Death is the Road To Awe [Flashback/Filler Arc]

[Jae]

[Jae]

His pale irides fluttered beneath the artificial lighting of the training facility, a hand raised to shield his eyes while he positioned myself into a sitting position. Did I fall asleep? He instantly began rummaging through his pockets to check for any missing belongings of his, but a sigh of relief affirmed everything was there. What time is it? He was due back at the manor sometime - but for what may have been the first time ever, a rebellious thought arose; If I stayed out late, just this once, would anyone notice?

He sat on the floor contemplating over the last seconds of the dream he'd just had. There I sat, beside the Kusakage to witness the Chunin Exam's final combatants as the Hyuuga Mikado. I was dressed, to a tee, in the most fabulous of linens but the look on my face was a look I was all to familiar with.

It was the stale look that I noticed on my father's face every now and then. The look that made me wonder if he was really where he wanted to be in life. Was it fair to have my role in this act called life, predetermined before I could lay any judgment? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of living? The questions flooded his mind but his resolve would not falter; there was hope, and with it he would strive to obtain strength until his dying day.

Shoving himself to a standing, he'd immediately pondered what he could begin practicing. Earlier in the day, he had been practiced expelling chakra in the form of compressed air, which taxed him quite a bit, but his stores had been replenished after his resting.

A confindent look overtook his expression and he immediately accessed his battle stance, Advanced Jukenpo. His left leg was positioned to the front, toe forward, while his back foot sat horizontally. As odd as it looked, there was an even distribution of weight between both legs that left him adamantly poised. This was mainly because he stood with his shoulders squared, congruent with the ground below. His right arm was propelled into the air, toward the back while his left drooped down with his bent knees.

One would think due to his positioning, all of his weight would be manifested onto his front foot but in fact, it was his rear foot that would engage his motion. A rotation on the ball of his back right foot brought my left leg closer toward it, both arms flailing through the air during the spin while chakra expelled from all of his body's tenketsu.

During the slowing down of his spin, however, he felt his weight unevenly shift, causing him to stumble. This was incorrect and his nerves instantly got the better of him, a few mumbled curses scattered from his lips.

There were only a handful left of techniques that he was unfamiliar with, Hakkesho Kaiten being one of them, and so he studied it extensively in his down time. Dusting himself off, he then fell back into his battle stance and this time, he would focus more on the leading limb.

Weight shifted to the ball of his left foot and from there, his body would whirl. The rear leg was brought ahead to achieve a 'top-like' spin while his arms remained outstretched. Chakra expelled from every tenketsu alongside perspiration through his pores. But once again, at the end of his rotation, he found himself with nowhere to put his rear leg and was thrown off balance. This time he actually fell to his butt.


"Damnit."

Dirt stained garments hung loosely from his body while he shoved himself back into a standing. Something wasn't allowing him to achieve the correct spin in order to initiate the technique.

The difficulty in learning this was obviously proving why it was such a rare technique amongst men. A deep inhale set placed him back into a serene state and his mind began to flip through the logical explanations of his failures.

[Jae]

The feeling of expending chakra without any true benefit was troubling to say the least. And so he decided then and there that, until he grasped a deeper understanding of the technique, he would not expel chakra. A quick fit of zeal brought him back to his feet, standing at military attention. There, he allowed his mind to ponder the plethora of reasons why he may have been falling short of his goal. One thing was for certain, however, and that was his knowledge of the body's tenketsu; it was immeasurable, and the Jukenpo he did know was impeccable because of that.

He could only blame it on his method. Perhaps there was a difference in the rotation's foundation? Where he had been spinning on the toe of his foot, he began to wonder if it was the heel that was this technique's structural pillar. As a Hyuuga he did not, and would not, tolerate anything less than excellence. Through all of his merits, this one would truly be one to remember.

This time he did not revert back to his Jukenpo stance. Instead, his legs parted to about shoulder-width. Previously, he had been straining during his effort, which could be likened to swimming against a current. When attempting to master an art of Jyuuken, grace was paramount next to brute force. Frustration aside, he would now focus more on seamless movement. Another inhale and exhaled got the oxygen flowing to his brain once more.

His eyes closed to provide his ears and body dominion as the primary sense used. Now, with an open minded optimism, his eyes opened to take his surroundings. The training facility, though heavily accessorised, was often mishapen due to the powerful people who trained there. I was often a right of passage to boast about the mess you made in the facility.

Knowing this, he had only one thing left to do; tear the place to shreds. But for the time being his focus would remain solely on proper body weight's distribution. Shifting from his heels to his toes, he rocked back and forth becoming completely still whenever he met the extreme of the sway. Tip of the toes - pause. Heels of the foot - pause, and so forth.

This would provide him some familiarity with the new need to shift the weight of his body onto one foot for that brief moment before the technique was performed. He even went so far as to allow himself to protrude forward, leaning at a near forty-five degree angle. From there his position was adhesive, yet strained and a growing burning sensation in my calf muscles let him know he was achieving some sort of 'work-out' through this exercise. When seconds evolved to minutes, he brought himself back to his stance.


"One more time," he huffed, exhausted.

