Eyes of the Predator: A New Beginning

[AverageTimmy]

D Rank Jutsu Training * 1100-350 = 750 Words

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Sitting alone, gazing out into the infinite black of a cloudy desert night; a single soul stands out against the pale dunes. The wind picks up;clouds pass overhead, giving only a vague glimpse of the moon, its forlorn light trying in vain to pierce the dark veil. It's warm and the cool breeze is a welcome feeling on the back of the young boy sitting alone in the dunes as he contemplates his place in the world. What does it mean to be a shinobi? Am I even human, or merely a weapon to be wielded by those who hold power? Am I part of that power? Am I truly part of anything at all, or is this grand cosmos nothing more than an illusion that will soon pass me by? There are so many things I wish to know, wish to learn and do and even become, but I fear I may not be enough... I am, weak, in the simplest of terms, and to be useful, to be needed, to be a part of... I need to be strong

It had been a while since Shoichi had been here, his secret place; the one place he kept secret even from his closest friend, Ai. It was a place he could think, muse, and rest; truly, this was his place to belong, if that was even possible. The young Ishida brushed the sand away from his pants as he stood, arching his back and stretching as he did so. His eyes began to glow ever so slightly as he gazed out into the abyss, almost as if they held some eternal flame, deep within. It was his new doujutsu, the Manako no Tenno, as he had so aptly named it, that caused the ethereal light to well within the depths. He squinted, frustrated with his inability to get used to the view. He'd originally intended for the surgery to allow him the best of all the great predatory birds his family was so fond of, but so far only the eyes of the eagle seemed to actually be working.

Shoichi brought a hand up to touch his face, wincing reflexively at the pressure on the still-tender flesh. A failure, not a complete one but still; it felt as if it was just another thing that he was just “OK” at. The young shinobi sighed heavily, it was always like this, he would try something only to fall just short of it being “perfect.” Always good in school but never the best, talented at combat but not a natural fighter, it just wasn't his lot in life to be...spectacular. Shaking his head, Shoichi blocked the negative thoughts creeping into his consciousness. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what I was in the past, I'm a real shinobi now, a guardian of the Hidden Sand and I will become strong, and I will make them all proud of me, especially Ai. With a deep breath Shoichi focused his chakra and set his eyes on the dark horizon.

It was blurry at first, and the young shinobi could tell that the magnification effect of his new doujutsu was working, but no matter how far he could now see, the darkness still held him captive. Work! I know how this is supposed look... this isn't right. Work, harder... He was squinting now and the pain in his eyes was intensifying, making his head pound and sending jolts of intensely searing pain all the way into his teeth. Still, he pushed on, willing it to work, focusing and refocusing his eyes, trying again and again to lift the veil of darkness with his technique. As the pain grew Shoichi had no choice but to relinquish his hold on the chakra flowing through his eyes and rest for a moment, a bit winded. He was surprised, he'd not realized how labored his breathing had become from the effort he'd placed himself under.

I can't do both, magnification has to come second this time, I just need to focus... Gathering chakra once more, the young genin set his mind on the task at hand, focusing his eyes and willing them to see the nakedness of the night unhindered by the cloak of darkness wrapped round about. As the chakra swelled within him Shoichi unconsciously began to move, forming a single seal with his hands, flinching as the world shifted and melted for a moment, before becoming visible once more. This was different though, a tinge of twilight could be seen on the edge of darkness, not much, but enough to encourage the young shinobi to try harder. Almost...if I can just get this down...

A few hours and a great deal of chakra later Shoichi sat once more upon the dunes, gazing out at the endless sea of sand as the wind began to pick up, whipping up small eddies in the sand and making the boy squint against the onslaught. His motions were a bit shaky as he stood once more, and his legs seemed to shake ever so slightly, his body and mind both exhausted from the effort he'd made. His face was determined if a bit grim, but his eyes, his eyes burned with intensity as he gazed out across the sands towards his home. It was time to go now, he'd be missed if he stayed up much later and he didn't want to explain anything to the guards, let alone his parents. As he turned to go he smiled, off in the distance he watched as a desert owl swooped low to catch a shrew for its nightly meal. He watched as the talons sunk in and robbed the poor creature of life. That look, the fear and pain in the eyes of the prey, no longer will those be my own.

[AverageTimmy]

Shoichi was nervous. That was the first word that came to mind as he stood on the outskirts of Sunagakure no sato, waiting for his classmate, Shuya, to get ready. He'd convinced the boy to come here today to help work on a new genjutsu. Well, convinced probably wasn't the right word. It had taken assurances that the genjutsu would have no lasting effects and a bit of Shoichi's savings, but it would be worth it if he could master the technique. The young genin took a deep breath and readied himself, forming a few seals as he did. ”Alright, here goes nothing...

