OOC:

The trek away from the compound where the duo had been training was longer than Nayoko had expected, and took himself and the Mizukage outside of the village gates, beyond the view of its walls and into a forest that Nayoko had been to a couple of times before. It was not the exact same spot, but it was close enough to the place where Nayoko had first met Burittsu, the first Kirigakure shinobi that the Hattori had ever interacted with. They had gone on a couple of missions together, charged with the duty of killing smugglers that had entered the land of Water with weapons and contraband of all kinds; the missions had also been very short ones. Though later on Burittsu had attacked Nayoko and his friend Teru Uchiha before running of to satisfy some sort of personal vendetta, he had learned one thing from the man; the shinobi of Kirigakure no Sato were ruthless, and that was why they were so effective.

Eventually, the pair of ninja arrived at the forgotten well. It was a location that Nayoko had heard mentioned before, but not because of any significance, but rather simply because it existed. It was odd to Nayoko that such an unremarkable well, sitting in the haze of the Village Hidden in the Mists, was know enough to warrant having a title. Regardless of what its importance was, Nayoko only saw an old well with a moldy rope attached to a bucket that was rotten nearly all the was through. It was as he was analyzing this bucket that he saw Ayakashi moving into a meditative stance, sitting down next to the very same well and seemingly ignoring the young Hattori’s questions. Though he knew better, he was about to ask why he was being kept in the dark when suddenly and with a flash, the Mizukage’s body was covered with green lines, similar to the blue ones that had traced her body earlier on the other occasions that he had seen her. Her eyes then suddenly flickered open and faced him before she began her lesson.

"Okay, this is about as bright as I can get it without getting the ANBU worried about some kind of mass destruction and false alarm. So, the state that I'm in now, is almost pure nature chakra. Most of your sensory techniques, because they are not attuned will not even begin to pick it up, but I want you to try. Attunement is simply attempting to visualize something in your mind that you haven't seen before. Without seeing it, it's hard to do... but now you can. You can see the energy flowing off me, and when you try to sense it, your mind thinks its not there... its a strange cognitive dissonance that you'll feel... but keep trying, keep trying to find the feeling that 'should' be there but isn't. Try hard enough, and it will come to you like a whisper, focus on it harder and harder and harder until that flicker of shadow comes into view and that will be my nature chakra... so, I want you to give this a try. And while you're trying I will tell you more about nature chakra..." Nayoko could not completely stifle the sigh that escaped his lips as he sat down on the ground. It was the second time in the last couple of days that he had been asked to meditate, and Nayoko had never really been one for meditation. Regardless, when the most powerful woman you have ever met tells you to do something, you do it.

And so the twenty two year old sat down, crossing his legs and placing his hands, palm up, on his knees before closing his eyes to try to concentrate on the chakra that his teacher was exuding. It did not take long for the cognitive dissonance that Ayakashi mentioned to become apparent to him. She had described it so well before, and so he tried his best to allow his mind to recognize the presence of the whisper that did not want to be heard. It was difficult at first, but before too long, he began to see a flicker of green light registering in his mind’s eye. As he tried to concentrate harder on it, he listened to the woman’s continued explanation. "In our bodies, we have present all 3 brands of chakra, mind body and nature, but, only 2 that through physical and mental training are widely useful for a ninja. So, focusing on that, you have come this far. Nature chakra is an ambient force that lays everywhere, not in enough quantity that we can use well, even if it is within us. But, unlike spirit and body chakra, which is unique to sapient life, Nature chakra is everywhere so, the art of the sage is drawing on that ambient power in the world around you, flowing it through yourself and using it, in conjunction with your body and spirit chakra to complete the triangle of power. Your chakra becomes more dense, reinforced, stronger and it packs a hell of a raw punch. But controlling it is difficult. Even I'm not very good at it, but, I've never been good at external chakra control. Ninjutsu was never my strongest suit."

