A budding swordsman

"Wake. It is time to continue the journey I have for you." The voice came to him once again in his sleep. He stirred for a few moments before his eyes shot wide open. He sat up in his bed and he rubbed his eyes for a few moments, thinking about the voice that he had heard. The voice was the same as the one he heard during his last trance, he was sure there was a connection. He swung his feet off of the bed and he slowly shifted his weight from the bed to his feet on the floor. Slowly he rose, rubbing his eyes as he shifted his weight from the bed to his feet. He stood to the side of his bed, and he began to walk towards his bathroom, where he was going to shock his body awake with an ice cold shower for a second.

Shambling over to his bathroom, he thought of the voice that he had heard, the one that had woken him up. He wasn't sure who it was or who it belonged to, but he knew that it was real. It could have been Yuumei itself, and this was something that would excite the boy quite a bit, feeling a direct connection with his deity. After his body was shocked awake he walked over to the mirror so he could start brushing his hair for a few minutes. He wanted to be sure that he was completely ready for the day that he had ahead.

Today's agenda wasn't particularly full for all he wanted to do was to get in a full workout session and practice with his sword a bit before day's end. He walked out of the bathroom and back into his bedroom. He looked over his clothes and he thought for a few moments about just what he was going to do for his breakfast. He knew that he needed to hurry on to the mines so he could get his day started, but he wanted to have something more than just take out.

He focused on his clothes for a moment and he grabbed a beautiful brown button up shirt, with a white vest to cover his shirt. He thought for a moment about wearing something above that, but he decided against it as he pressed the back of his hand to the window and felt just how hot it was outside. He threw the vest on over his shirt and he headed out of his bedroom after throwing on some black slacks. He ventured into the kitchen and opened the fridge, trying to see just what it was that he was going to have for breakfast. After a few moments of searching through the fridge he decided that he was just going to eat some of the leftover sushi that he had made the night before.

He took the leftover ingredients out of the fridge and he threw his sushi together on the counter beside the sink. He scarfed down his sushi and he headed over to his front door. He grabbed his mother's bow and his father's sword, securing them to his body. He threw the quiver's strap over his shoulder, putting his quiver into position on his back. He strapped his sword onto his waist and he readied himself to leave for the training grounds.

He looked up into the sky, soaking in the sunlight as it vigorously embraced him. The heat was something to be taken aback by, but luckily he had been living in this village all of his life, so he was used to the heat by now. Through the heat, he finally found himself in the training grounds. The grounds were especially empty today, at least this early in the morning. This wasn't too surprising as the sun was just beginning to rise. He walked through the entrance of the training grounds and he looked for a place that he felt was just right for a full day of training.

Strolling through the training grounds he found himself in a pretty far off area. There was a few training dummies there, stood up in a row. Beside the dummies there was a rather large oak tree, being about 2 meters thick and standing at a height that the child could not quite measure merely with his eyes. He walked over to the oak tree and he set his weapons by the trunk of the tree and sat down. He decided that a little meditation was in order before he trained, he wanted to be sure to thank Yuumei for the chance that he was being given to hone his skills and to possibly learn something new.

He hadn't been taught by anyone but his parents in the past, so pretty much everything he knew was self taught as his parents had died at a fairly young age. He sat down and had his sword lying across his lap and began to meditate on the words that he have heard during his trances. He thought of all of the things that he needed to learn about his own clan for there was still much to know. His mind was full of all the things that he needed to learn and all of the things that he had yet to do, but he cleared his minds of such worries and concerns and merely focused on the blade that was on his lap. He knew that if he worked hard enough and trusted in himself, he would be able to become more than just a vessel for Yuumei.

He finished his meditation and he stood to his feet. He grabbed his bow and an arrow from his quiver, aimed at the dummy in the center of the station of the training grounds and he let his arrow fly. The arrow plunged into the dummies head, albeit slightly to the side. He drew another arrow, and another. He would keep this up until he ran out of space on the dummy's head, or until he ran out of arrows. He would be excited for what this day of training would bring.

WC: 1028

He had made the decision to stay within hoshi for the time being.

It was something that the elder monk didn't think would happen but because of certain circumstances he wanted to see the growth of two young and promising members of his "family." In the early times of the day his bounties were picked up by a few of the acolytes as he called them to take back to the temple for burial. His overseeing of the two came as a top priority. He didn't know this feeling. It had been far too long since he had felt such a sense of...responsibility? Or maybe it was the old feeling of being a mentor that came back to him. Filling his mind were the old days of Iwagakure and his team...Many of which to this day haunt his mind. The young Mina and her rather presumptuous and rowdy behavior. One Kinkaku....what a young one he was, but filled with ambition. Then the looming days of him being under Echo and the adventures he had. A smile almost formed upon his face as he looked down to his hands, the same hands that attributed to the destruction of his home. Could he honestly ever atone for those mistakes...no this was his new life. One where the Lord Jashin was no longer apart of...and no man owned his service.

Looking up toward the sky he could feel the sun beaming down on him, to many he would honestly look a little pale. He came out only at night due to his own nature, but something about being out in the sun felt almost normal to him. The silent blue hues of his eyes watched people as they came and went through what was known to them as a training grounds. How anyone practiced in an area as serene as this was unknown to him, but then again this was not his home. He could see many people walking past with their headbands displayed proudly. A fond memory of a distant past. He had still kept his Iwa headband no matter how busted up and riddled with scratches it had been. There had been no replacing it because the only place he could is gone. Or maybe he kept it as a form of memorabilia if that still appeased him. To be fair he had still kept the shattered blade that once served as an instrument of destruction for Jashin, but that blade would no longer see the light of day...or the light of restoration.

