Ouki na Chigai (The Big Difference)

Himari's Stats:

It's around midday when at the time Himari received the letter Nozomi left behind at their house. The details are vague and the only specifics mentioned were to meet at the Hyuuga District past 1 PM where one of the clan members will direct her toward one of the dojos. Knowing her mother expects Himari to be prompt and there are roughly 20 minutes left on the clock before her first scheduled lesson begins, she quickly tidies herself up, gathers her belongings after they've been accounted for, and bolts out the door, barely closing it behind her, toward her clan sector.

There's an odd rush of exhilaration and nervousness. The last time she can recall having formal training with her parental figure was a month prior to her graduation as a Genin, consisting of a grueling series of exercises, mostly due to the nature of them being related to chakra control. And even after, the ceremony itself wasn't that long ago, but with how much has happened since then and the preparations involved to condition her form and figure, it wouldn't surprise anyone to understand the source of her giddiness. Today marks the day she formally receives her training as a Hyuuga clan member proper and she aims to excel in whatever obstacles today brings.

By the time she arrives at the front entrance of the district, greeting the few already there at the time, she trots further inland in the locale before, shortly after, a man dressed gray-ish black kimono and off-white hakama greets her and guides her to one of the partially vacant dojos. When he slides the shouji open, she finds the place void of anything aside from its minimalistic aestheticism of brown, beige, and white, and 10 meters away toward the opposite side of the dojo, a familiar, long, black-haired figure dressed in a navy blue and white accented kimono seated in a Seiza position. The woman, with an open palm, gestures dismissively and the man soon departs from the scene.

"You're early. By three minutes," She starts, motioning with the same hand to Himari as the girl replicates the same sitting posture and now the distance between them is five meters. "Good. With what little time remains before we begin our first lesson, tell me, how've things gone since your recent team inauguration?" And the duo spent the last three minutes divulging the typical day-to-day affairs in their lives, catching up with one another to speed until the clock's large hand struck 12, and the little hand rests at one.

The lesson now begins.

"You've shaped up to be a competent student since you've graduated, Himari. I'd expect nothing less from a descendant of our clan. However," She shuffles and rises to her feet in one fluid motion and tucks her hands into the sleeves of her outfit. "In order to truly embrace your lineage, you'll have to prove to me you have what it takes to carry the family name. Rise."

And the young Genin rises, although not with as much grace. "Today's lesson is simple, but do not let that mean it will be easy. I will push you further than I ever have when you were an academy student and test the limits of your capabilities to their fullest." Nozomi briefly closes her eyes as multiple veins bulge outward running along her temple to near the outer edges of her eyes. When she reopens them, the once featureless gaze now shows a semi-defined pupil at the center. "We will first work on awakening your Byakugan. A Hyuuga isn't a proper Hyuuga if they're unable to use the gift granted to us by the kami. And only then will I bestow to you our esoterics."

And to her non-existent surprise, what she'd put off for so long finally comes full circle to announce its presence as the elephant in the room. Nonetheless, it's a quintessential step to fully utilizing the full skill tree of what the Gentle Fist had to offer. So far, she'd been reliant on the stringent memorization exercises to map the general locations of each tenketsu in the human body, but could only successfully account for at least half of them that exist considering their diminutive size. If she wants to make full usage out of the abilities taught, she'll have to confront her arch-nemesis: ye ole chakra control. Nozomi, on the other hand, remains unmoving.

"I will monitor the flow of chakra with my own Byakugan and inform you when yours emerges. But, it is up to you to recognize and familiarize yourself with the feeling upon its awakening for future use. You may begin."

Himari performs the Ram hand seal, carefully kneading a pool of chakra from a mixture of her stamina reserves and spirit. Understanding that due to the precise nature of Byakugan, she opts to funnel in a small quantity to flow toward the nodes that surround her eyes. Initially, there's a reverberating, burning pulse that travels through her head followed by a slight tingling sensation around her eyes. Now, it's simply a matter of playing a game of "Hot and Cold" with how much chakra was too much, too little, or just right to active the dōjutsu. While she steadies the flow, a stalwart voice rings.

"Too little. Do not act as though it will bite you, Himari. You'll never activate it that way. More."

And more she does. She attempts to knead, weave, and add to her current pool. This time, she musters a larger pool and the sensations prior intensify. The once burning feeling magnifies to a soothing warmth, and the tingling sensation expounds to an odd itch.