[Jae]

With body weight, momentum, and foundation being the main factors to attribute the perfect spin, his options were becoming more and more scarce as he progressed in his training. Would their actually be a technique that he couldn't obtain but others had grasped? Eliminate all doubts; I am my own biggest obstacle, he affirmed to himself. There was no way he would allow himself to dampen his own aspirations, not when he knew the potential existed for him to become the greatest there were was.

Reverting back to his Jukenpo stance, he made sure to let the weight shift to the back foot, but this time on the heel. Biding his time and emptying his mind's bend of negative thoughts, a deep inhale followed by a smooth exhale triggered a tension in his quadriceps and hamstrings towards the bottom of the expended breath.

The rotation would be started with a kick over from the front leg. From there, the rear leg would be the bearer of his body's mass. The shove off from the front leg was a powerful one that, almost instantly, sent him into an unruly frenzy of twirls. Then, suddenly, he brought his front leg to sit adjacent to the one that initiated the cycle. With both heels dug into the ground, he could feel the ground beneath him being torn asunder.

Both of his arms were outstretched, hands open, and palms flat. His eyes closed to keep from watching the scenery in it's blurred state. The momentum of the spin was beyond extravagant - to the point that he could actually hear the flapping of his jacket's sleeves while they slapped against the wind. So the heel was the foundation of the new spin.

Still, he felt that that something was off about his rotation. The kick off had provided him with enough power to send him propelling but there was the problem to returning to his stance immediately after the technique was performed. In order to keep his weight unbiased, his stance was inverted. As his spin finally began to deaden, his former rear leg was put in the front to halt the twisting.

The solution's elusiveness was beginning to rise while I began to disappear; Hakkesho Kaiten was a puzzle, but he would figure out it's mechanics and master it if it meant the death of him. Repositioning himself from the inverted stance back to the original, this time, he would use his front heel as the body's anchor.

He allowed himself to return to his pose once more. This was becoming all too familiar but there was no prospering without trial and error. Being the impatient teenager he was, he had to figure this out the hard way. Luckily there was no extreme amount of fatigue brought on by just spinning in circles -- only a slight dizziness but that was easily remedied with a moment's rest.

But just as quickly as he paused, it was time for him to begin again, and from his Jukenpo stance his rear foot would provide the kick off that would allow him to begin the twirl. With one strong shove, it would begin the process. His front foot's heel had been placed somewhat behind the divot that was created from the aforementioned spins. This was to provide him an even platform to begin the process.

Swiftly, he shifted weight to the front foot in order to provide him the clockwise rotation necessary while his front foot's toe pointed skyward. In that instance, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the onset feeling revolution of the resolution. The leg that kicked him off automatically found itself positioned beside his front leg, toes skyward to aid in the turning. He could feel the ground, where his feet were positioned, collapsing under the rotation.

The sleeves of his jacket bucked wildly under the influence of the wind, while his body rotated near endlessly. It was a wonder that he hadn't fallen over into a vomiting fit with the number of spins it took him to finally access the 'real' gyration necessary for the Hakkeshou Kaiten; but his momentum faltered rather quickly, which puzzeled the young Hyuuga. He would then bring his arms in to cease the annoying flapping of his sleeves but, as when did this, he soon noticed the revival of his slowing twirl. That's it!


"Hmm," he pondered. "If bringing my arms in toward the end of my revolution caused it to pick back up -- what would happen if I.."

There was no need to waste anymore time.

[Jae]

[Jae]

A deep breath put him back into focus. This time, the spin would be completed. Before this, however, he moved to the side of his previous position to witness what carnage he'd inflicted on the ground below him. It was as if an explosion had occurred. A deep, bowl-like, swoop was left branded in the ground he had been standing on. All he could do was smile. This is what the mistakes had brought on. He couldn't help but let my mind wander into picturing the actual effect brought on by completing such a technique.

He abruptly ended his stall by sliding his left leg to the front of his frame, toes pointed forward while his back leg slid backward to position his weight evenly. Arms would loft in the air like an aroma to conform to his position. Such grace was exhibited by the Jukenpo soft style of martial arts -- it was as if you were watching an elaborate dance move. With his center of gravity on point, he let a final exhale escape his chest. It was time to do this the right way. Immediately, at the bottom of the breath, he set himself in motion.

The shove off was flawless. His foot shoved him clockwise while, simultaneously, providing him a speed like no other. It was, most likely, him ensuring he had found the correct way to perform such a movement. His toes, per usual, were lifted precisely after the kick off to ensure the most perfect of spins. It took only seconds for him to find himself caught inside the 'eye of a hurricane'.

His arms were outstretched during the generation of the gyration but as he continued to rotate, he slowly brought his arms in closer toward his body. With each inch that his arms were drawn in, he could feel the speed of his revolution increasing dramatically. He assumed this was due to a focus of the rotation being more concentrated on the center. It was when his arms finally folded over his chest that he reached the climax of his spin's velocity.

There was also the factor of his arms and sleeves being caught by the wind. This, more or less, was the reason why he could not keep a firm hold on his rotation's speed, not to mention the momentum necessary to obtain such. But this speed. This was like no other. This was marvelous. As instinct forced him to close his eyes during the beginning of the rotation, he slowly broke the seal his eyelids had formed to peer through the slits so that he could witness his surroundings.

