Bubbling under the surface

Oda arrived at Shinoda Springs, the light just barely creeping up from the horizon. He had resolved himself to focus more on his training and unlocking the full potential of his newly unlocked water affinity. It was still so early that the birds had yet to fully wake, and the training grounds had a muted peaceful feeling to it. All that could be heard were the rustling of leaves and the shuffling of dirt as Oda set up to train.

He pulled out a small scroll he had checked out from Bal’s library describing the Water element, then another describing the Lava element. He was determined to finally shape the lava that he felt was so clearly lurking in his chakra. He had awakened the affinity some time ago, but had not had the chance to fully shape it. Today would be a dual element day, generally Oda tried to work on each element separately, as the rapid changing seemed to tire him a bit more, like working out a muscle that had never been worked out before. But, today he was choosing to mix his training, to test himself and his chakra control.

Finally he pulled out some black and crispy burnt rolls, and a jug of water. He was planning on being here for quite a while.

Oda began his training like he always did, with some stretching followed by a period of meditation. He found that meditation was not necessary for doing jutsus. He did, however, find that meditation aided him greatly in connecting with the elemental releases. It was a way to synchronize his mind and body with the elemental release he was looking to shape.

He began with the element of Fire, his best and most well integrated release. Like slipping into a well worn pair of shoes, he effortlessly connected with it. Feeling the heat in his veins, the chaotic flickering and expanding nature of these flames coursed through his very being. Feeling the familiar rush through his entire body, like a wave of flame that bursts forth consuming the air around it, he could feel the power of the flame exploding and rising in him. With barely any effort, Oda was able to condense and suppress that flame into a single pinpoint of immense energy, floating in a void of calm. He took a deep breath in, focusing himself for the next step and one that he had just only gotten fully comfortable with.


He imagined this pinpoint of flame spinning and heating up within the void. The small orb of flame spun and spun until it was moving so fast it was glowing white in its heat. Then, he imagined the void now becoming walls of stone, he pictured in his mind's eye the stone walls slowly closing in and enveloping the rapidly spinning ball of white hot flame. The stone encased the flame, until there was nothing but a sphere made up of small rocks, floating in a void. Gradually, he imagined the flame within continuing to spin and heat the rock that now enveloped it. He pictured the rock, slowly beginning to shake and move, slowly beginning to glow from the immense heat. Finally, the orb of stone began melding into the heat, until all he pictured was a spinning sphere of magma, wobbling and undulating in its new form.

With that focus established, Oda quickly rose, not wanting to squander the connection to the lava release he now felt. He went to the center of the training area and slowly and methodically did the hand signs for a new jutsu he was determined to learn. After giving the appropriate hand signs he slammed his hands onto the ground, already he could feel the lava flowing from his chest outwards into his arms and hands. As his hands made contact with the ground a weak and ineffectual wave, 1m in height and 2m long, splashed out in front of him.

Oda didn’t care, he had finally used lava. He jumped in the air, giving a shout before realizing how early it was and quieting himself. The lava pool slowly spread out on the ground, and its heat was already causing Oda to sweat. He took on a more determined look, now that he knew he could do it, he had more energy than ever before.

He took position a little further away from the pool of Lava that his previously failed jutsu had made. He flashed the appropriate hand signs, albeit still clumsily compared to his fire jutsu. But this time, as he slammed his hands down nothing came out. He cocked his head, and did it again, this time out of the periphery of his vision he could see some lava splash from the previously created pool. His eyes widened, he had no idea you could do such things with lava release. He did it again, this time focusing on really imagining the lava come out of the pool to his side. It splashed out with more vigor this time. His mind began racing at the possibilities, and a new determination took over as he tightened his headband and got back to the rigorous training.

