Stars and Buttons

Kaimera had been set a task, became stronger and there was a deadline attached to it. It was not a small task either, to improve in such a short span of time would take a lot of dedication, hard work, and motivation. Mikaela had hit a local library as his first stop, he wanted to improve his skill with Ninjutsu, and knowledge on the topic in question seemed like as good a place to start as any. He wandered along the dusty shelves; a large array of scrolls lined the old oak shelves.

He came across a piece of literature he had studied in his early academy days, the class had spent many a day trawling through the text. Holding it in his hand brought back fond childhood memories of play, he had not been the most attentive of students, often daydreaming instead of committing to serious study. Kaimera began to read aloud from the scroll in a hushed tone,

"Chakra is essential to even the most basic of Jutsu. Through various methods, the most common of which is hand seals, chakra can be controlled and manipulated to create an effect that would not be possible otherwise, such as walking on water, exhaling fire, or creating illusions." This was all stuff Kaimera already knew, he attempted to come at it from another angle. "Chakra is ordinarily not visible to the unaided eye unless it is highly concentrated or manifested in large amounts."

"Not everyone is born with an equal reserve of chakra, one person may hold a great deal of the spiritual energy while another may not." Kaimera moved over to a sitting area so that he could continue reading, he was certainly seeing this sentence in a different light. His siblings had far more skill than him, even his younger brother and sister were more adept at utilizing chakra. "However, a key to the use of chakra is not only in how much you have but your ability to control and relegate its use, there are many great shinobi who have relied on their superior chakra control alone to conserve energy in a pinch." Kaimera had not recalled this segment at all and now found himself further hooked to the scroll.

The librarian cleared his throat, catching Kaimera’s attention; he was an elderly man with a wispy snow-white beard. "We have a book copy of that scroll, far more detailed if that is something you are interested in. Would you rather check that out for the day? It is far too nice outside for you to spend it all cooped up in here." The elderly gentleman had already prepared all the paperwork for Kaimera to sign the book out, Kaimera bowed in respect as he left with the book eager to reveal its contents. He made his way through the streets of Kirigakure continuing the book on the move, proving quite the task as he had to avoid the occasional pedestrian.

The old man had indeed been right. It was a nice day; the heat of the lower regions had drifted up this far and with a cool breeze also blowing through the island it struck a good balance of weather. Mikaela was feeling a bit peckish as he was studying, picking a direction for the market he headed for a restaurant he had come to like. Delicacies lined the marketplace of Kirigakure, none of these were what he was in pursuit of, however. A small structure compared to many of the other gaudy-looking buildings in this district, it seemed like a poor family restaurant upon entering this was not the case though.

The place was packed as always, it was indeed a family-run establishment but the efficiency and finesse that went into the food made it worth the small wait. He sat at a table and continued reading while he waited for one of the chef's daughters to become free to take his order, the book had him engrossed anyways so the wait was barely noticeable. It contained various training methods for building up a person's chakra and helping to control it more effectively, both of which seemed to go hand in hand.

Kaimera placed his order. It was the same as always, he enjoyed their pork and rice. There was just something so great about the seemingly simplistic dish. He could not place what made it so good which kept him coming back for more, he had become quite the regular here but seldom socialized with any of the other regular patrons. Kaimera was still not keen on interacting with the Kirigakure Shinobi, he did not know them well enough after all.

Kaimera was coming to the final chapter of his book when his food arrived, after saying thanks he tucked into the bowl that had been prepared for him. Every bite was heaven just as he had expected it to be, continuing with his study as he ate it was difficult to concentrate with food this good, but Kaimera would persevere. It seemed exercises as simple as water walking could help strengthen Chakra control, the young Yakedo was a little disappointed as he concluded the book he had hoped there would be more in there. It was a start, Kaimera finished his meal and made plans for his next step in training.

Kaimera had moved his training to one of the public training grounds; it seemed that there were very few people here today. The good weather seemed to bring people out for leisurely activities, rather than something as grueling as the training he assumed. 

