Leading the blind

Kai returned again to the training grounds during the night and was aware of a particularly thick mist having covered the village. He could not see the mist of course but he could feel the heavy moisture on his skin that almost felt like rain, making his clothes wet as he passed quietly through it like a wraith or brightly dressed spirit. Kai had learned to determine the thickness of mist not only by the smells and moisture level but also by the sense of touch and weight of the mist on his skin. An almost imperceptible feeling of different weights yet there was a quantifiable difference between the thick and thin fog or mist that rolled in habitually from the coast. The final way of determining the thickness and proportional visibility was by the sound of echoes or the tiny distortions of noise He maintained the seal of confrontation to more easily detect anyone nearby and moved softly away when he became close to encountering them, Stepping softly and carefully so as to disturb the mist as little as possible.

As he arrived at the training grounds he considered what he would like to focus on for his training session first. Kai had spent some time considering his current strengths and weaknesses. He had recently gotten a grasp on executing the total breathing concentration and had made some progress on developing his weaponry techniques to aid him battle. His current strength however mainly lay in his sensory capabilities and the ability to memorize chakra signatures and placing mark seals and his ability to track them. These could be invaluable tools if tracking and hunting missing nin as he hoped to one day join the hunter nin.

Kai was uncertain whether to focus training on his sensory abilities or if he should consider branching out into other areas for utility or combat. As the mist permeated the air he considered one of the hunter nins signature techniques knowns simply as hiding in mist. He hoped one day he would be granted the opportunity to learn it as it was said to be able to even overcome certain ocular jutsu which would be invaluable to Kai should he need to fight them. Kai had also considered studying space time techniques to allow him to close in on enemies or escape if need be but he had yet to spend the time required to begin learning these techniques. Often he would need to have a scroll or book freshly penned or have someone write them out on specific typers of paper so he can feel the letters more easily. Kai was certain it would be difficult enough to understand even if he could easily read.

He paced the training grounds as he thought, considering the different options ahead of him as he wandered. He decided to exercise his body gently whilst considering how he wished to proceed. Kai often found exercise and using the body could uncloud his mind. He began with a  light jog around the grounds, occasionally transitioning into sideways skipping and rotating sides each step until he was almost hoping sideways rather than moving. He found the movements helped release the full range of motion in his legs and he felt his body temperature rise steadily as hid body began walking up properly.

Once his legs were warmed up he began rotating his waist whilst isolating his legs and hips, stretching and strengthening his core which was important for quick and effective rotations, especially when using weapons to generate quick and powerful strikes at close range or create a whip like strike. Kai activated a seal inside his uniform sleeve and drew for the naginata, holding it lightly and using it as he moved his waist to allow the weight of the weapon to stretch a little further and wake up his arm muscles as they stabilised the movements of the haft and blade as they cut through the air in time with his movements.

Kai had narrowed down his thought process during the exercises and decided he would focus on his sensory abilities to greater enhance his ability to detect his opponents without relying purely on his alternative senses or chakra sensory and that this would at least for a strong foundation. He was uncertain what else he would look to train but considered that it was better to focus on one aspect and decide if he wished to train other techniques depending on his success with the sensory abilities.

Kai completed his stretching and removed his bright pink haori and the jacket of his Kisatsutai uniform, revealing a close fitting and sleeveless kimono that opened at the chest, revealing his scarred yet toned body and the bandages he wore around his waist and lower back. Kai folded the haori with precise movements and tapped a seal within his kisatsutai jacket, allowing his haori to disappear safely into the seal. Next he folded and placed his kisatsutai jacket carefully near the entrance to the training grounds. Once his jacket and haori had been sufficiently stored safely he flexed his arms slowly, whilst taking deep controlled breaths and focusing his remaining senses outward from himself.

First he smelled the muted scents in the misty night air picking up water salt, sand in the air with the scent of the stone beneath his feet followed swiftly by the ever present lingering petrichor that drifted through the village. Kai filtered through each linger scent, sifting through the layer and swiftly cataloguing and identifying the familiar ones, smoke from fires and many scents of flowers, plants and trees. Soon after were the weaker scents that emanated from the village itself, specifics foods from restaurants or home cooking that drifted upwards before diffusing into the mist and spreading throughout the village. The final and weakest scents Kai weas not able to fully identify but occasionally he thought he could parse the scent of a person perhaps but had no way to tell who it was or whether it was actual a person and not some lingering perfume or other unknown substance.

