Training once more.

The day was a cold one, as the late winter wind had blown through the large open training field, it was bitter in it's nature, as is all forms of cold one would think. Today wasn't anything special for most people, though that may explain why the training field laid barren, for someone in particular it was yet another opportunity to prove herself, one rarely give to her. Despite his caring that persons father was strict, and cruel, and while it was all in the name of love, it hurt all the same, walking into the training field, Xena's coat, a staple of her attire since her academy days was taken off, for now she just wanted to let the cold in, she'd need it today, perhaps it would remove the bitter sting of what was to happen soon, she had arrived a good 10 minutes early, with hopes to prepare herself accordingly, get into the proper mind set, among other things. Perhaps she was far too predictable however, simply hearing a voice, one that could only be described as calculating and foreboding, it echoed around her before she traced it to a singular point, behind her, what that voice had said was simple. "Too arrive early, and like this, is disappointing." The words were cold, and sharp too the ears, she had been called out, seeming unprepared, she wasn't sure if she should even turn around, that might begin this awful day the moment she'd even begin to turn. So she waited, her eyes seeming to waver as she stared at the training field, a paralyzing feeling over her, she had fought this man on multiple occasions, most would leave her wounded, it was almost insulting that the simple voice of his could paralyze her like this, the world grew slow before she simply began to turn, reaching for her belt at the same time, her belt had a scabbard attached to it, inside was her Ninjato, but it likely wouldn't matter, before she could even unsheathe the sword she felt it before seeing it, a decisive attack from the side, her jaw had gotten struck, perhaps waiting for so long wasn't a good idea, it would of allowed them to walk up close to prepare for her to turn around, would they really do that she wasn't sure. But her father never did stick to one way of doing things.

As she had been effectively knocked to the ground in a single punch breaking into a roll, she tried to get back up looking directly to the direction of where the punch had came from, and there he was, he hadn't moved after punching her, something she could only take as a sign of mercy, though she wasn't about to just lay down and die, now taking the chance to draw her sword again, it was honestly her only chance considering they had taken a agreement back home that this fight wouldn't include jutsu's. Preparing herself again the most she could even do was shove her sword in front of her, that kneejerk reaction being due to her father now beginning to move towards her, he was fast, far faster then she ever was or could be as far as she knew, and that kneejerk reaction was only detrimental herself, once again leaving her sides open. And it wasn't long before she'd feel the penalty of doing so, as her father would seem to flicker slightly to the side a jab reaching into the opening slamming hard into Xena's ribs, any more force and it would of likely shattered them, with a swift duck to avoid the sharp cutting motion Xena made with her sword in reaction her father would drop quickly to the ground performing a sweep kick with his leg, easily ripping Xena's feet from the ground sending her back. He could of kept going, frankly he should of in Xena's eyes, though once again he had backed off, waiting for her to get back up, she was growing clearly upset, likely at her lack of ability to really do anything, she's almost never been able to put up a fight, the only times being when her father held back immensely, getting back up using her sword to push herself up she decided maybe she should just try going on the attack, seeing how being on the defense was leaving her to getting pummeled like this, slowly she looked around a bit before with somewhat reckless abandon she'd dash towards the man, her sword held tightly as upon getting close she'd likely swing, the blade seeming like it'd reach it's mark only for her to be met with a painful response, obviously due to her way of holding the sword she left her torso ridiculously open, it was almost pitiful, and obviously her father would capitalize onto it, slamming a palm into her sternum knocking the wind out of her lungs due to the pressure squeezing them before with a heavy kick slamming into her hand, her sword would be removed from her hand flying across the field into a nearby wall, lodged about half way in, her hand wouldn't fair very well, a nearly shattered hand wasn't the worst she's succumbed from these 'training' sessions with her father though. Getting back up the pain in her hand was immense, she couldn't even really move it that well, it was likely something broke from that kick, no wonder considering the force in it.

