Training and Torment

Han wakes up early in the morning as he slowly gets out of bed. He walks over to his shower with a long yawn. He turns on his shower and bathes under the cold droplets of water that drip onto his body. He never knew why he liked to take cold showers, but now he has a feeling. He finishes his shower and walks over to the mirror. He can't help but to stare at his eyes. For years his eyes have been an amber color, yellowish with a bit of orange. Now however, his eyes are light blue, like his hair is. After a few moments he starts to brush his teeth and rubs his eyes. He walks out of his comfort room and changes into his ninja gear. He walks down stairs and greets his father as he waits for breakfast to be served. He starts to eat his breakfast while conversing with his father and slowly starts waking up. He feels renewed with energy as the food fills him up. After the meal, Han stands up and runs to the Academy. He wants to learn another A-rank Technique. On the way to the Academy, he notices a bulletin board of current events. He sees something particularly interesting. He sees an article about the strained relationship between Hoshigakure and Kumogakure and the possible war about to break out. Han's eyes focus on this as he starts to think on it. 'A full scale war. A war that would cause casualties on both sides. If it keeps up, we might eventually get involved in the war. If that happens, then so many people will die. I... I have to protect them! I need to be strong enough to protect them!' He thinks to himself intently. He runs even faster towards the Academy so he can learn the new technique. He arrives at the Ninja Academy and he walks through the gates. He turns and enters inside of the Academy Library. He walks over to the A-rank Ninjutsu Aisle. He starts looking through the Wind and Water A-Rank Ninjutsu. He goes over each one carefully as he has to decide which one he will learn today. He finds a Water Ninjutsu that he is particularly interested in. "Water Release: Water Dragon Whip. This technique creates an orb of water from which many sharp whips of water emerge that can be directed towards and impale a target or multiple targets. The whips can also change direction in mid-trajectory, bending to seek out the targets.up to twenty water whips may be summoned at a time from the bubble of water. This technique sounds powerful and very useful. It can also be the base of other water based jutsu. That would really help. I think I'm gonna give this technique a try." He says with a bright smile. "Oh! I almost forgot!" He picks up the scroll for Divine Wind from his back pocket and returns it the librarian with a smile. He then places the scroll for Water Release: Water Dragon Whip on the counter to borrow it. The librarian smiles and points Han towards the exit. Han thanks the librarian and walks back outside. He starts running and running towards the training grounds. He makes it in record time as he realizes that he has gotten a lot faster and stronger in the past week. He runs to the river where he usually trains and sits by the riverbank. 

He starts to read the technique once over and decides to try it out. He builds up chakra inside his body. He builds up as much as he can as this jutsu requires a lot of chakra. He fills his chakra reserves completely and excess chakra starts to escape his body creating a small blue aura around his body. He closes his eyes and focuses as the blue aura fades away and returns to his body. Deciding he has gathered enough chakra, he changes the chakra nature. He changes it into its Water Nature. He then focuses on the water and, reading over the technique, starts to pull out a large mass of water. He infuses every single droplet of that water with his chakra. He projects the image of a condensed ball of water from his mind and forms the ball with the large mass of water. He starts to focus the chakra inside of the newly formed ball and starts to remember what he read. He starts to focus so that certain parts and areas of the ball of water start to gradually speed up and eventually rush faster than the river itself did. The ball starts to look like a pattern, with the center being completely still, and an ever-moving flow of water that spirals around it. He starts to focus and expel the spiral out of the sphere and it does so. It comes out as a burst of spinning, rushing water doing almost no damage to the tree he set his sights upon as it lost momentum the further it got and it wasn't any different than a splash of water by the time it reached the tree. Han releases the jutsu and sits down. He is confused at what just happened. He knew that he put his all into this jutsu but in the end it just lost its power and speed. He starts to concentrate once more, thinking of ways to counteract this effect. He remembers that sharp spears of water should be bursting out of the sphere, not just pressurized water. He starts to build up his chakra once more and changes it into the Water Nature. As the chakra reserves fill up once more he is about to start to form the sphere of water once again. As the large amount of water forms above him he starts to create the orb of water. He starts to create a form inside the orb of floating water. He starts creating a spear of water that starts spinning around and around inside the sphere. He is happy with this as he expels the spear from the sphere. The spear pushes out of the sphere with great force almost breaking the sphere completely and it moves faster and stronger than before. Han gets his hopes up and starts to smile as it almost reaches the tree before losing momentum and power, turning the jutsu into another splash of water on the tree. He starts to get annoyed at this. He starts to focus once more, clearing his mind of doubt and anger which may cloud his thoughts. He thinks