Doujutsu Training:

The purple and orange colors dressed the lake in a glorious hue of colors that nature could only seem to replicate. He sat on the edge of the lake with Assam as he watched the radiance of colors. The tiger snuggled up next to him as they spent the time next to each other. He attempted pat Assam’s back to get him to stand up. Tomohiro wanted to continue where he left off. Though he heard something off in the distance, he didn’t want whatever it was to know that he was on to them. There weren’t any one else this far out. It was the perfect time for training. No people around to bother him or cause a scene. The quiet sounds of nature were definitely soothing. It also helped him concentrate on his chakra control. Plus, he wouldn’t cause a lot of damage out here to things that actually mattered. This was the place that he trained a good number of his techniques outside of the Thunder Grounds. There was one thing about using large scale jutsu. It was hard to train it while underground. The eminent collapse of caverns made it difficult to cast large scale jutsu. Plus, he learned the technique from his Uncle Kaimei. It was a jutsu that originated from Konoha. It made him a bit unhinged that he was learning it. It was a technique that was sad to have been used by Uchiha Madara. Just knowing that, helped a bit. He was no fan of the Uchiha, but he was an enemy of a village he disliked. That was a better excuse than any or so that he liked to tell himself.

Assam shook himself as he stood up. Tomohiro made his way on his feet and told Assam to stand back. The tiger sluggishly agreed as Tomohiro would try his fourth attempt at the technique. He formed the hand seal as he focused the chakra within his mouth and lungs. From his mouth, a massive wall of grey and black flames rolled across the lake. The heat from the flames creating a steaming mist that spread from the lake. He had finally grasped it. After spending so much time out here in the sticks, he had finally figured out the proper way to cast it. Tomohiro nodded his head to Assam which seemed to be playing around in the warm steam. Tomohiro began walking away from the lake and motioned for his ninneko to join him back to the village. The two of them didn’t get to go anywhere as Tomohiro’s older brother stood in front of him. Ishino’s smile lit up his face. Assam purred loudly while joyfully swinging his tail around. The traitor tiger decided to run up to his brother and persisted that he be petted. Tomohiro threw a dirty look toward the tiger’s direction as he sighed again. Ishino scratched behind Assam’s ear to greet the tiger.

“Hiro Hiro. Well, you can imagine what time it is. It wasn’t hard to track you. This was the first spot I ever showed you one of my strongest techniques. You’re doing well, little brother.”

“Look, if we’re going to do this I rather do it now. The clan summons me again huh? At least it’s not early in the morning.”

“That’s the spirit Tomohiro. Just get through it. It’ll be tough, but a bit more aggressive. There’s nothing going to hold you back, but yourself. Remember, this training is not just for your eyes, but also for your body. You can head straight to the compound. The things you need will be there like last time. This time, there won’t be any rules like last time. Just make sure you don’t hurt anyone or get hurt too badly. We have a lot more trained medics this time around. Just let yourself go.”

“Fine. I’ll be there.”

Ishino bowed jokingly as he took his leave. The older brother made his way through the woods. Assam purred loudly as he was wanting for the man to return for more rubs. Tomohiro gave a death glare toward Assam and just shook his head. He motioned for the tiger to join him as he would return back to the village. The trip back took awhile as he Assam’s speed was nowhere near Tomohiro’s. It wasn’t a big deal. The tiger still needed some room to grow as any tiger cub would. Tomohiro did wish that he could train the tiger to move a bit faster. The speed seemed really slow for some reason. Tomohiro himself didn’t quite realize that he had become faster than what he used to be. It was a good thing. He didn’t like the idea of him becoming stagnant in his training. There had been years of him being stagnant. Times where he pushed to do better and he continued to struggle and find himself lacking. Tomohiro hoped that those days were over, but he would need to continue to push himself harder.

Tomohiro made his way to the Nakir compound having traveled through the trees toward the village gate having sent Assam on home. Going to the compound generally wasn’t that exciting. It was always dark and gloomy. It seemed like a dungeon. The place was always lit with torches or mantles hanging from the walls. It was also warmer in here than the rest of Kumogakure. Tomohiro truly believed that they housed the hottest indoor climate within the village. It didn’t even matter what time of the year it was. The place was either extremely warm or scorching hot. The temperature didn’t always bother him, but the flames of the Nakir compound were hard to quench. It made him question what the temperature he would walk into today. It wasn’t often that he visited the compound, but he hoped it wasn’t as hot as the last time he was here. The sight of him throwing his head into a barrel of water was not appealing to him.