As Xena slowly came back too after she had stumbled back and regained her breath she didn't have much just but to take this into hand to hand, she was always told by her father if she was in a fight, to fight with the intent to kill, which could be considered a no brainer, but did she truly want to kill someone like her father, did he want to kill her was the better question clouding her mind, moving forward again she really only had her fists to work with at this point, now entering close range with the man, the height difference was finally noticeable, he was at least a foot or two taller, and definitely leaner then her, as she swung namely for the neck due to it being the most sensitive spot in the body in her mind she watched as her hand was simply grabbed before the man just stated. in a disappointed tone. "Were through here, it's clear you've yet to learn anything." Those words certainly cut deep, she thought she'd learned a lot as of recently, maybe it was simply taijutsu wasn't her cup of tea, unlike her father who had specialized it for most of his life, she didn't really have a choice but to concede however, maybe that was the wrong call, should she really just give up again, as she thought that she noticed her hand let go of before the man had simply vanished, likely using the body flicker technique or some other way of moving faster then the eye could see, or at least then her eyes could, her heart had simply sunk at this point, believing she was finally worth something only to once again be shown how little she was. It stung deep, deeper then the pain in her hand at least, she wanted to just sit down, lay down and cry but she didn't know if anyone was watching, even then that would just be humiliating to do even at home, though, as her legs quivered she dropped to her knees and just looked at the ground, contemplating herself, and well as if what she's been training for really matters when the older shinobi clearly were so much stronger then herself, she didn't know what to do at this point placing her hand on her leg to hopefully provide it some comfort as she looked at it, it was likely sprained, if it were broken she'd be crying most likely, broken bones just hit differently.

WC:1337

A cold front had rolled in just like it had every day since the start of the winter, Jecht by this time was more then use to it and even if he wasn’t he could just circulate fire chakra through his body to warm it up that way. Regardless of the weather it was time to continue his daily routine, an early morning with light breakfast and cleaning readying for the run to the training fields. How many years had it been since he had started this routine? How many days and nights had he spent sticking to such a rigid training regime?

Jecht didn’t feel like it was enough, if he was able to he would gladly make this something he did at all times bar any sleeping or eating, but he was human and he enjoyed his rest and food. His rest and food is a part of what drove him to wake up early and train so that he would be tired and if he was tired he could eat delicious food and grab a quick nap before going about his day to continue his life. All things he did seemed to work towards fulfilling his own desires and Jecht felt that was the best way to life ones own life. Doing things for the good of others could be beneficial as long as you felt it was, if you were forced to help others you wouldn’t see the good in it you would only be annoyed and grow to dislike those who only needed a helping hand.

Moving on from the more philosophical thoughts of the morning it was time to find a good spot to train at in this massive area. Jecht was used to the place being quite barren in the morning even more so in the winter chill but he could hear people training even now, it sounded like a fight of sorts probably some early morning sparring or at least that is what Jecht hoped for. Sometimes people came here to and called beating up someone “training”, to give them some moral standing ground if confronted. A sad sight to see, the lack of intention to better the person being trained, the break down of a person’s sense of worth and self by the constant barrage and pain. Its not what training should be, Jecht isn’t one to coddle those he trains but he only agrees with harsh training while it has a point. Learning to survive on your own in a dangerous woods filled with dangerous critters? Sure, as long as their was someone to step in as needed to stop the worst from happening and even then its situational. Spar with a person who is wholly under your level without holding back? Sure, as long as you intend to show the difference in strength and give them a goal to strive towards then help them on that path. Show them the way to become better.

There should always be a reason for a training session. A goal, guidance, some form of plan. Training just to train only works for those who wish to Retain what they have already learned. A man passed by Jecht as he approached the sounds of what had sounded like fighting or sparring of some sort, they barely spared a glance at one another. Moving into the clearing Jecht noticed someone still there, a young girl looking a bit worse for wear with long black hair. A moment of recognition came to Jecht at it seemed that this girl was Xena, a young shinobi he had worked with on some prior missions. The one that was said to be training to split the very mountains. It didn’t look like she had done well in whatever had happened here, now Jecht connecting the man from earlier to her partner in the training. Probably her father or some relative.

