If I Could Read Your Mind, Love... ~Solo~

Altar would awake with a jolt, scratching at the back of his head. The boy had stayed up much too late the previous night, and now he was paying the price for it. The slumbering dragon beside him let loose a mighty snore, another part of the reason he had jolted awake. The elder magma dragon slept most of the day away, carefree now since the injury. The boy almost wished he could do the same. However, the thrill of his day to day life was...intoxicating. He loved parts of it. The only part he could do without...was the actual threat to his life. Yeah, he should do something about that. With that thought in mind, the boy would shrug the sheets from his body, dressing for the day of (most likely) rigorous training ahead.

The boy would start in his own mind, heading to his meditation floor.The white haired boy would take a seat in the middle of the gigantic, empty room. Soon, the boy found himself in his mindscape, the stained glass flooring desperately trying to light the seemingly infinite darkness that surrounded him. The boy got a strange feeling of Deja Vu being here. It felt oddly normal, save the feeling of being fully corporeal. It was a trip to actually BE here, rather than just daydream about it. And to think, this place was of his creation. He manufactured this reality with his own two hands. It made him feel oddly… god like. A sinister smile threatened to spread across his face, but was quickly halted in it’s progress by a voice Altar recognized all too well.

Rising from his seated position, Altar would look over his shoulder to see a girl with brown hair, familiar hair, a kind and familiar smil- wait… what? No, no no. He, of course, recognized the girl in front of him, but it was far from the face he expected to see. In the place of Nekoda was his sister. Her voice echoed in his mind, bouncing around the expansive space he was in, multiplying itself from the dark.

“It’s not your fault…” a whisper, almost seething. Kind, seeking for peace. Yet it burned worse than Kalamity’s voice, shook him more than anything he’d endured. “You, you… no, i’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” the boy would say, his voice barely above a whisper as he reached out to touch the girl before him. Of course, the illusion was shattered as soon as he made contact. His lost sister was replaced by another. Brown hair traded for a light blonde, the green eyes replaced by a vivid blue. The boy’s eyes would widen at Nekoda, the girl not understanding what exactly had just happened. Stepping back, the boy would reach up to his face, grazing his cheek with the back of his hand, gasping lowely when he felt his hand turn damp. Nekoda, ever caring, was obviously concerned, which showed in her voice. “Altar? Talk to me, what just happened? Are you alright, are you feeling well?” If not for the recent event, the boy would assure her that he was fine. But right now, he was too broken to speak, too shaken to believe that he was, in fact, okay. It was horrifying to think memories could defeat him like this, cause him to simply snap and cease being. He couldn’t even tell if he was breathing anymore. He could almost feel the world he created slide out from under him. Almost. Something brought him back to his own reality. Sharp laughter, cruel and deep. Once again, a voice and a sound he was all too familiar with. Though this one didn’t need to shapeshift to bring a sour taste to his mouth. Turning, the boy would face the being that tried so damn hard to make his life a nightmare.

“Ahahahahaha! Oh, too good, too damn good. How’s that guilt feel Altar? I could make it all go away…” the being said. He’d call it a him, but Kalamity didn’t choose an entirely human appearance. The right side of his being was human-like. Slicked back blonde hair, pasty white skin and the same blue eyes as Nekoda. However, bisected like some nightmarish demon, his left side was entirely composed of black shadow that moved like flame, the only real feature being a purple dot that would pass for an eye, he supposed. Kalamity walked over and threw an arm around Nekoda’s shoulders, the girl tensing up instantly, glaring coldly at the creature. “If you must know, Altar saw more of his sister in you than typical. Seemed like some awful person was messing with the poor boy’s head, making him relive her final words. Or should I say her last waste of breath?” the creature said, laughing violently again. Altar’s eyes flared, his temper getting the best of him as the mark appeared in his eyes, his skin seeping black color.

He wanted the creature dead. He wanted it gone. He wanted to see it suffer like it tried to make him. But he had no direct way of dealing with him, save ending himself. And he wasn’t that weak. His skin and eye returning to normal, the boy would pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh. “Why must you antagonize me, Kalamity? You can’t survive without me.”

At first it was a peaceful sleep. Dreams of the times he had in the village in the clouds. A lilty, airy sweet voice whispering in his ear. One he recognized all too well. Nekoda, his… previous yuumei. She was his voice of sense. The light that burned away the dark. She burned brighter than a torch, and always had Altar’s best interest at heart. A sweeter being could never exist. Suddenly, everything turned black. Shapes he remembered all too fondly burst from the dark black edges of his dream, his vision went and when it came back, he found himself face to face with his internal demon. Kalamity. The voice of hatred, bloodlust and just plain distaste for human life. A more sadistic demon could never exist. Both voices in his head seemed to echo influences of Altar’s life. Nekoda shared the voices of people like Haru, Youta and his sister. People who wished to see him happy. Kalamity shared the voice of people like Xyxer. Those that wanted to watch the world burn simply to hear the screaming. Blocking the horrible sight of the horrifying being in front of him, Altar shook his head and did what he could to block out the beast he was facing. Thanks to years of carefully practiced articulatory suppression, it seemed to work. For the time being…

As Altar sat up in bed, he would trace his hands across his body. He still felt a strange itch at the constant movement of the seals placed there. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but… it definitely wasn’t a sensation he enjoyed. Shrugging, the boy would rise and move to his bathroom, patting the dragon at the foot of his bed on the snout before continuing on his path. When he arrived at his destination, the boy would look into the mirror, noticing the intricate fuinjutsu seals moving across his body, seemingly having a mind of their own. Christ, that was weird to see. As of the current moment he had five. That seemed plenty to him, but he knew better. There would come a time when he would want so many more, and he wouldn’t have time to place more. It would be better to do it himself, right now, than to wait until in combat, when his mind and body would be readily occupied. Tapping both his shoulders once, two more seals would appear. The boy would wince at the crawling feeling, suppressing the urge to shiver. Sighing, the boy would continue with his morning routine before heading to the roof, knowing well what he had set up there.

As Altar opened the door to the roof of his home, he would summon Nekoda and Kalamity from Void, cracking his knuckles and smiling at the two. “Nekoda. Kalamity. Train.” the boy would say, motioning to an array of dummies and targets set out. The two beings would nod, before springing to action and going to work on the array of targets on the rooftop. Altar sat a ways away from the two, out of the action, the boy using his golden hands to keep himself raised from the ground, meditating while the yuumei went forward with basic combat training. It was strange to see them work. They fought in the opposite way the boy originally thought. Nekoda favored hand to hand combat, playing an aggressor role in combat. She would do well as a taijutsu user. Kalamity stuck to the back, only rushing in to direct combat when his position and victory was assured. He seemed to favor distance, support and lockdown in a combat role. He would do well with genjutsu.

It was strange to think these two were originally manifestations of his mind. But here they were, right in front of him, like some sort of twisted dream come true scenario. It was strange to think he could create life like he had. Breathing life into clones by imbuing them with fuinjutsu seals and chakra. Opening his eyes, the boy would smirk, the images of himself winged and mighty flashing before his eyes. He was a god now. And it felt good to be one. Paying no mind to the pair training as they were, the boy would walk forward, spawning all of the Thousand Hands, the arms quickly extending to 3 meters length. The arms would do simple tricks, juggling and pushing Altar from the ground, the boy going far enough to use them to walk and hang himself outwards from the edge of the building. The air was cool, though it was permanently humid. Of course, the boy would return to the roof shortly.

The hands would smash through targets and rip dummies apart, Void conjuring new ones almost as quickly as the hands went through them. It would’ve been a glorious sight, surely. Of course, it was unbelievably tiring. As such, the boy would return to his room shortly after, the two clones disappearing from reality as Altar made his way back to his room. Shortly after, the boy would be lounging in his bed, the claws of sleep slowly grasping at him, trying to drag him down. And of course, they succeeded. But his sleep was far from peaceful, his mind plagued with nightmares and memories just after succumbing to slumber once more...

Altar grasped the back of his head, almost feeling it throb with pain. What had he done last night that caused this? It felt like dear heaven above was cursing him, wishing him to be in agony. Ah well, he thought, raising himself up out of bed, thinking of his father's old saying. "The worse the headache, the better the night was!" he'd say, laughing to himself as his mother would characteristically roll her eyes at him. Altar smiled, his eyes growing foggy as he remembered his parents. They were solemn, and miserable, but they had their moments of fun. Altar pulled on his clothes, preparing for the day ahead. He sat back down on the bed, wiping his eyes clear, putting on a serious face. It had always seemed that when he was alone was the only time he could actually feel and display his emotions, but that didn't make it a good thing. He needed to be taken seriously, he wanted to be dangerous, he wanted to be a threat, and he certainly wouldn't be with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. Besides, he didn't like thinking about his parents, Not after what had happened. Altar sighed, looking out his window to see the rain coming down outside. Good, he thought, he loved the rain. He got up, went out the door, and started off towards the training towers.

Altar grasped the door to the room, entering it and immediately noticing the round room he found himself in, two switches on the far left, presumably lights, a few knobs and a button next to them. On a rack to his right were what looked like earpieces, a board above them labeling rules. He walked to the board reading it. It read...

-Welcome to the holographics training simulator. The earpieces below are used for voice control. Phrases such as "Pause" and "Start" will be recognized to the program. The control panel to the far left may also be used. Happy training!

Altar grabbed an earpiece, fitting it to his ear as he walked to the control panel. The switches controlled lights and the power to the holograms. The knobs adjusted number, difficulty, and weapons. The button was to adjust the simulation accordingly to the knobs. Altar turned number to "1", difficulty to "Normal" and set weapons to "None". Standing in the middle of the room, Altar readied himself, turned on the earpiece, and said "Start!" 

Immediately, a hologram of what seemed a common ninja appeared, running at Altar. It swung a right at Altar, who dodged left, under the arm, spinning around, aiming a kick to the hologram's head. The hologram turned and backstepped, grabbing Altar's leg and tossing him at the wall. Altar flipped, landing on the wall, kicking off, spinning mid air and kicking the hologram in the jaw, landing, and punching the same spot with his left, pivoting his body with his arm. The hologram was knocked to the ground by the punch, as Altar placed his hand on the back of the hologram, flipping over it and running to the wall. The hologram got up, charging Altar. It aimed a punch right to Altar's head as he jumped over it, the hologram punching the wall instead, Altar came down and landed on the hologram's back, pushing off of it, sending it forcefully face first into the wall, and Altar flipping through the air, landing at about the middle of the room again. Altar thought this was getting too easy.

"Pause!" Altar said into the earpiece, as the hologram froze mid action. Altar walked back over to the control panel, notching up the difficulty all the way, and added another hologram, pressing the button. He walked back to the middle of the room. "Start" he said, as another hologram appeared. Altar took a fighting stance as the holograms charged him from both sides. The one on the left went to sweep his legs as Altar jumped over it, the one from the right punched him and grabbed his arm, throwing him towards the wall. Altar flipped, landing on the wall, flipping off as the holograms rushed him, throwing both aimed and wild kicks and punches in every direction. Altar managed around them, kicking one into the other, aiming a right punch, then a sweep kick on the rightmost hologram, then knocking the other off balance, throwing it to the ground and aiming a kick to it's head. The hologram grabbed the kick, pulling Altar down to the ground as the other got up and started kicking him as he lay on the ground. Altar turned and tried to catch a stomp from the hologram, only to have his grip slip and catch it right to the face. Altar could feel the anger boiling inside him, as he looked down, kicking the hologram holding him, it began rolling away, holding it's face. Altar then grabbed the leg of the one above him, pulling him down and rolling away. 

He took a moment to survey the situation. Hologram #1 was still rolling on the ground, clutching at it's face. Altar grinned, he hadn't thought these holograms could sustain injuries. Hologram #2 was rolling around, trying to get to it's feet. This was a perfect opportunity. Altar's hands went together, forming a number of hand signs. As lightning started shooting from his hand, and the sound of birds filled the room, the second hologram stood up, wobbling a bit on it's feet. Altar charged at it, running for it as fast as he could. The hologram turned as Altar neared it, jumping out of the way before being struck. "Shit!" Altar shouted as the hologram jumped, the lightning striking the wall instead. THAT hurt a bit more than he would've liked. He turned around, charging the hologram again, this time it dodged around him, dragging him down, placing all it's weight on him to lock him down. Altar struggled around, not being able to get up. He tried rolling out from under the hologram, pushing him off, pulling him off, but nothing worked. Altar was pinned, and there was nothing he could do about it! Altar shouted, trying with all his strength to push him off, but it wouldn't work. Altar's mind raced, trying to think of something. God, this was just like when he was a child. Training with his father, god, what a living hell that had been...

"Come on, you useless child! Get up! Get out from under me! You'll never be a true threat to anyone if you can't even save yourself from a little weight!" His father yelled at him. He was trapped under his father, not moving one inch until Altar could move himself out. Altar could smell the stench of booze and smoke on his father, it was practically leaking off his breath. Altar was sure he was going to suffocate. "Push, you useless little shit! Come on, it's only me! I'm light as a god damn feather boy, and you can't even move under me! Well, you're not eating a fucking crumb until you get out!" Altar reached out to his mother for help, but she was too busy crying in a corner to bother helping him. Fine, he could do this himself. He didn't need his mother to help...he didn't need anyone. Altar looked around the room, searching, searching...there! Altar reached out, his fingertips barely brushing an empty glass bottle. Altar strained to wrap his hand around it, lifting it and bringing it down on his father's head. His father yelled, scrambling to his feet as he clutched at the back of his head. Glass shards stuck out at every angle, blood seeping down his scalp. He ran to the bathroom, frantically pulling out the shards, reaching for the bandaging in the cabinet. Altar walked back to his room, slamming the door shut and locking it tight. "Jackass. Let's see if your best friend still floats at the bottom of a glass after this." Altar muttered under his breath, flopping onto his bed and closing his eyes.

