One's True Potential (Open)

Play with fire and you will get burned. It was something Asahi remembered all too vividly. Every single time he was reminded of the events that took place in the past, his burn scar started to ache, not allowing him to forget about what happened that day. Not that he would be able to, even if he wanted. Already twelve years had passed since that day, and seventeen since he was born with his curse. After all, he was one of those "Meijin" who people liked to call cursed and having a so called disease. Born with the inability to learn any element other than that which came naturally to him, fire. In order to move on and let go of the past Asahi had to find the true potential in mastering his fire, that is if he wanted to avoid the past to be repeated.

Cast away at the age of five by his own mother while he lived in the Land of Tea, he was finally saved and taken in by the man he would now call his grandfather. An elderly merchant from the Land of Fire decided to raise him and took him with him to Konohagakure, the place he would now call his home. Now a young man of seventeen, Asahi had finally settled down. He graduated from the Academy and became a genin at the age of twelve. Another five years had passed since then where he divided his time in helping out at home, trying to master his element and going on missions to earn money for his grandfather and himself. Unfortunately the young boy still hadn't overcome his fear of rejection which had forced him to go on missions on his own. Still haunted by the day he was cast away by his mother he was afraid of being abandoned again.

And so Asahi was getting ready to go out by himself once again. Not having planned anything special for the day, he figured he might as well pay a visit to the Training Grounds where he could work on mastering his fire ninjutsu. If he ever wanted to leave the past behind the young Meijin knew he had to be able to fully control his one and only element. Ready to head out he would first notify his grandfather before he would actually leave. "Grandfather, I'm heading out now. I won't be gone too long." Not waiting for a reply, knowing his grandfather was probably busy working in the garden like he often does, Asahi took off and was finally headed to the Training Grounds where he could work on his ninjutsu.

Dressed in his usual black and red attire which consisted of a red shirt, black pants and some boots, his golden eyes staring in the distance in front of him. Touching his scar one more time before he would finally start his training. Calming down his breathing, controlling his chakra and letting it flow throughout his whole body Asahi was now completely ready to begin.

(WC: 505)

Snow was in the training grounds, as was his usual routine. Today's focus was once again focusing on his ice release. He was readying himself to learn yet another ice release technique, hoping to increase his skill with his own clan's element. With a training dummy set in the middle of the training grounds, being 20 meters away from Snow, and 25 meters from the other edge of the training grounds. He formed a ball of ice covered in spikes also made of ice, he launched the spike ball towards the dummy and instantly began performing the hand seals required for both Shuriken giant body and shuriken shadow clone jutsu, each being performed with one hand each. Finishing the hand seals with a seal of confrontation, causing the single spike ball to enter a massive cloud of smoke, and exited out of the other end with the ball being one hundred times larger and duplicated one thousand times.

The massive wall of spike ice balls would collide with the training dummy, obliterating it where it stood. Snow then exhaled, calming his breathing down and continuing to feel his chakra flow through his body. His chakra felt like a stream in the middle of the arctic, the ice chakra in his body was a welcome addition to his current arsenal. When he was getting ready to set up another training dummy to continue his practice on, he saw that there was another figure in the training grounds. This was one person who he did not recognize, so he was immediately curious. He was sure that the he didn't want to be disturbed, but he did make a mental note on the individual's face so he would remember him in the future.

He turned back to the training dummy he just set up. He formed himself a weapon of ice that this time was a spear. It was only a few centimeters thick, but it was three feet long. He launched the spear and both of his hands began forming the hand seals needed for both the shuriken giant body and the shuriken shadow clone techniques and ended them both with a seal of confrontation. The spears would enter into a cloud of smoke and exit on the other side both giant and numerous. The spears would tear the dummy to pieces and fence behind it.

He felt confident with the speed of the technique and with the power of it. He decided that he was going to take a break for a moment and lean up against the wooden fence behind him, marveling at the thick and green forests that surrounded their village.

