Emergent Shadows

There was no school today. Well, not in the traditional sense. Kokuei had devoted himself to a constant state of learning: books, lessons from his father, exercise, practicing basic shinobi techniques, and so on. Whether physical or mental, Kokuei always had to be improving himself. The boy always had that spark of curiosity and the pressure of his father Kurai to motivate him. Kurai was an outstanding shinobi, a jounin of the Nara community in Konoha, and had a plethora of missions and accomplishments to go along with it. Even if he wouldn’t say it aloud, Kokuei knew that he was expected to live up to his father’s reputation.

More recently, though, Kokuei found another source of motivation. His teacher at the academy, Crane, had defected from the Hidden Leaf. Kokuei had been the first to notice, and took off after the man who was his role model. He found him, tried to stop him with words and actions, and then got bested. Crane escaped into the deep, dark woods. If Kokuei had been more knowledgeable, resourceful, well-trained… maybe he could have done something more. Crane abandoned and betrayed Kokuei—this bothered him more than he would verbalize. So this was the drive that fueled Kokuei’s pursuit of power. Then, one day, Kokuei would find his former sensei and drag him home.

Kokuei unwound a scroll, one that he had read through multiple times: Foundations of Hand Seals. Hand seals were a necessity for shinobi in order to properly mold and summon chakra for a variety of techniques. They were a spiritual sign, and a way to stimulate different parts of the body and mind, and thus affecting the flow of chakra through one’s body. The same jutsu could even be performed with different hand seals, depending the level of expertise of the user. It all depending on how their flow of chakra was altered by hand seals—a topic that was proving to be quite advanced for the Nara boy.

“This is heavy.” Kokuei sighed, his finger running along the words of the scroll. He sat peacefully in the Konoha library, a stack of books and scrolls by his person. His quiet readings only interrupted briefly by practicing a string of hand seals.

The hours went on, and Kokuei switched from topic to topic. They were always the basics, though. Kokuei knew better than to get in over his head so early on in his learning. As much as he would love to explore the complications of fuuinjutsu, or master Nara clan techniques, he just was not at that level yet. Instead, he settled with taijutsu forms, elemental affinities and manipulation, beginner level medical shinobi anatomy, and illusionary examples. The boy even attempted to cover more… ‘dull’ topics: philosophy of Hidden Leaf clans, recent history of various villages, and origins of summoning contracts.

The stack had depleted… somewhat. He was still a ways off from fully comprehending and understanding what he wanted to. But, the boy could only sit still for so long. Mental exercise could be more exhausting than the physical. Kokuei pushed out from his seat, returned the books and scrolls to their place, and wandered out from the library. It was already the afternoon, and he had a lot left to accomplish before he would be satisfied with his day of training.

In the forest.

Training was grueling and often tedious work. Boring even, at times. It had to be done, of course. To better one’s self they had to go through the struggles, the pain, the lack of motivation, and the building of discipline. There wasn't going to be a magical barrier that one would suddenly overcome and feel no exhaustion or burn in their joints after exercising. It would always be tough. It would get easier after some time, but it would still hurt. Kokuei's training sessions were just as much learning this lesson and building willpower to push through pain as it was building muscle.

Kokuei arrived at a clearing in the forest, just after the academy let him out for the day. After his former sensei Crane defected weeks prior, the Nara was adjusting still to his new teacher. That event sparked a drive in the boy to train harder. Rather than go home to an empty house, his father busy on missions and mother at work, Kokuei would come out to the woods to train. His father expected the boy to at this point, Kokuei knew he would be disappointed to learn he had skipped a day.

Kokuei began practicing the basics first. Always the basics. There was a tree littered with cuts and indents, and Kokuei would continue to add to them. He tossed shuriken and kunai borrowed from the academy, piercing the tree's thick bark. As every weapon landed, the Nara aimed his next strike just near it, the previous weapon acting a pseudo-target. Then he would move about the area, throwing shuriken mid-jump or mid-sprint. Every basic weaponry maneuver he could think of, he would execute.

He had a lot of respect for all the shinobi that came before him, as they had the weight of years of struggling on their shoulders that proved they worked hard to earn their title as shinobi. Not only those of the Hidden Leaf had Kokuei's respect, but any shinobi. Despite differences in politics, issues the villages had with one another, everyone worked exceptionally hard to get to where they were. Kokuei was beginning to see this now.