Altar opened his eyes, tears running down his face. "PAUSE!" he yelled in almost a sob, as the hologram on top of him became weightless. He tossed it off, throwing the earpiece away, backing himself up to the wall and tucking in his legs. Thank god no one was with him, he thought. He must look like such a pitiable loser... The emotions in him burst out, as he felt angrier than ever, but also sadder and more depressed than ever as well. He laid his head on his knees, remembering his father at his best and worst moments. Altar could never fight when he was upset, he always fought with his emotions. When he was sad, he could never get into a fight. When he was angry, th threw blind punches as hard as he could. Emotions clouded his thoughts and judgement, and he couldn't fight right with them. He was about to make his way to the exit, and turn off the holograms, when his father's words rang through his head. "You can't let your emotions dictate your fighting, but that doesn't make them without their uses. Instead of getting angry when you get hit and throwing wild punches everywhere, use that anger. Keep a clear mind, but put the anger behind your strikes. Let them empower your punches, not your head. Emotions are powerful things, boy, and the sooner you learn that, the better off you'll be." Altar sniffed at the memory, his father teaching him to fight. He smiled at the memory. Yeah, his father was a drunken asshole, but he was still his father, and he would've been damn proud to see Altar where he was today. Maybe he would've quit drinking for him...Altar laughed at the thought of his drunkard father sobering up for him. Now that was an impossibility. Altar, now in a clearer state of mind, and a happier one at that, walked over to where the earpiece lay, picking it up and rigging it back in his ear. He reset the holograms, and stood back in the middle of the room. "Start!" he said into the earpiece, as the holograms started moving once more.

Altar jumped left, dashing around the holograms and sweeping their feet out from under them. One fell for it, the other jumped, throwing a punch at Altar, which he caught, grabbing it's arm, turning and tossing it away. The hologram that was on the ground got back up, hitting Altar in the stomach, then taking a hold of his neck and pinning him against the wall. The hologram lifted him off the ground, the second one walking up behind it and pulling his arm back for a punch. Altar felt the rage growing that he was being manhandled, but remembered to keep a clear head, and let the anger out through means of the fight. As the hologram prepared to punch Altar, he wrapped his right leg around it's arm, snaking it around it's neck and pulling it, head first, into the wall. Altar then swung his legs, placing them against the wall beneath him and pushing them off, kicking the hologram that held him in the ribs. He fell to the ground, legs out from under him from the force of the kick, but didn't let go of Altar, whose head scraped against the wall on the way down. "Damn it! Ah, that hurt!" Altar shouted, clutching the back of his head. Altar felt more anger, but let it slide once again, but along with it came sadness, as Altar was feeling like this was starting to get futile. He let the sadness go, but instead of using it to strengthen his hits, he simply remembered it. He remembered that feeling of sadness, and the feelings of anger. He kept them bottled inside until they could be used. Altar stood back up, rolling past the grounded hologram, to the one he had slammed into the wall, who was now standing again, charging at him. The hologram swung a right at his head, which Altar swatted to the side and countered with his own punch to the gut of the hologram. The hologram seemingly took the punch and just kept hitting, and kicking at Altar, who took some full on and managed to dodge and move away from others.

The hologram kept swinging away, which lead them over until Altar had his back against a wall. On an incoming punch from the hologram, Altar stepped to the side, grabbing the hologram's arm , placing another hand on the back of it's neck, Altar swung the hologram around, slamming it into the wall with as much force as he could put into it. The hologram turned around and slumped, half sitting and half standing against the wall. Altar took the groggy opportunity, forming the hand signs once more, lightning streaked from his hand as he pinned the hologram against the wall with one hand, and sending the chidori straight through it's chest with the other hand.

The hologram slumped to the ground as Altar released it, seemingly dead, or as close as a hologram could get. He turned to the other hologram, more emotions rising, this time including happiness that he had been able to dispatch one of the holograms. The second was just rising, grabbing at its midsection. Altar wondered if it had suffered a few broken ribs from the kick earlier...oh well, it just made it an easier target. Altar charged the hologram preparing for a fight, but it simply jumped away. Altar tried again, this time catching the hologram with a few light hits, but again it jumped away. Altar turned to face it, and caught it slowly backing away from him. Altar figured that the hologram had lost the ability to fight, what with the ribs, and trauma of seeing his ally die. After all, if they could suffer physical wounds, why not mental as well? Altar put his hands together, forming the chidori for the third time today, hoping to dispatch the hologram, but as he neared it it leapt away. Altar tried twisting his body to move, but couldn't, just like always, and Altar missed. This stirred anger again, which he bottled, again. Taking another try, he made the hand signs again, but missed. Okay, this was getting tiring. Altar thought for a second, and decided it was futile, but worth a try. He put his hands together, the signs coming naturally now, the chidori forming in hand as he charged for the hologram. This time, as the hologram leapt left, Altar let out all the emotions. He thought of all the anger, all the sadness, the happiness, he let it all out, and with it he torqued his body, trying with all his power to make his body turn.

And it did. He had closed his eyes, and let the emotions run rampant, each one chasing after the hologram, just as he was, and as he torqued his body, he felt himself change directions, and as he opened his eyes, he saw the hologram land, not 5 feet directly in front of him. He kept moving, and felt his hand sink through the hologram, straight through the chest. Altar stopped himself after this, and turned to see the body fall to the ground, crumpling as it did. He sat down in a mix of joy and disbelief. Had he really just done that? Was that possible? His head resting back against the wall, he looked to the sky.

"Mom, Dad, I finally did it. I beat my own mind. I used my emotions. I hope you're proud of me up there." Altar said, breathing a sigh of relief. He got up, turned the lights off, put the earpiece back, and walked out of the room. On the way back home, he heard the rain, and the wind. And later, thinking about it, he could've swore he had heard the voices of his parents.

Gasping, Altar would shoot up to a sitting position in his bed, his eyes darting around in every direction. It was a dream, a memory, a remnant of a past he left behind. It didn't matter. But this only solidified what he had thought before. He needed something more powerful, a trump card, a jutsu that was familiar to him, but strange to the world. Something that graced few powerful people. Throwing on his cloak, Altar would walk outside and start heading towards the makeshift library, or more accurately, a stockpile of books detailing various jutsu and information about useful things in the ninja world. Encyclopedias of dojutsu known to the world, the intricacies of the chakra network in both male and female bodies, et cetera. But what interested him were the hundred or so books listing jutsu, both complicated and simple, ranging from the most powerful S ranks to the most simple of E ranks. Those known around the ninja world, and those kept secret or known to few. Grabbing two books, Altar would flip through the pages. The first contained no information that was useful to him, nor was it pertinent to his hunt. Throwing them aside, Altar would open the second book, once again thumbing through the various pages in the book. Thankfully, this one had what he was searching for. The Chidori. An incredibly powerful jutsu, made from focused lightning chakra concentrated in the user's hand. All information he already knew. There had to be something in this entry regarding more powerful versions or something...come on... There! For more information on the advanced jutsu, see "Raikiri or Lightning Cutter" on page three hundred and ninety four, contained in volume four. Flipping the book in his hand over, Altar would read the spine. Blank. Looking around him, Altar would notice that all of the books were the same. None had the volume or edition listed on the cover or spine. Wonderful. This meant it was gonna be one helluva long day.

Another one, not the one he was looking for. Altar would let out a long, exasperated and exhausted sigh. He had been here for four hours. Four. Fucking. God damn. Hours. The boredom was enough to kill a man. He had been through every book in the place at least seven times. Checking every page, but to no avail. There was no page three hundred and ninety four in any of these volumes. Sighing again and tossing the book in his hand towards the pile, er... mountain of books he had gone through, Altar would loom around. There wasn't another book in this place. Flopping to the floor, Altar would close his eyes. This was strangely incredibly tiring. But he couldn't stop. He needed to know. He needed the power. Opening his eyes, Altar would roll to the side, Flinging his arm out to his right. And of course, he whacked it straight onto a shelf. Not very painful, but damn, his hand was numb. Pissed and tired, Altar would grab the shelf and toss it to the side, walking towards it, ready to put a large hole in the back of it. But he tripped. Looking down, flustered, Altar would notice what he had tipped over. A book. One covered in dust. No fingerprints on it at all. He hadn't seen this book, and he certainly hadn't touched it. What in the hell were the odds... No, there was no way. No point in getting his hopes up. But he had already been here for four hours, so what more could it hurt? Popping open the book and running his thumb across the dusty pages, Altar would notice the faded remnants of page numbers. He managed to see a four hundred number before he stopped himself, flipping the last couple pages back over. Page three hundred and ninety four. Brushing his thumb up the page, Altar would see letters in large print, some faded and some simply gone. “Ra  iri  r  ight i g C tter” Wait...the letters matched. This couldn’t be. Looking further down the page, Altar would see a few key words jump out at him. Lightning. Advanced. Chidori. Raikiri. Incredible power. Known to few. This was… exactly what he had been looking for. As excited as he was, Altar forgot where he was and rather loudly exclaimed...


“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” The boy said, before reality hit him and he decided to keep his voice down and his head down lower. Tucking the book under his duster, Altar would rush outside, and start heading back to his home.

Upon further investigation, the book turned out to be a volume in an advanced jutsu encyclopedia series, and this particular book was Raiton centered. This was exactly what he needed. Though of course, the one jutsu that had swept his attention from anything else was Raikiri. The book stated it was more powerful and more concentrated than the regular Chidori. It was sharper, more lethal. It could be used more times than the normal Chidori, and with extreme practice it could be channeled in both hands, or even arced off of clone. It was still incredibly draining, however, and had just as many drawbacks if not more. Still the close range problem, but that could be easily dealt with. Now, though, Altar needed to train to try and imitate this jutsu. The book stated that the Raikiri was more focused, appeared more blue than white.

Sitting down in the middle of the now cleared and nearly empty room, Altar would breathe in deeply, then start. Channeling his chakra into the palm of his hand, Altar would soon seen the all too familiar white mass of sparks appear, lighting his hand. This was the easy part. Now, came what would be hell. Closing his eyes, Altar would focus his mind, training his thoughts only on the palm of his right hand. A flood of power. Something so familiar, yet suddenly so foreign. Altar’s head started filling with doubt, swimming with ideas of what could happen if he failed. Shutting his eyes more forcefully, Altar would do his best to block out any negative thinking. Any small second of him not training his  focus could end in disaster. And end in disaster it would. And end in disaster it did.

In about a second, Altar lost it. His focus left his body, stray thoughts occupying the space of his mind that had been obsessing over the mass of electricity in his hand. Altogether, lightning started sparking off in every direction. It was like an elaborate light show. A tesla coil, and Altar was at the head. Altar would close his hand tightly into a fist, the sizzling the only remnant of the disaster that had just occurred. He had to be more careful. More focused. He was ready for this, he knew he was. It was about time. He just needed to train more on it. So perhaps another attempt. Maybe after his heart stopped racing, though.

Altar sat in the same spot of the same room, staring longingly at the book laid out in front of him. It held secrets few men in this existence knew. Something that could compete him in his entirety. Something he needed, and he needed it badly. Perhaps a moment of quiet reflection would be best for him and, frankly, for everyone after the horrible event that just happened.

After sitting for a while and trying his best to calm his mind, Altar would return to the book, and think. This was a power that could be his. Something to further him. Something to complete him, draw him together, make him more than what he currently was. He didn’t just want this, he needed this. Desperately. 

Closing his eyes, Altar would try again. And it started to work. His hand light the room, lightning coursing off of it. No, no. He wouldn’t be a damn lightning rod. He needed to focus. And he needed to focus hard. And as he focused, so too did the lightning. It got more compact, but it didn’t dissipate. It stayed compacted in his hand. Perfect.

Throwing his hand to the side, Altar would heave a sigh of relief and close the book laid out in front of him. He was getting better. A lot better, in fact. Soon he’d be among the best in the village. To think, such a giant step in such a small amount of time. He could achieve great things, if he set his mind to it. Though now, he was drained. Entirely. He figured it was as good a time as any to take a long ass nap.

So nap he did. And he dreamed of better times.

Altar had found himself in the plains once again. He could've sworn that he spent more time out here than in Tengakure itself. He guessed the fact that it was so sirene and quiet added to the appeal for him. It had an almost innate, untouched aura and feel to it.

Sure enough, tonight was a bright night, the moon being as bright as it could be, aiding the soft glow of the moon flowers in their task of illuminating the rolling plains. Altar, however, hadn't been getting much sleep the past few nights, so he was sitting under the tree out in the plains, resting his eyes. To some people, it would appear he was sleeping. However, he was keeping careful watch on his surroundings using his ears.

Youta was out for a night walk with Cael in the fields around Tengakure. The creature actually soared some twenty meters above her clapping his wings from time to time as the steady winds of the plains carried him. The same winds, though weaker by the ground, also blew at Youta's hair slightly, but it was not cold, despite it being dark. The girl now a Chuunin actually hoped to practice under the night sky, but her senses caught somebody some distance away, she would rather quickly recognize the chakra that was Altar's. This actually was a chance for her to ask about his surname and maybe the clan he belongs to, so she would start to go in that direction until she approached him. Cael in the mean time would rise higher until his wind clapping could be barely heard.

Altar was weary, almost falling sleep, when he heard someone walking, somewhat close to him. Opening his eyes, he saw the person was a girl, and looking to the face he immediatly found a name. It was Youta. Altar would blink a couple times, thinking back. He found it strange that somehow she and him had always found themselves together, despite circumstances, but they had never really talked. What the cause of this was, Altar didn't know. It could've been lack of trying, or perhaps she had just never really wanted to talk. He found this strange though, considering she was here now, seemingly for him. Altar would look up to Youta, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Hi, Youta. What...what are you doing out here?" Altar would say, his words coming out somewhat stumbled and hesitant. He had never even spoken a word to Youta, so he wasn't exactly sure how to handle her. She could be friendly and talkative to him, or she could be anti social and aggressive and snap at him.

After speaking, Altar would rise to his feet and lean himself against the tree.

Youta stopped when she could hear him speak. From what she could see in the partially illuminated dark, Altar seemed confused. Looking far out into the plain Youta replied "I was actually out to train, let Cael stretch his wings..." she gestured at the flying silhouette that covered a small portion of the stars. The Chuunin hoped she was no interrupting him. "Mind if I join you?" She would make a faint smile.

Altar's confusion went away as Youta explained she was out here to train her self and her dragon, Cael. As she motioned to the stars, Altar would look up and away towards where she pointed to see a somewhat large figure shrouding and covering some stars in the sky. Judging by the faint, almost inaudible claps of wind, Altar guessed that the figure was Cael.

Youta then asked if it was okay to join him. This brought a bit of confusion back to Altar. What was there to join? He wasn't really doing anything...

"Not much to join, but i'm not gonna stop you. I don't mind, actually. Just sitting out here with nothing to do and no one to talk to can get pretty boring sometimes, so i'm actually kinda glad you strolled along when you did." Altar would say, a small smile of his own beginning to form on his face. He had been looking for an excuse to talk to the girl anyways. He had always wanted to, she seemed intriguing and interesting, but he had never gotten the chance. Despite the oddly semi-romantic circumstance that the plains held, and had always held, this may prove to be his chance to learn more about the girl. Hell, even have one conversation with her.

