Chapter 15

 

The pressure on my limbs loosened drastically as I loosed a tiny bit of Chakra into my weighted gear to dial the settings all the way down.

There was an odd sense of incongruity as I stood on the Akimichi training grounds without feeling incredibly encumbered at the same time. It was as if my body associated this location with pressure, and effort.

A few paces in front of me stood Chouza Sensei as he radiated with intensity. His arms were folded in front of him, and his face was set in a gruff, serious frown. But he was betrayed by the eagerness I'd felt from him. The impatience.

I smirked and rolled my eyes. Even with his knowledge of my abilities, he still kept up the stoic facade. I contemplated calling him out on it, but inevitably decided to not ruin his fun.

This was to be our first one-on-one training session—the first of many. Each member of our team would get one session weekly, where Sensei would work to hone our strengths and shore up our weaknesses.

Although, I was sure it'd be more of the latter for now.

"Ready?" He asked, and my fingertips tingled as my Chakra buzzed in anticipation. My tendons ached lightly as I stretched to keep myself limber.

I nodded.

Almost immediately as I did so, Sensei exploded in a burst of movement. I bent backwards and lowered my body in response to evade a perceived backhand that enlarged to the size of my torso. I watched as the hand whipped across my chest, before it abruptly stopped in place, and I gasped as he transitioned into a stomach splitting fist directly into my chest.

I bodily slammed downwards, and exhaled in a sickly wheeze as I hit the ground. I watched through bleary eyes as Sensei slowly returned to his previous location on the field.

He gave me my much needed time to recover, and I hesitantly nodded when I was ready again. With a gruff grunt, he once again burst into movement, in a picture perfect rendition of his previous attack. This time though, I shuffled backwards out of his reach, and he only needed to take one more large step before slamming the same fist into the same spot he did before.

Needless to say, I keeled over and began my battle for air.

"Do not run," he stated with a serious intensity that brooked no argument, "Your teammates will be behind you, Ino. You cannot run."

I glared at him as my vision blurred at the edges, before asking through a distinct wheeze, "What. Do you. Expect?"

He mulled over his words for a moment, and when he spoke, it was with a chiding tone, "I expect for you to stand your ground. I expect for you to not give up," and as he continued, the seriousness in his tone tapered off into one of concern and understanding as he noticed the growing sense of hopelessness in me, "I expect for you to never stop trying things, no matter how impossible it may seem."

It was something that I'd been struggling to comprehend. How I could keep my positivity when I could see my failures before they'd even happened. When I could see all the different ways to fail.

"Even if you have no ideas, never stop moving; Buy yourself the time for something to come."

Eventually, I got my breathing under control. I didn't really understand, but there was a lesson there. I'd just have to keep trying until I understood it.

Believe in the future me and all that.

Still, I had… concerns, "You're so much faster than me though, Sensei."

"Do you think the enemy will slow down for you?" He responded with a mocking huff, "Besides, every Jounin is at least this fast. I'm one of the slow ones."

I was in awe, really. I knew Jounin were fast, and I'd seen Sensei move even faster. And he was considered slow?

"I'll let you in on a little secret. If you can't keep up with my speed, cheat," he chuckled at my bewildered expression and continued, "You have a gift Ino. Only you have the opportunity to patiently choose your moment to act. All of us regular shinobi have to rely on prediction, reaction, and wit."

"You have perfect information. Make every move count. Think outside the box."

Perhaps I'd been… hasty in choosing my actions, seeing how easily I'd been countered this entire time. Perhaps I could be more patient, give my opponent less time to react.

I can do that. I think.

Maybe.

I nodded shakily as I rose from my hard seat on the ground. Sensei nodded, and without hesitation, burst into action yet again. This time, I waited until the very last moment I could without getting hit, and bent backwards like my first attempt, and his enlarged palm flew past my torso a moment later.

He quickly retreated to his previous position a few paces away from me, and I saw a tiny smirk crack through his stoic face for just a moment, "Better, but you can do even better yet. Take advantage, Ino."