Kai was aware of some ninja clans being able to track fully by smell and despite his testing he had never been able his nose to a level strong enough to track people over long distances but when combined with his other adaptive senses it was often enough to identify that someone or something was nearby. At least anything or anyone that had not successful erased their scent.

Once he had fully filtered through the scents he could detect he focused on sensing the subtle vibrations in the air and in the ground via his skin and sense of touch. Whilst alone in the training ground the information and senses he received were greatly muted as only the slightest of breezes could be felt as he stood still and felt it gently disturb the mist along with his own breaths. With his arms uncovered he was more keenly aware of his sense of touch as he moved his arms slowly through the air, feeling the minute droplets of moisture roll gently over his skin and break.

Finally Kai focused on his hearing, usually the most dominant of his remaining senses and the best for sensing objects and people at the extreme edge of his adapted senses that let him traverse the village and allowed him to even train to be a ninja. The added benefit of training in the early hours of the morning was that the number of sounds in the village were greatly reduced and so much easier to parse for information.

Kai remained still for several minutes as he allowed all of the information filtering from his senses to fill in the monochromatic images he formed in his head around a fuzzy outline of himself and the concentric circles he visualised expanding from himself. He focused on trying to sharpen the mental image as detailed as possible and began walking around the training grounds area, noting distances and objects around him as he moved. After a few slow wraps he increased his pace steadily each lap until he was jogging and eventually running around whilst maintaining his focus on the training grounds around him. Kai proceeded to dash quickly towards the training dummies and dashing between them quickly whilst leaving as little distance as possible before evading each one as he approached, visualising and memorizing their positions on the battlefield.

Once Kai was satisfied with his evasion exercise and was confident in the layout of the training grounds he took a  quick breather and regained his composure and allowed the cool mist to cool down his skin as he slowly stretched his body to keep it warm and mobile. The smell of his own sweat mingled and added to the plethora of sensory information he consciously processed and began gathering chakra and willing it to raise to the top of his skin. He recalled the instruction provided by the scroll he had been provided and pressed his hands together palms flat as if in prayer. Next he imagined the chakra expanding outwards, dense at first before willing to stretch and reach out evenly and focusing on maintaining an even shape. Again he found the effort tiring but had managed to create a stable shape and decided to rest for a few moments before trying again.

After he had cooled down sufficiently he began expanding his chakra and projecting it from his body to form a bubble 5 meters in diameter around him. He focused on maintaining the bubble of chakra at first and noticed that his sensory abilities seemed amplified within the bubble of chakra with even the droplets of mist and water being easily detectable and their movements traced inside his mind much clear than with his usual senses.
Kai was impressed with the accuracy the technique appeared to be providing him and he smiled to himself. Not the wide grin he often held statically on his face but a much softer smile, one reserved for the very few people he knew well and was willing to relax around. Since Hana’s passing the number of people that saw the smile had reduced by approximately half.

The technique was more than he had hoped for and he was impressed by its effectiveness though the requirement to keep his palms pressed together made impractical for his particular fighting style at this stage. The instructor who informed him of the technique had advised that mastery of the technique should allow him to use it without holding his palms together though it would likely take some time before Kai  would be able to reach this level. For the time being he would be satisfied with learning the basic level of the technique.

After another short break he pressed on with his training and worked on expanding the sphere and stabilising it as it moved further from him. He reckoned a few hours had passed and the slight increase in the temperature of the air indicated that the sun was rising. Kai looked toward the direction where the air was warming. He had managed to expand the chakra bubble far enough to match the range of his passive chakra sensory. Kai smiled to himself again before a sound drew his attention away from his training and he stopped the technique and quickly put on his kisatsutai jacket before withdrawing his bright pink haori with he large blossom clan mon on its back, unfolding it and pulling it on over his uniform. He believed he had heard the sound of footsteps from a distance but was uncertain, activating chakra sensory and holding the seal of confrontation with his left hand, hidden behind his back as he neatly folded his left arm behind him to keep the hand out of view.