Sweating and out of breath, Kokuei found himself staring at the wound riddled tree. "Okay. One set of basics down," he whispered. Retrieving the weaponry, Kokuei moved onto his next exciting task: hand seals.

A series of hand clasps, each different from one another, would combine together to help chakra flow in a certain way. It was fascinating. Kokuei learned what he could from the books he read, but the concept was still so complex. How did it really work? Who figured out this mechanism of jutsu crafting? These philosophical questions kept Kokuei entertained as he endured the monotony of going through all the hand seals over and over and over again. Every slip up meant practicing that particular sign ten-fold. How hard could it be?

An hour later.

Hand seals were tougher to string together than Kokuei had first imagined. Each one was nuanced, but so vital. It was this very reason why these basics were drilled into the minds of each academy student. In life or death situations, a slip up of a hand seal could be a very costly mistake. Messing up a technique would not just be embarrassing, but life-threatening. At least, this is what the young Nara told himself as he practiced basic ninjutsu. Equating hand seals to a matter of living or dying was certainly good motivation.

“Ahh… crap.” Kokuei hissed, gritting his teeth. He stood a few meters before his attempt a clone. It looked silly. Misshapen eyes, lips were an ugly shade of orange, and it stood a touch too tall. “I never pay attention to those details, how was I supposed to know?” He knew he was making up excuses, but it made himself feel better.

Kokuei approached his clone, giving it a solid punch to the gut, the thing dissipating in a harmless puff of smoke. “Again.” Kokuei said to himself, a stern expression behind his words. It was like what his father would say, using a direct and firm tone. A push that Kokuei needed to continue.

Ram, snake, and finally tiger—the Clone Technique. Hand seals completing, Kokuei felt a surge of chakra move through and out of body, a perfect clone of himself assimilating before his eyes. Kokuei blinked, standing up straight as he walked up to his clone. It looked over Kokuei with a frown, and a raised eyebrow. “Eyes straight, stupid.” The clone obeyed, looking out into the Konoha forests. Kokuei smiled; yelling at his clone was a bit cathartic.

A few moments passed, the Nara boy examining his clone. He noticed… well, nothing. All seemed to be in place. If there were any inconstancies, he certainly couldn’t find them. “Finally. Accuracy at last,” he said. “Now, let’s go for precision.”

Ram, snake, tiger—the hand seals were second nature at this point. A puff of smoke rose yet another clone of Kokuei. The two Nara clones stood an arm’s length apart. “Phew.” Kokuei exhaled, softly moving to his newest creation. This clone kept his gaze forward, it knew the drill.

“Precision already. Two of them.” Hands on his waist, he nodded his head. “Can’t ruin a good streak.” Kokuei decided to mix it up, move suddenly to a new topic. Keep his chakra flowing, build up his reserves.

A few quick hits banished both of his clones before the boy wandered over to a nearby pond. He had seen many shinobi take advantage of the calm body of water of training. Kokuei wasn’t quite at the level of expertise to hold himself aloft with his chakra alone, but the pond could serve him another purpose.

Dog, boar, and then Ram. Kokuei held the last sign, eyes shut tight, as his form shimmered and changed with the Transformation Technique. He let out a stream of air, looking down at his reflection in the clear pond. “Eh…” He winced, looking at the form of what should have been his father. It was a little off. The hair was much too dark, the nose was all wrong, and his flak jacket was the wrong shade of green. The clashing colors alone infuriated Kokuei, what a mess!

Kokuei crouched down to the pond to accurately examine his failures. It was the best way to learn, accepting ones mistakes and imagining how to overcome them. To be disheartened by a failed attempt was foolish; nothing could be perfect on the first try. Rarely anything was perfect ever.

The sun was on its way down to the horizon, and after nearly an hour had expired the sun found itself close to touching it. Kokuei found himself exhausted, performing the Transformation Technique over and over. Every attempt at becoming Kurai Nara, jounin of the Hidden Leaf, wound up with some issue or mistake. Never mind the focus to maintain it for more than a few seconds. Again, this sort of training was crucial for any young shinobi. If one was unable to hold a jutsu for longer than a moment, that was how long they would last in a fight.