Youta somewhat relaxed as the Genin gave his couple lines of reply. For some unknown reason she was a bit tense when she asked. "Good." would be all she said as she sat down on the grass about a meter from him. Shigure would be put on the ground next to her. Unless Altar started a conversation there would be a short and possibly awkward pause, as the girl was not sure how to begin. Eventually she went with "...In the tournament. I heard your name was Shinkou... Does that stand for a clan?"

Altar would watch Youta sit, about a meter away from him, in the grass. She had also laid down her weapon, something he guessed she wouldn't need in this moment and situation. Here was too hoping, anyways. There was a brief pause between the two, as it seemed neither of them could find anything to say. Youta was the one to break the silence, asking him about his last name, and if it was for a clan.

"Yes, i'm a part of the Shinkou clan. From what I understand there aren't many of us. At least, I don't think there are. I've never met another Shinkou, save direct family. Why do you ask? Oh, and speaking of the tournament, congrats on Chuunin." Altar would say, holding his gaze on Youta, his smile slowly growing. All in all, this was going well so far. She wasn't at his throat, which he would take as a definite plus.

"Thanks." She would reply as he congratulated her on the promotion. Not actually being weird in nature, being congratulated by him felt a bit strange. For a moment she would think back to the tournament, only now would she wonder why Takeo did not promote the boy as well. He was about as fast as Youta and even managed to land hit on Haru, even if it had no effect. Her own actions or those of Aqua were hardly more successful.

She would then realize her mind got carried away. "Ah, your name intrigued me because my master, the one who taught me kenjutsu, was also a Shinkou. From what I heard she was Haru's superior and possessed a doujutsu of some kind..."

In the mean time Cael would shoot down and crash into a small forest some half kilometer away. He had spotted a boar you see. Distant noise of breaking trees followed as he would hunt in the dark, none of it loud enough to actually disturb the ninja though.

Altar would sit quietly as the girl seemingly got lost in thought, before coming back to the topic at hand. She revealed that her master, one that had taught her kenjutsu, was also a Shinkou. It would appear that she had also been Haru's superior of sorts, and that she had retained her Meigan, as Youta said she had a distinct doujutsu. Altar noticed the use of past tense when talking about Youta's master. He idly wondered what had happened to her.

"Hmm. Well, the Shinkou have a doujutsu to themselves. It's called the Meigan." Altar would say, enunciating this by activating his Meigan for a bit, the crimson eye turning a jade green, before he de-activated it and it went back to it's normal state. "It operates a bit differently from other doujutsu, and has some of it's own special quirks. As you saw, mine turns a green color when activated. From what I understand, that is only one of the paths the Meigan can take, out of a total three at this stage." Altar would explain, looking to Youta to see if she had any more questions of the Shinkou.

The girl observed as Altar demonstrated Meigan while explaining about it. "Amazing..." She would say as he told her that Meigan can take three different paths. She had noted though that only one of his eyes was red and turned green, while the other remained white. She had already seen it times enough to recognize byakugan. She wondered what the story behind that was, but decided to withhold it for some other time. "Does Meigan have genjutsu related abilities? See my master had a unique style that she explains in this book" she would take out a copy of the Bladedancer and hand it to Altar, who probably would have no idea what most stuff in it meant. "...and so far I was out of luck in my attempts to reinvent it. I was wondering if maybe her doujutsu played a vital part in it."

Altar's face grew confused again, as Youta asked more about the Meigan, and handed him a book, called Bladedancer. Altar would open the book and flip a few pages, noting the various diagrams and pictures on the pages. He didn't understand much of it, but from what he could gather it seemed to be a manual or training guide of some sort involving various sword techniques. It also seemed to include some pieces from the writer's past. Altar would close the book, guessing that Youta's mentor was the one who had written the book. It was, however, fairly complicated, and Altar was unsure of it's use as a manual. Half the stuff written he couldn't comprehend. He would hand the book back off to Youta, moving to answer her question.

"There are a few Meigan genjutsu. They normally tend to revolve around keeping the victim on your side, or completely paralyzed. That might've played a pivotal role in her style. I, however, don't know any of the Meigan genjutsu. Genjutsu has never been my strong suit. I've always enjoyed the premise, but never been that good at it." Altar would say, answering her question and getting a little off topic.



After getting the book back Youta listened to the boy's explanations, nodding once in a while. So apparently Meigan is capable of genjutsu, which means it is very well possible that Yozora's style could not even be replicated. Youta while considered herself somewhat capable of genjutsu now realized how little she knew of it. She was clearly lacking something to rediscover the Singing Blade, but maybe it was not just the ability, maybe she lacked the knowledge. For now the girl was satisfied with the information she gained, it might save her from meaningless search later. "Well, I don't think I'm much good at it either, really. But I hope to get one day." She would giggle slightly. "You seem to be good with ninjutsu though from what I've seen in the tournament. That lightning jutsu you did was rather impressive" It would appear that she would continue this line for now, not really sure why.

In the background Cael had finally caught the boar, his sharp claws piercing its body and letting the life flow out of it. His victory screech would bellow, somewhat interrupted by a falling tree as he had to evade it. A silent feast in the dark followed.

Altar's gaze dropped to the ground when mention of his performance in the tournament was brought up. His cheeks would flush slightly, embarrassment clear on his face. He had been able to achieve the hit, sure, but what good was the hit if it had done nothing? Altar would return his eyes to Youta's.

"Ah, you seem very smart and sure. I'm sure you'll do well with Genjutsu. And as for the tournament, thank you for the compliment, but it wasn't all that impressive. It was a hit, but the hit did nothing. What's the point in a strike if it leaves no effect? I...didn't and don't deserve what the tournament was giving anyways. Not yet, anyways." Altar would say, all traces of his smile gone from his face.
Youta was slightly confused inside. "You know my slash did not do anything either, his hand and armor regenerated and I barely managed that either..." It seemed like the boy had a lack of confidence in his abilities, she wondered for a moment if that was because of the tournament, or maybe had a reason prior to that. In the moment of silence the Chuunin would hear the distant sounds of Cael's small rampage, which would give her an idea to maybe boost Altar's confidence. "Tell you what, why don't we spar and you show me if you are actually as useless as you appear to think you are." She would say picking up her blade and standing up. "Can you wield a sword?" With that she would take the second katana that had a strange symbol on it and rested on her back. Unless he objected she would throw him the weapon.

Altar's eyes widened a bit when Youta brought up the hit that she had landed on the ANBU. It, from her description, had been a hit, but he had regenerated faster than actual damage had been made. This did a little to make Altar feel better about himself, but it was an attempt on her part, and that in of itself brought him out of his saddened mood. Still...he lacked confidence in his skills. He knew this clear as day, but hated to admit it. He wanted, and needed, to be stronger, but he had always felt that he wasn't strong enough. He always needed to be better, faster, stronger. More agile, more fit, anything to improve himself. That was what he had always felt was expected of him, yet he always thought he had never been able to reach those goals. The tournament only emphasized that. It had only showed him as the lowly Genin, unable to keep up.

After a brief pause, Youta seemingly thinking about something, she offered a spar and stood up, asking if he knew how to handle a weapon. A sword, in specific. Altar would nod slightly, answering Youta's question after catching the blade thrown at him.

"I can wield one, yeah. Not great, though. Never been my specialty. Swords and weapons of the like carry a need of finesse that I've always seemed to lack. I can swing a sword, sure. But getting it to connect and be meaningful, all the while preparing another strike is what I get kinda handicapped in. I was once told to see the weapon as an extension of your body, but i've never been able to so that. To me, it's just a weapon, and a weapon is only as good as you can make it." Altar would say, before taking a stance and unsheathing the weapon, testing it's length and weight, and taking a few practice swings with it. During doing that, he noticed a strange symbol on it. Sheathing the sword again, Altar would look to Youta, a slightly confused look on his face.

"So...what's with the symbol? Something significant, or just some random little scrawl?" Altar would ask, preparing himself to fight in the meantime.

Altar seemed to accept the offer and caught the katana. His rant seemed like a long way of saying he was not very good with a weapon, so Youta let most of it slide, but the last part to which she responded. "As is one's body." The girl would observe as he made a few swings to get the feel of the sword, then after sheathing it again looked at her and inquired about the symbol on the blade. "I am not sure, it seems like some sort of seal, but I never managed to figure it out. The blade belonged to Yozora, so maybe it's some sort of heirloom, because other than the mark it has nothing special about it." She would say while taking up an opening stance. Shigure would slip out of the sheath and hum slightly before stopping still horizontally beside her, shoulder level.

In the background Cael had finally finished his feast, somewhat filling his stomach. He stood still for but one moment before shooting straight up back into the night sky again. On his ascension though a trail of white would be left, like snowflakes falling from his wind. This effect was one of his ability, which he decided to train a bit, not using it to full power, but enough to trigger partial effect. He would flap his glowing wings a few times to reach some high altitude, then just soar covering the area with harmless shining flakes.


Altar would sigh at Youta's response. This was going to trouble him now. Especially that he had a nagging feeling that he had seen the symbol somewhere before, but he couldn't place it. It seemed significant, but he couldn't remember why. Hopefully it would occur to him later, as for now he was stuck partially in the dark about it. He had a strange feeling it would come back to him, though, which helped ease his mind on the matter. However, knowing his luck, it would occur much later...

However, Altar didn't have time to think about that, turning his attention to Youta. As he did, he would see something surprising in the sky in the background, squinting his eyes to ensure he was seeing right. It seemed little white flakes were coming down from the sky, and what's more, it seemed they were following after the shape in the sky. It appeared to be... snow? No, that couldn't be right. Eh, just another thing to ask Youta about later. Perhaps she would have the answer.

Now turning his full attention to Youta, Altar would place the sheathe at his left side, the blade already out and in his right hand. He would begin to slowly walk towards Youta.. If she didn't react in any way, Altar would start to pick up pace.

Before their fight began, Cael seemed to have began training his fancy flying ability. While Altar was captured by the sights, Youta put Shigure away and unsheathed a ninjato instead. Shigure was a very powerful blade and she did not want to damage her master's heirloom with it. Then as the boy began walking towards her, she understood it as a sign to begin the fight. And that was reason enough to start with a lunge and aim a thurst at his left shoulder. She would only go at half speed though, the goal was to see how good he was after all. 

Altar's eyebrows raised a bit at Youta's sudden lunge and stab, as it seemed she was holding back a bit. She was moving somewhat slowly, as if simply testing him instead of actually trying for an attack. Well, Altar was not one to disappoint.

Altar would bring the katana vertical to him and spin his body back and to the right, allowing himself more freedom of movement, then clash it with Youta's blade and push it slightly away from himself, keeping his right elbow slightly bent and ready to move again if need be. Deciding that this was a moment for show of skill instead of actual sparring, Altar would move again, sliding backwards and gaining slight distance from Youta. After this move, Altar would bring the blade back down and return it to a normal position.

"Oh, eh, one more thing before this really gets hot and heavy. Try not to cut my head off or severely injure me. I quite like my life and body parts as they are, and i've had enough near death experiences for my lifetime and then some." Altar would say, grinning as he finished.

Altar managed to deflect the thrust and then back away. She would not pursue, but instead regain her footing. As she stood straight again, the boy would speak, asking to hold back a bit. She would nod at his last statement, for she too had nearly lost her life once and survived only through a miracle. "Of course." Then she would get ready again, but this time she would let him attack.

Youta seemed to agree with his request. Altar knew he was outmatched here, at least it skill with the weapon he was holding. If it had been a fight utilizing jutsu or hands, he would believe in himself more. However, he had only held a sword a few times in his life. He wasn't sure of his skill with them yet, though he had always felt somewhat drawn to the weapons. Perhaps if he had time, he could ask Youta to teach him the arts of sword combat. It seemed intriguing to him, more so now that he knew a Shinkou had been skilled in those arts, and had had the knowledge to combine the Shinkou arts with sword combat.

Youta was waiting for him, so Altar didn't take much time for fear of another lunge from her, this time not nearly as testing. So, Altar would begin to plan his next attack as he moved towards Youta. He would lunge forward when withing range, keeping his feet below him, and feign a stab at Youta's left shoulder, as she had done to him. However, Altar would not follow through with this strike and drop his weapon lower, then extend it and aim a slash at the girl's midsection. Altar would follow through with this slash, then aim another at a lower angle of her stomach.

All of this would be notched down from his top speed. Altar's point in this flurry wasn't to actually strike Youta, but to see how she would react. If he could understand how she reacted, he could use it to his advantage.

Youta saw Altar's feint. This attack was turning into quite a bother for her. She could probably just deflect the strike when he finally made his mind, but decided not to bother with it. A sudden surge of chakra would blast wind from away from her in nearly all directions. If Altar had been in a stable pose, he could probably brace against it, but as it was he was mid-dash. The blast would no doubt destabilize him, even if only momentarily it would be enough. Youta would use that moment, stepping forward, swinging the ninjato to parry the katana aside, then thrust her left hand forward pushing Altar away, possibly even throwing him on the ground, if he did not find a way out of this, or somehow regained his balance.
Following this, Youta would thrust the ninjato aiming it at his knee. She would however only slighting cut it if she saw there was no getting out of it for him.

In the mean time Cael finished his technique, the shining snow like stuff stopped falling and he disappeared into the night sky for a good minute. Then after gaining enough altitude he would fold his wings together and take nose dive, emitting a rather joyful screech as his speed increased each second, until at the very end, he would flap his wings, stopping his descent just a moment before he crashed into the ground, changing the direction and rising again. His screech coming together with the speed he was falling would hit the ground, making a sort of a small shockwave. Then he would be gone again.

Altar wasn't very surprised when Youta seemingly saw through his plan to feint her. What surprised him was the sudden blast of air that knocked him off his balance, and the girl's firm push that sent him tumbling around. Altar would turn with his momentum, landing shakily on his back and rolling slightly to his feet. Then the girl came at him with a slash of her blade, seemingly aimed at his legs. Altar would use his own blade to knock hers aside, and use her forward momentum against her. After parrying her blow, Altar would aim to grab her right wrist with his left hand, and spin her around, throwing her after he had finished a 180 degree pivot.

"So, convinced yet? I already told you, i'm not great in the art of swordplay. Not great at much, really. Besides having a knack of getting out of bad situations and nearly dying. But if I were to guess...i'd say you're holding back more than you want to and more than you should. This isn't some feel good trip for me that you planned, is it? Not planning to take a dive?" Altar would say, narrowing his eyes somewhat in suspicion of Youta. She was much more skilled on the art than he was. She could have ended this ten times over at the start of it all. So it made no sense for this to have still been going.

