The Downward Path

“You are reaching the end of your path, Hinoki. But you do not possess the key to unlock your Kekkei Genkai.” Hinoki’s father ceremonially announced “Yea, I hope we fucking find it at 1, on a pitch black hill. Goo-” Hinoki was stopped mid-sentence by a slap that rang through the eerie quiet of the forest. “I can tolerate you not wearing formal clothing. I can tolerate you writing like a blind chicken. I can tolerate you wearing those stupid sunglasses to try and hide your heritage. I can even tolerate you stepping on tradition. But you do not speak like that to me, especially when you are a disgrace to the Hyūga. Do you think wealth and power will just fall onto your lap? Because of your failures we are practically the laughing stock of the clan. You wouldn't even be able to take on an Uchiha. Hell, You won't even be able to take on the Hyūga girl in your class." He knew that Hinoki didn't care for politics, but he still had a sizeable ego "This is the last straw. And don’t you dare pick up those glasses.” Even when delivering such words, he spoke with calm and quiet. Hinoki’s glasses lay a bit far off and the power of the slap was imprinted hard on his face, being even visible in the moonlit night.

He lay stunned, unsure if to respond and not even sure if he could respond. He knew he was crossed the line but this amount of anger in one outburst was something he never experienced, especially from his own father. “Now, stop laying there like a bloody statue and resume yesterday’s training regiment. NOW!”. The raise in his father’s voice snapped Hinoki of whatever thoughts he was thinking and nodded weakly. His father turned away to leave “Don’t come back home unless you can complete this task. I will not be lenient with further disappointments. You have brought enough shame to our family.” Without another word, he started the mile-long hike back home. He knew that Hinoki understood what he meant. The Fact of being disowned from his family and losing the “right” to the Hyūga name somehow scared him more than he thought it would. He turned to the nearest tree and gave it a good hit; Even though it was not autumn, a good amount of leaves started to make their way slowly to the ground. The exercise was simple. Hinoki had to grab the 10 leaves out of the air consequently with one hand and another 10 with the other. Till yesterday, he is best was 4. He put himself in the stance his father had taught him and tried to focus on the task at hand. Yet Hinoki couldn’t. His Father’s voice wasn’t of anger. It was of total disappointment.  Hinoki knew that to put it simply, he was not good at anything his father wanted him to be good at. Yea, his Taijitsu was pretty good for an Academy Student but his father had higher expectations. Hell, He couldn’t even use the training room that they had at home because he was not “worthy”. He found himself motionless, lost in thought. He put himself back in the proper position, this time making sure to push aside all the thoughts that where keeping him from focusing on the task at hand. He knew that if he did not be able to complete this part of the training, another slap or something worse was coming his way. He already had learned to loosen his muscles, doing more of a jabbing motion more than a punching motion. He took a deep breath and shook the tree once more.

Soon the hunger began to seep in and the wasabi seeds he carried in his left pocket where more of a deterrent to naps when he really needed to stay awake. He knew it was useless to go back home without being able to do what his father wanted from him. He knew that if he wanted to ever taste Super Wasabi Ramen again, He had to catch those leaves and catch them fast. He tried to turn the hunger into motivation, with limited success. Hours over hours had past and the sun was nearly up. He managed to be constantly able to catch 8 leaves in one hand but that was not good enough. The hunger was now really reaching to him and it was getting harder and harder to focus. He alternated between his left and right arm multiple times, trying to give each hand a bit of rest as not to go over the limit but both of his hand was beginning to feel heavier every passing attempt. His hand bandages began to take a red hue. He could not afford take a rest, not even a nap, something he nearly learnt to do at whim. Even though his father was nearly mile away, He was sure that he was being watched. But he was not going to do this for his father. Not to reach his standards. Not to impress the dean. He was going to do it because he left his wallet at home and he *really* wants that Super Wasabi Ramen.  He bit down on 3 wasabi seeds and kicked the tree once more. He gave it another try, this time motivated by the need for the Super Wasabi Ramen. He managed to catch 5 leaves before his hand grabbed at empty air. His hands have become too slow to keep up. It was all over. Then it came to him. It all hit at once. The Hunger. The Thirst. The Heavy arms. No more luxury living. The fact that he will never taste that Super Wasabi Ramen again. What hit hardest was the fact that his Byakugan would never be awakened and the power of the gentle fist lost to him. Even though he never felt entitled, he knew that the Hyūga name meant something. Not anymore. No Then it came to him. He was doing all wrong from the start. He needed to use both hands simultaneously. He took in a deeper breath. Every attempt he did, it was using more and more energy from him. Now he had one last shot. He had enough hope to overcome it but one more defeat and there was no coming back.