"Too much, you're now wasting valuable chakra that could've been used for other techniques. Focus, Himari. Focus."

And focus she does. She approximates the level she invested prior to when she added too little and too much and, with her tutor's guidance, continuously narrows down the flow needed until a familiar though uncomfortable pulsation makes itself known. When she opens her eyes, she sees the environment and everything around her with a newfound clarity. Her vision focuses on her mother as her chakra network and the faint glow of blue ebb and flows through her body, noticing a larger glow centered at her head. She blinks and instinctively looks toward her sides but her vision never changes perspective, nearly everything around her is given a panoramic viewpoint to her without sacrificing any attention to detail and clan members that reside within the district, save for the gray spot located at the first cervical vertebra.

"Very good." Nozomi remarks with a nod. "You felt it, right? How it feels to awaken your Byakugan. Remember it, for it will lay the foundation for everything else I will teach you today."


A little later…

"Your next exercise will be a test of your combat prowess."

"Wait," Himari stammers. "Here?"

"Yes. Here. If you're concerned about the possibility for any damages, I assure you, it won't come to that except much later in the day. For now, I will measure your talent thus far solely in Taijutsu and nothing else. Understand?"

Himari nods. "Yes, Mom."

"Good." Nozomi smirks, shifting her torso toward one of the walls perpendicular, her backfoot shuffling to face said wall prior, and outstretches one arm trained toward the young Hyuuga's body and the other tucked away behind her back. "Your task is to strike at any one or more of my tenketsu using your Byakugan. The method of which you choose to use is at your discretion, so long as you follow my earlier conditional. However after you approach, I will stand idle and dance about you as you make the attempt. I, also, will be attempting to strike one of your own. This way, you accurately accustom yourself to simply the power that comes with properly utilizing the Gentle Fist. Do you understand?"

"Mhm!" Himari assumes a relaxed and focused posture with her legs slightly apart and her arms are held in a guard position, with the hands open and fingers extended. Her breath, although already lax, picks up a rhythmic beat with a greater intake of oxygen coursing through her veins. Then, a familiar yet brief buzz pulses from her temples to the edges of her eyes as veins bulge and her invisible iris becomes semi-opaque. She's greeted, once again, with the familiar sight of all-the-same 361 chakra nodes she saw prior. However, because her eyes are focused on attempting to hit at least one of the nodes, she can adjust both the distance and clarity her vision grants at any time should an opportunity present itself.

There's a dead-air silence that permeates in the room with neither Gentle Fist practitioner making the first move. That is, until Himari bends the knee of her back leg, and leaps into action. When there's at least an arm's length distance between herself and Nozomi, pivots with her backfoot, twirls, and drives her dominant foot toward her chest area at a jutsu speed and power, as a burst of tenketsu jots out from the heel of her foot from having performed the Gentle Step: Front Kick maneuver to catch her by surprise.

However, Nozomi's all too familiar with the technique despite its unorthodox nature. She shifts with one foot and sidesteps away from the kick and then, using the tips of her index and middle finger, drives and arcs her hand down toward the back of Himari's leg. A wave of blue energy ripples and splashes out from the opposite end of the strike and the subsequent pain from the impact caused Himari's leg to grow numb near-instantaneously it drops to the ground. She nearly doubles over in pain as she tightly grasps her right leg. It feels as though ferocious cramps completely crippled her and they didn't seem to stop.

"Oh, was that enough to make you submit?" Nozomi readies for another strike. Using the momentum from the earlier strike, her hand turns and darts toward the side of Himari's waist facing toward her. Himari grits her teeth and clenches her fists before rotating her body away by gathering strength at her core and raising herself into a double-handed handstand, successfully avoiding the consecutive blow at the last second before performing the same Front Kick maneuver again at the tips of her toes. Nozomi sees this and simply bends her knees to duck underneath the soaring kick that flies above her head. And in that same motion, she pirouettes on her backfoot and, with her dominant foot, aims to sweep Himari's hands.

