Rome and Hiro do some training

Upon his last nightly vigil, Rome had decided that he didn't need to learn wind because he already had an ally that had the potential to utilize it in a very effective manner. Now, for this to be of any true benefit, they would actually have to do more training together and talking. It was not hard to guess that Hiro, with his dark attire and usually expressionless face, would already help Rome as long as there was a significant enough reward behind it. Though it would be most helpful to have someone he knew was a true ally instead of a sort of mercenary. Besides, Rome had also decided that he needed to get out a train some. It was optimal to start getting fire jutsu done with some success and frequency. This was the best way to kill two birds with one stone. Before he left his house, he read over a couple books he had gotten from the library. They detailed one jutsu apiece, together the two he intended on learning this session on the grounds.

Rome had taken to wearing his jacket even when it wasn't night, which only slightly raised his temperature. It didn't bother him in the least, though. It felt just like it would any other time. He had just made it to the training grounds, and was just looking back over the books he had brought. He had wanted to learn Fire Halberd and Demon Lantern, which seemed very useful alone but even more in conjunction. The power behind them would be Fire Halberd, a jutsu that would have Rome use fire chakra to increase his body's efficiency, boosting his chakra potency as well as physical strength. The former of those two effects would also increase the strength of Demon Lantern, which was a jutsu that Rome could use to create demonic fiery heads that could be maneuvered and controlled to do what Rome needed of them, usually as up to ten projectiles. It would be a very useful combo, making his own abilities stronger to then use a powerful jutsu to more powerful effect. The first one he wanted to do was Fire Halberd, as it was also the first one he would have to use to pull off the combo he wanted to. The books were tossed aside, and Rome sat cross legged on the ground, closing his eyes and meditating on what he was meant to do to complete the jutsu this time. There were no seals needed for this one, making it even easier; it was all about the control of his chakra in a fire nature without actually burning him. The appearance it would give him was less than pleasant, veins bulging, but the aesthetic of the jutsu didn't matter even a quarter as much as the effectiveness. Rome closed his eyes and started doing just what the book had described the jutsu as, but slowly. Instead of attempting to flood his systems with the chakra and instantly give him the desired effect he started to breathe in a very controlled manner, the chakra starting to worm its way throughout his body. His breathing slowly sped up, the chakra moving faster and slowly undergoing the change in nature he needed it to. It wasn't going to be a pleasant jutsu to learn and he was painfully aware of that. Honestly, if he thought the last one was hard to get the hang of, this one was going to be on a completely different level, literally. Now he was trying a B-Rank jutsu, he was really trying to get his abilities to progress. Fireball to Halberd, for now. It was a tough transition, but a strong reason he had become so upset with Fireball was because he was already having a bad day. Now, it was different because he had a new purpose and a fresh start, an uncluttered and completely focused mind.

The jutsu, as he had readily discovered, hurt. The fire chakra, when not utilized in the way it needed to be, simply hurt and left a sensation not unlike a burnt tongue throughout his body. Rome's eyes flicked back open, and he seized the book near him. Hiro hadn't arrived yet, now was still a time to train alone. He flipped through the book again, quickly scanning each page for the words he was looking for. The fire chakra was meant to increase the rate of cell respiration and therefore the rate at which they could perform any task directly related to them. The chakra saturating his body empowered his entire chakra system, and the physical strength allowed by the enhanced chakra cells was another benefit. Rome pulled out his lighter again, the same he had with him on his vigil that put him here. He was thinking, and his head was lightly pulsing with the beginnings of a headache, already prepared for the frustration that he was sure was going to ensue. It was to be expected, as you progressed in your experience and power as a ninja you encountered greater difficulty. "It's all just a part of the job, stated clearly in the contract," he thought, his thumb rolling the flint to spark the lighter to life. After watching the fire for a moment, as he had taken to doing frequently when he wasn't burning things, Rome closed the lighter with a light clinking noise. 

At the same time, an idea popped into his head. Breathing was key, that was a simple fact Breathing was the body's basic source of rhythm, and rhythm is exactly what he needed to perform a jutsu that involved him pushing chakra throughout his body. There needed to be a sort of steady beat it went through him to. That was the easiest way for him to progress and understand it. His breathing could be used to create a base, a solid starting point for a rhythm but maybe it was smart to progress past that to create a more complex beat and work off of that. This idea occurred solely because of the grey steel rectangle in his palm. Rome opened it with a quick jerk of his wrist, but didn't light it. Instead, he shut it and opened it again, a few elements of noise in the motions. When it opened, there was a small click as it started to let out lighter fluid and the hinge it moved on was used to its fullest, and the lid hit the body of the lighter. When it closed, there was a small clicking sound as well for the opposite reason of opening. The lighter fluid ceased to flow, and a little metal switch on the right was pushed up to cause it. It was a slightly lower pitch, as well, and when the lid made contact with the body in a closing motion it was louder to some extent. Rome started to open and close it quickly, making a bit of an actual rhythm to it. It was a quicker tempo than just his breathing, and when combined they created a very neat sort of song, just a beat for him to follow. 

The lighter tricks and the created rhythm was a great distraction as well as potential tool, and Rome's headache had subsided as he forgot about the actual hardship this jutsu was sure to cause. Now, he had to actually try to perform it. With the beat still fresh in mind, he started to try the jutsu again. This time, his mid divided his body up into sections and made sure they all had chakra flowing through them in the proper excess. After his whole body had been successfully saturated he converted the chakra to a fire nature, attempting to have it enter the cells. This was incredibly painful, and left him with the same burnt tongue sensation spreading throughout his whole body. There was probably something really simple that was being missed and left out of this formula. Rome decided it would be best persevere at this point, because any more distractions could severely hinder his progress. The beat was a helpful idea, though.

Rome's mind now turned its gaze to his actual blood, maybe a more neglected part of this equation. Blood was the essence of oxygen, and ferried it all throughout the body. To increase the rate at which his cells took in oxygen, he would have to start paying more attention to the vessels bringing the gas to them. So, the first step for improvement at the moment was to increase his focus on his blood, veins, and arteries. Speaking of arteries, that brought up another possible point for improvement. He was simply thrusting the chakra through his body and igniting it, hoping it would give him that kick he needed to get the jutsu going. All he would have to do after that is continually supply the already running process with chakra to fuel it and have it continue. Maybe it would be wiser to start paying attention to the flow of chakra as well. Oh well, it could all wait a moment or two longer. Hiro was supposed to be on his way, after all. It would be beneficial not to be exhausting himself too heavily before his training partner arrived. Rome stood and stretched a bit, dropping his jacket on the ground too. Chances are, training with Hiro would involve some actual physical movement and exertion of more than just chakra.

WC: 1590