He knew that a flurry of blow was not going to cut it. He had to do it rhythmically. He did his best at keeping the distracting thoughts at bay, he needed to be calm. One bad move and he would blow it. If he blew this, he might as well jump down this hill. Giving the tree a good kick, he regained his position, this time with both arms up ready. He had to time the jabs perfectly or it wouldn’t work due to his slow arms. He managed to grab 18 leaves before his fist closed over empty air once more. “It’s over.” He muttered to himself as sat down by the tree and all he wanted to do now was take a nap. All he could do now was take a nap.

[1,215]

The rhythmical beat of rain slowly brought Hinoki back to his senses. He found himself staring up at the grey clouds, laying on his back with his clothes soaked through. The lack of the usual pink tint in his sight shook him awake instantly and he primed himself to find out what happened to his glasses. As he went to lift himself, his arms buckled under him; Everything was coming back to him. He feebly crawled under the cover of a tree nearby. Propping his back to the tree trunk he slowly managed to get himself seated. He managed to move his arm slowly, his elbow joint flaring up with pain. His bandages where soaking wet but he could still see the crimson hue that tainted them, small streaks of blood still slowly dripping down from between his digits. He managed to cup his hands and collect some rain water to sooth his parched throat. Gagging at its taste, he downed it with effort; better than suffering dehydration.  His stomach groaned, as if to remind him of the pressing pain he felt. He did not have much options left. Making his way to the hospital wouldn’t have been such a hard task, had he not been on a hill and if he took one tumble, it might end up much worse than injured hands. Even if he made it there safely, he would still be cementing himself as a disappointment to the Hyūga family, making sure he gets replaced by a new heir. Staying here slowly starving to death was no option either. His eyes fell on a small shining object, laying a few feet away from him. His rose tinted glasses lay in the grass, the right lens now bearing a crack. He soon realized that things could not get any worse than this.

Pushing up with his legs, He managed to get himself standing once again. He took a moment to get himself balanced, the ground now slippery with rain. He shakily turned to face the tree. He had no more will to push him further. His uneasy sleep barely gave him back his strength. His hands could barely move with pain. But he was at the end of the path and he still has not found that fucking key. Time to give a try at breaking the door. Hinoki painfully popped open the front buttons of his shirt, now clinging to him like a second skin. He ripped it off and thrown it aside. It would only make this harder. He gave the tree a good kick and the few remaining leaves started to make their descent. “Fuck this shit, I didn’t spend all my fucking childhood training just so I get to die hungry, soaking wet and a failure. At least I’m going to put one last fucking stand.”