“Well don’t you look like someone blew out your candle in the middle of the night.” Jecht said as he approached, looking her over more seeing if there was anything that needed some form of medical care as he was able to heal some basic things now with his own training. “Are you harmed anywhere that needs immediate care? Can’t be splitting mountains if you can’t move your body.” He offered a slight jest but with genuine concern. He knew some parents harshly trained their children especially here in this village, all for the betterment of the next generation but sometimes Jecht wondered how much of that is just pure abuse and poor communication skills of the older generation.

Regardless he would start to heal Xena as best he could while staying out of her “bubble” to not impose She would speak to him when she was ready to and Jecht was in no rush to be anywhere else.

WC: 810

So, that's just how it is then, she got the soul beaten out of her and her father again just left her, was this truly just tough love, she couldn't really tell herself what the truth is, for she didn't have eyes that could see through deceit, and as far as she could tell, that made her father hardly consider her worth his time anymore, how was she meant to improve like this, the thoughts were killing her, her eyes wavering, a glossy film covering them, she wanted to just take a day to sulk, with that thought her body collapsed to the shoulder now laying on the ground, thinking while her body recovers from being turned into a punching bag, perhaps she should buy some armor. Would cushion her rib cage at least from being caved in by all the Taijutsu experts around her, it seems everyone she's met specialized in hitting people really hard, guess its a sound strategy, people have been breaking each others skulls open for millennia, only learning how to improve in doing so, she just wasn't the strong type to do that she supposed.

The air chilled around her as she felt herself slipping out of consciousness, maybe she could just take a nap here, she was alone, and her body was just tired, of everything, though as she was about to let the gods of sleep take her she heard a faint voice, her eyes opening softly to view the source, it was a man, her blurred vision wasn't able to make it out, they were bright, perhaps the sun was just at a strange angle, slowly sitting up again she could barely hear the man, how long had her ears been ringing before she finally noticed she wondered, with the whiplash of being ping ponged around the training field she assumed she possibly had a concussion, that's likely why she felt so out of it, looking again at the person she squinted trying to sharpen her vision, it helped enough for her to recognize the man, someone she had done a mission with at one point.

"I'm... I don't know..." The girl would simply state trying to get her vision straight, before looking at her hands, she needed to get something to help her, perhaps a Genjutsu, she had heard of people using Genjutsu to train without moving or hurting each other, some used it to feel out their enemies before the true battle, but she didn't need that right now, what she needed was to not be a living rag doll to every taijutsu user she's ever met, perhaps some wall techniques could give her more space to work, it would cut off those who tried to approach suddenly, placing a palm over her right eye so leaned against her arm now as she looked back up to Jecht. "I... probably just have a concussion... It's fine really... He's done a lot worse before..." She'd say trying to justify her fathers actions as being out of love for her and wanting her to improve, she trusted her father far too much to assume the man would just hurt her for the sake of hurting her, though even her mother keeps her distance from her father at times, perhaps he has moods, she wasn't entirely sure.

Slowly the girl tried to get up, while Jecht was trying to help her, why she wondered, he could of just walked passed and left her, so why did he decide to come help, she couldn't answer that herself and would never ask that question to someone helping her, it was likely just a token of kindness as acquaintances, which made her somewhat happy at that thought, her legs had trembled as she stood up, it's to note she wasn't wearing her usually edgy as hell jacket trench coat thing, instead just in a simple one piece attire, she didn't think she'd need her jacket, it would of just been something else to grab on to and easily force her around with, as she stood her sword that had gotten thrown across the training field and embedded into a third of the way into a tree would finally be noticed by her. "Fu... frick." She'd just mutter, slowly thanking Jecht before walking over to try and pull it out, the blade was hardened but it still surprised her it hadn't snapped like a twig being sent into a tree that hard, her sheathe was still at her waist line in a loop on what would be her belt.'

