We're Not So Different, You and I

As Ashie held her hands out and up, Sakaiza form several hand seals in a rapid succession and as a result his hands began to grow slightly green, radiating chakra from it. He held his hands above Ashie's and waved them around, healing them evenly. He focused his chakra to fill and restore the obvious inflammations upon the girls palms. She tried to dismiss the pain as if it were nothing too serious, but it was obviously serious enough to draw her attention to it and force her hands to take on that red color. She was not used to punching rocks all day, she was used to punching padding. Sakaiza, and all the other shinobi present in the training grounds on the current day, were used to punching rocks. Actually they were quite fond of it. But Sakaiza could understand why she wasn't used to it and her hands ended up with cuts on them in the process, because she was new here. 

While healing her hands, Sakaiza listened to the story of Ashie. Apparently, she had been born with both kekkei genkai. Hearing this, Sakaiza now understood; her parents were a Hyuuga and an Uchiha, but how rare that was. Her mom seemed like the one to be the Hyuuga and her father, the Uchiha. 

When he would finish healing her hands, Ashie would begin to state the importance of trusting people. Something both her and Sakaiza would need to work on. But seeing as the two had both faced adversity and deceit in the past, it would make sense why the two would struggle to trust.

Ashie finished her thought, and Sakaiza had just been smiling. This girl seemed to have her head on a swivel. She wanted to protect everyone, almost as if it were her duty. Sakaiza thought on this briefly before opening his mouth, "So do you want me to teach you still, or what?" he said with a friendly expression on his face. Sakaiza liked Ashie, she was a very genuine person and seemed to constantly want to better herself. She was slightly an outcast, yet felt a need of protecting those same people that cast her out. She was like Sakaiza. 

(WC: 369)

She watched his hands carefully as he preformed a series of hand seals before his hands glowed green, the closer his hands gotten the more nervous she got. Was it going to sting? She winced as he waved his hands over her's, before she realized it didn't sting at all! She watched as the cuts had started to heal up and the redness began to fade. This was medical ninjutsu, incredible. She watched in awe, bending her fingers, they felt great! He listened to her silently, and hopefully he understood, but Ashie didn't know much, but how cruel to be cast from one's home, but thank god for Suna, maybe it was for the best! Sure it was a hard time in his life, but it made him stronger, more dependent.

What snapped her out of her thoughts was Sakaiza still offering to teach her how to perfect her gentle fist style. Sure she could always go to her mother for some advice, but this, was a real opportunity. It was almost an emotional moment, her and her brother, their whole life being denied because of being mixed blood. Yet here she stood, in front of a Hyuuga, who had healed her hands, and offered her some lessons out of kindness. She almost teared up. Sakaiza could see the sparkle in her eyes as she processed his question, nodding in excitement.

"Yes please! If you would gladly teach me, I will gladly learn!" She said happily, a big smile plastered on her face, this one was genuine. A genuine smile from a girl who knew how to be stoic, who was wary of people most of the time. She was almost bouncing in excitement, she liked it here now. She was afraid and nervous that people would realize who she was and scorn her for it. Sakaiza however, squashed that theory completely. The next time she'd see her Uncle she'd tell him all about Sakaiza.

So there she stood awaiting her order's from a fellow shinobi.

(336)

Sakaiza healed the hands of the seemingly nervous Ashie. She was likely thinking that the process would hurt or sting at the least, but to be truthful it was quite soothing. He remembered when he initially learned the jutsu, he had intentionally cut his hand open with a kunai knife. Following this, he formed the appropriate hand seals and then healed his hand. He recalled the feeling being like cold water running upon his body on a hot day in Sunaga. It was likely what Ashie felt as Sakaiza waved his hands over her wounds. She would then begin to smile and move her fingers, yeah it definitely did not hurt her. As he healed her hands, he started to think about the similarities between the two. Ashie felt as if she had no true home, or at least from what Sakaiza gathered, and Sakaiza had no home. His father dead and mother aging, the only people he had in Sunaga were the friends he met. But that was fine with him, or at least he pretended it was fine. Nevertheless, now it seemed like he had someone to understand him. Too bad she was from Konoha, Sunagakure could use more shinobi like here.