Standing up, Kokuei strung together the hand seals once more, and a plume of white smoke engulfed him. He exhaled, peering down into the pond. “Ah hah!” He suddenly cheered, kneeling down to examine his new face. His hair was orchid colored, eyes blue, flak jacket the right dull green color, and just about six feet tall. It all seemed to be in place, Kokuei was a perfect replica of his father.

“Good job, son.” Kokuei deepened his voice, giving a smirk and a thumbs up. “…Maybe not.” He sighed, letting his arms fall, and took a glance around to make sure no one witnessed him do that.

Kokuei took a few steps back from the pond, pacing back and forth. He bounced on his heels, spun a kunai in his hand, stretched his arms into the sky—anything he could do to take his mind off the strain of the Transformation Technique. He kept focused, but the lighter activities helped him maintain the jutsu. Being so tired didn’t help, but even still he managed to have enough concentration to hold things together.

“All right.” Kokuei let the technique expire, smoke briefly surrounding him. What was left were his gray irises, dull purple hair, and more simple olive colored tunic and darker colored pants. He certainly had not inherited his father’s brighter physical features.

The Nara moved back to the pond, briefly examining the sun’s position. It was getting late, but he had some energy left to expend. A last final test he would give himself to prove he could really do these basic techniques on a whim. Even as tired as he was, he would have to manage to pull through and complete this next bit. It was a task that he knew he had to do. Anything less than success would not do for Kokuei. He could do these techniques individually, but combining them was going to be the real challenge.

Dog, boar, ram—Kokuei slapped together hand seals to change his appearance once again. As the smoke faded, he looked at his appearance in the water. Dark short hair, darker eyes, a classic chuunin attire: Crane. Kokuei’s ex-sensei, and ex-member of the Hidden Leaf. A frown rested on Kokuei’s face as he examined himself. It was very good, first try. Crane had been on his mind an awful lot the past few weeks since his defection. Kokuei had been there to try and stop him, convince him to come back through words or force. Crane was too kind to do anything other than stun his former student before bolting into the wilds. Kokuei never found out why he left, and the academy certainly wouldn’t speak on it. Left in the dark, Kokuei could only wonder why, and push himself to a point where going after his old sensei again wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. It was clear why putting on the guise of Crane was rather easy for the boy.

Ram, snake, tiger—another set of hand seals brought another puff of white smoke, and beside Kokuei now stood a clone. Though, not a clone of himself, but of his transformed state. Kokuei looked at the clone he formed, staring down what looked to be an exact replica of Crane. Bearing his teeth, the boy clenched his fists to maintain his transformed state. “You asshole. How could you?” He hissed, the clone looked him with a confused look. Kokuei knew how useless his words and anger was, but it felt good. It felt better than just holding it in like he had been the past few weeks.

He strung together the same hand seals once more: ram, snake, and tiger. A second Clone Technique threw another clone of Crane into existence. Kokuei faltered in his stance, taking an accidental step forward as his whole body tensed. He was nearly depleted of energy, and could feel his Transformation Technique slipping. He held it long enough, he figured.

Reverting back to his normal self with a vanishing gust of smoke, Kokuei breathed heavy as he eyed to the clones of Crane. “You betrayed me.” This sort of emotional outburst was unlike Kokuei, who normally kept logical and conserved. The abandonment of his sensei and the damage it did to him was something Kokuei hadn’t experienced. It was all still fresh, and raw. The academy never taught Kokuei how to handle this sort of grief, this empty pit that someone could leave behind in his stomach.

Retrieving a kunai from his holster, Kokuei made a jab at the first clone. It vanished, leaving nothing behind. Kokuei held his stance for a moment, biting his lip. It didn’t feel nearly as satisfying as he thought it would. The Nara turned to the other clone, which continued to stare into the distance. “Run.” Kokuei whispered, and the clone began to dart forward and away.

Not even letting him move more than a meter, Kokuei chucked the kunai into the Crane clone’s leg, causing it to vanish immediately. Still nothing, still just an unfulfilling feeling left over from the experience. Kokuei sighed, part of physical exhaustion, part from an emotional drain. The boy wandered over to his weapon, picking it up off the ground.