The Yakedo channeled chakra to the bottom of his feet as he stepped out into the water, a little unsteady at first, he thought he was going to sink straight down. He stood perfectly still on the water, a bird fluttering loudly overhead breaking his concentration and with it his ability to stay above the water. With a splash the genin was no longer dry, climbing from the river edge he cursed to himself silently. Kaimera had quickly mastered the art of climbing walls and trees with chakra, but he had never taken the time to master water walking. It was a similar yet different beast entirely which Kaimera knew was a contradiction, but he knew the skills from the former would only carry you so far through the latter.

Sending chakra down the bottom of his feet once again Kaimera stepped out onto the water, he felt the energy below his feet repelling him away from the water ever so slightly. Just enough to keep him from sinking but still able to walk along the surface, it was an incredible feat to those not versed in ninjutsu but to shinobi it was a basic yet essential skill to master. Kaimera regulated the flow of chakra through his body in a practiced manner, many hours had gone into getting to this level of control.

Kaimera began walking the width of the river, going back and forth occasionally turning it into a zigzag as he traveled. The entire process was taxing for the young genin, determination was carrying him through in this regard in the past Kaimera would have called it a day. This time was different, he had something he wanted to prove himself not because someone expected it but because he wished it. Kaimera was going to become one of the greatest scorch users and he had a long way to go. Also, he wanted to serve Kirigakure to the fullest extent, he was not sure where this sudden burst of patriotism and feel-good emotions stemmed from but in the present, he paid it no heed.

The genin changed it up a little, moving at a slightly faster pace along the length of the artificial river. This made the journey not only slightly longer but increased the taxation caused by chakra use, he was starting to tire through the constant use. Kaimera had begun to feel the effects of his training settling in on, they were not massively noticeable, but they were present at the least. His footwork had become more stable on the uneven and ever-changing surface of the water, the flow of his chakra down to his feet had become steadier as muscle memory.

It was at this point he began to pick up his pace along the water, sprinting on the surface kicking up droplets as he set each foot down. This movement further unbalanced the liquid surface he was running across, for a moment his footing faltered but a quick centering of self-fixed that. Kaimera dashed to and from the river, occasionally he would spring off the river and back on again to keep his adjustments to the chakra he was supplying to his feet, constantly tweaking. Kaimera kept this up well until the sun began to set, he had taken an occasional break to recover before starting up all over again and it seemed he was eager to stick around all night.

Throughout the night Kaimera was training, with this day drawing to a close that only left four more days. The shinobi sighed outwardly, was the task set by scorch release even possible? Mikaela eventually called it a day and trudged his way home, without any incident he was left in relative peace once he arrived home despite being so late. It was time to rest so training would continue the next day.

Today saw Kaimera in the same ground as before, this time amongst a large series of blocky pillars that created a grid-like pattern. It was here that Kaimera would begin his next training exercise, channeling chakra to his feet he began bouncing around from pillar to pillar increasing in speed until he lost his footing. The sound of his feet crashing into each pillar left a large thudding sound as he pushed away from each stone surface to land on another, once his footing was lost, he would leap towards safety or attempt to regain his footing on a different pillar.

Each time he fell he would reset the speed of it back to a slower tempo and begin to work his way up again, he had seen he do brother use this method in his training it was some kind of punishment system that would just increase the amount of training you needed to do it also meant Kaimera training was more tiresome though.

The Shinobi would proceed to add acrobatics into his movements, performing turns mid-air and somersaults as he darted from pillar to pillar. Kaimera once again felt his grasp over chakra usage tightening, becoming more refined the more he used it, perhaps the task. He still had three days to achieve some results, not only did he want to improve his abilities with ninjutsu but also his repertoire of jutsu alongside it.

