
around blankly, the new Kaien would take a glance at the bullseye before
looking away. “Kaien,” Shirayuki said. “Don’t forget that you’re here to
train.” Kaien looked back at Shirayuki with a bored expression. Raising his
hands, he would fold them behind his head and lean back, lying on the ground.
“I don’t feel like training anymore,” he said, propping his feet up on a rock.
“Plus my leg’s broken.”





Shirayuki could quickly tell that that was a lie, since he
had no trouble propping his leg up on the rock. “C’mon,” she said, jumping up
on him. “Get up!” Kaien ignored her and closed his eyes as if he was about to
take a nap. Letting out a sigh, Shirayuki would raise her paw as the claws
unsheathing, bring them down to scratch Kaien’s forehead. When he felt the
claws raking on his face, Kaien’s eyes popped open as he sat up, touching his
injured and bleeding forehead. “Stupid cat!” Kaien growled, surprising
Shirayuki by aiming a kunai at her throat. “You’ll die for that!”





Jumping backwards, Shirayuki would look at the aggressive
Kaien in wonder, completely caught off guard by his hostility. This had been
the first time Kaien ever threatened her even with the chakra berry. Was
training really that hard…or had that attack scrambled his brains somehow?
“Kaien,” Shirayuki said quietly. Raising his kunai, Kaien would throw it at the
cat, who quickly jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, Kaien would follow up by
swinging a kick at the airborne female. Flying backwards, Shirayuki would hit
the tree behind before falling to the ground. Staggering, she would let out a
hiss as she was getting angry.





“Partner or not,” she said as a blue chakra began to form
around her, “someone’s got to knock some sense into you.” Opening her mouth,
Shirayuki would let out a yowl which turned into a loud roar. Moments later, a
puff of smoke would cover her. When it cleared, a lion would stand in the place
of the small cat. “Chakra Berry,” Shirayuki roared. “Lion Growth.” Kaien
smirked when he saw this, leaning down to pick up his kunai. So he was finally
about to see which one of them was stronger.





“Stupid Cat,” he said, making a handsign. “Tiger Claws.”
Bringing his hand down, Kaien would send three strips of yellow light traveling
towards Shirayuki. Jumping to the side, Shirayuki would dodge the attack and
prepare to charge Kaien when he launched another Tiger Claw at her. Running at
full speed, she saw the claw attacks fly past her and hit the trees. Kaien sure
was making a mess of the forest. Turning forward, Shirayuki was caught off
guard as a Tiger Claw came right in her face. She hadn’t even noticed that
Kaien was moving while he attacked.





Shirayuki attempted to dodge the attacks, but in the end she
took the attack to the side. Wailing in pain, Shirayuki charged towards Kaien
and leaped in the air, aiming to pounce the Genin. Raising his kunai, Kaien
would stab the cat in the side of her chest as she came down on him. He could
have aimed in another area, but Kaien still cared for the cat even in this
form. Feeling Shirayuki bite down on his shoulder, Kaien let out a wail of
pain. He had to get her off him fast.





Forming a blue chakra around him, Kaien began to stab at the
cat with his kunai. Letting go of Kaien, she would let out a wail of pain as
she took a few steps backwards, bleeding from the attacks. Getting up from
under her, Kaien would jump backwards as he was about to finish her with shuriken.
However, he’d stop when he felt his chakra suddenly fall. The effects of the
berry wore off.





“Damnit!” Kaien thought as he fell on his back, unconscious.
At that moment, Shirayuki would return to normal as well, falling from all her
injuries. They were both down in the middle of a damaged forest. When he woke
up, Kaien found himself lying beside a lake. Sitting up, he winced as he felt
his injured shoulder. Touching it, Kaien realized that it was bandaged. That
was when he remembered the fight he’d had with Shirayuki. Speaking of which,
where was Shirayuki?