Her thrust was deflected and Altar would grab her wrist, starting to spin. There probably was a way out of this, really all she had to do was resist using her weight because by deflecting the blade that was in the same hand, he also changed its path. But she would let him to through with it, making a roll after she was thrown and standing right back up immediately after. Turning back to face him, Youta would hear him talk. It seemed he was not in high spirits really. "What happened to the 'please don't hurt me'?" She would say partly mocking. It was true she was not going all out, there were multiple reasons for that, for one she did not want to damage the blade Altar was using, second she probably could not offer him a challenge with ninjutsu and there was really no need to beat him down. As far as she was concerned this was a friendly sparring and it was going just fine.

But if he was not satisfied, there was not much she could do. "Want me to dust you eh?" She would ask a second before her Seigan activated, casting Altar in a genjutsu, were he to gaze upon her eyes at the moment. Regardless if it was successful or not, she would follow up with a wind infused swing, which would send out of rather weak gale blast, only powerful enough to deflect projectiles and probably knock him on his butt.

Altar's gaze dropped as Youta asked him what had happened to his plea of weakness. "Don't misunderstand me, Youta. I don't want you to KILL me. You're much more advanced in this form of combat than I am. But that doesn't mean you need to reserve your strength until there's nothing there, and that doesn't mean you need to take a dive or anything to fuel my self esteem." Altar would say, smirking and turning to look at Youta after her second comment.

And suddenly he found himself on the ground. Before he had even realized what had happened. It felt almost like he had been pushed by nothing. So, either Youta was unbelievably fast, or she had some form of wind jutsu. Probably something revolving around her sword, or at least that form of combat. The next problem was why it had happened so fast and he hadn't been able to fight it. Of course, being the skeptic he was, Altar immediately jumped to genjutsu. It seemed the only way. So, he'd have to beware direct eye contact, then.

Well, he hadn't been harmed, but he had been knocked flat on his ass. And so, Altar would smirk and look towards Youta, making sure to keep his vision lower and away from her eyes. "Ah, so that's how it's gonna be now, eh? Well, fine. But if it's a fight you want, then let me warn you..." Altar would say, before standing again and activating his Meigan, as well as his Byakugan "It's a fight you'll get." 

Altar would emphasize this statement by flicking the blade in his hand, before moving it back to a ready position. He would await Youta, and if she did not charge him, then it would appear he would need to be on the initiative.

Youta would smirk as Altar activated both Meigan and Byakugan in preparation for their fight. She was rather excited for a chance to see both doujutsu in action at the same time, as well as to see Altar fight wielding them. She would unsheathe a second ninjato, now wielding one in each hand, and after assuming her stance she would exclaim "Come, then!"

Altar would hear Youta, and let out a small sigh. He hadn't wanted to be the one to take charge. Then again, he couldn't exactly afford to let Youta take charge and strike him down without even trying. Taking a deep breath, Altar would start moving, slowly at first before picking up speed, turning into a run.

Gently swaying softly from side to side, once Altar reached Youta he would have made his plan of attack. Altar would move from coming at Youta dead on at about 1 and a half meters from her, and swiftly jump to his left, moving past Youta's right. As he did, he would take a swing at her hand, and two swings at her leg, one at thigh level and the other aimed for her heel. This would hopefully prove to numb the girl's hand as well as immobilize her.

Given that these strikes landed, Altar would keep going on for another 2 meters behind Youta, then turn to face her again and assess the new situation.

As Altar dropped to her right Youta would prepare to defend. She would block his initial slash, locking his blade and preventing any further slashes with the ninjato in her right hand. Making a small step with her left to bring it closer she would jab the other ninjato at his right shoulder, should he fail to avoid it.

Altar could feel the blade being locked as it refused to move forward with him. So, he would take one more step, landing left foot, and pivot, spinning to his left, and using this newfound momentum to swing the blade around with him, hopefully unlocking the blade, and if not that, then it would at least knock Youta off balance. Altar would then shift his right foot behind him, and draw the blade back, aiming to unlock it now if it hadn't been already, and start a stab at Youta's left shoulder.

Seeing as Altar was moving the blade away from her, Youta would let it go. After spinning around he would send it for her left shoulder and that's where it would meet the ninjato that he just barely avoided. The two would meet and his blade would be locked again. In the mean time she would use her right arm to take a wide swing meant to knock the katana she lent him out of the boy's grip.

Altar once again felt his...well, her, after all he was only being lent the blade for this fight. Anyways, Altar felt the blade lock again, and before he could really react it was sent from his hand, landing not far from him, but far enough so that it was out of reach. Altar was left defenseless in this case.

Altar needed to think fast. If he didn't he'd only be shown up again, and that wouldn't do much for him confidence wise, let alone impress Youta. Wait...since when had that become a motive. He wanted to think this over, but had no time. He needed to act, now or never.

And so, Altar would form a Chidori, not needing handsigns, and swing it at Youta at about shoulder level. He would purposefully miss, keeping it just short of hitting the girl. His purpose with this wasn't to hit her, but to make some room and blind the girl with the lightning. After making the half-hearted swing with the chidori, Altar would jump slightly to where the sword he had been wielding lay on the ground, and pick it up, keeping his view on Youta the entire time. He may not have needed to due to the Byakugan, but still felt it was necessary.

Right after Youta knocked the sword out of Altar's hands, there was a single moment where he did not do anything, which was mighty strange. She would not know if it was over, or what. But then the next second the would swing his hand which beamed with lightning chakra. Or so she assumed, as it was something of the sort, emitting a high pitched screeching sound. Ducking below the swing, Youta's eyes would follow the nearly blinding source of light as a smile marked her face. Maybe because there was nothing preventing her from cutting his extended arm off, or maybe because the fight was not yet over. Allowed to disengage the boy would jump back to where the sword was and pick it up.

Establishing her stance again, the girl would giggle. "Very nice." complimenting the move and lunging at him again. The blade in her left hand would go for his right shoulder, while the second blade in her right hand would try to reach his knee.

Altar grew a smile when he heard Youta giggle a bit, complimening his jutsu. It was always nice to have someone throw an unexpected compliment at you. Then again, he wondered why it had been let through in the first place. It was a move that could've been easily stopped, hell, she could've cut his damn arm off. But she didn't. Maybe that was a sign of something? Altar half-heartedly wondered what it could be, when Youta made her lunge.

She seemed to be aiming two strikes at him across the body from each other, judging by the way she was moving and aiming. Sure enough, one came for his right shoulder, the other for his knee. Altar would parry one blade, the one aiming for the shoulder, knocking it aside, and step out of the way of the knee strike. Once he had sidestepped, he aimed a slash at the girl's midsection. If it landed, it would bite into her right side, not too deep.

Once done, Altar would return to his ready stance, preparing to make a strike at her.

Altar would do good work making sure neither of the attacks reached him, deflecting one with the katana and side stepping to avoid the other. However it was not like she was going to get hit either. Now that her left hand was deflected to the right side and she saw the slash coming from there, Youta would cross her ninjato's to parry the strike aimed at her mid section, locking the blade once again. As that happened she would shift her weight to her right leg, helping with the block as well as allowing her to raise her left off the ground and play it into a kick aimed pretty much at Altar's face. After all, it wasn't like a blade user could only use the blades, right?

Assuming it connected, the kick would be only strong enough to send Altar staggering back. Were such to happen, the girl would move forward, putting one of the ninjato's dull side by Altar's foot and pulling it back, relieving him of his balance completely, while the other blade was ready to defend her.

In the background, Cael began another fall. This time it was not entirely a nose dive as he gently arced his descent and landed in the plains, among the many moon flowers. The dragon had tired somewhat and would now fold his wings and rest. Being somewhat of a teen dragon, his rest would not be long before his attention was stolen by many fireflies around him, which he would begin to chase around.

Alar heard the familiar clank of locking blades. That seemed to be one of Youta's favorite defenses when it came to this. However, this time, Altar would not be stopped. He had gotten out of this every time so far, and this time would be no different. Or so he hoped, at least.

He would look to Youta to see her lifting her foot off the ground, seemingly aiming a kick straight for his face. Altar knew he needed to take this advantage, at least, to get out of this situation. And so, with Youta's leg off the ground, Altar would push his blade against the girls blades, to the girl's left, his right. As his was locked in position, this would hopefully knock her off balance, possibly even off her feet. After doing this, Altar would draw back the blade, unlocking it, and if she was still up, aim a slash o her midsection, then a stab at her left shoulder. If she had fallen over, only the stab would be attempted.

Just as she was about to send the kick, Youta would feel the push of Altar's blade. He obviously meant to make use of her unbalanced position, which would succeed as it would force the girl to abandon the kick and put her foot back on the ground. The free katana would now be taken for a swing at her center. Moving the two blades apart for a second, spinning Youta would step closer to Altar, swinging her left blade upside down parrying the katana away from her body, while her right arm would be bent to send the blade through her left underarm at the boy's chest. She would stop it before it reached him though, if it came to that. To make this more likely, she would also attempt to step on his left foot, with hers.

Altar saw Youta spin, moving her two blades apart from each other. However, what surprised him was that she made no clear attack at him, nor did she parry his blade immediately. This gave him some time to adjust, shifting to face the girl as she spun. His blade would come with him, continuing the slashing motion it had carried before. And then came the parry he had been expecting. But it was not AS he had expected it.

As she finished spinning, Youta swung one blade under and upwards of his own, knocking his blade aside. She then aimed another under her already raised arm and stood on his foot with her own, and before he could really recognize what was happening, there was a blade just short of his chest, directly in front of where his heart lay. And what a time for said heart to start beating.

He stood in his place, frozen. Altar didn't notice so much as he took it in, all at once. Here he was, engaged in a beautiful dance, filled with the sounds of clashing steel and their own two voices. Even the crickets had quieted down, seemingly watching on in awe at the show they were giving. In the plains, there was no noise, no movement, only the two of them and the stars above. And Altar started to take it in. He didn't know how he hadn't noticed before, but he noticed now. She was beautiful, in every way, and her own. And now, with the way the moonlight lay on her face illuminating her features, he came to realize that he was falling.

And that realization brought Altar back to reality. He grinned at the girl, dropping his arms to his side, his right hand still holding the blade. Taking in their positioning, the girl's foot on his had brought their bodies a bit closer than normal. Not close enough to really be awkward or noticeable, but closer than needed.

"Well, you got me, Youta. It would seem i'm not going to be able to best you at swordplay. Oh, and by the way..." Altar would say, now leaning in closer to whisper to the girl. "The first rule of dancing is never step on your partner's feet."

With his movement impaired by the girl stepping on his foot, it would seem that this time Altar did not have a way out. As his slash was defended against, the sneak attack under her left arm would go through and Youta would be forced to stop it as she saw he was unable to avoid it, the blade halting just moments before his heart. For a moment they would just stand there, Youta's eyes inspecting the boy's face. And she would wonder what it was in him that interested her. Clearly he had more hidden potential that he let on, or maybe it was that mysterious clan to which her master also belonged. Or maybe there was some other reason for her sympathy? For a minute, maybe less, or maybe more, the whole world seemed to halt. There would be only them, in the plains of night coated in stars, standing in a field of moon flowers. Locked in a sword fight. It seemed quite romantic.

But the fight was now over. And Youta would be pulled back to reality as Altar started moving his arms down, admitting his loss and complimenting her swordplay, in a way. But then he would lean closer, whispering about a rule of dancing being not to step on your partner's feet. For a moment there, Youta had an urge to just run the ninjato through his heart. It would have been easier to control herself if she was not so confused with her feelings. But in the end she managed to get a grip on herself. Taking down her blades, she would sheath them before placing her left hand on Altar's shoulder as if to caress, sliding down his arm before taking the katana back. "I'll keep that in mind." A grin marked her face. With that she would turn and put her master's blade in its sheathe. "Thanks for the dance!" And with that she would flicker away. It was more than she bargained for for one day, thoughts needed to be run, feelings put in place. The shadowy blue silhouette would follow her to the village, only landing on the ground as she reached the gates. Cael would give her a worried look as she stopped, her face quite red. The dragon though had eyesight capable of catching that even at night. For a moment it would look at her, then snort and make its way home, followed by the girl in second.

Altar knew that their encounter was over now, and while not having accomplished the original goal, Altar felt that he had accomplished something. He was sure of what he felt now, but he didn't know just what Youta felt. Not yet, anyways, and he didn't feel now would be a good time to ask. The next problem Altar had to tackle was deciding what to do what his feelings. He thought he had a decision, when Youta put her hand on his shoulder, running it down his arm before grabbing the blade from his hand, sheathing it. She said she'd remember the tip, then thanked him for the dance.

"No problem. We should do it again some time, maybe without the weapons, though." Altar replied, giving a wave as Youta as she flickered off. After she was gone, Altar would sit down, exasperated, halfway between exhilarated and out of breath. He wasn't sure exactly what to feel anymore. He decided that home would be a better place to think things over than out in the wide open plains. And so, home he went.

Altar would walk through the door, and see Tenebris laying across the floor. Looking to him, the dragon asked where he had gone. Altar told him.

"You've fallen for the girl, then." Tenebris said, eyeing Altar now suspiciously.

"I suppose I have. Why do you care, though?"  Altar would say back to the dragon, genuinely curious.

"I am bound to you. As much as I may not show it, I do care for you, Altar. And I am advising you now, be wary. You are young and naive. You will fall and love for who you may, but just be sure of what you are doing before you do it. And ensure that the girl feels for you what you feel for her." Tenebris said, his slight accent coming through as he went through his explanation, imparting wisdom Altar already knew. Still, it was incredibly nice of the dragon to say. Giving Tenebris a nod and a smile, Altar walked up to his room, wanting nothing more than to think through the events of the night, and figure the situation that he found himself in.

And as that dream disappeared, a smile on Altar’s sleeping form, a much worse one took it’s place.

Altar awoke to a flash of light from seemingly nowhere, and a loud clap of thunder. He had the same nightmare as the past few nights. It was always the same, no variety what so ever. The same mysterious attacker, the same splashes of blood, the same blood curdling screams, the same inability to save them. Always the same. Never different. And it bothered him to no end. He could never shake the feeling that he had the nightmare for some reason, but the reason was never explained. It was almost like something was leading him to an important message that he never received. He had always been annoyed at that fact. It was almost as if some unseen force was toying with him, giving him leads and hope, only to draw it all away in the end. And it was only made worse, as Altar couldn't shake the feeling that the message he was supposed to be receiving was incredibly important somehow. He would definitely need to figure out a way to get that message somehow. But that would need to come another day. Now, he had business to take care of. Well, not really, but he figured he wouldn't be getting to sleep again. Not that easily, anyways.