His father had suggested that he attempt to increase his ability to learn fire release techniques, Kaimera intended to go a step further than that and branch out into a new style of Jutsu alongside increasing his understanding of scorch release. Kaimera bounced from wall to wall making his way up to the summit of the central pillar, standing up on the stone plateau he admired the view of the training area from here. Reaching into a pouch he pulled out another scroll, it had a red band around the center and was embossed with an artistic rock on the center of the band. 'The Fundamentals of Fire Release' was the title of this particular scroll; a second scroll was taken out alongside the fire release scroll. 

Kaimera spent hours learning from the scroll and it felt like it had taken a toll on the long red-haired genin. So that's when he decided he was going to stop since he just had learned it but the next day he will need to work. Once he learns some jutsu, he can learn scorch release and then try to develop his own style, if that was even possible for him. He shook his head as his stomach started growling. Kaimera laughed at himself as he decided it was time to go eat and jumped off the pillar.

TWC: 2032

Kaimera had found himself by a tree, a place that gave him such a peace of mind and body. A place where he had done all of his previous training, with all of its tranquility, was just not enough this time. Trying to increase the power of his chakra was like trying to put a left shoe on his right foot, it just seemed so far-fetched.

“This is ridiculous; I just don’t get how the Hyuuga's can do it so well, sorrowful.”

He didn't know whether it was the presence of all the noisy river that was beside him that made him lose concentration, or the thought of wasting his time on raising his chakra level he just could not do that made him lose his will, but he decided to take a break from the days long training he had been attempting and go to the hot springs he had discovered when he was a young academy student training in the nearby areas.

The geothermally heated water and constant release of steam had shaped the environment around the spring into a rocky wasteland. The trees were bare skeletons with no leaves, and the continuous flow of water had carved out a small crater in the land and had been conveniently filled with hot water. The hot water would be constantly pumped into the pool from a small crevice on the side of the mountain this spring rested on. The pool however had overflown and given the water some vigorous movement creating a natural Jacuzzi. Whenever the pressure rose in the mountain, a jet of steam would be violently spurted out, which would then lightly descend on the pool, increasing the temperature further but still keeping it bearable.

Upon arrival, Kaimera would take his garments off one by one, neatly folding them and placing them on top of each other, with the small pouch of rose petals resting atop. He’d then advanced slowly into the crater. He’d test the temperature with his toe first and then put a whole leg in, with his body flowing suit. He would try to come here as rarely as possible to sustain the magic of this place had. It allowed him to completely free his mind, but – yet again – he found this time it was different. He was restless. His mind kept thinking, even while his body was massaged by the gently flowing water.

“If they can do it…so, can you,” he said to himself, “there has to be a way, but how…” Steam burst out from the opening in the mountain and descended on the pool, giving the temperature a momentary boost.

“It’s not as if they can be the only great chakra users.” Missing the signs around him, the young ninja would rest his head back on the rocks that lined the edge of the pool; giving it more of an aesthetic feel and making it even harder to believe that this place was created by nature.

His thoughts drifted; as the temperature rose, it seemed to fuel his anger toward the Hyuuga. It disgusted him the way they demanded respect anywhere they went and sat in their cradle of power securely. To Kaimera, they didn’t deserve it – no one deserved it. As he’d slam his fist on the rocks they previously rested on, another jet of steam would surge out of the mountain – this time more violently. That’s when it hit him. Regardless of his doubts, he knew he had it in him to raise his chakra level. He knew for a while. That is why he was here to begin with.

“Fate…you’re still a mystery to me,” he said as his clenched fist eased, and the bubbling in the bath stopped, “now it’s just a matter of utilizing it.”

He was simply raising his chakra level. He needed to focus on it and channel, the way others do. Especially the Hyuuga clan. He now realized he didn't hate the Hyuuga clan. He was just simply jealous of their expert control and power level of chakra. He now knows that even though the hot springs were relaxing, it was throwing him off on how relaxing it was.

Not too long after this discovery, he made his way to one of the only openings in the forest around the Kirigakure training facility. He saw a tree you could run up, or water he could walk on. Kaimera groaned.