Slowly but surely, Himari's now getting into the rhythm of it! She slightly bends her elbows and launches off her feet to avoid the sweeping kick and lands a half meter away before closing that same gap the next second. Himari delivers unto Nozomi a series of quick and precise blows, interspersing them between kicks, open and curled palms, fingertips, elbows, and knees. Nozomi adjusts her posture and skillfully deflects each of the oncoming blows, making sure to mis- and redirect each blow with her arm and wrist. When Himari eventually overextends and commits herself, Nozomi stops the onslaught with an abrupt and firm bump, throwing Himari off balance and placing a well-made strike toward her abdomen.

Another wave of chakra juts out from her back and a nauseating sickness threatens dominion over her consciousness. Himari gasps for air and stumbles on her feet, the world seemed to spin around her. Noticing in that brief moment her daughter's minor stupor, she crashes her elbow against her chin and sends the young Genin a full meter away from her.

"You're quick on your feet and able to recover from having not just one, but two of your tenketsu sundered. I would be impressed," She rises to her feet and reassumes her stance. "However, you're far too certain of yourself. You strike as though you've figured out the entire fight until I found an opening for a counterattack. Brutish strength means nothing except just that if there's no forethought put into those attacks themselves. Watch my movements carefully, wait for an opening, and strike."

Himari, still reeling from the nauseatic wave, stumbles to her feet and, this time, her guardian goes on the offensive. She makes sure to keep her hand extended toward Himari and next aims for her neck. However, thanks to the enhanced perception granted by the Byakugan, she sees the attack coming and the concentrated stream of chakra encompassing the ends of her fingertips, seemingly aiming for her neck. Getting up on one knee, she feigns the intensity of the previous strike to draw out a committed strike before commencing her counter-maneuver. She shifts her dominant foot and sidesteps with her backfoot, narrowly escaping an otherwise lethal blow to her thyroid. Then with her right arm, she quickly hooks it over-and-under the striking hand and, with her left, throws a quick, precise open-palm strike at her target and expels her tenketsu through it. Shoulder the maneuver succeed, she'll successfully knock the wind out of her tutor's sails and burst one of her chakra nodes.

Upon watching her arm get forced into an arm lock by her daughter, her lips curl. Not in the way one would out of assurance of themselves to provide a counter-counter-measure of their own, but of pleasant surprise. Himari was quickly learning and adapting her strategy to an opponent of far superior skill. And thanks to the difference in each other's stature, Himari used her height to her advantage to catch Nozomi's arm in an awkward position to secure a definitive blow to her chakra network. However, she has no intention of the lesson ending this quickly, at least not until they got interesting.

Unsheathing her other arm, she quickly meets Himari's open palm with one of her own and nicks it at the side to redirect the blow away from her stomach area to just past her side. Himari, on the other hand upon them both colliding and misdirecting one another, tilts her head away from the incoming blow as a powerful gust of wind blows up and past her, resultantly kicking up her hair as it does. With both hands out now, things were about to get serious and Himari had to regain control of the situation as soon as possible before it wrests itself from her grasp. Literally and figuratively.

Tightening her hold on her mother's arm, she bellows out a battlecry and, with her body weight, pushes her back against her mother's form, hoists her up, and attempts to Judo Throw her ground with her immense strength. The sudden force tears Nozomi from her feet and in midair and piledrive her unto the wooden tiles. An impressive feat, to say the least. Himari's body was among the few her age with extraordinary strength and Nozomi, since the start of the fight, relied on her overwhelming speed to bypass its brutal impact.

While gravity does the second half of the work and with her movements limited, she opts to resist the throwdown to the ground by landing with her feet first and tightening her core to stay well-elevated above the ground below her. Himari blinks.

"Eh?"

And then Nozomi tightens her other free arm around Himari's and pivots her waist to then throw her up from the ground and briefly into the air before attempting to knock her down to the ground in the same motion. Himari, completely at the mercy of both her mother's larger frame and gravity's in-differential judgment, is consequently thrown and skids across the wooden tiles before gathering her bearings just as quickly as landing on her feet.

"You nearly got me there." Nozomi huffs.

"But the next one won't be!" Himari ripostes, and the two charge forward and engage in an elegant dance of strikes and blows, punches and kicks, as expulsions and bursts of tenketsu roar and cry. Each one exchanging one blow with one of their own and riposting one technique in favor of another in the same, fluid motion without breaking rhythm or skipping a beat. Although Himari had been on the backfoot since the start of the fighting and already had five of her tenketsu struck already, she still manages to resist the mind-numbing pain and learn from each mistake with rapid succession until the two gradually fought at an even magnitude and pace.