After nearly three hours of trying to successfully use the Volcanic Uprising technique, it was close but not fully formed, and Oda decided to take a break from practicing Lava release. The training area was criss-crossed with lines of volcanic magma slowly spreading out and cooling, and he cringed at the idea of explaining this to the kage. That would be a problem for future Oda, he thought. He sat down to take a brief break, grabbing his water and splashing some of it on his face. It sizzled and turned to steam from the intense heat around him. He watched as the vapors flitted into the air before disappearing. Suddenly gripped by an idea, he took his meditative pose, resuming his imagination of the sphere of magma within the void.

This time, as he pictured the rapidly spinning sphere he slowed it down, gradually pulling everything away until it was a simple sphere of fire once again. He began to imagine the points of his chakra filling with cool water, almost feeling the cooling sensation of the water element as it aligned with his chakra. He envisioned a stream at first, trickling gently into the void, then gradually he imagined a creek, and then a river, until eventually a roaring waterfall. The water cascaded onto the burning sphere of fire, sizzling and popping as it made contact. Oda imagined this void now filling up with immense pressure from the steam, almost physically feeling the buildup in his veins and stomach. With a fluid motion he stood up, not even really thinking at this point only acting.

As he rose he could feel the pressure continue to build, the water and fire mixing into a cloud of pressurized vapor. Finally, with the pressure reaching a crescendo, he exhaled. A formless cloud of hot steam came spilling out before dispersing as quickly as it arrived. Oda could do nothing but sit in amazement as he had finally unlocked the Boil release. His mind raced with the possibilities. He cursed himself for not searching more diligently on boil release while at Bals library. Still, he could make this work. He decided to wing it, as was his usual modus operandi.


First, to loosen his muscles, he used a simple Fire release technique, one that was quickly becoming one of his favorites. He did the appropriate hand signs before firing off a Fire Dragon Bullet, Arching it up and into the sky before it dissipated. He focused on how he envisioned the dragon, and everything leading up to the moment of exhalation. This time however, he imagined water. First he envisioned the water swirling, eventually reaching an intense speed before he imagined that water being released along with all the kinetic energy of the created whirlpool.

He exhaled, and a watery dragon came spilling out, barely holding form and zigzagging erratically before spilling into a puddle on the ground. He nodded in focus, and resumed his practice. Gradually over the course of a couple hours the dragon was in better form and beginning to move with fluidity. Although Oda knew he had much more to master with this water dragon, he put that on hold. This was merely a step to doing what he was really curious about.


Oda relaxed his posture, standing in the center of the training center. He closed his eyes and envisioned the sphere of flame once more. Gradually he shaped the sphere until his inner void had a dragon of flaming twirling around it in a clockwise motion. Then, he imagined the water pouring in and forming the whirlpool he used to envision the dragon forming. The water formed into a dragon, twirling around his inner void in the opposite direction of the flame dragon. He imagined the two dragons spinning faster and faster, getting closer and closer until eventually melding and creating a chaotic cloud of steam as they did so. As this steam cloud formed he struggled in his mind's eye to control it and condense it, imagining the steam condensing down into an impossibly small point. Then, and with a quick usage of handsigns, he exhaled.

It was slow at first before picking up pace and forming into a Vapor Dragon Bullet. His excitement at successfully creating the dragon caused Oda's concentration to falter and the dragon quickly dissipated. He gave a smile and an exhausted sigh before falling down, his chakra spent. He slowly got up and half walked half crawled to the side of the clearing before resting his back against the bench and closing his eyes, just for a moment, he told himself.


A Raging fire. A crumbling rock slide. A great torrent of water. Clashing and mixing in an amalgam of elements that violently undulated. Popping and reforming, changing from gas to solid then back to gas again before igniting and becoming flame which then cooled and became water. Finally, a mixture of all of them, turning into a massive dragon head, charging towards Oda and consuming him in a cacophony of noise.

Oda's eyes snapped awake at the sound of other Shinobi as they filtered into the training grounds, it must have been a normal hour of the morning now. He was thoroughly shaken by his dream, it felt so visceral and real. He wondered briefly if he was pushing himself too hard before pushing the thought out of his mind. Nothing would deter him.