Biting his tongue, he put himself in the needed position and opened up his fingers wide open. A surge of pain tore through his arm as he reopened the tears between his fingers and blood began to flow out freely once again. He deftly went for the falling leafs, the rain hitting his face directly now. “One Right, One Left, Two Left, Two Right, Three Right,” Yet, the leafs seems to becoming easier to catch as if time itself was passing a fraction of its usual speed. “Three Left, Four Left, Four Right, Five Right, Five Left,” Even his reach seemed to increase. Or where the leaves just falling closer to each other? Hell, even the pain seemed to dull. “Six Left, Six Right, Seven Right, Seven Left, Eight Right, “The harder the rain seemed to hit his face, the more his whole body seemed to seep with energy and speed. Infact, his hands seemed to be radiating chakra “Eight Right, Nine Right, Eight Left, Nine Left, Ten Right, Ten Left “. His face already was twisting into a cocky grin as he turned to go pick up his glasses when he noticed something strange. He still could see the tree. Hell, He could see everything around him. He took another step towards his glasses and went to pick them up. He could see his own Chakra pathways. The Sudden realization that he had just found more than key overshadowed his brush with near-death. He had awakened his own Kekkai Genkai. He put on his glasses and with a cocky grin he muttered to himself “Man, I’m so fucking coo- “before the exhaustion took the best of him and he fell down in a pile unconscious, still grinning.

[755 + 1215] = [1,970]

Learning theory could only take you so far. Eventually you had to actually put it into practice if you wanted to go the rest of the way. The problem with certain techniques was simply that the opportunity to practice with them was limited. With medical ninjutsu you had to practice on the injured. Those were sadly in short supply around the Hyuuga clan compound, and no one was volunteering to be cut and bashed until Tsubaki could practice. So she was stuck going ninety percent of the way, waiting for a golden opportunity to arrive for the last ten percent.

“Don’t worry, Tsubaki-chan”, her cousin Mariko consoled, “I’m sure you’ll have your chance soon enough.” That mostly confused Tsubaki who responded with a simple, “Eh?”, not knowing what was occurring at that very moment on a hilltop about a mile away.

“Like I said, don’t worry about it. Just keep practicing your hand seals and chakra control. Remember to visualize water flowing into the soi and the plants growing. That will help as you try to stimulate the blood clotting. Come on now; Boar, Rat, Snake. Boar, Rat, Snake.”, Hyuuga Mariko repeated while tapping a pointing stick against a chalkboard with each sign Tsubaki performed. Tsubaki’s attention was on the dummy laid before her on the ground, performing the hand seals and forming up her chakra before pressing her hands to the rubber chest. Her eyes so downcast missed Mariko’s checking on events far outside the compound on that fateful hilltop.

A full hour passed this way with Mariko drilling Tsubaki before she stopped abruptly and said, “It’s time. Gather your things. To complete this training you're going to have to take a hike.”

“What?”, Tsubaki responded as she looked up from the dummy, feeling the weariness from the practice she had been undergoing. “A hike? Now? … Why?” She looked suspiciously up at her older cousin. Just what was she planning? The entire thing seemed fishy.

“To complete your training, Silly! Look, we found someone for you to work on. The best part is if you mess up they won’t be awake to complain! It’s only a mile away. You should be able to make that run in only a few minutes. Just think of it as training for delivering first aid while under fire!”, Mariko seemed all too chipper as she pulled Tsubaki to her feet, stuffed her bags into her hands, and all but marched her to the edge of the compound.

“Now, just look over to the top of that hill and you should see him.”, cousin Mariko continued while pointing to the hilltop. “Oh, and take an umbrella. I think it's going to rain. Bye!” A bewildered Tsubaki was left standing there, arms full with her ninja pouches and an umbrella, as Mariko went back inside and shut the compound gate with a loud BOOM!

“Uhm…”, Tsubaki stuttered before turning her gaze to the hilltop. From this distance she couldn’t make out anything. She took a moment to strap her pouches on and then began heading toward the hill, umbrella thrust under her arm as she formed the hand seals that made the activation of her Byakugan easier. Horse, Tiger, Boar, Hare, Rat, Dog, Horse, Dog, Hare, Rat, Boar, Snake. Byakugan! Her eyes flashed, becoming solid white orbs as the veins at her temples bulged out. She looked ahead, her vision penetrating the misty haze as it zoomed in on the hilltop. That was when she spied what at first looked like an asleep Hinoki Hyuuga. It only took her a moment to disabuse herself of that notion as she caught the blood staining the bandages on his hands and the weak flow of chakra through his body.