Her hand gripped the handle slowly pulling, using a leg against the tree to add leverage, but as to be expected the sword was stuck extremely well, could she just burn the tree down, most likely, but that would ruin the blade and sword in general, or at least she believed it would, perhaps she should just stop using the sword, she's already tried 6 separate times only for it to be immediately disarmed or avoided she honestly questioned why she even carried it around at this point, it was heavy, cumbersome and over all just a pain in the ass, maybe she should buy a tanto, that would be far easier to carry around places, though it would offer her much less coverage with such a short blade, all those thoughts however didn't matter right now, what she needed to do was pull this sword out of the tree, her father could of at least done that for her before he left, but it seemed he was in a rush was her guess, considering how quickly he made this session end. Finally she had given up after a solid minute of pulling with little budging, was she just that weak, sure the blade was deep in the tree but it was like this was a sword in the stone, you don't need to be worthy to pull a damn sword out of a tree did you. Maybe her father would say she did, maybe that's why he hadn't helped.
WC:1012 TWC:2349

There wasn’t much for Jecht to do for Xena in concerns to her family life as he didn’t have much say or authority to interfere with that situation. He could do something if he had been here just a bit earlier but even then that would have been a stretch so he simply continued to heal Xena back to full physical health. It would at least allow her to move easily and be able to do whatever it was they needed to do for the rest of the day. Though it seemed that it had really messed with the young girl mentally which wasn’t a surprise as being “trained” in this fashion by your father it seems can always cause some issues.

It would seem that Xena had some issues with removing her sword from the Tree it had been implanted into, Jecht would walk over and remove the weapon from the tree and hand it back to her. “How about I train you in something that will help you expand your options of things to use against enemies?” Jecht offered as he looked at the young girl. If he had to guess she probably had an affinity for Lightning Element jutsus. “What elements do you have control over?” He asked, he knew most people in the Village tended to lean towards Fire at the least spreading out into others as time went on. “I can teach you how to harness Lightning or Fire if you haven’t learned how to control either of those.” He wasn’t sure how much he could actually teach Xena due to not really knowing her that well to know what kind of fighting she specialized in or what elements she wielded.

Regardless he was more then ready to offer to train her in at least Fire or Lightning control and then they could expand further after they had completed that. It would be a shame if she already knew how to handle both of those elements.

WC: 331

The cold breeze going through the training area brushed over Xena, without her jacket she felt most of it, she didn't exactly wear normal clothing under her jacket, it was more a partial jump suit for mobility, something her mother made her, so why wouldn't she wear it, though that had nothing to do with the situation Xena had currently found herself in, her sword had been wedged into the tree, the handle half way in the tree with the blade sticking out of the other end, it was frustrating in all honesty, why did she even carry this stupid sword anymore she continued to question herself, her eyes sinking downwards a bit as she thought to herself, this has just been a awful day in general by the seems of it, perhaps she should try to take a break she thought to herself, as she circled the tree, looking for a way to safely remove the sword, thought her sight was averted once she heard Jecht approach again, he was still here, she wondered why, he helped her sure but, she expected him to just leave afterwards, people don't typically stick around.

She stepped to the side a bit as Jecht approached, now just watching him as he removed the sword from the tree, she sighed quietly, having taken it back after it was offered, what might this man want she questioned, only for that thought to be answered rather quickly, he said he could train her, to use lightning style no less, a interesting thought to which she enjoyed very much. "I... currently only have fire style yeah..." She'd mutter quietly looking around a bit.
WC:277 TWC:2626

The clear discomfort of Xena could be seen by anyone with working eye’s and half a brain cell, luckily Jecht had two eyes and at least a handful of working brain cells. Though this wasn’t going to make him stop trying to help the young woman, he fully believed that those of the older generation should pass on knowledge and experience to those younger so that each generation is an improvement. Xena muttered about how she knew Fire release so Jecht could at least train her in the usage of Lightning. That brought a smile to his face.