He listened to the birds sing briefly before grabbing a drink of water and rising from his spot, determined to continue his training. Taking his position once more in the center of the clearing, he cleared his mind of any distractions. The singing of the birds, the conversation of the fellow shinobi around him, it all drifted away until it was only Oda and the clearing in front of him. He activated the hand signs, attempting another go at the Volcanic Uprising technique. As he finished the hand signs, he envisioned the violent explosion of heat and flame and slammed his hands down. The splash was impressive, but nowhere near far enough. He stopped and thought about his approach, maybe he was not valuing the earthen nature of Lava enough. He admitted he was biased towards fire, perhaps that was slanting things. As he thought these things he took a different stance, one with his legs more wide and bent at the knee to provide a large base.

Instead of imagining an explosion of heat the way flames explode and consume the air around them, this time he focused on the deep and earthen nature of Lava. The slow and powerful build up of its energy. He envisioned the lava energy entering through his feet, envisioned the build up of the pressure and the energy as it filled his torso and arms, and finally when the sensation had reached the top of his head he did the hand signs and slammed his hands down on the ground with force. A large and magnificent splash of Lava erupted from the ground, covering its max range and spreading out over the training grounds. He gave a reserved and exhausted nod, smiling contentedly to himself.

As a reward for finally learning Volcanic Uprising, he gave himself a brief break to eat some stale burnt bread and drink some water. While resting, he thought of the Lava release, and how he could add to it. The idea of multiple sources to use jutsu from intrigued Oda, and he began to ponder how he could create a jutsu that could take advantage of that property. After a short amount of time thinking about it, he set his water down and returned to the center of the clearing.

He focused on the veins of lava that ran through the earth, on the burrowing nature of lava and its properties. He was in uncharted territory here, and he did each hand sign very slowly, almost waiting for the one that felt right. As he focused he thought of a conduit, a portal to a great volcano. He imagined his own chakra, linked to these portals as they ran through the ground. As he did the final sign, something compelled him to kick at the ground, as if kicking a great slumbering beast to awaken it. He turned his foot sideways and kicked, briefly taken back by  the lava that kicked out from his foot and shot into the ground. He waited for a second, unsure of what was happening, before seeing 3 small 1m tall 1.5m wide pillars come shooting out of the ground haphazardly and in random positions. They quickly crumbled away in Oda’s lack of concentration.

He shook his arms as if releasing any excess chakra and repositioned. He understood now he needed to focus for far longer during a jutsu such as this one. He thought intentionally about each spot he wanted the lava to travel to. Flashing the hand signs with adept speed he kicked the ground again more confidently this time. He understood now that at this moment Lava was racing underneath the ground, and he focused on 4 spots in the area in front of him. After a brief moment 4 Pillars came forming out of the ground, two of them going straight up and reaching their max size. The other two were shorter and more skewed, but Oda was satisfied with his progress.

Over the course of the next two hours Oda diligently repeated the jutsu over and over until he was exhausted, he was dry but only because the large amount of sweat evaporated as quickly as it formed. Steam rose from Oda as he collapsed down at the side of the training station. With his dedicated effort, he had reached the point where he was comfortable being able to summon 3 pillars in an area around him, even being able to pick spots not in his vision. Still, he had yet to master being able to compartmentalize and do 4. He needed a break however, so he spent the next hour diligently breathing and relaxing his muscles. He Focused his mind and emptied it of all distraction, attempting to split his focus into 4 equal parts.

With some time spent in meditation he finally felt recovered enough to continue his training. He felt ready to fully use this jutsu to the extent that he could. He fluidly and deftly went through the motions of the jutsu, simultaneously splitting his focus on 4 areas around him, vividly imagining the places not in his direct line of sight and focusing intensely on the ones that were. He maintained that focus even as the Lava raced beneath him, with a resounding crack of the stone 4 pillars rose up with swift finality. All of them stood straight at their max sizes, not wanting to lose this momentum, he swiftly did the hand signs for Volcanic uprising and focused on it emerging from one of the pillars to his right. A splash of Lava erupted from the pillar, and Oda breathed a sigh of relief mixed with excitement. He had finally done it. He sat down on the edge of the clearing and gave a deep breath, letting his exhaustion take hold he sat and stared at the cooling lava with not a care in the world.