This comes as another pleasant surprise for Nozomi, noticing her daughter dance gracefully between the levels of aggression needed for each attack, when she speeds up, slows down, and halts her pace, and accurately reads and times between her attacks to either blocks, counters, or feints her own attacks. When Nozomi presses the attack, Himari carefully retreats, and when the opportunity presents itself, she seizes it and presses an attack of her own causing her mother to assume the retreat. And what's more, her endurance training from her Academy Days is now paying off in dividends, as her stamina seems nearly bottomless as the two continue to exchange one blow after the other. So much so, she'd begun to lose count of the exact minutes and — hell — even the exact hours that have since passed since they began their exercise. Time sure flies when you're having fun, huh?

Over the duration of the fight, the greatest foe of them all finally creeps into play: attrition. Even with Himari's seemingly boundless surplus, even her limbs were beginning to ache. She was getting tired. They were both getting tired because of the exertion and pain. It feels like an eternity and then some had gone by since they started and despite this, despite gnawing aches that tormented their bodies, despite the pulsations that travel through their feet and legs with each step they take, despite the vehement throbs going up and down their brains, signaling their demands to relinquish control and supremacy of the fight, despite the temptation that reverberates through their straining arms with jostle their body makes, and each bated breath they take with every inhalation and exhalation, a burning ache hammers through them to acquiesce.

And yet, they press on. To submit is to accept defeat, and to accept defeat is to accept the ultimate price a kunoichi pays for rendering her services to the village: death. Even though the stakes themselves right now are essentially low to non-existent, whether that was true or not, was irrelevant right now as it gave them the necessary strength to deal with it nonetheless. They both told themselves this, Nozomi reminiscing about the pastimes she spent training with her currently deceased father during her youth and seeing herself — with those selfsame roles reversed — in Himari as they both vie for coming out on top as the supreme combatant. To Himari, the amalgamation of her hard work was beginning to blossom before her. She could feel the silent praise from her mother from simply feeling the effort she's putting forth to get her on the backpedal again, and to no avail, has she been able to scrutinize an opening to punish her movements.

Each step Himari makes is calculated. Each strike she makes is precise. Each adjustment, however slight they may be, is measured. Her Byakugan exemplifies all these observations by the notion now that nearly nothing could surprise her with her new 360-degree vision. She had the entire dojo within her line of sight and whatever hidden movements she normally wouldn't see with her ordinary eyes or with a 180-degree vision, she could properly anticipate, adjust, and respond within seconds from a brief analysis.

"Gotcha!"

Himari cries out as she delivers an open-palm uppercut to shatter the cross-block Nozomi formed with her own. With awestruck eyes, she stifles a disgruntled groan. The fatigue her body's been so resilient to is now slowly succumbing to the same temptation prior. Furthermore, to her wonder, she watches Himari assume a preparatory position with a specific hand formation and body posture. And when their eyes meet, she finds Himari's outer irises are a different hue. A lighter shade of sky blue encompasses them.

"Eight Trigrams…!"

She stands with their feet shoulder-width apart, assuming a slightly crouched position to maintain balance and stability, and forming the intricate hand seal of the Gentle Fist style in front of his chest. The world around them washes away and is devoured by an endless black abyss with only a bright green light emanating from beneath their feet. A divination symbol marks below them, with the Yin and Yang centered below Himari's person. This was it. This was a right and proper Hyuuga capable of achieving great things in the making. Himari moves swiftly and gracefully towards Nozomi, and launches a relentless assault of palm strikes with extreme precision. Twisting on the balls of her feet, she performs a half-pirouette and strikes at her opponent's two chakra nodes.

"Two Palms!"

A nauseating and stinging pain ripples through her body. She grits her teeth and attempts to move her body from out of the field of divination but it refuses to listen to her. She's immobilized. Himari twists the balls of her feet again and adjusts her posture to strike at another two chakra nodes, the follow-up strikes only magnifying the already debilitating pain coursing through her body.

"Four Palms!"

"Eight Palms!"

"Sixteen Palms!"

Over and over, Himari ceaselessly unleashes a barrage of precision strikes against Nozomi's tenketsu points, each strike paralyzing her form from responding to her wishes.

"Thirty-Two Palms!"