If someone was approaching then he was determined not to reveal the full fruits of his training and again the false ever present grin spread across his face as his scarred eyeless face stared blindly in the direction of the entrance to the training grounds he was using, awaiting the likely stranger that approached with detached patience.

[Gaining 1 stack of Heavenly Body]

WC: 2033 TWC: 2033

[Mid thread claim:  - 25% discount from training grounds.
Claiming + 20 stats
+20 Chakra (74 -> 94)

Claiming WC:
- Barrier Canopy Method Formation - 1125/1125 - 1125/2033
- 908 wc towards Manipulated Tools: Binding Meteor [Incomplete] - 1167/1313 - 2033/2033]

previous claims:

Kaikos Blossom wrote:[Mid thread claim:  - 25% discount from training grounds.
Claiming + 20 stats
+20 Chakra (74 -> 94)

Claiming WC:
- Barrier Canopy Method Formation - 1125/1125 - 1125/2033
- 908 wc towards Manipulated Tools: Binding Meteor [Incomplete] - 1167/1313 - 2033/2033]

previous claims:

Approved

Having recently finished a journey of learning and self reflection, conqouring inner demons and learning that while he was good he still had room to grow, Shikami went to the training grounds to bestow his knowledge upon others, Wisdom learned is hard earned, but if one could learn from the hardships of others, that would give them a head start in this world. Upon getting to the training grounds for the day....rather night... But for Shikami the dark was a friend, as was the lingering mist in the air. His training with the Silent Killing Technique from when he was a kage made him a ghost within the mist, only his chakra could be sensed at this point since he did nothing to attempt to hide it.

Shikami could make out faint sounds of someone going through a training routine as he approached by nature as silent as an assassin coming down upon his mark. Shikami stood within eye sight of the boy upon being able to see him. The boy wielded a weapon after some time of warming up, with the skill of not quite a novice, but not yet a master either. Shikami listened as he could hear the blade ripping through the wind , and watching the droplets of water form upon the blade from the mist before becoming dislodged by an abrupt stop of the blade as if the boy had hit his invisible opponent. Once Shikami almost thought he was spotted by the boy, not by eyesight but his other senses, but than the boy went about as if writing it off....good instincts.

Shikami would fully allow his presence to be known as he cleared his throat to the boy, watching for his reaction, as he was out of range from the weapon the boy had but one never knew the reaction one would have when spooked or suprised. Once his Presence was recognized Shikami would speak out from the mist "Greetings, I am Shikami Shinkou, Seems while you may have a good work out pattern down, a skilled and experienced partner may do you well, Might I inquire first your name, and Rank within the village?" Now Shikami was not presuming that the boy would know whom he was, or once was to the village, but he would make the boy as well informed as he could think of to ask. Shikami wanted to first start things off friendly and hopefully get to pass on some of his knowledge and wisdom , to be training at this time and in this condition meant he had great dedication, the question was, for what purpose was he dedicated to

WC 442

Yummei Counter 2/10

Kai cocked his head slightly as the newcomer spoke and noting the absolute silence and lack of signal at his approach, had the stranger been closer Kai may have sensed his chakra but he wondered if he could react to an attack in time. Clearly he still needed much training the lack of sound or presence of the stranger made it clear they were a master of stealth, sensory techniques or had perhaps even learned the secrets of silent killing. Kai reasoned that if it was the latter then he was very clearly outmatched in terms of skill, experience and rank. Kai bowed respectfully and twirled his right hand, holding the finely balanced naginata with ease, before folding the haft under the crook of his arm in a reverse grip, the naginata blade facing away from his back so show he intended on no hostility.

The words took a moment to sink in. Shikami Shinkou. For the smallest moment he wondered if it was coincidence then discounted it. No one would be brazen enough to pretend to be a former Mizukage and he doubted many would willingly associate with the name for Kai understood he was not a beloved kage and some even said the name with a curse, though quietly, unaware as to the extent of Kai’s adaptive senses. Kai gave a deep and respectful bow, the fake grin unmoving from his face. “It is an honour to meet you Lord…” Kai paused realising he had not recalled the correct number in his surprise and attempt at a swift recovery and had been about to address him as Mizukage. Kai was aware of how dangerously treasonous such an action could be received, even in error. “…Shinkou. It is an honour to meet you and I thank you for your kind words. My name is Kaikoss Blossom, a newly graduated Genin. I have not titles or accomplishments to speak of yet and I would be grateful for any instruction you may wish to give.” Kai remained with head bowed, in practical terms it made little difference to Kai whether he bowed or stood as he would learn nothing from the man standing across the training grounds his senses had not already gathered and catalogued.