Nayoko heard her chuckle then, yet again letting her more human side slip through the cracks. And in that moment, Nayoko was able to see it. Ayakashi’s senjutsu signature erupted like a blazing fire of verdant green in the centre of a black void, flickering and flitting with an energy that was infectious. “I see it…I see you…It’s beautiful…” His voice trailed off as he then listened to the further instruction given to him by his teacher. His eyes remained closed, and as he concentrate don her magnificent glow, he watched as it slowly faded away into near nothingness, becoming more of a dull glow of green embers rather than the inferno she had been before. “Now, try to find that chakra signature again..." Nayoko nodded, his eyes still closed as he focused on the flow of chakra around him, trying to locate that energy that Ayakashi had been emitting. Once again, the difficulty began to frustrate him, almost to the point of overwhelming him for a moment. But then something changed; he saw a green light flicker into view.

At first it was just a singular light, dancing in the distance but not too far off. He was confused for a moment, given that it clearly was not emanating from the Mizukage directly, and so to try to understand, he shifted his focus to that point. Then another light blinked into existence. Then another, and another, and yet another still. This continued on and on until the entire area around him at lit up like it was a new year’s celebration with glowing green light. It was incredible, and Nayoko could not stop his jaw from dropping. He could sense everything around him, from the small ant tat was carrying food back to its mound, to the bird that that was watching them up from overhead, to the depth of the well before him with small organisms living in the stagnant water at the bottom. Everything was revealed to him to the finest of detail, and it was amazing.

“Lady Mizukage, I can see it all. Everything…It’s just so incredible.” Unable to contain himself, the young Hattori allowed his eyes to open, staring over at his new master with excitement. “I can’t believe that there was always so much chakra around us, but that I just could not see it.” He let out a soft chuckle that only came out of pure elation fir what awaited him. “I can feel it now, Lady Ayakashi. So, what’s next? I swear I’m ready for it.”

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The Mizukage did not answer Nayoko right away. Rather, she simply activated her sage mode once again, the symbols that the young Hattori had become accustomed to seeing appearing all over her body has she channeled the nature chakra of the world around her into herself. Now that he was attuned to it, Nayoko found himself sensing the chakra in the air around the pair shifting though her, like a breeze that was impossible to perceive through touch. That chakra was then compressed within the woman, which was such a foreign concept to Nayoko that he thought he was misinterpreting what was occurring. As she did this, the woman began to speak once again. "Meditation is at the heart of Senjutsu, breathing is the act of sustaining life, all living things breathe on some level. But first you need to make room for it, remember what i said, Nature chakra on its own fills an entity, like a body of water, but, if you can compress that water in the center, it will lower the pool, enabling it to be refilled. Creating this vacuum is how sages draw in nature chakra, but should we do it too fast or too aggressively, nature chakra can swell, overflow, or disturb that inner pool of chakra to the point it becomes violent like a churning sea. So the focus must be on control. What you will practice on when you're not with me, is reaching into yourself and attempting to control the nature chakra already within yourself, the first step, is being able to interact with it at all. You'll need to focus, focus on it deeply drawing your mind closer to it until you can feel it, then reach out your will as you would your spirit chakra and attempt to move it. You'll try and fail many times, but once you can, you will try to slowly let it sway, pull it back, then release it to roll forward like a tide going in and out. That's all you need do on that front for now. So, moving on to more practical lessons, i think it's time you met my teacher. The Butterfly Sage School exists within the mind of its pupils, and sadly, without expertise in Genjutsu I'm unable to summon The Dream, however she can... Don't let her appearances fool you though. "

“Who is she?” was all that Nayoko could say, trying to process all of the information that was being sent to him. He wanted to stop her to ask more question, but at the same time he just wanted to see every single thing that Ayakashi had to show him. And so, he remained silent as she stood up, staring off into the distant horizon before forming a single hand seal, her brow furrowing and her body tensing as she strained herself to do whatever it was she was doing. After a moment, she extended her hand to reveal a small marble in the palm of it. It did not seem special at all, but regardless, Nayoko waited patiently as the Mizukage stood still, holding the bead and remaining silent. Nayoko was not the type of person to wait around for much, and so after a few minutes of waiting, he began to get restless, sitting on the ground and waiting for something to happen. His eyes darted from one area to the next, searching for something, anything to occupy his time while he waited for whatever was supposed to happen.

