A brilliant sky shone overhead as Nagare walked atop the Tower of Heaven, once again. The feeling of cold wind surrounding him stood miniscule in comparison to the feeling of unworthiness. The universe was so large, so outstanding, and so unbelievable as to be some creation out of nothing, in turn creating everything that he knew, everything that everyone knew, everything that was. He felt as insignificant as the wind when he thought about this. He was just a person, in this giant universe, on this planet that was a mere fraction of a percentage of what was, and what would ever be. He craved to reach out into the universe and pick out stars to place in a basket, suns to place in the sky above, moons and foreign civilizations and undiscovered species. Truly outstanding. Horui had arrived earlier, for the view, but he knew not of what Nagare had planned. All he knew before getting to the apex was that Nagare wanted to train. But he gave train a certain tone, leaving a connotation without changing the word, but just with his voice. Train. It seemed like something they had been doing quite often, but it was what had to be done in order for them to become anything they wanted to be in life, whether or not the omniscience and encyclopedic knowledge desired by both would be received in the becoming as well. The future, so scary to think about, because as soon as anyone catches up to the future, they soon outspeed it and end up dead from old age. Life goes as quickly as it comes. Nagare tapped Horui's shoulder whilst his thought process grinded wildly. Horui already knew he was there, of course, but he still turned with an interested expression bent into his face. What did you want to train up here? You and I both know. You can read my thoughts. Yes....I just thought it was me, though, but I suppose I was right. You want to learn new jutsu, but from summons. But tell me, what will be so different this time than the others? I feel as if we already know as much as we can on the subject. We know all about the basics of summoning, the techniques, scrolls, contracts, the summons themselves, advanced summoning, high-rank summons...but I've never really thought about learning jutsu from them. Summons are capable of much more powerful jutsu than normal humans, so who better to learn from than them? Now, I need you to stand up. Horui reluctantly stood, yawning peacefully. It was towards 2 AM, and the stars in the sky fluoresced. Although apart from each other in their own unique ways, they seemed to glow together as a team to light the sky with vibrant hues. This was a night to remember, both astronomically and apprehensively. Nagare put a hand on Horui's shoulder, and took his other hand to remove the scroll from his hip.

Now, we've only ever summoned low-rank summons. Our highest rank summon at the moment is Mohan, and it took us a long time to establish a communication with him, even with the Yami no Ikimono contract in effect. That is correct. So with this information which we've already known for a while now, how are we supposed to summon something stronger than Mohan? We could end up killing ourselves from chakra exhaustion." We'll have to see. Place a hand on the scroll. Nagare held out the scroll for Horui's hand, and soon his palm was face down on the surface of it. They unraveled the delicate black paper together, and laid it out on the ground, keeping their hands pressed to it.

Kuchiyose: Grand Summoning. The ground began to shake around them, and they could almost feel the dimensional rift clip away the space around the area, leaving them in an odd sort of vacuum. A plume of smoke arose from the scroll and blanketed the area, leaving both Nagare and Horui blinded for a moment. When their eyes reopened, a massive figure stood in front of them, with wings outstretched and deep red eyes beaming down on them. WHO ARE YOU!? The creature demanded angrily. "I am Nagare Souseiji. I'm of the Souseiji Clan within Kumogakure, and I am a Special Jounin here. We have called you because you are the strongest being within our contract. The beast took a moment, pondered the situation, and softened a bit, looking back at Nagare with a more friendly approach. I am Shukketsu, and I lead the clan of bats that have made the Yami no Ikimono pact with you. I doubt I'll be able to stay long, as I can feel my presence here straining both of your chakra reserves. I'll give you one opportunity to ask me anything you please, but only one. After this, I will ignore your calls until you are strong enough to keep me here. Now ask before I get impatient. Nagare had a series of set questions ready for response. "Now, the reason we've summoned you is because we would like to learn new jutsu from you, more specifically Katon-based jutsu.." "Of course, yes, I can manage that." Nagare smiled at the affirmative answer of Shukketsu. He shrugged it off and moved onto his next question.