“Shirayuki?!” Kaien called, looking around frantically.
“Shirayuk?!” Getting up, Kaien would get back on one knee as he was reminded of
the shoulder injury. “Is this who you’re looking for?” someone asked from
behind. Turning abruptly, Kaien would see a girl with brown hair and white ears
that he easily recognized. However, she wasn’t really what drew his attention.
Kaien was really focused on the white cat she was holding. “Shirayuki,” Kaien
said in relief as he picked up the cat. She meowed happily before noticing
Kaien’s injured shoulder, getting a guilty expression on her face.





Kaien looked just as guilty as he saw Shirayuki’s patched up
wounds. They’d both hurt each other for reasons none of them liked. Remembering
the female, Kaien would realize that it was her who’d found them and patched up
their wounds. “Thank you Umi,” Kaien said with a grateful smile. She simply
nodded in response, her cat ears disappearing along with her tail. “It’s no trouble,” she said in a sweet voice.
“I was just training when I came across you two. Nekos have to help each other.
Besides, helping you two is still good practice for my Medical Ninjutsu.” That
reminded Kaien, he was still in the middle of training. However, he couldn’t go
back just yet.





“Shirayuki,” Kaien said, looking at the white cat. “I’m
sorry about earlier. I-I had no idea things would get this bad when I ate the
berry. Please forgive me.” Shirayuki looked up at him in surprise, mainly
because she was about to apologize as well. “I’m sorry too,” she said. “It was
my fault that you did this. If I hadn’t clawed your face…I didn’t know you’d
get that mad about it.” Kaien looked at Shirayuki in surprise before giving her
a comforting hug. “We won’t get anything accomplished if we fight over whose
fault it was,” he said with a smile. “Remember that we still aren’t done yet.”





Looking back at Umi, Kaien would bow to her before running
into the forest. He was still shy when training in front of others, a trait
they both shared. Kaien stopped when they got back to the spot they were training
in before, looking around at the damaged area. This was what Kaien was like
when he was angry with the berry. It only made him even more reluctant to take
the berry. Walking over to an undamaged tree, Kaien would take out his kunai
and make another target, though it was shorter than the other one.





This time, Kaien trained with his other leg. Kicking at the
tree, Kaien trained with speed rather than power. He wanted to be able to spin
all the way around so that both legs connected with the target and caused some
kind of dent in the tree. Continuing to kick at it, Kaien would feel both his
legs getting sore. Taking a step back, Kaien decided to take another look at
the technique. Reaching behind him, Kaien would remove his bookbag and put in
front of him as he began to rummage through it. He’d then take out his large Jutsu
Encyclopedia and begin flipping through the pages until he got to the taijutsu
section.





Going through D-Rank techniques, Kaien stopped on one in
particular and began reading. “Leaf Whirlwind,” it read. “A D-Rank Taijutsu utilized
by experienced Shinobi for offensive combat. While in use, the shinobi launches
a succession of high kicks and low kicks at the opponent. The high kick is used
to restrain the opponent’s evasion margin, thus boosting the chances for the
low kick to hit the opponent. This attack is most effective when used by
experienced taijutsu specialists.” Closing the book, Kaien would put it away
before putting on his bookbag and standing up. It was time for him to keep
training.





Jumping up, Kaien would aim a kick for the target again.
This time, he felt both legs hit as he turned all the way around. Not only
that, but, as he fell to the ground, Kaien would notice a dent in the tree. “I
did it,” Kaien said with a smile. Turning to Shirayuki, he saw her raise her
paw as she meowed a congratulations. “Good job!” she said. “But can you do it
again?” Kaien nodded, turning back to the tree and launching at it. After he was
done, Kaien was exhausted and had damaged many of the trees.


Word Count: 2331

Approved unless overruled.

+10 Stats +10 Jp

((Training: Speed, Chakra, Stamina, and Breath of Air))



Opening his eyes, Kaien realized that he'd fallen asleep
right in the middle of training. Maybe he shouldn't have been pushing himself
to the point of exhaustion on a regular basis. It might be bad for his body.
Sitting up, Kaien would look to his side to see Shirayuki sleeping soundly.
"It's best not to wake her," Kaien thought, getting up. "I'm
still not done training yet." Stretching, Kaien would think for a moment
as he tried to find what he'd train next.