He came at me again, but this time I had something I wanted to try out. An inkling of an idea. It'd either fail spectacularly, or work… well enough I supposed.

I watched and waited as he approached, and kept my body as still as I could.

Now!

I vaulted, and my back arched over his enlarged limb as it swiped undeneath me. I felt my shirt flutter from the mere wind pressure his passing swipe caused, and I pushed to convert the momentum into a sweeping overhead kick to his face.

Chouza Sensei grinned as my shin slammed into his cheek. A cheeky, proud grin that promised an underlying mischief. I lingered in the air for a moment, and gulped.

In a burst of rapid movement, he grabbed my ankle and I yelped as he slammed me into the ground.

"Much better," his smile deepened as he admitted, "Good idea, but both the execution and the target you chose were sloppy." I shuddered as a wisp of brutality slipped through his facade, "Aim for an eye next time."

I groaned through the pain as I laid on the floor, "I just came up with it, Sensei."

He nodded, "Good. Trusting your instincts is a good thing," he spoke with an eager pride as he rubbed his chin, "However, even if the decision was made in haste, it still needs to be executed to perfection. And that includes your recovery."

He continued as if he didn't notice my hesitant nod.

"Every day after you wake up, you will undergo more rigorous flexibility training," he stated with finality, and I accepted his decision with poise; If it was anything like physical conditioning… I was sure it'd be alright.

"Good. Now, round two," Sensei's hands burst into a motion, and I noticed his overall girth lessened minutely as a perfect clone of Sensei displaced the air as it popped into place beside him.

The clone—an Akimichi Hiden Jutsu, Nikudan Bunshin— looked no different to Sensei, and it was particularly disorienting to feel his particular emotions split in twain.

My dread rose as I felt his slightly malicious glee appear from two sources. When they spoke, they overlapped each others' words, "Now. Dodge," the two Chouza Senseis came at me with their arms extended, parallel from the ground at different heights.

"Nikudan Lariat!"

I quickly leapt up from my position on the floor and spun as two muscular arms slammed through the air and whizzed past me, both underneath and above. My heart slammed against my chest uncontrollably as I landed haphazardly, "Wha—"

"—Good. Again," they stopped on one leg, and seemed to lose no momentum as they spun and came at me again. Except faster.

And faster. And faster. And faster.

Getting clipped hurt.

A lot.

 

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I was wrong, so very wrong.

This was so. Much. Worse.

My thighs burned as if lava erupted through my skin as I forced my legs into unnatural positions; My right leg reached far above my head as I stuck the sole of that foot onto the marked spot on the wall.

That was one 'step'.

I had to scale the wall, and each 'step' upwards required me to alternate between a hand and a leg; And to make matters worse, I had to stick to only the marked locations; Most of which which were spaced in a way that I had to stretch that limb maximally to even reach.

Every 'step' was a stretch, one that felt like it tested every muscle in my body.

All in all, I hated it, and I hated everyone involved with coming up with it.

The week had passed by in a blink, and every morning I tortured myself with the new addition to my regimen. Every morning's particular blend of hell differed slightly from the last, as Sensei didn't want it to become boring.

The worst was having to contort my legs behind my back and up and over my shoulders. Climbing the wall that way was hell. People weren't meant to bend that way.

That being said, not even training from hell could ruin the day for me.

Because today… today was the day.

Today was the day we'd finally get to step up to learning Elemental Jutsu—or, rather, we'd learn how to train Nature Transformations, and however much time later once we'd acquired sufficient mastery, we'd learn Elemental Jutsu. Regardless, I'd been waiting for this day since we'd learned our elemental affinities years back.

My family's element was typically Earth—The name Yamanaka usually signified as such— but I was the lucky exception, I guess. I had a strong affinity towards both Earth and Water. The Water affinity likely came from my mother's side, and I found myself giddy at the prospect of learning something from her.

My Chakra vibrated in excitement as it coursed through my extended limbs as I scaled the wall.

I envisioned tidal waves, and myself standing atop them cackling as my enemies tried to get to me from their place deep within the mud. They'd yell, "Please spare us, lady Ino!"