"So, do you know any other summons that could help us learn Suiton jutsu? "A few. I do know of a clan of unique reptiles that are quite powerful. I believe they are led by a 'summon', as you call us, named Seki. I do know that they have never been summoned by humankind, because they are all some of the most powerful summons of all. Now, let's get to this jutsu training..."

Nagare nodded, ready to learn. Shukketsu opened his mouth, revealing a plethora of bat teeth, and fire blazed within. He spoke in a booming tone. "This is a simple technique, we call it the Hunter's Cerberus Bombs. It's a simple variation of the Great Fireball Jutsu that creates three large fireballs that hone in on heat. It's easier than it seems, just used the Great Fireball Jutsu to create the three flames, then use precise chakra control to add the seeking effect." and with that, he spat three fireballs, that all honed in on Horui. Horui, with a surprised expression, used a substitution jutsu as the three fireballs collided where he just stood and created a large explosion. "Now, you try."

"Alright..." Nagare said quietly. He made the tiger hand seal, created the three fireballs, and used his Heat Mapping Technique to guide the fireballs to their target, which was once again Horui. Horui gave him an irritated look and used another substitution jutsu, and Nagare smiled. "Wow, that was easy."

Nagare's chakra was dropping, as was Horui's."Thank you for answering my summon, but Horui here and I must hurry soon. We shall see you again relatively near in the future, once we are of a competent level to maintain your existence in this existence." Shukketsu's colossal figure faded into the night, and Yami no Ikimono sat laid out onto the ground. Nagare took a few quick breathes and sat down to lean against a rock. Shukketsu there was definitely an S-rank summon. He was far too large to be of anything lower; I do think that we should keep trying tonight, though. We can forge new bonds and learn new things while we master advanced jutsu.

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Training Jutsu:

Nagare was abruptly awoken by a sharp gust of wind whipping his face. He looked around, only to find the summit of the Tower of Heaven and Horui looking back at him blankly. I guess I fell asleep. What a waste of time. Hmm, we should get to it immediately, then. He stood and helped Horui up, and the two of them looked down at the cement below, performing the hand seals to the Summoning Jutsu. It send memories rushing back to Nagare of when he and Horui had just begun training Kuchiyose, and they were both relatively excited to create a contract with their first summon. They had both decided to summon a random creature, seeing as they had no idea how to choose a summon to bring forth.

They made the Summoning Jutsu hand signs, and pressed their palms to the floor, and Mohan appeared. Mohan was always a battle-born, bloodthirsty kind of summon, and so he offered them a deal; he and his clan could be summoned freely so long as Nagare and Horui gave them opportunities to battle often. It was upon these terms that the blood contract was signed and the scroll, Yami no Ikimono, was created. This time around, the conditions were different, and both Nagare and Horui had learned much more of Kuchiyose in the passing years, seeing as they had trained in that rather than basic ninjutsu throughout their academy years. It was part of the reason Nagare didn't graduate from the academy until he was 16; he wanted to be content with his Summoning proficiency before moving on to mastering ninjutsu.

Horui looked up at Nagare, who was in deep thought surrounded by all these memories. C'mon, Naga. Let's get started already. Nagare gave a stern look to Horui for interrupting his train of thought, but reluctantly agreed and focused on the situation at hand. Okay...1...2....3! Summoning Jutsu! Their hands pressed to the floor, and two summoning seals expanded from their palms and out onto the surface. The seals intertwined and became one giants summoning seal, and with a burst of chakra, and cloud of smoke appeared, as in all summons, and a massive figure, larger than Shukketsu, was then before them. It was silent after except for the noise of the beast's loud breathing.