Finally, after waiting for what felt like an eternity to the Konoha ninja, he caught a glimpse of something. It wasn’t much, but as he followed the movements of it, he was able to discern its size and rough shape. From a distance, it appeared to be a large butterfly, but as it came closer and closer, he eventually realized that it wasn’t just a butterfly, but rather a small, nude girl, less than a foot long riding a beautiful blue and white butterfly. As Nayoko tired to process the sight of the young, winged girl he started to wonder if he was going insane; maybe that nature chakra was getting to his head or something. The was her form flickered and warped through the air was certainly unnatural, and yet, something was telling Nayoko that whatever or whoever it was, it was really there. His theory of it not being real was squashed pretty quickly however when the entity began to speak. Its voice was monotone and clear, but bore a cacophonous echo that was startling to Nayoko. "I see you think yourself apt enough to take on a student for the school Ayakashi... are you sure this is wise? You have not held power within the butterfly school for long. You must know the risks you must undertake by doing this... though I'm sure he is a capable ninja, but, if your understanding of the school wavers, it's not your life that's at risk..."

It seemed to Nayoko that this was a conversation that he was not meant to take part in, despite him being the subject of interest. While he waited and watched the two converse, he tired again to focus on the nature chakra around himself and there two entities, only to be nearly blinded by the small being’s essence. Opening his eyes, he looked over as the Mizukage bowed to the strange figure, now understanding why. This was the sage animal she had spoken of; this was a master of the Butterfly Sage School. After they conversed for a while and the butterfly took a minute to ponder to itself, it finally replied to Ayakashi. "Very well, I'll help tutor you and over-watch your training with this boy, but as you cannot control the dream, I will attempt to read your intentions and move it as you see fit. But should I feel you're going too far, or if I feel he is not capable, I will be releasing him from your tutelage. Agreed?" The Mizukage nodded, and as soon as she did so, Nayoko felt a change in the air around them.

With his newly attuned senses, he could feel the nature chakra shift around the trio and into the butterfly before she threw her arms outward. As she did so, a pulse of energy erupted from her, flooding their surroundings and transforming the earth into something different as the ground they previously stood on fell away into nothingness. In its place stood an expansive outdoor complex that extended in every direction, houses scattered amongst streets carved with symbols that showed paths to each of the different Hattori family lines. Nayoko spun around trying to take everything in, seeing symbols that he never even knew related to his clan, and yet was somehow now aware of their existence. As he did this, he heard Ayakashi speaking to him, "Welcome to the Butterfly Sage School, we call it The Dream. It's not unlike a Genjutsu where our chakras are connected through the natural pathways that lay in the natural world. Here, willpower means everything. Genin can move mountains and Jounin can be like that of a child without will enough to do it. Most things here are possible. But, as here you're little more than an avatar of your consiousness, that tends to drag with it the baggage you carry with you. For example." Nayoko’s eyes followed her gesture as she referenced her shadow, which appeared as a wolf like beast that was under control, but by no means tame.

Glancing down at his own hands, he began to understand her explanation more and more. They appeared softer, less weathered than they were just moments ago, and looking over himself, he realized that it was not just his hands, but his entire body that seemed to have shrunk down to a younger version of himself. His muscles were less defined, and his hair was cut shorter, but beyond his appearance, he felt weaker too. In fact, felt just about as weak as he did back when he was a genin. Reeling from this revelation, he just barely managed to catch the tail end of Ayakashi’s warning.  "If you take a wound here, your chakra could destabilize and inflict a wound on your body psychosomatically. So, while i don’t think you will likely die... i would not test it. Many of the scars on my body were given to me by my own frostbite because of this place... Are we understood?"

