Failures of the Past, Lessons for the Future

Yurei yawned, blinking as the sunrise kissed his face. The warm light resonated off of his alabaster skin, waking the albino from his few hours of rest. Becoming a chuunin had been a lengthy process, and accepting it felt even longer. The Uchiha’s life had not been easy, far from it. The success of achieving his new rank was hard-fought and not without sacrifice, but, hopefully, they were worth it. Yurei started out a mere child wielding a great power known as chakra. It was always inside him, waiting. Dormant. Until he saw shinobi. Until he wanted to be a shinobi. Little did Yurei knew, the blood of one of the most powerful clans in the shinobi world ran through him, though the cost of such information was not as he desired.
He missed his father greatly. That was undeniable. Even if he did not approve of Yurei’s lifestyle choice, the warmth and kinship of a father was irreplaceable, even by his mother’s embrace.
Beyond his father was the villagers. Sometimes this conflict lead to blood. Sometimes more than blood. Yurei had to protect what he loved. Or what was left of it. Other shinobi, his mother, his friends Akio and Damon. They watched over one another. They had to if they were to survive in this cruel and unforgiving world. And sometimes, much to Yurei’s distaste, the necessary action was not always pleasant. It was sometimes vengeful. Sometimes worse. Despite this, Yurei held onto hope. Hope that he could create a better world around him.
For years, Yurei had practiced in the illusionary arts of Genjutsu. It was one of the most controlled and safe jutsu to learn, and rarely did it kill its recipients. Not rarely enough, unfortunately, however. Still, The alabaster Uchiha held onto his convictions through the death of his father. Through the brutal attacks of villagers. Through the betrayals of shinobi. And through the trials of himself.
Forgiving himself for his actions was one thing. Striving to correct them and become a better person for it as another. It was not glory or fame that Yurei sought in this, though. No, the Uchiha firmly believed that his genjutsu could save this village, this world. He need only show people the lessons of their aggressors. The reasons behind them. Villagers hated shinobi for their chakra, their chaos. Shinobi hated villagers for their zealous, self-righteous conquest. It was a circle, constantly repeating itself. A wound that wouldn’t heal.
But I will break that cycle.
Genjutsu, while a useful tool and his ultimate means to create peace, was still an illusion. It could no doubt affect people profoundly, but it wasn’t tangible. It was not real. And it alone would only get Yurei so far. No, he needed something else. Something truly threatening if he were to survive. No tricks, real, effective, simple means of dispatching those who stood in his way.
The trials ahead were intimidating. Scary, even. And life could not be expected to be represented by his chuunin exam. His goals would not always be handed to him on a silver platter. Instead, Yurei needed to prepare himself for when it didn’t.
Ninjutsu. That is what I need.
Ninjutsu no doubt affected Yurei’s training. Once his illusions failed, he was lucky to survive. If not for his speed, he would perhaps be dead now. Ninjutsu needed to be the focus, now. His genjutsu left room for development, but if he were to be an effective combatant, more than one skill had to be sharp.
He had seen it in Damon, in Tenma, and in others. Ninjutsu was raw chakra power. And while Yurei had dabbled in it, his skill with ninjutsu did not compare to his brother in blood. Now would be the time to fix that. It had to be. Damon was a chuunin, yes, but now so was Yurei. And while the Uchiha found competition boring and unproductive, he did not share the same sentiment with experience and practice. Damon had shown him, perhaps more than anyone else, would ninjutsu could do. If they were the same rank, then being held to one another’s standard was only natural. But Yurei had no desire to remain a chuunin. Nor did Damon. But while his brother desired fame, Yurei desired the betterment of his village and the people of this shinobi world. He would help Damon achieve his goals. He would be that push, and, at the same time, he would not stop to become Jounin. ANBU. Hogokage. Savior of the Shinobi world. Through Genjutsu. Through Ninjutsu. Through his ambition. Through his convictions. Through understanding.
Yurei rose from his bed, placing his feet onto the cold floor below. He stretched, twisting his muscles in a relief of tension and popping his back as he yawned once more. His senses homing to him, Yurei smelled the aroma of honey tea permeating throughout the bedroom. Mother must be up. Yurei looked out his window. It was still a few hours before noon. Good.
Yurei stood from his bed, scratching his head. He maneuvered to his clothing hanger, pulling his kimono over his shoulders and sliding his arms through his sleeves. The Uchiha rubbed his eyes as he grabbed his bag, and the items it contained. With a quick slash of his hand, the boy slid his door open and stepped out into the hallway. “Mother?” he called out, walking forward.
“In here, Little Ghost,” Takia said, smiling as she met eyes with her son. “I have some tea whipped up if you want any. You heading out today?”
“Only a little. I want to practice some ninjutsu.”
“Ninjutsu? Wanting to get a little more flashy?” Takia said with a warm smile, stirring honey into her teacup.
The albino Uchiha smiled and chuckled, shaking his head. “No, I just need to build up my other skills. Genjutsu just isn’t reliable if the people I use it on break out of it. They become weary of it.”