"Maybe I should do some speed training," Kaien
thought. "Power won't help unless I can catch my opponent. Shirayuki would
be angry at me if something like that happened. I need more speed." Making
a hand sign, Kaien would allow his blue chakra to wrap around him again.
"Remember," he told himself. "No chakra berry! If I use that
again..." Looking at the sleeping Shirayuki, Kaien felt a pang of guilt
running through him. Facing forward, Kaien would get down on all fours as he
prepared to run. Kicking off, Kaien would dash forward in a sprint through the
forest.





As he stomped down on the dead leaves, Kaien wouldn't keep
his eyes focused straight ahead as he knew right away where he was going.
Moments later, Kaien would find himself running over the lake water, glancing
over as he saw Umi training with her black cat. However, he didn't stop as he
kept running and puffing out air. It wasn't long before Kaien had to stop,
panting heavily as he got down on his hands and knees. He wasn’t used to
running so fast for so long. Maybe it would be better if he took things slow
again.





After catching his breath, Kaien would stand up and close
his eyes, making a hand sign. Moments later, his eyes shot open as Kaien made
another dash through the forest. However, rather than simply running in the
forest, Kaien would jump up to land on the side of a tree, standing on it as if
it was actual land. He was using the tree climbing technique, concentrating
chakra into the soles of his feet. It was for that reason that what he was
doing could be considered chakra training as well, since he wouldn’t stay on
the tree for long.





Jumping off, Kaien would land on another tree and do the
same thing, landing on another tree and another and another. Kaien was leaping
from tree to tree to try to build his speed and better his chakra control.
Unfortunately, concentrating on his feet while simultaneous jumping from tree
to tree proved exceptionally difficult. Not only was he tiring fast, but he
almost ran into a tree from time to time. In fact, he was just about to run
into a tree as he jumped off another one. Turning in the air, Kaien would land
feet first on the tree before beginning to run up it, panting heavily. He could
feel himself about to keel over so he’d make this his last jump.





Running past leaves and branches, Kaien wouldn’t stop when
he got to the top. Instead he’d begin to run down the tree and suddenly release
a large amount of chakra so that he was pushed off the tree and sent flying in
one mighty jump. Still, Kaien wasn’t done yet. Making a handsign, Kaien would
disappear in a puff of smoke as he used the Transformation Technique. When the
smoke cleared, Kaien was revealed to be a white tiger, flipping in the air as
he landed on a tree branch below. With one last leap, Kaien would land beside
Shirayuki before disappearing in a puff of smoke as he went back to normal.
He’d pushed himself too far yet again so now he was falling unconscious.
Shirayuki, who’d woken up with the smoke cloud, looked up at Kaien with tired
eyes, not surprised to see him falling yet again.





“Kaien,” she muttered tiredly. Yawning, Shirayuki would go
back to her cat nap. Ninja or not, that didn’t change the fact that she was
still a cat all in all. “Fishy crackers,” she meowed in her sleep. “I want a
million fishies. Mommy, don’t take my fishies.”





Waking up a while later, Kaien would hear Shirayuki talking
in her sleep about fish. She’d probably want some when she woke up. Speaking of
which, Kaien might be able to build some speed if he tried catching fish. Reaching
down, Kaien would pick up the sleeping cat and begin to walk away towards the
lake. Hopefully when he got there Umi would still be present. She was always
great with anything dealing with water. Maybe she’d be able to help Kaien catch
some fish...or at least give him some pointers.





Approaching the lake, Kaien would find Umi healing a fallen
bird, which chirped happily as the job was finished. Flapping its wings, the
bird would fly into the air and vanish into the distance. Noticing Kaien, Umi
would greet her cousin with a friendly smile. “Kaien,” she said, standing up. “I
thought you were training.” Kaien nodded, putting down Shirayuki beside Umi’s
black cat. “I am training,” he said, walking over to the pool of water. “I
needed to come to the water so I could practice by fishing. Actually…would you
mind helping? Shirayuki wants fish and it’ll take too long if I did it alone.”
Umi’s smiled at the prospect of fishing, nodding and picking up her cat.