Nayoko nodded slowly, glancing around once again in an attempt to understand his surroundings. “I don’t understand though...what do I need to overcome here if there is no darkness for me to conquer? What am I expected to…” His voice trailed off as his eyes fell on one carved symbol leading to one of the many streets. It was a simple symbol that represented a family line that he knew very well; Koyanagi. The Hattori paused, peering down the street in an attempt to see anything or anyone down there. But there was nothing, at least not yet. “That’s the line of the Hattori I come from,” Nayoko muttered quietly to Ayakashi. “My mother is of the line, whereas my father’s family had no special traits about them like the Heart of Iron that was passed down to myself and my sister.” Turning back to his teacher he settled his expression. “If willpower is everything here, then why do I feel so weak? My family holds the Heart of Iron, and my home burns with the Will of Fire. I’m confident in my abilities, so why am I no stronger than a genin?”

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Nayoko was beginning to see a pattern in how his new senjutsu teacher chose to explain things. Rather than answering the young man with her words before showing him exactly what she meant, she chose to use action as a method of teaching rather than expository speeches. Yet another example of this teaching method was shown when, instead of answering his question directly, she snickered for a moment before turning to face the beautiful butterfly creature that had brought them into the Dream. Ayakashi’s mentor then nodded, and once again, her actions brought a significant change to the world around Nayoko. The wind shifted as the Dream slowly changed, and before too long, the wind was as cold as the ice that the Mizukage was famous for wielding.

While the grove and the shrines of the Hattori clan families remained in place, suddenly a shimmering multitude of crystal trees would erect themselves from the earth around the pair. A forest made of diamonds grew into the space, causing the light without a source to dance around the Hattori family monument. Spinning around, Nayoko tried to take in all that was happening around him, focused on the new surroundings that seemed to thrust themselves into existence at the behest of the small creature riding a butterfly. It was all very surreal; but that feeling escalated as he turned back to face where Ayakashi stood, or at least where she had stood moments ago. Now, instead of the tall, powerful, commanding woman that Nayoko had partially grown accustomed to, there stood a girl no older that sever or eight years of age. It was clear that this girl and the Mizukage were one and the same; her hair was the same shade of blue and fell to the same length at her back. On top of that, this girl even wielded a weapon, though the tanto in her hand could only be referred to as a weapon in the most basic terms. But the way that the girl smiled up at Nayoko baffled him, leaving him feeling more uneasy. Finally, she began to explain herself now that the illustration was complete.

"This is how I began in the dream Nayoko, my first encounters here I thought I was having nightmares, remembering back to when i was a child and how my father died. But history didn't quite add up to reality. I was hunted by a monster, a beast, but the beast was my own and ultimately, I tamed it. You're here to do the same... You think and claim that you have no dark places in your heart, but, in the end your guilt and insecurity for 'failing' your genin bought you to me. There's a beast in us all, but I feel yours is going to be more dangerous than you realize." Though the words that she spoke were serious, the tone that left the young girls lips were hard to reconcile with the wisdom that she was pouring out for Nayoko. Even so, he pushed through the awkwardness of the whole encounter; for he knew that the girl in front of him had grown into the woman that was known across the whole of the shinobi world as one of, if not the most powerful ninja that was living. After a brief pause, the girl continued her explanation. "But at the end of the day, it's your will of fire and your heart of iron that have begun you in this state. It's the early stages here in which you grow the most through even the most minor exposure and training. You will quickly become as you see yourself as your mind adapts to the dream. The mind always lags behind those who have yet to train it. Were you any stronger here from day one, you would be considered a prodigy or a rare gift. So I would count your blessings."

Nodding slowly, Nayoko took a moment to glance back around the area, trying to find how he was to be tested here if he was supposed to grow like the Mizukage had said. Looking about, he picked up on hints of the darkness that festered below the surface of some of the crystal trees around him, putting him on edge for whatever was to come next. “Well then, if I am to grow here, what do I need to do? Do I train like I would anywhere else? Or is the approach here a little bit differ-“ The cold air behind him caught his attention, causing him to spin around just as the pulse of chakra erupted from her , flowing around Nayoko and swirling throughout the air in the place. Blinking and shielding his eyes, he grunted with surprise, trying to understand what exactly was happening. But all of that effort was for naught, for as soon as he opened his eyes to look for…whoever had been with him before, he was greeted by a face that he never would have expected to see.