When Sakaiza extended his offer of training to Ashie, she seemed to light up. So much so that she also seemed to tear up. Sakaiza simply laughed a bit, quite merrily, he had never felt so useful to someone else. And all he was doing was helping her with her training. But perhaps it meant so much to Ashie because she never received formal training, so she was on her own. Just like how Sakaiza was. She hastily accepted, and thus Sakaiza would be ready to help her. Now she had quite the smile upon her face, unlike the ones formed from nerves that Sakaiza had noted previously. She truly seemed to be ecstatic about training with Sakaiza, which in turn made him smile.

Confident in his ability as a Hyuuga, Sakaiza would take on a jokingly, slightly stern approach, "Well alright Ashie, but I'm one hell of a Hyuuga, going to be the best ever someday! So your training will be nothing short of strenuous!" He said while crossing his arms and having a half smile upon his face. He knew that Ashie was strong, and she would likely benefit more from challenging herself seeing as she had yet to meet someone to challenge her in her Gentle Fist arts. "So, do you think you can handle it?" he prompted with inflection throughout his tone, creating a semi serious semi relaxed vibe. 

He knew she would accept. She was strong, possibly stronger than him. So when she did he would begin instructing her. "Good!" he would say in response to her acceptance, "Now I want you to stand as I do. But keep in mind throughout this process, you need to neglect your sharingan. We're working on your Byakugan today, so you need to learn to rely on it more."

In one motion Sakaiza transitioned from his casual, speaking posture to his modified Gentle Fist stance. His left knee was bent with his left foot planted firmly on the ground behind him, toes pointing out; his right knee was straight with the right foot planted on the floor perpendicular to the direction his face was facing. His body weight shifted to the back leg. As for his arms, the left was in line with his back leg but bent so that his hand was over and parallel to his bicep. The right was directly parallel to his leading leg, much closer to the ground that his other arm.


"This is my modified Gentle Fist stance. As time has proceeded, the gentle fist and eight trigrams have likely been altered. Each Hyuuga has his or her own style of fighting: mine is reacting. I take neither a defensive nor an offensive stance, but instead a reactive one. It allows me to be ready to act whether I need to exploit an opening on my opponent or if I need to move quickly enough to evade or defend from an opponent. If this particular stance does not work for you, then we will work on developing your own style. But for instruction purposes today, try to take comfort with the style I'm presenting you" Sakaiza would start, "Now with this stance formed, I am going to start off today by teaching you the Tenketsu Needle."


(WC: 748)

She was pumped! For the first time in what felt like eternity she was motivated to training and bettering herself. She looked upon Sakaiza with her bright Masutaai eyes. Nodding in response to him asking her if she could handle the rigorous training he was sure to provide her. She listened to his instruction carefully, almost confused as he told her to neglect her sharingan, she would interrupt just to inform him just exactly what it was,

"You mistaken me Sakaiza, mine is a diluted combination of the two, I cannot switch, right now I can choose to see you're chakra, but normally I use it for the Sharingan." Regardless either way she knew what he meant. She would change tactics today and choose to tune into the Byakugan side of her kekkeigenkai. So she watched, she watched with her eyes and mirrored his stance. except she reversed it so she could watch him carefully, Her right knee bent, with her left foot behind her, toes out. Her left leg straight out in front of her. She had to do a few double takes to make sure she got the position just right. Her arms following the same pattern, right arm bent back like her right leg and her palm facing outwards, her left hand outstretched like her left leg, palm also facing outwards.

Now it made more sense, the pose she had seen was more of an offensive stance, meant to go immediately into the strikes, but she wasn't fast enough for that one yet. This felt more comfortable to her, relaxing, her muscles eased into the stance as she breathed easily. She looked at him as he spoke, explaining the stance, so this was a great stance for her, this way she could block or deflect while also planning for a strike with the opposite hand. Great! The next step was coming up, he was going to teach her something about tenketsu. He means the points at which we focus chakra and the points at which I can strike to disrupt the flow of chakra?