In my benevolence, of course I would. I was the magnanimous sort.

With a giggle, I leapt off the wall, and rubbed my aching limbs before performing light stretches to decompress.

When I hopped out of the shower, I did so with a pep in my step, and a flourish of my long hair that resulted in the floor being completely drenched.

But, no matter. Today.

Was the day.

I stepped out of my house much to the amusement of my dad, and almost immediately noticed that I could somewhat feel a portion of the Hyuuga compound.

I wasn't surprised, as the Hyuuga compound wasn't that far—only a district away— but until today I hadn't been able to reach it from here. I hadn't ever had the need to go in that particular direction. Not recently, at least.

It was incredibly evident that atop the Hyuuga compound sat a cloud of… the closest description I could think of was repressed smog. There was an air of stifled frustration within the majority of the clansmen that I could see. One that seemed pervasive, and incessant.

They walked with their faces set in rigid frowns, as if mad at the world for daring to exist.

Maybe Tenten really was onto something.

A few Hyuuga stood out to me though. These in particular had their Byakugan activated constantly as they watched and waited intently. My assumption was that they were sentries; But instead of watching outsiders, they would mostly watch their own.

Whenever another clan member would activate their Byakugan, those sentries would have a spike in their focus, and I could feel it as they honed in on that person.

Weird.

I laughed lightly as I walked; I felt like the bird who stalked the mantis as I watched the watchers.

I didn't get to spy on them for too long though, as the chunk of the compound I could see quickly dwindled out of my range as I walked.

That made me wonder what Hina's role in that little Hyuuga ecosystem was. My best guess was that she awkwardly ignored it all, and pretended like it didn't happen.

 

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"Nature Transformation."

We sat in a loose semi-circle opposing Chouza Sensei as he stood with his hands folded to his front, "What do you think it is?"

Silence met Sensei's question, and I nudged Shikamaru who only sighed before speaking in a languid manner, "Basically just moulding your Chakra's Nature to one or more of the five basic elements."

Chouza Sensei nodded, "Correct. Nature Transformation is an advanced technique, and one of the pillars of both shinobi lifestyle and combat," he raised a hand, and revealed a clump of earth that spun and roiled atop his palm, before dispersing itself into the wind, "Every person's chakra has an affinity to at least one of the basic affinities. It is important to note that you are not limited to only what you have an affinity for, and even without an affinity, proficiency can be learned and trained."

"There are more Nature Transformations, but they are beyond the scope of this lesson," he glanced at each of us as we collectively buzzed with excitement. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, he continued, "Now, all three of you have an affinity for Earth Release, with Ino having an added affinity in Water Release."

"However, don't just assume that having more is better," he looked intently at Shikamaru and Chouji as I internally preened, "All it means is that you'll be more focused to begin with."

"That being said; For simplicity, we'll start you all getting a feel for Earth Release," he then gently placed a bowl of soft soil in front of each of us.

"Earth represents balance. Its energy is stabilizing and conserving," as he spoke, he paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind him, "It is also associated with patience, practicality, and effort. It is nurturing, it seeks harmony, and it is rooted in stability."

I felt his emotions dampen bit by bit as he paced, dropping into a serene calm. I raised my hand and asked, "Why is any of that important, Sensei?"

"Because, when learning to manipulate the element, you must know its precepts. How it feels. How it wants to move," he only briefly stopped pacing to answer my question before continuing, "It can typically take months to achieve a practical level in Nature Transformation. Occasionally, even years. It may be easier on you if you allow yourself to fall into a complementary mindstate."

He then pointed to the three bowls, "Now, pour your chakra into the soil; Memorize the feel of it, the feel your chakra has when moving through it," he suppressed a laugh as if remembering an old joke, "Be one with the dirt."

"This is just the first step. Begin."

I placed my hands into the soil, and slowly poured my Chakra in, much like I did when learning wall walking. It was a simple matter to control my Chakra when it was within me, but as usual, once it left my body it fought me every step of the way to return to its apparent base nature.