Kai revealed his seal of confrontation and held it at his side in clear view as he rose from the bow and moved a little closer. “I do not mean any offense Lord.” He gestured with the seal of confrontation before continuing. “Since my sight was taken I use chakra sensory out of habit, I understand it might come across rude to some however it helps me to identify and locate people if I can learn their chakra signature. A large part of my training is devoted to sensory techniques in order to try and make up for my lack of sight.” He gestured again to horizontal scar where his eyes should have been. “I should say that some people call me Kai so if you wish to do so I would be honoured. How would you prefer I address you Lord? I am familiar somewhat with your past and previous position in the village and do not wish to cause any offence or insult, I am simply unaware of the precise protocol here.”

Kai gave another deep bow and held the position steady whilst awaiting a response.

[Gaining 1 stack of Heavenly Body. Total: 2]

WC: 559  TWC: 2,592 [Claimed 2033]

Heibon'na's time in the village of Kirigakure was plagued with various tasks. Growing up in a fishing village, a lot of the time and missions she undertook were mixed within timeframes as she aimed to send money home consistently to help appease the loss of income. Yet the uniform-clad teen took time from going on missions to relax and explore the village to get a better understanding of the culture that varied from her home of a fishing hamlet to the might of the village. Sometimes she wandered without a thought or care as she once did as the average shinobi of the great village of Kirigakure.

Upon this day, however, the Generic Shinobi stumbled upon the training facilities of the village. Not one to often come to such a place due to the inherent cost of time associated with dedicating time to training rather than missions, Heibon'na saw some merit in training which is why she trained actively while on missions for better growth rates due to the need and demand of the mission at hand. However, today was different as she had wandered all the way to the facilities and had not spent too much time within the structure to better understand the value of training in such a capacity.

Wandering around the Training Facility though, she spotted what looked like two rather unique individuals as compared to one such as herself. In her old uniform that she had grown to enjoy as standard attire, she wore her headband upon her forehead as was standard and approached the two. The lingering mist within the facility was one that even though she had not been trained in the village's iconic Silent Killing, she had spent time training her own stealth skills though there was still more she could approve of. Once she reached closer to the pair she did not overhear much of the words between the two but focused on their visual appearances as they were uniquely distinct.

One rose to 6'4'' though his skin and general vibe would indicate that he was closer to age to herself as compared to the man beside him who stood shorter than him by a few inches. Being of average stature and appearance as compared to the two, she gave a wave once she was within polite distance for conversation's sake. As two who stood out from the chaff of the other generic shinobi within the facilities, Heibon'na felt it was best to learn who these primary characters of the story of Kirigakure were. As not a foreigner to the Land of Water, she was not established well on general ongoings from person to person within the village thus, this would be a good time to meet others who sought higher heights than the average.

"Hello there cousins!" She exclaimed give a light curtsey with her skirt this go around changing things up as she greeted the two excited to see what was to come from meeting such diversely different shinobi.

WC: 500, TWC: 500

Shikami would give a gentle smile to Kai and shake his head softly " No Offense is taken, Please you may refer to me as Shikami, a Pleasure to meet you Kai" At that moment another party introduced themselves " Hello there, a rather auspicious day to be training for certain, I have a plethora of knowledge I can bestow upon you both if you so wish to learn" Shikami would look back and forth between them And after a moment, when he saw a moment of silence to jump in on, he would ask " If I may, Kai, have you thought of seeking medical help to gain eye sight? I have heard of many miracles being made happened by medical ninjutsu, and rumor has it our current Mizukage is well versed in such a field, that he could restore your sight, have you given that thought at all?" He gave an idea if it was not thought of previously. He waited for the answers from both sides to see if they even know what they wanted to learn and if he could possibly be of any help in that field.