"Tenketsu...Needle? You mean the points at which we focus our chakra? You mean I can make a needle that way?! That sounds cool!" She exclaimed giggling excitedly, the first move she's going to learn from the Hyuuga, finally she wouldn't have to go off instinct when reading her mother's scrolls. She'd have someone guiding her, making sure to fix any mistakes if made, making sure she got it down right!

(418)

Sakaiza had realized that Ashie couldn't just turn off her Sharingan, he had just wanted her to focus more on her Byakugan. It seemed as if she had understood this but wanted to clarify her blood line in case there was any confusion. Therefore, Sakaiza did not respond. Instead he continued to take on his stance and then prompt Ashie to take on a similar one. As she did, she seemed to have to quick take at Sakaiza several times to reference the positioning of each limb. It didn't take much time for her to adjust to the stance, which did not surprise Sakaiza, for it was just a way to position one's body. But what did surprise him was that she seemed comfortable with the stance for the start. Perhaps she was more like him than he thought, and wasn't offensive or defensive, but instead an opportunist. If so, then this stance would be widely beneficial for her, for opportunities and this stance worked hand in hand. 

When Sakaiza let her know that he would be teaching her the foundations of the tenketsu needle, she seemed slightly assumptive regarding the technique. He laughed, "Not an actual needle. But your fingers will move quick enough and powerful enough to deal a blow to a tenketsu point along your opponent's body, like a needle soaring through the air and striking an enemy," he said, to confirm to himself that Ashie knew what he was talking about.

Still standing in his stance, he would begin talking again, "This technique, like many gentle fist and eight trigram techniques, relies of speed and chakra control. So while you want to deliver your strike quickly, you also want to channel your chakra to attack an opponent's through the use of two fingers." he said while bending in three fingers upon each hand so that his middle and pointers were the only ones extended. He would move his fingers slowly towards tenketsu along Ashie's arms, showing her the basic motion she would need to maintain. "See how my fingers carry through the air firmly, quickly yet controlled? Their whole motion has a predetermined target, and thus it is important to reach that target and seal the tenketsu point," Sakaiza said while lightly poking a tenketsu along her arm with his left fingers. "This technique is the basic foundations for advanced moves such as the sixty four palms, and when done correctly," Sakaiza began before swiftly shifting his body to the side in one motion and delivering three quick, concise blows the the rock pillar adjacent to him causing large dents in the pillar, "you will easily force your opponent to be vulnerable. Now, you feel free to guide your fingers like I did with mine and get used to aiming and reaching for a tenketsu along my body, then as you get more comfortable with the technique, try to pick up the speed. Don't worry, I'll be able to handle the damage you may deal to me!" he reassured the girl with a smile upon his face, turning his body to again face hers so that she may use his as a practice target.

(WC: 528)

[1,660/2000 for Tenketsu Needle A- Rank]

Ashie upon the lesson starting she listened to his clear explanation as to what the tenketsu needle really was, what is was meant for, and how to strike while using it. Letting him come close with his forefinger and middle finger pressed together, slowly he moved with the stance and with the two finger's pointed towards a point in her arm, once he finished his explanation that this was the basis for her sixty-four palm, good, so that meant once she got this pat down she'd have an easier time preforming her sixty-four, and in time her one hundred and twenty-eight palms. He poked her arm where one should strike. It tickled. She stopped her giggle and maintained her serious face.

He had given her the floor now, letting her test out the strike, however, her height different was definitely an issue, she was short, but that won't stop her. She looked at him with her eyes seeing the many tenketsu in which she could strike, picking one in his upper thigh she moved slow at first, with her back hand bending three finger's down leaving her fore finger and middle finger pointed together. She poked it, as soft as he had poked her. Once she got the aim and flow right, she tried again, a little faster. Repeating that speed a couple of times she tried again, faster. She repeated making half speed strikes until she got use to the trajectory. She would try full speed this time, but of course no chakra flowing through her fingers, she didn't want to really hurt him, even if he said he could take the hit, hitting him was bad enough.

There she was, full speed she stepped forward and like a bee, she hit the tenketsu point in his upper thigh. The initial hit might've hurt a bit, but enough to do some real damage. She got the hand of it! It was simple! She understood how it was going to help her, this single strike was going to help her position her stance to make her palm strikes easier. She looked up at Sakaiza after she had hit him, wondering if she had done it right.