“Well, this stuff should help raise my chakra level. Heh, got to start somewhere…”

Taking a safe position well away from the tree, he began focusing his chakra towards his feet. He had seen many shinobi practicing on trees to help the chakra and believing this would help. Using the chakra made him feel strong. He then started walking to the tree and right up the side, with his hands together making a sign. He had placed his left foot and walked onto the side of the tree and stopped in the middle of the tree.

After what seemed forever to Kaimera standing on the tree he began to get tired and decided to drop to the ground. Kaimera decided that he should just camp here since it was getting so late. He gathered pieces of wood to construct a make-shift tent, and some smaller ones to build a fire. He quickly arranged the wood and then carried on patting his pockets down for some flint.

"Ah, here we go," he said as pulled the flint out and placed it over the wood and lit the fire. The wood went ablaze within about 1 minute.

"This fire feels nice," he says as the fire jumps from twig to timber and builds up around his hands from where he left them from lighting the fire, but Kaimera doesn't move. The flames quickly rise and flutter in the wind, the tongues of flames brushing past his hand, even curling between his fingers. This elegant movement makes him realize that this element he had embodied as wild and out of control can in fact be beautiful – like all things. Then his hand started to burn since his hands were still in the fire.

"Time to eat food," he said.

After a well-cooked meal of shrimp and noodles Kaimera would drift away into a well-deserved rest, under the stars, next to the dancing flames.

The following morning, Kaimera would wake up replenished and with an enthusiasm he had never shown toward training his chakra. He’d crawled out of his tent and slowly drew a deep breath. His eyes adjusted slowly to the morning sun as he yawned, stretched, and ran his fingers through his hair before using the same hand to partially shield the sun from his eyes, which were now looking up at the sky. …

Once he fully awakened and had managed to shake out the fatigue of the night from his muscles, he took his position in front of the tree, which had his foot marks on it somehow. "I need a better degree of control over my chakra," he says to himself as he begins to walk up the tree. Once reaching the middle of the tree once more. "Hm, maybe I can raise it by doing a jutsu." Kaimera looked around and saw a bird sitting on a tree branch just above his head. He wondered if a bird could really be affected by a genjutsu. "Well, there is only one way to find out. He put his hands on the right signs.

"Demonic illusion: hell-viewing technique," the Yakedo says and then the bird looked at him and fell over. "Um, what just happened," he says to himself and realizes he doesn't have his chakra holding him to the tree anymore, and falls to the ground, landing on his hands and knees.

Shaking his hands to get rid of the tingling sensation and standing up before the tree. That needs more practice, he thought. Maybe he can control the chakra to his feet and make a jutsu at the same time as the rest of the great shinobi. "Excellent, but I will do this another time," he says to him and with that, it was done there.

After clearing up the camp site, disposing of the ashes and burnt wood into the water and packing his belongings into a satchel, and throwing the said satchel over his shoulder, he’d made his way back toward the village. Smiling peacefully along the way with only the thought of what his parents would think occupying his mind. "This was a great training session for me," he says.

---

It was a quiet night, almost looking like something out of a fairy tale. Kaimera glanced down slowly from the branch he sat upon, the abundance of leaves around him providing him with cover as eyeing the ground beneath him. It was the middle of the night, just after midnight in fact; the star-strewn sky was clear and had a full moon tonight, allowing the dim glow from the celestial body to be cast unhindered onto the area. Said “area” was outside the large compound of his district with widely spaced trees. Kaimera had been resting in the lower branches of a large tree, not high enough to risk injury by falling, yet not low enough for any ordinary person to reach him. 

Kaimera’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the ground beneath him. As he had been lying on the branch with his eyes closed, he had heard a sound below him, in his vicinity. As he was in the middle of a wood in the middle of the night, he was bound to hear sounds from the nocturnal inhabitants of this woodland. However, this sound had been different compared to the rest. It was the sound of humans treading carefully yet with unsuccessful silence over the natural litter of a forest floor. Leaves, twigs, rocks, and many others were unintentionally treading on by a pair of covered human feet. Kaimera’s gaze turned in the direction of the sound. It was approaching slowly, and judging from the number of footsteps he could hear, the source of the sounds was two humans. Pulling himself onto a higher, more secluded branch, Zunair peered through a gap in the leaves at the line of shrubbery from behind which came the approaching sounds.