Which was… the opposite of what I'd needed.

Earth was calm. Patience. Harmony. Like a rock, I guess.

My Chakra apparently said to hell with all that, and chose violence. The very second I released my hold on it, it bounced from corner to corner of the bowl, not slowing down at all as it passed through the now warm soil. Without fail, it would keep moving until it ran out of energy.

I tried forcing my Chakra to a standstill and moving it like a tendril through the soil, but the farther it got from me, the harder it was to control. What began with uncontrolled wiggles, ended with it fraying and breaking off, before flying through the soil as it did before.

I sighed as I felt Shikamaru light up in a mix of curiosity and wonder. He wasn't having much issue with the exercise from what I could tell, his Chakra must have been happy to follow his orders.

I exhaled deeply in frustration.

Maybe the tendril was too thin? It seemed to work for a little bit.

I poured more in, and shored up the base of my construct, which resulted in a much thicker, more stable tendril of Chakra. It was a lot more viscous, and the soil roiled slightly as it moved through it. My Chakra may have misbehaved less than before, but I could tell that was likely just because there was so much more if it clumped together, and it just couldn't move as easily.

And even if I could keep my Chakra from being energetic… I couldn't get it to be calm.

I couldn't help but become frustrated with the whole exercise, and as my frustration rose, it became harder and harder to keep my Chakra in a controlled state.

It also didn't help that I noticed an… issue. The more forceful I was, the more the tendril of Chakra seemed to vibrate from within, as if upset that I had the audacity to keep it locked down.

I scoffed at that thought, it was my Chakra after all, and I had an affinity to Earth. This really shouldn't have been that hard.

Why won't you just work?

Something had to give though, and before long… the pot's contents exploded and shot up into the air. Violently.

My hands gripped into a tight fist and I winced as the corner of the bowl cracked.

Which of course got Sensei's attention.

He walked over to me, and poured a new gripful of soil into my bowl, "Remember, Ino. Patience. Harmony."

I am being patient, damnit!

I dove back into the task, but my Chakra proved no easier to wrangle into submission. In fact, I was pretty sure it was more difficult than before. The more I failed, the more annoyed I got. The angrier I got.

"Ino."

I've never had issues with Chakra stuff before.

Well, the wall was annoying, but I found a way in the end. It wasn't even that hard.

But with this… with each failure, what little patience I had eroded.

I should be getting it.

With each failure, what semblance of control I had dwindled.

Why aren't I getting it!? This makes no sense!

"Calm down, Ino."

Why!?

With each—

—The pot exploded, and I slammed my hands down beside the shattered remains after yet another failure. My vision grew hazy as I breathed deeply, gulping for air in an attempt to calm myself down.

To no avail.

It still. Wouldn't. Wor—

—I was broken out of my stupor by the sound of rocks snapping and crackling as they hit the floor.

I looked around me at the sight of falling tiles as they slammed into the ground. I recoiled in horror at the sight of my teammates huddled behind Chouza Sensei, who had numerous large tiles held in his hand. Multiple more tiles surrounded my team, with rivulets gouged in the deep brown soil.

I froze.

My anger disappeared quickly as if it never existed in the first place, "I-I'm sorry."

"Ino."

"I didn't mean to," my words were as shaky as my palms as they dug through what was left of the soil, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"

"—Ino!" a large hand slammed onto my back, and I looked up with wide eyes at Chouza Sensei as he radiated an earthly calm, "It's okay. Everyone's okay."

I looked around, and saw Chouji as he donned a rattled sheepish grin, and Shikamaru as he shoved the mounting fear behind him to show a calm front.

"—See, it's okay. Everything's okay."

That didn't calm me down though, and my breathing became more rapid, more frantic. My fingers tingled as I scraped them along the floor, and only a smaller hand on my shoulder—Shikamaru, it was Shikamaru— stopped my descent.

I whimpered as another hand—this one larger; Chouji, then— found itself to my other shoulder, but it helped ground me.

Before long, Chouza Sensei appeared with a flourish of detritus— when did he even leave? — "Here," before handing me a strip of paper. Chakra paper.