He looked toward the compound and examined the outside. It really needed maintenance. Tomohiro didn’t like things looking so drab, but it was beyond him in getting it repaired. The only thing he figured would be that he make an official request with the council. It made him question why the head family didn’t do anything more progressive. It made him sigh as he finally decided to knock on the door of the compound. He waited until the door was opened up to him as a more burly member of the clan greeted him. Tomohiro bowed his head and walked in as the heat from the compound came and smacked him in the face. It was a dry heat that seemed to dry out one’s nostrils and throat. He knew that he would just have to adjust himself to it. A few minutes would pass before he truly became adjusted. The hot air started to tick him off as he moved deeper and deeper underneath the compound's ruins.

Tomohiro began to change his clothes into the monk’s attire. The red and black robes were clean at least, but he instantly started sweating as he put them on. There was no going back now. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. Tomohiro was a bit anxious about doing this, but he needed to do this. His eyes needed to see far beyond what they were able to. A faint smile emerged on his face as he walked out of the holding cell. The heat seemed to increase as it got darker. There was a self acknowledgement that this wasn’t going to be as easy as the last time. Tomohiro would rubbed his palm down his face as he tried to get all of his recollections to what was going on. He would take a deep breath as he closed his eyes trying to get himself to focus. He was attempting to find inner peace within himself before he was to get started. There was more clarity as he opened his eyes. The thoughts that coursed through his mind slowed. It was time.

Tomohiro would walk over to the training weapons and pull out two bokken. They were a different wait from what he traditionally used, but they would do just fine. He would stand to one side of the chamber as he would wait for everyone else. Not until after a couple minutes did Ishino walk in with his head held high as usual. A smile was on his face, but it seemed more sadistic than usual. Tomohiro wasn’t sure of what to think about it. The man stood in the middle of the chamber as four other Nakir clansmen dressed in robes stood before him. They went to the weapon rack and drew their choice of weapons. Two of them drew a single bokken, one drew a wooden wazikashi, the last one drew a wooden saber. Tomohiro hero would nod his head toward them in acknowledgement. Though, he was ready to get this over with. His brother would open up with one of his speeches.

“Alright, alright. I already informed each of you what I expect. Don’t cause too much pain and be reasonable. These things usually get out of hand pretty quickly. The council doesn’t want to deal with trying to focus on helping you recover from your injuries. Well, that is it. You may begin at the sound of the horn.”

Tomohiro separated his feet and held his bokken in a basic dual wielding stance. Ishino vanished in a puff of ash. The other clansmen that stood in front of him prepared themselves to start as well. A moment passed as the sound of a ram’s horn blew and filled the room. Neither him nor the clansmen moved from their place. It was like they were waiting and watching to see who would attempt the first strike. Tomohiro watched them carefully as his eyes mulled over his opponents. Eventually, the woman with the wooden wakizashi was sick of waiting around. She would launch herself in his direction. Tomohiro would wait until she started to get close before he would attempt to counter.

Before she even made it toward him, he felt his body bend over as a wooden bokken had made contact with his gut. He gritted his teeth as he barely was able to counter the woman’s wakizashi. Looking upward, he realized that he had been subjected to genjutsu, but he wasn’t sure when or for how long he had been in it. The blow he took knocked him out of it. Tomohiro jumped backward straight into two additional blows to his body. He could feel that a couple of his ribs were already broken and not even a couple of minutes into it. This was no joke, he would need to get serious. Tomohiro would jump into the air and land away from his opponents as he lowered himself and flourished one of the bokkens. The bokkens ignited with fire. He didn’t want to sit around get beaten up the whole match. Tomohiro started to feel enraged as his eyes shifted from a violet purple to crimson. His rounds pupils shifted to predatory slits. The young Nakir would charge toward his opponents as he would force his way through them.

Tomohiro would occasionally trade blows with his opponents as his rage began to increase. His body was filled with pain, but he proceeded to push on. He wanted to show everyone here what he was truly made of. As he fought more bruises and cracked bones persisted to all parties. Tomohiro’s breathing started to become heavy and labored. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he would be able to put up with. Each of his strikes started to get weaker and weaker. He could feel his strength leaving him. Tomohiro was losing the fight, but none of the clansmen typically beat those they were fighting during the ritual. Tomohiro attempted to push himself forward as he felt a swift kick to his stomach. The blow laid him out on the ground. The pain flowing throughout his very being refused to let him moved. Blood traveled from his mouth like a leaking faucet. His hands grasped at the ground as he picked up only one of the bokkens he had dropped.

