Aiza was once again in his bed, nothing special.  It was interesting, tomorrow would be his 30th birthday, yet he wasn't excited or even nervous in the least. It was more a feeling of acceptance and aging, along with the tired look in his eyes after a logn day. However, since his encounter with his mother a few days ago, he was cautious as to what he might find once he shifted into a sleeping state. It was always a bit unsettling knowing she was watching him like that, and she could invade his mind when he was most vulnerable. He had some degree of trust for her, though, since she was his mother after all. He had remembered his biting words to her: "Don't lie to me, you're not my mother. I haven't seen my mother since I was born; I was adopted. My mother never wanted me." It wasn't true; he had received the letter from them, the letter that sparked his desire to find them. Why had he said that when he knew it wasn't true? Part of him still resented them, just for leaving him all alone in the first place, to be condemned to a life of sad detachment. He was lucky to be taken in by Sanjin and the rest of his adoptive family...he felt a tug on his heart as he thought of Sanjin, and made a mental note to visit the honored shinobi monument later to mourn him once again. It'd been 17 years, but the pain of loss didn't sting any less.

Unable to resist the need for rest any further, Aiza fell unconscious, breathing mechanically with his head pressed to the pillow and the blankets over him. Surely enough, almost as soon as he was out, the mistress of slumber stood in front of him. This time, they were near a clear blue lake that shone under a bright sun. He turned to the woman and smiled at her. "Hello, mother. More training this night?" She shook her head and pulled her hands back, putting her hair into a braid. Her face was a bit sullen, an obvious signal that something was amiss. Aiza didn't bother to ask if there was a problem just yet.

"No, not today. You can train in the morning. I'm here to tell you that you need to stop following us. It's dangerous."

Aiza's expression went blank and he just stared at her. "I became a ninja again to find you. Why would I just stop now? I can handle myself."

"Your father and I, we aren't who we seem to be. We do care about you, that's why we sent you the letter and why I come to your dreams with this Genjutsu. But we're missing-ninja, who have committed heinous crimes."

Another surprise. Aiza scratched his head. "What have you done? What could be so bad that I should stop pursuing you? I only want to be a family."

"You have a family...you have Mei, your adoptive mother, and Katsu, your adoptive brother. They are your family. We're just monsters, your father and I. We were poor, it is why we put you up for adoption, but then we turned to shady dealings...we sold forbidden jutsu scrolls, stole, and killed for money. We were assassins and thieves, hated by many. We finally settled in Kumogakure after we had enough money to live of off, but when they discovered who we were, we had to leave. Now, we're wanted...badly. If wouldn't be good for you to come after us now. You'd only get killed with us."

"No, mom. I'll protect you and father."

"You don't understand. You can't protect us when we're wanted across all five nations. I'm not going to tell you again." The lake next to them suddenly started moving, and waves crashed against the shores. "It's almost morning, you'll wake up soon. I want you to train, and become stronger...not to help us, but to be your own man. You're a good person, Aiza. I'm glad that you're my child. You probably won't see me again, don't try and find us. We'll always love you."

Tears rolled down Aiza's cheeks as the dream began to fall apart. He couldn't take this; the one thing that gave his life purpose was now null, as his parents didn't even want him around anymore. He couldn't go after them if they would only hate him for doing so...why did she have to come into his dreams just to tell him that his goal was hopeless within the next week? His emotions went numb as he startled awake. "What am I supposed to do now...?" It was September 14th, his bithday; yet he felt like he had no purpose if he couldn't be with his parents...and he couldn't live with himself if they did get killed. He rose out of bed and prepared for his training, because if anything, that would help distract him. He showered, ate, and strapped on his Gigantes' Fists, a pair of gauntlets he made for battle.

Going to the hillside, Aiza looked out to the daylight and the beautiful flowers around. There were plenty that he'd never seen before, shimmering various shades of green and pink and blue and even magenta. Looking back on his dream, his mother was right, to some respect; he had to become his own man. He held out a hand, and closed it. "Water Clone Jutsu!" Two clones appeared, and they both turned their attention to him. "Alright, today we're going to be training more, this time focusing on Ninjutsu. As of right now, we're mediocre, at best. We need to step up our game, so this'll be a free for all, and Ninjutsu-only. Go." And with that, all three jumped back, weaving hand seals at full speed. The first clone finished their sequence first, and he pulled his hand up to his mouth. "Water Release: Water Trumpet!" A powerful jet of water blasted out of his mouth, at the real Aiza. He stopped his hand sequence and used Body Flicker technique to dodge the jet just barely before countering with a Water Trumpet of his own. The remaining clone intercepted them, making raid punching motions and launching jets of water with each. The various blasts all collided and flooded the hill, draining into the stream at an extremely slow pace.

The three landed on their feet a meter or so away from their original position before sprinting at each other. The original Aiza held his arm back and attacked with Azure Dragon Palm, nailing one of the clones directly in the chest. It tore through him, and ripped him in half, leaving him to revert back to a watery state. The other clone took this opportunity to sneak attack from behind using one of the Gigantes' Fists, but Aiza tripped him and punched him in the face, leaving deep blade wounds from the gauntlet and reverting that clone to water , as well. Now, Aiza stood alone, drenched in sweat from the first phase of training. "Good, good. A little break, and then I'll create these clones again..."

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Training Ninjutsu D > C (continue from this thread)
Word Count: 1,500/1,500 -Complete-

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