WC:442

Sai had gotten a late start to his day. normally he would of been at the training ground from early in the morning, but today he was a little sluggish. He had just learned a new jutsu and was feeling drained from all the training he had been going through. Sai knew though that it was no time to slack off, he still had goals to accomplish. Sai quickly got out of his bed and got ready in his normal atire, he wasted no time in getting out the house. He made sure to grab an orange off of his counter before leaving out his home.

Sai greeted everyone as he walked pass the friendly faces, as he made his way towards the grounds. It made Sai feel good to have so many people take the time out their day to greet him. He didnt have much of a family anymore, so some days the attention gave him an undescribable feeling. It wasent long before Sai arrived to the training grounds, ready to undertake a some serious training. Once he got there he didnt see to many people there that day. There was a genin training by himself and not to Sai surprise his team mate Snow was there.

Sai waved as he walked over to his friend, "Hows the training going my friend", Sai said as he got closer. He was happy to see that he would be training alone today. It had been a while since Sai had trained with Snow. Hopefully they could teach each other something.

Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life. Not that Asahi would set himself on fire, that would turn out quite disastrous. Last time things started to burn it didn't end all too well for the young Meijin after all. Fire that's closest kept burns most of all. But all of that was in the past now. What matters most is how well you walk through the fire. The difference between a good life and a bad life is how well you walk through the fire. Fire is never a gentle master, but either way Asahi had to overcome his troubles and master it himself. What fire does not destroy, it hardens.

As he was concentrating Asahi noticed how another young shinobi was out there training as well. With his golden eyes staring at what took place in front of him, Asahi saw how the boy formed and projected ice towards a training dummy. He remembered learning something about ninjutsu and ice and it then came to him, the young boy was probably a Yuki, a clan famous for their Ice Release. It would be the Meijin's first encounter with one of the Yuki clan, at least he didn't expect to come across one in Konoha. From the looks of it, it seemed that the other boy was ahead of Asahi in terms of skill, meaning he couldn't let himself get behind even more.

Soon after Asahi wanted to return to his own training he saw how another boy showed up. From the way he was acting towards the genin who was training, one that seemed to already be acquainted with the Yuki. At least so he figured. "Must be nice to have friends" was the first thing coming to Asahi's mind before he would pick up his own training once again. If only he had the confidence to walk up to the two boys and introduce himself. Maybe if they would notice him he would be able to talk to them. Yeah, maybe..

WC: 351, TWC: 856)

As Snow leaned on the fence, continuing to marvel at the forests that surrounded Konoha, he thought about the other fellow that was inside the training grounds. The figure was not training, but instead was watching Snow. He wasn't entirely certain if he was sizing him up thinking about challenging him, or if he was actually interested in the massive wall of ice projectiles that he launched into the training dummy in the middle of the section of the training grounds he was in. Before he could think too much about the figure watching, his friend and teammate Sai had walked up to Snow and greeted him.

The figure in the distance had a look of longing and what seemed to be dissatisfied with his personal situation. Snow, being the ever loving of all those who are around him, wanted to invite the figure over to him and Sai's position so they could all either train together or just talk together. He turned to Sai and greeted him, very happy to see his friend. "Hey buddy! You ready to get some training done?" He would then motion over to the individual that was still looking over in Snow and Sai's direction.

"Hey friend! If you are up for it, my friend and I here are looking to get some training done! We're always looking for another friend to join!" Snow was sure that Sai would be okay with having a third join their training session and maybe the two of them, or even Snow and the individual would share an element and be able to learn from each other. He would wait happily and patiently as he waited for the figure to respond to Snow's proposal.

WC:286
TWC:728

Once Sai got closer to Snow he heard snow response. "Hell yea my friend", Sai would say with a smile. He was pumped up to get some good training in, it had been a while since he got to let lose especially since he had learned some new jutsu since the last time Sai had been around Snow. Sai was eager to show of his new jutsu to his rival, wandering if he had something as strong as it. He would notice that Snow was motion towards someone that was apparently watching the two. 

Sai would began to smile and motion for the person to come join them once he had heard Snow offer him to. Sai had never met the boy before and was always ready to meet new people. Meeting new people was always a good test to see where he was power wise against other shinobi in the village. He wanted to be the strongest ninja in the village, so if Sai had to meet and beat every person in the leaf then he would try. As he awaited for the boy to walk over and join them, Sai would begin stretching. He didnt know if they were going to be sparring or teaching each other some new tricks.