for about ten minutes before finding a solution to his problem. He starts to build up even more Water Natured Chakra inside his body. He forms the big orb of floating water above him once more as he does this faster and easier than before. He starts to form the sphere once more and the spear inside it. He puts his thought to use and forms the spear out of smaller, ever-spinning, chakra-infused balls of water. This spear uses the Hydrogen Bond to keep each individual chakra ball linked together. The spear launches out of the sphere taking almost three-fourths of the sphere's water mass. The spear launches at high speeds, reaching farther than ever before and reaches the tree almost twenty-meters away with ease. The tree splits completely in half as a gaping hole appears in the center of the trunk of the tree. He smiles and jumps for joy as he thinks he managed to perform the jutsu. He reads the scroll once more and frowns as it states that about twenty should be made with one sphere. He scratches his head as he is confused about what he should do. He looks at his sphere with a frown as it is almost used up already after making just one spear. He decides to charge up his chakra once more, trying to create as much water as he can for the full potential of the jutsu. He pushes his body to its limit as he uses every ounce of chakra in his system to create an even larger amount of water to create a condensed orb rising above his body. The orb floats and doesn't even drip a single drop of chakra infused water. He thinks of a way to create as many spears as he can to master the technique. He thinks he finally has the solution. Instead of a single spear, he will make the blade of the spear and connect it straight back to the orb, so that when the spear is finished striking, the water will return. He creates the sharp blade of a spear using water and it starts to poke out of the orb. He pushes it out as he tests to see if it works. The spear rushes like a river as it pushes forward at incredible speeds and it strikes the tree twenty meters away. The tree breaks in half but this time it collapses completely instead of just leaving a hole in the trunk of the tree. He then tries to make the spear return and the spear retracts using the connection it has with the orb of water to return to it. He smiles as he feels like he managed to do it. He then starts to practice with two, then three, then four, then five, as each time he strikes the rocks, trees, ground, and others. Eventually, he could use ten at once. He started to feel winded and exhausted as the massive use of chakra was causing a strain on his body. He decided to push on and continue this training. Over the next hour of tired training, he manages to finally use all twenty spears at once, making them whip around and break through multiple objects. He starts to pant and pant as he exhausts himself and his body. His face is red and is wet and sweaty as he is having a very hard time maintaining this jutsu for such a long period of time. He manages to smile as he finally knows that he managed to successfully perform this jutsu. His eyes can barely stay open as his body is about to give out. He slowly starts drifting into unconsciousness as he finally reached his limit. Things are starting to go dark but he notices that his jutsu hasn't ended yet. He furrows his brow in confusion and struggles to stay awake. He watches as the spears start whipping around wildly. He tries to control it but his body is too tired and it won't respond. He watches the spears strike the ground wildly, cutting through rock,stone,mud, and gravel as he watches them slowly creep closer to his body. He watches one slowly retract back into the orb then, with blinding speed, flies out of the orb and heads towards his head. His eyes open wide as he falls to the ground, barely dodging the attack, he starts to run, well, at least tries to as his body struggles to move and his feet drag on the ground. He eventually manages to run at full speed, dashing as the adrenalin starts pumping through his veins. His eyes start to open wide as he starts to fully grasp the situation. He starts being chased by the orb and its spears that still continue whipping around, as it starts destroying the surrounding trees. He runs as fast as he can through the trees in the training ground as he wants to perform the entire circuit to check if he can outrun the jutsu. He knows this circuit better than anyone, he knows all the shortcuts and obstacles. But apparently, so does the jutsu. He follows him exactly, not letting him get any farther than before. Eventually, he makes a wrong turn and gets cornered by the jutsu and a tall rock cliff. 'Well, stuck between a rock and a hard place, literally. ' He snickers as he feels like he can't do anything else. The orb stops its approach and starts to bubble. Han closes his eyes, seemingly accepting that he will be his own end. Then, suddenly his eyes open up again, and the smile fades from his face. The air around them feels still and it seems as if time stands still for a while. All twenty spears erupt from the sphere of water and head straight for Han. Han remains still and unmoving and he slowly raises his hand. A split second before the spears stab through his hand and aims for the killing blow, a quick burst of white chakra bursts out of his hand and the spears stop almost two inches away from his hand. The spears instantly freeze overand the frost quickly spreads to the orb. The orb shatters and all the stored up chakra returns to Han's body. Han lowers his hand slowly and his face remains emotionless and unmoved by the entire experience. He seems to stare into the distance for about a minute before he takes a step forward before he falls flat on his face. His head hits against the ground as he was supposedly unconscious the entire time. 