Music:

“Nayoko…is that you..?”

Nayoko’s breath caught in his throat, taken aback by the woman that stood before him. She was shorter than him, even now in his younger form, though not by much. Her long brown hair fell down to her midback and was held out of her face by a white bandanna. Her large, deep brown eyes twinkled in the strange semblance of sunlight that permeated the space in which they stood, and above all else, her smile shone brightly in the space. “Mo…Mom?” Nayoko could hardly speak, and though he knew that nothing made sense, that his mother could not be there because she was dead, in that moment he could not have cared less. Rushing forward he embraced the woman, tears forming on the corner of his eyes as he buried his face in her shoulder. The yellow sweater she wore still smelled like his family home combined with baked goods that she was so well known for in their small community.

For a long time, what felt like an eternity to the young Hattori, Nayoko simply stood there holding her, letting himself forget the fact that deep down, he knew that she could not be real. Deep down he knew that his mother had passed away years ago, and that she had left him, his sister, and his father to live without her in their lives. It was not her fault of course; she had been so sick for two long years. When she had finally died, it was really more of a blessing, considering that she would not have to suffer any longer. But Nayoko missed her...gods he missed her so much. And so, for that moment, he allowed himself to be swept away in the fantasy that had been brought on by a force he could not even remember, more grateful than anything.

Eventually, after silently crying in her arms for a time, he leaned back from her, looking down into her eyes, the tears still gently spilling from his eyes and down his face. He smiled, and finally spoke to her for the first time in almost six years. “Mom…how are you here? I’m not complaining or anything but…I just….mom how is this possible?”

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So it was that darkness came to light.

Ayakashi responded to his question with a coy smile and simple silence, how to grow was something he was going to have to discover for himself, though the answer was far more easy than he would have thought it to be. The answer was to participate in the trials that were laid out before you in the dream, there would be a trial each time he were to arrive here that would result in willpower being at the source of its intentions, and he would have to repeat that trial until he overcame it, or was totally consumed by it. Inadvertantly, the difficulty he had with these trials in conquering his weaknesses would feed a creature that was beginning to form within this space, to which it was the duty of Ayakashi to help cultivate. It was an amalgamation of fears, anxieties, hesitations, bad memories hates and sorrows given form. Butt this time, the trial was needing to deal with being put face to face with the image of his mother...

'It was harsh, but none of this was to be fair.'

The woman standing before him was not simply born from his memory, but by the imprint on his chakra that had connected with hers, a sort of memory that lived on in the nature chakra of his body. Ayakashi had seen what these images were capable of before with Sero Osada, they were almost a means of reaching out and touching the past, or even a lesser form of resurrection in some way. As, while many of these images were able to be controlled by the arbiter of the dream, the late Mizukage Sero seemed to break free of that control with his own willpower under circumstances that Ayakashi nor her master could entirely explain, explaining to them in full that the natural world and the nature of chakra still had many mysteries that were yet to be explored by any ninja. However, as the woman embraced her son, Ayakashi knew what was going to come next, he was going to have to revisit how she died. A method that all seemed too cruel in the ninja world, was a long, drawn out death by disease rather than the quick ends that are seen almost far too often.

'Aya could not imagine seeing someone waste away like that.'