“O.k.,” she said walking towards the lake. “Noir should be
able to help.” The black cat meowed in response as Umi put her in front of the
lake. “I am a lot better than my sister afterall,” she meowed, looking back at
the sleeping Shirayuki. Being the older sister, it was only natural that Noir
would be better than her younger sibling.
It was that very fact that made Shirayuki get angry at her sister many
times. “That means I’ll be taking half to fish as payment for helping,” Noir
put in as she sat between Kaien and Umi.





Looking down into the water, Noir would keep her eyes glued
to the water in concentration. Moments later, her paw would dart into the water
at a quick speed. When it came out, Noir had a plump fish attached to her
claws, flapping about wildly as it gasped for breath. Throwing it over her
shoulder, the catch would flop about before being killed with a strike from
Noir’s paw. All the while, Kaien simply watched in surprise.





“What was that?” he thought, his eyes wide in surprise. “How
can she be that fast? It was just for a second…but…her paw disappeared
completely.” Looking at Umi, he saw her stick her hand in the water with the
same speed. It was probably thanks to the chakra berry, but she was able to
pick out an even bigger fish. Their older relatives had surpassed them. Taking
off his backpack, Kaien would sit down as he decided to make his own attempt at
catching a fish. Looking into the water, Kaien would look at the fish swimming
without a care in their wet home. They had no idea that they were being
targeted by the three of them.





Watching as the fish swam from side to side, Kaien’s would
stick his hand in the water, attempting to make a quick an easy catch. However,
as his hand came out, there was nothing but water, which poured over the sides
of Kaien’s hand. “Failure,” Noir said looking into the water to see a fish
fleeing the scene. “Just like my little sis…you need more spice.” Kaien looked
at Noir curiously, having no idea what she meant by spice. Part of him wanted
to say something to defend Shirayuki, but he knew he couldn’t do that.
Shirayuki would probably get angry at him.





“It was a good try,” Umi said reassuringly. “What Noir means
is…you need to be more…cat-like. Really…you had to be like a tiger. You have to
be ferocious...as if you’re fighting off an enemy shinobi. Don’t let give the
enemy room to attack and always have them on the ropes. In terms of fishing,
you have to be quick and not afraid to fight the water. It may look like a slow
moving element, but it’s actually quit fast…just like the fish.”





Kaien nodded at this, looking down into the water. Umi was
right…as always. He needed to strike quick and take his prey by complete
surprise. Concentrating on the water, Kaien’s hand would dart in another
attempt. This time, he felt contact with one of the fish, though it swam to
fast to be caught. “Not that good a fisher are you?” Noir said, as she pulled a
fish out of the water. “You have to move with the current you know. Didn’t they
teach you to stop the flow of chakra and all? This is the same thing…except you
stop the flow of water. Considering you’re Water attributed, this should be a
lot easier for you.”





Umi would say nothing to this, though she had to agree with
what her partner was saying. Kaien definitely needed more training. “Sorry
Noir,” Kaien said, looking into the water. “I’ll do better Noir.” Concentrating
on the swimming fish, Kaien would make another attempt at snatching up a fish.
This time, Kaien actually felt his hand grasping onto a fish. However, as he
tried to pull it up, it would slip from his hand. Looking down, Kaien would
stand up as he was about to shy away in defeat. However, he’d stop when he saw
a cloud of smoke behind him. “Maybe you’ll have better results if you swam for
your catch,” a voice said as a devious smile came onto her face.





Turning around, Kaien would be caught completely off guard
by a claw attack to his chest. It was Noir, who’d used the Lion Growth
technique. With wide eyes, Kaien would fall backwards to splash into the water,
sinking as blood spilled out. Umi looked at her partner with great surprise,
but the cat would stop her before she could say anything with a flick of her
tail. “If he wants fish then this is a good way to get some,” she explained as
she turned back into a normal cat. “Plus…he looked like he needed some help
with his whole water thing. You should be understand considering I did the same
thing to you.”





