Glitter and Gold (Kenshin)

She focused within on her inner fire, keeping in mind what Kenshin was saying as he did so. She knew there was no need for a training ground- Suna was mostly abandoned, anyhow. She tilted her head to acknowledge what he said next, about medical techniques, publicity, and her desire to help. Of course she wanted a good reputation for their group; it would be detrimental to her goals to be beheaded by an angry mob, though she suspected that the ragdoll man in front of her didn't care one way or another what people thought about him. The two came to a stop at the area she assumed would be their training ground, and she tilted her head. Kenshin was a strange man, but she was drawn to him, like a constantly changing puzzle she would drive herself mad trying to unwind. Great Fire Annihilation and Great Dragon Flame were both jutsu she had desired to learn- she knew she was likely incapable of learning any elemental jutsu apart from fire, so learning more of the said element would likely improve her mastery over it further. Hiding in Ash and Dust, however, was a jutsu she had never heard of- she listened raptly as he described it as akin to Hiding in Mist. Inhale. Exhale. He described Great Fire Annihilation as he went. Apparently it was akin to a regular Great Fireball, albeit with more raw chakra and less fine tuned control. But she found her mind kept drifting back towards Hiding in Ash and Dust. She liked the idea of having a large blanket of smoke which she could move around freely, safely under the cover of her own ash and smoke. Great Dragon Flame, he described, sounded vaguely familiar, and the more he described she realized that she had actually learned the technique a while ago, but never had the opportunity to use it. She nodded along with occasional verbal affirmations that she was paying rapt attention to the ragdoll's words.

Eventually, however, he made his way over to Hiding in Ash and Dust. Apparently, it was without handseals- which was good for her with her naturally low speed- but the part about converting her latent fire chakra into ignitable ash that she would then light later on seemed quite difficult. It reminded her vaguely of an earth jutsu she could've sworn she'd seen once or twice, but the man before her knew she couldn't perform those kinds of jutsu. Apparently, performing it was a large area of effect, so she'd probably have to use Blast Wave as an inspiration- a separate fire jutsu that she had trained so much that she could practice it without hand seals. The matter of converting the chakra would likely be very difficult, though-- inhale. Exhale. She focused within herself, towards her inner fire beneath her chakra coils. It pulsed with every bray of her heart and seemed to swell hugely whenever she took a breath in. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Once she had it entirely within her focus, she attempted to swell it- not dis similarly to Blast Wave, and opened her eyes to see a pulsing fire storm which was kept about an inch away from her skin, and would've likely burned herself if she didn't have immunity to her own natural fire chakra, a boon for which she was very grateful for in this moment. Eventually, she tried to expand it, but it ended up looking more like a pressurized blast wave. Which, while impressive, didn't quite capture the 'Ash and Dust' part of the jutsu name particularly well at all. She tilted her head. Maybe she could try adjusting the temperature some? Focusing her flames hotter caused her normally blue flames to ignite a bright white, while dimming them caused the color to sink to a more monotone red. She attempted to sink it cooler, cooler, and cooler, but the flames just fizzled out. Maybe she was going at it wrong?... She sighed before looking up at Kenshin's discerning eye. She felt like she was disappointing him- then again... Maybe she should try thinking about it in a different way? Rather than focusing on the ash itself, maybe try focusing on its ignition capabilities. She furrowed her brows and looked down. Her own chakra felt like it was working against her in this situation- like she was doing something so fundamentally against her nature that Amaterasu's own chakra had trouble comprehending itself. She had mastered many other fire jutsu before, such as Great Dragon Flame, Blast Wave, Great Fireball, Phoenix Flower... but to be quite honest, this was different in a surprisingly entertaining way. Never before had she had to work so hard to learn how to use a fire jutsu, the element of which came so naturally to her. Maybe by mastering this technique, she'd learn a considerable bit more about her element and how to utilize it properly. To be honest, she was getting tired of all the generic 'fireball' variations- learning something unique such as this might be just the thing she needed to inspire herself to learn more. Inhale. Exhale. She focused within herself on her inner flame once, more, observing as it had seemed to grow exponentially in size in direct ratio to her own excitement. This was new. This was fun. Amaterasu loved to learn- especially things that challenged her to think in new ways.

She eyed the Ragdoll once more. He held unimaginable power, having reached his full potential, while she had barely begun to scratch at hers. Would she be as strong as him, one day? Would she be able to command fear across the people she interacted with? She didn't know, and likely she wouldn't for quite some time as she developed her abilities further. Right now, she was relatively weak. She knew that. But learning this technique would be like the first step she took on the road to becoming strong. Inhale. Exhale. She focused on her inner fire for the final time, drawing on its raw potential and desire to consume. She forced it into her throat, cooling it with her lungs and breath as she did so, before she puffed out a small cloud of ash. It stank of sulfur and burnt oil, but it was a start. She tried so again, producing exponentially bigger and bigger clouds of ash until she had finally made a respectable size- but she wasn't done yet. Once there was a thick coating of ash blanketing the area, she took in a deep breath, drew up her fire once more, and forced it out all at once- the resulting blast superheated the dust around, causing it to glow a bright blue that matched the color of her chakra. It lingered in the area for quite some time, burning, blistering, and eating away at the ground, until it eventually faded. She wiped sweat off her brow with a hint of pride. It took quite some time, but she had finished- Amaterasu Meijin had learned the Hiding in Ash and Dust technique. Her cheeks took on a faint blush of pride, though whether it was from chakra exhaustion or something else was unknown. It didn't matter, anyways- she'd head inside and meet Kenshin later for additional training.

WC: 1,216
Total WC: 2,717

Claiming: 1,250 words to http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t40912-fire-release-hiding-in-the-ash-and-dust?tt=1 since i'm being taught

6 stat points

remaining 50 words (rip) being put into Great Fireball mastery http://naruto-role-play-rpg.forumotion.com/t22296-v6-great-fireball?tt=1

(EXIT BUT FOR REALS)

Approved