I grasped it in confusion, and instinctively poured my Chakra into it. I expected the paper to crumple before becoming soggy, like it did before, but it didn't. It immediately turned to ash and dispersed itself into the air.

Wha—

"As I thought. Somehow, your Chakra Affinity has completely changed," I didn't know what to think about that, "Such a thing is… unfounded, as far as I'm aware," Sensei rubbed at his chin in thought for a moment before continuing, "Yet here we are."

I had been looking forward to learning to wield Water, and now… I had a Fire affinity? Out of nowhere?

Just like that?

Before I could interject, he said, "No matter," and performed a Tiger hand seal; Immediately after, a flame sparked above his raised hand.

As he held the flame out towards me, I felt… something. A need. It felt as if something inside of me yearned for it. It urged me to exert my will. I stood, and felt hands fall off of me as I walked towards Sensei's flame as if controlled.

"Fire is all about dynamism. Strength. Persistence. Restlessness," as I drew closer to it, I felt it more and more clearly. It painted a beautiful picture, and I felt it writhe in anticipation with each step I took, "Fire provides warmth. It enables enthusiasm, and creativity—" I shoved my hand into the flame without question as the distractions faded away, and I distinctly felt faraway echoes of shock ripple before disappearing.

My flame leapt out of the large man's palm and wrapped itself around my own. It danced between my fingers playfully, and tickled my skin as if all was ri—

"Ino."

"Hmm?" I responded to the distant voice as I once again lost myself in the warmth. The way my flame vibrated was so similar to my Chakra. It had so much life. So much energy—

—A deep hearty chuckle snapped me out of my reverie, but even so, my flame held my attention. It was hard to focus on anything else.

"You're a natural, it seems," the deep voice said with some undertone a distant part of my brain said was a mix of trepidation and anticipation, "Although, I've never seen someone with such… explosive failures with another Nature."

As I started to lose myself in the wonder that flowed around my palm, the voice spoke again, "Do you think you can mould your Chakra to this state?"

"My Chakra is always in this state," I said in wonder before I froze in realization, "It always has been."

I felt the speaker's incredulity rise, "Hmm. Try expelling some from your throat, and up through your mouth, but be careful. Ah, you'll need a Tiger—"

The process was easy. Instinctive. My Chakra flowed along the path I guided it as if overjoyed. As if it were waiting all my life for this moment. It was like warm milk flowed up through my throat and out of my mouth.

It buzzed with energy as it flowed unimpeded, and the flames that left my mouth were a pristine bright white. The further they got from me, the more they tapered off into a beautiful bright orange. I felt the figures surrounding me back up even more at the wondrous sight.

Surprisingly, as long as I wasn't trying to calm it down, the flames followed my will easily.

I kept the flow going, not feeling even the slightest bit of exertion, before someone—Chouji. That was Chouji— asked, "Doesn't that hurt?" I followed his gaze to my pursed lips as the flames licked off of them.

I chuckled, and as I did, the flames sputtered outwards and upwards, flowing up my face.

"Nope, not at all," I said in wonder, "It feels warm. Comforting."

"Well from here it feels hot," Shikamaru added snidely, "You know, like fire."

I shrugged in confusion as the large stream of flames danced around me like a serpent. With a bout of inspiration, I split it into numerous bright clumps, which I shaped into orbs.

"And you can control them freely?" Sensei asked in wonder and I nodded, "That reminds me of the Housenka Jutsu. Visually, at least."

I looked at him in curiosity, which he took as a prompt to flash through a series of hand seals before he spat out numerous small flames—which I immediately felt a connection to.

His—my flames halted mid air under my will, and they intensified as they did so. They joined the rest of my flames, and the air visibly became hazy around each new addition as they grew more and more vibrant and bright.

I mulled over the name in my mind, "I like it," I wasn't sure why it resonated with me so much, but something within me seemed to trill from the name alone.

"Housenka," I whispered, and the flames flared and flashed even brighter as they vibrated in tandem with my cheer.

I grinned.