Understanding One's Self

The first step is always the hardest. Haruka's knees were wrapped around a tree branch as he hung upside down, arms crossed and deeply in thought. Of course he could go through the standard training exercises drilled into Academy students, and he would, but where would he go after that? How would Haruka develop himself into a better shinobi? He swayed lightly back and forth, his messy hair and loose clothing hanging toward the ground beneath him. -Think, Haruka. What do you have going for you right now?- He often had these internal conversations with himself as it was significantly less taxing than a conversation with someone else, and though it was a bit sad to admit, there was no one on the planet who knew him as well as he did, himself. The boy did this by design, refusing to get any closer than he needed to be with anyone.

What wasn't by design was the image of his mother's smiling face flashing into his mind. It was only for the briefest of moments, but even that was enough to shake Haruka to his core. His comfortable perch on a large tree inside the Grand Training Facility was disturbed and the boy went plummeting to the ground below. The free fall seemed like it took forever. In reality it couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 seconds. The tree he was perched on wasn't exactly a thousand year old oak standing since the warring states period. No, this tree was likely planted or grown with ninjutsu specifically for this training facility. But as the ground rapidly approached Haruka naturally twisted his body in the air and gracefully landed directly on both feet with barely a sound.

Immediately he let out a chuckle, straightened his jacket, and shrugged. "Thanks, mom. Now people far and wide will tell the story of how the Legendary Haruka's first act as a real shinobi...was fall out of a tree." No they wouldn't. He glanced around to make sure either no one was near or too busy with their own training to notice the debacle. He had a very long way to go before becoming the "Legendary Haruka", but now he knew where to begin. The first step was always the hardest, and he was ready to take it.



[1]

The critique of himself began. Haruka was perfectly average in almost all physical respects. Average strength, average speed, average chakra, average endurance, everything. What he wasn't average in was his coordination. He was nimble, graceful, and found weaving hand signs to be easy, easy enough that he could do it with one hand. He didn't come from an average bloodline, rather the storied Yuki clan. And being from that bloodline, the luck of his birth, gave him access to the Ice nature release, which he was also more than passable with. This is where he'd begin. It's almost like he skipped a step. He had trained his ice release, but not his water release. Haruka huffed like he was embarrassed it took him even this long to figure out where to begin.

With a grin, he started moving. Leaping from the ground to in between branches of trees to increase the difficulty of his work. Haruka turned his attention inward to his own body. What this felt like. The wind resistance generated by his own speed. How fast each new tree branch approached. The feeling of the leaves on his skin as he darted through them. His eyes remaining on a fixed spot on the ground as an imaginary opponent stood, stuck in place by a teammate's technique. The different angles and visibility of this spot as his own position rapidly changed. He stopped abruptly, crouched on a specific branch with no obstructions in the way of the opponent in his mind.

Tiger, ox, tiger, rat. His fingers danced to the four hand signs he knew as the Water Bullet technique. Now would be his first real attempt at it. He felt the chakra move in his stomach in response. -Get used to this feeling- he thought as he released his hands before the jutsu formed. That was the baseline. -Again-. He kicked off the branch he was on and restarted his movements, this time weaving the signs while in motion. He landed on the same branch as before with a clear line to the chosen spot on the ground just as his fingers formed into the sign of the rat. Once again he felt his chakra move in response. From the previous techniques he had learned, he had a feeling he was doing something right. -Again, this time for real-

Haruka felt the sweat gather behind his headband. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, invigorated by his surprising aptitude to his chosen training method. This time he toned it back slightly, wanting to make sure his first shot at the new jutsu didn't have some kind of interference. He slowed down a little, pushing off each branch and zipping through the air with less speed than before. Once on his perch of attack he allowed his hands to move. Tiger, ox, tiger, rat. This time he didn't release the technique. Once again he felt the chakra in his body move, coalescing in his stomach. He took a deep breath, arched his back, and lurched forward.