And so, Altar walked out of his house, still mulling over the nightmare as he began to walk. He paid no mind to the few people calling out his name as he walked along the street. It was pretty late, so barely anyone was out and about now. But Altar had gathered a bit if a reputation for walking alone at night, so the few people out along with him at that time of night knew him well. He had always preferred the dark, after all. He guessed it was just natural to him. He was a Shinkou, after all. Still, even before he had grown to know and adhere to his dark side, and his blood, he had had an almost unnatural fondness of the dark. It had always been so much more peaceful, so quiet and loving. It made him feel known and heard. It was so quiet at night, that no matter how soft spoken you were, your words could be heard. They echoed and bounced off everything, until even the stars hanging over your head heard what you were telling them. It tended to just be imagination, but damn it was still a cool thought.

Altar continued his slow walk through the village, going past the training towers and the tech shop, eventually finding himself alone in the plains. He had always loved it here. The softly glowing flowers gave off an aura of peace and serenity, and the stars and moon itself above the rolling plains only seemed to resonate with the flowers. Everything here seemed in tune with itself, and it was a glorious and almost breath taking sight every single time he saw it. It managed to keep the whole feeling of the dark and night, but it illuminated it and gave it a safe, serene feeling as well. It was hard to accurately describe and portray. Altar snapped out of these thoughts to once again found himself underneath the sole tree in the plains. He loved this tree. He had never figured out why, but he had always loved it. However, it probably wasn't the best place to be during a somewhat severe storm. So, Altar moved to keep going. However, a sudden flash and loud crack of thunder proved to be his undoing. Altar's right eardrum nearly popped as he looked in that direction just in time to see the tree he had always loved come crashing down on top of him. And that was when things went dark.

Altar awoke the the strangest sensation he had felt in a while, and the sound of voices. He tried to move, but soon found the task impossible. This caused him to panic, struggling against the invisible binds as much as he could, trying to get a reaction, a movement, a wiggle, but to no avail. His body refused to move. It was like he was locked down by the strongest bounds ever made, but he felt no pressure. It wasn't that he was locked down, it was just inability to move. Another strange thing was, he could not see. His eyes felt open, but nothing but pure dark surrounded him. It wasn't like a pitch black night time kind of dark, it was pure black, nothing to see dark. It was unnatural, and combined with his newly found inability to move, it was starting to put him on edge. Then the voices started.

They were hazy and far away at first, but slowly approached him. They were coming from all sides, and there were so many he couldn't count them. They all seemed to weave together to form a single verse, then split apart, as if saying different things then. Then they started moving. Almost spinning around in circles, or so it would seem. The voices started speaking faster, as if they were being rushed or hurried along. They grew more urgent, saying more words faster and faster, until they all became a huge jumble of nothing but noise. The voices became incomprehensible and dizzying, spinning faster and faster, getting louder and louder, more and more urgent and rushed. And then it all stopped, as one voice rang clear of the noise. Altar instantly recognized the voice.

"Altar? Altar! Come on, wake up! This isn't real. You can fight this. But you need to wake up. Now listen to me, and listen closely. I know i've told you before to ignore and escape the darkness, but this is one time that I need you to embrace it. But don't let it take you. You need to take it, and you need to mould it. Shape it. Use it as your own. You are a Shinkou. You are a master of the dark. You can use it as as much of a weapon as you can see it as. So wake up, Altar. Wake up and do what you do best." The voice of Nekoda, Altar's yuumei, rang clear through his head. And with those words bouncing around his head, everything shattered around him, and he found himself able to move, and able to see. Looking around, he found himself in a strange place. Everything was as it should be, except two things. One, there was no perception of time. Everything stood still. Secondly, everything was a dull grey. It was all monotone, various shades of grey everywhere, however it never strayed from the same dull base tone. It was almost as if all the color had been sucked from the world, and due to that lack, it was standing still.

Altar took the opportunity to walk around, trying to realize what had happened. However, a voice sounded from behind him. It was a somewhat familiar voice, but it still shook him. Looking behind him, Altar spun his body and was instantly shocked by what he saw. His parents stood behind him, their mouths moving, but only repeating one line.

"You failed me."

Those words caused Altar to falter on his feet, finding his new stance on his knees. Here, his parents stood before him, with no expression, and only repeating the same damned phrase. Soon enough, another voice echoed out from behind him again, and Altar turned to see his sister. He smiled, but only for a second, before his smile faltered as well, a frown forming as he realized she was doing the same exact thing as his parents. Her mouth moving, she repeated the same line as his parents had. Soon, it was the only thing he heard. He believed them. He wanted this to stop. He didn't understand what this was or where he was, but he wanted it over with. He wanted to be home now. He tried convincing himself this was all a dream, but he refused to wake up. This was all too real. Perhaps he had died and found himself in hell enduring an eternal torture. After all, the last thing he remembered was the lightning, then the tree falling on him. Could that have been enough to kill him? No, that seemed to small a blow. There had to be some catch here. If this was all just his mind playing tricks on him, then there had to be an abnormality. He would've over looked something if the size was of this caliber. And then it hit him. His parents, for all he knew and cared, were dead. He wasn't sure of that, but it was the most likely reality of the situation. They had reason to call him a failure, and curse his name. His sister, on the other hand, he had saved. She was alive and well. She had no reason to call him a failure. This was an inconsistency.

Altar looked to his sister, as much as he didn't want to, and walked to her after finding his footing again. He took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes, trying as hard as he could not to freak out at the sight.

"Sis, I saved you. You're okay. Stop this. Please, for me. For your brother." Altar said, hoping that this would shatter the illusion and bring him back to his reality. However, the exact opposite happened. His sister grabbed his hands and threw him away, as the voices grew louder, adding more lines to the constant rant. More of how he was a failure, how he should've died a long time ago, how he would never grow to be what he wanted, how he would never be able to protect anyone. This caused Altar to snap. He fell to his knees again, desperately trying to get the voices out of his head, clutching at his head, trying to block out the sounds of his family insulting him.

"You're a failure."

"Stop it..." 

"You should just die, you worthless scum."

"Go away." 

"I wish you had never been born, you pitiful excuse for a brother."

"ENOUGH!" Altar shouted, his anger coming to the surface. His Meigan flashed from it's usual crimson to the jade green it takes when it's active, as a huge pulse of energy came from Altar. The pulse disrupted the figures of his parents and sister, and momentarily gave the world color, and time started to move for a second before halting again, and everything returned to grey. The figures took form again, starting back off on their rant. Altar looked at himself, wondering just what he had done. It seemed to have been a huge pulse of pure yuumei, or some what mixed with chakra. Altar decided to try it again, and tried adding more power. This time, Altar willingly and consciously gathered yuumei and chakra together, before forcefully expelling it from his body. Again, a large pulse went outwards from him, and this time, the pulse was much larger and stronger. The figures dissipated entirely, not reforming, and the world once again took color, and time once again resumed moving. Altar sighed a small sigh of relief, as things appeared to become normal again. However, he looked up to see the tree coming down on him again.

Altar deftly sidestepped the tree, moving out of it's way with ease. That was close. A second late, and the tree would've crushed him entirely. And wouldn't that have been a shame after learning this new, nifty trick. It seemed to be just a huge expulsion of yuumei mixed with chakra. But then again, that could come in handy. While he doubted it would be very useful in physical confrontations, yuumei was an anti chakra, so it could possibly be used to sap and drain chakra from a target, given that they could be caught in the blast radius. With that in mind, Altar made a mental reminder to try it against an actual human target when he next had the chance to see if his theory was correct. With that in mind, Altar moved to return home and get some rest. All this mindfuck had really tired him out...


And yet another nightmare to replace the old…

Haru sat in the ledge of his windowsill, watching the city below. Now that he had his eye back, he didn’t really know what to do with it. Trading it for his sharingan eye seemed foolish, but selling it was out of the question. He would take the eye, which was floating in a little glass jar, and place it in his pocket. Some fresh air would clear his mind, maybe give him an idea of what to do with it. He decided to go take a walk through the plains to clear his head. Hey, maybe if he was lucky, a rouge ninja would attack and give him an easy fight. It’d be nice to get a bit of a workout. 
 

Dropping down from his ledge, he landed in the streets. He didn’t want to go back through the house, as he might have woken up Cheri, and God knows he didn’t want to set her off at this hour of the night. He walked through the streets, his hands in his pockets, completely zoned out. It was a beautiful night, and it was nice to finally get a break, from work and life and everything else, although this little problem he had was eating away at him…


Altar walked around the plains, enjoying the crisp, cold night air and the faint glow of the flowers around him. He'd always loved being in the plains at night, and now he'd always find himself walking around here until sunrise, at least on most nights. He still needed some sleep, at least. Altar eventually got lost in his thoughts, mindlessly wandering the fields and rolling hills.

Altar came out of his thoughts to find himself in front of a lone tree amongst the plains. Every night he had wandered here without ever realizing it. He wondered if the tree held some importance to him, or if he just liked it. It was well illuminated by the flowers, but the black of night shrouded the leaves. It was somewhat small, so the branches didn't hang out very far, allowing a nice view of the stars from underneath it. With that thought in mind, Altar sat down beneath the tree, resting his head against the rough bark, and gazed up at the stars. He'd never admit it, but he'd always loved astronomy. He tried futilely to count the stars, and would make up shapes and constellations that weren't there, but in his mind were. 

Two of them had always stuck out to him, though. Neither were a figment of his imagination, or so it seemed. One was his birth sign, Virgo. He was always awestruck by the fair maiden that had found peace in the sky, and she seemed to remind him that there was a side of him that wasn't bad. Whenever he though of this, he always sighed and wondered if he'd ever find peace. The other was Draco. The dragon. Did that need any more explanation?

Altar idly sat underneath the tree, then, as he was done gazing at the stars. He was about to doze off, but didn't want to sleep. So, he got up and started walking again. If he was to keep awake, he'd need something exciting to happen.

Reaching the plains, Haru looked up, noticing a lone tree in the middle of the plains. In a state of nostalgia, Haru wondered idly if that was part of the training area his sensei Rin had formed for Yuri, Dante, and him what felt like a million years ago. He walked towards it, the curiosity too much for him to resist.
 
What he found was less then he expected. Just a single tree, nothing particularly fascinating. Although, trees in general were always a point of interest for Haru, ever since he had received the blood of the senju clan, he seemed to be more naturalistic, as if it had altered his personality. His chakra nature was a good example of this, as those of lightning chakra nature usually developed more offensive natures such as wind and fire. In Haru’s case, he had received the defensive, passive natures of earth and water. It was odd that, although he became more naturalistic, he also began to hide this under a veil of loud, outgoing actions. Honestly, this is the most like his real self he had felt like in a long time.
 
Leaving the tree, Haru noticed the boy. Altar? Yeah, just his luck. Haru would whistle o get the boy’s attention, holding a hand up in greeting. He walked towards Altar, his hands in his pockets.

”What brings you out here this late, Altar?” He would ask, noticing that this would probably be the most sober the boy had ever seen him.

Altar was walking at a meager pace away from the tree, when he heard a sharp whistle behind him. Altar turned to see Haru, holding his hand in the air as if to greet him, then pocketing both his hands and continuing to walk towards him. Altar stood still, a bit confused at Haru's presence out here.

Haru continued to walk towards him, soon reaching within distance and asking Altar why he was out in the plains at this time of night. Altar ran a response through his head, realizing that he had to choose his words carefully. It seemed that every other word out of his mouth set Haru off. Perhaps that was just his brash and arrogant nature at work. Altar finally came up with a response that seemed decent enough.

"I like walking around at night. Helps me clear my head and lets me think. But, I could ask you the same question. Why are you out here this late?" Altar would say, mentally readying himself in case Haru snapped again. Altar did notice, however, that Haru seemed to have his wits about him more than normal, and he seemed...calmer than before, but yet, distressed. Altar wondered to himself if something was wrong.

Haru’s answer came quickly.
”The same reason as you are, I suppose.” He would say, noticing the boy tense up, as if afraid he would snap. Granted, he did have a tendency to do that. ”Why so serious? You look like you’re about to start something.” He would ask him. 
 
Then it hit Haru. Altar seemed, for the most part, an able Shinobi, and he was fairly trustworthy. Perhaps he could be a fitting host for the dojutsu of his clan, his original left eye. A little questioning might help him decide.
 
”Altar, tell me, your clan, the Shinkou, do you have a form of dojutsu?” He would ask. He figured it was a strange question to ask, and might have made the boy a bit uncomfortable, given the fact that he already had two of them. ”I knew a Shinkou, some time ago, and she had eyes like yours. I was only curious.” He explained after a few moments.
 

”Well, Altar… You know what it’s like, having a dojutsu, then.” He would say, sighing and folding his arms ”I have a byakugan eye that I currently have no use for. I’d like to see that it went to someone I trust. If you would like, I can preform an operation and implant it into you. I can show you how to use it with time, maybe even teach you some of my clan’s techniques.” He would tell him, waiting for a response.

Haru answered a bit too quickly, but at least he hadn't snapped. Altar felt relieved at that, relaxing a bit, now confident in the fact that Haru wasn't here to fight. Altar did, however, find it a tad hard to believe that Haru, the kind of person he is, was out here just to enjoy the night. Haru then told him that he looked about ready to start something himself.

"I wouldn't start something. I've no reason to fight you, nor would I want to" Altar would say, hoping that put Haru's nerves of that at ease. Haru then stopped for a bit, as if thinking about something. He then asked Altar if the Shinkou clan had a dojutsu. That seemed a strange question. Altar had thought it was obvious.

"Well, yeah, the Shinkou have the Meigan. I figured it was obvious, though. Crimson eyes aren't necessarily normal, after all" Altar would say, answering Haru's strange question. He then went on to explain that he had known a woman that was a Shinkou and had possessed similar eyes. Altar would wave off the explanation, indicating that Haru could ask about whatever he liked, whenever. Sure, Altar didn't like being studied, but it was alright if it was a friend, and he guessed he could call Haru a friend. What Haru said next, however, had Altar in a state of shock. He told Altar that he had his old byakugan eye, and that he could transplant it for him, if he wished. Altar gathered his thoughts, joy running through his mind at the thought of having a byakugan. He had always wondered of the possibilities it could have.

"That'd...be really nice, Haru. If you're sure I can have it, then yeah, i'd like it." Altar would say, shaking his head.

"Oh, and Haru..." Altar would add on "It's nice to know you trust me."