He looked back toward Konoha, the setting sun reminding him it was time to head back and rest. Kokuei began his walk home, taking a quick look back over his shoulder to the pond, and the dark forest beyond it.

Later in the week.

Kokuei sat cross legged on the forest floor. A scroll was unwound before him, one that he borrowed from the academy. It was a bit old and worn, but the information it contained was timeless. It was a guide on the basics of elemental control. More so, it was how to process and utilize the natural elemental finesse in an individual. The Nara boy knew which element he had an affinity for, thanks to teachings from his now-defected sensei: wind. Figuring it out was the easy part; the real struggle came with properly utilizing it in a technique... in anything really. It was unlike molding regular chakra, there were more complications. So this scroll, and the quiet of the forest, was absolutely key.

A single palm was turned toward the sky. Kokuei breathed in, then breathed out. He imagined chakra flowing through his mortal form, concentrating in his hand, taking a churning shape. He imagined it like wind, breezing through himself and out into the air. He was calm, collected, and utterly silent.

"Hey!" Suddenly a voice rang out, causing Kokuei to jump. "What are you doing?" An older man, somewhere in his 70's, moved slowly over to Kokuei.

The Nara gave the man a confused look, and then scanned the nearby forest. Could he have been referring to someone else? "Uuh... I'm practicing molding my chakra, sir." Judging by the man's simple attire and walking speed, Kokuei assumed he was a civilian with no chakra capabilities. "Err... Chakra is the fuel for us shinobi to utilize..."

"I know what chakra is, you idiot!" He suddenly spoke, the old man waving Kokuei off. "I've got decades on you. I may not be a ninja, but I reckon I know more about chakra than you." He gave Kokuei a smirk, standing over the boy. "So, I'll ask again. What are you doing? And get up on your feet, it hurts my neck to look down atcha'."

Kokuei complied, quietly getting off the ground and meeting the elderly sage's gaze. He had a gray bearded face an intense look in his eyes. "Yes, sir," Kokuei said. "I'm practicing manipulating wind chakra. It's my elemental affinity, and I'm attempting to focus, feel the flow of chakra in my stomach, and guide it out to my hands. Like a gentle breeze, I should be able to..."

"Bah! What do you know about wind? Tell me, what does wind mean to you? To the world and all her inhabitants?" The old man stared intently at the young shinobi.

"W-well, the wind is a flowing force. It... It allows seeds to spread, which is a major factor for life everywhere. Scholars think that our sun's energy is what gives rise to wind." Kokuei gulped, seeing the man's unyielding stare. He seemed unimpressed.

"Logistically, sure, you got it. But knowing how plants grow ain't gonna help you use that natural energy within you. You have to feel it! And you don't know how to." The old man motioned toward a pond just beyond a few rows of trees. Kokuei could make out some park benches and a clearing. "Come on, I'll show you something," he said.

Kokuei made his way over the pond, keeping a reserved pace to match his new teacher's slower steps. He was bewildered still by the sudden encounter, but curious as to what the man had to teach.

"There are some people around, sir. I don't know if I can focus." Kokuei said, making note of others on benches, feeding animals in the pond, or eating under the tree canopy.

He shook his head. "These are perfect conditions, kid. The wind doesn't care what you want, how you feel, it just is." The man pointed toward the ground in the clearing they stood in. "Sit and concentration. Keep your eyes open, though. Look at the sky, tell me what you see."

Again, Kokuei complied. He sat and raised his head up, his dull purple hair all tied back rested against his olive tunic.

"I see... Clouds. Birds. Leaves.." They all moved in their own unique way.

"You see them because of the wind. Leaves gently swaying. Clouds trudging along. Birds gliding from updrafts. They all operate in different ways, but from the same force. The same fuel, as you'd call it." Wind was the uniting factor. "You see wind as a big picture. The sun makes it, and life prospers from it. Great. But there's so much more to it, even if you don't care, or it doesn't effect you. Birds fly, leaves fall, clouds carry over rain; it can be gentle or fierce, constructive or destructive. You think you can close your eyes and just channel it? You need to experience it. Appreciate it." The wise man pointed to a group of ravens, perched on a nearby tree, eyeing Kokuei and his teacher. "They appreciate it. They experience is nearly every moment of their lives. This ain't something you can force. And I can't make you understand it." He began to walk away. "Watch the wind, channel it, and you'll have no problem with your training. Think on it, kid. I'll be back in a bit."