The reaction was almost instantaneous, which gave Shoichi hope for about half a second. ”ACHOO!” Shuya let out a violent sneeze and then... nothing for a moment before the boy finally spoke. ”Uh... Shoichi? Was that what you were going for? Was I supposed to sneeze like that?” Shoichi sighed, it seemed this was going to take a bit more work than he'd hoped.”No, I'll have to try again, sorry about that...” With those words Shoichi took a deep breath and performed the seals again, focusing on exactly what he wanted this jutsu to do.

This time the reaction was not quite as fast, it took a moment before Shuya made a strange face, rubbing at his nose a bit before giving Shoichi a quizzical look. ”So um... this time my nose just feels wet... I hope that's not what you're going for man, that's kind of...weak, don't you think?” Shoichi sighed heavily, it wasn't so much that he couldn't get it right the first time, he wasn't a genius so there wasn't that expectation, but it was frustrating when his failures were not only comical, but they weren't even affecting the right portion of his partner's body. ”No Shuya, that definitely isn't what I'm going for, though I've got to say that's probably the funniest screw up I've had when developing a new genjutsu.”

Shoichi took a step back, pausing a moment before trying again. It had to be easier than he was making it. It wasn't so much that he didn't have the time to keep working on it, and he'd already paid Shuya for the day, but he really needed to get this down. It was a matter of pride. Shoichi's genjutsu were something he worked very hard on. He'd never learned one from someone else. Instead, he put in the time and effort to create new and unique genjutsu that fit him and his fighting style. Focusing his chakra and clearing his mind of all but the task at hand Shoichi tried again, sealing smoothly for what he hoped was the genjutsu he wanted.

There was a brief pause and then... nothing. Or at least that's the way it seemed to shoichi. It took him a moment to catch the sudden increase in blinking from Shuya. Who seemed a bit irritated by something. ”Shuya? What's going on? Do you feel something strange?” Shuya blinked yet again before snapping out of whatever was bothering him, looking at Shoichi a moment before speaking. ”Yeah... for a moment there my eyes felt really dry, like I'd been out in the desert all day, it was really irritating, I kept blinking but they just wouldn't stop. It was kind of irritating man.”

Shoichi smiled, this was progress. At least he was affecting the eyes now, which is what he'd wanted all along. The next few hours were frustrating though. It was as if the young shinobi had hit a brick wall with the last victory. He could make Shuya's eyes feel dry to varying degrees but that was it. He couldn't seem to change that feeling into the one he was looking for. It was almost maddening, he was so close and yet, he couldn't quite get it right. The sun was beating down on them now, the early morning heat was gone, replaced by the blazing hot of the Suna Desert. Sweat dripped from the end of shoichi's nose as he sealed again.

Before he could cast the jutsu Shuya spoke, it was obvious he was getting tired, even though they were small, being subjected to so many genjutsu had to be taking its toll on his mind.”Have you given this one a name yet, Shoichi? I mean, when I don't know much about genjutsu but when I'm working on a new ninjutsu I usually name it first, for some reason that makes it seem more like a real technique to me, if you know what I mean. It makes it easier to focus. Maybe it's different for genjutsu but just a suggestion.” Shoichi paused for a moment in thought, actually that wasn't a bad idea.

Hmm what should I could this? This isn't my usual type of genjutsu, it's a bit more...morbid. I needed to change my style up a bit though, if I only have one trick then I'm bound to lose if my opponent can figure it out. My instructor's always stressed that just the basics were important, but I'm not a little kid anymore. I'll never become a chuunin this year if I stick to academy level training. It's time for me to develop my own path.

”Good idea, thanks my friend.... Alright then, here goes nothing. Genjutsu: Shukketsu Manako[Illusion Technique: Bleeding Eyes]”

With those thoughts echoing in his mind Shoichi activated the jutsu focusing all of this effort and skill into weaving the chakra into Shuya's head. The focus was on the eyes, the sense of feeling right behind and below them. To change it, manipulate it, to bring forth a familiar sensation in an unfamiliar location. He could feel it; it was going to work. The flow of the chakra, the manipulation as he wove it to and fro. It was no longer a look of exasperation he wore as he finished the jutsu, but one of hopeful expectancy. Surely this would be the time, this would be his jutsu.