Haru nodded, relieved that Altar was willing to take the Byakugan.
”Alright, I’m gonna have to knock you out for a bit. When you wake up, it should be finished.” He would say, forming a snake seal. Behind him, a small tree would quickly form from the ground, growing flowers, and creating pollen, which would quickly drift towards Altar. The pollen would knock out the boy instantly, Haru’s own body being able to resist the toxin for long enough to pick him up and get him out of there. He carried him to the other side of the tree, activating his byakugan to make sure no one was around, just in case someone asked questions while he was operating. 
 
Now, assuming Altar allowed him to knock him out, Haru would begin his operation. Holding the boy’s left eye open, he would activate his chakra scalpel, using it to make an incision and remove the Meigan. He would remove the Byakugan from the jar it was previously contained in, placing the Meigan he had just removed in its place. He would hold Altar’s now empty eye socket open, placing the eye in place and aligning the cords that connected it to the brain. His free hand began to glow a faint green, which he would place over the boy’s face, causing the cords to bond together and the eye to be successfully transplanted. Haru wiped his hands off and cleaned the blood off of Altar, wrapping his new eye with a bandage, and sitting cross-legged at his feet while he waited for the boy to wake. 
 
When he finally did wake up, Haru would look over at him. 

”You’re awake. The operation was a success, but you’ll need some time for the eye to recover.” He would say. ”When the body is active, the healing process for the eye speeds up, so I would recommend some exertion on your part. A short spar would be a good idea, if you’re up for it.” He would say, waiting for a response.

Haru said he'd need to knock him out, then. Altar didn't like the idea, but went along with it. It's not like anything too bad could happen, and he trusted Haru. So, he agreed, hearing the tree sprout from the ground behind him, and watching the pollen drift towards him. Almost instantly, everything went black. Before he was quickly out of it, Altar wondered what would become of his other Meigan...

Altar awoke with a jolt, feeling a pulse behind his left eye, almost like a dull throb. It was barely noticeable, and it started going away as he shifted around. The next thing he noticed was his shifted vision. He ran a hand across his face to find the left side, specifically the eye, bandaged. His heart began beating a bit faster, as he wondered whether or not the transplant had worked. Haru confirmed that it had, and told him that the eye would need to recover. Right, that seemed obvious. He also said that the healing process was faster when the body was active, so some exertion would help. That seemed...odd, but he WAS the medical ninja. Altar didn't argue. Haru proposed a spar.

Altar would stand slowly, nodding his head affirmative. He was fine with a spar, just so long as it didn't turn into a fight. A wandering thought crossed his mind that his shifted eyesight might cause problems that Haru could take advantage of, so he needed to keep him on his right side.

"Alright, we can spar for a bit. Just uh...beware the handicap, alright?" Altar would joke, waving a hand in front of the left side of his face. He would then take a fighting stance, arms slightly bent at his sides, awaiting Haru's charge.

Haru gave a weak smile at Altar’s remark.
”Yeah, I guess the lack of sight cripples you, doesn’t it?” He would joke back, assuming his own fighting stance. He decided that first, he wanted to show off his ninjutsu techniques. He would form a few hand signs, causing a dragon’s head to erupt from the ground.
”Alright, show me some speed, kid!” He would shout as the dragon’s head opened up, shooting out a ball of mud towards Altar. He wanted to see how fast his reflexes were, and maybe get a chance to see the lightning blade jutsu he had seen before. Last time he had copied it, he had forgotten the hand signs, so a chance to see them again would be a nice refresher to his memory.


Altar smirked as the dragon's head sprung from the ground, opening it's mouth and shooting out a ball of mud. Altar heard Haru say something about wanting to see speed. Fine, he wanted speed? Then he'd damn well get speed...

Altar would jump off to the side, avoiding the ball of mud and forming hand signs as he went sailing through the air. Hopefully that would sate Haru's desire of wanting to see speed. When Altar would land, the chidori would be complete, and lightning would streak across his palm. Altar would look up at Haru, give a menacing smile, then push off the ground as hard as he could towards him. Hopefully, if everything went according to plan, the chidori would pierce Haru's stomach, not killing him but giving him an injury.

Haru’s Sharingan swirled into activation, keeping careful track of the hand signs. Ox → Rabbit → Monkey or Monkey → Dragon → Rat → Bird → Ox → Snake → Dog → Tiger → Monkey… What a complicated set of hand signs. Haru’s body moved on auto pilot, copying Altar’s hand signs in synch with him, and charging the boy down, his attack mirroring the boy’s own attack. The distance between the two of them would close quickly, Haru aiming his own Chidori at Altar’s, blocking the blow to his stomach. If the two blades collide, here would be a flash of blue light as the electrical attacks blast against each other. The chirping sound that was the chidori’s namesake would echo through the plains, as the two were forced away from each other by the raw electrical energy. Haru would fly backwards, smashing into the ground. He would recover quickly, rolling to his feet, and sliding backwards a few more feet. 
 
”Holy fucking shit, that was awesome!” He would shout, getting up to his feet slowly. Wanting to keep Altar on his toes, Haru tried to think of a way to keep him busy. Oh yeah… The mud dragon that he formed in the ground, still active, would shoot three more balls of mud at Altar, one at a time, while Haru recovered.

Altar was streaking towards Haru, as he noticed the chidori gathered into his hand as well. That seemed a bit overkill, but then again, it WAS Haru. Altar kept going at Haru, as he also charged him. When the two collided, there was a giant flash of blue and electricity. The chirping from the two became near deafening, and the sheer power and electrical impulse sent the two flying away from one another. Altar went flying backwards, tumbling in the air. He would flip around to land squarely on the lone tree, catching his balance. He'd then find Haru, quite a ways away now. The dragon would shoot three more balls at Altar, who would push off the tree to the right, dodging the first, then he would jump up and over the second, and shift slightly left to avoid the last. After the dodges, Altar would begin running towards Haru.

Altar would make no response to Haru's comment, only grin and silently agree.

Haru watched Altar dodge the mud. It seemed like Chidori was the boy’s only form of attack... did he have any other tricks?
”Hey, kid! Do you know any other jutsu? The chidori is cool and all, but it’s not gonna help you at long range…” He would ask Altar, deciding to take a moment to see what the boy did. Besides, he didn’t wanna tire himself out too fast, the exertion from his recent operation to implant the byakugan into the boy had worn him out to quite some extent. So he would wait and see what the boy knew. If he replied by saying he knew no other ranged jutsu, Haru would sigh. 

”Have you unlocked any other chakra natures? I can teach you water and earth jutsu.” He would tell him, folding his arms. His own library of lightning jutsu was limited, which was strange, considering that was his primary chakra nature.

Altar watched in anticipation of Haru's next attack, which seemed like it wasn't coming. In fact, it seemed they were taking a break. Altar sat down, a bit exhausted. He wasn't much for stamina, as much as he hated to admit it. It was then that Haru decided to speak up, asking if Altar had any other attacks other than chidori. Well, he knew of a few, but he hadn't exactly gotten them perfected yet. He guessed he could use them, once he had gotten his breath back in him. Actually...Haru was a medic nin. Altar wondered if he could somehow restore his stamina.

"I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve, I just get tired easy, especially with this incapacitation now.  Speaking of, since you're a med nin, is there any way for you to, like, refuel me a bit?" Altar said in response. In truth, Altar only really knew one true ranged attack. He wondered if Haru could teach him some water or earth jutsu, but quickly put that thought to rest. He refused to give up his lightning nature. Sacrifice wasn't something he willingly excelled at, after all.

With that, Altar waited for Haru's response, hoping he could get off a few more tricks before their little spar was over.

Haru nodded in satisfaction at Altar’s answer.
”Good. In combat situations like this, you need to be versatile.” He would tell him, walking towards him. ”And yeah, just a second.” He would say, walking towards Altar. Once he reached the boy, his hands would begin to glow green, as he applied them to the bandaged area on his face.
”This’ll help the healing process with your eye, and it should rejuvenate you a bit.” He would explain, removing his hands from the boy’s eye after a few moments.
 
”Now…” He would mutter, quickly moving to grab the boy by the collar. ”Back to the fight.” He would say, spinning and throwing Altar about ten meters away. The chidori clash had entertained Haru to no end, and he was eager for more action. And that reminded him… He quite liked that jutsu… Perhaps he should try it again…
 
Ox → Rabbit → Monkey or Monkey → Dragon → Rat → Bird → Ox → Snake → Dog → Tiger → Monkey…
 
The hand signs completed, the lightning charged in Haru’s hand yet again. Haru would hold it there for a moment, smirking as he looked up at Altar.

”Y’know, I think I like your jutsu… It’s pretty badass.” He would say, before moving to strike Altar. He would charge the boy down, thrusting out his arm, aiming to strike the boy in the stomach with the lightning blade.

Altar grinned as Haru recovered his stamina, saying that it may help the healing process as well. All in all, his vision didn't seem to be effecting him that much, actually. In fact, he was growing more and more used to his tilted sight. With his stamina renewed, Altar felt ready to jump back into the fight, and had anticipated Haru grabbing him and throwing him away. He had landed about ten meters away, rolling to his feet to find Haru in the midst of throwing hand signs. Altar stood straight, feet spreading slightly apart, arms slightly bent and ready for anything. It was then that Altar noticed the familiar handsigns, and no sooner had he noticed that then Haru held the chidori. He looked up at Altar, smirking, and complementing on how badass the jutsu was.

Altar smirked as Haru began charging at him, running him down with the chidori. Altar waited until the opportune moment was there, with Haru closing in. He couldn't allow him time to react. So, he bided his time until...there! With Haru closing in, Altar shifted to the left, pushing off the ground slightly in a dashing motion, as a lightning leash formed in his hand, and the hound soon followed.

"Feeding time!" Altar would say. Using his momentum to swing his arm around, he'd smash the electrical hound into Haru's left side, hopefully sending him flying off to the right.

Haru would see the beast that Altar created and smirk, holding his chidori strong as he moved to collide with it. 
”Nice dog! What are you gonna make it do, hump my leg?” He would taunt as he closed the distance, finally colliding with the beast, which would let off a huge blast of electricity.

Haru would be blasted backwards a few meters, as he was before, rolling in the air as he flew, so that he was facing Altar. As he flew backwards, with his incredible reaction time that was boosted by the sharingan, he would have time to think about and execute the incredibly complicated action of flipping off Altar as he flew backwards, with both hands, swinging his arms wildly back in forth in the air as he akimbo one finger saluted Altar, flying backwards through the air, and rolling so that he safely on his feet, sliding back a few meters from the momentum
(End slow motion)
 
As he recovered, he decided, hell, let’s just keep charging him down. Plus, this would look really fucking cool. 

”Lllllaaaaarrrrriiiiiaaaaat!” He would shout, holding both of his arms out and charging the boy down, aiming to clothesline him at the waist.

Altar would take his time to appreciate the intricate action Haru pulled off in the air, flipping and landing safely. In response to this, Altar would raise his own middle finger, accompanied by him mouthing the incredibly sincere words 'Blow me'. Altar then looked to see Haru charging him down once more, this time aiming to connect with a Lariat. Well, there was no real dodging this, and he couldn't use another justu for a while, so Altar took notice of his surroundings. Somehow, amidst all this, he had not moved from the tree. He was only a small bit away from it. So, he would back up, not wanting to turn his back to Haru, and put his back against the tree.

Once Haru was almost within striking distance, Altar would jump, hopefully up and over him, and land on his back, kicking off of him and sending him face first into the tree. If that worked, he'd twirl in the air, land a good distance from Haru with a flourish, and turn to wait for his next attack.

Haru watched Altar totally bs a dodge by ignoring the speed stat entirely… but whatever. Altar had broken a fundamental rule of close-ranged combat, and Haru was going to show him his mistake. He knew what was coming; He could read Altar’s muscle movements to tell he was going to try and springboard off of him. Normally, he wouldn’t allow that, but it actually benefited him, so he allowed Altar to get himself further into the air. 
 
Now for the kicker: Altar had brought himself into the air. In close ranged combat, Haru knew from experience, this was a horrible idea, because unless you can fly or something, there’s no way to stop the ensuing attacks. So, Haru would begin his clusterfuck combo of awesomeness. 
 
Altar had allowed Haru to continue running for long enough to build up his full speed, meaning he would likely disappear from the boy’s sight completely, running towards the tree, which he would run up, then push off so he was level with Altar. As he flew towards the boy, he was leaning forward from pushing off, with his left hand ahead of his body. He would begin his attack with a superman punch to Altar’s face using the hand that was ahead of his body, before twisting himself in the air to preform an uppercut to the boy’s back with his right hand. This would level the boy with him, so that they were face to face in the air.
 

At this point, Haru’s hands would begin to glow blue, as his eight trigrams attack began. He would strike at Altar with a flurry of blows, aimed at the right shoulder, chest, neck, and left hip, in that order. If any of these strikes hit, the resulting stamina loss would knock Altar out. Luckily, Haru was pulling punches so the boy could block them. Mostly, he just wanted to have a midair battle.

Altar was totally gonna fuck shit up, but Haru had to ruin the moment by bringing up and using stats to his advantage. He could've sworn stats were basically foregone here...but whatever. Altar launched himself in the air, aiming the kick for Haru, to find that it had only propelled him further up the the tree and towards him. He turned to catch a fist to the face, splitting his lip and flushing blood into his mouth. Haru then caught him with an uppercut, launching him in the air.

Altar would cough out the blood from the force of the impact, more slowly filling up again, his mouth tinted a dark crimson, and the sharp taste of iron following close behind. He'd smirk and swallow, relishing the warm feeling slide down his throat. Now, as Altar and Haru finally met in the air, Haru would throw several jab attempts at Altar, his hands glowing a faint blue. He absent-mindedly wondered if he'd soon be able to harness that power, given the attention, training, and resolve.

Altar would block the strike to the right shoulder, knock away the hand sent for his chest, move away from the jab at the neck, and shirk away from the strike for his left hip. Altar would then attack with his own flurry, with punches aimed at the face, neck, chest, hips, and then stomach. Regardless of whether or not the hits landed, his next move would be to grab Haru's arms, and pin them, grabbing Haru and aiming him towards the ground. He'd then launch off of him, sending Haru speeding to the ground, and sending Altar higher up. If this worked, he'd land and assume another charge at Haru.

Haru absentmindedly noted to himself that although stats are considered equal for this fight, there’s no point to using a taijutsu technique like Lariat that boosts speed if you ignore the speed boosts. But for the sake of teaching Altar an important lesson, Haru would refuse to ignore the speed stat for the duration of this assault. 
 