“I imagine so. So just out of practicality?”
“Yeah. A lot of my fellow shinobi use ninjutsu as their main specialty. I figure I should try to build it up more. Maybe even counter theirs.”
“You must have really high chakra reserves.”
“Yeah. One of the highest in my class and one of the highest still. It comes to me a lot easier than taijutsu or anything of that nature.”
Takia gave a thin smile and slid over a cup of tea to Yurei as she prepared another cup.
“Oh, thank you, Mother,” Yurei said, sitting down on his knees at the table.
“Your welcome. Can’t have my little chuunin practicing his ninjutsu on an empty stomach can we?”
“I suppose not,” Yurei said, returning a thin smile of his own.
For a moment there was silence. The slight hiss of the tea, Takia’s metal spin raking across the porcelain cup, dissolving the sugar with the brown liquid, steaming from heat.
Yurei took a deep breath, looking up from his tea. “I visited father the other day.”
Takia was silent for a moment, simply staring at her cup of tea. “Oh?” she said.
“I told him that I made chuunin. And that I would prove him wrong. That I’d help this village and stop all this fighting between the villagers and the people.” Yurei looked up at his mother, his face mimicking that of a plea.
“I’m sure Roshi is very pro-“
“And I apologized. Again.”
Takia said nothing, simply stirring the tea from which there was no more sugar to dissolve. “I see. Yurei, I-“
“I can’t forgive myself. I thought I could, but I can’t. I’m not sure I ever can or if I even should. Every time I close my eyes I see him staring back, and I-“
“Stop.”
“I think of that night-“
“Stop it.”
“I see you holding him, and-“
“Yurei, for god sakes I said stop!”
The albino Uchiha stopped, swallowing. His mother, too, fell silent.
They sat there. For what felt like an eternity.
Tears ran down Yurei’s face, and through his glossy vision, he could sea his mother’s fall into her tea. The boy rose, swallowing and rubbing his eyes. “I have to go now,” he said, turning to the front door. The boy slid on his bamboo shoes. “Thank you for the tea, Mother.”
Yurei stepped out into the sun, squinting as he walked forward. The sun reflected off of his pale skin, but its warmth was more than anything he felt in that house. At least right now.
The pale Uchiha walked forward, making his way to the training grounds. On his journey there, he practiced his breathing. The flow of his chakra. He had a few ninjutsu memorized, and warming his body up to them more often should increase his affinity with the specialization. Not to the degree of genjutsu, but the ability to use more practical jutsu was invaluable.
Yurei took a deep breath, swelling his lungs with fire nature chakra. It was like breathing in piping steam, singeing his lungs, but Yurei had felt this pain before. Better, he knew how to control it.
The Uchiha boy continued, summoning both fire and lightning natures to his body as he walked passed the suburbs and then the marketplace. Through the ghost town, he summoned his own chakra, absent of affinity, into his body. He swelled it. He shaped it. He bent it to his will. Chakra was his weapon, his tool, and he could feel himself growing stronger, keener, and more capable of controlling his chakra. Perhaps it was genjutsu that allowed him to be so proficient in ninjutsu. It was by controlling the chakra of others with his own that he could captivate shinobi and villagers alike with his illusions. Even those without chakra. But this was training for ninjutsu. The Chuunin was all too familiar with the properties of chakra. He knew it like the back of his hand, if not more.
So it came as no surprise to the boy that he could use ninjutsu with ease. Upon entering the training ground, Yurei felt his fireball jutsu leave his body with ease. And then another jutsu. And then another. With each jutsu Yurei cast, the next became easier. But they were all easy.
Yurei did not find arrogance in this. He simply recognized his potential, and the potential that this new-found affinity possessed. If the Jounin exam was anything like the chuunin exam, ninjutsu would aid him greatly. Especially against more experienced shinobi.
The pale Uchiha sat in the thin grass in the training grounds, giving a sigh. He had come so far since being a little academy student, sneaking out to learn about chakra and being a shinobi. He had come so far from that horrible night that changed his life forever. That still does.
Guilt ate at Yurei for many things. We wasn’t perfect. No even close. Sometimes he wondered if he was even a good person. But what mattered was that he meant well. That was the only way he could rationalize things. And, more so, what mattered was that he was going to change things.
Strengthening his affinity for ninjutsu was but one step in a process to becoming jounin. Special Forces came next. Then Hogokage. He would become the leader of this village no matter the cost. And when he did, he would make this village a better place.
But there remained one question.
If your home is miserable, how can you change the world?
Yurei opened the door to his home as the night fell to his shoulders. He shut the door behind him, removed his shoes, and peered into his mother’s bedroom. In her arms was a photograph of her husband and Yurei’s father.
It is often said that time is the greatest healer. It is never said how long. And for Yurei, it felt like an eternity of guilt. Was this the cost of behind a shinobi? Was it worth it?
Yes.

It had to be.

WC: 2002


[Exit]

Claiming: 20 AP, Ninjutsu Secondary Spec

Approved.