“Good it looks like this old man can still teach you something.” He said as he gave her and him some room between them. Holding up his hand above his hand he started to generate Lightning Based Chakra as it sparked and arced, “This is what Lightning Release looks like when it has no guidance. When applied you can use it in various ways like so.” Jecht explained as he focused and executed the technique called Blue Oni: Scatter which caused the generated Lightning on his hand to shoot off and form a 360 degree arcing field that pushed itself out to 10 meters stopping a good 5 meters from Xena to keep her from being caught in it. The field stayed maintained and held its position as Jecht lowered his arm and moved around, “This technique has the ability to stop people within in to give those like myself time to close the distance.” Jecht explained as he exited the field, focusing on maintaining it as a source of Lightning Chakra for Xena to visually see and sense.

“Now this source should be big enough for you to be able to sense the chakra itself to meld and attune your own to it.” Jecht explained some more. “What you will need to do is sense the field and feel how the Lightning Chakra moves and acts and like with melding normal chakra into Fire to do the same into Lightning.” He offered further. “We got plenty of time to work on this so don’t rush yourself and take your time.” Jecht finished with some good-natured jesting. Jecht wasn’t sure if he would be or currently was any good at teaching people things of this nature as he tended to just figure it out himself but he hoped that what he did offer could get Xena on at least the right path. Regardless he would simply continue to maintain Blue Oni: Scatter till he couldn’t then they would move to something else.

WC: 430

[Used Blue Oni: Scatter at C-rank. Ap cost of 20. AP total: 1010 > 990]

Xena had her eyes focus on the man, he seemed genuinely excited by her response, why was something she couldn't tell, perhaps he always wanted to be a teacher but was never able too, or perhaps he wanted to simply teach other's for the sake of it, it wasn't like she was in a position to question it. She simply leaned on the tree her sword got stuck in before sliding down it into a sit, her legs somewhat crossed, her hands placed on them. This would definitely help her surprise her father, she knew that, she's never been able to wield another release, but if she can here, well then that would offer her a chance to finally win for once in her life, as the man stepped away she assumed he needed space, was he about to release something large she wondered, her legs now curled up before she hugged them, placing her head and chin on her knees. Continuing to simply watch Jecht, hoping she could get something out of herself while watching, she knew of her clans ability to copy jutsu's but you needed the Sharingan to do so, it was so annoying that she couldn't just do that without them.

Thinking about it Lightning was a lot like fire, super heated energy capable of scarring and destruction, yet it can also be so very pretty, watching it arc around and flow through things, though it definitely wouldn't be pretty to observe someone get roasted by it. Ignoring that thought for the time however Xena refocused to see Jecht had created a Lightning Field while explaining it's uses and how he did so, seemed somewhat simple to her, maybe she'd be able to arc lightning into her sword, could help her from having it get disarmed every 5 seconds. "That's... actually really cool.." Xena would mutter as the electricity would stay, likely to help her get a feel for what lightning style felt like, standing now she didn't want to waste Jecht's time not at least trying, she stepped over observing the field before holding her hand out, her eyes closing as she simply began to sense, the sound of the electricity felt deafening, it somewhat hurt, though she ignored it, her hand simply trying to gain that energy, that sense of current you could say. It was a slow process, she'd likely of already been done using it if she wasn't a total failure, though as she continued to try forming electricity chakra into her hand her thoughts somewhat drifted away, back to her father and what she could do against him, he was always so lethal at close range, will this really help her keep him off of her, maybe she didn't have too, though the sound of birds suddenly blew into her ear drums, was that really birds she wondered, opening her eyes to view what had happened, only to find her hand had been consumed in electricity, it was arcing through her body as well, she felt like she had to move, sprint even, it was almost a demand, and was enough to force her to move.