Tomohiro’s eyes started to give him pain as he let out a hollowed scream. His crimson eyes started to glow in the dark room. Ishino who stood next to their father muttered, “That was quick. He unlocked the Baningu Netsugan faster than me. Probably due to the stress on his body.” Tomohiro started to see a lot better than he did before. Each of the thermal signatures had become more defined. He could even see through the walls of the compound. It was strange at first. He could even see the broken blood vessels within his fellow clansmen’s bodies. Tomohiro was slightly taken back by it that he almost forgot that he was fighting. He wanted to keep going, but there was no way none of them were in good enough shape to keep going. Tomohiro dropped to one knee as he started to form hand seals. He wanted to come out victorious one way or another. Why would he stop now?

His chest puffed out as a last minute effort to try and pull a victory. Though another of his clansmen met him with his own. Grey flames traveled from his mouth and had been met with white flames. Tomohiro’s eyes widened as he would submit as he passed out from exhaustion. This was just a reminder to him that he still had some way to go. His body was an obstacle that he needed to overcome. This would only be the start. The pain in his body would be a reminder of how much training he needed to partake in. He wouldn’t forget this feeling. The feeling of defeat was always a hard one to remove from one’s mind. Tomohiro couldn’t stand being defeated. A large portion of his battles ended up in losses. He didn’t want that trend to continue. It was time for him to bring a positive change into his life. No more would he be beaten in such a way. It didn’t matter if he was outnumbered or not.

When he woke up, he quickly scanned the room with his eyes. The ritual was over at least. The pain behind his eyes had been throbbing and his vision was pale. Everything seemed black and white. He closed his eyes as he would lie back down. The room seemed to be spinning, but at least it wasn’t as hot as it was earlier. He would take the time to gather his strength. His wounds seemed to be mostly healed. The ritual kept playing through his head like a movie. At this point, he wasn’t sure what to do. Not much would come to his mind other than sit still and let time pass. He would have to admit that it wasn’t as bad as he thought. The fight was a good one. The fact that he could have done better resonated with him. There was so much more he wanted to do to improve on, but he would have to wait until his wounds healed.

There was a brief knock on the door as Ishino entered there after. The man was smiling as Tomohiro opened one eye to see who was entering the room. He sighed a bit as he realized who it was. Ishino didn’t say anything, but he sat in the room and would wait. Tomohiro wasn’t sure what his elder brother was waiting on. Before he could ask, Tomohiro had drifted back to sleep. The sleep this time would be deep. His dreams were filled with anguish and pain. There was an extreme burning sensation that he could feel around him. It felt like a raging flames that wouldn’t be quenched. Whatever it was it wouldn’t stop. He saw people dying around him and there was nothing he could do. Nothing he did seemed to help them. There was no way he could save them. Everything he did was in vain. He wondered why he was put in that position. Then he saw the back of Lord Hastur. The man’s laugh would ring through his skull. He saw lightning everywhere and the faces of Jashinist he personally killed. What did all of this mean?

Heavy breathing filled the room as Ishino’s face no longer held a smile. Tomohiro opened his eyes as the color of his sight had returned. He attempted to control his breathing as he held his head in his hands. Tomohiro had a serious headache that he just wished went away. If unlocking the third stage of his doujutsu was like this, he hated to imagine what came with the final stage. His mind was finally clear for the time being. Tomo wondered how long had he been asleep. It was always hard to tell time with the compound always dark and enclosed. They were deep within the carved tunnels of a mountain to be fair. Tomohiro was ready to leave and head back home. He didn’t see much of a reason to stick around anymore. His wounds were mostly healed and he needed to feed Assam.

As Tomohiro began to rise out of his cot, Ishino stopped him. Tomohiro gave the man a death stare. Ishino never seemed this concerned before. Tomohiro stopped what he was doing to look the man straight in the eyes. Ishino backed off as he locked the door. What could he possibly want with him now? Ishino sighed as he wouldn’t say anything just yet. It was like he was trying to find the words, but couldn’t let them slip through his lips. The look on Ishino’s face increasingly gave him concern about.

“Tomohiro. There’s something we need to talk about.”

“What do we need to talk about?”

“It’s about..my past.”

3074

Clan Link
3000/3000 Baningu Netsugan (Stage 3)
-1500 ryo

74 words unused.