Either way Sai was ready for a good day.

Much to his surprise Asahi noticed how the two other shinobi were gesticulating and making gestures towards him, maybe even signaling something. "M-me? You mean me?" Almost stuttering and pointing towards himself he wanted to make sure it was really him they were talking to. Looking around one final time to check if there wasn't anyone else around they could be addressing, Asahi decided to walk closer to the two of them to find out what they could possibly want from him. Shy, yet determined to make a good first impression the Meijin arrived at where the two boys were standing. 

As he was now listening to the young Yuki, Asahi was able to find out that the two of them were looking for someone to join their training and if he would be interested. He wasn't opposed to the idea since he did came to the Training Grounds to improve his current skills, which to be honest were pretty low at the moment. So it wouldn't hurt to learn from the other two shinobi and train together with them. "If that's fine with you guys, sure! My name is Asahi, it's nice to meet you." With a little bow he greeted his fellow shinobi, waiting for them to introduce themselves to him as well.

Earlier on when he was keeping an eye on the Yuki he already saw some of his skills, so he was more or less able to figure out what type of ninjutsu he specialized in. If he wanted to find out more about the other boy he would have to wait for the latter's introduction, or he could just be patient and ascertain their abilities later on during training. One thing he was sure of, they were already more experienced than he was, so he decided to let them know. "Just a heads up, I'm not that experienced so don't expect too much. But I'm willing to learn a lot from you guys." Now that he said that it was only a matter of time before the training could start. 

(WC: 345, TWC: 1201)

The fellow Konoha ninja walked over to Snow and Sai’s location, as Snow had hoped he would. When he got there and began to speak, Snow listened carefully to the voice this ninja used when speaking to Snow and Sai, specifically the voice inflexion and the volume at which he spoke. The ninja, who went by the name of Asahi, spoke with a meek voice, one of subtlety, and one of humility. He was one that was willing to accept the fact that he was in fact new and had little in the ways of experience, this was a positive attribute to this ninja. Humility was something so few members of Konoha owned, and it was a refreshing site to see someone owning this quality. Even his teammate Saizou shared the ideology that he was the top dog, no matter if there was truth to the statement. Not to say his teammate was weak, but he did come off as cocky at times. Especially considering the statement he made about being the fastest out of Snow, Tadashi, Akira, and himself. Even though Snow knew for a fact that both Tadashi and himself were both faster than him.

His mind got back onto the present and he responded to the newcomer to the group, Asahi. “You are more than welcome to train with us. We are not very seasoned ourselves so I am sure we will all grow together.” Snow’s eyes did wander from making eye contact, to noticing the marking on his face, it was a mark that he was unable to tell whether or not it was a burn or birthmark for he had seen both that looked similar in his life. Snow was always one to ask personal questions, but in his sweet and kind way, not that his kindness was a facade, but he just knew that it made people more willing to speak about personal things. He looked back to Asahi’s eyes and commented on the marking. “That is a very interesting mark on your face, friend. Forgive me if I intrude, but is that a birthmark? Or a burn?” Snow then kneeled down and began rummaging through his pack, grabbing a burn ointment that he made from a few different types of berries and mushrooms out in the forest earlier that same morning.

“The reason why I ask friend is not to offend, but merely for the information. If it is in fact a burn, I make a burn cream out of berries, mushrooms, and other things out in the forests that surround the village. This cream will help the stinging of the burn mark, and the pain if it is still a fresh burn wound.” Snow found his cream and he stood back to his feet. He handed Asahi the small amber jar that contained the cream. “You are more than welcome to the whole thing and I could actually teach you how to make it if you would like. I usually go out every other morning to gather ingredients around the forest to make different types of creams, concoctions, elixirs and the like. The forest can get pretty boring at times, plus it allows one to provide medical attention to others without having their medical ninjutsu figured out yet.” Snow would smile at Asahi, patiently waiting for the ninja to take the jar that was offered to him, and respond to the proposal of going into the forests with him. While he wouldn’t be offended if Asahi would answer either yes or no to both proposals, the jar of cream and the gathering lessons. He would simply be content with a no, and happy with a yes so he would have a friend to go out into the woods in the early hours of the day with.