He starts to have a dream. He sees a version of his family that he longs for. He sees himself standing next to his father and mother, perfectly happy and healthy. He then starts to see different versions of his memories. He sees his mother and father celebrating after his Genin Exam. He sees his mother train alongside him and he watches as she celebrates his discovery of their bloodline. He starts to tear up as he sees what his life could have been. He starts to reach out to the memories trying to live in that world instead of the real one. He seems to almost grasp it in the palm of his hand before the memory starts to burn. He screams in denial as he starts running towards the burning fragments of his alternate memory as his tears start streaming down his face. He runs faster and faster but the fragments keep escaping his grasp as it burns more and more until it is only a little piece of what it was just moments ago. He screams once more as the final memory fragment shows his mother's smiling face slowly start to change into a scream of agony and despair. He starts to feel angry as this memory of his mother screaming hurts him deeply, mentally and emotionally. As the remaining ashes of the memory flow into his eyes, everything suddenly goes dark. 'No. No no no. NO! Not again! I can't go through this again!' He thinks to himself. He starts to grasp the sides of his face as he screams trying to escape this torment. 'This is not real, this is not real.' He keeps repeating to himself in his mind. "This is not real. This is not real... THIS IS NOT REAL!" He screams as he tries to prove to himself that this is another trick played by his mind. He pushes his hands together and builds up his chakra and starts to perform the Genjutsu Release. He knows he performs the technique correctly as his chakra flows around him correctly. His eyes open wide when he realizes that he can't end this torment. "No no no no no no no no. No! NO! This can't be happening! No!" He starts to scream grabbing the sides of his head once more. Everything starts to brighten up once more as he thinks that this terror is finally over but he sees yet another memory. He sees his mother on her hospital bed, sick and tired. She looks malnourished and weak as she can barely move. She starts to reach out towards him as he tries to reach back out towards her. A second before they can reach each other, everything goes dark once more. "NO! NO NO NO!" He screams as he looks around. He sees an almost infinite span of darkness all around him. He pushes himself through the darkness trying to escape. At this point he is feeling many conflicting emotions, fear, despair, anger, pain, sorrow, longing, and more. Hours seem to pass in this infinite darkness as he starts to lose his calm and his sanity. He looks around and sees a small dot of light in the distance. He starts running towards it as he believes that it is a small beacon of hope. This time he actually runs forward and makes progress towards the light as he sees that it grows larger and larger the closer he gets. He reaches out with a smile as he seemingly tries to find a way out of this eternal darkness. As he reaches out for the light, his eyes start to squint as he begins to notice something he hadn't seen before. He starts to see a face, something horribly disfigured and distorted. It reaches out towards him and he starts to slow himself. The figure screams with a distorted, horrible screech that causes his ears to bleed a little. Han screams as he tries to run away from the horrible screeching figure. The hole continues to grow larger and larger as the horrible figure eventually escapes the hole. He runs faster and faster as he screams from the intense fear that he felt now. The figure is extremely malnourished and disfigured as the rest of its body looks like a horrible corpse. Its knees bend backwards and its elbows are elongated and sharp, its face is long and its skin looks like rubber. Its eyes are empty and are just empty sockets of darkness. The ribs seem to pierce through his body as it starts to chase after Han on all fours. It crawls like a spider as its knees and elbows tower above the rest of it. It towers over Han as it looks about 50 feet tall. Han runs as fast as he can and barely escapes the figure over and over again. "Haaaaaaaa-aaaan, why are you running Han? Come closer, don't be afraid! Don't you recognize me? It's your mother! Come home honey! I miss you! I want to share something with you!" The figure says with a horrible screeching sound. Han screams once more in denial as the figure starts closing the gap between them. Han starts to feel helpless as he can't do anything about this. He starts to cry as he feels hopeless and helpless. He tries to feel his chakra and