”Hinoki!”, she thought as she broke into a run for the hilltop. Her cousin was right, she could run quite quickly, even as tired as she was, with the right motivation. It only took a handful of minutes for her to reach the hilltop. The rain poured down, the umbrella forgotten in Tsubaki’s haste as she came to kneel in the mud next to Hinoki’s prone body, probably ruining a very nice pair of red hakama in the process.

”Hold on Hinoki. I have you.”, Tsubaki thought as she formed the hand seals. Boar, Rat, Snake. Chakra blazed through her pathways, down into her fingertips and palms.She brought her hands together and applied them over his heart, her chakra pouring into him like water into soil as she held the mental picture of growth in her mind, willing his healing process to quicken and blood to clot.

“Come on, Hinoki. Wake up for me.”, Tsubaki said more to herself than anything as she pulled a kunai knife from her holster to cut away the bloody bandages from his hands and see if she had succeeded. A quick slice later and she was looking down at his hand, held in hers as the bloody sores began to close with supernatural speed.

“I did it…”, she said in utter disbelief, her voice barely a whisper as she waited next to her cousin. She sat in silence for a few moments before remembering the umbrella, raising it up over the pair of them while she waited for him to come back around.

[889 Words]

Hinoki imagined many cool things would happen after he would manage to catch all 20 leaves and on top of that awaken his byakugan. He definably did not imagine himself waking up to find himself being watched over by a girl, especially one of which he had been previously told he wouldn’t even be able to beat in combat. Fortunately for Hinoki (even though he saw it as misfortunate in his mind), this is what he saw when he opened his eyes and gave a good yawn. Taken aback by the site of an extremely well dressed Hyūga girl, recognizing one her as his classmate and polar opposite Tsubaki, he hurriedly tried to get up while muttering something in the lines of “The fuck’s going on here?” though he himself was not sure what ended up coming out as he was still a bit groggy from his unplanned nap; which also contributed to the fact that he completely forgot the wet terrain and ended up slamming backwards into the tree behind him.

Realizing that he was bare-chested in a bloody storm, he quickly went for his soaking wet shirt and quickly put it on and buttoned the middle 3 buttons, even though it was clinging to him like a wetsuit. At that point he noticed his missing “lucky” bandages and the fact that he was completely healed. But before he could do any vulgar remark on any of those pressing matters, he was interrupted by his own humongous sneeze; the first sign that he had unsurprisingly caught a cold, something that he seemed always oblivious of. Trying desperately to regain his composure, the thought that he had been saved by Tsubaki crept in and even though he tried to dismiss it, he knew he owed her big time. “I don’t know what *sneeze* happened here but *sneeze* just don’t ever do *sneeze* whatever it was. And leave *sneeze* a man’s lucky bandages alone next *sneeze*” He didn’t ever bother to finish the sentence. This sneezing was the last thing he needed right now.

Even though he really wanted to say something witty, his mind was torn asunder by a new problem, something his face betrayed easily. How the hell is he going to get home in this weather?! Already dripping head to toe and the storm seemingly getting worse by the second; He had no idea how he is going to find with way. Too exhausted to use his newly found Byakugan and barely able to see through the crack lens, he put himself in a position that would make one think that he was corned by dangerous enemies as his mind raced to find a solution to the seemingly infinite problems that currently besieged him while trying to remain as cool as possible, something he was failing at all levels.

[1970 + 470] = [2,440]

Hinoki was a mess. No sooner was he awake than he was cursing and slipping about in the mud like a fish flopping about on dry land. It was all so sudden that she didn’t even have time to stop him before he bashed himself up against the tree. Tsubaki slid the kunai knife back into its sheath on her opposite hip with a shake of her head and then rose up off of her knees. The rain still pattered down against the waxed paper of the umbrella bell, keeping her from getting further soaked than she already was from the run in the rain. Tiny streams of water formed, running down channels in the paper of the umbrella where it would fold when retracted. Eventually they spilled off the top of the umbrella like miniature waterfalls, plummeting to splash against the mud below.