Haru was satisfied with Altar’s blocking abilities, as his own strikes were deflected, and Altar attacked with a flurry of his own. Haru racked his mind for a way to counter that attack without actually manually countering, mostly because he was too lazy to type out every area that Altar listed in his attack at the time of writing- I mean fighting… I mean… He wasn’t typing… He was fighting… but typing his actions in his mind… Yeah. Fourth wall breach averted. 
 
Anyways, Haru slapped aside the attacks made at his face, neck, chest, hip, and stomach like a motherfucker.
”Here’s a tip, kid...” He would say to the boy as they fought in the air. ”Never…Once Altar’s attacks were blocked/redirected, Haru would see Altar’s muscles tighten as he began to reach for his arms. He imagined that would be for some kind of throw, which he wasn’t gonna allow. What was he gonna do before to stop the punches? Oh yeah…
”…Ever…”
 
Both of Haru’s legs and arms would snap downwards/upwards, onto both of Altar’s arms, using the intersection method with both of his arms and legs. The strikes would, luckily, not crush bone, but would definitely hurt for a bit. Mostly to add insult to injury at this point, Haru decided to chain some hits on Altar before he allowed him the luxury of touching the ground. using Quickly, Haru spun in the air to create a dome of chakra around himself, striking Altar and blasting him away before he could make a follow up attack. 
 
”…EVER…” 
 
As Haru descended to the ground, Altar would still be rising from the momentum of the hit he had just taken. As he fell to the ground, he made a set of handseals, very quickly. 
Ox → Monkey → Hare → Rat → Boar → Bird → Ox → Horse → Bird → Rat → Tiger
And with that, water would be drawn from nearby puddles, forming a large dragon’s head. The dragon would surge towards Altar, coming up from under him to knock him higher into the air. 
 
”…Go into the air…” He would continue if the strike hit, making another set of hand signs.
Tiger → Ox → Dragon → Hare → Dog → Bird → Rat → Clone seal → Dragon → Ram
A Shark would erupt from the water used to create the dragon, as it fell back to the earth after striking Altar successfully. The shark would swerve through the air, moving upwards towards Altar, before striking him in the back, propelling him parallel the position where Haru, who had at this point in time landed, was standing. 
 
”…Under ANY circumstances…“ He would continue, making yet another set of hand signs. He was straining his chakra pool, but he wanted to make a point here.
Ram, Horse, Dragon
The hand signs complete, a Dragon’s head sprouted from the earth, spitting three balls of mud at Altar, which would juggle him in the air while Haru prepared his finishing move…
 
”…Because when you’re in the air…”
 
Haru would get a running start, using his powerful legs to hurl himself into the air, up with Altar. At this point, Altar would most likely be sick of getting pummeled, and weakened to all hell. Haru would fly upwards, past Altar. For a moment, this may seem confusing to the boy, unless he looked up. If he were to look up, he would see Haru thrusting his palm downwards, towards Altar, which would send a vacuum blast at the boy, sending him crashing down to the ground, with Haru following close behind. As Haru descended, a final set of hand signs would be made.
Ox → Rabbit → Monkey → Dragon → Rat → Bird → Ox → Snake → Dog → Tiger → Monkey
 
Haru’s hand would begin to flicker with electrical energy just as Altar connected with the ground. At this point, Haru would be but two meters above him. Haru would collide with the ground, slamming the chidori into the ground, directly next to Altar’s head, so that the sound of the lightning rung in his ears, mere seconds after the boy himself landed from the all out assault.
 
”…You can’t dodge.” He would finish, falling back and huffing to catch his breath. None of the damage done to Altar would be major, Haru would tone down his chakra use and make sure not to hit the boy hard enough to injure him throughout the assault, merely shake him up and maybe leave a few bruises… err… battle scars, to show for it.

Altar would smirk, glad that he had gotten at least a few hits in during their mid air clash of sorts. However, as he went for the grab, Haru used intersection, snapping down on his arms. Oh...okay then. Altar would make note of the lack of major damage as Haru's combo continued, a dome sending him flying back and further up. Altar tried twisting around in the air, just in time to see the giant dragon coming straight for him. He braced himself the best he could and caught it to the stomach, as well as catching the shark at around the same area. Both hits sent him flying further up, in his seemingly never ending rise. He wondered at what time he'd reach space, as he gave in to a giant desire.

"I'M STILL IN THE AIR!" Altar would shout, hoping that Haru would get that reference...I mean...what 4th wall? Anyway, Altar would look to see Haru flying past him, over and well past him, before pushing his hands downwards and sending a vacuum palm towards Altar. Altar took the hit like the manly man he was, and crashed back to the ground shortly after. He then would look up, seeing Haru coming down at him with the chidori. Altar wouldn't flinch as the chidori struck the ground right next to him, the sound of chirping birds erupting in his ears.

Staying as still as possible, and not needing hand signs, nor near as much effort as before, Altar would form the chidori and pierce Haru's stomach before he could move off of him to catch his breath. Altar would then be all badass

"And here's a tip for you. Don't taunt your prey" Altar would say, pushing Haru off of him and pulling his hand out and away, scooting slightly back to take another break, as he guessed Haru would need to after his flurry. It was now that he took notice of the light drizzle coming down, and Altar guessed it was from the explosion of the dragon and shark water jutsu.



Haru watched Altar soar through the air, and suddenly had the urge to strike him with a plane. Whatever a plane was. As the boy was juggled through the air, Haru thought to himself.
That was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life… He thought to himself. 
 
As his own chidori faded away, Haru saw the boy’s hand forming another chidori… shit, since when did he not need hand signs to do that? No matter, he could avoid this, it just wouldn’t be as clean as he might have hoped…
 
He would begin by leaning to his side, away from the chidori. At the same time, he would bring up his knee and bring down his elbow. Once again, he would preform the intersection method. Because of the changed angle that he would be granted due to leaning to his side. This would prevent him from simply cutting his arm and leg on the lightning blade. The attack would clamp down around the boy’s forearm, where the chidori’s chakra was not present. 
 
”Here’s another tip. Don’t fall for the same trick twice.” He would mutter, gritting his teeth. He didn’t intend to stay like this for long. He would roll to his side, maintaining a firm grip on Altar’s arm, before letting go, which would send him flying a few feet into the air. Now on his back, Haru would snap his foot upwards quickly, kicking Altar and sending him flying a few meters away from himself. Haru would then thrust his elbows back, pushing himself upwards, before catching himself on his right hand, twisting as he pushed off the ground with his hand, getting him back on his feet quickly. 
 

God, he was starting to regret that barrage of attacks… His chakra pool was dangerously low, and although he knew he could keep fighting without using jutsu, it still made him feel rather foolish for wasting so much of it. He would stand there for now, waiting for Altar’s next attack.

Altar would sigh as his chidori was caught by an intersection, again. It seemed strange that Haru could move so swiftly considering the situation, which should've left him physically exhausted. But, still, he found the energy to fling Altar to the side. It appeared he was gonna try to push Altar away, maybe hoping to gain some breathing room. Well, that couldn't happen. If Altar was going to win, he needed to exhaust Haru.

As such, when Haru went to swing Altar to the side, Altar would force down his arm, locking his hand on Haru's arm. It hurt like a sunuvabitch, but at least he'd stay close to Haru. He really couldn't afford to give him breathing room. After locking his hand, Altar would attempt to ground himself and push his upper body off the ground, bringing Haru with him. After this, Altar would swing around Haru, just after getting fully off the ground, and wrap his arms around his waist. Tightening his grip, Altar would lift Haru off the ground, bring him up and over him, bending his back to keep steady, and german suplex Haru like a cool guy. After that was done, Altar would release Haru, moving swiftly to grab his arm and swing him around, throwing him blindly and hopefully into something other than air. After the throw, Altar would start charging at Haru, planning his next attack.

Haru felt Altar grip his arm to keep himself from being thrown… Was this kid trying to wrestle him? Fuck no, that’s just gay. It was frustrating that he couldn’t get a break, but he had one last trump card to get out of this situation. As Altar attempted to pull Haru into the air, Haru would begin to spiral his arms and legs, since Altar’s arms were now around his waist. The result would be a dome of chakra, which would blast Altar away from Haru a few meters. Haru would drop to the ground after finishing the rotation, panting.
 
”Didn’t I… Just tell you… Not to fall for the same trick… Twice?” He would ask in between breaths. He supposed it was time to start playing evasively, let himself recover a bit before exerting himself again. ”And don’t ever try to use a wrestling move on me. That shit is gay.” Haru would add after catching his breath, reassuming his fighting stance. 
 

It interested Haru to know how Altar would have been able to preform a German suplex, now that he thought about it. Partially because Germany did not exist in this universe, and partially because the boy lacked the strength to lift Haru into the air. Perhaps he had some sort of strength boosting bracelet? He’d have to buy a pair of socks to help him keep up with such an item… Eh, he didn’t have the money for stuff like that. Some Gucci socks will do.

Altar cursed Haru and every Hyuuga for inventing that stupid rotation...it was just annoying, there was no offense against it. Still...it was interesting. It made him wonder of other forms of chakra could be applied to the same use. If so, he could create some form of dome of lightning, or perhaps a circular area attack with the chidori, or Raikiri, if he could ever get it, that is. Damn thing seemed unattainable at this point. But whatever.

Altar was flying backwards, tumbling through the air, when he heard Haru call wrestling gay. OH FUCK N-okay yeah, it's pretty gay. Coming to this realization, Altar twirled in the air, landing on his feet, low to the ground. Altar would stand up, brushing himself off and speaking too Haru

"Yeah, you're right it's pretty fucking gay. And I can't necessarily do anything against that dumb twirly bullshit, now can I? Speaking of...can that be mimicked, or is it exclusive to the Hyuuga lineage? Cause I kinda need something offensive that doesn't completely drain me. Altar would say, hoping to get a small rest. It seemed Haru needed to recover, and so did he, to be truthful.

Haru, recovering his breath, looked up at Altar. 
”You could not give me freedom of movement, eh? I couldn’t have done anything until you let my arms and legs go free.” He retorted to Altar, before hearing the rest of what he said. He wanted to learn how to preform the rotation? Or, something similar, at least. 
”Umm… Well, I don’t know if you can control your Tenketsu as well as required to preform a rotation.” He would say, glancing at altar. ”You have to be able to control all of your Tenketsu, which, without a byakugan, is pretty fucking hard. I can try to teach you, but it’s probably going to take time for you to acquire that level of control.” He would tell Altar, taking in a deep breath. God, he was tired. 
 

”Or did you mean a version of this? It’s not a kekkei genkai, but you can’t preform it without a byakugan.” He would explain to Altar. ”You’re not thinking of copying my signature move, are you? He would ask the boy.
Altar would sigh, somewhat disappointing by Haru's response. That sucked. Did you really have to have control of all your tenketsu? That seemed...over doing it a bit, but whatever. Shaking his head, Altar would pace around a bit, trying to sort through things in his head. For the first part, it appeared, then, that he wouldn't be able to perform the move he was after. Secondly, however, he did have a byakugan, so an alternate of it was possible? He was guessing that was what Haru had meant, after all. At least, that's the way he heard it.

"Well, here's the thing. I was hoping it would be possible to use a rotation, but expel a different form of concentrated chakra nature, such as for me, lightning. Or, if combined with another attack, say chidori, then could I use rotation and chidori to add more lethality to the original rotation, seeing as I have a byakugan now?" Altar would say, putting his idea to completion in his head. In all reality, it seemed like a pretty smart idea, at least to him. Altar also noticed that the small drizzle had turned into a more heavy rain. He really hoped no one obsessed with origami and orchids would come and murder him…

Haru shrugged.

”Well, if you want to preform the rotation with a different form of chakra nature, you probably will need to learn to preform the actual rotation first. It’s much easier to preform a jutsu using raw chakra, rather then elemental chakra.” He explained to the boy. ”As for combining it with chidori… Well, it seems like the chidori is too offensive to have very good synergy with a defensive technique like the rotation. I can work on creating a technique like that, since ration is my primary chakra nature, but you need to work on basic chakra control first. The chidori is far too basic when compared to the chakra control required for gentle fist techniques. I would explore some more complex techniques, develop your skills, then worry about making crazy hidden jutsu.” He told Altar informatively.

Altar sighed, kicking gently at the ground at his feet.

"Well, if you say so. But if that's the case, then you're teaching me how to do rotations once this thing kicks in." Altar would say, waving a hand in front of his newly acquired eye. He really did need new techniques, and not just ones that were lightning, and used by others. He needed a different element. Something that would suit his fighting style, and work with his chidori, and other jutsu once he mastered them. Something like...

"Hey, by the way, I might have you teach me water jutsu, along with the element. I need something other than, y'know, mighty Zeus powers, and water would go along well with them." Altar would say, hoping Haru would oblige.

Haru grinned. 
”Only if you ask nicely.” He responded to the boy’s request, glancing over at the pond he had drawn his water from to create the water dragon and the shark bullet. ”Follow me.” He instructed, placing his hands in his pockets and walking over to the pond. As he walked, he decided to give a short explanation on how to control suiton.
 
”Now, lightning is volatile and powerful by nature. This gives it the capability for incredible power, but makes it difficult to mold into forms or use for much of anything besides smashing it into someone. Water is more adaptable. It can change form, and state, and is easily manipulated. The hardest part about using suiton is finding a readily available source of water to use with your jutsu. Sometimes, you have to create water.” He explained to the boy as they arrived at the pond.
 

”Now you already know how to mold chakra into elements, but water has a very different feel to it then lightning. You have to move… fluidly. Lightning techniques tend to be very stiff and rigid. Put your hand in the water, try to control it. Send your chakra through it.” He explained, sitting down cross-legged at the edge of the pool.

Altar followed after Haru, enjoying that they could take a break from fighting and actually talk for once. He noted that this was the first time they had done anything friendly that wasn't formal. He listened to Haru's explanation on the water element, paying close attention to how he said that water was more loose and fluid, as opposed to lightning being rigid and stiff. Altar already knew that lightning was normally used for power and raw force, and he expected water to be the opposite.

Altar would kneel by the pool Haru had lead them to, putting his hand in the water, as instructed. He began to tighten his body, stiffening his muscles. He found himself a bit shocked when he, out of instinct, almost started up another chidori. Letting go of the chakra concentration, Altar would pull his hand out, close his eyes, and breath deeply. He needed to relax, and there was always one place to go when he needed to relax.

Altar felt himself falling. Sooner rather than later, he found himself standing on the familiar platform, the familiar girl across from him again. He smirked when she ran to him, grabbing him into a hug. After a short while, she let go of him. After a small talk, explanations and catching up, Altar felt more relaxed than ever. Nekoda had always had that effect on him, but he never knew why. He'd have to ask that next time. After a mall goodbye, Altar felt, as well as saw, everything go black.