He zoned out for some time, simply enjoying the rays of the setting sun as they pierced through the foliage of Shinoda Springs. This is what Oda chased when he was training. A sense of pure and truthful nothingness. A freedom from any worry in the world, simply being in the moment. It was a feeling that was as fleeting as it was enjoyable, and in no time Oda again felt an internal drive to continue his learning, continue his training and continue to improve. He was broken out of his trance by his next goal, learning the Water Dragon Bullet technique.

He started by focusing his chakra, connecting with the water element and letting it course through his veins. He envisioned a great torrent of water spinning at the center of his body, gradually he formed a dragon's head from the torrent, flashing the hand signs somewhat clumsily and expelling the dragon outwards from his lungs. The water dragon formed with a surprising amount of detail and form, maybe his work on the previous elemental dragon jutsus was paying off. It did not however move with any agility or any good control. And it splashed harmlessly into the ground upon reaching the halfway point of its range. He took a deep breath and thought back to how he controlled the flames, envisioning puppet strings at the base of its head. He was doing that now with the water dragon but it didn’t seem to stick. Maybe each element reacts to its own unique suggestion, he thought.

He retook his position in the clearing and focused, going through the usual motions he envisioned the torrent, and the dragon. This time however upon exhalation instead of imagining puppet strings he imagined currents of air guiding the dragon with pushes from behind. He used his hands at first, but eventually they fell away until all that was left was Oda standing there, whipping the dragon around the clearing until finally sending it up into the sky where it burst into a spray of water droplets. They caught the golden rays of the sun as it began to set, and the display made Oda's breath catch.

He gave a contented smile at the display and tightened his headband once more before continuing to drill the jutsu for another 3 hours. By this time it was dark, and the only illumination was the rays of moonlight that caught the crystals in Shinoda Springs. He collapsed once more to the side of the training area, pulling out a blanket he laid his head down on the bare ground, resolving to simply rest his eyes, and then he’d be right back to it.


Rushing water. The cracking of wood as it grows rapidly. A roaring of a dragon overhead. Oda turns in his sleep, the intensity of the scene overwhelming him. He was tumbling, like a log in a rapidly moving river. Steam filled the air, the heat of anything above water being too much to bear. He dived down into the water to avoid the extensive heat.

Standing, as if immune to the flow of the river, were Oda’s family, his mothers gentle face smiled at him in an absurd serenity given the situation. His father, more stern and judgmental, gazing up at him with a stern look. He tried to swim towards them, tried to grab onto his parents as they silently stared at him, but the current of the river was too strong. Soon they had disappeared behind the foam of the water. Oda yelled out, the water beginning to flood into his lungs and suffocate him.


Oda snapped awake, the cold night air biting his skin. He looked around, no one was left in the springs, and it was quiet as a mouse. He brushed his blanket off and wiped away the sweat from his brow. The dream was already slipping from his mind like sand, and he decided to ignore it. No sense in focusing on the past, he thought. He rose from his resting spot and stretched a bit, warming up his muscles.

He had practiced the water dragon bullet intensely, and he felt comfortable using it. However, he didn’t feel comfortable doing it quickly, so he continued to drill over the hand signs, repeating them and casting the jutsu then dissipating it quickly before it drained too much of his energy. He did this rapid fire practice for an hour or so until a substantial sweat had formed, only masked by the water that drenched him as each dragon burst and dissipated. It took him some time, because he felt as if he could do the hand signs with ease. He took another couple hours to translate those hand signs into a specific tune for his whistle trigger before finally being content with his progress on the jutsu.