It was as if his body was in some sort of vortex. There was hardly any way to interpret the scenery around himself due to the speed that I spun, though he admittedly made no real attempt to locate anything specific. This may have been different, however, if the Byakugan were to come into play. The seconds that he did this began to stack until I finally felt the time was right. His leg, that was previously positioned before him, shot forward in a stomp to kill the cycle and his arms flung from his body to position him back into his Jukenpo stance.


"Ha... haha.. hahahahaha!"

His laughter broke the room's silence. He had finally done it, but now it was time to implement his chakra into the mix.

His spin had been perfected -- all that was left to do was emit his chakra throughout the process. So gracefully, his right foot slid to the front while his rear foot positioned itself horizontally. With his weight effectively braced, his lids lowered to shroud himself from his surroundings while I concentrated.

He could feel it's energy being pulled in every which-way, sending an evident warmth throughout his poised frame. While time passed, so did his chakra, emitting itself around his vessel as it's own personal aura. A cornflower hue encompassed his body was almost soothing with it's temperature.

Amid the expulsion of chakra, he routinely allowed his front foot's toes to pivot upward. It felt more than correct, it felt impeccable. He tensed my rear leg as if he was going to push off to initiate the spin and, even that, felt flawless. There was no doubt in his mind that the Hakkeshou Kaiten was nearing his grasp. To complete the motion, he cut off what chakra was being conveyed to immediately force himself into the twirling frenzy. And just like before, it turned him into a living hurricane.

The movements were becoming second nature at this point and, immediately after stunning his spin with a force into his Jukenpo stance, he pressed off it to twirl yet again. This continued until about five 'stop-and-spins' before he knew it was time finally bury this technique within his arsenal.

[Jae]

A sensation tingled at the bottom of his heart as he bided time to scale the situation. This was the final test of ability, forcing him to prove whether this entire session was of worth or waste. He was almost nervous at the thought of failure, even with the lack of audience, but he took proper measures to calm myself. As he had been doing throughout the entire duration, proper breathing was an effective technique to lower the heart rate - one that he readily performed without hesitation.

The more he thought about it, the more he began to doubt his own abilities, which led to an impulsive action to finally begin the demonstration. At the bottom of his final breath was when it all started. His rear foot acted as the technique's initiator while his front heel, simultaneously, dug into the ground below. The shove off catered enough strength to, initially, kick up dust upon the action's first movements. It was the spin's jaw dropping speed that made the technique all the more magnificent.

It was to the point that a wind current had formed around his own body. His arms were, at first, extended to aid his body's cycling but once the the first few revolutions had been completed there was no need. Slowly they were drawn in closer toward his form to increase the speed of the rotation by converging all of the spin's momentum toward his body. All of this was done all while chakra was steadily pouring from his body's various chakra points.

It was when his arms finally folded across his chest that a current of chakra was forced through the tenketsu. This would be the whirl's driving wedge as it's intensity further amplified with the chakra wave's introduction. As if a meteor had crash landed within the vicinity, debris, and all things not rooted to the ground, were shoved away by the whirl's intensity. A violent shaking against various mechanisms in the immediate area ripped some tiles from their fixed position.

Underneath his body, the ground began to recede deeper and deeper with each passing second while his heels acted as the shovels. He was fully encompassed in an orb of raw power that radiated a vibrant blue. An energy so potent that it was impossible to even see from the outside in. When his momentum finally began to decrease, he abruptly halted his twist with a stomp of his right foot. Simultaneously, he allowed his opposing leg to slide back into position while his arms flung into a pose reminiscent of the Jukenpo style.

And that's where he halted -- to witness what effect this had on the environment. Various pieces of training equipment had been torn from their stapled positions while the area's dust finally began to settle in the air. His head drooped only to reveal that he was standing in a self-made trench which held a radius of nearly ten feet. A feeling of elation began to come over him and a genuine desire to obtain as much strength as I could withstand accompanied it. He was obtaining a healthy amount without any outside aid but it just wasn't enough. Perhaps healthy wasn't the route to go anymore? Was there anyone left in the area that could spoil him with the strength that he desired.

A clinched fist quivered while his eyes closed to cloister him from the world -- that was until a faint voice erupted from behind him.

!

"Hold on," called the mysterious stranger from several feet away.

The young Hyuuga's eyes jerked in the direction of the sound where the silhouette of a man stood. Not a word was spoken.


"If you seek further training, power," He said with a particular emphasis on the word. "..then meet me at the gates of Kusagakure in one hour."

That one word shimmered throughout the sentence, perhaps intentionally but, effectively. How long had he been in the area -- how long had he been watching? Was this why he felt so regenerated only after a few hours rest? Pondering the situation only wasted time.

"Hmph," Fukumaden stoically hummed while marching in the man's direction unphased, eventually brushing past his form to exit the training facility. But there was no doubt in the Hyuuga's mind that he had every intention of taking up his offer.

fin.

[KEITH]

+50 (+25 EXP bonus!)

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