[training]training

[C.J,]

Hoten sat on the grass outside of the cabin. He had been sitting there with his legs cross for hours now as he tried to learn this new jutsu. It wasn’t at all an easy task. He had a good idea of what he wanted to happen. Simply put he was going to try to cloak his body in a layer of reflective glass. Of course there was a problem with that. The first being that he needed to be able to at least move slightly when it is activated. If he wanted to use any jutsu in battle he couldn’t allow it to seal off his movements. Even provided that Aimi was with him, and at his back he still couldn’t afford such a burden. Therefore he had spent the last week or so in deep mediation of how he would manage such a jutsu. He had tried to use it for the last couple of days with almost no progress. It wasn’t something he could ask of his grandfather, and it wasn’t in the clan’s official archive of jutsu. Therefore Hoten was working it out from scratch.

He tried to think of how he would manage such a feat. A solid layer of glass over his skin? He knew a jutsu which produced an armor of glass but it greatly reduced his speed and lacked the flexibility and stealth needed for the espionage he was aiming for. A solid layer was off the table. A glass exoskin? Liquid? He could never keep control over liquid glass. Even if it was flexible he couldn’t pour chakra into it constantly. Then it became an inefficient technique. He needed a perfect balance of solid that allowed him control, and liquid, which afforded him some flexibility. A perfect jutsu wasn’t a possibility. But he wouldn’t quit.

Hoten tried again for the fourth time this morning, before even the sun could rise. He concentrated his chakra under his skin and produced garaton from his pours. The chakra leaked out of his body as glass and formed over his skin like a thin layer of sweat. Very shiny sweat. The conscious effort and precise control was a lot for Hoten. Even someone who could command a small army of glass clones was having a problem. Without warning the glass thickened and solidified beyond his desire. The pressure applied onto his body was too great and with a single jerk of his arm the entire coating shattered.

“Shatter!”

He cursed as he stood. The glass fell off of him in tiny shards but bits of class still clung onto his skin, and dusted his hair. He ran his hand over his head without heed of being cut. “Shatter. Why is this so hard?” he asked himself and the morning sky.

[463 WORDS]

[Amy]

" Isn’t that kind of the point of glass? To be hard? " Aimi came up behind Hoten, brushing the final bits of glass from the backs of his shoulders. She could feel small pieces embedding themselves in her hands but she wasn’t worried about it. They would be easy to get out, easy to heal. It was worth it for Hoten, she told herself as she grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to face her, brushing off the final pieces of glass from his face and neck.

She observed him for a moment, the stress on his face. He had been working hard all morning, before she had even woken up. But still, he seemed stuck, unable to move past a certain point. What was he trying to do, she wondered, as she backed away from him and put her hands on her hips. Something difficult, that was for sure. They had been doing so much training, moving forward, getting stronger. Amazing each other with that they could each to. Aimi couldn’t believe some of the things Hoten came up with. She was so proud of him. So proud to be his partner. In more ways than one. " Sure you’re not just overthinking it? "

He did have a habit of doing that. Getting a good idea and then overthinking it and ruining it for himself. Putting her hands on either side of his face she pulled him in for a quick kiss. Trying to think of how to help him. Pressure had been helping them all week, maybe it would help now?

" Want me to help? Up the stakes a little bit? Put some stress on you? " She smiled softly at him, her eyebrows asking a question as well. He knew that she was always willing to help him. All he had to do was ask.

[C.J,]

Hoten was startled when he heard her voice. He was legitimately so absorbed in his own failed training that he wasn’t even aware enough to sense her. He had peak eyesight and hearing as a trained shinobi. Moreover he had a trained intuition to tell when powerful spirits were near. Aimi had the strongest spirit he had ever seen - and a genma. He felt her hands brush his shoulders. He didn’t like her doing that. The glass was dangerous to her unlike him. However he could calm himself to think about Aimi’s own healing abilities. They had been training rigorously yet there wasn’t a scratch on either one of them.

His silver eyes met her dark green. A wave of warmth pulsated over his skin when she touched his cheeks. Flakes of sparkling glass continued to fall off of him. He lowered his gaze in slight embarrassment. “You and I both know I’m over thinking It.” he gave a dry chuckle.

One of the biggest advantages of training with someone, someone who knows you deeply, was that they could offer a perspective from the outside. Hoten had a problem with internalizing his problems. He really did believe that Aimi could help him drag some answers out for him to see.

“Sure. I’ll try whatever you have in mind.” He smiled, showing his trust in her.

[Amy]

" Well, to be honest, I’m not sure how to help. If I make it too difficult you’ll never get the armor up in time and I’ll hurt you. If there’s no intense danger, it won’t do you any good anyways because there will be no pressure. Hm… "

Thinking, Aimi knew there was a way to get him to focus more on the jutsu but in a healthy way. A way that let him relax but still focus on the jutsu. Time restraint. It was a weird jutsu to force a time restraint on. Then, Aimi started to giggle.

" Alright tough guy. This is a hard one so I sure hope that you are prepared. It will require every ninja skill that you have accrued over the years. Not every ninja can keep up with this. Do not fall behind, Hoten. " Making sure that she had all of his attention, she grinned again, unable to hide the amusement in her face. There was no hope in fooling Hoten, Aimi knew this, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.

" I want you to hide so well I have to use sensory to find you. Got it? If you fail more than...oh, we’ll give you three tries, you have to do whatever I want...deal? "

Once Hoten agreed, Aimi would close her eyes, putting her hands over them for emphasis.

" One….two….three…. "