Not wanting to lose any momentum, he launched right into perfecting the next jutsu he had explored, the Vapor Dragon Bullet. First he envisioned the torrent of water, spinning around rapidly within his body. Then, he envisioned flame beginning to pour in like liquid fire, mixing and fusing with the water and creating an enormous buildup of steam. He exhaled, steam rapidly flowing out of his mouth in a cloud and then condensing into a dragon. It floated above the ground effortlessly and slowly floated forward. Oda attempted to force the dragon forward but his efforts caused the dragon to dissipate.

Hmm, how to get it to move? He thought to himself, he flashed the hand signs smoothly and deftly, imagining the torrent of fire and water as it mixed into a formless steam cloud in his body. This time instead of immediately exhaling the dragon, he condensed it first within him and then sent it out. The result was a Vapor dragon that glided at a reasonable but still slow speed. He was getting closer, and this improvement was enough to spurn him on to keep practicing. His muscles were sore, and he was rapidly approaching a 24 hour venture into Shinoda Springs, a new record for himself.

He practiced the Vapor dragon with repetition and determination. Drilling the hand signs into his muscle memory until after an hour he was able to form a powerful and fast vapor dragon. He decided to practice it once more, however, at the final moment of casting his focus was drawn to a bird flitting by. His eyes widened however when the vapor dragon formed at the spot that the bird was briefly flying over. It was then he realized he could form the dragon from the moisture in the air. This opened up an entire world of possibilities, and Oda spent the next hour practicing various spots he could summon the dragon from. Eventually he figured out its max range, and the various techniques that could arise from it. He went to the edge of the clearing and began to pack his things up.

He then paused briefly, looking at the carnage his practicing had caused. He pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote a simple apology on it, followed by a signature. He smiled sheepishly to nobody, the sun was only barely peeking over the horizon, and the place was empty. He would need to talk to somebody about this, as he didn’t want to cost the village too much with his training. Regardless, he trudged back up and out of Shinoda Springs and headed back home.


It took everything in Oda’s power to pick his feet up and move them up the hill towards his home. He had never really pushed his body like that before, and he could already feel his body yelling at him. He would pay for this tomorrow, still, it gave Oda a strange sense of satisfaction. He had looked to push himself, and he had succeeded at that.

Along the way home, he stopped at a small clearing nestled in the cliffside, his favorite spot to read and watch the sunrise. He stared over the village, the sun beginning to peek up over the mountains, he watched as rays of golden light spilled over the land and crept over the village slowly. In his exhaustion, he must have zoned out, as he snapped out of his sleep-like state the sun had advanced quickly, and the birds were beginning to sing their morning tunes. That made him think of his own whistling technique, and he sighed, he had forgotten to practice those for the last two jutsus. He rolled his eyes, slowly getting up and staring down the hill back at the training grounds.

Eventually, he resolved himself to be thorough, as a compromise to his own exhausted body, he decided to practice them in the clearing, making sure to launch the dragons in the air and quickly cancel them as soon as he cast it. He methodically formed whistling tunes for each jutsu he had practiced in Shinoda. He could see the various birds cock their heads at the strange and alien tunes as they echoed through the air. He spent two more hours practicing in this manner, making sure to move very little and focus his remaining sliver of energy on whistling. Eventually he had to stop, and he wearily trudged away from the clearing and back to his apartment.

The streets of Tsukigare were empty of people at the moment, the morning only just beginning. A few shopkeepers quietly sweeped the area around their shops and began opening up. He nodded and smiled to a few that he had helped before but otherwise kept to himself. Even Oda’s usually energetic personality was subdued by the exhaustion he felt, and he walked silently through the town.

He thought about going the most direct way home, but something in him was reluctant to return back to the apartment and fall asleep. Why? He thought to himself, what was nagging at him? He thought back to the dreams he had while training. Oda had to admit at that moment that his history with his family was weighing on him. He took an exhausted seat on a bench, not wanting to address any of these feelings but now too exhausted to work against them.