Umi shivered at the thought, remembering how Noir had sent
her spiraling into the sea for some crazy experience she called “exercise.”
This could end in three ways: Kaien swims back to the top empty handed, he
grabs as many fish as he can and drowns doing so, or…he simply drowns. However,
Noir didn’t see it that way. Call it a hunch, but Noir had a feeling that this
would be good for him. Who knows, maybe he’d come out with all the fish, his
life, and something extra. That’s what happened to Umi anyway.





“Now you aren’t coming back up here without a fish,” Noir
said as she walked onto the water. However, Kaien couldn’t hear here as he was
sinking to the bottom. Moving his arms, he tried to swim up for air despite
Noir’s warning. However, as his head was about to pop out, he felt himself
flying deeper into the water thanks to a hard punch. It seemed that Umi was
helping Noir now. “Didn’t I tell you!” Noir shouted, waking Shirayuki. “You
aren’t coming back up until you get those fish. If you can’t do that much, just
lay there and die.”





Sinking to the bottom, Kaien gasped for air as he felt his
back touch the rock below. He was running out of air fast and it didn’t help
that he was bleeding out. “So this is how it ends,” he thought as air bubbles
flew out of his mouth. “No…I still haven’t gotten Shirayuki’s food yet. I can’t
let it all end here. Still, how am I going to get out of this?” Reaching for
his pocket, Kaien was about to take out his chakra berry. However, he froze
when he remembered what had happened earlier. What if it happened again?





“Can’t hurt Shirayuki again,” he said taking his hand away.
“I have to do this without the berry.” Swimming up, Kaien would look around for
the fish Noir wanted. However, he’d just about scarred all them away as he
fell. Maybe he’d be able to get some air if he swam around Umi and Noir.
However, he quickly realized that plan wouldn’t work when he saw Noir and Umi
both staring down at him from above ground. So that wouldn’t work either. It
looked like he’d have to catch the fish afterall. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t
have much time to look for them as water began to fill his lungs. In a few
moments, he’d be unconscious as he was drowning.





“I need air,” he thought. As fate would have it, Kaien would
notice a fish swimming past him moments later. That was his key onto dry land.
Swimming after it, Kaien would kick with all his might as he tried to keep up
with it. However, it was one speedy little creature. Still, he was swimming
with all his might and getting closer and closer. He had only seconds before
air ran out so he stretched out his arm to try to grab the fish. It swam a
little faster as it saw the hand, which only made things harder for Kaien.
However, he did feel his hand grabbing onto the fish.





Without a moment’s hesitation, Kaien would make a break for
land. Unfortunately, as he went up, his vision became blurry. He’d taken too
long and now he was drowning. Gasping, Kaien would feel himself falling sinking
again. However, he kept a tight hold on the fish. Closing his eyes, Kaien was
about to lose consciousness when he felt a hand on his wrist. Moments later,
Kaien would be lifted out of the water and straight into the air, falling on
dry land as he coughed up water. “Did you get the fish?” Noir asked, turning to
Kaien with unsheathed claws. With wide eyes, Kaien realized that there was
nothing in his hand. Had he dropped the fish while he was being pulled out?





His expression turned into one of relief as he felt a small
trout falling onto his forehead, flopping about as it gasped for breath.
“Kaien!” a familiar voice shouted from behind Noir. Weakly turning his head,
Kaien would see a worried Shirayuki padding towards him. “I told you he could
handle it,” Noir said, patting Shirayuki on the head with her tail tip. “He is
one of us afterall.” Standing beside Kaien, Shirayuki would help him up before
turning to Noir. “What’s the real reason for this?” she asked, glaring at her
sister. “Knowing you, I doubt that was just to get some fish.”





Smiling, Noir would jump backwards to land on Umi’s
shoulder. “Don’t think so much sister,” Noir said, as she ate the fish Kaien
had caught. “I just wanted little Kaien to be strong like Umi. They are both
water attributed. What kind of person is water attributed but can’t stay in
it?” Shirayuki growled at this, though Kaien said nothing. He could see the
sense in what she was saying.