(366/500 words needed to complete the D rank Tenketsu Needle, using the teaching method to ony require half the word count to learn it.)

Sakaiza watched as the girl began to essentially poke his thigh without much effort to it. As she progressed in speed, the power and chakra began to flow more. However, Sakaiza could easily note that she was holding back. She barely seemed to be allowing her chakra to flow to her fingers which was the entire purpose of the training. As she continued, moving quicker and quicker, Sakaiza had another observation. She wasn't relying on her chakra because she had been utilizing her strength. It seemed as if she did not realize the importance of chakra flow in the gentle fist arts, as he recalled earlier that she had not balanced the chakra in her palms when conducting the one hundred twenty eight palms. 

Ashie continued until her last strike was quickly caught and halted before she could deliver the blow to Sakaiza's thigh. Smiling, he let out,"So it seems as if you're not allowing the chakra in your fingertips to flow. Chakra and speed are the two components that make up the power in this technique. Without one, it's nothing and will not seal a tenketsu. Instead, your natural strength will take over and it'll be nothing but a two fingered punch to your opponent. But if done correctly..." he interrupted himself to almost instantly deliver a two fingered tenketsu needle to a tenketsu along Ashie's stomach, "then the opponent can feel their chakra flow to that tenketsu closing. Do you feel that?" 

His intentions were not to hurt Ashie, but instead give her the impression that she could not and should not hold back if she wanted to master this technique. He wanted her to feel what it was like to have a tenketsu sealed, so that she would know how her opponent would. Sakaiza released her hand and gave her several seconds to recover, if she needed it. He had forewarned Ashie that his training would be strenuous and he wanted to live up to his warning, by challenging her he figured he could make her challenge herself.

"Now, don't hold back this time. Focus your chakra and speed and strike my thigh the way I struck you."


(WC: 361)

[2000/2000 for Tenketsu Needle A - Rank]

She gasped, he caught her strike before she could touch him. It both surprised her and made her nervous, was she doing something wrong? She looked up and held her place as he explained further about the nature of the move he was teaching her. He was right, she was focusing on the strength of her moves. When she should've been just focusing on the speed and letting her chakra make the initial hit feel like a sting. This was good though, she was really glad that he wasn't scared of her. It made her feel normal. Like she was starting to belong in this world, like a puzzle piece that was flipped over and fit snug even though it wasn't the same color. She winced as he delivered a fine jab to her stomach stopping the flow of her chakra to a tenketsu.

This was the first time she felt like this, it felt like she had been punched in the stomach. A few drops of sweat had formed on her forehead as she took a step back, she closed her eyes and held a hand to her stomach for a moment. She was still listening, but she did need a moment. The only people she had sparred with was her brother, who was a brute and always went for the face, and Kyoto, who was just a genin starting to get her whits about her. So she didn't have much experience fighting people. Her father had taken the time to teach her what is was to have an affinity to earth, but of course she didn't know any earth styled jutsu. This was another level of intensity, this was someone else's chakra stopping the flow of your own. So naturally Ashie shook it off.

She opened her eyes, her eyes had a spark in them, not one of anger that he had hit her, but one of determination. She walked back within hitting distance and slowly took her stance, she breathed slowly, controlled and even. Her back hand poised with her middle finger and fore finger at the ready, she felt it, her chakra felt like fire racing down her arm and into her finger tips as she took her steps foreward and struck his tenketsu in his upper right thigh, her finger didn't hurt, but when her blow connected she did feel a tingle in her finger tip, was that what it felt like to use the gentle fist on someone?

She looked up still within Sakaiza's zone, wondering if he felt his tenketsu blocking up? Did she actually do it?