While Rokuro paid no mind to some of those that were coming in from his perch in a tree, he did see something that made his head turn slightly to make sure. They were never wrong when it came to the blessing bestowed upon the power of Yuumei but even his own form had spoken up," There certainly seems to be an influx of them in the village...how ironic that a Holy city would have so many touched by the darkness," his inner Yuumei confessed into his mental domain. Rokuro barely waved a hand at the statement but it did have some merit. Of the two days he had been here, so far he could count three not including himself. This was definitely an unexpected development. Dropping from the tree, he would dusted his clothing off and began to walk toward the individual, silent at first until the last arrow was spent and then he would speak," A talented gift for the bow you have at such a young age...How you use it means you've had adequate training in it. However you'll need more than a keen eye and stalwart body to unlock that which is inside of you."

621 wc

The last arrow was spent, and the boys conditioning was beginning to show as he was sprinting back and forth to gather them. He was working on proper arrow control as he held three or four arrows in his hand and he would quickly load his bow and fire them in rapid succession. After his fourth or fifth run on doing this, he noticed that there was an individual approaching his side. He didn't pay too much attention to the individual as he was sure that he wasn't going to be coming to talk to him, for there was no reason for it. He thought this until the individual stopped and watched him shoot through his last set of arrows. 

The boy looked over to the approaching individual as he began to speak. He spoke in a way that sounded like he had been around for a while, the type of individual that had seen much of the world. It was slow and steady type of voice that would only be attained by living a life full of experiences, or at least that was his impression of the man. The words he spoke were very kind at first, complimenting his ability with the bow. He had spent many hours with his mother's bow, and he was appreciative to have received kind words from a stranger to him. What he said afterwards brought a question to the boy's mind. The man spoke of unlocking something that was inside of him, and for some reason he felt Yuumei's influence begin to creep to the surface of his skin, as if it was bubbling from within his body, trying to get out.

For a moment he was still, trying to keep a grip on his inner turmoil and darkness. He then responded to the man, "Forgive me, sir. But what is it you mean by 'inside of me'?" He would ask in a curious tone, for this was a curious individual. He had a sword on his hip, so the boy instantly knew that he had a call to the world of weaponry, as he did. But this individual spoke of his weapon, even in just a few sentences, like he knew so much about his bow and the skills it took to be truly exemplary. Being that he was just a young child, he was drawn to the man, as he had no instructor, so he had hoped that this would be a lesson that he would be able to hold on to. 

WC: 421

He looked at the boy for a moment as he chuckled lightly and pointed at him directly," That feeling. The creeping like something is wanting to come out of your skin...Do you not know what it is? The feeling you get as if something..someone is talking to you? Something guiding or nurturing you for a future you are uncertain for," he could see that the young male didn't know what he had been talking about so maybe a little demonstration would be better. Taking in a deep breath he would exhume a huge quantity of Meiton around him similar to a display of overwhelming power. For those that walked passed them noticed nothing, but the young Shinkou would see nothing but blue and black wisps forming into a picture of what looked like a tall man with a club, piercing blue eyes that leered down upon him with no facial expression.He would wait for just a moment before bringing it down and back into his body.

His hands would go behind his back as he smiled an waited for a moment before speaking," You have a gift inside of you though...i do not know where it comes from. We're you born with this gift of ours or maybe...one of your parents bestowed it upon you from child...Curious," the man knew that not every ritual for the bestowal of Yuumei was done in the temple of the Abyss but lately he had been coming across those who had came about it in rather...unique ways. One had it since birth...a complete transfer or maybe the greater Gods saw fit to grant him it. What the reason was he could not fathom, but maybe this was his reason for being here.
288 wc

This man knew something that Kurayami didn't, this was all to clear when he began to talk to him about the feeling of having someone or something inside of him desperately trying to get out. His eyes would widen slightly as this complete stranger would perfectly describe the plight that he had been having for his entire life. His parents always told him that he was "especially touched" by their deity, the great and powerful Yuumei. He never knew exactly what it was that they meant, but made a lot more sense when this stranger spoke.

He wasn't even sure what to say in this moment, the feeling intensified when the individual seemed to focus his energy outwards, to which his eyes had suddenly intensified, causing a searing pain to rip through his head as he suddenly saw the world in a much different light, or at least, different than he did before. He saw a giant aura of sorts floating above him, but it wasn't any ordinary gathering of chakra, this chakra was far different. It was more sinister and dark, rather than just powerful chakra like what was expected when someone desired to show their strength and chakra potency through a mere show of force.

When he saw the chakra force its way out of the stranger's body, he immediately had the idea that this individual must have been a member of his clan, afflicted with the same curse or blessing that he was given before he was even born. Feeling like the stranger was truly reading his mind, the moment he was thinking about how he was given this affliction prior to his birth, the stranger had asked just when he had received this affliction, the influence from Yuumei. He thought for a moment, looking at the stranger's aura now stowed within his body once more, then finally he spoke.

"I am familiar with that feeling, I go into these episodes of sorts where I am far different, far more irritable and negative. I go into a place within my mind that is dark and sinister, I have dreams of a shadowy figure that shared the same feeling as the aura that just surrounded you. This has been something that has happened to me for as long as I can remember, when I was born my parents told me that I was especially touched by the mighty Yuumei. I haven't been able to explain just what that meant." He thought for a moment, rubbing his eyes as he could still feel the chakra rushing into his eyes. 

"I have never seen such an aura, honestly I have never even seen chakra in such a plain form as that. I felt a surge of chakra rush into my eyes, and suddenly I could see." He began rubbing his eyes as the pain was now over and the surge of chakra seemed to have ceased. 


"I can't truly explain what had just happened, but it seems to me that you may just be able to do that. Am I safe to assume that you are a member of the Shinkou clan?"

WC: 522