She stood in silence as he dressed, looking down to her own muddy hakama pants with a grimace. “Ruined.”, she thought, based on the muddy stains at the knees. If there was anything she loathed in this word, it was being filthy. Right now, she certainly felt dirty. Not only did she have mud all over her pants and sandals, but her clothes were all soaked. Even her normally immaculate white hair was soaked and knotted in its single maidens foxtail. Each of her leather pouches would have to be emptied to dry out and then reconditioned, not to mention that all the metal would need to be scrubbed and oiled to prevent rust. You see, this was why she tried to stay clean and dry.

By the time Tsubaki had taken mental inventory of the damage to her outfit and the work ahead, Hinoki was back in his own soaking clothing. He tried to rant, but apparently had caught a cold, and she barely got half his meaning. Luckily for her he was transparent to read, looking as if he were about to drop a load in his drawers the way he tensed when a thought suddenly dawned on him. The way he backed up to the tree, hands out to ward off absent intruders was almost amusing in how nonsensical it was. With her own Byakugan still active, she could see in every direction through the thick sheets of rain, and there were no threats waiting for them.

“Come on, Baka. It’s this way”, she said with a quick flick of her wrist in the direction of the village. She took the first few steps in the mud before looking back over her shoulder at him. “It's only about a mile or so. If we hurry they might be able to warm you up before you get pneumonia.” And with the she began trudging forward once again, holding out her umbrella slightly to signal that he could join her under its protections. Of course, it wouldn’t do them much a great deal of good, soaked as they already were. Still, it was less miserable than going without. It was the small things that could get you through the rough times. It was the small things that could ultimately count.

[Exit]
[889 + 527 = 1,416 Words]
[Training Basic Medical Ninjutsu [E-Rank] 500 Words]
[Progress towards Basic Medical Ninjutsu [C-Rank] 900/2,000]
[Claiming 7 Stat points for 1,400 Words]

Hinoki was not sure what Tsubaki was saying, as his sneeze where getting worse by the minute and he was still confounded what to say or what to do. She was properly Implying that he could come with her to guide him back to safety. “Bah, I *sneeze*.” Even his thoughts where getting interrupted by sneezes and he still was somewhat crippled by the taught that if it wasn’t for her, he would probably be dead. Only when she called him a “Baka”; He was propelled back to the real life and he was going to start arguing when he realized that she was proposing that he follows her to who knows. “She did save my life” and followed that thought with disappointment for even believing that and he was already trying to create some kind of a witty counter-argument when an extremely loud groan from his stomach told him told him that he was in no solution to do anything.

“Hey, I faced starvation and exhaustion and I survived against all odds. What’s the worst that can happen?” This thought somewhat gave him enough confidence to slowly approach Tsubaki, though he was still trying to keep as far away from her at the same time, putting nearly half of his body out of the umbrella’s cover whilst he said some kind of mumbled thanks. His coughing ‘fit’ had not stopped and he of course was too busy regretting his decision to even cover his mouth. “Fucking hell, Maybe I could have made it alone.” But his constant slipping and sliding and the fact that she had to hold his hand in a part of the descent down as he nearly slipped down head first didn’t really make him feel any better.

[Exit]
[2,440 + 240] = [2,880]
[Training Byakugan] = 1000/2880
[Claiming 9 Stat points for 1,800 Words] = 2800/2880
[Starting Training for Gentle Fist: Bottom Palm] = 80/500

I misclaimed my Word Count by using subtracting the amount of points I gave to stats by the amount I trained in Techs/KKG . It should be like this:
[Trained Byakugan] = [1000]
[Claiming 18 Stat points for 2,800 Words] = [2800]
[Trained for Gentle Fist: Bottom Palm] = [500]
[Started Trained Tenketsu Needle = [1000]