Kokuei watched the man walk away, out past the pond. He was right, Kokuei wasn't thinking about the situation in the right way. The scroll in the boy's position taught the basics, but what the old man was proposing was the foundation. Kokuei needed a gentler approach to begin learning.

As instructed, Kokuei kept his eyes open and looked to the sky. Then, to trees. Then, everywhere. It wasn't just things above that benefited from the wind. People enjoyed a cool breeze as it rolled by, ducks dried more quickly as they leapt from the pond, the water was constantly circulating as wind caused it to sway. Even Kokuei, now, felt his own chakra circulating much like the pond. Every breeze that ran over his skin felt as if it was reaching into the pool of chakra in his belly, mixing it ever so slightly. The same soft wind that plucked a leaf off the tree, helped a raven gain flight to land next to Kokuei and snag a stray insect from the ground, and guided a cloud to briefly cover the sun. In an instant, the breeze that aided Kokuei in feeling his elemental affinity, aided so many other things. The Nara had never felt so connected; he felt blessed and privileged to have this enlightenment. He felt important, special--he wanted to know what other hidden threads bound us all. His natural curiosity was taking hold once again.

"So, how do you feel?" The sage returned, hands clasped behind his back as he approached Kokuei's side. It had been... An hour? A few? The sun was cresting toward the horizon, but Kokuei had lost himself to thoughts.

"I mean... Amazing. It's all related." Kokuei reached into the air to grab at nothing. "The same air I breath into my lungs is carried by the wind that fills yours. And to the birds. To everything." He pointed to the ravens that hopped about on the ground and the trees. They increased in numbers over the afternoon, as if drawn to Kokuei's tranquility. "I feel that wind in me now, too. Easily."

The old man chuckled. "I knew you'd catch on quick. You didn't even have to say a word, I could see the revelation in your eyes." He waved his hand around about, circling Kokuei with it from a meter distance. "Show me a shinobi trick, then. You must have something to show, yeah?"

He was right, Kokuei had changed. What could he show for it? The boy looked about, before grabbing a wayward leaf and placing it in his upward facing palm. "There are some techniques in the scroll, but I still need to consider the basics. And this is as basic as I can get." Two fingers pinched the leaf, and Kokuei let his chakra circulate within him. He imagined a gust of wind rushing by, moving his clothing, cooling his lungs with an inhale. Kokuei felt it.

He began to blow out a stream of air, aimed at the leaf. It rustled slightly, Kokuei's eyes honed on to it. Suddenly, it moved more and more. The edges of the leaf jostling wildly before a single tear cut through the center of it. Kokuei took in a big gulp of air and exhaled, looking then to the old man. "Did you see that? I cut it, with my breath!" He harnessed his wind chakra, enough to compress it into a brief surge of cutting power! Mild, of course, but it was manipulation nonetheless!

"Was that all?" The old man sucked his teeth, giving a chuckle. Kokuei's mouth fell open. "Hah! I thought it would be a little more impressive. Ah well.  I'm glad it helped." He turned on his heel and walked off, leaving Kokuei stunned. "Come find me when you have something more impressive! Maybe if I need someone to clear my lawn I'll come find ya'! He shouted, giving Kokuei a wave with his hand, back still turned to the boy.

Speechless, Kokuei stayed in his spot, cut leaf in hand, as he watched his teacher slowly fade to the distance. Kokuei hadn't considered what a civilian could teach him, what the land and sky around him had to offer. But, it was a lot. Things in nature seemed simple, but that was the brilliance of it. To learn from nature, from living things and the abundant forces that fueled us all, was to learn from a greater power. To know divinity, so to speak. That was a conquest that Kokuei set his sights on, to learn from every aspect of the complex system of life as he could.

[Word Count = 4,310]

[Claiming: Transformation Technique (500/500), Clone Technique (500/500), Wind Release: Wind Arrow (500/500), Generic Sealing Technique (500/500), Fuuinjutsu Lock (500/500), Genjutsu Release (500/500), Mark Seal (500/500), Wind Style: Quiet Footsteps (500/500), and 21 Stat Points.]

Approved