WC:634

"Of course we mean you", Sai would say after listening to the boy piratically stuttering in response to Snow and him inviting him over. Sai was curious to see who this new person was and if they were any kind of strong. Sai knew it would of been an exciting day with just Snow alone, but now that he two people he could work out with it became even better. Sai watched as the boy walked over, introducing himself as Asahi. one could tell that Asahi didnt have much confidence behind his skills, the tone of his voice didnt have any type of pride behind it when he spoke. Sai decided it would be best not to be his normal over confident self. He didnt want to spook the kid to much with, in Sai opinion a God giving talet.

So instead a normal but friendly greeting is something Sai had in mind."Nice to meet you to, im Saizou, and this is my rival snow". Sai said after waiting until Snow was done talking about his medical stuff. Sai assumptions about the boy was right as he had told Snow and himself that he was still inexperience in fighting. That didnt bother Sai much, it just ment he would have someone to train jutsu with. He had a couple fire jutsu that were pretty amazing, and he wouldnt mind teaching someone who was willing to listen. He wasent going to teach anyone if they couldnt control them self and listen.

 Sai thought it was slightly rude that Snow didnt introduce himself but instead started talking about something else. Sai knew Snow didnt mean any harm, he was just trying to be the helpful person that he is. Sai like how nice and caring Snow was, but sometimes a person can be a little to over caring of others. He belived that if the injury was serious or fresh that Asahi wouldnt be in the training grounds. Sai knew how some ninja could be though. Not wanting to give up until they cant move anymore, but to Sai the ninja in front of them didnt look like that type. Sai waited to see what Asahi would say to them.

Asahi wasn't dreaming, he was having an actual conversation with other people besides his grandfather. That's right, the usually shy, timid and insecure Asahi was talking to someone else. Small baby steps, but still progress nonetheless. Even though he was feeling proud he had to make sure to pay attention to what the other two shinobi were saying. He didn't come this far to mess things up by getting distracted. Luckily for the young Meijin it seemed that the Yuki and the other young shinobi were nice people as he was informed that he was more than welcome to train with them. 

His feeling of happiness was soon overtaken by the unavoidable question about his scar. It was to be expected that someone would eventually ask about it but Asahi was still taken aback by it. The young shinobi knew all too well that people would become curious about it when they would see it since it was hard not to notice. But despite that, the Meijin felt a bit uncomfortable as he was being confronted by something he wanted to leave behind, his past. However he had already made the choice that he would not let himself be held back by what used to haunt him.

"You mean this one?" he would answer while softly touching it. "This is a burn scar I got twelve years ago, and a reminder not to be careless when playing with fire." Asahi remained a bit mysterious about how and what exactly took place, it was a bit too early to share such delicate and sensitive information with people he only just met. It would take some time to open up to someone else but being able to talk about it was already a huge step in the right direction for the young Meijin. "It's something I still struggle with from time to time, so forgive me for being so vague about it."

As he was talking about his scar Asahi noticed how the Yuki grabbed something that seemed to be some kind of cream out of his bag. He explained that it was a burn ointment that he made himself and how it could help if the scar would start to ache again. Not only did he offer to give the cream to Asahi, he also proposed to teach him how to make some himself. "That's very nice of you, I might have to take you up on both of those offers." Asahi was glad he ran into someone as nice as them. 

Now that he thought about it, he didn't catch their names yet but luckily the other boy introduced them for him. His name was Saizou and the one who gave him the ointment was called Snow, a fitting name for someone of the Yuki clan. Not only were the two of them friends, it seemed like they were rivals as well. Pushing each other to greater hights. "It's nice to meet both of you. Now that the introductions are over, how about we learn a bit more about what type of shinobi we are? What do you guys specialise in?" A simple question to find out more about Snow and Saizou and possibly an opportunity to learn from them. 

(WC: 540, TWC: 1741)