Giant footsteps rang through the apex as the summon walked closer to Nagare and Horui, staring them down. "And who are you little humans, might I ask?" "I am Nagare Souseiji, ally of the clan of bat summons. I wish to forge a contract with you." The massive beast, now revealing himself as a steel plated lizard of sorts, gave Nagare a quick inspection with his beady black eyes. They rolled over to Horui and looked at him a little longer. "And who are you, little one?" Horui didn't answer, obviously. Nagare answered in his place. "That is a clone, actually. His name is Horui, and he is a part of me that I can make self-sufficient using my kekkei genkai. He cannot speak, however." The lizard took a moment and was skeptical, but looked back to Nagare.

"I suppose my introduction is due, as well. I am Seki Oshiro, patriarch of the Oshiro clan. We are a fairly diverse clan of lizards, each with unique abilities. I am telling you this to warn you; there are no humans alive at the moment who hold a contract with us, because we are all quite powerful, too powerful for the average Kuchiyose-specialist. In your terms of rank, most of us are S-rank, with a few scattered A-ranks, and I, of course, am of SS-rank. I can tell that my presence hear is draining your chakra heavily, so I'll give you a short chance to state your case as to why I am here. Go." Nagare began to feel light headed from loss of chakra, and he rubbed his temples for a moment before explaining. "You see, Horui and I are trying to learn powerful Suiton techniques from summons, and we've heard that you have great prowess in them. We want to learn from what you can teach us." "There is one way, that's quite obvious, actually. A battle. Let's see, if you can best me in battle, I'll give you one of my jutsu. Then you'll have proven yourself."

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They readied their best battle stances, and charged at Seki, eyes alight with determination. Seki grew stern and swung his giant, plated tail in a large arc across the heavenly tower, the plates covering it grinding against the surface. Nagare couldn't react in time to move 30 meters out of his way to dodge the tail, and was impacted immediately. The sweep continued and gathered Horui in its midst as well.  At the end of the arc, they were thrown to the edge of the tower by the brute force of the swing, and they gripped to the edge desperately. Taking a quick look down revealed a sky of inviting clouds floating ominously under them, and the shadowy ground below that. Scrambling back to the surface revealed a head-on view of Seki charging some sort of Jutsu in his mouth, and by the time they rose to their feet, the jutsu was complete and he blasted a giant dragon-shaped mass of water from his mouth. The dragon missed the two just barely, as they jumped out of its path and landed with a thump on the ground.  Seki was already charging another, and he stopped for a moment, holding the water stagnant in the air.

"This is the Water Dragon Jutsu.Suiton is a simple enough element; it always has the same force and intensity, unlike Katon, Raiton, and Fuuton. The trick is the pressure within the water and how you mold and move it. You try your own; just use chakra to make water, shape it how you wish, and throw it."

Nagare attempted a jutsu, by charging water into his hand. A sphere just the size of his palm appeared, and it spun wildly. He threw it at Seki, and it hit the surface of his scales, making a loud grinding noise. Seki laughed and said, "That would have done damage if my scales weren't defensive as they are...a good attempt." He then charged a much larger water dragon, poised at Nagare. "I'm afraid your skill, however, isn't strong enough to best me. I'll give you one chance to quit now." Nagare, finding life more important than proving himself at the moment, raised a hand. "Alright, you win. You're quit powerful. My chakra's draining anyhow..." Horui nodded in agreement. "I'll let you battle me again someday, but we'll wait to fight until you're ready. Now, send me back before you die of chakra loss."

Nagare agreed and followed his orders, banishing Seki back to his realm. He fell to his knees, half in pain and half in anger. Clenching his teeth, he looked to Horui. We're still not strong enough. But soon, we will be. Just a little while longer...

No worries, I know. And we gained two new jutsu today, added to our arsenal. That's good progress. Nagare nodded. Thinking back on it, the Fire technique from Shukketsu was very powerful, and the water technique had its uses, as well. Horui scratched his head and yawned, and took the first steps back down the height of the tower. A long night at home was to precede their big day tomorrow.

{Exit, Thread Closed}

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