“Again,” Kaien suddenly said. “I want to try again.” Jumping
off of Umi’s shoulder, Noir would land beside Shirayuki, who was surprised at
her partners words. “I don’t think so,” she said with a smile. “At least not
until you actually learn how to swim.” Gesturing with her tail, Umi would walk
over to the three as she made a hand sign. “I’ll teach you how to be like your
prey,” she said as a blue aura surrounded her. “You’ll be able to breeze
underwater.”





Kaien’s attention was drawn at that, walking over to stand
in front of Umi. “It’s actually a simple technique when you think about it,”
she said with a smile. “Firstly, take a few deep breaths.” Nodding, Kaien would
suck in air before releasing it all at once. He’d do this multiple times until
Umi gave him the o.k. to stop. “Now comes the harder part,” she said, pointing
to her head. “Concentrate chakra around your head. Form it into a sphere around
your head…like a helmet. Make it large enough to fit around your head with a
large amount of space. This will trap air inside to allow you to breeze for an
extended period of time underwater. For that reason, you must leave no gaps in
your sphere.”





Kaien nodded before making a hand sign as he focused chakra
around himself. Moments later, Kaien would attempt to force his chakra around
his head like a helmet. “If you did it right,” Umi began as she began to sink
into the water, “you should have no trouble breathing on land and in the sea.”
Nodding, Kaien would stop the flow of chakra in his feet so that he plummeted
into the sea. However, as he did this, he’d find himself inhaling a great
amount of water.





Swimming back to the surface, Kaien gasped for breath as he
got back on land. Rising out of the water, Umi would let out a small breath as
she felt her chakra berry finally warring off. “You can’t have any holes,” Umi
said, walking over to help Kaien up. “Even a single gap can ruin the whole
jutsu.” Nodding, Kaien would make the hand sign as he tried yet again. Leaping
in the water, Kaien felt the same effects as before. He tried again and again,
but each time he ended up swallowing a mouth full of water. At least, as he
kept trying, he was making progress.





“He sure is a persistent one,” Noir said as she saw Kaien
pop out of the water breathless again. Shirayuki responded by glaring at her
sister, since she was still angry about her putting Kaien through all this. Even
if it was his choice, she didn’t want to see him work himself to death rather
than simple unconsciousness. “You really should relax sis,” Noir said, patting
on the head with her tail. “I’m sure you’ll be all happy and smiles when Kaien
comes back with those fish. He’s doing this for you afterall.” Shirayuki didn’t
respond beyond knocking away Noir’s tail with her paw.





“I think I understand,” Kaien said as he got up. “Umi, I
think I’ll be able to use this with my next attempt.” Nodding, Umi would walk
onto the land and stand by to watch Kaien as he dove for the water. Making a
hand sign, Kaien would concentrate chakra around himself in the form of a dome.
He would then shrink the dome into an invisible helmet around his head, which
was large enough to keep in a large amount of air and closed off to keep water
out.





As he splashed into the lake, he’d still be breathing air
while swimming in the water. Now he could actually catch those fish. Taking out
a kunai, Kaien would chase down the fishes like a great white shark as they
swam away fearfully. They were fast so it took all Kaien’s strength just to
keep up with them. Panting in his air bubble, Kaien would continue to chase
them down until he finally caught one. Without hesitation, he preceded to stab
it with the kunai before it had time to escape. Pocketing his catch, Kaien
would float to the bottom as he decided to take a short break.





Leaning back in the water, Kaien would catch his breath as
he floated through the lake. After a while, he’d get back to fishing catching a
few trouts and even a salmon or two. As his pockets were full of fish, Kaien
kept a few dead fish in his hands. However, holding them all and trying to
catch even more fish was proving increasingly difficult. He needed more speed.
Deciding to swim to the surface, Kaien would let down his air dome so that
water flowed around him. Holding his breath, Kaien would kick for the surface
and pop out moments later. “Did it work?”
Umi asked, help Kaien up.





Nodding Kaien would drop all his catch into a pile, which
the cats looked at hungrily. “Here Shirayuki,” Kaien said with a smile. “There’s
more where that came from. Would you help me, Umi?” She nodded and came with
Kaien as they both dove into the water. Meanwhile, Shirayuki and Noir would
both make a dive for the pile of fish, swallowing the catch with happy faces. “Didn’t
I tell you,” Noir said through a mouth full of fish. Shirayuki nodded, smiling
at her sister. Her anger had disappeared upon seeing the fish.