Sure enough, the woman that was Nayoko's mother, would reach out and cup his face with a warm smile. "I don't know my darling, i don't know. But whatever is behind it I wont ever leave you again... I'll always be here for you Nayoko, but I can't stay here like this long. Oh my dear Nayoko, oh, you've grown so much. I knew you were destined for such amazing things..." Ayakashi would not to her master as things needed to be set in motion, slowly but surely the effects of her disease would begin to take hold, at the moment they would not be apparent to all but the most observant of ninja... her complexion would begin to change, Ayakashi would ensure that they would not become too bad too quickly, on some level this was an attempt to allow Nayoko to grow, not just to punish him... if he had something he needed to say to his mother before she was let go again, he would give him the chance to do so. Ideally, if they had infinite time, the idea would be to create a scenario where Nayoko would have the opportunity to abandon the living world to stay here... but at her masters advisal, after the Sero incident, letting these apparitions stay out too long was dangerous to the trial.

'There was simply no telling what could happen.'

The mother that he had lost would embrace and hold him close, for all intents and purposes, she was his mother, he had some time to interact with her normally and share some words before what would happen next. Tears would stream from his mothers' eyes as the world would seem like a vastly narrow place, little existing outside of it save for the two who had been reunited.

'But the day was about to get so much worse...'

Nayoko could hardly contain himself when his mother reached up to cup his face. Felling her though on his skin, it was so real. Something about this moment had to be real; otherwise Nayoko must have been going insane. Finally she spoke for the first time since greeting him. "I don't know my darling, i don't know. But whatever is behind it I wont ever leave you again... I'll always be here for you Nayoko, but I can't stay here like this long. Oh my dear Nayoko, oh, you've grown so much. I knew you were destined for such amazing things..." Nayoko smile, hearing words that he had always yearned to hear from a woman he thought it would be impossible to hear from ever again. By some miracle his mother was returned from the depths of death itself, and in that moment, that moment of hearing her approval, Nayoko was almost willing to stay there forever.

As she pulled him in once again, Nayoko thought he felt a change in her stance. He was not quite sure what the difference was, but something had alerted him to a change in how she was standing. Shaking it off, Nayoko decided to take the time that he had with his mother to catch up with her, and to tell him about how he had grown. He took the next little while to tell her all about the years after her passing. Everything from his father’s temporary alcoholism, to his sister’s exemplary performance in the academy, to his most recent trials in the Land of Water. So much had changed for Nayoko in the years since the illness had taken her away from their family, and it was nice to finally be able to tell her about it all; even if it was all just a messed up dream of some sort.

After talking to her for a while, he would once again pull his mother into a gentle embrace, holding her close for a brief moment. Once again, he could feel that something was different about her. She seemed almost weaker, her embrace not possessing the same vigour that it did when he had first held her in the strange space. “Mom? Wat’s wrong?” He asked her his voice shaking out of fear for might happen, for he had no idea about what would happen next. Still holding her, he waited for a response, but received only silence for an answer. Worry and anxiety took over his body almost instantly, and without hesitating any long her gripped his mother’s shoulders in his hands. Pulling back from her, he looked down into her face, hoping to see what had changed. But instead of answers, he was only bombarded by more questions when he saw his mother’s face. Tears were flowing down her face as she stared up at him, a soft but pained smile spread across her pale face. It was then that it struck Nayoko; she was pale. Much paler than when she had first appeared. In fact, she was as pale as she had been in the hospital for those two years that she suffered through her illness.

That moment of thinking about those days sent a flood of images through Nayoko’s mind. For a moment he was back at the hospital, back in her hospital room sitting next to her bed as she told him stories about the land of water. That imaged faded into another one of the family pushing her through the hospital garden in a wheelchair. Once again, the image in his mind’s eye flickered into the image of the day that she died, laying silently in her hospital bed as the doctors covered her face and his father stared in, stony faced. It was a bombardment of emotions that wreaked havoc on Nayoko for a moment before he snapped back to what was exactly happening in that moment.  The world around him seemed to shift and shake for a moment before shrinking itself into a a narrow world where little existed. In fact, for a moment Nayoko was sure that the only people who existed, ever had existed, and ever would exist were himself and his mother in the beautiful space that had brought her back to him.

But for some reason, deep down, Nayoko knew that something was wrong, and that something was going to take away his mother again. That was something that he could not allow.

[Exit Thread]
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