at least attempt to fight back but he can't feel anything. He starts to scream and notices that hhis voice gets higher and higher as he starts to trip over his own feet. "Awwwww, What's wrong, honey? Let mommy fix the problem! Don't worry! Don't cry!" The figure screeches once more. Han's ears are in torment as his ears start to pour out blood. He covers his ears then looks at his hands covered in blood, but they're much smaller than they were before. He realizes that he has become his former self, a weak, helpless child. His tears pour downs his face with fear as he cannot do anything. The figure stands right above Han as it reaches out towards him. He closes his eyes and screams as he waits for this all to end. A few moments pass and nothing happens. He slowly opens his eyes and sees nothing in front of him. He turns around and comes face to face with... himself. He watches as the other him stares with an empty gaze and a cold expression. He puts his hand on Han's forehead and Han feels a cold grasp. Han gasps as everything goes dark. He had just been stabbed through the head by an icicle. An icicle created by himself. He sees both versions of himself as it seems as if his spirit has left his body. He tries to scream and both bodies turn their heads towards his spirit and scream as well. The screams echo around the infinite space of darkness for what seems like an eternity before everything suddenly disappears. He wakes up with a startling scream and he finds himself still sitting next to the rock cliff. He wipes the cold sweat from his forehead as he breathes heavily. It was all a nightmare. 'It never happened. It never happened.' He repeats to himself as he closes his eyes. 

He decides to return home, walking slowly as he starts to reflect on what he had just experienced. He starts to look around the village on the way to his home and sees the smiles and the joy of all the citizens in the Leaf. He smiles as he sees the joy of everyone there but he can't get the screams out of his head. He sees the sun setting in the sky above him as he tries to focus on it instead of his dreams. He walks around a little bit more before he reaches his home. He slowly walks inside as he walks to his room. He takes another cold shower to calm his nerves and thinks a little bit more on his dream. He feels scared of the figure that he saw and he is confused about most of the things that happened in his dream. One thing he knows for sure, however,  is that he is afraid of the figure that called itself his mother. He hates how helpless he felt and he knows that he must get stronger. He walks back down the stairs in his pajamas and sees his father just arrive from a long day of work. Han hugs his father and starts to talk about his day. He talks about the day of training and everything he learned. He started to talk about the jutsu he managed to learn and he talks about how it lost control. He talks about the emotions he felt at the time and explains the situation vividly with as much detail as possible. His face then turns sour as he starts to explain his nightmare and the torment and terror he had felt in his sleep. He describes everything in his dream as his father listens intently with a concerned and worried look on his face. By the end of Han's story, he starts to cry a little bit as he seemingly relives his horrible terrors and torment of the nightmare. Han's father walks up to Han and gives him a big hug then he crouches to Han's level and wipes the tear off of hhis face. He then comforts him and tells him that everything will be alright and that he will always be there for him. He hugs his father again as he feels better with his father's comfort and love. Han thanks his father once more as he smiles at him. He says good night to his father as he slowly walks back up to his bed room. He sits on his bed and grabs his mother's charm again and says another prayer. He retells the story once more while holding the charm tightly and close to his heart. He asks for his mother's protection once more as he lies down and tries to go to sleep. He closes his eyes and screams as he sees the face of the figure again. He grabs his mattress and his pillow and blanket and drags them slowly to his father's room. He lies down on the floor and holds his mother's charm tightly before going to sleep uneasily. He nervously looks around the room and he sees nothing dangerous around him. He tries to calm himself and steel his emotions a he tells himself that it was just a dream and that nothing bad will happen. He closes his eyes again and goes to sleep without further interruptions or night terrors, his hands still grasping the charm tightly.

(Exit)
WC:4013
Claims: 20 stat points+ Water Release: Water Dragon Whip+ Early Signs of PTSD