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After a hard days work of training and catching food for the
cats, Kaien would collapse on the ground in exhaustion. He’d used up all his
chakra so he’d just lay there and rest a bit. Walking over, Shirayuki would
curl up next to him as she decided to take a little cat nap. Smiling, Kaien
would fall asleep as well. He didn’t realize it, but he’d been out here for two
days now.


Word Count: 3597

WC: 3,658 Approved 18 Stats 18 JP

(Training: Health, Strength, Chakra)

Yawning as he awoke, Kaien would sit up to find himself
blinking into darkness. Just how long had he been asleep. Looking around, Kaien
didn’t see any signs of Umi or Noir. They must have went home while the two of
them were sleeping. “Shirayuki,” Kaien said, looking to the sleeping cat.
Trying to rouse her awake, Kaien would only have his hand pawed at. “Five more
minutes,” she said sleepily. “I don’t wanna go to fish jail.” She was obviously
having that dream again…the one where she was put in jail for eating too much
fish.


Standing up, Kaien would walk towards the lake as he decided
to get a drink. Training and sleeping can really make someone thirsty. Getting
down, Kaien would stick his head in the lake and begin to suck in water. As he
did, he’d notice a small fish swimming by. Sticking his hand in the water,
Kaien snatched up the fish and took it out of the water, throwing it over his
shoulder. Ignoring the flopping fish, Kaien would decide to catch a few more
fish. He’d return home tomorrow.


Looking into the water, Kaien would raise his hand as he
readied to catch a fish. Waiting for a few moments, his hand would go into the
water and come out with a nice juicy salmon. Throwing in with the smaller fish,
Kaien would go for more…and more…and more. After a while, he had a whole stack
of fish ripe for eating. However, he wouldn’t wake Shirayuki yet. Unlike her,
Kaien liked to cook his fish.


Now that he had food, the next step was making a fire. Turning,
Kaien would run into the woods so he wouldn’t wake Shirayuki with the noise he
was about to make. Making a hand sign, Kaien would consentrate chakra in the
soles of his feet. Moments later, Kaien would be running up a tall oak tree at
full speed. When he got to the top, Kaien would make a mightly leap that sent
him soaring into the air. “Leaf Whirlwind,” Kaien thought as he was coming
down. Swinging his legs, Kaien would break through branches below like a
spinning top. However, he’d eventually stop and land on a branch, making a
series of hand signs.


Jumping into the air, Kaien would disappear in a puff of
smoke as he used the transformation technique. When the smoke cleared, Kaien
was revealed to be a white tiger. Bringing his paw forward, Kaien would break
through a few more branches before landing safetly on the grass below. Looking
around, Kaien would see the branches he’d broken off lying on the ground.
“There,” Kaien said as he was covered in smoke again. When it cleared, Kaien
would be back to normal.


Walking towards the branches, Kaien would lift them up and
stack them together, hauling them back to where he’d left Shirayuki. Dropping them,
Kaien would let out a deep breath. Those branches were heavier than he’d
expected. After breaking the branches down to size, Kaien would create a fire
by rubbing a kunai against a shuriken. As he sat and began to cook the fish,
Kaien would notice Shirayuki waking up at the smell of fish.


“Fishy,” she said sleepily. “I want fish- why are you all
beaten up?” Looking down, Kaien realized first the first time that he was in
pain. How’d he not notice that. Grabbing his leg, Kaien would close one eye and
smile weakly. Picking up an uncooked fish, Kaien would hurl it over to
Shirayuki. “Training,” Kaien said as he began to dig into one of the cooked
fish.


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As the sun came up the next day, Kaien would let out a low
yawn. It was time for them to head home. He just hoped his mother wouldn’t be
worried. Picking up a sleeping Shirayuki, Kaien would sleepily make his way out of the forest.

Word Count: 672

[Exits]

Approved, +1 Health,+1 Strength, +1 Chakra, +3JP.