"Of course, drunk men walking too close to home." He whispered to himself as they continued past the Yakedo compound.

Kaimera pulled out a scroll, one of the many his father gave to him when he expressed how he wanted to learn medical ninjutsu along with his mother's family bloodline trait. Opening up the scroll, he saw contents inside, healing hands, followed by a set of hand signs. He wanted to endeavor further into the process of trying to learn how to do medical ninjutsu. It'd be hard, but it would be rewarding when he finally did manage. His first step is learning how to use the Healing Hands technique and then training it towards a higher level.  Of course, he had to take things one step at a time.

Now he needs something to heal, so he decided no better example than to be himself, as he takes a kunai and cuts the top of his arm as it starts to bleed. Kaimera then performed the hand seals Bird - Boar - Dog, then his hand started glowing green and he put it on his wound. Kaimera watched astonishingly as the wound quickly healed and closed up.

"I guess that is that then," the young Yakedo said to himself.

Kaimera jumped down from the tree and headed into the Yakedo compound. The yellowed-eyed genin wandered into his room and picked up the scroll again, reading it as his eyes narrowed in concentration. He decided he wants to work on that anymore and decided to pick up a book. The title on the cover read “The Wonders of The Eye”. He read silently, absorbed in the text that explained the functioning of the oculus. Frowning, Kaimera placed the book onto the table and leaned back in his chair, playing with his hair thoughtfully as he considered what he had just read.

While the vision was a glorious ability granted to most living organisms, in the case of humans, it was rather lacking. Compared to other animals' man was essentially blind; there were many natural flaws and limitations in a human’s vision. But the one that worried Kaimera the most was a human’s poor night vision trait. In the dark, humans could barely distinguish their surroundings, and for a ninja, such a thing was dangerous. To be incapable of maintaining full awareness of one’s surroundings left one vulnerable to a sneak attack. But there was a way to get past this predicament. Except he had the Kashōgan, which was a power eye dojutsu strictly to his clan. Well, he hasn’t unlocked it yet. He put the book down and decided he wanted to train again with the healing hands technique. He wants to improve on already the amazing jutsu itself. He wondered if he could save lives by learning this jutsu, even in its weakened stage.

Kaimera opened the scroll back up and saw a more advanced version of the technique he wanted to perform. Taking out his kunai, he sliced his arm again but a little deeper. Kaimera followed the instructions and performed the following hand signs Bird - Boar- Dog - Dragon, almost a replica of the first but with an additional hand sign. Kaimera watched as more intensive chakra went into his hand glow more perfidiously than before and he put his hand on his wound and watched in amazement as it started to heal once again. He heard the usual medical ninjutsu is hard to learn but he feels like it's moderately easy. Maybe it is because of his training. How he excelled in chakra control at such a young age. Except now he feels like his energy has been depleted, maybe he isn't that good at chakra control. He wishes he wasn't like that, questioning his talents. He shakes his head.

"I guess it's time for bed, I wonder what techniques I should work on tomorrow," Kaimera questioned himself as he took off his clothes, and turned off his light, crawling into bed. He pondered if should learn another fire technique or continue his medical training. 

EXIT
TWC: 4,433 | Using Strawberry Cake gained from 4th of July Roll | (All jutsu 25% Discount)
New Word Count: 4000x2=8000+433=8433
+50 to Vigor Stat
+25 to Chakra Stat
+9 to Speed Stat
1875/1875 to Chakra Enhanced Strength
1313/1313 to Cherry Blossom Impact
1313/1313 to Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique
1500/1500 to Kashōgan: Stage 1
2063/2063 to Fire Dragon Bullet
369/4000 to Kashōgan: Stage 2

approved.