Out of his mouth came a torrent of water, slamming against the spot where his imaginary opponent was. Haruka sustained the jutsu for a second making sure he was capable of doing so, and closed his mouth. A huge grin spread across his lips. He felt drained, but not nearly as drained as he thought he'd be. Already his mind raced with the possibilities of his new Water Bullet technique. He almost salivated at the thought of a Raiton using teammate rushing in and sending an amplified jolt of electricity into the unfortunate enemy; of a close range fighter trying to attack him and being blown away in a deluge of water; of changing the properties of this new wet battlefield to ice to make the terrain more difficult.

Haruka was filled with a sense of pride. He had been instructed to learn all of the techniques he learned in the past. This was the first jutsu that was well and truly his. And it would be far from the last. Even better, he wasn't fatigued. No, he wanted more. Now.


[2]
Word count: 714
Learned Jutsu: Water Release, Water Bullet (C rank)
CP remaining: 62/70

(allow me to apologize in advance for my sloppy writing on this one lol)

With the new water style jutsu under his belt, Haruka felt more invigorated than ever. His body felt light, that he could move quickly and silently wherever he pleased. He felt strong, like he could break through an entire tree with just a kick. He felt deadly, like he could stalk an enemy while hiding in plain sight and not be noticed. His chakra felt endless, rivalling the massive conglomerations of chakra known as the bijuu. None of these things were actually true, and Haruka understood he simply felt high on success, but being in such a state was an advantageous spot to push past your limits and train even harder.

Back to training he went, this time going over the basics. If ninjutsu is where he excelled, his body is where he lacked. He began long distance running, sprinting, pushups, shadow boxing, throwing dummy shuriken at targets of increasing distance, acrobatic maneuvers through trees. Though he likely would need a training partner for this aspect, he practiced stealth, blending into his environments and moving silently. All the while, Haruka was lost in his thoughts. Luckily all these exercises didn't take much active thought. What he did think about, as any excited young man would, were the pros and cons of his new Water Bullet technique. How it fit in with his style and his other abilities. He began to dissociate, seeing his body from a bird's eye view. Haruka threw a punch, and threw his thoughts into the future. Futures that may never come to pass. A side kick followed the punch as his body went through a very simple shadow boxing routine. He recalled a time when he was younger, reading Suiton scrolls while he watched more accomplished Yuki clan ninja train. Even as a kid, Haruka identified a critical weakness of water style. Not to say he was some genius, more like the weakness was painfully obvious. Many Suiton techniques, especially the higher ranked ones....needed existing water.

But like with any school of techniques that had a weakness, most times they also had a way to cover that weakness. Three hand signs flashed into Haruka's mind. His memory at the moment almost stunned him. He never had photographic memory before. It must be as a result of learning his Water Bullet technique, feeling good about himself and being in the zone. Haruka snapped back to reality, now dripping sweat from his various exercises. He threw his jacket to the side and collected himself for a moment. The Kirigakure Grand Training Facility definitely earned its moniker. There were several different locales all with different environments for a ninja to hone whatever particular skill they needed to. For today, Haruka's chosen training area was the wooded area. -Right...it should work here-.

He stood completely still, reflecting on the jutsu he knew he would need to learn to complement his water release. Only a few hand signs, less than Water Bullet, and quite possibly even more important for a Suiton user to have in their arsenal. This time he weaved the hand signs slowly, with precision. Haruka had lost track of time while going through his physical training routine. A significant amount of time must have passed. He felt hungry and his limbs were heavy. His shirt was drenched in sweat and clinging to his wiry frame. This would be his last test of the day.

Boar, dog, ram. Though physically tired, Haruka's chakra reacted just the same to the hand signs. It reached out through the ground in what felt like tendrils snaking their way through the soil. He felt his chakra coalesce in a spot above said soil, and in the blink of an eye a small waterfall materialized out of thin air, cascading down to the dirt below. "Whooooooooo!" he exclaimed happily, throwing out his arms and falling to the ground near the waterfall, allowing himself to be sprayed by the water misting off from the main stream.

He barely had to concentrate on feeding chakra to his construct. It would exist as long as he desired it to. Haruka laid there with no intention of moving for some time. Now it was time to triumph in his success, and rest.

[3]
Word count: 721
Jutsu learned: Water Release, Waterfall Basin (C rank)
CP remaining 58/70 (technique requiring 1 upkeep still active)