Himari bursts forth and shuffles her to deliver the last blow, overlapping her palms in a twister-like formation as a burst of tenketsu rips through her body and out from the opposite end of the strike. When Himari completes the maneuver, her mother, for a second, remains on her feet before she falls down to her knees, to which Himari instinctively holds her up on her shoulder. Well, not for as long as she would've liked, as she resultantly collapses from the sheer fatigue and numbness from the attacks she endured take their toll.

Neither says anything to the other for a prolonged period until Nozomi utters.

"Well done…"

By the time the two had concluded today's lesson and recovered from their ordeals, the sun had long since offered them its farewell until the coming of the rooster's next crow. Instead, the moon's somber light bathes and greets them on their way home from the Hyuuga District. After they'd freshen up and gotten into their sleepwear, partake in what food was prepped in advance by a friend of a family friend of Nozomi's. Himari indulges herself with a sweet little white-and-red confectionary said a family friend brought for her specifically: as she holds the slice of strawberry cake in her hand, she can't help but admire its beauty. The enticing aroma of fresh strawberries and sweet cake tickles her senses, building anticipation for the moment she takes that first bite.

Bringing the fork to her mouth and allowing her lips to meet the soft, moist cake, the first touch of her teeth against the delicate crumb sends a shiver of pleasure through her taste buds. The cake yields effortlessly, its tender texture giving way to the gentle pressure. As she chews, the flavors unfold, revealing a delightful combination of sweetness and tanginess. The cake's subtle sweetness mingles with the bright, natural sweetness of the strawberries, creating a harmonious dance on her palate. Each bite brings a burst of juicy flavor, and the softness of the strawberries provides a refreshing contrast to the cake's airy crumb.

The creamy component adds a luxurious touch to the experience. As she encounters a dollop of velvety whipped cream or a layer of strawberry-infused frosting, it adds a smooth and silky dimension to the bite. The cream complements the cake and strawberries, elevating the overall taste with its richness and adding a hint of indulgence. She takes her time, savoring each morsel, allowing the flavors to linger and meld together. The combination of cake, strawberries, and cream creates a symphony of taste sensations that bring joy to her senses. The sweetness, tartness, and creaminess intertwine, creating a perfect balance that leaves her longing for another bite.

As she continues to enjoy the slice, she finds herself closing her eyes, immersing herself in the moment. It's as if time stood still, and she's transported to a realm of pure bliss. The experience becomes more than just eating cake—it becomes a sensory journey that awakens her taste buds and brings a smile to her face. With each successive bite, Himari finds herself immersed in the pleasure of enjoying this slice of strawberry cake. The flavors, textures, and aromas intertwine, creating a delightful experience that lingers in her memory long after the last crumb is gone.

She'll have to ask for a recipe on how this was made and share it with her friends the next time she sees them.


WC: 4,163 x 2 (via x1 Strawberry Cake) → 8,000 + 163 Remainder = 8,163
TWC: 8,163


Passively accumulating 2 Heavenly Body Stacks (2/10)


[EXIT THREAD]


Requesting approval for the following claims:

Investing the 8,163 TWC in the following *Jutsu:

► Training Acrobatic Recovery @ B-Rank (609,1,125) → (1,125/1,125) [7,647 TWC Left]
► Training Hyuuga's Valor @ S-Rank (1,125/1,125) [6,522 TWC Left]
► Training Perfect Body @ A-Rank (750/750) [5,772 TWC Left]
► Training Earth Shaker @ A-Rank (562/562) [5,210 TWC Left]
► Training Soft Wind Blowing @ A-Rank (1,125/1,125) [4,085 TWC Left]
► Training Heavenly Foot of Pain @ A-Rank (2,062/2,062) [2,023 TWC Left]
► Training Basic Medical Ninjutsu @ C-Rank (487/487) [1,536 TWC Left]
► Training Feint (375/375) [1,161 TWC Left]
► Training Lightness Skill (750/750) [411 TWC Left]
► Training 360 Degree Shield Hand @ B-Rank (411/1,312) [0 TWC Left]

*25% Discount applied via max stats below.

Spending the 8,163 TWC on the following Stat Points (max stats):

► Subtracting -40 Strength (-4,000) [4,163 TWC Left]
► Adding +40 Chakra (-4,000) [163 TWC Left]

→ Expunging the remaining 163 TWC left over.

Approved