Altar would awake, not having been out long, in the same position. He would look around him, noting that he couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes, if that. Sighing, he would put his hand in the water, relaxing his entire body. He would push his chakra through his hand, keeping himself in a very fluid and loose position and state of mind. He would then smile as he saw the water ripple around his hand, forming small waves. Concentrating more, he would find that he could make various designs and patterns using his chakra to manipulate the water, It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Well? Long way from weaponizing it, but it sure is fun to draw shapes in the water." Altar would say, pulling his hand from the pool and awaiting Haru's next instructions.

Haru watched Altar tense up as he tried to control the water.
”No, no, no, you aren’t trying to strangle the water in a vice grip. You’re directing the flow of it. If you get rigid like that, it won’t obey you.” He explained, shaking his head. ”Let your body relax, almost go limp.” He instructed, before becoming silent again. He watched the boy relax finally, before, oddly, dozing off. He had relaxed a little too much. Haru would not disturb him, hoping that would help him stay calm once he awoke. 
 
When he did wake up, he was finally relaxed, and he was actually controlling the water at a basic level.
   
”Good. Don’t worry about using it as a weapon, that will come later. Suiton is not aggressive by nature, it’s far more passive. For every technique that is used for attacking with Suiton, there’s two that are used for defense. “ He told him. ”Try to mold larger shapes, pull it out of the pool and keep it suspended. That’s one of the hardest parts of learning the element, after that, you’re golden. It only gets easier.” He explained, waiting to see how he handled the next task.

Altar listened intently to Haru's instructions and guidance, wondering idly what all he'd be able to learn using water. So, it was defensive rather than offensive, but could be used for offense and attack. Either way, it seemed useful, so long as a readily available source of water existed. Plus, lightning and water seemed to be a good combination. Water for defense, lightning for offense. And water was conductive, so it could be used as a base for more long range attacks, both alone and combined.

Haru instructed him to try and pick the water from it's source. Thinking on it, Altar decided that it couldn't hurt to try. So, Altar would stick his hand back into the water, gently and fluidly moving it around, before slowly pulling his hand out, trying to pull water with it. Like expected, he failed. After a few more attempts, Altar finally got it, and had managed to pull out a decent amount of water, forming it into an orb and keeping it suspended in the air.

Using his will, Altar tried forming the orb into various shapes. The shapes came out slightly distorted and rough, but visible and distinguishable nonetheless. Keeping the orb in the air, Altar would look to Haru.

"Hey, sorry about...dozing off earlier. I have a place I always go when I need to be relaxed. It's kind of a long story." Altar would say

Haru watched the boy lift the water from the pool, forming an orb of water and manipulating it into various shapes.
”Good, just like that. It’s incredibly difficult to get water to form a perfect shape like an orb or a square, because, by its own nature, it wants to be sloppy, it wants to be imperfect. It’s hard to explain. It… rebels, almost. It’s kind of weird personifying suiton like that, but it fits, I suppose.” He said, lying back in the grass. ”Keep trying to control it, get the hang of multitasking with it.” He told him.
 
The “Happy place” or whatever that Altar mentioned interested him. Was it a mental barrier, or more just a state of mind? He vaguely remembered Yozora doing something similar while he was under her command as an ANBU trainee. ”Well, we have time. Would you mind explaining this to me? Your clan is a bit of an oddity, I’ve seen another Shinkou doing this same kind of meditating that you were doing. What does it do? What’s the point of it?” He asked Altar. Something he had noticed while the boy was unconscious earlier was that the eye he had extracted, the Meigan, had lost the special chakra inside of it, and now was just an ordinary eye.

Altar grinned, glad that Haru was showing interest in the Shinkou, and at least a small bit, in him. Of course, this was also the man that was teaching him to use water as an element and fighting style, and helping him activate the byakugan eye that he had given to him earlier. Well, if they had time, then he'd gladly explain. But, for the mean time, he still wanted to practice keeping the water he had suspended in mid-air in shape, seeing as Haru said that would be the difficult part.

"I understand what you mean, water by it's nature wants to be fluid and flowing, it doesn't want to be shaped and forced, let alone molded int something. I can see where it's gonna take a lot of practice, trying to perfect this. It's taking quite a bit of focus just to keep this bit of water in the air and molded into an orb shape." Altar would say, slowly lowering the orb back into the water, letting it back to it's normal pool and natural shape.

"Now, if you wanna know about the Shinkou," Altar would say, turning to Haru. "We have a special element, bound to our chakra systems. It's like the purity and essence of darkness. It's called Yuumei. It lives in us, sort of like it uses us as a host. It's different from our natural chakra, and can deplete by different measures, but since it's bound, that means it gets stronger as our chakra does. Yuumei, by itself, is a very... Altar would trail off here, trying to find the right words to help him explain this final part. "Yuumei is special in the fact that it's sentient, and can talk to it's host. By concentrating hard enough, we can enter our minds and talk directly to our Yuumei, and it can take a physical form. That's what you saw me do earlier. Also, everyone's Yuumei is different, and manifests in varying physical forms for each person, and gathers seperate personalities. For example, my Yuumei manifested as as a girl named Nekoda. She's very shy, but caring. Altar would say, taking a small breath now that his long winded explanation was over.

Haru nodded, satisfied that Altar understood his explanation of suiton’s characteristics. It would be easier to understand the element if you could envision it’s 
 
”Wait… so you have a girl made of chakra living inside of you? That’s kind of odd when you think about it, don’t you think?” He asked, scratching his chin. ”Can she always see you? Like when you’re on the toilet or something?” He would ask teasingly. ”So your byakugan should be recovered now, but you’ll need to put some time into it to be able to activate it. I can teach you that another time, but for now, I think you should focus on the task at hand. Keep trying to move the water like you’ve been doing. I think I have an idea.” He said, making a set of two hand signs, first the tiger seal, then the snake seal. 
 
From the ground erupted large roots, which formed into circular shapes, making ten loops out of the wood at varying heights. 

”What I want you to do is to navigate the water through the loops. You’re going to have to throw it into the air and catch it to get it through the higher ones. Just try to keep the blob of water together without it spilling out.” He explained, releasing the hand sign. He was really tired after that, he probably shouldn’t have used such a high level jutsu without resting more, but he needed a way to test him, and this was the only way to do it.

Altar's face would shade slightly red at Haru's comment, his eyes widening a bit as well. He wondered why Haru would jump to a conclusion like that as fast as he had. Well, at least he knew that Nekoda couldn't do as he had suggested...THAT would be awkward. However, he jumped from the topic almost as soon as he had gotten onto it, and soon was back to thoughts of training. Altar's face returned to normal, as Haru made ten rings of formed earth jump from the ground. He then asked Altar to try to navigate the water through the rings. He also informed him that his newly acquired Byakugan would be healed by now, but that time would be needed, along with training, to activate it properly. Well, that was somewhat a downer, but at least he would be able to see out of his left eye now. Knowing that, Altar would slowly remove the bandage that had been wrapped on his eye, and relished having normal vision again.

Altar would bring water from the pool again, forming it slowly into an orb, before idly trying to navigate the orb through the rings. While he attempted this, Altar would turn to speak to Haru.

"Well, Nekoda isn't made of chakra, per say, as she is more the concentration and personification of my Yuumei. She can't see me at all times, as she is trapped within my own mind, as that's where she can manifest. She can, however, tap into and see my memories, and she can see through my eyes when she wishes too. It can be annoying at some times, but I've grown used to it. As for my Byakugan, that's good. Glad I can see out of both eyes now." 

Altar would then turn his full attention towards the small maze set before him. He had failed a few times while talking, the ball of water narrowly missing the ring, not going through correctly, and sometimes he had not been able to catch the water off it's descent. Now that he had his full attention turned towards the maze, he was able to control the ball of water a small bit more fluidly. Not that it was easy, because it wasn't. Trying to control the small ball, as well as keep it in it's shape and try to run it through the small hoops, was hell on earth. The orb had a tendency to want to mis-shape, and would often flow back into a loose strand of water. Or, it would keep together too well, and either bounce off the hoops, not wanting to go through, or it would cut corners and go around the rings. Altar failed, multiple and numerous times, as he tried to control the ball and guide it through the makeshift maze. each time, he got further than the last, until he hit a wall. Once he had reached the high hoops, he couldn't find the concentration to throw the water up, and catch it again. It seemed that once it was released, it was too difficult to stop it's movement and reform it before it hit the ground. Needless to say, the grass around the high rings would end up very damp before Altar finally got it right. He managed to navigate the first few rings with minor difficulty, and reformed the ball, compressing it further, making it into a smaller ball, in order to go through the smaller hoops and rings. Then came the true test. The first few high rings were easy. However, they ascended further, making it more difficult to throw the water as high as they were, and harder still to catch it as it fell. Through many close calls, and one miraculous catch, as the ball was about to touch the ground, Altar managed to get through the high rings and had a semi-easy time with the rest of the course. However, he was not satiated. Rather, he was the opposite, and was angry that he could not control the ball as best as possible. However, he reminded himself that he needed to remain calm, and the water would be easier to control. And so it seemed, at least.

As he calmed and steadied himself, the ball of water became more fluid and easy to control and move about. When he was tense and angered, the ball had responded in kind and moved more rigidly, becoming harder to control. Once done with the course, Altar brought the water back to the beginning and ran through a few more times, until he had it perfected and felt completely in control of the small ball of water.

Haru gave a sly grin. 
”Well, if she an access your memories, she’ll know what we’re saying right now. Think about that next time you think you have privacy.” He teased. It would be obvious he didn’t mean that, and his Yuumei probably wouldn’t do the kind of thing he joked about, but it was a funny thought, all the same. He watched the boy navigate the loops, noting that his control over the water had improved dramatically. 
 
”Good job, kid. I think you’ve got the hang of it.” He said, nodding in approval. He gave a heavy sigh. That previous fight had taken a lot out of him, and he couldn’t teach that effectively when he could hardly stand like this. He decided to postpone any further lessons for now.

”Alright, I think that’s enough for tonight. I need some rest. We’ll call it a night, and I’ll get in touch with you tomorrow to continue your training. I’ll teach you how to use the byakugan tomorrow, and maybe teach you some water jutsu, now that you’ve learned the element.” He told the boy, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets. ”See ya. He said as a final fairwell, walking back towards the city. Normally, he would body flicker, but he was much too tired to use any jutsu.

Altar's eyes once again widened at Haru's comment. Well, while that was true, he didn't think that Nekoda would ever truly do anything like that. She wasn't a pryer. It honestly worried him sometimes, how she never seemed to care about what he was doing or how he was, until he came to see and talk to her. Why was it then that she decided to care about him, that she wanted to know how he had been, and if he was okay. She never checked up on him on her own. Maybe after Haru left, he'd return to his mindscape and ask her about that...

When Altar was done with the course, he returned to his thoughts, and was about to go confront Nekoda when Haru's voice brought him back to reality, and out of his thoughts. He had told him that he thought Altar had the hang of controlling water. Well, that was good news. It was seemingly easy to pick up, and it occupied his mind. He was easily distracted by things like that, and knew that now he could spend hours on end toying with water, making various shapes out of it and guiding it through makeshift obstacle courses, as he had just done, which he found much more fun now that he had mastered controlling the water.

Then, Haru gave a sigh, once more snapping his mind from it's thoughts and dragging him back to reality. He was getting lost in his thoughts more often now that normal. Perhaps it was because of the time of night it was. Haru now told him that the lessons were over, as he needed sleep. That was understandable, it was pretty late. He said that they would continue training tomorrow, as  he would help him activate his Byakugan, and perhaps teach him some water jutsu, now that he had the hang of the element, and had adapted to the way it worked. It was then that Haru took his leave, standing and putting his hands into his pockets, and strolling off back towards the city. Altar found it strange that Haru didn't run, or find another, faster way back. He chocked it up to the exhaustion, and need for thorough rest.

As Altar watched Haru leave, he found himself laying back on the grass, damp with dew and the remains of his failed attempts at the maze. As he laid back, Altar found himself lost in his thoughts again, and started absentmindedly playing with the water. He brought out an orb and started making numerous shapes and figures with it again. He continued this for a while, before actually realizing that he had been doing it sub-consciously. As he sat up, Altar took notice of the form the water had taken, and stayed in. A dragon, the same one that was etched into his skin. Altar's body tensed, looking at the complex design. He wondered how he had been able to do that, as he wasn't even paying attention to the water he had been molding and shaping. As he saw his reflection in the water, his face grew to one of disdain. He heard echoes of voices from his past. His sister, calling him a monster. Casting his eyes to the side, Altar threw the water back into the pool, only looking back when he heard the splash and the steady lapping of water at the edges of the pool. His body shaking, he slowly calmed himself and decided that now would be as good a time as any to go see Nekoda. He wanted the conversation they were due to have out of the way anyways.

Altar closed his eyes, opening them again to find himself in his small mindscape, Nekoda sitting close by. When he looked to her, he noticed her eyes pinned on him. When their eyes met, she leapt at him, enveloping him in a close hug. Altar felt uncomfortable, as his face grew a grimace. He wasn't use to affection. He wasn't use to people caring. Besides, what had happened that would cause this big of a reaction. As he looked down at her, she looked back up at him, not letting go and keeping a surprisingly strong hold on him.

"Altar, you know that I can hear you talk. I hear your thoughts. You can't hide things from me. But you also know i'm locked here. I can't contact you outside of here. So there's your answer." Nekoda said to him. He was stunned. He never expected this from Nekoda, and he had never thought of it that way. Looking back to her, he apologized. "I'm...sorry, Nekoda. I'm really, really sorry." 

After hearing that, Nekoda let him go, allowing him to breath. With that out of the way, the two talked for a short while, and Altar left her, happy that they had gotten that out of the way, and happy that there was finally someone who understood exactly how he felt.

After leaving his mindscape and snapping back to reality, Altar got up to his feet, and started on the walk home, idly noticing that the rain had now stopped falling.


~I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR YEEEAAAARS~

~Now for the fun stuff~

~TWC - 26,778~

~Claiming 5,024 towards Thousand Hands, at 8,000/8,000~

~Claiming 12,500 towards Remembrance Scarf, at 12,500/12,500~

~Claiming 4,500 towards Meiton: Kirai, at 4,500/4,500~

~Claiming 4,000 towards Wave of Inspiration, at 4,000/4,000~

~Claiming 754 towards Meigan: Shikatsu, at 754/4,500~
~Claiming 142 AP iir AP rules correctly~

Soooo many words :/ Alrighty; Approved.