He peeked his eyes open at the small market, clenching his fists. He knew what he was craving, but ever since his undercover mission had ended he was hoping to shake his cigarette habit. He sat fidgeting briefly before standing up and walking over to the store, the shop owner was conveniently opening up as Oda approached. Just my luck, he thought. Of all the times he had hoped the shop would be open but was closed, now was the time it opened right on time. He walked in and made short and friendly conversation with the shop owner before buying a pack of cigarettes and returning to the bench across the road. He popped one out of the cardboard protection and lit it with a small use of his Candlelight technique.

Sitting there, smoking in the nicotine and staring up at the morning sky, Oda counted his blessings. And, remembered his curses. No matter what he did they seemed to resonate and creep into any of his thoughts. He longed for his parents to see what he had made of himself so far, and winced at knowing just what his father would say about his career. Oda sighed and put the cigarette out, continuing to have imaginary arguments and hypothetical conversations with his parents. Undulating from anger to sadness to peace and back again. By the time he was finished an empty pack of cigarettes and a pile of cigarette butts lay at his feet. He picked them up, awkwardly holding them in his hands before finding a trashcan and discarding them. He was exhausted but Oda would never be tired enough to litter.

After some time sitting on the bench and thinking of his family, his past friends, and any of his future plans, Oda made his way back through the town to finally arrive at his apartment. The day was almost in full swing now, and Oda's neighbor was tending to her garden as usual. She eyed Oda as he approached. “Long night there mister? Who’s the lucky lady?”

Oda blushed a bright red but otherwise played it off and laughed, “No lucky lady yet ma’am. Just some training.” He must have let his mind wander and his face falter, because the woman took on a more concerned look.

“What’s troubling you Oda?” She said gently.

Oda was taken back by the sudden shift in the mood, perhaps that is why he was feeling more honest than usual about this side of himself. “Oh you know… Just tired…I wish” He paused, struggling to fully form the thought. He decided to change tact. “My parents aren’t fan of shinobi…” The older woman began to piece things together.

“And, I guess I just wish I could share with them everything I’m doing here.” Oda began to feel some tears rising but suppressed them, looking away. “I know they’d be against it though… They’d think I’m a part of the problem not the solution.” Those last words stung him as he spoke, the truth in them hurting more than he could bear.

His emotional state was broken by the gentle hand on his shoulder from his neighbor, she spoke softly. “That’s gotta be hard son.” His facade crumbled at her simple acknowledgement, and tears ran down his face as he sniffled and looked down.

“Thanks boss lady” He said through some sniffles, the woman remained silent and simply let him regain his composure. He wiped his face and looked at her again, giving a smile. “It’s all gonna work out fine, maybe one day I’ll return to them and prove to them the good I can do.” He looked down again, his smile faltering.

“Or maybe you wont.” The old woman said, somewhat startling Oda.

“But that’s okay too dear… Your path is your own, and no one elses.” She continued. Oda smiled at that, and nodded in agreement before wiping his eyes once more of any water.

“Thank’s…” He paused “Say I don’t think I’ve actually ever learned your name.” He said with some embarrassment.

She gave a courteous smile and bowed slightly “Yūna at your service”

Oda grasped her hand and gave it a small squeeze in appreciation. “Thankyou Yuna, your support means the world.” She smiled before taking on a more mischievous look and swatting his hand away “Don’t be trying to hit on me now young man” the joke had its intended effect, breaking himself out of his somber mood with a belly laugh.

“Yes ma’am of course” He replied before saying goodbye and returning to his apartment.

The apartment had a stale smell to it, he had spent an entire day at the training grounds and the apartment had grown very stuffy. He opened some windows, and organized his bed. Then, without even thinking, he did the dishes. Dishes and cleanliness were something Oda was terrible at, but for some reason now he felt an energy and motivation to make his home organized. He spent some time after that organizing and cleaning his apartment.

He finally finished and plopped down onto the bed as a reward. The relaxing release of finally laying down after a long day's work took over, and in no time Oda was fast asleep. He had no dreams in that sleep, and for the next day Oda was dead to the outside world while he was in a deep and peaceful slumber.

[Exit]

WC: 8000(5335x1.5)

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