”Oh God... My eyes... are they bleeding? What did you do Shoichi?! You went too far, I knew it wasn't safe to let you use so many genjutsu in a row on me, what if you damaged something, we're just genin; we don't know what kind of effects so many genjutsu could have... what if...” Shuya stopped mid-sentence as he saw the look of triumph on Shoichi's face. ”Aha, you got me good on that one, I take it this is the desired result?”

”Yeah, thanks for the help man, I couldn't have done it without you. It's been a while since I was able to create a new jutsu; I owe you one.”

With that, the two young shinobi parted ways, each exhausted and anxious to make it home for some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

[AverageTimmy]

Thud! There it was, that sound again; it infuriated Shoichi as he found himself on his rear again. He'd been training like this for hours now, and it was always the same. He would gain some small amount of success, and then “thud,”and all progress was lost. He was here, in the most secluded area of his family's eyrie to practice his doujutsu. He found it was more peaceful to do so with the birds. They were noisy, true, but they lacked the ability to judge him, to call out in laughter. Squawk! Or... maybe not. It almost made the young genin smile to think about one of the many raptors surrounding him laughing at the hilarity of someone with Shoichi's taijutsu skills attempting to master a technique made specifically to enhance his hand to hand prowess.

He sighed, it wasn't that he was terrible at hand to hand combat, it was just that he'd always been a little worse than the other genin. Even his aim with weapons was worse. Shoichi liked to chalk it up to the fact that he was primarily a ranged fighter, but the truth was he'd been slacking, not wanting to take the time to practice his taijutsu when there were new and interesting genjutsu to be developed. He'd always been one to enjoy study; he'd spend hours locked away in his room or out on the dunes reading and contemplating before developing his next technique. He loved it, the thrill of discovery and the power that comes from creation. He was kind, but he was not without his vices, he was ever so proud whenever he could trap an opponent in a genjutsu of his own design; the boy was an artist of sorts. At least, that's how the young Ishida had always viewed himself, an artist with the enemy's mind as his canvas.

It was a strange thing to see, a young man like him, lost in thought, surrounded by squawking, flapping birds. He paid them no mind. His years living with them had made the sounds and actions as nothing more than static. Shoichi absentmindedly toyed with the clasp on his kunai holster; it was time to get back to work. Channeling chakra into his eyes he activated his doujutsu. He focused on the horizon, watching the wind blow the sands lazily to and fro. He focused on the sand, or rather, the individual grains of sand as he focused with his doujutsu. Then, slowly and carefully he balanced himself on one leg, took a deep breath, and pulled the lever next to him.

Shoichi's family had always kept birds of prey, and caged birds are very dirty animals, and thus require a great deal of cleaning. To help make this job easier, Shoichi's family had rigged a pulley system in the eyrie to drop down a new set of cages to temporarily store the birds in, while the primary cages were being cleaned. As the cages dropped down and swung to and fro Shoichi tried to keep his focus on the distant sands, and still manage to dodge the swinging metal cages. He nimbly swung his body left and right, ducking and weaving and generally feeling very proud of himself. That is, until a large cage caught him squarely in the forehead and set him on his arse again.

I need a better way to train this... It would be so much easier if I had someone to train with, I can almost do it but... I can't quite focus on that last one. Imperfect is as good as it's going to get I guess. It's not perfect but if I can do this I'm sure I'll be a lot better in hand to hand situations. I just wish I could do something about this speed of mine. It won't matter well I can see if I can't land a hit. Maybe Ai will help me work on that. She's pretty quick, and those puppets of hers are so fast...

Shoichi pondered his friend for a moment. For all of her spunk and spirit, she was so different from him. So insecure in some ways, and yet with such an air of confidence about her. Shoichi was reasonably sure of his abilities; he trained hard, but it wasn't the same. Ai could be so cocky, so full of herself, even when it seemed like she didn't have a chance. He envied that, the ability to truly feel confident, even in the face of destruction. He often talked big in battle or training, acting tough or taunting his opponent, but like his genjutsu, it was all head games, a way to get into and control the mind of his opponent. Someday, someday he would be powerful enough to gain that confidence, the real kind that stemmed from power. Until that day, he'd just have to keep working.

Shoichi began to clean up. The boy hadn't gotten exactly the results he wanted, but he'd found a way to improve, and sometimes that's just what you get. Improvement was, to him, better than stagnation. He'd try again someday to create the ultimate doujutsu, the true path on his way to the top, but for now he'd just settle for the little victories like this one. It would be interesting to test this out against Ai. Sure she could come from several different angles at once, but he'd be ready for her this time. It would be fun to see her reaction and any new techniques she'd developed.