Her legs moved automatically at this point the lightning arcing around her hand making the shattering sound of birds chirping as it was rammed into large boulder across the field leaving a large hole inside of the boulder, what even was that, she could barely control her movement, she felt like she was going so fast she'd fall and kill herself, was all lightning style jutsu like that she questioned before looking at the rock she just carved half of off. There was no denying it's power at the very least looking at her hand though it became singed, burn marks across her hand and lower arm, she definitely didn't do that right did she, it was at least a jolt to get her back into the swing of things, standing up looking around at the rubble carved off of the rock, wasn't rock supposed to conduct electricity, that's the only reason she directed it into that rock, well at least nothing else got destroyed as far as she knew, looking back only to realize it seemed she dragged a long through the ground without even realizing, was she really that close to the ground when she was running. It was certainly a surreal thing to view. Her legs felt like they were shaking looking down they actually were, and then she felt them give out falling to her knees, this might be harder then she originally realized considering this feeling.
WC:766 TWC:3392 UWC:2892

Mid-Thread Claim
Lightning Style - 500/500 (ATF plus Taught Discount = 75%)

Approved @ Xena

Jecht maintained the field of lightning in the clearing watching Xena, seeing what she was doing and how she was going about making the lightning chakra her own to be able to call it when she needed and use it how she wanted. Jecht also wanted to make sure that nothing caused any harm to the young woman, sometimes the chakras could be violent to those who wanted to wield them. Though it looked like there wasn’t much to worry about as Xena showed an affinity with the element as she took the time needed to feel the chakra and make it her own. Jecht noticed there seemed to be minor hiccups in her concentration and while he couldn’t read minds he felt like it had something to do with whatever happened between the old man he had passed and Xena.

The noise of bird’s chirping filled the air slowly and the as if the clearing around them were filled with them, the source of the noise coming from Xena and her hand coated in the Lightning Chakra. Jecht smiled it was always great to see someone pick up something you are teaching, to see that growth in person was a sight to behold. Then Xena became moving, at least it was a job then it quickly turned into a sprint. Jecht watched her looking to see what she could be charging so suddenly, he almost expected to see that old man returning for another round of whatever happened. Jecht started to move as if to stop Xena but he continued to trace her path and watched as Xena pierced a boulder nearby. Clearly something in her told her to go about things that way, it wasn’t bad per say as Jecht had seen people in the joy of learning something new go a bit haphazard with excitement.

Xena seemed to have tired herself out as Jecht made his way over to her, “Lightning sure gets the blood pumping don’t it?” He said as he crouched down with his arms hanging over his knees balancing himself on his feet, “You seem pretty spent, Would you like to continue training or would you like to call it quits?” He offered as he raised his hand out towards her, focusing his chakra to his hands to send to Xena healing any basic bruising and cuts. If she needed something more for broken bones he would have to use one of the medical jutsus he knew but for this basic stuff he would be fine.

WC: 422
TWC: 1993

With a bit of a sigh as the electricity would seem to die down she questioned what else she could do with it besides run across a field with it and shatter a rock she didn't even mean to shatter. looking up towards the approaching man, jecht she smiled a bit happy to have someone willing to teach her something like this, it was a nice feeling, learning without being used as a rag doll, though she supposed that her father still had her reasons, perhaps she could make something out of it. A spear or something to keep enemies back, or perhaps she could just learn how to actually use taijutsu properly, that'd likely help quite a bit as well, but she didn't really want to specialize in it that's for sure.

The man walked over commenting how lightning chakra felt, to her it felt like a flow that would often overpower her, based on this single experience, to him it simply made is blood pump, perhaps its different based on how it's applied, hers was likely very smally applied compared to his, though she needed laughing a bit. "It definitely feels much different from using fire style." She'd comment changing the way she was sitting to be more comfortable. Though then Jecht asked if she wanted to continue, she wasn't really sure at the moment. She didn't even really eat before this, she figured it'd get punched out of her most likely, it probably would of in all honesty. "Honestly... I'm feeling a bit tired right now, you wanna get something to eat or something?"


WC:267 TWC:3659 UWC:3161

Exit
WC Claims
Perfected Illusion2500/2500
Mind Read250/250
Fear Pull 250/250

Stat Claims
31
25 Into Chakra
6 into Vigor