(434)
[500/500 for Tenketsu Needle D rank]

As Sakaiza struck the gut of his new friend Ashie, she seemed to flinch in the process with repressed pain on her face. Thinking to himself, he wondered if he had struck her too hard. She was years younger than him. But he quickly shook this thought, remembering that she had been quite powerful herself despite her innocent appearance. She was a capable fighter, he assumed and she possessed two of the three original and powerful doujutsu. There was no way that he struck her too hard. But perhaps if he had put his all into the strike, it would be a different story. Nevertheless it still seemed to serve its purpose. As he had begun to semi lecture her for her mistake, Ashie took a step back, hung her head and closed her eyes. He could tell she was still paying attention though, of course she would be. She seemed to really value the lessons that Sakaiza would be teaching her today. Now having finished his point, she lifted her head and no longer possessed that innocent glimmer in her eye. 

No, this look was shear ambition. Sakaiza grinned upon seeing this look, knowing that his point had been made and duly noted by his new friend. As she approached Sakaiza, he shifted his stance slightly to anticipate the incoming blow to his thigh he would receive. In the process, he would redistribute the chakra in his upper thigh so that it would be readily prepared to accept the strike coming to it.

Upon contact with his thigh, Sakaiza's leg jerked a tad bit feeling his tenketsu be sealed. However this was of no importance to him, since he was not in combat. If an opponent were to attempt such a close, quick attack Sakaiza could easily maneuver out of it but this was different. It was slightly along the lines of durability training, letting his body feel what it's like to be hit by a shinobi of power. However the strike was not as painful as what he thought it would be, perhaps due to Ashie's inexperience with focusing her chakra in an attack like this, but still it was one of power for her first time doing so.

He smiled and let out, "Excellent! That was quite good, still some minor setbacks but overall that was excellent. I can feel my tenketsu sealed." Sakaiza was impressed by Ashie, she seemed to have done the technique well. 

"Did you feel that sensation in your fingertips? That was the exchange between your chakra and mine, it tingled didn't it?" He could recall the first time he sealed a tenketsu and the exact same feeling he received. It was weird, yet satisfying. 

Sakaiza knew that the gentle fist was an excellent offensive style, but he also was aware of the defensive aspects of it. A lot of the techniques could be used to prevent an attack just as they could to make one. But he didn't know if Ashie was aware of this.

 "You can improve your tenketsu needle as we progress through the day, but as for my next piece of advice. The Gentle Fist and Eight Trigram techniques are often used as an offense. But like I told you, my style is neither offensive nor defensive. Do you remember what I said it was?" he questioned, slightly quizzing Ashie to make sure she had been paying attention to the underlying concepts beneath what Sakaiza was teaching her.

(I'm going to teach you Palms Revolving Heaven, is that okay? Or would you prefer learning a different one before we take on one body blow?)

(WC: 579)

Ashie smiled both relieved and glad that it didn't hurt him and that she had done the technique correctly. He had asked her if she felt a sensation in her finger tips when she struck his tenketsu, she did, it did tingle. He confirmed it, the tingle was the sensation left behind as her chakra intermingled with his tenketsu. So that's what it felt like to seal a tenketsu, she always wondered how it felt for the opponent as well. She was almost embaressed, he didn't even flinch. In fact Ashie was sure that he leaned into her blow as well. Her face tinted red as she reflected on him sealing the tenketsu in her stomach. It was her first time feeling it for herself, it wasn't as if he struck her too hard, it was more of how the sealing had felt.

Snapping back into reality, just in time to hear his next sentence, which was a question. He was testing her, of course she paid attention, she was learning. She was more respectful than that, but here she would have to drop her princess attitude and be more humble. People here didn't know who she was, and to be honest she'd like it that way. She didn't want people bowing down just because her father was a former Hokage and both god. She could say the same thing for Uncle Koroshi, she didn't want people giving respect just because she was his niece, that would just harbor discontent. She wanted to earn the respect naturally. That's how she was going to change the world, one person at a time.

"You stated it was reactive." She answered. It was natural that he wanted to make sure she was aware of what he was talking about, her strike was not the perfected form. He most likely noticed that she had felt comfortable standing in the stance, yet had struggled with the striking portion of it. Which was true, but thanks to Sakaiza, with time Ashie would perfect it.

(338)
(I don't mind at all! I actually always wanted to learn it. The topic that Ashie was training Body Blow hasn't been approved yet, so we'll do that at a later time.)